"Michael Z. Williamson - The Humans Call it Duty" - читать интересную книгу автора (Williamson Michael Z)

THE HUMANS CALL IT DUTY
Michael Z. Williamson

Cap slipped through the undergrowth. He was stealthy, for there were things that
would kill him if they found him, men and animals both. He surprised rabbits and
bouncers and other prey as he appeared like a ghost through the leaves, and they
scattered before him, but he was not hunting now.

The sound of Guns had alerted him from his patrol. They came from
somewhere near his friend, and he hurried to investigate. Guns were an indication of
hunting, and David was alone, with many enemies in the dark woods. He increased
his pace, mouth wide to reduce the rasp of his breath, and squeezed between two
boles, then under the dead, rotten log heтАЩd passed on the way out. His patrol had
only been half done, and he hoped David would understand.

He drew up short. The scents in his nose sorted themselves. That one was
Gun smell, and not from David or another friend. That was the smell from DavidтАЩs
Gun. That was the smell of David, and the smell of blood. Cap dropped flat on the
forest floor and eased his way under a brushbush. He gazed deeply into the dappled
murk, and widened his ears and nose. The Enemy was not nearby.

He moved quickly, striding forward, dreading what he would find. There was
a dip in the ground, leaves hastily tossed to cover it. A few scrapes revealed a hand,
then an arm. The sweet-sour smell told him already, but he kept digging until he saw
the face, then more. It was David, dead. Cold flowed through him as he stared at the
body, ragged holes blown through it by Guns. All DavidтАЩs harness and gear was
missing. The thing he called a Comm was gone, and Cap knew that was bad. If an
enemy had the Comm, he had to get it back or destroy it. He didnтАЩt know why, but
that had been one of the things drilled into him from an early age. A Duty, it was
called.

He whimpered in pain, for David had been his friend his entire life. Somehow,
he had to do what must be done, and return to the fenced Home where David and he
lived. He wasnтАЩt sure what happened after that, but he knew what heтАЩd been taught,
and knew he had to do it. First, he reburied DavidтАЩs body, sad and wishing other
humans were here. They knew what to say for the dead, and Cap couldnтАЩt say it for
them.

Standing and peering around, he spotted the route taken by the Enemy. He
would come to that soon enough, but first, he had to do what David called a
Datadump. That tree there should work, and he trotted toward it. He scrambled aloft
until the branches would barely take his weight, swaying in the late evening breeze.
He pressed the broad pad on the shoulder of his harness, and sat patiently. It was a
human thing, and he didnтАЩt know what it was exactly, only that he was to climb a tall
tree and press the pad every day at sunset. That, too, was a Duty. It beeped when it
had done what it was supposed to, and he eased hack down the limbs and trunk,
flowing to the ground like oil.

Now to the hunt.