"Gene Wolfe - Green Glass" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wolfe Gene)

business, a wholesaler. Does that help?"
"It didn't need any help. I'm Josephine Bates, and I've been trying to place
your accent. St. Louis?"
He shook his head. "Chicago."
"In the ice-cream business."
"Right. Where are you from, Ms. Bates?"
"San Diego. You can call me Josephine, Joey. You said you meet people in
here like I do."
He nodded.
"People you know?"
"Sometimes. Some were characters from TV. Or movies I'd seen. Harry
Potter. Bugs Bunny."
"Are we crazy?"
"How should I know?" He rubbed his chin. "There's a way to test it,
Josephine. We meet some together and compare notes afterward. If we saw the
same thing--"
"I've got it. How'd you get here, Joey?"
"You wouldn't believe it." He shook his head. "Heck, I don't believe it, and I
was there. It happened to me, but I still don't believe it."
"Will you believe me?"
"Sure." He grinned. "Anything."
 "Then I'd believe you, right?"
He shook his head. "Wrong. I'm a good judge of character. That's how I
know you're a good judge of character too, see? I know you can be trusted. You'll
know I can't."
"You're sneaky?"
"Close enough. How'd they get you?"
"I was driving down two-oh-one, somewhere between Moose River and
Madison. I must have taken a wrong turn. I don't know where or how, but I sort of
woke up and realized I wasn't on the highway anymore. I was on a country road or
something like that, and it had just gotten narrower. I went down into a long, dark
valley with a lot of big trees..."
He said, "If this still scares you, you don't have to tell me."
"I was just trying to remember. No lights except my headlights. The trees
shutting out the moon and the stars. Up ahead, some kind of animal, big and dark.
Its eyes looked yellow in my headlights. I slammed on the brakes, and it was gone.
Just gone, like it had never been there at all. I went forward again, slower, out of the
valley and up onto a hilltop. There was moonlight all around, as if I were inside the
moon with light coming at me from all directions. I thought to myself, if I had a
soul, I'd stop right here and enjoy this.
"As soon as I did, as soon as I had thought that, my headlights went out and
my engine quit. I kept on rolling, slower and slower. Rolling up to the very top of the
hill. Finally my car stopped and I got out. I guess I was going to open the hood or
something."
"Did you?"
She shook her head. "When I stepped out, my foot wouldn't stick. Know
what I mean? It wouldn't stay down and I went up, slowly, sort of trying to grab the
ground with my feet but never getting hold of it. There was a big round thing right
above me, like an umbrella but a whole lot bigger. A hole opened and I floated up
into it. I couldn't help myself, and here I am. Now what about you?"