"Robert F. Young - Darkspace" - читать интересную книгу автора (Young Robert F)

November, and there had been alight, snow. An ideal snow for deer hunting.
We followed deer tracks through the woods. We came to a clearing. We knew the deer was close,
and we paused at the clearing's edge. Then, to our right, we saw the deer step out of the woods. It was a
big buck, upwind from us. Both of us raised our guns. I dropped the buck with a shot to the throat, but I
could see it was still alive. Cheryl did not fire. My second slug entered the side of the buck's head, killing
it instantly. I could see the evanescent clouds of Cheryl's breath. I could see the evanescent clouds of my
own. She still had her gun fitted against her shoulder. "Aren't you going to make sure he's dead?" she
asked. "I know he's dead," I said, but I walked toward the animal anyway. Her first shot struck my left
shoulder, twisting me around. As I sagged to the ground I could see her face. The bleakness of her eyes
shocked me. "No," I said. Her body jerked slightly, and there was a great whiteness. I remember nothing
after that.

Thank God she dreamed me again!
It has been a long time since my last awareness period. A very long time. I can sense the passage of
proper days and proper weeks. I must get out of the dream. Must!
Is it possible for the dreamed-of to dream? Can I, by dreaming of my real self, become my real self?
I have not dreamed yet, but perhaps I can.
There is no other way out of this cul-de-sac.
If I can dream of myself as I was in real life and become my real self, I will be able to avert my
Lightspace death. With my precognition I will know when the time comes not to turn my back on my
wife and walk into the clearing.
Perhaps the best moment to dream of will be the moment before I shot the buck. I will shoot it and
then shoot it again, and then not go into the clearing. And Cheryl will be standing there beside me with
her gun raised and I will look at her and say, "You go see if it's dead." And when she does, I will shoot
her.
A hunting accident. If it worked for her, there is no reason it should not work for me.
I concentrate on the moment as sleep closes in. I picture the clearing in my mind. I picture the buck
about to walk into it. I see Cheryl standing beside me. Two people. A clearing. A buck.

I saw trees!
Yes, trees!
I did not see Cheryl, nor did I see the clearing. But it is a beginning.

I know this time that it has been ages since she dreamed me last. I can feel a stiffness in my mind. But
I dreamed of trees again. And the leaves of a forest floor. Oh, I am close, so close! I concentrate with all
my might on the moment as sleep closes in again. Cheryl and myself standing at the edge of the clearing.
The buck about to step into it from the woods. This time I must escape!

The forest floor is covered with this year's leaves. Beneath them lie layer upon layer of leaves from
years before. I sink deeply into the layers of leaves as I walk. There are trees on either hand. I glance to
my left, but see no sign of Cheryl. All I see are trees.
There is a clearing just ahead. This is wrong. I should be standing at the edge of it with my wife. I
look to left and right. Oddly, I do not need to turn my head to do so. I still see no sign of her. I sniff the
air, then step into the clearing. Then I see my wife. And myself. I am pointing a gun in my direction. No! I
try to scream, but I cannot say the word. I start to run. Then the gun blasts and there is a horrid tearing in
my throat. I crumple to the ground. The gun in my hands is still pointing in my direction. No! I try to
scream again, but I have no voice. In the final second of my life I know that I have not only escaped
Darkspace, but Light as well.