"Arcady And Boris Strugatsky. Prisoners of Power" - читать интересную книгу автора

be sorry later."
Vepr replied indistinctly: he felt ill again, too miserable to worry
about fortresses.
Maxim opened his eyes and looked around. He was sitting on a mound of
earth in the middle of a long corridor lined with rough concrete walls. A
gap in the ceiling was either an opening for ventilation or a breach made by
some missile. Standing some twenty steps away from him, Zef surveyed Ms
surroundings with a flashlight.
"What's this?" asked Maxim.
"How should I know? It could be some sort of shelter. Or maybe it
really is thethe Fortress. Do you know about the Fortress?"
"No," said Maxim, crawling off the mound.
"You don't... ," said Zef absentmindedly. He kept looking around,
sweeping the light along the walls. "Then what the hell do you know!
Massaraksh! Someone or something has just been here."
"Human?" asked Maxim.
"I don't know. It crept alongside the wall and disappeared. And the
Fortress, Mac, is something very, very special. In one day we could finish
up all our work out there. Aha, tracks."
He squatted. Maxim squatted beside him and made out imprints in the
dirt along the wall.
"Strange tracks."
"I've never seen anything like them."
"Looks as if someone was walking on his fists." Maxim clenched his fist
and made an impression next to the tracks.
"Very similar," admitted Zef. He aimed the beam deep inside the
corridor. Something shimmered faintly, reflecting either a turn or dead-end.
"Should we take a look?"
"Shh," said Maxim. "Shut up and don't move!"
Although it was silent, he sensed the presence of life in the corridor.
Someone or something was standing up ahead; something small, with a strange
weak odor, was hugging the wall. Maxim could not tell precisely what or
where it was. It was observing them and seemed annoyed by their presence. It
defied identification and its intentions were elusive.
"Do we have to investigate?" asked Maxim.
"I'd like to."
"Why?"
"We must take a look. Maybe this really is the Fortress. If it is,
things are going to be a lot different from now on. I'm not sure it is, but
since there are so many rumors, who can tell, maybe there's some truth to
them."
"Someone is there," said Maxim. "I can't figure out who."
"You think so? If this is the Fortress, then according to legend,
either the survivors of a garrison live here, or... The garrison just stays
on here, you know, unaware that the war ended. During the war they declared
themselves neutral, locked themselves in, and swore to blow up the continent
if anyone came near them."
"And could they?"
"If this is the Fortress, they could do anything. Yes, indeed. Because
of explosions and firing above ground, they probably believe the war is