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Chapter 2. The Green-eyed killer
When meeting neighbors, it usually sounds like a cross between "Good afternoon" and "Absolutely fucked up."
The week slipped by unnoticed in the worries of food, housing arrangements and exploring a new world. Rin thoughtfully arranged herself in a tree: the same fork high in the crown became the base of a small hut, woven in two days. There was no time — drown! The day turned out to be three hours longer, the nights were quite short, eight to nine hours each, and daylight and prolonged twilight provided a lot of useful time. Besides, Rin could see perfectly well at dusk and in the dark.
A hut appeared first, and the next day a small hammock woven from the pale tendrils of a yellow-fruited plant replaced the pile of overstuffed reeds. The same mustache, which turned out to be very long and unusually strong, was used to build a rope ladder and to form the basis of new clothes. It's amazing how much you can do in one day! The three— or even four-meter "mustache", drying out, did not lose its elasticity and were simply irreplaceable! Rin learned how to pull them out carefully so as not to damage the tubers of the plant, from which new tendrils grew two days later, replenishing the building materials for the rapidly growing dwelling high on the tree.
The locals turned out to be quite active, and Rin watched the fleeting aerial battles several times. Usually, the skirmishes took place over the mountain range itself or in the immediate vicinity of it and did not cause much trouble, but still did not allow them to relax. The whole thing was happening so far and high up that it wasn't even necessary to hide. Theoretically. It was simply impossible to determine which races were at war by ships, and there was no desire to get to know each other. There was no doubt that these were different races-their ships were too different. It wasn't a matter of differences in details, outlines, body contours, or models. No. There was a COMBINATION. A kind of unity, a kind of community that does not even give reason to doubt the differences between the creators.
Rin spent most of her free time on the rocks, looking at the pretty white beach, which was covered with smooth, as if sifted sand. It's a beautiful beach, no matter how you look at it, but it's populated by local predators. It was only necessary to throw a twig on the white sand, as the beach exploded with exuberant search activity. The mass of tentacles carefully examined the disturbed area until it found the cause of the disturbance. Only after figuring it out did the colony subside. What the creatures ate, Rin couldn't figure out-she hadn't seen a single successful hunt in all that time. However, it is quite possible that the main diet consisted of nocturnal animals, and Rin sat very high in a tree at night.
One day she went to the place where the fighters broke off at night. It was impossible to make a mistake -the burnt ruins had just begun to overgrow with grass. She spent almost an hour climbing through the ruins, not venturing deep into the underground buildings. There was something repulsive about these black corridors, deformed by the explosion and scorched by fire. Intellectually, she understood that there were no nasty creatures or undead creatures there — the dead were dead, and animals would not enter an abandoned house burned by such a fire. The smell of burnt plastic, melted metal, burnt rubber and vile decay is too strong. But something in the depths of his subconscious prevented him from descending into the underground levels of the destroyed base. The mind knew that there was something useful to be found in the surviving corridors, but... She couldn't get in. That invisible adviser ordered: "Don't you dare!" And she didn't dare. We managed to find a magnificent knife at the top and peel off a relatively flat sheet of tin. It was not possible to properly explore the ruins — a pot-bellied transport emerged from behind the forest, clearly taxiing to land in the ruins. Rin left quickly, not expecting anything good from such a meeting. The ship stood for three days, after which it flew away, and a column of flame rose into the sky after it. When Rin went there again, she saw only a huge melted funnel.
It was a beautiful morning! The pearly sky with transparent pinkish clouds is of stunning depth, the double luminary proudly shines above the horizon, a gentle breeze blows over the skin, the rumble of waves... beauty in one word. Rin still had that wonderful time when everything had not yet had time to get tired, the change of environment was pleasing, and the world had not lost its beauty and attractiveness. The steady feeling of calling warmed the soul, for some reason driving away sad thoughts of loneliness and satisfying the human being's craving for communication. She has developed a completely nasty habit of telling an invisible interlocutor about her pleasures and troubles. The mental conversation warmed my soul, the call became more and more regular, there were no answers, of course.
Distant thunder rumbled in the mountains. Rin roused herself. Thunder? What the hell kind of thunder! The explosion! And not far away! A puff of smoke rose up the slope. Okay, that's interesting. The girl glared at the rock, sincerely regretting her brother's binoculars, lying forlornly somewhere at home on her desk. But still, it was possible to sort out the general situation. A fairly narrow ledge wound along the rock, descending in several steps. It was on the lower one that she blinked a week ago. A man was running fast along this very ledge. Or not a person, it's impossible to tell at this distance. He was being chased by animals with the size of a passenger car and the agility of a domestic cat.
Since Rin couldn't see the fugitive or the creatures chasing him, she could only watch them. And she wasn't sure she wanted to see this one... a man nearby. For some reason, there wasn't a shadow of a doubt that it was a man. Why would that be? Propping her head on her fist, she silently watched the vertical jumps, mentally touched by the dexterity of the stranger. At the very least, he could jump off at any moment, because it's very deep down. I checked it myself. Personally.
As this thought lazily crawled to its end and took shape in his head, the stranger abruptly turned around and jumped down. My heart skipped a beat for a moment, beating faster, harder. It's him! He is the source of a strange obsession, this incomprehensible call that has been stirring her all these days! But... My hand flashed with pain, as if something toothy was clutching with a death grip, a series of angry obscenities in a foreign and such native language flashed through my head. He was probably bitten by that toothy worm, which has been unsuccessfully hunting it for the fifth day! Rin felt someone else's irritation and rage. The bite sensation disappeared, and the creature seemed to have been killed. The warrior has survived and is swimming to shore. TO THE SHORE! There are those tentacled creatures!
"Don't step on the white sand!"
"I won't step on it." A silent reply came. Calm, without a shadow of surprise or doubt.
"Go out on the rocks."
There was no response, but after a few long minutes, someone splashed water on her back. Rin turned around.
He sat on a rock, dangling his legs into the water, and silently examined it. A blind helmet covered the face up to the chin, turning into a scaly collar, matte-black armor covered the body from neck to toe, repeating the shape of all the curves of the muscles, twisted black saber hilts protruded above the shoulders, weapons and ammunition fitted to the body so as not to interfere... Warrior. An outsider.
He silently took off his helmet and set it on a rock. Without a single sound, slowly, calmly. So as not to scare. Rin sat down, hugging her knees, silently peering into his face. Into the handsome pedigreed face of a hereditary aristocrat, into the large slanted eyes of the amazing pure color of spring foliage. And cold as the depths of space, appraising, attentive, intelligent, burning in the depths of wild, primal rage. Pointed cat ears, covered with short black red-speckled fur with a long tassel at the end, peeked out of long blue-black hair, quivering a little from the rage overwhelming the warrior.
The warrior cocked his ears, smiled thinly, and said:
"Your help was timely."
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't know it was safe to jump off." He jerked his foot out of the water, and the creature's jaws snapped in vain. "There's nowhere else to run." A blade flashed like lightning, and something gurgled in the water. "And I couldn't take the fight: there were too many of them."
To be honest, it was unconscious. I didn't know you'd hear it.
"Are you sorry?"
" Mm-hmm. No." Rin looked at him with open curiosity.
"And how is the inspection?" The warrior asked with an undisguised grin.
You're an extremely curious guy.
"You'd think you'd never seen Ross."
"I haven't seen it. Are you surprised?"
"I'm surprised."
"Don't you believe me?"
"Yes, that's why I believe." Ross settled himself more comfortably and sheathed his sword. "How did it happen?"
"I wish I knew." Rin sighed. "You know, when you go to sleep in your bed on your planet in the evening, and you wake up fuck knows where, and even your ass slides off a rocky ledge into the abyss... It's a little unusual, you know. And a little bit like that, slightly surprising."
"And why would that be, really?" The warrior chuckled. "Don't you know anything about this world?"
"Nothing. I'm not even sure if this world is inhabited."
"In the classical sense of the word, no. It is not inhabited."
Rin sighed, resting her chin on her arms crossed in her lap. The warrior turned out to be surprisingly loyal, did not attack, did not offend. That's all. Here he is, sitting next to me. So what? He looks at her with green eyes, and his hand involuntarily fiddles with the sword belt. It's a strange combination of swords and high-tech armor, but it looks completely natural on him, as if it should be.
"Who are you fighting with?"
"With your kind." — He replied calmly.
"With mine?"
"They call themselves hommo."
"What about you?"
"Ishon. According to their base star."
"And what are you fighting for?"
"For this world."
"Is he yours?"
"Ours."
"And what color is the base star of ishon?" Rin asked in the same bored tone.
"The capital is blue."
"Yeah."
"Do you want to return to your tribesmen?"
"Want. Theoretically, someday maybe in the distant future. But the Ishon are not my kind. They are no less an alien race than the Rosses. I'm not ishon, I'm a human being. And our star is yellow. And they are not able to fly further than the neighboring planet. And they haven't really climbed on it yet. And the number of planets in the system has not yet been fully figured out. That's it." Rin swallowed a sudden lump. "I do not know where my home is. I do not know where I am. I do not know how I got here or what to do next. I have no weapon, only a half-burned knife found in the ruins. I don't have any clothes. You see everything on me. That's my interesting situation."
There was a commotion in the bushes by the shore. A couple of baby dragons rose into the air, spun around a bit, squinting at Ross in disbelief, but still, not considering him a danger, flew to Rin's shoulders. The girl absently stroked the dragon's back. Other animals chirped, circling over something in the grass. Rin whistled, and a green, eared face with round yellow eyes like saucers rose above the grass. Ross tensed. The cat growled. The beast, frightened by Rin on the first day, got used to her and resorted to cuddling or eating. Rin lived on his property with his permission. And the cat brazenly used a free feeder: every time the cat resorted to Rin, she always treated him to a fish or a piece of meat.
"Come here." Rin slapped the stone next to her.
The green beast hesitated, but still jumped over a small tongue of water in a couple of jumps over the rocks, approached the girl, sniffed and licked her shoulder, growling Ross in a not very affectionate way. Rin stroked the hard green fur, scratched behind the ears and under the chin. The pussy thrilled and dragged, but as soon as the girl took her hands away, the beast yawned, showing a palisade of teeth, and lay down next to her.
Ross watched in silence, not making a single gesture to show his attitude to what was happening. The cat soon purred, blissfully squinting her eyes.
"Good little animal." the warrior said neutrally.
"Sweet." Rin was scratching her furry ear, and the beast was just entranced. "We get along well with him."
"With her."
"It doesn't matter."
"It does. The females are completely wild."
"Even so?" Rin pulled the parasite out of the fur and threw it into the water. "I didn't know."
"It's amazing that you survived the encounter with the lowland int."
"I scared her."
"How?"
"I don't know. It's just that something fell down from fear. Apparently, my soul hit my heels painfully. I yelled at her, and the cat ran away."
Ross was silent for a while, looking at the girl. Without a single movement. Silently. Something flickered on his belt. The soldier squinted, read a short message on the computer on his forearm, looked at the girl and took off a wide sling belt with a knife and a pistol strapped to it.
"Take."
"thanks."
Rin tried on the belt, but it was hanging from her hips. Ross smiled, tightened the buckle, selected the length of the belt, and unfastened the extra links.
"That's better, thank you."
"You don't have to thank me."
"Why?" Rin looked up at him.
"Maybe I'll be the one to kill you."
Ross's face was as impenetrable as a statue's.
"Who knows." Rin shrugged phlegmatically, accepting the weapon.
"Can you use it?"
"I'll figure it out." Rin hesitated for a few seconds, calculating his reaction. "What's your name?"
"Nav"." The warrior replied calmly, without a trace of annoyance or displeasure.
"Is that your name or is that your name?"
"That's my name."
"A nickname?"
"Warriors don't advertise their names." a barely perceptible predatory smile slid across his lips.
"Nav". Does it translate?"
"yes."
"How?"
"Death."
"You're a sweet guy. Rin sighed. "Is that what the warriors called you?"
"yes."
"For what?"
"yes."
"You're just adorable."
A light on his belt flickered insistently. A light on his belt flickered insistently. Nav squinted.
"Are you being summoned?"
"yes."
He put on his helmet. A moment later, Rin heard a muffled voice:
"Nav. Yes, I know. I'll be there via roll. I can handle it. Not worth it. They'll get in the way. Realight."
"A new assignment?" the girl asked calmly.
"yes."
"We'll meet again."
"Undoubtedly." Ross stood up in one fluid motion.
"Well, take care of yourself."
He stared at her in surprise.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Rin yawned. "Who was bitten by the hand in the water?"
"Me."
"It hurt me. And I don't feel like checking out what would happen to me if you were allowed to eat sausage."
Nav" silently sat down on a rock. He took off his shoulder guard and rubbed the bite. Rin also silently turned her hand: a bite mark was clearly visible on the thin skin, exactly matching the bite on Ross' shoulder.
"Did you skin your leg seven days ago?"
"me. Did it hurt too?"
"A little bit."
"Funny, isn't it?"
"Nothing funny." Ross frowned. "why?"
"I found someone to ask." Rin shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. So take care of yourself, okay?"
"Good." He smiled. And for the first time, there was warmth in his eyes.
"Now get lost."
He gently touched her shoulder. Lightly, fleetingly, like a ghost. As if doubting the correctness of the action. She turned away for a moment, and he was gone. He just disappeared, as if he had never been there. But he was. The thin ray of the call felt clearer and clearer, and now Rin knew exactly who was on the other side of the chord ringing in her soul.
The sky was suffused with twilight, and sticky fear spread like dark molasses in the bends of the canyon, immersed in dense darkness. A group of people slowly made their way through the pile of stones, trying not to lose sight of their neighbor. A barely perceptible gleam of an invisible blade, a wheeze audible on the verge of sensitivity, and silence.
"Hansor?"
"Be quiet!" An angry shout in a strangled whisper.
"Hansor has disappeared...."
Before the soldier could finish, a curved black blade appeared from his throat as if by magic, and the next moment his head rolled on the rocks. A lightning strike, a jerk, and the third soldier slides heavily into a pile of his own entrails, frantically trying to close his stomach, which was split open with a single swing of the saber. The man ahead raised his rifle, noticing movement in the shadows out of the corner of his eye. There was a silent flash of metal, and the soldier collapsed on his back, thrown back by the blow, choking on his own blood and a black throwing knife sticking out of his throat.
"Where are you?" The voice of the last of the soldiers rose to a shout.
"Here."
He appeared out of the darkness of the deep shadow like a ghost, a dark shadow in the darkness. The impassive helmet mask hid his face. The soldier turned with a jerk, but the warrior was gone. A moment later, a thin sword whistled, and the man fell into the dust, and not a single movement anymore. Silence. The wind howled loudly, echoing low in the rocks. Only a small stone crumb slowly carried away five bodies...
Time passed slowly. By and large, there was nothing to do. Rin slept off all the years of lack of sleep in her home world, swam in the bay, trained baby dragons and a green cat, and learned how to use Ross's weapons. At first it turned out very badly. To put it bluntly, it's disgusting. Periodically, she could hear Ross's mental chuckles. He saw it all. The bond developed somehow, and sometimes they could see the world through the eyes of the other. And communicate. The first surprise passed, attempts to explain it somehow clearly did not bring any benefit, and after a long argument, the topic was closed, accepting what was happening with philosophical equanimity.
Rin saw Ross quite often. The mighty warrior often appeared off the coast, knocking out small groups of people. Rin saw it periodically. Nav was wary for a while, but since Rin didn't comment on his actions in any way, he calmed down.
And Rin noticed that she was starting... change. The first sign was that the ship had exploded on the first day. The girl chalked it up to an accident, as did Nav". But when Rin tore up a huge tree along with its roots, just wishing him all the best and kind... It made me think. A week later, she created fire for the first time.
It was fast approaching evening, the double luminary was setting below the horizon, and all four moons were joyfully shining in all their glory in the sky. A fresh breeze blew in from the ocean, and the grass rustled steadily. Rin stroked the cat's head, taking a bunch of dry twigs from her paws.
"Ita, stop it!"
The cat yawned, but took its paws away. The peculiar ritual was repeated day after day. When Rin was lighting a bonfire, preparing to cook dinner, Ita did her best to prevent this. However, not for very long. The yellow fruits with the taste of bread pleased the cat, and when they were toasted, the hefty plain predator turned into a petty thieving beggar, which brought Ross to tenderness.
Speaking of Ross. Rin raised her head, peering at the darkening horizon. He's been delayed. Have the Ichthans been pinned down somewhere in the passes again? Nav was just having fun chasing hefty six-legged creatures. However, sometimes they chased him too. Like that time on the cliff.
"Are you looking for me?" A soft voice bathed her soul like a balm.
"You, you." Rin smiled, trying to light a fire. Wet firewood did not want to catch fire.
"And how are you doing?" The warrior asked curiously, watching her efforts.
"Yes, that's it. No way." Rin carefully blew on a tiny flame perched on the tip of a twig. The light went out. "You bastard! May you burn!"
Nav" barely managed to pull Rin off the rock and roll with her into the water before a firestorm swept over them. Ita was yapping indignantly, floundering in the shallow water, thrown off by the shock wave. Rin was sitting on Ross's lap, hiccupping. Silently. With bulging eyes.
"How are you?"
"I don"t know ik."
"Your job?"
" Ap ik paren-tly, yes. ik" Rin rubbed her cheek.
"Whole?"
"Y-hic-yes."
Ross picked her up in his arms and sat her down on a rock. The campfire was still burning. A steady, clean fire. Without firewood. The flame just hung in the air without any support. A normal campfire, but without firewood. The meat and yellow fruits were completely baked, and the moss on the stone was burned clean.
"A good campfire."
"I didn't want." Rin looked at the mess in confusion.
"Yes, I know." Ross rubbed absently at the bruise on his cheekbone. "If I hadn't seen it myself..."
"It's impossible!"
"Apparently, it is possi... Ita!"
The cat growled with its mouth full. While Ross and the girl were distracted, the brat had stolen one of the fruits, and now, pressing her paw against a stone, she was quickly and greedily eating it.
"Don't choke on it already, little thief."
Int grumbled, but she didn't slow down.
"They tamed it on their own." Rin grumbled, gathering up the remains of dinner, fortunately it was enough for the eyes. "Will you?"
"I won't refuse. I won't get on the ship today."
"Far away?"
"Yes. I moved a lot to the south."
"Because of me?"
"Partly, yes. Partly because of Ishon's activity in the area. They still want a base on the plain. And we knock them out quickly."
"I saw. When I first arrived here, a flight of fighters bombed the underground base. At night."
"Yes, there was such a thing."
"Participated?"
" no. I was leveling another base back then."
"Alone?"
"One. My squad has now dispersed throughout the array. There's no need for us to work as a full squad here. They split up into pairs or singly."
"Professionals."
"Warriors." Ross corrected her. "We have an army, we have special forces, and we have warriors."
"Are they some kind of mercenaries in government jobs?"
"I guess so." Ross took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. "That's funny."
"what?"
"You look so much like them, and you don't look like them at the same time."
"I don't know, I can't compare it."
"There are many of their posts in the mountain range. You'll run into it again."
"Most likely. I won't always be sitting on the coast."
"Not always. Autumn and winter are coming soon."
"Cold?"
"Severe. Six months."
"How much?!" Rin already sat down.
"Six months. Ours."
"I can't survive without shelter, without clothes..."
He didn't say anything. A couple of hours later, he left, disappeared into the night, leaving the girl high up in a tree.
And in the morning, Rin found out that he was caught.
She saw everything through his eyes. How an armored transport with a pair of machine guns taxied out from behind a pile of rocks. A group of soldiers. The short skirmish ended quickly, as Ross was covered with a taser. Rin felt the deathly numbness that had gripped his body, the cold from the blow, felt his rage, anger, and.. despair. Understanding that this is the end. Ross was mentally apologizing for his own stupidity and overconfidence... He was saying goodbye. And then he passed out from a powerful blow to the head with the butt of the rifle.
Rin did not see him being loaded into an APC and taken away, she only heard. And then the contact disappeared completely, and only the very feeling of the call made it clear that he was still alive.
Rin sat on a rock by the water, hugging her knees, listening to the thin tinkle of an invisible thread. Nav would not survive captivity, she understood it very clearly. Ishon won't let him go. He's too strong, knows too much, annoyed them too much. The Russian Ishon warriors were feared and hated.
They'll kill him! As soon as they milk everything they can, they'll kill him And he himself will not be saved. Confidence is ironclad. He won't be saved. He won't be able to. He won't be able to do it himself!.
What should I do?
Somewhere out there, in the mountains, an ichthan howled mournfully. It was low, dreary, and so dreary that her heart ached. And the call grew fainter and fainter, leaving an invisible tear in its wake...
The decision came suddenly, like a flash of inspiration. A firm, unshakable confidence.
She'll get him out of there.
Somehow... As best he can. As it turns out.
He trusted her, he helped her, and she will help him. When he needs help so much.
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