Грань будущего

           "So…howdoIlook?" 

           "Itpiercedthefront,butthebackarmorplatestoppedit.It’scharredbad." 

           "Howbad?" 

           "Bad." 

           "Fuckme."Ilookedupatthesky."Lookslikeit’sstartingtoclear." 

           "Yeah.Iliketheskyhere." 

           "Why’sthat?" 

           "It’sclear.Can’tbeatislandsforclearskies." 

           "AmIgoingtodie?" 

           "Yeah,"shetoldme. 

           Ifelttearswellupinmyeyes.Iwasgratefulthenthatthehelmethidmyfacefromview.Itkeptmyshameaprivatething. 

           TheredJacketmaneuveredtogentlycradlemyhead. "What’syourname?Notyourrankoryourserialnumber.Yourname." 

           "Keiji.KeijiKiriya." 

           "I’mRitaVrataski.I’llstaywithyouuntilyoudie." 

           Shecouldn’thavesaidanythingI’dratherhear,butIwasn’tgoingtoletherseethat. "You’lldietooifyoustay." 

           "Ihaveareason.Whenyoudie,Keiji,I’mgoingtotakeyourJacket’sbattery." 

           "That’scold." 

           "Noneedtofightit.Relax.Letgo." 

           Iheardanelectronicsquelch-anincomingcommsignalinRita’shelmet.Itwasaman’svoice.ThelinkbetweenourJacketsautomaticallyrelayedthevoicetome. 

           "CalamityDog,thisisChiefBreeder." 

           "Ireadyou."Allbusiness. 

           "AlphaServerandvicinityundercontrol.Estimatewecanholdforthirteenminutes,tops.Timetopickupthatpizza." 

           "CalamityDogcopies.Runningsilentfromherein." 

           TheredJacketstood,severingourcommlink.Behindheranexplosionrumbled. Ifeltthegroundtremblethroughmyspine.Alaser-guidedbombhadfallenfromthesky.