Грань будущего
Chapter 5
Itwasadimtwilightinside,justlightenoughtosee.Tableslayontheirside,piledintoamakeshiftbarricadeinfrontoftheentranceoppositethedoorI’dcomethrough.Foodandhalf-emptysoysaucebottleslayscatteredontheconcretefloor.Therewasnosignofanyone-deadoralive-intheentireroom.
ThiswaswhereI’dspentcountlessluncheswatchingRitaeat.WhereI’dfoughtthatovergrownapefrom4thCompanyandplayedculinarychickenwithRitaandatubfullofumeboshi.WhatbetterplaceforRitaandmetodecideourlivesinadueltothedeath?
Orangelightshonethroughaholeinthewestwall.WhenIglancedatthechronometerbesidemydisplayIcouldhardlybelieveeighthourshadelapsedsincethebattlestarted.Itwasalreadydusk.NowonderIfeltlikemyJacketwaslinedwithlead.Ididn’thavethemuscleforthis.Mybatteriesweredrainedandsystemswereabouttostartshuttingdown.I’dneverbeeninabattlehalfthislong.
Rita’sredJacketcreptintothecafeteria.Iblockedahorizontalswingwithmyaxe;myJacket’sframecreaked.IfI’dstoppeditheadon,thetorquefromtheactuatorswouldhavetornmyJacketapartfromtheinsideout.FearofwhatRitawascapableofgrippedmeanew.RitaVrataskiwasaprodigyinbattle-andshehadlearnedtoreadmyeveryparryandfeint.
Eachmoveinbattlehappensatasubconsciouslevel.Thismakesitdoublydifficulttocompensatewhensomeonelearnstoreadthosemoves.
