"Are you still offended? And this is the mutant and the terrible monster? Goodness!" Foue Eyes snorted.
"It didn't hurt—but it hurt my feelings! There you have it, the true face of humanity!" I exclaimed dramatically.
"Come on, it happens to everyone. Put yourself in my shoes. I'm woken up, I wake up—sleep-deprived, by the way—and see red eyes right above me. What was I supposed to think, especially considering where I fell asleep and what kind of monsters roam around here? And I'm still human, and on edge!" my companion protested. Or is that how she apologizes?
"Okay, let's move on." I waved her off and continued on our way with the freeloader settled on my back. And yes, we were moving across the rooftops. More precisely, I was jumping, and she was sitting comfortably on my back. What could I do? She refused to be a "potato sack," so I had to carry her. Three hours is clearly not enough even for a trained body. Well, or maybe the previous few days on feet had taken their toll, so she stole a few more minutes of sleep on me, pointing out the direction and a couple of noticeable landmarks where—upon reaching them—I should wake her up.
And what she apologized for happened about half an hour ago. It all started when, instead of a couple of hours, I let her sleep for three. An extra hour wouldn't hurt, and it would make things a little easier for the girl, because I really had no intention of carrying her. And so, after those three hours (fortunately, the equipment in the suit could track time—or, to be more precise, the suit included a watch), I began to wake her up. Carefully gauging my strength, I shook her shoulder, and she, barely opening her eyes, tried to kill me.
Surprisingly, all this was done on pure reflex, because there was definitely no mind in her eyes at that moment—but I could clearly read the sleepiness and fear of the red-eyed wonder (this consequence of my improvement really annoys me). Even more interesting was the fact that I, also acting on reflexes that came from nowhere—now eat whoever you can—almost dodged the blow, so that the strike to the forehead merely grazed me. No, there was no physical pain, but I was outraged by her actions… Let's just say that I'm still outraged by her "gratitude" for a good night's sleep!
As well as by the fact that I didn't slip into acceleration, even though I'm in a constant state of "conditional rest," slightly faster than ordinary people. But these are just ordinary people—it's another matter entirely with pros like my companion. And the jumping parameters get on my nerves.
So now we're moving toward the sewer descent—or, more precisely, closer to the place where they connect to the laboratory—because I didn't really want to wander around the sewers themselves, where God knows what might be lurking. My companion agreed with me on this.
Who knows how the virus affected various creatures, and I remember what kind of "creatures" can be found here. Neither Foue Eyes nor I had any desire to run into something worse than a Tyrant. No, of course, there may also be creatures in the laboratories comparable to me—or even to Lisa Trevor—but there's no choice here. And still, the laboratory, whose floor plans and some compartments are known to Foue Eyes and me (from borrowed memory), would be preferable to the labyrinthine sewers, the map of which the brave Wolfpack burned in City Hall.
Hmm. What's this?..
"What's the matter? Why are you standing there frozen? I bumped into you—I was just dozing off again! Tsk, what are you made of? It feels like I hit a wall with my face! Hey, where are you staring? We still have twenty minutes of high-speed travel to go before we reach our destination!" Foue Eyes began to get indignant.
Either someone relaxed—which I don't believe—or they're playing it well, which is more likely. Or perhaps the girl is slightly overtired, which has affected her critical perception. Still, I'm not her partner, more of an ally by circumstance, and getting upset at a monster that can do something it doesn't even expect of itself (which implies what seems to be a temporary lull in hunger and loss of self-control) would be, to put it mildly, out of character for her, judging by Vector's memories.
"There. Ahead. A group of people is cutting across the streets. About six people—just like in your squad… your former squad. Judging by their posture, they're armed. I can't say for sure; my eyesight isn't good enough for that. One person is running toward them—or rather, across their path. Perhaps a survivor, or their spotter. These are just assumptions."
"However, judging by his frantic running and seemingly evasive movements, I suspect he's being chased, and that his encounter with the group will be completely accidental. Also, considering the fact that we're actually moving into the area where Echo-6 was supposed to land, it could be them."
"As for the runner… I don't know. But judging by the fact that I don't see a pursuer, he may be running away from something he's seen but that isn't pursuing him—or from infected of any kind. Well, except for the one we met. It's weak, but it still glows, and since I know that, I know what to pay attention to. And even if it were our 'friend,' even you, with all your training, wouldn't be able to escape from it. No offense." I chuckled.
(End of Chapter)
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