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factor dropped it to the single digits. The ladder rungs were sunk deeply into the brickwork, and unlike the spiral staircase, seemed rock solid under his weight. He guessed the ladder was of more recent workmanship. He alighted at the base of the chimney in waist-high weeds. Something crunched underfoot and, kicking at the turf, he uncovered a chunk of charred wood, fire hardened to the consistency of stone. The digging toe of his boot revealed a streak of stained white in the dirt. By the time the other two joined him, he had pulled a big square of white plastic out of the half-frozen ground. Several words were imprinted on it, and though Kane couldn't decipher them, he recognized exclamation points and the meaning of the red skull symbol. Brigid glanced at it curiously. "That settles the question of whether we're in Russia or not." "What's it say?" file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Outlanders%2002%20-%20Destiny%20Run.html (132 of 368)16-2-2006 16:57:48 Axler, James - Outlanders 02 - Destiny Run Brigid's brow furrowed in momentary concentration. "I can speak Russian easier than I can read it Let's see& Forboding no, Forbidden Zone! Trespassers Will Be Put To Death Without Trial! By Order Of Internal Security. Signed Major- Commissar Zimyanin." Grant looked around uneasily, tugging up the collar of his coat. "You figure this major-commissar burned down the house to camouflage the gateway?" "Possibly," answered Brigid. She pointed to a tiny series of numbers beneath the skull insignia. "A long time ago. That's the date of the notice ninety-some years ago." Kane dropped the square placard and consulted his wrist chron. "Nine twenty- seven. Why is it so dark?" "Different latitude and longitude," Brigid replied. "We're about ten hours later than in Cerberus." Kane nodded. "That's what I was wondering. I was getting ready to ask about the time difference right as we jumped." Grant stamped on the ground. "Dawn is a long time away. What do we do until then?" Brigid drew the map from her pocket. Unfolding it, she traced a wavery line with a gloved forefinger. "We're here. Peredelinko itself was a medium-sized ville before the nukecaust and if it survived, it's only a mile or so away. It's on the route we'll have to take to Moscow, so maybe we can find some transportation there that will at least get us to the inner suburbs." file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Outlanders%2002%20-%20Destiny%20Run.html (133 of 368)16-2-2006 16:57:48 Axler, James - Outlanders 02 - Destiny Run Kane looked toward the fence. Some of the support posts had fallen down, leaving gaps wide enough to walk through. Beyond the fence, on the other side of the ridge, a tree line massed blackly against the sky. "That looks like a damn wilderness to me," Grant commented. "Maybe we should wait until daybreak. Even if there's a path in there, we'll have a hell of a time finding it." "I'd rather find out now," said Kane. "Me, too," agreed Brigid. "We can always come back and make camp." Grant sighed, acknowledging he was outvoted. "Let's do it, then." Brigid quickly checked her rad counter. The reading hovered at midrange green. "Safe enough." A gibbous moon, between half and full, moved in and out of heavy clouds as they walked across the weed-choked ground and up the slight slope to the fence line. Most of the strands of barbed wire were completely encrusted with rust and broke easily when they applied pressure. The three of them stepped through a wide-open space between a pair of fallen posts. The fur-trimmed hem of Brigid's coat snagged on a spur of razor wire, but Grant quickly and easily disentangled her. Outside of the perimeter they found another plastic sign promising death to interlopers. They moved quickly and quietly toward the trees, Kane a few yards ahead, pausing now and then to test the air for sounds or scents. He heard nothing but file:///J|/sci-fi/Nieuwe%20map/James%20Axler%20-%20Outlanders%2002%20-%20Destiny%20Run.html (134 of 368)16-2-2006 16:57:48 Axler, James - Outlanders 02 - Destiny Run the rustle of wind-whipped foliage and smelled only damp vegetable matter. A very brief snow flurry whitened and wetted their hair and clothing. Right at the edge of the tree line, in a shallow coulee, they found a path. It was a cramped draw, meandering in and then out of the border of the woods. Though it was narrow, Kane saw the faint tread marks made by a wheeled vehicle. There were also the impressions of shod horse hooves. "These tracks weren't made recently," he murmured to the others. "Days, maybe even weeks ago." "It's a sign of some kind of habitation, at least," Brigid observed. They began walking again, the trees offering something in the way of a windbreak. Grant continued to check their backtrack, a part of Magistrate training that was now ingrained, unconscious habit. The towering chimney was out of sight, concealed by the dip in the terrain and the woods. Within half a mile they reached a cracked and furrowed ribbon on an old blacktop road. The asphalt [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |