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Автор Дэвид Линн Гоулмон

Gus was just about to lie back down when Mahjtic sat bolt upright in the bed and began screaming, kicking the covers free of his small body. He pushed himself into a sitting position and stared wide-eyed at the far wall of the shack. Gus’s heart raced as he saw the terror that filled those large, obsidian eyes. He jumped when the front door opened and two men came into the one-room house with nine-millimeter automatics drawn. They looked around and saw that all was still except for the otherworldly screeching of the small being they were there to protect. They looked about as if they had no idea what to do. The first plainclothes soldier reached for the light switch.

“No!” Gus hissed. “No lights. He’s dreaming. He’s still asleep. ” The old man tossed his own covers away and eased out of his much larger bed. The two security men watched as Gus lowered his eighty-four-year-old frame next to the small bed and took the creature’s hand. They all noticed that the cowboy-and-Indian pajamas that Matchstick wore were soaked through with the tiny being’s perspiration. “Hey, old boy, wake up,” Gus said as he gently patted Mahjtic’s small, long-fingered hand. “You’re having a doozy of a nightmare. ”

Matchstick was shaking and his eyes were still focused on the far wall, or on something far beyond it that the men couldn’t see. Outside the shack’s thin walls the winter wind blew cold against the aged wood and made a moaning sound that didn’t add any comfort to the strange situation.

“Hey, big fella, now you come on and wake up. You’re scarin’ old Gus. ”

Mahjtic blinked and then screamed once more. It was a piercing sound and something that Gus hadn’t heard since 2006. Mahjtic was terrified.

“Oh, shit,” the tallest of the security men said. “Should I get a call into Director Compton?” he asked Gus.

Gus ignored the question, instead placing an age-spotted hand against the soft green skin of the alien’s cheek.

“Come on, old boy. Come back to Gus, I ain’t goin’ to let nothing get ya. ”

Finally Mahjtic blinked. A large tear rolled from his right eye and soaked quickly into the yellow pajama top. He blinked again and then his eyes opened wide and settled on Gus’s craggy face.

“There ya go, son. Gus is here. ”

The eyes of the small creature drooped as they took in his friend’s features. He placed its hand over the old man’s.

“They come, Gus. ”

The old man’s heart froze in his chest. He knew exactly who “they” were. He closed his eyes and nodded his head. “I thought it had something to do with those bastards. ”

“The Moon. ”

Gus opened his eyes and saw that Matchstick was again staring off into space. “What’s that?”

“The Moon. ”

Gus turned toward the man who had spoken earlier. “Get on the radio and get Director Compton out here. Tell him to hurry. ”

The two men quickly left the shack and disappeared into one of the six trailers that circled the two houses.

“Now, tell me what’s so important about the Moon, and then we’ll talk about those other fellas that are coming. ”

Mahjtic moved his eyes and looked at Gus once more. The shaking had stopped and in the dim glow of the Mickey Mouse night-light Gus could see Mahjtic trying to focus.