The colony. Chapter 19: Peter

- Well, there, Joe? - Peter has already asked this question for the third time in the last couple of hours. - How much is left?

Joe took a deep breath, rolled his eyes, and cursed softly.

“How he got me already,” he then whispered, turning either to Scott, who was sitting in the next chair, or to someone else, and then screamed at the whole salon: “What should I do for you to finally shut up?”
- Say that we are almost there.

Swearing again in an undertone, Joe began to turn slowly, to cast a heavy, furious look at Peter. Scott, sensing passions and fearing a skirmish, took the initiative in his hands:

- Peter, this rover has a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour, and we have almost two thousand to go, besides on a rough road ...
“I didn’t ask you,” Peter interrupted, lounging imposingly in the chair and taking a sip of water from the bottle.

Impressiveness in his image significantly diminished when Joe finally finished turning and looked at him point-blank, but Peter still stood his ground.

- What does he carry, Joe? What does the rough road, we are not going on a bike. Why can not we go to the maximum ...
- Shut up! - snapped Joe. - Lil case says, got it? We are going carefully, because at the maximum course we can not get anywhere at all - what is incomprehensible to you in this simple logical chain?
“I just want to get to the Port as soon as possible, that's all,” resentment and anger were heard in Peter’s voice.
- I, too, and so what? Will you order me to teleport there, or what do you want from me?

Peter did not answer. Joe turned back and looked at the monitors again. Having ascertained that all the readings were normal and the radar was still calm, he grunted:

- I was shaken with you to nurse, Peter. You act like a child, only here we are not playing toys. And put a bottle, so little water.

Peter silently tossed the bottle away. Scott frightened glanced at Joe, expecting him to rise from his seat and teach his violent comrade etiquette lessons in a particularly clear form. However, Joe just made a frustrated grimace and continued to monitor the instruments.

It might seem strange, but he has changed a lot over this day. The death of two comrades before his eyes in a certain way affected his psyche. No, he did not go mad at all - rather, on the contrary. Joe changed in the sense that he began to behave more intelligently and began to act on the team. Instead of, as before, press under him Scott, he tried to interact with him more and even listen to his opinion! Joe changed his behavior because it was necessary for survival. In the current situation, it was no longer necessary to show everyone how cool you are - now it had to be proved by deed.
However, purely for prevention, Joe barked at Scott as well:

- Why are you falling apart? Do not you see that it is already dark overboard?
“I see,” Scott replied, glancing at his watch. They showed 20:37. “I'm following everything, Joe.” It is too early to turn on the "nightie", there will be a bad contrast. For another half an hour, we can definitely go without it.

Joe wanted to find fault with something else, but he was silent - Scott did a good job with the duties of the co-pilot. For some time they rode in tense silence almost at maximum speed, but soon the rover had to be stopped. Looking out the window, Joe cursed loudly - a fallen sequoia blocked the way.

- Why did we stop? - almost in a panic asked Peter. - Why are we not going further?
“See for yourself,” Joe said dryly.

Peter moved closer and put his hands on the back of his chair, and then looked indifferently at the trunk of the tree and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

- Fallen tree? So what? Why don't we go round it?
- This is what we will do, but without haste. The navigator shows that there is a moorland here, and the tree is tall. We need to make sure that we do not get stuck in the quagmire while we go around it.
- Maybe just go, and all? - Peter nervously pounded the index finger of his right hand on the back of the chair. - We have pretty good running characteristics.
“No,” a note of irritation reappeared in Joe's voice. “What the hell happened to you?” We can't risk it, you understand? If we get stuck, our journey will definitely end.
“Joe is right,” said Scott, prompting Peter's angry look. However, in response, there was nothing to say.

Joe, meanwhile, got up from his seat, grabbed the machine gun from the counter and headed for the door.

“Scott, is radar on and working?”
- Yes sir. The wolves are not visible nearby.
“Great,” Joe opened the door. - I just need a little easier, and then all day on the way. Anyone else want?

Scott fidgeted in place.

“I would also like to,” he said.
- Peter?

The latter silently shook his head.

- I'd rather stay here. If the radar detects something, I'll let you know.

Joe nodded in agreement. Together with Scott, they went outside and spotted a low branching tree five meters away.

- How well does it go after how long you endure, eh? - Joe's mood rose in proportion to the degree of emptying his bladder.
“Yeah,” Scott smiled slightly. In fact, he endured for a very long time, but he was afraid to offer to stop. Extra stops were completely useless.
“It seems that from this side the swamp is already beginning,” Joe waved his hand toward the root of the fallen tree, which was located about thirty meters from the road. - It can even be seen from here. There we will not pass.

He turned and glanced in the other direction, but he failed to assess the condition of the soil on the other side of the road because of the dense bushes that were located along it. Joe scratched his head thoughtfully and wanted to say something when the rover unexpectedly darted off, picking up a small column of dust, turned off the road and disappeared into thick greenery.

- Your mother! - Joe yelled, chasing him. - Peter, so you!

Scott fell into a stupor, not understanding what was happening and what he needed to do. Judging by the noise of the foliage and the sound of breaking branches, the rover quickly moved away from them, but Joe continued to pursue him and did not lose hope to catch up with him. Scott felt a chill spread across his back, but still he could not move. Just a minute ago, he was almost completely safe, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, and now he was standing outside with his pants open and watching the rover retreating, who hijacked his companion who had gone mad. What is going on?

“Gather up, a rag!” He mentally shouted at himself and was about to set off after him, but then he stopped again, not having time to take a single step. He noticed a black dot on the road - on the side from which they came. This point grew bigger with every second, and with every second it became more and more like a huge and shaggy wolf that rushed straight at him!

The next moment, Scott discovered a hidden talent in himself - he didn’t even imagine that he could climb trees quite well. In a matter of seconds, he climbed to a fairly decent height, literally jumping from branch to branch, in parallel revealing also the ability to pull up and make exits by force.

Having settled on a rather thick branch about six meters above the ground, Scott allowed himself to distract himself for a moment and cast a quick glance at the road to assess the approximate distance to the predator. However, to his great surprise, the road was empty. Scott embraced the trunk of the tree with both hands and scratched his cheek against the hard bark, trying in parallel to suggest where the wolf had gone when he heard a dry crackling directly below him. Sensing a frequent heartbeat, he slowly lowered his eyes and nearly collapsed from fright - the wolf was already imposingly pacing at the base of the tree, as if inviting his victim to descend. Scott was afraid to even suggest how fast he moved in order to cover such an impressive distance in such a short time. But the next moment, Scott thought that, most likely, those “few seconds” that he needed to rise, actually stretched out for a slightly longer period, and he himself did not look so clever from the outside. Nevertheless, he was completely satisfied with the hidden possibilities of his body and even felt himself in relative safety.

- Do not wait until you wait, shit, I no-no tear! - He shouted and showed the middle finger to the wolf, but immediately regretted it - what if he perceived it as a provocation?

Having recovered a little, Scott finally forced himself to look away from the predator and looked at the road on the other side of the fallen trunk, subconsciously fearing to see the receding dust column, with which his hopes for survival would disappear. However, the road was empty, but for some reason Scott did not get any calmer. Rover was nowhere to be seen.

Scott looked down again, and how his surprise was when the wolf unexpectedly jumped and was at a height of two meters, and then continued climbing up. Scott went limp from horror, his eyes darkened, and he gripped the trunk of the tree more strongly so as not to fall - although there was no longer any sense in it.

“Or maybe it's just a bad dream? - Sounded in his head his own voice, which came from far away. “What if I take it and wake up?” I always did that when I dreamed of something terrible and everything was fine. ”

As he should, he swung his left hand and gave himself an invigorating slap. A ringing clap rang in his ears, which seemed to have spread to the whole district, and the next moment the pain came - so sharp and piercing that his eyes immediately cleared up, and Scott shouted that he had the strength.

The awareness of reality has returned - it was not possible to wake up and avoid death. However, it was too early to surrender, and Scott decided to climb even higher - as far as he was strong enough, and then fight off the predator with the heels of his massive work boots. But he did not have time to carry out his plan - his eyes fell on a man running along the road.

- Lil, your mother, let's get down! - shouted Joe. - Am I supposed to do everything myself ?!

Scott could not take a blank look from him. Could his second comrade fly off the coils? Doesn't he see a hefty black wolf climbing a tree and plotting to kill?

- Hello! Do you hear me at all? - Joe vigorously waved his hands, throwing a frequent look over his shoulder. An automatic machine was hanging on his shoulder, from the trunk of which a barely perceptible column of smoke was emerging.

Finally, Scott decided to look down. It seems Joe is not at all crazy, because there was no longer a wolf. More precisely, he was, but he was no longer dangerous, since he lay in a pool of dark red blood with a huge hole in his chest.

“Damn it, Joe, how did you show up on time!” - Scott immediately realized what had happened, and almost fell down again - this time from the overwhelming emotions. - I am with-tears!
“Come on,” Joe growled back, looking around and holding the machine gun at the ready.

Scott hung on the branch he was sitting on and waved his legs helplessly. After a few seconds, he finally managed to grope the next branch and lean on it, but panic suddenly seized him, and he gripped the trunk of the tree.

- D-jo?
- What? - he asked without turning around.
- I can not get down.

Joe slowly turned in his direction, and even from that distance one could see the rage in his eyes.

- Are you fucking serious? - He snapped. “I’ll shoot you right now if you don’t get down!”

Scott immediately understood the hint - he should have chosen between the fear of falling from a five-meter height and the fear of meeting face to face with an angry Joe. Without thinking twice, he again hung from the branch and continued on his way down, feeling more and more tired in his hands. Feeling another leg a foot and a half meters above ground, Scott began to carry weight on it, but suddenly his sole slipped and he began to lose his balance.

Screaming something unassembled and feeling an increasing roll, Scott began frantically waving his hands, as if trying to take off, or at least reduce the speed of the fall. The next moment, he hurt his shoulder on the ground and almost broke his temple on a stone, if not in time Joe’s substituted hand.

- Alive? - He asked dryly.

Scott nodded - his shoulder was beginning to buzz, but it seemed that all the bones were intact. Joe helped him to his feet.

“Let's go,” he said, holding his comrade under his arm. - We are in shit, if in brief.
- Where is the rover? - asked Scott.
- That's the thing. This jerk drowned him in a swamp.

Scott stopped in his tracks, and his eyes opened so much that they were ready to get out of orbit.

- In a c-sense? What does z-mean ...
- Shut up and follow me! - Joe was clearly on edge. - There is no time now to scratch.

Rover was stuck near the top of a fallen tree - Peter almost managed to drive around it. Seeing the vehicle, Scott breathed a sigh of relief - he took the words of Joe too literally, and his subconscious mind has already painted a pitiful picture of a rover drowning in a swamp. However, the situation still had a very bad temper - the rover was stuck in the viscous mud on the very thresholds.

- Where's Peter? - asked Scott.

Joe's eyes again lit up with anger, and he wanted to very successfully convert the name "Peter" into consonant indecent word, but at the last moment he restrained himself.

“In the cabin,” he threw dryly, rubbing his fist and glancing at the rover’s open door, and then continued more emotionally: “By God, Lil, I would have crushed his skull if it were not for the radar.” And then it dawned on me that you remained somewhere outside, and the wolf was already very close.
- C-thanks!
- Yeah. But if it were not for the radar, then I swear to you, I would do it! I already raised the butt over my head, another second - and nothing would stop me.

Scott smiled involuntarily - he had never seen Joe so excited and wordy before. It turns out that he, too, had his own feelings and fears, which seemed completely impossible. Joe noticed a smile on the lips of his friend, and his voice again became dry, devoid of emotions:

- Okay. Go better yourself take the trunk, at the same time, too, all this shit.

Scott decided to follow the advice and went to the rover, in parallel trying to assess the extent of the problem and listening to the radar. Silence reigned in the cabin of the rover, and it was good - it means there were no other predators nearby. Scott grabbed the handrail and put his head into the rover’s cabin when something pushed him from the inside.

- I'll kill you! - Peter's face twisted with anger looked creepy in the darkness of the cabin. Blood trickled down from the right temple and dripped onto the jumpsuit.

Scott fell back and the sore shoulder ached again. Peter walked out of the rover with an unsteady gait, began to look around, and then his eyes came across Joe.

“I'll kill you now, you bastard!” - In Joe's voice, one could hear surprise at the fact that his opponent was able to quickly get over the blow.

Peter did not take his eyes off his offender and stood still for a while, swaying slightly. After a few seconds, he finally looked down and ran the back of his right hand over his cheek, smearing the blood. Feeling the sick temple and making sure that the blood flowed out of his head, Peter looked up again and spat in the direction of Joe. His eyes expressed an extreme degree of resentment — not anger or even anger, but resentment — that’s how children look at their parents when they do not pay attention to their manipulations.

“You're so vain, Peter,” said Joe. - Very vain.

Peter smiled, and now his eyes expressed manic joy.

“No, Joe, you prevented me for nothing.” If it were not for you, I would have already been on my way to Port Demetrion to get out of this fucking planet.

Scott rose to his feet and walked a few steps away from him. He was looking at Peter's insane smile and could not understand whether he had not yet come round from the blow, or was really crazy. The second was very similar to the truth, because he behaved strangely before they stopped. He began to behave this way after the morning attack of the wolves.

Joe lowered his weapon, took a quick look at Scott and took a step forward. Peter continued to smile foolishly, but at the same time he began to slowly lower his right hand and pull her back. Joe raised the automatic again and aimed.

“Don't even think about it,” he said.

Peter slowly pulled something from his belt and raised both hands up. That something in his right hand turned out to be a gun.

“What are you saying, Joe?” He tried to speak calmly, but a trembling voice betrayed his excitement. - Lower the machine.
- Drop the gun.

For a few seconds, Peter stood motionless, and then slowly began to lower his right hand, showing with his appearance that he was going to bend down and put the gun on the ground. The smile left his lips, but the madness in his eyes remained. When his hand was at chest level, he suddenly tightened his grip on the gun and aimed at Scott.

- Remove the weapon! - Joe snapped, and Scott turned white with horror.
“Clean it up yourself,” this time Peter’s voice really seemed calm.

For a while silence reigned. Joe aimed at Peter, Peter aimed at Scott, and Scott did not aim at anyone and only fought with his inner panic. Being on the gun at the psychopath - not the most pleasant experience. And in general, being on the gun is rather unpleasant, well, unless the most charming person in the world is aiming at you.

“Think for yourself, Joe,” Peter broke the silence first. - What prevents us from continuing the journey?

Joe silently looked at him, not reducing sight. Of course, to continue the path they were hampered by the fact that the rover was stuck in the swamp on the very thresholds due to the fault of this idiot.

“Let's just get on the rover and go,” Peter continued, smiling slightly, then nodded his head toward Scott. - And this bastard will leave here at the mercy of the wolves.

Joe took a quick glance at Scott, as if he was pondering the proposal and wondering if he really needed one, but again he said nothing.

- Well? - Peter was waiting for an answer.
“D-jo,” Scott pleaded. - He's crazy!

Now the smile has played on Joe's lips. And the next moment he took the sight away from Peter and aimed at Scott.

“And what,” he said. - I do not think that the dwarf is useful to us.
“I knew you would make the right choice, Joe,” Peter lowered his gun too and took a step toward him.
“God, J-Joe,” Scott felt a lump roll to his throat. He wanted to say something else, but his quivering knees buckled and he burst into tears. Peter laughed dryly, and Joe followed suit.

Their laughter was suddenly interrupted by the loud and unpleasant sound of the radar, which warned of an approaching predator.

“And the wolf arrived,” said Peter, and looked at the imaginary clock on his left hand. - Very handy.
“Jump into the rover and get out of here,” Joe said, and headed for the door.
“Let this one feed the local fauna,” Peter joked, and himself laughed, relaxing his right hand behind his back and fixing the gun behind the belt.
- But he's stuck! - through tears screamed. - Devil's ro-rover got stuck! Ka-ak, will you leave on it?

Peter, without ceasing to laugh, turned on the spot and imposingly went towards the rover. He looked completely relaxed, even with the warning signals from the radar and the recent clash with Joe. There was no doubt that he was completely crazy. And Joe along with him, once took as a result of his side.

However, Scott was not going to give up just like that - he brushed away tears and rose from his knees. The forces of the parties were unequal, but, nevertheless, he would show them everything he was capable of — he should not have underestimated him. Scott did not yet know what he would do, but he had already decided that he would fight to the death - and let the strongest survive. Even if it is not he who is the strongest to spit it out!

He was already ready to pounce on Peter from the back, when a heavy hand suddenly fell on his shoulder, distracting from the heroic thoughts and nullifying the whole attitude. And the next moment, Joe turned him around and handed him a machine gun. Scott stiffened, not understanding what was going on. Joe quickly raised his index finger to his lips, urging his friend to keep quiet.

And the next moment, Joe himself jumped to Peter and shoved him hard in the back, snatching a gun from behind the belt. From the acceleration received, Peter awkwardly waved his hands and flew a few meters, but somehow miraculously kept himself on his feet and did not fall into a muddy puddle in which some worms were crawling.

“Oh, you're a nit,” Peter yelled, turning. - You betrayed me!

His face twisted in rage, and this time his look expressed only anger. There was no trace of a child's insult - it seemed that Peter would break off right now and pounce on Joe, even despite the gun in his hands. Peter's nostrils swelled, signaling an unprecedented level of anger.

However, Joe quickly took control of the situation, and the next moment the dirt beneath Peter’s feet boiled over from a clot of plasma.

“The next shot will evaporate your brain,” Joe raised his pistol and aimed his opponent at the head. He understood that there was less and less time - the wolf was already somewhere very close, and at any moment could attack any of them.
- Well, bring down! - screamed Peter and spat in their direction.
“Lil, in the rover,” Joe said shortly, not taking his eyes off Peter.

Scott did not have to repeat twice - he still didn’t understand what was going on, but, like, Joe wasn’t crazy at all and even tried to protect him. A moment later, he was standing on the steps.

“Joe, the wolf is somewhere nearby,” he squeezed out of himself, barely audibly.

Joe backed slowly toward the door, not taking aim at Peter.

- I'll get without you! - He could not calm down. - Do what you want!
- Well, Wali! “Joe was already standing on the steps, moving Scott. - What are you waiting for?
- You'll see, Joe, I'll get it! - Peter shouted the answer. - Unlike you, losers.

However, from a place he still did not move. He seemed to demand attention - he expected Joe to change his mind, come to him and apologize for his behavior. He couldn't just turn around and leave.

“Aha, Wali,” Joe threw and ducked into the rover's saloon.
- Joe! - Scott's voice made him wince. - The wolf is already very close! He is about to pounce on Peter!
- Here it is! - Joe quickly grabbed the gun from the gun stand and leaned out again.

The white point moved quickly on the radar, and Scott could not tear his gaze from her. A second later, he started and almost cried out with fright - he saw a huge brown carcass in the porthole. A wolf, in two steps, overtook Peter, who stood rooted to the spot and for some reason looked not at his death, but towards the rover, at Joe. A mysterious smile still played on his lips. “I'll get there anyway,” said his eyes.

The next moment, the wolf attacked him and dropped him on the ground like a toy. Having made sure that his prey was dead, the predator seized the body with its teeth and disappeared into the dense foliage of the shrub. Joe's shot never followed.

“Probably, it’s even better,” thought flashed through Scott’s head, and he immediately felt terrible for the mere fact of the existence of this thought. But Peter did pose a danger.