I set off toward the dust billowing behind the tank. Vera trudged along after me.
Half an hour later my strength gave out; walking turned into agony. My feet sank into the sand up to the ankle. Moving them took the effort of climbing a staircase, and by the hundred-and-fiftieth floor both legs, left and right, had turned into one solid blister.
What was I walking for? Where to?
I’d like to know what waited beyond that distant line, past the horizon, and why I had to suffer this much for it…
Around the two-hundredth floor I collapsed onto the sand:
— That’s it. Done.
— Hey, what are you doing? Get up, — Vera pulled at my arm.
— Leave me alone.
— You said it yourself, there’s water there. They’ll save us there.
— Shut up. No strength to argue. Get lost.
Vera was definitely getting in the way of relaxing and letting go. I swung my arm and caught her in the soft of her belly. The answer came instantly. A hail of slaps massaged my face and chest.
— What’s wrong with you? Lost your mind?!
— Get up, idiot. Let’s go.
The slaps woke me up, got me on my feet… one step, a second, a third.
— That’s it, come on, — Vera cheered me on, holding my arm. — Keep going.
It’s nice, having someone beside you, whispering encouragement. But when there’s no strength left… I collapsed onto the sand.
— Idiot! — Vera swore and walked off.
«Yeah, I’m an idiot. But at least I’m lying down and not suffering,» flashed through my head.
I rolled onto my back. Nothing up there had changed. A red sky, brown little clouds, and a motionless crystal high above. I wanted to drink. My throat was parched, scratchy. A wave of fire rolled down my gullet. God, how unpleasant it is, dying of thirst.
