“Future generations will survive no matter what happens today,” Morris said easily.
“That’s not the point. It’s what they’ll survive in that—”
“Lady, I work hard for my money.. I do a lot of things I’d rather not do for it, if I had my druthers. Now, it seems, I do. Don’t lecture me. I’m not in the mood.”
“You mustn’t do this.”
229
WITH FMENDS LIKE THESE . .. “Get out of my way, old woman,” rumbled Ari
warningly.
“Katie, get out of his way,” Caitland said quietly.
“It’ll be all right, you’ll see.”
She glared at him, azure eyes wild, tears starting. “These are subhumans, John. You can’t talk to them, you can’t reason with them. Don’t you understand? They don’t think like normal human beings, they haven’t the same emotions. Their needs spring from
vile depths that—”
“Warned you,” Ari husked. A massive hand hit her on the side of the head. The thin body slammed into the doorsill, head meeting wood loudly, and crumpled soundlessly to the floor. Ari stepped over one bent withered leg and reached for the handle. Caitland broke his neck.
There was no screaming, no yells, no sounds except for the barely articulate inhuman growl that might have come from Caitland’s throat. Hashin’s gun turned a section of the wall where Caitland had just stood into smoking charcoal. As he spun, he threw the huge corpse of the dead Ari at the gunman.
It hit with terrible force, broke his jaw and nose. Splinters from the shattered nose bone pierced the brain. Morris had a high-powered projectile weapon. He put four of the tiny missiles into Caitland’s body before the giant beat him into permanent silence.