all strange,” Vlad spoke first. – Do you remember what was written in the contract that we signed for participation?
“Mmmm,” Lily thought, rolling her eyes. “Something about us being responsible for dangerous situations, the winner gets a cash prize, some tests and medical intervention at the discretion of the doctors.” She unconsciously touched the chip on her neck.
– I tried to pull it out, but it was implanted, – Vlad intercepted the glance of a classmate. – I don’t understand anything. And what is the purpose? Do we have to go somewhere?
– It seems like we ourselves have to find out the collection point, – the girl recalled. “Nothing was actually written. Nothing has been written about the venue or dates. Where do you think we are?
– Maybe some area. These confuse me, – he pointed at another sign of radiation danger. Maybe they are fake?
– How to check? she shrugged. – If at least there was a dosimeter or clarification of the location.
– Didn’t you pay attention? In some places the inscription is in Ukrainian.
“But it could be a fake,” Lilia remarked reasonably. – Styling type. More interested in what kind of chips and why those injections were made. Did they all make them? Where are the others then?
“Everyone,” Vlad confirmed. We will address issues as they come up. Nothing else remains.
Conversations distracted, forced fear to recede. It started to rain. The clouds crept across the sky quickly, it became difficult to walk along the muddy road, the sneakers got wet, squelching with every step. Now the road is already dark, and the rain is still pouring. Water on the face turns into a real mirror. You see your deathly pale skin, you see the shadow that someone talked about before. The world trembles around you, like the floor under your feet: nothing happens in it, but your world has changed now. He is not the same – not the same as he was in your memory.
“Uh-huh,” she nodded sadly and asked softly. – Why did you apply?
– There were reasons.
Suddenly, barely noticeable reddish lights flashed among the trees, the smoke grew closer, and the smell of burning intensified. The black trees seemed to move closer to a small clearing beside the road. Through the noise of the wind, the clang of iron crowbar was heard, coming from the opposite side. Near the lights was a long log wall, built of thick logs. It blew rotten, the walls smelled disgustingly like a swamp. A minute later, the fire stopped, a tremor went through the wall, and deep and winding cracks appeared on it.
In the distance, wolves suddenly howled. Lily cringed. Her eyes met Vlad’s eyes for a moment, and he read in them… It’s hard to say what exactly. Carefully moving forward, they finally saw the source of light – a minibus with the Ouroboros emblem was on fire. The huge emblem was written on a black enamel background in purple spirals and white lettering, stretched almost invisible in a flickering electric light. Several people stood in front of the burning minibus, two more lay in dark uniforms, showing no signs of life.
– Chapter 4-
Without hope
The second hour Denis spent in the company of an excellent student Irina and beauty Maria. They woke up while still in the car, when they were being driven somewhere along the road by two armed officers with the Ouroboros emblem.
– Where are you taking us? – Masha was indignant, hysterically hitting the partition separating the driver and employee from schoolchildren with an expensive bag.
– Open! Release us! Irina demanded, but languidly, more pretending to support the “noble” impulse, sitting on the seat and rubbing her neck, in the area of \u200b\u200bthe strange round chip.
Denis sat up, feeling his whole body numb from the uncomfortable lying. My head ached, and my stomach rumbled hoarsely, demanding food. Nearby lay three small bags with the emblem.
– Where are we going? Will we be fed? – the guy clarified, which attracted the attention of the girls.
– Are you thinking about the zhrachka again? You need to lose weight! – Maria threw angrily and again continued to drum on the partition.
– Exactly, fat, – Irina supported, throwing a contemptuous glance at her classmate. – It would be better if you studied like that, otherwise your brains are already swollen. Do you not mind yourself?
A small window in the partition parted, and the menacing voice of the driver said:
– Shut up.
– But the fact that? Do you even know who you’re dealing with, who is my father? Maria did not calm down. Grabbing a lying bottle, the girl unscrewed the cap and splashed water in the face of the driver by force.
– What are you doing? The officer turned around angrily, looking away from the road for a few moments. This became the deciding factor. The moose appeared out of nowhere, a second and he had already flown into the windshield. The steering wheel jerked to the side, and the car crashed into a tree on the side of the road.
The silence was deafening. As if nothing had happened, the moose slid off the hood and limped into the woods. Denis watched the car smoke and slowly turned his head to the side, feeling something sticky on his temple. Touching the skin, he realized that he had cut the skin on his forehead, near the hair, hitting during the accident.
– We’re on fire! – Ira screamed in a panic, the first on wobbly legs rushed to the door. Unsuccessfully pulling the handle, the girl tried to get out, feeling how terrible the smell of burning fills the minibus.
– Fat, why are you sitting! Maria roughly pushed the guy. – Help!
Denis slowly approached the door and, leaning with his whole body, tried to open it. The shutter reluctantly moved aside, letting the schoolchildren out into the street. Leaving the girls ahead, the guy looked back at the backpacks and, thinking, threw them out of the car. Leaving the salon, Denis pulled two employees out of the already burning minibus, but the men showed no signs of life. Black uniforms, face masks, body armor…
And now they were sitting on a log and could not decide what to do next. For cursing, they did not notice how dark it was and the sense to go somewhere was completely gone. Masha froze in her short skirt and increasingly approached the burning car. Ira, leaning her shoulder against a tree, dozed quietly, feeling weak.
Denis studied the contents of the backpacks and there was not a lot. Three canteens of water, a knife, a tactical flashlight, two dry rations and hydrogen peroxide.
– Can we eat? – the guy suggested, but under the contemptuous glances of the girls he stopped short.
– Fat! Fat! You need to lose weight! You’re eating again!
These taunts were constant. Every day, several times. He was embarrassed to eat in the school canteen, but the feeling of hunger rose, forcing him to go and get his portion. In addition, I always took a few buns. At the common table there were always those who mocked, talked about a diet or a hunger strike. School has become torture. Nobody wanted to communicate with Denis – he is fat. He’s dumb because he’s fat. He’s boring because he’s fat. Adolescents can be cruel, putting up labels and not realizing that they hurt the feelings of others.
Returning home to his mother and grandmother, the boy was immediately fed. Grandmother loved to cook a lot and made it delicious, but she didn’t let go of the table until the plate was empty. It started from childhood, when Denis was forcibly forced to eat, not letting go for a walk, because adults know better what a growing body needs. Yes, and at home they never talked about being overweight, everything was prepared useful, from which, supposedly, it was impossible to get fat. So imperceptibly, Denis gained and gained until he approached a hundred kilograms, but his relatives did not see any problems, because the transitional age, and