Ойкумена / Oikumena: Глава 2

Chapter 2. «Riadag»

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 17:35

* * *

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 17:35

It was painful. Not bad, but just "pulling," like after a good (or even immoderate) workout, when muscles and ligaments are well loaded so that they are sure to remind me of themselves the next day. Or, as in the course of the flu, when the pain settles in the joints, and you try not to cough because the unpleasant wave of pain spreads throughout the body.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 17:55

"Oh," Elena said.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 17:55

Or rather, she wanted to say that because all that came out of her throat was a hoarse hiss. She was thirsty. Very thirsty.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 17:57

She was lying flat on her back, something soft under her back, but not like a mattress. And it was wet, enough to make her jacket wet. The sun was shining in her right eye, but her left one was blind. Lena blinked. She cried out louder because her parched throat stubbornly refused to let any sound pass through it. A belated cramp went through her body, her head bobbed, and her left eye was clear. It was just covered by a leaf that had flown away from the jolt.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 17:58

"Uh-oh..." the girl exhaled, sitting up. It was surprisingly easy, but the sudden movement made her head fuzzy, her eyes blacken, and Lena tumbled back down. Soft and damp smacked the back of her head. A thought flashed, natural and stupid at the same time // my God, what will happen to her hair now... The second time the girl sat down more carefully so the movement from horizontal to partially vertical position went smoothly. Well ... relatively calm. Because, reasoning sensibly, everything was wrong and abnormal.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:00

First of all, Elena made sure she wasn't a ghost. She got to her unsteady feet, staggering and looking around with a frantic look. It was as if an invisible counter was clicking in her head, flipping her knuckles, counting out wild, incongruous things.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:01

Day. Not night, as it should have been. The sun... the wrong sun. It was high enough, almost at the zenith, but the light was like before sunset. And there was not a single cloud in the sky, dull and unexpressive, as when photographing with a neutral gray filter.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:02

Fall...? Fall?!

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:02

Lena was thrown into a hollow whose high edges blocked the view, but even a cursory glance was enough to see that the thick layer of decayed leaves and the withered grass, twisting in long hard coils like barbed wire, did not correspond to the end of May. It was definitely fall here. Wherever this "here" was located.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:03

"God..." muttered Lena, just to do something.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:03

The simplest explanation was that some force had taken her and transported her... somewhere. In a fantastic or magical way. So "here" is fall, the sun is inhuman, and the sky is abnormal.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:06

Only there are no miracles. And people don't transport themselves to God knows where.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:06

It doesn't just happen that way.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:15

It doesn't happen...

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:16

Tears welled up in her eyes, and a sour lump came to her throat. Lena felt a wave of hot trembling come over her heart, and panic overwhelmed her already slightly clouded mind. Her fingers trembled uncontrollably, clutching together like a bird's paws. But the far corner of her mind remained calm, cold, calculating. Like a staff officer, the only one who keeps his composure in the chaos of defeat. And that corner whispered in the voice of the late Grandfather:

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:17

//It's hysterical. It's going to kill you.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:17

Lena sank to her knees, or rather collapsed, bumping painfully even through the stale carpet. On a hunch, she grasped the sleeve with her teeth, stifling the howl that burst from her chest, so much so that she clamped her skin even through the tight denim. The howl of animal terror was howling through the fabric, burning her hand, and it seemed endless. But finally, the air supply in her chest ran out, and the girl inhaled deeply, sobbing and dropping tears.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:20

She felt better. Just a little, but better. Everything hurt now, including her bruised knees, her bitten forearm, and her eyes, which felt like they were being pumped from inside by a bicycle pump. But at least the desire to howl in deathly hopeless longing, smashing her head to the ground, was slowly creeping away, coiling up like the rings of a deadly snake.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:21

Strangely enough, the screaming went on, pounding in her ears and the painful vibration in her eardrums. Lena shook her head. She ran her fingers over her temples, still trembling, but the scream was still in her head. And then the girl realized it wasn't her voice. Quite nearby, someone was being beaten. Or, more likely, being brutally murdered.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:22

Lena had never seen a man die. Even Grandfather passed away quietly in his sleep. But her heightened senses, her ancient instincts, told her that only someone who sees his death with his own eyes could scream so terribly, so desperately. The scream was cut short. It faded quickly, dissolving into the heavy air, saturated with fear and uncertainty. Now Elena could distinguish other sounds, which multiplied like an avalanche. Either it wasn't just the sun that was wrong here, or ... someone had just stopped being careful. Or some other miracle had happened.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:23

There was a thud, a muffled, chugging sound, but with a solid note at the same time. Her memory told her at once. In the movies, horses stepped over like that. Not on the move but shuffling from foot to foot or hoof to hoof. The crackling of wood, as if something was being broken, rather diligently. A cry, soft and monotone, as if a hungry and battered puppy. It sounded more like a child's sobbing than anything else.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:27

Now Elena was really scared. Sincerely, to the most hidden corners of her soul. Because children don't cry like that. A child's voice doesn't have that hopeless, wistful doom. And the fact that the girl could not see what was happening, perceiving only in sound, everything seemed even more eerie.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:27

It wasn't just the sound, though. A heavy smell floated on the waves of the light breeze. The hollow was too leeward of the screaming and crying, people. That was good because it made it harder to smell the girl sheltering inside. And it was bad because the smell was unpleasant. It wasn't unpleasant, but... it didn't smell good, it didn't smell good at all. It was the way a kitchen smelled on a hot day when a lot of meat was about to be cooked.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:29

From somewhere, Elena realized it was the smell of blood that spilled abundantly and recently.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:30

//Quietly, again the subconscious whispered the voice of the Grandfather.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:30

//Lie very quietly.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:33

The old man used to call her Mouse as a child. And like a little mouse, Lena curled up in the rotted leaves, wishing she could just burrow into the ground like a real field rodent.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:33

And outside, it hit hard and heavy, like a cleaver hitting a chopping block. After a brief pause, there was a clang, a creaking sound, as if a knife had been used on a large sharpening stone. Voices began to be heard. Close, very close. Or not so close...

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:39

It was only now that Elena noticed how quiet the neighborhood was. There was none of the noise that usually haunts human beings wherever they go. Complete silence, with only the occasional breeze rustling the grasses. And that made every sound resound far away, gliding over the gray earth.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:40

"Far a bheil i?" A deep male voice asked demandingly.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:40

The girl heard no answer, only soft mumbling interspersed with muffled sobs. It was as if someone was answering quickly, hurriedly, trying not to anger the interrogator.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:41

"Riadag," the voice said. Almost calmly. Confident, but with a touch of irritation. As if the man was visibly angry but in control.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:41

"Riadag?!" repeated the invisible man, louder and more demanding.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:42

Now he was being answered in two voices, by another man and another woman, louder and more tearful. And Lena did not understand a word. That's what happens when you listen to a recording of a song in a language you don't know very well - some syllables and even words seem familiar, especially since the phonetics were distinctly Romano-Germanic. But it just didn't add up to comprehensible speech.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:42

"Freagairt villain!" A new member entered the conversation. This one was angry, too, but he wasn't going to hide or restrain himself. The sound of blows rang out over the gray grass. There was another clang, a hard thud, and the woman howled hysterically. Surprisingly, she managed to squeeze out a long enough and almost intelligible phrase:

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:43

"Chan eil fios agam, chan eil fhios air rud sam bith!"

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:43

The interrogators were silent.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:44

"Tha i 'eil an so. Bha sinn ceàrr," said another invisible man. Judging by his tone, he led with an unpleasant summation. It seems even with a heavy sigh.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:44

"Far a bheil Riadag?" said a deep, strong voice, but without much hope, just fulfilling the convention. Elena understood that, and so did those to whom the man was addressing. They shouted in three or four voices at once. The girl curled into a ball and clamped her ears around her head. It helped; she heard almost nothing. Only the smell became even heavier. Even more intense. And the word that had been repeated most often was pounding in her head.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:45

//Riadag

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:46

For some reason, there seemed to be a special meaning hidden in it. It was like looking through a plate of ice - the contours of objects were familiar, but you couldn't see them exactly. You had to wait for the ice to melt for the plate to thin.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:52

Forgetfulness overtook Elena. Something between fainting and trance. A borderline state between sleep and reality, where minutes raced by without counting.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:52

How long she had been like that, the girl could not say. Even if she had put a watch strap on her hand before she walked, she still wouldn't have thought to time it. Long, in a word. Or maybe not. Time loves to deceive. It rushes at a gallop or waddles the old nag. In general, it seemed to the girl that she had been lying curled up for many hours. And the sun seemed, in fact, to have rolled quite far across the gray sky.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:54

She listened. Nothing. Quickly, but trying not to make any noise at all. She checked the pockets of my jacket and old hiking pants. Nothing at all... a wallet, a couple of paper clips, a scattering of coins, a half-empty pack of chewing gum. And that was it, not even a phone. It seemed unnecessary to take it on a quick raid for milk. No penknife, not even a pen. It was all there, including a flashlight, a multi-tool, and a few other very useful things. But in an old, twice darned "Wenger" backpack with the dividers cut out and another jacket for going out on the town. The staple could be bent to make a wire stud, but the thought reeked of such hopelessness that Lena gave it up.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:57

Here, in the hollow, it was relatively quiet and almost safe. Just lie there until someone walked or drives by. Or until it would somehow end on its own. It had to end, didn't it? Clenching her teeth, Elena looked outside, a tangle of hair falling over her eyes, blocking her view. How many hours without a comb? On the ground and God knows where else before... She had absolutely no recollection of what had happened between the flash of darkness and the minute Lena had "appeared". somewhere.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 18:59

She brushed away the tangled reddish hair with the palm of her hand. She wished, fleetingly, that she'd cut her hair short. Then at least there would be at least one less problem now because there was no comb in her pockets, either. A random and very "homely" thought paradoxically calmed her down. Lena looked around, huddled on the ground, peering out of the hollow like a soldier out of a trench, feeling the damp and slightly warm carpet of dead leaves and loose earth under her palms.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 19:01

The Wasteland. A gray wasteland under the dim sun, which was now really sunset, descended across the gray sky. A plain as far as the horizon, covered with patches of low vegetation, like an old man's head with tufts of hair. It resembled savannah more than anything else but with more traditional flora. The air was dry and warm. But the ground was fall damp, though also oddly uneven in patches. Here and there, granite-like stone "tongues" emerged on the surface, rising somewhere up to the knee or even higher. Dolmens? Or what do you call them...

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 19:03

There are trees, but not many, and they are also gray, which, just by their appearance, brings thoughts of a long illness. They are crooked, with long and thin branches that look more like bony fingers. She did not want to stand under such, pardon God, "crone". The species of trees were not immediately identifiable. Not oaks, not poplars, nothing with distinctive leaves that a city person would recognize immediately. They looked like willows but were mutilated by unnatural selection. Such only in the adaptation of "Sleepy Hollow" to be filmed.

Camrad_RIP 20.05.23 в 19:04