Хроники Аскета: Вторжение / The Ascet Chronicles: Invasion: Глава 2

Chapter 2

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 13:03

Early in the morning, as Daniel understood it, meant five o'clock, so I didn't get much sleep. However, the hike through the damp morning woods quickly dispelled the sleep. We had to walk only six kilometers. Tracks led us to a small ravine, in the depths of which we could see a cave about one and a half meters high. There were many clawed paw prints all around, and the bushes were crumpled and partially torn out as if something heavy had been dragged over them. We slowly approached. There was no sunlight inside the cave, but we could see that it went deep into the cave, slowly narrowing. I didn't want to go into that dangerous darkness - I was scared. I began quickly tying the rope to my belt, stubbornly suppressing the sticky voice inside me that insisted I not go, that I stay on the surface.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 16:36

"Listen carefully. I'll go inside now, and you pull the rope every couple of minutes. If I pull it back, it's okay; if I don't, start pulling. How long is the rope?"

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 16:47

"Twenty meters or so."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 16:47

"That should be enough. That's it, I'm going."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 16:48

It took some effort for me to take the first step. The entrance to the cave was covered by a sort of tape, as if an invisible spider's web enveloped my whole body for a moment. As I took another step, I broke through the veil.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 16:48

The inside of the cave was astounding. My senses seemed to be muffled, my vision was failing, even the flashlight did not allow me to see more than a couple of meters, my ears seemed to be blocked with absorbent cotton. My feeling of unity with the world around me, which I had felt in the summer forest, was gone completely. But the pressure of my surroundings was palpable. My hair stood on end and my skin tingled with the feeling of foreignness. Maybe it was claustrophobia, but I still felt strange currents flowing around me, the corridor was perceived with my whole body, and I could walk with my eyes closed without tripping. Objects took on dark halos-I knew that if I stared at one point for too long, my eyes would become watery and sore. My mouth was dry from what I saw, and my fingertips trembled nervously.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 16:58

The rope tightened, and I yanked back. Confused by the pounding sensation, I crawled forward in small steps. It was ten meters, then the ceiling dropped, and I had to kneel down. It was uncomfortable to move, but my curiosity overcame me, and the thought of going back to the far corner of my mind. Nothing dangerous seemed to be happening, and there were no sounds. I crawled forward with determination. There was a glowing dot, a landmark in the darkness. It caught my eye-a small golden twig lying on the floor, its pulsing light coming closer, and I thought there was a quiet melody coming from somewhere. A subtle, incredibly beautiful sound, not arising in my ears, but coming from deep within my mind. The sound enchanted me, beckoned me, and was as beautiful as the thin trunk that emitted the light. I could not take my eyes away: such a miracle would serve to prove my words better than anything else, I must take it. I must. I must!

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:01

A sharp tug dragged me away from the beautiful plant, and I pulled my spear to cut the rope. Involuntarily, my gaze flickered away from the light of the fragile wonder. On the ground lay the body of a man, half decomposed, my hands resting on the rotting flesh of his thighs. With a wild scream, I threw the spear away, and ran back down the corridor. I don't know how I didn't get tangled up in the rope or hurt myself.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:02

I only came to my senses when I got out of the ravine. Daniel was standing beside me, looking at my face with horror, clutching the rope, the other end of which was still tied to my belt. My jaw shook and my lips trembled from the shock, and it took about five minutes before my tongue obeyed and I managed to speak. At first, all I could do was swear.

I explained when I felt a little better:

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:03

"There's a dead man downstairs. One, I think."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:03

Daniel swallowed nervously. He hadn't expected such a result from our trip.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:04

"There's also some crap in there that hypnotized me. It's about time you pulled the rope."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:05

We sat down next to each other and were silent for a long time.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:05

"What do we do now?" the guy finally asked.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:05

"What to do? You stay in the hut, and I'll go to Nizhneivanovsk and write a statement to the police - let them come and investigate. I'm not going in there a second time."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:06

It took me a couple of days to get to Nizhneivanovsk. Of course, I could have filed a report at any local police station, but they probably wouldn't believe my story - the police don't deal with mutants, hypnotizing plants, and other alien creatures. They would most likely take a statement, but first, they would call in the strong guys in white coats. It is better to go directly to the police department. If they reject me there, I will go to the FSB.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:08

I arrived in town in the evening, called Katya to inquire about the search, and learned that the remains of my friends had been flown home to Peter yesterday, the funeral was today. Rescuers dug out the rubble, and in a distant cave found the bodies of the entire group. I could not be contacted by cell phone: the connection did not work. The news knocked me down, I smoked for the second time in my life and I wanted to get drunk. As I said before, I had always had few friends - it turns out that now there are none left at all. I didn't think that at the age of thirty I would be all alone. I didn't manage to fall asleep until just before dawn, not for long.
T.N.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:09

A lousy mood ruined my morning. Nothing pleased me - not waking up in a soft bed instead of on the hard ground, not breakfast prepared by a professional cook, not a meal without mosquitoes floating in my plate. A strong desire arose to ignore the story that had happened to me and return to Peter. I managed to suppress the urge, but a sense of doom remained. I returned to my room and was about to leave, when there was a knock on the door. When I opened the door, I saw two big guys in plain clothes, who presented me with open badges:

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:10

"Victor Andreevich Korobov?"

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:10

"Yes, that's me."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:10

"Federal Security Service, Lieutenant Kovalev. My colleague Lieutenant Petrov. We'd like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:11

"Come in."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:10

I sat down on the edge of the table, pointing the unexpected guests to the stools:

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:11

"Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting guests. Especially from your organization. To what do I owe the visit?"

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:12

Both guests looked more like dressed-up commandos than intellectuals from the FSB. They were tall, well-built, both moved smoothly and at ease, their haircuts were short, Kovalev was dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt, the other was wearing a light-colored summer suit. What was disturbing was that there was a barely perceptible emanation coming from Petrov, similar in feel to the atmosphere of the creatures' lair. He was certainly human, but it felt as if he had been in contact with phenomena of the same nature for a long time and had been "soaked" in them.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:13

"About a week ago you went camping with local hunter Alexander Ivanov, who was later mauled by a wolf. It has come to our attention that after that you returned to the place of his death. We are investigating a case that may be related to this incident. Could you tell us how and where it happened? Maybe something seemed strange to you?"

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:14

It seems that my visit to the police is canceled. So my favorite authorities know something about the cave or the creatures that come out of it.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:15

"Well, I suppose you've read my testimony on that, filed in the case file. It's all true, except for one thing. Sasha wasn't killed by a wolf, but by a creature unknown to me, whose body decomposed after death. I had nothing to show the police, so I lied."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:15

"Did you say after death?" Kovalev asked again.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:16

"Yes, I killed that creature."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:16

"What did it look like?"

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:17

"It was as big as my thigh, its front paws shorter than its hind paws, a wide muzzle with horns on its nose, blind, soft silky fur. It was silent during the fight."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:19

There was a heavy silence. The visitors looked at each other incredulously, and the words I'd heard caused some kind of strange reaction. They seemed less surprised by the description of the strange creature than by the fact that I managed to kill it. So they'd met them before, knew their capabilities.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:20

I analyzed my internal state with interest. The thing is that contact with people has always caused me great difficulties: to speak normally with representatives of state institutions - policemen, doctors, tax officials, etc. I could not, I mumbled, stuttered, got mixed up in words. Now I did not feel any excitement. I think there was a change in priorities. Having been in a life-threatening situation, a person unwittingly begins to assess those around him or her completely differently.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:21

"I'm sorry, are you sure you're not imagining things? Your description is somehow..."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:21

"I am sure."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:21

"Please tell me again - where exactly did this happen?"

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:22

"At our camp site. Didn't you read the report?"

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:32

The couple looked at each other again, and apparently came to some sort of tacit agreement. Kovalev nodded slowly, and his partner spoke.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:33

"Look, you understand that such animals do not exist. They can't exist." Petrov spoke in a quiet, soft voice. "Look, you have walked for a long time, you were tired, it was dark, you wanted to sleep, your eyelids were closing by themselves, you were lying in a completely relaxed state, your arms and legs didn't want to move..."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:34

The voice lulled me, made me relax, made me want to close my eyes and lie down for a nap, do nothing... I slammed my palm against the edge of the table. He was hypnotizing me! If I had not recently experienced something like this, I would now be in the full power of strangers, and no one knows what they would do to me! I don't know who these two men are, but they are clearly not who they say they are.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:34

Events were moving quickly, and there was no time for reflection. Seeing that the hypnosis had not worked, Petrov cried out warningly, and his partner jumped up sharply, extending his arm in my direction. From an awkward blow, Kovalev blocked, but I managed to jump over the table and jump up on the window sill. The second floor was nothing, a jump and I was already running away, getting lost among the houses: I knew the surroundings of the hotel well. Run, run faster, somehow I'll get to the swamp: I have to warn Daniel - him first. Then I will decide who these people are and what to do next, but now - to the swamp. It's a pity I couldn't take the things I prepared... However, I have money: it will help me to get to any place.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:36

A hundred meters before I reached the hut, I sensed something wrong. The feeling was not that of otherworldly creatures - I was good at detecting their presence, but rather that of a vague presence, like a look in my back. I could turn back, but what good would that do? Until I knew what I was up against this time, running was pointless. Especially since there was no sense of hostility, but rather a slight sympathy and irony: hello, little dove.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:38

I looked out of the bushes and saw the helicopter standing in the meadow. It was impossible not to admire the skill of the pilot, who had managed to place the machine on a tiny spot near Daniel's hut. The pilot himself was lying in the shade near the landing gear and, apparently, was sleeping. Inside the hut, voices were heard, and Dani's young voice was distinguishable, while the other was answering him something. There was a polite cough behind me.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:38

"Why are you, Victor Andreevich, peeking out of the bushes like a thief? Are you plotting against us, three orphans, who flew to this beautiful place for purely cognitive purposes? An honest man doesn't hide from his guests, you know."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:39

Behind me stood a bulky man. A man of about forty, six feet tall, dressed in a camouflage uniform, he looked so imposing that the idea of resistance immediately disappeared before it had a chance to form. I cautiously glanced around... The interlocutor reacted immediately:

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:40

"It's not worth it, Victor Andreyevich, it's not worth it. We won't do you any harm, and you can't run away from us, and there's no need to. Let's just talk: we have a couple of questions, and that's it, you can go on your way. Let's go to the hut; the major is talking to your friend there."

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:41

As I moved, I confirmed my decision not to resist. The man moved easily, gliding over the ground like a cat while keeping an eye on me. Any attempt to escape was doomed in advance to failure. I'd have to wait until the guy was out of sight. He had a strange face. I would recognize him when I met him, but I couldn't remember him at all.

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:42

Near the extinguished hearth sat two men: my acquaintance Daniel, with his back to the entrance, and another man in a camouflage uniform with the shoulder straps of a major. He looked up at me with calm eyes and smiled:

Camrad_RIP 07.02.22 в 17:42