Напряжение / Voltage: Глава 13

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Camrad_RIP 13.03.23 в 10:34

Pillars and trees flashed by, and the windows of houses winked at bends, but I couldn't find that one familiar road in the maze of forks and junctions. The city was so big, and the streets so deserted, that I soon felt a quiet longing inside. The music had long ago ceased, ending with a song about a son who could not wait for his mother, which made me feel very sad. So I drove in silence, to the sound of sirens somewhere in the distance, wondering if I should catch up with the other cars to ask for directions. Until he came upon a man who was wheeling something like a backpack but on two wheels, clinging to a tall handle. The man's coat was dirty, his tights shabby, he was very old, and he looked frightened and covered his eyes with his hand. But he was an adult, and surely he could know the way.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:06

"Hello, do you know how to get to the Upper Novgorod boarding school?" I moved to the window near the right-hand seat.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:07

"I know," he answered, showing a very toothless mouth, and froze wary as if preparing to run.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:08

"Can you tell me the way?" I burst into a blaze of joy.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:09

"Straight to the fork, then along Lermontova, then off to Justice Avenue and on to the highway," Granddad mumbled uncertainly.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:09

"Eh," I said sadly, trying to imagine what was a difference of Lermontov Street form others. "Why don't you come with me, eh?"

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:12

"I can," he agreed to my delight, "but only as far as the highway."

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:12

"Sit down!" I fidgeted in my seat, pulling the hare onto my lap and freeing the seat. "Don't go back. There are bears out there!"

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:13

The man crouched very carefully on the seat and slung the rucksack over himself, peering out from behind it with his neck outstretched ridiculously. He didn't smell much, but as soon as we started moving, the smell wafted in through the ajar windows.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:14

"Now, around that corner," the old man said, as I turned onto the very track adorned with the so familiar 'Upper Novgorod' sign - my heart was pounding! "Leave me here."

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:26

I carefully slowed down beside a concrete pad with a concrete box and a sign with a T on it.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:26

"Where should I go next?" I was a little worried, peering into the lamp lighted line of the road.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:31

"First right and straight ahead. There'll be a fork. Cemetery on the left, cardboard factory on the right, and boarding school on the right. You go right."

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:32

Grandpa let the rucksack go ahead of him, rested it on the ground, and left the car.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:33

"Thank you," I thanked him sincerely, then fidgeted, pulling a present out of my pocket. "Here, take it!" I handed him the jaw of the failed kidnapper.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:34

Grandpa needs it more.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:34

"Thank you," he took in the yellowish metal of the teeth in a bewildered way, weighed it in his hand in surprise, and, looking around cautiously, inserted it into his mouth. "Farewell!" A yellow smile shone on his face.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:35

There are good people, after all.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:46

Soon the familiar outline of the boarding house came into view, with the high fence and the clumsy building behind it sleeping under a bright starry sky. Of all the windows, there was only a vertical row of stairs, and the lamp above the entrance flickered from the midges circling it.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:47

I did not drive up to the fence, stopping a couple of hundred meters away. It was time to say goodbye: to the car and the stars. Alas, I had no idea where to put the bears. Maybe I should have left them with the policeman to catch criminals, but that good idea came later, and I couldn't go back. I got lost in the streets.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:48

The power flowed back into my hands, and with it, the line of stars flowed brightly to my right and left open palms. The stars shone even brighter here outside the city, which meant it would be easier for them to see and reach their kin. I waved my hand, raising a splash of lights overhead.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:50

"Fly home!"

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:50

But they froze again, whirling around confusedly, slowly, and unhurriedly.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:51

My stomach rumbled quietly, reminding me of a hungry day. And then an idea flashed through my mind!

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:51

"You're just hungry," he told the starlets fondly, "and you don't have the energy to get home."

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:52

The lights were silent, but I could see how woozy they were. Luckily, I had something to feed them.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:52

An ocean of Curiosity spilled out to my hands, gathering lights into two dense orbs, growing every second! More curiosity, more power, more excitement, and joy at the glow of the two new suns, the size of an elephant, that popped out of the palms of my hands and upwards, slowly circling overhead!

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:53

"I'm not pity!" I exhaled, finding new reserves of strength within me. They need to be full-fed for the long flight home!

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:55

In the sky, with a loud humming sound, like giant bumblebees, two balloons were spinning in circles, getting bigger and louder!

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:55

"Come on!" I turned to them with a little resentment, feeling my legs wobble.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:56

The noise was already roaring around me. The metal of the car was scraping, a metal pole in the distance was tumbling, the wind was ripping my shirt, bears were howling frantically, and... somewhere very close, sirens were howling! I looked around frantically, catching the red and blue lights of nearby cars. Shit!

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:57

"Now!" I yelled, putting my Voice and Will into the words.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:57

And in a single instant, the flight of lights converged to merge into a single glowing ball, abruptly exploding in a long, lingering lightning bolt all the way to the sky!

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 08:59

"Whoa," I opened my mouth, looking up into the dark blue air blindly because of the flashes playing in my eyes. Where there was a white trail... oh, no... that's a plane falling.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:00

"Damn!"

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:01

I ran to the car, grabbed the hare from its seat, and hurried without looking back in the direction of the boarding school. My intuition told me that the bears would be fine, but if I was late, the opposite would be true!

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:02

The heavy branches of the bushes whipped at my feet. The holes in the grass were clawing at my sneakers and trying to pull them off my feet, but I kept stubbornly moving toward the high fence, frantically searching for the very spot where Laika had wandered into our yard - with a bar bent out to the side. Behind me, sirens roared. Shrill voices echoed, demanding that they stretch out in a chain and search the place. But I was already standing by the familiar tree, opposite the concrete ring that had grown into the ground, and I carefully helped the hare across to the other side of the fence. And then I climbed up myself, wedging myself between the ground and the dangerously protruding ironwork.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:16

And somehow, the sounds of the chase became quieter, and suddenly I was at peace inside, especially when I saw the window of my room open in the morning. I am home!

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:16

He sneaked around the edge of the lighted circle, reached the wall, threw the rabbit inside the room, and then fell headlong into the warmth of the room, leaning first on the frame and then on the table.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:17

"This is where I live," I waved my hand, addressing the hare.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:18

He looked at the surface of the table with interest, but I helped and gave him a little tour, from the table to the bedside table with the clothes. I had gotten a lot of dirt on myself. And I needed to wipe the hare off the dirt and grass. At the same time, I needed to hide my phone and money in a safe place.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:20

We went to bed in a dozen minutes, but sleep would not come to me. I stared at the border of the long shadow of the lamp in the courtyard on the wall, wrapping myself in the unexpectedly cold blankets-even under the two, the cold and the chills were wavy. Only my chest was warm, where the toy lay under my hand.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:33

And a little later, the longing came. Somewhere out there were my bears, whom I had abandoned. Just as my dad and mum had abandoned me... I had a reason and the belief that they would be better off with adults... And my parents? They probably had them too, but it doesn't make me feel any better...

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:34

And the stars? Maybe they had nowhere to go at all. Maybe they had no one in the sky, either? I kicked them out... I shot down the plane... I stole the car... I am a bad emperor.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:35

I shivered, pulled the rabbit tightly against me, and almost jumped when a loud song echoed in the room. It turned out that the hare was singing, awakened by the push of a secret button. It sang long and beautifully. About me.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:52

++ I am not frightened by the waves or the wind..." - reflected off the walls, chasing away sadness and melancholy, reminding me that behind the shadows hides the beautiful yellow of the walls and that tomorrow all will be well again. And I will find it, I will definitely find it!

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 09:52

"Where have you been?!" The babysitter whirled into the room, spoiling the song with her ugly voice.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 07:54

"Walking," I answered in a single voice, listening to the end of the story.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 07:54

"Where did you get it?!" She shouted, snatching the hare from my hands.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.23 в 07:55