Напряжение / Voltage: Глава 27

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Camrad_RIP 18.04.23 в 17:13

A flash of lightning set a bold stop, rumbling down a new batch of leaves from the trees.

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 15:26

"Do you think it's visible from space?" I asked loudly, looking around at the huge inscription: "MAXIM - EMPERATOR".

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 15:31

Indeed, the letters in the center were a little too squished to fit into the roadway, but the drivers on the right were kind enough to clear the way. Though their departure was more like panic, just like the Guardsmen who ran off into the woods at the first blue-and-white flare... But think well of the people.

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 15:35

"I think so," Fyodor said with an expert look from the roof of our car.

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 15:40

"How are you doing in there? Are you okay?"

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 15:41

"Yeah. It's just scary," Fyodor admitted, sitting down and hugging his arms around his knees.

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 15:42

"Me, too," I didn't hide it. What's the use if my hands are shaking...

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 15:44

Good for them, for those soldiers. Hop, and they're in the woods, and no one seen them. What am I supposed to do when the star above my head starts pulling power from the power lines?

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 16:06

The metal of the structures moaned, threatening to fall right on my head. The energy cascaded from the wires filling the sun above my head, and I felt something I was holding above me getting heavier. And there was nothing I could do about it!

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 16:07

Simon would probably have laughed at the attempt to measure energy in kilograms, but I was clearly holding at least a hundred, knowing with crystal clarity that if I quit, it would crush everyone. So I endured, raising my hands (it was a little easier that way), curiously calculating how long I could hold on - I confess, I would have collapsed in a very short time. But the soldiers themselves helped, throwing a fiery spear.

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 16:10

The decision to defend myself was a reflex - to cover my eyes and turn away. But my hands were busy with the shining burden hanging a dozen meters above my head! And when my right hand jerked to cover my face, it turned out that along with it, a glowing flare burst out of the star, literally dragging the dark red fire of the enemy attack behind it.

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 16:11

Noticing this, I began to experiment - I was curious. The new attack was repulsed with a playful gesture, sweeping a petal off the surface of the bright orb and covering myself with it. Then it was no fun at all - the enemy aimed a new ribbon of fire at the SUV with Fedor.

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 16:13

He waved his hand sharply as if he were throwing a spear at the enemy, but instead of another petal from the furious horn of energy, a blue and white discharge stabbed into the asphalt near the car, in a blinding glow, with a menacing roar slowly scratching out a line to the enemy's cars. The fellows turned out to be clever and gave a run for their lives. And I found myself alone with the huge sun overhead, continuing to drink power from the power grid. It was like getting ready for a fight, breaking out a piece of fence, and your rivals escaping. And now a tutor would walk in, legitimately asking, "What are you doing in the hallway with a baton in your hands?

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 16:17

"Come back here!" I shouted in their backs, but the soldiers only increased their speed.

Camrad_RIP 26.04.23 в 16:20

At least I could spend all that power on them, and the burden over my head became noticeably lighter. Hm!

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 09:45

So I figured out where to spend it all - now the map of the country would definitely have the inscription it sorely lacked. And then the nets were de-energized, so the handheld sun began to rapidly lose mass, including visually. But there was enough for the inscription and even a dot after it.

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 09:48

So it really wasn't me. That's what I'll tell the electricians. I looked at the smoking wires, sagging sloppily in long waves. No, I'd better send a postcard. Although, at first, I wanted to write my apologies directly on the pavement. Then I thought the phrase in two lines, "Maxim - Emperor. Sorry." wouldn't look so good.

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 09:50

"Let's pack," I breathed out.

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 09:51

I took a step forward and collapsed in a blinding pain all over my body - as if hundreds of ants were biting every cell at once.

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 09:52

"Maxim!" shouted Fyodor, jumping off the car. "Ouch! The asphalt is electrocuted here!"

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 09:52

"D-don't come..." I asked hoarsely, stretching to my full height.

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 09:53

The pain, surprisingly, coursed through my body and slowly seeped through my palms, pressed to the ground. In my face, I got a whiff of molten asphalt. My fingers burned, and I could barely lift my shield in time.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:51

"You're falling into the road with your hands!" my brother panicked.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:51

"Now, stay back," succumbed to my intuition, through a feat of dragging my body off the road onto the grass and collapsing again - this time with my face, too. It got easier, especially when my body was against the ground.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:56

"The leaves are wilting... like in the fall," said Fyodor confusedly somewhere nearby.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:57

I finally ripped my shirt off my chest, and it was easy, like sour cream on a burnt stomach.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:57

"We have a first aid kit! It's in the car! I'll get it!"

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:58

"Don't," I said calmly, feeling myself recovering.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:59

I got the strength to think. The first thing I tried to do was to spend the excess that was stuck in my body by turning to my gift. The gift came into service, but it didn't take away an ounce of pain - something that tormented my body was foreign and unfit for use.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:59

I don't know how long I lay there, first staring at the yellow and black grass before my eyes and then at the cloudless sky. Already the cars on the highway were rumbling, deeming the road safe again, and I waited patiently for the overwhelming power to allow me to get to my feet. Fyodor was waiting just as patiently, offering bandages and iodine and yogurt and chocolate every now and then, not knowing how to help.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 17:01

"I need time," I told him.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 17:01

Only there was no time.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 17:02

"There's our bus!" Fyodor exclaimed.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:48

"So it's time to get up," I pushed my body off the ground and stood up carefully, trying to keep my palms on the grass until the last moment.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 17:02

And indeed, a convoy of familiar buses, with the princely coat of arms at the license plate, passed by, tumbling over the rugged asphalt, carefully avoiding the abandoned SUV on the highway. I wish I could still lie down, but we have to be on time with everyone else. It's even better than arriving first. We won't be the only source of news.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 17:05

"Can I help?" Worried, my brother asked.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 17:06

"I'll do it." I shook my head, kicked off my slippers, and got up.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 17:07

It was tolerable - the tension that was cramping my body was going through my heels now.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:47

"Let's go," I winked at my brother and went to the car.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:47

At my touch, the SUV screamed its alarm indignantly and flashed its headlights.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:45

"That's it," I stated wistfully, looking at my hand.

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 16:46

"And what to do?" Fyodor looked up at me.

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 09:44

"You drive," I scratched the back of my head and came to the only decision.

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 09:30

"Am I allowed to?" My brother asked incredulously.

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 09:25

I took my bowtie off my shirt and tossed it into his hands.

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 08:56

"Put it on, everything is possible with it."

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 08:56

He looked at the scarlet cloth petal as if it were something magical and immediately put it on his collar.

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 08:54

"Do you know how to drive?" I asked him..

Camrad_RIP 27.04.23 в 08:51

"Of course," Fyodor replied, fixing his bow tie in a solid, completely different voice, "it's my car."

Camrad_RIP 28.04.23 в 07:38