When Svetka woke up, it was dark outside the window. The clock showed about nine. His mouth
was dry, his hair was stuck to his forehead, his palm with a splinter was not aching. Removing
the strands from her face, the girl got out of bed and quietly, so as not to disturb her
parents - suddenly sleep? - walked to the kitchen. Confidently I groped for the bucket
and the vat with clean water, covered with a lid, scooped up and began to drink greedily.
Having dried the ladle, the girl drew attention to a strange silence. Usually the village
was full of sounds even at night - mooch-gaggling domestic animals, crickets in the grass, crackling
firewood in the stoves, even cars sometimes passed. Svetka recollected the promise she
had given her friends to meet in the evening, and she went to the door. Already at the exit
she decided to look out the window to find out why it was so dark.
The sky turned out to be clouded without a single lumen, for some reason, the lights
did not all burn. Through the glass we could barely see the outlines of trees and beds
in the garden, the fence and the neighboring houses. Svetka's hand reached out for a light
jacket-what if it started to rain? Pulling the hood over his head, sandals on his feet,
the girl dived into the hot silence of the street.
The closest to all was Svetlana Valerka. The commander was knocking the soles on the overdried
land of the road, and it seemed to her that knocking and her breathing were the only sounds
around. The wind stirred noiselessly, struck the hot sand in his face, blew away the dust
and dry leaves that had fallen from the heat. Svetka spun from the sand particles sticking
to her lips and, knocking, entered the house-everyone was trusted in the village, so they did not
close. The rooms met her with silence, there was not even the usual creaking floorboards.
Lamps are extinguished. The girl remembered where the switch was located, clicked, shuddered
with a sharp sound, and called to the hosts. In response, she heard a low moan. Svetka
was filled with fear, but she, casting her doubts, went to her voice-into Valerka's room.
He was lying on the bed, looking up with a glazed look, near a pool of vomiting, blood
on his lips, once opulent abdomen, like a deflated balloon, stuck to his spine. Screaming,
Svetka rushed to a friend, he reached out to her:
- It's all right! - and almost did not bite his teeth into the fingers of the commander.
Svetka recoiled, hit her back against the wall, Valerka made a gurgling sound, and a
new portion of vomit crept out of his mouth - something red, wriggling. The girl could
not stand it, rushed to the door with a cry, grazing the walls. About what will happen
to Valerka, she did not think: I wanted to hide or at least share with my best friend,
and maybe his parents would help him. His heart was beating wildly, almost breaking
his chest. Varka's house stood on a parallel street.
Sweaty from the heat and fright, Svetka, in spite of the impenetrable darkness, ran to
the fence, skilfully pulled herself up, jumped over to the other side, into the garden, and
ran between the beds - in order not to bypass - to Varka district. In her house, from the
kitchen, a noise of running water was heard, and Sveta exhaled, calming down.
"Var, where are you?"
The girl went out into the corridor, holding her hand against the wall. She closed her
eyes with the other hand.
- What? - Sveta froze. The sensation of something unpleasant again rose in her, made him swallow
convulsively.
"I do not see Light," muttered Varka. - Help ...
She withdrew her hand from her face, crimson hollows emptied between the wide eyelids instead
of the whites of her eyes. Svetka squealed, Varka burst into tears, hiding her face in
her hands.
"I'm ugly, right?" She could only squeeze out.
Embracing herself with her hands, Sveta tried to stop the trembling.
- What is it like?
- I do not know. I woke up, and now, - Varka sobbed.
"And where are your parents?"
- I do not know.
The commander took a deep breath, held her breath to collect herself:
"Come on, stay here, and I'll look for someone to help." Or an early call, there is a telephone
at Kolka's house.
They addressed the grown-ups rarely, with all the troubles they tried to cope themselves.
Svetka wanted that this case was no exception. Varka nodded weakly.
"There's something wrong with Valerka, too," the commander shuddered at the memory.
- Then spend the rest. It's not enough, - Varka noted.
- Good.
The clouds parted slightly, the stuffiness became even greater. Sweat rolled from Svetka's
forehead as she ran to Kolka's yard. However, she did not even have to go into the house:
Kolka and Nekit sat on a pile of sand scattered under a lamp between their plots.
"Hey people!" Svetka called them. - Is everything OK?
The guys did not answer, they did not even look at her voice, busy picking in the sand.
Svetka frowned, indignantly stamped on them, sharply pulled Nekita by the shoulder.
And she met her eyes with eyes that did not reflect any thought. Zamychav, Nekit tried
to release the body, a droplet of saliva slipped from the slightly opened lips. Svetka pulled
her hand away, turned her gaze to Kolka-the same stupid expression and thoughtless giggling.
- What's going on? She whispered and rushed away. The thought of calling an ambulance
flew out of my head.
Before my eyes, the bushes, fences, descent into the parched log, crossing the village,
were barely visible in the dark. Svetka nearly slid down, caught hold of the tree, flashed
through her head as they tried to build a willow wicker hut according to the idea of
Maxik. Exactly, if she can not find a way out, then Max will definitely come up!
Someone - or something - maims their friends, and we have to deal with it.
After charting the shortest path, the commander ran, leaping over the fences, crawling under
the wickets, slipping in the crevices between the pins. It stabbed in the side, it became
hard to breathe, my heart was knocking on the chest. Completely out of breath, the girl
stepped into the courtyard to Maksik. In the garden of his family grew a lot of fruit trees
that did not miss the light of a distant lantern. Svetka blinked, trying to remember how to
get to the house. Then the door flew open, and a frightened friend jumped out of it in
a ray of light.
- Max! Svetka exclaimed joyfully. - Are you okay?
He stopped, recognizing the voice, breathing heavily. He squeezed his fists and shook his
head.
- I - yes. I have parents ...
- What? The girl gasped.
"With ... with ... skeletons," stammered, barely able to squeeze out Maxik.
Svetka pressed her hands to her face, shuddered:
"Oh well, it can not be. "I saw with my own eyes, to-how ..." Max could
not finish speaking, grimacing in a bitter grimace.
"The others also have what," Svetka whispered after a while. - It seems to me, because of
the ritual of that. We went to the city, it was her idea.
"You go, I ... I can not leave them."
The commander wanted to ask: "Can you, then, can you?" But changed her mind, reassuringly
touched Maksik's shoulder and headed for Rita.
"Maybe it's all my terrible dream, I'll wake up, but it's all right," muttered Svetka.
Fantasy has often saved her, not allowing her hands to sink in grief or trouble. She
had only to imagine that she was not an ordinary girl, but a good sorceress, and she could
alleviate someone else's pain or calm her tears.
Dachas were located on the edge of the village, almost at the very forest, where in the day
the pupae were buried. The houses here were not log-like, like most of the residents,
but brick or some other materials that Svetka could not identify. The girl twisted among
the buildings, looking for the house of Rytka - here the commander was rarely and badly
knew the location. Yes, and darkness added incomprehensibility. After ten minutes of
searching, Svetka's attention attracted the house, completely overgrown with hops and
grapes. Coming closer, she identified in him Ritkin - that's just before it grew nothing.
Inside it froze, but decided that today it was no longer surprising, Svetka walked along
the path. After a few steps the girl saw the place where the plants came from. After a
couple of steps she could see the human figure lying there. Another step - and it became
clear that this is a Ritka with a face distorted with horror, grape vines stretch from his
eyes, flexible hop stems from his mouth.
Svetka could not scream anymore, she only clutched her mouth with her hands, bent with
terror, barely able to stand on her feet. The thought flashed - the pupae, all because
of them! - and the girl from the last forces rushed to the forest.
Under the trees was even darker, Svetka ran almost to the touch, trying to determine where
they fell asleep with their friends clay crafts and led a round dance. In the chest, like
a jackhammer, the lungs burned, sweat dripped from his forehead, his legs were barely moving
with fatigue, branches slapped his face, and his hands were scratched even through his
jacket. The girl hesitated, slapped on the roots writhing on the surface of the earth,
she wiped her dried needles with her palms. In the nose it was scraped, and treacherous
moisture appeared before my eyes. Shmyga, Svetka rose to her feet and tried to look
around. Darkness surrounded, enveloped, it was impossible to see anything between the
trunks, and the direction from which the commander fled was lost. The girl wiped her tears and
slowly wandered, feeling her hands in front of her. After a while, flashes of lightning
began to flash and fade in the sky. The wind whistled above the forest, the trunks stirred,
swaying, creaking, grumbling, and it seemed to Svetka that she was walking under the feet
of giants who knew she was here and wanted to drive her away. The girl continually stopped,
smeared water from her eyes and forehead, rubbed her feet, tried to understand where
she was. Nothing familiar. Svetka gradually reconciled herself to the fact that she lost
her way and walked no one knows where, but to stop and surrender was even worse. Lightnings
sparkled more and more, and at some point the commander saw with the corner of her eye
a tall figure standing at a tree a few steps away. The girl froze, squinted, but the figure
was darker than the darkness itself, and nothing could be considered except vague outlines.
Lightning flashed again, illuminating a strange silhouette, thunder crashed, and Svetka's
heart, which for the whole evening fought like wild, froze with fear-for good.
A few seconds later the first drops of heavenly moisture touched the ground.
The rain has come.
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