Give me a sign

– Well, they are probably looking for us, – Denis muttered quietly, looking at the dry rations and feeling his mouth fill with saliva. I wanted to eat incredibly.

– Will they find it and what will happen to us next? – the excellent student was reasonably indignant. We are in the forest! Where will we go? The darker it gets. And here wild animals walk. We’ve got strange chips on us, they’re probably tracking wherever we go.

– Smart such!? Maria said with a sneer. “So we’re going to vegetate here?”

The branch cracked. The teenagers fell silent, staring fearfully into the darkness. The pale moon provided poor illumination, and angry shadows flickered among the dark silhouettes of the trees. Or is it wild imagination? Denis looked around and, noticing that one of the Ouroboros employees accompanying them had a machine gun, picked it up from the ground and pointed it into the darkness.

– Wait! We will shoot! – the guy said in a trembling voice, realizing that he did not even know how to pull the shutter.

The footsteps stopped.

Ira put down her textbook, rested for five minutes and moved on to the next subject. She had an excellent memory, perseverance and the ability to memorize everything, even if there was no understanding of the subject. Red diploma has become the meaning of life. After all, grades matter. Excellent students are always forgiven a lot, they will have the opportunity to enter any university in the world, and then work, career…

She could do nothing but study, study and study again. But sometimes I wanted to do something, so when urging the Losers on any boil, the girl was not worried. The teachers won’t believe she’s capable of doing nasty things or supporting something like that. Irina considered herself better than other people. Despised those who are unable to learn. She hated beauties like Masha, who achieved everything thanks to money, connections and a pretty appearance. Only study, only hardcore!

Therefore, Irina chose strict suits for herself, actively participated in school life, and joined the club of human rights activists. Everything where study was needed interested the girl. She did not have any feelings for people below her in “internal” rank, and curry favor with those who could influence her “promotion”. She denied the “excellent student syndrome”, considering this nothing more than an excuse, and continued to cram, doing her homework in full and thrilled only with praise, again looking down on her classmates.

– Chapter 5-

Defeated, but not surrendered

The door taken out frightened Alena, who was already hysterical. Eugene did not pay any attention to the crybaby, examining the abandoned house. In the next room, two sports bags with a poor content were found: two flasks of water, matches, a flashlight and two packs of bandages. When Eugene came to himself, he found a crying classmate who, smearing tears on her cheeks, was wheezing, not intending to calm down. A light dress and jacket are stained with mud. Zhenya just rolled his eyes and patted his pockets to find that the phone had disappeared from his jeans pocket. The T-shirt is cool, so he zipped up the jacket and touched his neck. The skin hurt and almost immediately the fingers found a small button on the neck. Turning his gaze to Alena, Evgeny noticed exactly the same chip, which, apparently, was implanted in all the project participants.

The rumble of the fallen door made the guy flinch and jump up from his seat, ready to fight back against the unknown troublemaker. Alena screamed in fright, starting to cry even more. “And where does she have so many tears?” – the guy thought aloofly.

The floorboards creaked and Dimka entered the room. The classmate looked collected and as if ready for anything. On his shoulder hung the same bag that lay against the wall. Dimka is dressed simply: jeans, T-shirt and jacket. “Well, at least the uniform at school was canceled, otherwise it would be inconvenient,” Zhenya thought dejectedly.

“Oh, you’re here,” a classmate remarked without surprise. – And tearful here. Che, long since woke up?

“Recently, I suffered from hallucinations,” Zhenya admitted, pinching the bridge of his nose. – Where are we? Where are the others?

I don’t know, I just found you. This is an abandoned village.

“Yeah, you never know such places around the country,” drawled a classmate.

– Hey, – Dmitry turned to Alena. – Hare whine, your head already hurts.

The girl nervously fell silent, trying to suppress her tears.

– And what to do? Jenny folded his arms across his chest.

– Play. We are in the project, we are being tracked, – he nodded at the chip on Alena’s neck. “So we need to get out of here, find clues and get to the rally point.

Alena made a strange sound, as if she was about to burst into tears again. Tiredly rolling his eyes, Dmitry looked out the window and clarified:

Are you going or are you staying here?

– Let’s go, – Zhenya quickly decided and, picking up the backpacks, pulled the girl by the hand.

Awkwardly shifting her feet, Alena walked, stumbling all the time in her shoes, which she received not so long ago as a birthday present.

– Why are you crying again? Stupid! the mother yelled, which made the girl even more hysterical and annoyed her parents.

– No, look at her! – the father was indignant. – There would be no mother to help, but she is crying!

– Shut up! Shut up!!! – Mom brought a belt over her head. In the next second, the blow fell on the girl’s head.

“Why do everyone have children like children, only you are stupid with me,” my mother continued to swear furiously.

– No need! It hurts me, – the girl tried to stop another spanking, but she only made it worse.

– She looks at the boys. It would be better if you were so interested in studying! Maybe you also sleep with anyone you get? Things to check!

Mom grabbed her school backpack, emptying all her pockets. Later, she checked the desk lockers and her daughter’s personal belongings, as if she wanted to find compromising evidence.

– Mommy, don’t! Alena roared, but another slap on the head silenced her.

Alena shuddered, driving away the surging memories and sniffing for the last time, she wiped away her tears. Dmitry confidently walked along the road and soon led a small company out of the village. There was a fork ahead. Choosing a wider road, Dima straightened his bag and looked at the darkening sky.

– Or maybe we should have stayed in the village? Elena asked softly.

“You can come back,” the boy waved.

Zhenya just sighed. It was a bad idea to split up, it was not for nothing that all the cringe in horror films began precisely when the characters began to walk one by one. Wandering along the dark road, Eugene quickly felt tired. He was completely unsuited to long physical exertion, preferring books to walking. There was nothing left in his parents’ apartment that could entertain Zhenya, except for three telescopes and a fake Indian elephant donated by friends. It slowly turned along with the globe and smiled enigmatically as the glowing numbers on the map of Asia turned green. And now, together with a warm apartment, he was walking along a wet road, somewhere far from civilization.

The dark forest frightened each of them, but Dmitry tried not to succumb to the collective panic, not to lose the face of a lively guy who doesn’t care about anything. Here one could see terrible charred stumps, harsh overgrown shrubs, broken trees with bare roots, swaying in the wind. But above all this, the dark blue sky froze, and a bottomless bowl of the night luminary reigned overhead. In such places it is difficult to maintain peace of mind. Alena sniffled. There would be at least someone who just at that moment painfully wanted to cry. For a moment she was filled with such self-hatred that she screamed, and her hands clutched at her shoulders of their own accord, and her face contorted as if with a terrible premonition. But that only lasted a moment. And then everything returned to normal. The guys shuddered in surprise, but said nothing and continued to walk forward, choosing a more beaten path.

Dimitri was the first to notice the bright shadow ahead. Something whitish translucent strangely trembled in the light wind, vaguely resembling a child’s figure in a light dress. The figure sat on the road with its head bowed. There were brown spots on the light fabric.

Zhenya stopped right behind his classmate’s shoulder and waved his hand to Alena, asking her to be quiet. The girl stopped, cautiously peeking out of the guys’ backs.

– What is it? Yevgeny asked quietly, noticing that a forest could be seen through the figure. Ghost?

– Some kind of crap, – Dmitry noted in surprise. – Hey! Are you all right?

The girl got up from the ground, shook off the sand and blood from her dress and slowly walked along the road, looking around in surprise, approaching the company of her classmates. Her movements were unnatural, suspiciously sharp, alarming. Catching her gaze, Eugene saw a genuine feeling behind the mask, a mixture of grief and fear. Something happened in the life of this child, an event occurred due to which her former strength disappeared into a fog, that was the impression that was created. Yet there was something subtly unsettling about her. With an unexpected jerk and with unnatural speed, the girl ran towards her classmates, making a terrifying sound, like a loud whistle, crossed with a wheeze. And then, just like in the cartoons, she had her own language, complex, creepy and incomprehensible.

– Let’s run! – Dmitry was the first to turn around, rushing headlong into the village, along the way, dragging Alena. – Let’s! Move the rolls!

The frightened girl, not paying attention to her heels, tried to keep up with her comrades in misfortune. Adrenaline rushed into his blood, seething, igniting from the inside. The company fled without looking at the road, pursued by the ghost of a little girl. Having freed her hand, Alena felt her lungs burning, and almost immediately it hurt in her side, but fear drove her forward, forbidding her to think about pain.

Zhenya lagged behind a little, turning around every now and then. When he looked up again, he didn’t notice his classmates. Fear paralyzed him and in the next second he stumbled, falling to the ground, ripping off his palms to the blood. Turning to the impending threat, the guy did not have time to understand anything, as his face burned with pain, and his consciousness faded.

Next courses. He felt like a role model and this has always been confirmed. Remember your mom’s friend’s son? So this person has always been Eugene. He knew how to cook, knew a bunch of clever terms, studied well and always agreed with his mother. Studying was a pleasure, I liked to learn new things, to learn languages. The future was already planned: the first and second education, work in a large company, and then career growth. Everything was decided by the knowledge that Eugene stuffed himself to the fullest. Unlike Irka, he did not strive to get only good grades, but tried to understand the material, realizing that knowledge is power. But the future lies in the use of knowledge. Everywhere work experience is required and they say: “Forget everything you were taught before”, so Evgeny always found the use of all the information that he drew from any open sources. But classmates saw him as a botanist and a nerd, and valued him only for the opportunity to write off, because Irka never “stooped to such a thing.” Trying to get universal love, Eugene often took additional essays from classmates, so to speak, bribed them. Him additional knowledge, exciting pastime and gratitude, and classmates finished work.

Sometimes he wondered what would happen if he refused to do homework for others? Would you continue to appreciate it? Or, on the contrary, they would have been rotten, like Denis, because there is always a reason for persecution. Therefore, more and more communication with people, Zhenya preferred books and the Internet. He followed the social networks of acquaintances, lamenting that people were wasting too much time instead of studying the material and preparing for the school day. But everyone’s life seemed richer. The guy wanted to be called to a school disco or a party, but, as Dmitry put it: “Bespectacled people have nothing to do there!”. It’s a shame and unfair, but Eugene was convinced that later the world would fall at his feet. You just need to wait, gain experience and knowledge, and soon everyone will talk about him, because it is he, the very son of his mother’s friend. They will take an example from him, and the girls will bite their elbows with envy, realizing that they have lost such a groom.

– Chapter 6-

Fantastically bad story

The affair with Nikita came to life almost simultaneously. The dark tunnels of the cave evoked melancholy and cold.

– And where are we? Romka asked an obvious question.

“I have no idea,” Nikita answered no less obviously. – Some caves, maybe Syan?

– No, I watched the video and it’s not them, – a classmate shook his head negatively. – Oh, we have some belongings here! – nodding at the folded bags, which he gutted almost immediately.

– Two flasks of water, a rope and dry rations, a stalker, pancake, – Nikita squatted down in front of a few belongings. – Okay, let’s get out of here. My ass can feel that it’s dangerous here.

– Maybe a heart? corrected comrade Romka.

“Maybe,” the streamer answered evasively and, throwing his backpack in first, went into the dark tunnel. Surprisingly, it was as if there was an internal illumination that allowed them to move freely in the darkness without bumping into obstacles. Or was it just normal, and those flashes of light that flickered ahead – just their own memories of the hustle and bustle of the day? Nothing like this has ever happened to students before. And it was at least curious – at least from a technical point of view. The tunnels narrowed and widened, sometimes becoming quite narrow, allowing only crawling to overcome the distance, and sometimes you can go to full height. The guys moved forward confidently. The road in the cave gradually rose, and it became noticeable that not just stones, but multi-ton blocks of basalt were fixed behind the distant pillars on the walls. Far away in the depths, they glowed with a cold green fire. It seems that there was a natural cave in which these huge lanterns burned. Soon the travelers came to the exit – a small recess with a rusty staircase upstairs. Once on the surface, classmates staged a brief halt. It seemed that they spent six hours in a closed space, but it is impossible to say for sure – there are no hours.

Taking a sip of water, Nikita looked around.

– It seems to me that it was a comedy, – he drawled a phrase from the once popular film.

– The road leads there, – Romka waved his hand to the side. It was hard to call it a road, it looked more like a wide overgrown path leading into the forest.

“There is a sign of radiation,” the streamer noted looking closer. – So there are not so many places where we are.

– For example? Roman raised his eyebrows curiously.

– Ozersk in the Chelyabinsk region, Seversk in the Tomsk region, Aikhal or Udachny in Yakutia, or Totsk district in the Orenburg region. Are there many places?

“I didn’t think that the cyber-nerd knew such details,” the comrade clicked his tongue admiringly.

– So I learned a lot from the games, – Nikita chuckled. – But this is the only road, so we were either brought along it, or lowered into the catacombs through another entrance. Lucky they got out at all.

– Well let’s go. The sun has just risen, the whole day ahead.

They walked forward in unison, listening to extraneous sounds, but nothing but the sounds of wildlife sounded with the preservation of copyright. In a minute they reached the first trees and entered the forest.

– Come on!? – Nikita did not believe his eyes, looking around.

– What’s happened? Roma asked tensely, feeling a vague anxiety.

– We are in the exclusion zone, – and after a pause he added. – Maybe.

– Maybe? How did you understand it?

– Well, I’m a nerd, – a classmate smiled. “I played many games and I can say with confidence that I remember this location,” he stopped and checked his internal compass. If I’m right, then we should go there. Let’s go to Yanov, and from there I’ll take us out.

– Great plan, but what to do with it? Romka pointed to the chip on his neck.

– Let’s get up with an overnight stay on Yanov and try to pick it off there. It annoys me more that we have no matches, no knife.

– Well, at least they put it to eat, at least something.

– Yes, you are an optimist.

– I have to, – Romka smiled sadly and added encouragingly. – Lead, stalker.

He ran away from home again. Increasingly, my mother went from problems to alcohol and broke down, blaming everyone around her for her failures. Each new day did not inspire confidence, and hope for a better future faded away. There was a catastrophic lack of money, and it was annoying to walk around in tatters. Classmates always laughed at the appearance of Roman, considering him a rogue. He got a part-time job, but how many places do teenagers take?! Handing out flyers, mopping the supermarket floors, sometimes filling in for someone at the market stall…it all brought grains. Often they were driven out to all sorts of “subbotniks”, for which you can get mere pennies.

The last straw was that very evening – the mother who had drunk found the deferred money of her son and put it on alcohol, again accusing him of all mortal sins, they say, and stealing her son. Perhaps all due to the fact that the woman herself gave birth at sixteen, when she herself did not get on her feet, and dad, as usual, left for bread and did not return. Maybe said general immaturity. Children should not have children, and Romka was convinced of this. Out of resentment, he went outside and met with a friend who at that very moment was robbing a car for one radio. Someone called the police. The comrade managed to escape, but Roma did not. Friendship is a strange thing, and the student took the blame, not sparing being a “rat” and handing over the culprit with giblets. Sitting in the investigator’s office, he thought…could life even once give him a chance? He would not have missed him, would have clung to him with all his hands and feet, would have striven for his dream. And such a chance turned up. The Ouroboros project was discussed at every turn, and the student decided to fill out a questionnaire. And not just once. Every day he sent many messages, hoping to be noticed. The long wait for an answer was annoying and exhausting, but one fine day they called.

They turned off the road and went deeper into the woods. Walking became more difficult. Wet ground, as if it had rained not so long ago, which made the legs bogged down and slipped on the moss, and tall trees with half-naked crowns did not give a sufficient view. Nevertheless, they passed the forest and came to the bend of the stream. Schoolchildren entered the water and began to hastily step over the rapids. The murmuring water led them to a hollow, which they covered with bushes and stopped briefly to rest. But delay is death, and soon they were on their way again. Each step was given with difficulty, fatigue made itself felt.

– Listen, what happened between you and Lizka? The tale goes around a lot, I would like the original source, – Romka suddenly asked, feeling how the silence was starting to get on his nerves.

“She cheated on me,” Nikita replied dryly.

– As? – the classmate was taken aback.

– She wrote, asked to meet her from some party. I come, and she sucks with some guy. After she apologized, said that it was an accident, she was insane. Ugh, alcohol is evil.

“Alcohol is evil,” Roma confirmed, knowing firsthand about the consequences. – Did you love her?

“Yes,” he replied after a long pause. But now I don’t feel anything. Betrayal always hurts. I didn’t think we’d be like this.

– Sorry. Why did you join the project? You seem to have everything in ointment with streaming, and you are a top player.

– I have a startup, I want to create several websites, and then develop my own game. Everything needs money.

– Oh, cool! I would also like to participate in this, – the guy smiled. – I have mastered the graphics and design programs well. A computer scientist taught me after school, showed me new technologies. I even studied C++ and C# a little, as well as Java and Assembler.

– Listen, well, as we get out, I would work with you. It’s easier to break through together, – Nikita suggested. – We can stream jointly.

– I’m for, – Romka nodded, feeling a joyful anticipation. Finally, his life was getting better.

They walked in silence for some time, but soon Nikita asked:

– You are… sorry if I somehow offended you at school. Honestly, not out of malice

– So you didn’t hurt, – Romka grinned. – I was not spread rot only you, Lilia and Deniska-taffy. I wonder how they are doing there.

– I think if this is a project, then we were thrown to different points, after which they will somehow bring us together somewhere. I saw this in the movies.

Communication switched to lighter topics, memories of school, teachers and lessons. So quietly they went to the mysterious, drowning in dense forests and high levels of radiation, a closed railway station. A small brick building that all fans of Chernobyl-themed games would definitely recognize. The rusty plaque was poorly preserved, but even so, one could make out a short “Yanov” on it.

– You’re a fucking genius! Roman exclaimed softly.

Small shrubs seeped through the broken platform. The old wagons, with their paint tarnished, were still on the rails and would never run again. Who would have thought that one day this place would gain freedom from human oppression. Before the accident, the Yanov station belonged to the South-Western Railway. Passenger and cargo work was carried out at the station, access roads of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, ORS warehouses, oil depots and other enterprises of the city of Pripyat adjoined. The radiation background at the Yanov station today exceeds the norm by several times. Although immediately after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the background at this place was very high. In this regard, the village of Yanov was demolished and buried in the year 1987, exactly a year after the accident, in which about a hundred people lived. The station, by the way, was put into operation in 1925, marking the beginning of the city of Pripyat. The radiation background here is much higher than the norm, which is why the village of Yanov was demolished and buried after the Chernobyl disaster.

Nikita shook his head. It’s all bad. Children must walk, wagons must run, and power plants must work. But what happened, happened, it is impossible to turn back time. The villages where people once lived were now abandoned. In the year 2000, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant finally stopped working. So much effort and all to no avail. Some of the cars were turned over, some of them were dismantled, and God only knows where the radioactive metal went.

– Look, – Romka pointed his finger at one of the wagons with a spray-painted ouroboros. The drawing was fresh, clearly recently stencilled.

– We need to search him. Maybe there is a hint or a type of transition to the next level, – Nikita suggested. – The main thing is not to linger, here the background is high, and the save function is not provided.

They carefully approached the rusty train. Climbing the stairs inside the car, the guys entered the compartment. There, on a pile of old newspapers, lay a half-decomposed corpse. He seemed dried up, as if from under plaster, and his eyes turned from glassy to yellow and looked tenaciously at uninvited guests. There was no one else in the car. The body was not even covered. Next to it, the round sign of the project was again revealed. After examining the compartment on the top shelf, there was a map with strange marks, two more dry rations, a flask of water, a pistol with two clips and two cans of stew.

– Khabar, – Nikita chuckled, still cautiously looking sideways at the corpse.

– Grab this and let’s go. We need somewhere to stay for the night. It’s already getting dark, – Romka said tensely.