– Thank you, but I’d rather kill myself along with my idea than act so meanly with my honor! And now, allow me to leave.
– Whatever you say, Mr. Honesty! Gleb grinned.
Vadim felt an unprecedented disgust for this man, after what he heard. Finally, he waited for his entrance and solemnly began his speech, which this time was byВ the very appearance ofВ Vadim Alexandrovich much sadder than all the previous ones:
– Ladies and gentlemen… Today, I will present to your attention the work «Table of the narrative system», it is devoted to the definition of the style of narration. It is very simple and consists in… – he spoke his report without interest.
When the performance was over, few people asked questions. This topic was already trodden and was an easy way toВ pass, which really annoyed Vadim, who was aВ real scientist inВ his heart. So he received his degree and was proudly called Doctor ofВ Philology, Professor ofВ Tomsk State University Vadim Alexandrovich Vavilov.
So ten whole years have passed, Vadim has just turned forty-four years old, and the ticket for the liner has even risen inВ price, but at the same time he began toВ receive much more salary as aВ professor. Over time, he forgot about his pain and happily continued his work inВ his new position, giving lectures and sometimes conducting research. There was an era ofВ cable television, DVD players, discs and cassettes were sold inВ stores, new stores were built or opened for them. Vadim himself already had his own TV, it was colored and showed old channels.
He looked at life as aВ trinket, aВ native ofВ the pure Soviet principles ofВ work and get, he tried toВ instill it inВ the yard boys who behaved like bandits inВ the area. OfВ course, he was bypassed, some laughed.
Vadim Alexandrovich continued toВ teach students, and sometimes children, and released more than aВ dozen from the walls ofВ the university. It has been transformed with the age ofВ new technologies. Now these computers and an electronic database have appeared, Vadim has been learning for aВ long time from their new young candidate ofВ information sciences how toВ understand these computers and the Internet. Anatoly Romanovich seemed toВ be aВ ray at that time, only twenty-four years old, and he knows so much about computers, and explains it well, although Vadim turned out toВ be aВ bad student and inВ general it was difficult for him toВ do this.
He took antidepressants once, when it was already impossible to see nightmares in front of his eyes anymore, and now this jar still lies in a larger plastic box that contained everything necessary for first aid, for the cure of diseases. With Vadim’s immunity, some kind of flu or runny nose were not so terrible. And Vadim Alexandrovich did not put the apartment in order, but left everything as it is, even though the salary was already quite sufficient.
AВ month later, inВ June, when Vadim did not need toВ appear at the university and all these exams were passed, the man bought aВ ticket for aВ liner that would sail across the Atlantic Ocean toВ Florida and back with aВ plane flight through Europe. OfВ course, it was aВ very expensive journey, but most ofВ the time Vadim will finally sail on aВ ship, and even if not as it was inВ his dreams, but this thrill, this thought, like aВ corpse, will come toВ life again, at the sight ofВ the black depths ofВ the ocean. At the same time, now he could quite afford toВ realize his dream.
The flight toВ Lisbon inВ Portugal will be here inВ one week. The professor was given aВ corresponding brochure with aВ guide toВ Florida, inВ which they will be at most two days and back toВ the pier, toВ the ship. He could already feel the sound ofВ the surf, this wind with drops ofВ sea water and the song ofВ seagulls that fly near the land ofВ islands and continents.
The man often imagined this moment, inВ colors, probably, this is the only image that he remembered so fondly. He took his time-worn briefcase, which would serve his master toВ death, and packed into it the most necessary things for the trip. AВ toothbrush, toothpaste, some ready-made food, clothes and money, aВ couple ofВ tens ofВ thousands ofВ rubles. Oh, this is the time before you go on trips, toВ distant wonderful lands, toВ people who speak aВ different language and whom you fiercely despised during the ColdВ War.
Vadim literally trembled and beat aВ fraction every day, an hour turned into years. The man literally had nothing toВ do, he lived without communication, because even though he worked with Vasily Nikolaevich and others, he did not communicate with them heart toВ heart and for almost twenty-odd years he forgot what it was like toВ talk toВ people longer and reveal his soul toВ them. Vadim talked toВ the boys inВ the yard, but it was just aВ couple ofВ sentences that practically did not change from year toВ year.
He couldn’t wait to diversify his life somehow, and he often asked himself what would happen next, for example, in another ten years, or would he already go crazy by this moment and die without waiting for a ray of light in the wilderness in which he has been living for a long time. He often returned to the events of the past, it was an integral part of him, from which he had no right to refuse because of resentment against his mother, who still glowed in his chest, he nurtured and cherished this beast, or what does hatred for a person turn into? The professor felt that it was not a beast and not emptiness, but pure hatred, like burning lava and like acid that eats everything, and it smells no better than rotten food.
July 2009.
A week passed and Vadim Alexandrovich, despite the old bones and back pain, was ready to jump on the walls with happiness. He instantly dressed in his old coat, which went out of fashion back in the seventies, shoes and a hat to cover his graying hair from the raging winds. Taking the briefcase, the keys to the house, Vadim looked around his poor home. It has not changed in any way in all twenty-two years of living, only the TV appeared, and the radio broke down and that’s all. All the same old walls, dusty bookshelves, kitchen, sofa with a broken spring. He sighed and left his abode, quickly descending the concrete stairs.
The soles ofВ his shoes rattled, and the things inВ the briefcase, which were already sloppily folded so that the briefcase seemed bigger and bloated, were even more mixed up inside. There were inscriptions and various drawings on the entrance wall, Vadim Alexandrovich once caught such aВ person, but did not teach him aВ lesson, it was all the same what this young man was doing, the main thing was not with aВ knife inВ his hand.
IВ got toВ the airport byВ bus, which were delivered at the beginning ofВ the twenty-first century. Convenient transport, but crowded and not very pleasant smelling, well, just like an ordinary train then. IВ found the right flight and got on the plane for the first time. The professor did not get out anywhere, except on the street toВ work or toВ the store, he did not see the country, as well as foreigners, only if Negroes were students or the same tourists. At that moment, the man felt joy and aВ surge ofВ energy, he was excited, like aВ child after chocolate, from just the thought ofВ the sea and the ship!
Sitting inВ his seat on the plane, he felt aВ little dizzy with admiration. The smell ofВ the plane was sterile and quite unusual. AВ flight attendant walked through the rows and checked the tickets or whether someone was sitting correctly. The plane was still standing for aВ long time before departure. Few came yet, but soon the entire economy class was packed with different families and people. Then aВ voice sounded on the microphone, which drowned out the general hum and urged toВ buckle up immediately.
The plane went on the track, this moment was very exciting, it seemed toВ the doctor ofВ sciences that the tremor had returned, and it was only the plane that vibrated easily from the work ofВ the engines on the wings. Then he began toВ accelerate harder until he completely lifted off the ground and removed the chassis. Vadim was looking out the window with his eyes all this time, his heart was captured byВ the whole landscape and the moment. For aВ long time, the man believed that he would never go toВ sea, swim on aВ ship, and now he is flying all the way byВ plane toВ Lisbon, then across the Atlantic Ocean byВ ship toВ Florida, from there also back.
Vadim Alexandrovich experienced an unheard-of pleasure when flying and realizing his own dream, which he had been striving for since childhood
He was ready toВ jump out ofВ the window from this overabundance ofВ emotions, but inВ fact he looked calm, not aВ muscle twitched from overflowing delight. Cities, forests, rivers, lakes, seas and all that are located under it. There were no people inВ sight, but they were swarming under this plane. The sound from the engines was very loud and even sound insulation with the help ofВ portholes was not omnipotent. Soon the plane rose much higher than the clouds, and it was already difficult toВ see the ground under the clouds and pale white clouds.
Vadim Alexandrovich was looking out the window all this time and reading a magazine along with a brochure, in addition, he had an interesting book in his briefcase, but unfortunately, he was taken and put in the luggage compartment of the plane. An equally old man, already completely gray-haired and with a prosthetic tooth, was snoring under his ear. Vadi ambiguously adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose and also decided to sleep at least a little, he wouldn’t miss anything.
Sleeping on an airplane was somewhat different from sleeping on aВ train, if on the train you were lulled byВ the transport itself knocking on the rails, then the plane flew smoothly, only trembling aВ little, as if the plane also had goosebumps from delight. But Vadim was an ordinary person and even standing up could fall asleep like aВ horse inВ aВ herd, so it was not difficult toВ fall asleep here under the snoring ofВ aВ neighbor, even somehow much easier.
And so Vadim got to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, as far as he knew…
We boarded at the airport without interference. Walking down the ramp, Vadim felt the rays of the sun glide over his pale skin. He could feel the wind blowing through his body, through the jacket he wore at school. Some kind of traveler mania has awakened in the man’s mind. He saw so many people in one place, heard so many words, the meaning of which he did not understand. Vadim took his briefcase, completely stuffed with things in his hand, and walked with a very confident and straight gait in the general pile of chattering people. Camera lenses sparkled, many taxi drivers stood near the airport, they approached and offered their services.
The guide met aВ bunch ofВ tourists just at the exit and led them toВ the bus. The transport shone from its cleanliness and all the smoke went up through the pipe immediately into the air. The bus itself was dark and stuffy, and aВ lot ofВ people who were talking among themselves went inside. Vadim sat down with aВ thin man who took aВ paper bag on his lap. He looked unhealthy, and when the bus started moving under the voice ofВ the guide, who was talking about local places, Vadim realized what was the matter. This man began toВ feel sick and he threw out all the contents ofВ his stomach into aВ bag. Vadim had toВ look at it, and when his eyes failed him, he continued toВ listen toВ the muffled moans ofВ his neighbor.
Vadim did not listen to the guide’s chatter, but simply watched the cars that passed next to the bus or paid attention to houses with interesting architecture. Soon they arrived at the ferry. A pleasant wind blew in my face, bringing with it the smell of water, wet stones and, it seems, boiled corn. A ship was slowly rocking at the dock. It was a large-sized liner with a deckhouse at the very top, it was built recently and although it has already managed to make several voyages, this route was built specifically for this newest liner and now it will set off for the first time on a new course.
The liner itself matched its proud name, which was emblazoned on it – «Columbia». Its engine was hidden by the hull of the ship, but the propellers were visible from the outside and even the black water did not hide them. The captain and a sailor were standing at the gangplank, the captain was smoking a pipe and wiggling his mustache when he checked the passengers’ tickets. His tokens glowed in the sun. The sailor was standing next to him, his hands folded behind his back and his youthful chest puffed out. He looked to be twenty-two, and the stubble was already visible on his face. Vadim looked at him with invisible envy, because he could also be an ordinary sailor and surf the seas and oceans like pirates from books.
The ladder creaked under Vadim’s feet, and his eyes looked into the foaming abyss. Moss and algae grew on the stones of the pier. The ship was rocking on the waves, and Vadim almost fell, leaning on the railing. Lifebuoys hung on the walls of the ship, the clear glass of the portholes sparkled. All the doors were open, but thick and heavy. Ropes rested on the floor, and an anchor lay hidden from all eyes overboard. There was a swimming pool on the ship, and there were sun loungers nearby. The sailors walked around the deck and washed the floor, or went about their other business. On the ground floor there was a technical compartment under the floor, already higher on the second floor there were cabins and rooms for entertaining people, for example, a private mini-bar. When the captain checked all the tickets, he walked slowly to the control room, accompanied by that young man. There were a lot of people on board, the wheels of their suitcases beat a drum on the deck, speech flowed in a stream from human lips.
Chapter five. The crash
Vadim felt strange when he heard the words of strangers, he sometimes caught short glances at himself. Gulls screamed nearby and small fish splashed. A sheaf of smoke and a loud sound erupted from a large pipe, which deafened Vadim’s sensitive ears. The ship began to shake a little and slowly sway from the waves. Under the propeller, the water foamed and bubbled, leaving a barely visible trace, which immediately disappeared under the strong current of the sea.
Vadim wandered around the ship aВ little with an important look. He looked into the rooms and immediately jumped out as if scalded, because it was not that room. Soon his legs began toВ ache, and he was found byВ aВ young man whom he met at the pier.
– Hello, can I help you? – he asked, he had a dark, tanned face.
– Yes, I can’t find my cabin, – said Vadim, shaking someone else’s hand.
He gave his ticket toВ the young man, and he just whistled. Soon he took Vadim almost all over the ship and still brought him toВ the right place. Vadim cursed the huge ships with its slippery floors, inВ which you can almost see your reflection. The young man turned out toВ be pleasant inВ communication, he is twenty-two, aВ native ofВ Russia and his name is Rodion. Rodion was young, but he thought sensibly, the main thing was toВ find time toВ read this or that book during such voyages. Vadim told him that he also dreamed ofВ becoming aВ sailor, also toВ surf the seas, oceans, but eventually became an ordinary teacher, ofВ an average rate.
«Here’s your cabin,» Rodion smiled.
– Thank you, can we talk again sometime? Vadim asked, putting his briefcase on the bed.
«I’ll be right there when I’m free, sir,» the young man said and left.
Vadim has never spent time as pleasantly as he does now. It seemed that with this man he could talk for aВ long time about geography and the sea. Rodion loved water, loved its charms, but not like Vadim, he did not burn with it so that the water evaporated inВ his stomach, but addressed В«YouВ», albeit with aВ warm feeling. Vadim could feel it and understand, he is such aВ person.
His cabin was small, with its own toilet and bathroom. There was aВ small TV, aВ bed, neatly made, aВ table, aВ chair, aВ refrigerator and aВ bedside table. His cabin opened directly onto the deck, where water splashed and people walked. AВ small window looked out into the ocean. Vadim could only dream ofВ such aВ thing. Despite the good audibility ofВ what is happening around, but Vadim peacefully fell asleep under this noise, he was rocked byВ the waves themselves and the sounds ofВ splashing water, the motor, which was supposed toВ be hiding under the skin somewhere nearby.
Vadim would never have thought that he would leave his room so often. Usually, he hid inВ his dusty apartment, but now he generally forgot that he had aВ cabin, he lived on deck. IВ was sitting on the floor, sunbathing next toВ the pool and looking far beyond the railing ofВ the ship, where the ocean depths hid fish and their predators.
Rodion sometimes came to talk to him, even though Vadim was almost his father, they behaved like brothers or friends. Vadim had nothing to tell from his life, even if the life of a street kid was very eventful, but Rodion was only amused by such closeness of a friend and always told a story from life himself. It seemed to Vadim that he had begun to live again, all his life since the age of nine he had existed as if in prostration, in another world, and when he found himself on this ship, began to breathe this sea air and hear the sound of the surf, then he came to life, as if he had been awakened from a very deep sleep. For this he was grateful to Rodion, and when they sailed for the third day in the Atlantic Sea, he told a little about himself. Previously, the young man knew a small part of Vadim’s personality, this young man did not know more than the stomach of a man who was always looking into the ocean with childish, wet eyes.
– I liked to climb the neighbor’s apple trees and eat them, although my father flogged me, but the apples were worth my sacrifice, – he jokingly told. – And how was your childhood Rodion Mikhailovich?
– My father was not so cruel, I was punished once for painting the walls with paints, – Rodion thought a little, as if he was taking this memory out of a drawer.
– I lived in the Tver region, we somehow coped with our needs, – the smile disappeared from Vadim’s lips. – my father was always angry because of this, he almost drooled when he passionately covered Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other countries with obscenities.
– Yes, I remember, my father was born in 1951, during the Soviet era, so to speak, and always told me that in fact the Russian people lived in poverty while our government tore their hair for foreign countries so that they could live well, but it wasn’t enough for them.
Vadim and Rodion talked about it with annoyance and sadness inВ their eyes, even though Rodion did not have time toВ catch those times normally, but he spoke about them with childish love. And inВ the evening ofВ that day, Vadim Alexandrovich and Rodion Mikhailovich decided toВ take aВ picture for memory. Surprisingly, even though many years have passed and what the heroes have not experienced, it turned out that this photo still remains.
Photo ofВ Vadim Alexandrovich and Rodion Mikhailovich on the liner В«ColumbiaВ» on the first day ofВ theВ trip
For three days, Vadim tanned aВ little inВ the sun while swimming inВ the pool. The people on the ship were pleasant and not conflicted, but there was little toВ talk about with them. Another veteran sailed with them, who left the cabin inВ the evening and gathered aВ crowd ofВ children inВ front ofВ him, telling the times ofВ the war. He spoke ofВ her with fear and trepidation, not triumphant and great, but like an animal caught inВ aВ trap. Nevertheless, he also told funny stories while he and his battery were sitting inВ the trenches or somewhere inВ the woods, when it was allowed toВ rest after all the horrors.
– Once we got a mine in the toilet, and how it will explode! The old man’s eyes filled with mischief and laughter. – We spent several hours to clean everything up.
The children liked it, and Vadim also listened to the old man’s stories out of the corner of his ear.
How sad it is that now everything is being turned over, such aВ nuisance!
The food on the ship was delicious, even though they were trying toВ cut rations inВ order toВ make it toВ Florida toВ replenish their provisions. The cries ofВ seagulls could be heard slowly.
– «Remember where the seagulls are, there is dry land,» Vadim recalled his father’s words when they went fishing.
– These are the islands of Puerto Rico, Mr. Vavilov – Rodion pointed with his finger.
On this day, the ocean was not calm. The waves raged and flooded the deck with their spray. The sky was gray and completely overcast, lightning flashed somewhere there, it was attracted to the water and struck a couple of times next to the ship. The sailors were shouting and mopping up all the excess water. People in this weather did not leave their cabins, preferring to sit out and play cards. Vadim was wetting his coat on the deck, at that moment he was standing on the bow of the ship and watching the weather in amazement. He would have sketched it, but he couldn’t. Heavy rain poured down, and the ship was shaking in different directions, it seemed that it was about to break apart, bouncing on the waves.
The captain was making aВ last effort toВ level the ship and keep it afloat. His hands were shaking, and sweat stood out on his forehead, he sometimes shouted at the sailors that they were spreading panic.
Rodion was working with a mop and occasionally glanced at Vadim, whose eyes reflected lightning that sparkled brightly in the sky. The clouds were heaving in the sky, they devoured each other, but this did not make them smaller. The heart stopped almost every participant of this journey, but if Vadim’s heart beat often from admiration and awe, then others from fear. Rodion was not a coward, but such weather even made him worry.
– Vadim Alexandrovich, maybe you should go to the cabin, otherwise the weather will completely deteriorate! – he tried to shout over the raging wind, holding his cap.
– Much worse! I’d rather stay here! Thanks! The man shouted back at him, looking down under the ship.
The water was black, empty, even the fish hid under rocks and algae. The ship was shaking very much, the deck chairs on the ship flew over the railing, bending them aВ little. InВ the mini-bar, all the bottles fell out ofВ the cabinet, and their contents poured out inВ aВ puddle ofВ strange something from the room. The lights on the ship were blinking and it seemed like they were about toВ burst or burn out. The engine was foaming water, but it was slowly starting toВ stall.
The captain became hard toВ see, because ofВ the rain, the glass began toВ blur the view greatly. The wipers did not help well, and the captain began toВ swear and himself succumbed aВ little toВ the general panic ofВ the sailors. Despite the fear, they continued toВ work, went down, checked the engine, engines, ran through the corridors and checked people, but no one had put the plugs back properly yet, and eventually the electricity was gone. The screams ofВ frightened people were heard, aВ kind ofВ death song was formed, which included the noise ofВ wind, rain and crazy splashes ofВ sea waters. The sailors immediately went down toВ fix it, because some ofВ the devices ofВ the ship itself worked with electricity and only.
Soon rocks appeared next to the land. A couple of times the ship rammed the shoal with its nose, so everything went upside down, Rodion fell and almost rolled overboard, fortunately Vadim helped him. He gripped his comrade’s arm tightly and pulled him back onto the deck, but the adventure did not end there.
The ship kissed the ground again, only this time it barely touched it, as the captain began toВ align the ship blindly, guided byВ the cries ofВ his friend the sailor. He stood on the bridge and shouted the direction into the wheelhouse, like aВ helmsman, and the captain guided them until the wipers started working again. All hands were already numb, and the tongue was bitten toВ the point ofВ bleeding, the captain groaned, but fulfilled his mission.
Vadim also fell after Rodion, the ship turned toВ the right, and the man rolled inВ that direction, hitting the tables nailed toВ the floor. Vadim passed out when he met the back ofВ his head on the leg ofВ the table, the pain was sharp, and then it gave off aВ wave all over his body until his eyes went dark. The man raced straight toВ death, his unconscious body slid limply into the depths ofВ the sea and even the railing will not be able toВ save him from aВ sad fate. Rodion took aВ lifebuoy and ran towards Vadim, raindrops blurred his eyes or it was the tears ofВ the young man himself that hindered him, but he slipped on the deck again and abruptly hit his chin on the floor, bit his tongue so much that it bled. The clothes were all wet and wet and stuck unpleasantly toВ the body. His hands were torn inВ blood and stung wounds from every contact with water.
Vadim’s back hit the railing painfully, and the light metal bent under his weight. The man caught his coat on the hull of the ship, but the fabric did not hold the weight and the piece of clothing remained hanging. So Vadim fell into the water, it was bubbling and foaming, and the black abyss had already hidden a good part of his body.
– Vadim Alexandrovich! Rodion shouted, he hung on the railing, but when his friend disappeared under the water, his heart stopped for a moment.
Rodion closed his eyes, he panicked for one second, but immediately pulled himself together and jumped after him. He was holding on toВ aВ lifeline, which stood out very vividly against the general greyness ofВ the day. No one saw them overboard, everyone was busy with other things, and the ship slowly but began toВ sail away from the two men. Rodion was able toВ pull Vadim byВ the hand at the last moment, he was unconscious.
– Wait! Rodion shouted, rowing with his hands, he threw Vadim into a circle and sailed after the ship, pushing the cargo ahead. – Wait!
The strength began to leave the young man, the scream became quieter, and the jerks became slower and slower. The wave covered them with their heads, and Vadim fell into the water again. Rodion slowly disappeared under the water, he could not see because of the salt water, and the air in his lungs slowly began to come out. It’s a strange feeling from immersion in water. The liquid envelops the body, is felt by all parts of the body and is so pleasant at the fingertips. Something touched Rodion’s leg, it was hard and sharp, because the young man scratched his calf. It glowed with a bright blue glow, and the water with algae reflected from the unusual surface. Rodion did not see, because he ran out of air, and he began to twitch convulsively, but Vadim slowly disappeared part by part in this strange object, he absorbed it silently, only the water wilderness was in his ears. Rodion made a last effort and dived after Vadim, because he had nothing to lose. He felt his way down the pole on which the object was held and touched the surface, she sucked him not sharply, but gently and smoothly. Rodion dived upside down and disappeared, just like Vadim, a trickle of blood was flowing from his nose.
***
Vadim woke up from aВ severe pain inВ his back. He jerked violently from fear, because he was inВ an unknown place, it was blurred. Vadim abruptly assumed aВ sitting position, and his whole body responded with terrible pain, and sea water poured out ofВ his mouth. When he regurgitated aВ whole puddle ofВ water, Vadim decided toВ examine the place inВ more detail.
It was aВ huge forest, very bright and lush. There were thousands ofВ different trees and shrubs growing around, so it was impossible toВ determine the type ofВ forest. Being inВ aВ sitting position, he raised his gaze towards the sky and squinted from the bright light ofВ the Sun, but there was aВ giant arch inВ front ofВ him. This arch resembled the entrance toВ the eastern buildings and this gigantic structure covered almost half ofВ the view. On the right side there were about two or three large and more than ten smaller rectangular buildings, it seems there were also huge entrances inВ front ofВ them. There was also the top ofВ aВ couple ofВ towers, it seems European style. When Vadim lowered his gaze, the surrounding forest and trees seemed toВ have no end, and only this huge structure was visible. Under it was an ordinary earth with emerald grass. Berries were growing on the bushes, and small animals were sitting on the branches ofВ the trees. Vadim perfectly remembered Rodion, who was nearby.
– Perhaps we got to Australia or a part of Africa, where it’s always summer, but I never remember such a large structure in these latitudes – Vadim hoarsely squeezed out, his throat still hurt after the sea water.
Looking around once more, Vadim made an attempt to get up from his seat, he succeeded, but he had to lean on a tree that was nearby. The man’s back still hurt, and he is alone here, remembers only thunderstorms, the ship and Rodion, and then everything is in a fog. He touched his back with his hand and hissed painfully, there was clearly a bruise or a broken rib. The man cast a sad glance at his coat, which was wet and torn on the back, there were a couple of buttons missing, and the diary in the pocket along with the wallet were damaged by water. Vadim took hold of his head, all his things were on the ship, and there were no means of communication around!
It was not clear how he ended up inside the forest and why there was no shore anywhere near where he could have been thrown. And anyway, how did he just stay alive? He examined everything once again and tried toВ walk, despite the fact that he was bent over and walking slowly, he thought it was much better than just lying on the ground and waiting for the predator toВ come.
At this time, Rodion was making his way through the bushes with blackberries, the young man barely moved his legs, blood was flowing from his right calf. He blinked and hissed inВ pain, but bravely endured. His clothes were all wet. Suddenly, he saw Vadim nearby.
– I found you! – he exclaimed in a tired and quiet voice, he almost collapsed from impotence, but a strong hand grabbed his elbow.
«I’m glad you’re alive,» Vadim said, smiling sadly. – But I’m not glad that you got into the same story with me. Do you remember what happened to us?
– Every moment! You passed out, after which we fell into the ocean, then drowned…» he blurted out. – That’s what I thought.
Together they looked around the space again inВ aВ new way. Only this forest stretched around and the chirping ofВ birds could be heard. Streams flowed nearby and therefore aВ faint sound ofВ water could be heard.
– We need to go ahead, there is some kind of construction, maybe they will help us, – said Vadim.
They took each other’s shoulders and headed towards the structure, and then they noticed that quite far away, above the tops of the trees, the top of a certain «green wall» could be seen, which also stretched from east to west, like the structure, the tops of which, as the comrades thought, were hidden behind clouds.
Chapter six. AВ strange place
Vadim and Rodion continued their journey in the thickets of this magnificent forest. Vadim was able to bandage Rodion’s wound by tearing part of the hem of his coat, anyway it is no longer suitable. Rodion examined the back of his comrade, there was also a decent wound. But after a while they began to get used to this pain, because hunger was already drowning it out. To distract himself a little, Vadim spoke:
– Rodion Mikhailovich, this forest is quite strange. There are different kinds of trees and shrubs here – the teacher spoke as cheerfully as possible.
– You are right, Vadim Alexandrovich, but is it possible for us to eat any of these berries? We won’t be able to reach the fruit if there are fruit trees here.
«No, my friend, we can’t take any chances. Alas, I don’t recognize any of the berries,» Vadim Alexandrovich answered after looking around.
