My calm deep sleep lasted only a couple of hours, and then came the nightmares. In them, I was haunted by daytime horrors and, of course, Liza. I woke up wet through in the morning - my clothes were disgustingly sticky to my body. The bedding was crumpled, and the pillows were scattered on the floor - one of them was torn, as if it had been done with teeth. I wasn’t even surprised at the fact that my hands were clutching the spear.
After a quick shower, I walked into the kitchen. Coffee and cigarettes helped to liven up a bit. Taking another sip, I continued to dig into the laptop, occasionally glancing out the window. The whole sky was covered with gray clouds, a fine drizzle lightly tapped on the glass and window sill. I frustratedly closed the laptop - there was no connection to the Internet, and it is unlikely that the previous owners simply forgot to pay. Something told me - in the near future there will be no Internet.
I put the empty cup aside and, stretching, walked closer to the window. The new «masters» of this world have already awakened, small flocks of creatures joyfully scurried through the streets in search of food. Looking at them, my hands itched: in my nightmares I could only run away from them.
«So, we need to start leveling as soon as possible. I'll leave Katya here, and try to make a sortie myself. Hmm… Oh, here she is. »
Slapping barefoot and rubbing her eyes, Katya walked along the corridor. She stopped at the door for a few seconds and, sneezing, turned in my direction. After the night, the bruise on her forehead became smaller, and the color changed from purple to yellow-green.
“Good morning, I said in my most cheerful voice.
Katya muttered something softly, apparently, I was not the only one who was tormented by nightmares. We ate breakfast in silence again. I tried to come up with some topic for conversation, but, alas…
«How difficult it is with children»
Suddenly, putting the sandwich aside, she looked at me, and decided to start a conversation herself:
“Uncle Sasha, do you think my parents are alive?”
“Um…” I was a little confused by her not childishly serious tone. “I think they are, after all we did survive somehow”
Girl just shook her head in response:
“I've been thinking about it all night. My mom works as a teacher, and dad went on a business trip to Moscow. If they got lucky and did not transform immediately, like everyone else, even then they have little chance of surviving. What do you think?”
I was completely stunned by the reasoning of a nine-year-old girl. At my work, Galina Petrovna used to ask me to look after her granddaughter, but then she was an ordinary child: noisy, capricious, endlessly talking about the collection of pony toys. That Katya and the current one is two different people. Well, I do understand that emergencies change people, but this should happen gradually, and not overnight.
“Uncle Sasha, why aren't you saying anything?” A calm, cold voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“There is logic in your words, but even small chances cannot be ruled out. It is thanks to luck that we are alive. Maybe your parents were lucky too… You better tell me,” I tried to change the subject, “do you feel any changes in yourself?”
Katya frowned slightly and, gasping, touched the bump on her forehead.
“I don’t understand what you mean, Uncle Sasha!” It was the former cool tone. That's the way an HR manager can talk, not a little girl.
A "funny" thought came to me:
“How about you just call me by my first name?”
I smiled a little: there's no way she would do that. I don’t want to embarrass the child, but the situation is painfully alarming.
“Okay, Sasha!” Girl answered easily, not at all embarrassed, and not taking her eyes off me.
“No, this isn't Katya. Did aliens come in at night?
“Sasha, what should we do next?”
From the way she looked seriously at me, I felt out of place.
«Well, let's forget about it for now and assume she's always been like that. There's absolute madness happening all around anyway. »
“I was thinking of going outside and hunting a couple of monsters.”
“And you decided not to take me with you?” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“It is safe here - there's food, water, shelter. You see…” I did not have time to continue the explanation, as the girl interrupted me.
“I'm small, I'll get in the way, and you will be distracted by me, and if something happens to me, you won't ever forgive yourself?” Katya said while ticking off points on her fingers.
“Um, that's pretty much how it is. «Well, it didn’t turn out so bad after all. She understood everything herself, there is still some positives in this sudden "growing up". »
“Then I'll have to disappoint you. Soon you will change your mind.” Katya smiled slightly and, raising a small cup of tea, took a small sip.
“And why is that?” A pile of assumptions rustled in my head.
“Go to the front door.” She didn't seem to want to explain further.
«What a riddle» just in case, I took my spear and, glancing askance at Katya, went to the front door. A couple of steps away from her, I smelled an unpleasant and rather familiar smell - gas. Well, isn't that just wonderful. I pushed open the door and walked up to the flight of stairs, where the concentration of gas only intensified. Returning to the apartment next second, I commanded:
“Pack your things, we need to leave immediately.”
The girl smiled wickedly and jumped down from her chair.
“Jokes aside, you should have told me as soon as you noticed!”
Katya did not answer, quickly slipping past me into the children's room.
«Fuck, fuck, fuck» I grabbed my backpack and stuffed groceries into it instead of the most of my stuff. We can’t be sure how long we will have to look for a new home. Before leaving, I handed the girl a small kitchen knife. I hope she doesn't backstab me with it. After all, her behavior has become too strange.
“Here you are. It is unlikely that you will need it, but at least you need some kind of weapon. It is slightly blunt, but good enough for now. You have to lunge and stab. Is it clear?” I said and showed her how to handle a knife.
“Yes,” girl nodded seriously and, grabbing her small blade, repeated the quick stabbing thrusts after me.
«Eh, now she looks like some halfling from a fantasy world: someone else's multi-colored clothes of a wrong size, and a small dagger. »
Opening the door, I went outside and looked around. Closing our noses and mouths with rags, we rushed down the stairs, jumping over the steps - if there are altered ones in the entrance, then they should already rush at full speed in our direction.
However, on the ground floor, instead of zombies, another surprise awaited us. At the entrance's door sat a man in homeless-like attire, whom I recognized instantly - famous character in our district. Thanks to him, there is an eternal stench in the entrance. System woke up a little late:
Human
Level 0
Survivors faction
Old man immediately reacted to the approaching steps and, picking up an old hunting rifle, pointed it at us. I froze in place, pushing Katya behind my back with my left hand.