How do I describe what I saw in the light of Syringa's fallen flashlight?

Like... a huge gorilla, its arms and legs as if shaved bald, with a similarly bald head of an Australopithecus and a furry body. And such a thing has crawled out of the water, reaching its paws towards the fallen and softly whimpering Syringa, like in tales about monsters that want to snatch away little children to their lair to eat them.

Yeah, dream on, darn it.

Knowing that I'd hardly hit anything, I still lifted the rifle and pulled the trigger, driving the creature back. A burst of automatic gunfire shattered the silence that had enveloped us for the last few hours. It even hit my eardrums, which started to hurt. Of course, holding the gun outstretched was quite a task, not to mention the recoil. It immediately jerked upward, the barrel hopping left and right, spraying lead everywhere except the target and chipping stone fragments from the cave. The rifle almost jumped out of my hand.

The creature got scared. It darted from the flashlight's beam into the darkness, disappearing into the cave we had emerged from. I kept firing, climbing out of the gap. I stopped when the rifle clicked dryly with metal. The magazine was empty. I pulled it out, hid it, shoved a new one in, and pulled the bolt.

"Box!" Malu called out, somewhat frightened. "What's happening?!"

I didn't answer, utterly focused on the cave the creature escaped to. I illuminated it with a bright flashlight, catching the exit in the darkness, aiming there, and slowly approaching the groaning Syringa, who was now slowly getting up.

"How are you?" I asked very quietly.

"It threw a piece of stone at me," she complained, getting on all fours. "It hurts so much..."

At that moment, as if reacting to our words, a shadow darted from the cave straight to the water, and without a moment's doubt, I started shooting.

But I wasn't quick enough.

Bullets chipped pieces of stone from the wall right behind the creature, who swiftly reached the water and surprisingly silently dived into the lake, leaving only ripples on the water's surface. I rushed to the shore and started shooting into the water, sending up small fountains of splashes. I aimed from the hip, hoping to hit it, but then stopped, peering intently into the depths of the lake and frantically scanning the bottom with my flashlight. But there was just stone, more stone, cobblestones, rock... damn it!

I aimed the rifle at the shadow just as it was surfacing in front of me. And before I could fire, I got hit in the chest. A blow of such force that even I, a one-hundred-kilo guy, was launched back into the wall. I flew those three meters without even touching the ground with my feet, and I hit with such force that not only my own breath but everything that kept me conscious simply evaporated.

Everything in my head started to blur, and I nearly passed out. The world before me would reveal itself in all its glory, then plummet into darkness along with my consciousness. Through these flashes, I watched as this distorted version of a gorilla slowly, almost dramatically, arose from the water, illuminated by my fallen flashlight and the lantern on my forehead.

I would have loved to stand up, but my body simply wouldn't obey. I was on the edge of losing consciousness myself.

Just as the creature was a few meters away from me, Syringa pounced on its back. Growling, she reached its hump in a single leap, opened her mouth, revealing a frightening palisade of teeth, and latched onto its neck.

The creature growled quietly, as if not wanting to make unnecessary noise, and started to twist in different directions, trying to shake Syringa off and reach for her with its hands.

However, she skillfully jumped off, letting its massive paws grasp for nothing but air. She dove under it, struck its knee, bounced back, and struck its knee again. Now, Syringa was moving on all fours like a real beast, growling slightly and circling the creature sideways. Her arms, it seemed, were becoming a bit longer, and her teeth were now protruding out, not even fitting under her lips. The lower part of her face also stretched slightly.

She lunged at the creature and bounced back again, avoiding its blows. Over and over again, leading it away from me.

"Damn... bastard..." I muttered, struggling to look around for the gun. It was lying a few meters away from me.

I didn't even try to stand up; I just crawled over to it on all fours as if drunk. I plopped down, picked it up, pulled the bolt back slightly to check the cartridge in the chamber, then pressed the butt against my shoulder. Everything was still blurry in front of my eyes, but I was no longer afraid that I would pass out.

I aimed at the creature and then shouted:

"Syringa! Move!" But instead of a shout, only the wheezes of a heavy smoker escaped my mouth.

But even that she heard, jumping nearly two meters away from the creature. And I started shooting. Short bursts, aimed where its knees should be. Again, the roar of automatic gunfire: a small burst into one leg, then into the other, again into one, and again into the other.

And with a monstrous deafening roar, the creature finally fell to its knees. But even then, it tried to crawl on its hands into the lake.

Didn't work out.

Syringa finally remembered why she had a gun. She jumped up to the creature, put the barrel to its temple, and pulled the trigger. The roar of gunfire, an entire magazine of bullets, followed by a light "boom" as the creature's body fell to the ground.

After that, she dropped the gun and slowly sat down on the ground:

"Phew..." Apparently, she also got hit pretty hard.

Honestly, I wanted to lay down too, maybe rest a little, even if it was on the ground. But... I couldn't afford that. I could get enough sleep when I was dead. So, I put weight on one leg, then tensed and quickly stood up, swaying.

"Syringa?" I asked, my voice as if I was on something.

At this moment, Malu had already squeezed through the crack.

"What in the... holy shit, what is that?" He directed his flashlight at the creature Syringa was sitting next to. I staggered over to him, swaying slightly from side to side.

"A creature."

"I see that, but..." he slowly and cautiously approached as if the creature could jump up at any second. "Syringa, how are you?"

"Not great... The bastard threw a cobblestone at me," she sighed. "It's a troll."

"A troll? I thought they only existed in fairy tales?"

"Do we look like we're in a fairy tale?" She gave him a gloomy look. "Or am I not real? It's just an underground troll, nothing special."

"No shit, nothing special," he muttered.

When I walked over, Syringa's limbs and overall appearance had returned to normal, except for the blood on her face. As for the troll, as she called it, it indeed had bald arms, legs, and head, covered with very rough skin, while the rest of the body was furry. Its face resembled an Australopithecus or a hideous human. A small forehead, powerful jaws, large dumpling-like lips from under which fangs protruded, a huge nose, and even large ears sticking out in different directions, like an elf's.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Perhaps we had found a relative of the Yeti.

"Do they even... Fuck..." Malu's reality perception has been slightly shaken, and I can relate. You live in a world with television, cars, and airplanes. And here you meet a troll from fairy tales. It's like snowfall in the middle of the summer.

"What was it eating here? It definitely couldn't fit through the crevice," I noted.

"Probably, either it was hibernating, or there's another entrance. But this one looks old, see, it's all bald. It's probably been living here for a long time."

"Was it alone here?" asked Malu, sweeping the cave with the barrel of his gun.

"If it wasn't alone, they would all be here by now."

Syringa sighed, reached out her hand, and Malu helped her to get up. She stretched as if she had just gotten out of bed and made a cracking sound with her neck. Then she went over to the lake to wash her face, picked up her gun and went for her bag.

"Can you walk?" he started. "Maybe your bag..."

"No need, I'll drag everything myself. Though I doubt I'll be able to run today, or even tomorrow, as briskly as before."

I looked doubtfully at her, then at Malu, but he just shrugged, implying that's how stubborn she was. As for the creature, I examined it once more. It wasn't so extraordinary or unearthly to instill a surge of panic or a sense of unreality. I could even have assumed it was some sort of monkey, forcing it into our reality if it weren't for Syringa's words.

It's enough to drive you mad... But then again, don't our electronics, impulse, and airplanes seem just as strange to those who have never encountered them?

This time, Malu was the last to squeeze through the crack. The final rays of light from the flashlight briefly illuminated the underground lake and the corpse from which blood flowed into the water, and then everything fell into darkness.

We crawled through the crevice one after another to the other side, where Crowbar and Geezer were already waiting for us.

"What happened there?" Crowbar asked immediately, exhaling with relief.

"Better you don't know," Malu dismissed him.

"Oh, come on!"

"Then you can go and see for yourself. But trust me, you won't forget it. Some things are better left unknown, unseen, and unnoticed," he shook his head and walked past.

Crowbar looked at Malu with doubt, then at me and Syringa, and then at the passage we had crawled out of. He didn't dare. And he made the right decision - it's better to think that we live in a normal world; otherwise, you might start to wonder if we also have vampires?

We climbed on for about half an hour. Luckily, there were no sheer climbs with perfectly smooth walls, except for steep cliffs we encountered twice. Rocks, rocks, rocks - the only thing we saw all the way - until the regular ground and sand appeared under our feet.

Just a couple of minutes later, we were in front of the cave exit. It was in the form of a pretty narrow hole under some roots and could only be reached by climbing a small but steep mound. We were somewhere in a place resembling an anteroom before the actual cave, where the wind sometimes blew in leaves, branches, and other debris.

"The cave should still be jamming the beacons, so I suggest we check everything and then climb out," I proposed.

The others didn't mind. This action took us a little while, after which we put the money back into the bags. We counted about ten beacons in total.

"Do you have the flash drive?" Malu asked unexpectedly when we were already putting the money back.

The moment I reached into my pocket and didn't feel it, my heart skipped a beat and sunk into my stomach. But it turned out that the flash drive was just in another zippered pocket. Smiling with relief, I handed it to him.

"Here you go."

"I thought you lost it."

"For a moment, I thought so too," I admitted, exhaling with relief.

***

It was about three in the morning when we returned to our safehouse. No one had much energy left, but there was so much joy that it would have been enough for a hundred people. Even though we weren't very talkative, each of us radiated a charge of good vibes. The atmosphere was upbeat and even festive.

Having crawled out of the cave with great difficulty, we walked through the forest for a few more hours until we reached the city's outskirts. The industrial district was on the other side, but that wasn't a problem - Syringa was already eyeing a suitable car for us.

Malu wanted to call Arrow, but I put my hand on his shoulder and shook my head.

"It's better not to."

"You think he'll screw us over?"

"Screwing us over is the least he can do."

"So, what do you suggest?"

"Let's not tell him we hit the jackpot for now, okay?" I proposed peacefully. "There will be the time for that, right?"

Malu looked at me attentively, pondering something, then just nodded.

"Alright, okay," he shook his head. "We'll get to our safehouse and decide there."

How much did I believe that Arrow would serve us shit on a silver platter? I would say it was fifty-fifty. Maybe yes, maybe no. He hadn't screwed us over before and hadn't given a reason to think he wanted to, but still, some details and coincidences bothered me and raised questions. Why?

The answer - the most logical one - was also not the most pleasant and cheerful.

So, not telling him yet was a good decision. We'll arrive, celebrate a little, divide everything, and then decide how to transfer his money with the "cargo" to ensure maximum safety. After all, we don't have to bring everything we'd gotten to him, right?

"Hey, guys, need a lift?" Syringa pulled up in a car next to us. A standard family van that could fit all of us.

We haven't encountered any adventures on the way. Syringa knew how to choose the roads to take. We saw patrol cars several times, but each time, we were far enough away from them and cleverly veered off to courtyards and various side streets in residential areas.

The safehouse, it turned out, was in the basement of an abandoned workshop. A small space with four concrete supports that held up the ceiling above us, which also happened to be the workshop floor. In the center of the room was a large hatch leading to the sewer, as I understand it. Above it, there were several tables on which we put our bags.

"I can't believe we did this," Syringa exhaled when the sixth bag landed on the table. She immediately unzipped it and took out several bundles. "Great Keeper, this is the first time I hold so much!"

Even her ears began to pop out from under her combed hair. I had to put my hand on her head, hiding them. She looked at me questioningly, then smiled, understanding the reason, and winked.

"So, fatso, going to buy out all the burger joints?"

"Sassy," I smiled.

"You didn't let me call you a fatso, though," Geezer squinted.

"Naturally," I calmly replied and hugged her by the shoulders. "You're not a sweetheart, unlike her."

In response, Syringa stuck out her tongue at him.

Geezer just grunted.

"Yeah, not a sweetheart, for sure. But all's well that ends well," he opened his bag. "So, Crowbar, still going to the university?"

"Naturally, there's just enough here."

"Where does university cost that much?" Alex made a face.

"The Silverside International," Crowbar shrugged. "Of course, you can go to Harvard or Oxford, or even Tokyo or Moscow, but what's the point?"

"Yeah, what's the point?" Malu grunted. "University is for wimps. You can just move to some third-world country, invest money there to keep it flowing, have multiple wives, do whatever you want with them, and forget this hell of concrete basements and dirty streets."

"But what about achieving something in life?" Crowbar smirked.

"Achieving something? I'm sick of it."

"Isn't Silverside University for people with impulse?" I asked.

"Not just for them. The very fact that you've finished it means a lot," he raised his finger.

Meanwhile, Syringa was in no hurry to speak about her plans, just dreamily touching the money and even smelling it as if it were everything. In a way, it was everything.

"Anyway, we need to figure out what to do now," Alex clapped his hands.

"Now? Split the money," Geezer cracked a smirk.

"That's clear, but we need to pay off Arrow anyway. Now or later."

"Well, probably now…" Malu scratched the back of his head. "We can count it out for him right away and deliver it, and the rest stays with us. There is no need to carry all twenty million around the city. We can drop off his guns, too."

"Did we leave them in the car? Is it safe to leave them there at all?"

"What can happen to them?" I shrugged.

"Besides someone stealing the car…" began Alex.

His words earned a stern look from Malu:

"What an asshole, you made me worry about it too. Now go get them yourself."

"Nah, I won't trust you with my money. Syringa?"

"Why Syringa right away?" she flared up. "Go yourself!"

"Oh, come on! And I… I won't annoy you anymore! There!" he cheered, having found a worthy reason.

"You won't annoy me anyway!" Her smile stretched from ear to ear. "We'll part ways soon."

"But we have a whole night ahead, baby," Alex winked at her, causing her to grimace.

"Asshole," she muttered on her way out of the room.

"Are you going to carry them all yourself?" But she didn't hear. "Box, will you help her?"

"Trust me, ones like Syringa can carry all the guns."

"Come on, just go with her," he winked at me. "Think about it, you can help there, and then she…"

"Chatterbox," I just waved him off. "Alright, let's split. Let's finish this."

Everyone nodded in agreement and started laying out the money from the bags on the table.

"So… how much for each?" asked Crowbar, having counted the money and the bags.

"Two million, three hundred and thirty-three thousand, three hundred and thirty-three dollars," I immediately rattled off.

"You remembered all that yourself?" Alex smirked.

"It's hard to forget," I forced a polite smile. "But we don't have small bills."

"We'll round it to hundreds, and the rest we'll donate to charity," Geezer shrugged. "Anyone against it?"

We shook our heads and started counting the money, filling the first bag with stacks...

The night was just beginning for us. The night that changed all of our lives forever. Because we forgot the main rule of this world - never trust anyone. Everyone betrays; it's just a matter of price. In a few moments, we would feel it on our own skin.