Chapter 14. Booze and other troubles.

"Can I come in? - Yes, of course. He enters the bedroom and sees her naked. He wants her, feelings flared up with renewed vigor. His arms wrap around her waist and he kisses her neck, while she tilts her head back, giving him more space for caresses. He is literally blown away by the sensations. He can feel her body, she smells like sweet flowers. He takes her by the shoulders and turns her around to face him. He bends down and touches her lips. He closes his eyes, anticipating even more intense pleasure. He feels small electrical discharges passing through his body. He opens his eyes. In front of him is no longer a beautiful girl, but a real monster, a vixen from ancient myths. Two blue balls instead of eyes look at him. And then a sharp pain at the bottom. He sees her dig her claws into her stomach, opening it like a sack. The insides fall out and blood pours down her inhuman arms. He hears a loud furious growl."

- Aaaaaaa – Dean jumped out of bed and immediately bent over from the pain in his stomach. "It would just be a dream...a fucking dream." Gathering his strength, he reached the sink and vomited out. He looked up at his reflection in the mirror. "What a sight. It's like coming back from hell." A cold shower usually helps in such situations. The icy water brings you to your senses and helps you collect your thoughts. After getting out of the cab, he dressed hastily and looked in the mirror again.

- No more alcohol, man. Do you understand me? You know you dream about this shit when you drink – Dean wagged his finger at himself and went downstairs.

The house was empty. In the small garage adjacent to the house, mechanical clanging and occasional swearing could be heard. Paul was picking at the engine of the car and trying to fix something. When Dean entered the garage, he didn't even notice him, or just pretended not to notice. They hardly knew each other. It was only the second time they had seen each other since their arrival here. He had heard that Paul worked in a mine not far from here, so he was not at home so often.

Dean came closer.

- What's wrong with her?

Paul looked at him with an exhausted look.

- Something is wrong in the carburetor - Paul irritably hit the engine with the edge of his palm so that the car tilted.

Dean looked at the broken part and asked Paul if he had changed the filters for a long time. After receiving no response, Dean found a new filter and put it in the carburetor. "Now it should work properly." After getting into the car, he turned the ignition key and this time, the car did not make any extraneous sounds. Paul whistled and came closer:

- Holy shit. My respects. By the way, I'm Paul.

Dean returned the gesture of greeting and examined his new acquaintance more closely. It seems that he has already learned to sense hybrids and others. For something told him. That he wasn't really human. Paul seemed to feel it too and looked back at him.

- what?

- I'm sorry, but you're…

- Yes, I'm not human. Is there a problem? Paul grinned and a faint green light appeared in his eyes.

Dean turned away and turned off the engine. It seems he shouldn't have asked that. He didn't really care who Paul was at all. Anyway, he seemed like a friendly guy.

- I'm sorry, it's okay. Nice to meet you.

Paul laughed and slapped him on the shoulder.

- Relax, man, I'm kidding. How would you like to drink to the acquaintance? I know a great bar not far from here.

Dean shook his head. After tonight, he was once again convinced that alcohol was not doing him any good. These nightmares can drive him crazy. It wasn't the first dream he'd had with Sarah. And each time, he ended up with her killing him. Over and over again. And he didn't want to have that dream the very next night.

- I don't know. I think I need to abstain from alcohol. Otherwise, the nightmares will kill me.

Paul nodded understandingly.

"Do you have nightmares too?" I understand you. Sometimes, when I dream about all this stuff, I wake up in my... other form. Do you understand what I mean? Paul laughed again and nudged Dean with his shoulder – Once it happened right at work. I was on the night shift. It was a good thing that no one was in the break room except me at that moment. Otherwise…You understand what would have happened.

They quickly found contact and Paul still managed to convince him that a little beer wouldn't hurt.

He took him to a small bar where local hard workers usually went and bikers occasionally stopped by. There wasn't as much space inside as I wanted. There were a dozen rough wooden tables and benches, and a bar in the far corner. On the walls hung the flags of the banking clubs, as well as the flags of the northern and southern states during the Civil War. They took one of the tables and placed their order. Paul seemed like a pleasant conversationalist. If John couldn't get a word out of him, and he was mostly silent, then Paul, on the contrary, talked about everything without a break. He mostly talked in detail about his work, as well as about their travels with the Sil. It turns out that they traveled half the country. They lived in Wyoming the longest. There he worked at a sawmill. Paul laughed as he told how he was distracted one day and his arm was cut off with a circular disk. And the arm recovered in seconds.

- Sil told me that we can repair the damaged parts of the body. She had to cut off her finger, and it grew back. But I was very scared that time. This disc literally cut my arm lengthwise to the elbow. Can you imagine? He literally divided it into two halves, and imagine my surprise when it stuck together again, as if nothing had happened. Paul told it casually, as if he were sharing an ordinary daily fact from his life.

Then they jokingly drank to Paul's hand. As the mug was coming to an end, Dean's phone rang. Hastings' number appeared on the screen. It's been a long time since he called him. Dean answered the phone, and there was heavy breathing and a strangled, trembling voice on the line:

- P-p-help me… Dean, they've got me... Hastings mumbled plaintively, spitting out the words. He was trying to explain his location to Dean. He was attacked while driving after work. His car was stopped and they started shooting. The bullet shattered his leg. They wanted to kill him, but then these unknown people stuffed him into the trunk and took him away.

Paul stared at Dean, not taking his eyes off him. Thanks to his perfect hearing, he could hear every word Hastings said.

- Where are you?

- I... I don't know, it's some kind of big farm. As I was being driven, I noticed that we were passing the town of Sandy Frost. We turned right behind him, and then, after a few miles, turned right again.

Leaving the bar and not letting go of the phone, I accidentally bumped into one biker who was standing next to the entrance. With a short "Excuse me", I headed for the car, but a heavy hand stopped me.

- Hey, kid! Look where you're going – a big guy in a vest and tight biker trousers stood in front of me and shook his fist. "That's all I need." Next to him were a couple of his friends, the same bikers. They watched the development of events with malicious smiles. All three of them were tipsy and clearly wanted to blow off steam. Although the situation already looked hopeless, I still decided to try to defuse the situation.

- Look, I didn't mean to push you. It was an accident, I don't need any problems right now. I'm in a hurry. So let's just go our separate ways peacefully, like nothing ever happened, OK?!

I said this in the most peaceful and harmless way possible. Although I had neither the strength nor the desire to fight. Especially against these three foreheads. I played sports at university and even had thoughts of doing wrestling, but I never had to really fight in hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, objectively. My chances were now zero. And these guys obviously understood this perfectly well.

Coming closer to me, the biker gave me a contemptuous look. His friends, putting down their beer, began to walk around my sides, one of them began to punch his palm, making it clear that I was easy prey for them.

- Listen, you little bitch. Do you know who I am? I'm going to turn you into a steak and devour you without sauce. And my guys will help me with this.

All three of them let out a friendly guffaw at the same time. None of them noticed another guy who had come out of the bar and was now coming closer with his hands in his pockets.

- Three against one. It's not fair. He apologized to you, what do you want? I give you some friendly advice, go ahead and drink your beer. Otherwise, you will collect your bones. - Paul said it in a voice that didn't bode well. Dean had already noticed the gleam in his eyes, which always meant the same thing. He was ready. And if these guys don't obey his orders, then if they stay alive, it will be a great success for them.

I took a quick look at Paul and then at the guys, figuring out what to do. The one on the right looked pretty cool. Now they all turned around and looked at Paul. A second later, all three of them started laughing again. They can be understood, Paul didn't look like a fighter at all. He was of medium height, thin, with a pretty face and ashen hair. But Dean knew it was just a disguise. There is a monster inside it that is ready to protect its host at any moment.

- Are you his friend? Oh, I get it. You're probably one of those blue ones, aren't you? - The biker was literally bent in half from a fit of laughter.

Paul ignored this phrase and came closer. After laughing off, the biker took on a stern look and quickly came close to the Floor. Swinging, he was ready to smash the guy's face into trash with one blow. But his fist was stopped. Paul's boyish hand, which was twice as small as the biker's, crunched the fist of the enemy and the biker fell to his knees screaming in pain. A boot kick to the chest caused him to fly ten meters and crash headfirst into the bike. The blow was so strong that he lost consciousness.

Taking advantage of the moment, I rushed at the one on the right and, gathering all my strength, struck several blows to the jaw and head. "Get the bastard." This one was ready too. For the first time in my life, I beat up a man. It's a strange feeling. I didn't know how hard I could hit and I was afraid to get an answer. But judging by the fact that my opponent was now rolling on the asphalt and holding his jaw while whining, I put enough effort into calming him down for a long time. A shout behind me made me turn around. Paul's face had already partially changed, the skin structure was more rigid, his eyes turned into slits like reptiles, fangs peeked out from under his upper lip. Holding his enemy with a clawed hand, he beat his back against the wall with all his might. The bricks crumbled and crumbled from the blows. Blood was spurting from the man's mouth like a fountain. His legs were swinging convulsively. The last blow almost sent him to heaven. But Paul didn't go on and released his grip. The body slid to the ground and his lungs spurted blood in short bursts.

Nodding to Paul, I wasted no time heading for the car. After starting the engine, we left for the highway in a couple of minutes.

- I hope we didn't kill anyone.

- Fuck them. They wouldn't feel sorry for you. - Paul's phrase reminded me of Eva's words to me at the gas station. – by the way, you fight well.

- Thanks. It was my first time. - I examined my fists - and I hope the last one.

"Yes, Sil, I didn't cheat. There are really great milkshakes here." Sarah smiled at her thoughts as she sucked in a sweet mass of chocolate, ice cream, milk and various toppings through a tube. She was so engrossed in her drink that she did not notice how a strangely dressed guy approached her. In appearance, he resembled a cowboy from old westerns. The only difference was a black backpack hung with various badges and tokens. And on the bottom of his chain dangled a figure of a green alien with big black eyes. The usual cliched image from movies and comics.

- Is it free here?

Sarah looked at him and nodded.

- Thanks - the guy threw off his backpack and plopped down on a chair. Sarah noticed his cowboy vest, which was also full of various patches. One of them depicted a strange creature, its appearance was vaguely similar to her, the same rigid exoskeleton, paws with long claws, but the head was very different, it was elongated like a banana and this creature had no eyes. The guy noticed how closely she was examining the patch.

- Do you like it? I love these movies. But they are natural predators. No one knows where they come from or who created them. Whoever came up with it is just a genius. - the guy was talking enthusiastically. Sarah was distracted from her cocktail and enthusiastically listened to this man.

- And do you like them? - Would you like to meet him in life?

The guy was glad that she kept up the conversation with him.

- Yes, these films are just crazy. I would like to see something like this in my life. - the guy's eyes shone with joy when he told it – imagine fighting a real alien predator. I like their shape and the way they act. They are secretive, fast and incredibly strong. And their Armor can withstand even bullets. They can survive anywhere, even in a vacuum.

Sarah let out a laugh.

- And would you have been able to handle this monster?

The guy thought a little about her question

- I think so. But powerful guns will be needed. For example, a rifle with armor-piercing bullets or a flamethrower. I was here the other day at a conference where they discussed ways to deal with aliens. Just don't look at me like that, I know I look like a science fiction nut.

He spread his hands.

Sarah was curious.:

- What if they look like people and are no different from you or me? How will you calculate them then? - Sarah watched with a smile as she stumped the guy with her question.

A black-haired woman approached them, who had already changed her waiter's uniform into her usual jacket and jeans.

- I'm free. We can go for a walk somewhere

The guy turned and looked at the woman:

- Oh, I'm sorry, miss! Is this your daughter?

Sarah and Seal burst into loud laughter together. The guy, realizing that he had made a mistake, blushed noticeably and began awkwardly apologizing.

- It's okay. In fact, I would be happy to have such a daughter. And I see you've already met?

Sarah, still laughing, looked at Syl:

- Yes, we are discussing aliens here.

Sil looked at the guy with interest:

- Are you into it?

- Yes... I like it - the guy, embarrassed and blushing, lowered his face.

Seal smiled at the answer. Sarah stood up and they walked together to the exit.

- It was nice to meet you.

- Yes, me too. By the way, what's your name? Why don't you leave your phone and let's go out for dinner together? - The guy awkwardly stood up to escort the girl, but almost fell, tripping over a chair leg.

Sarah turned around and waved at him, smiling sweetly.

They were walking down the street and looked like a mother and daughter, or two friends, one of whom was much older. The same Sil had a lunch break and they could chat for a while.

- Did you just come here or on business? – Seal clearly did not expect her to appear in the cafe and she was wondering why she came to work with her.

Sarah didn't know where to start. She felt like she needed to talk to someone.

- Thank you... for your help last night.

Seal hugged her with a smile and touched her forehead

- I just know too well what loneliness is when there is no one to support or help you. When Paul told me you'd left, I realized I couldn't leave you alone.

Sarah pouted and turned away.

- This Paul. He can't keep his mouth shut. I wanted to do everything by myself without attracting too much attention.

Without letting go of the hugs, she began to laugh.

- Yes, my boy can't hide anything from me. I know you're the coolest of us, but even you need help. Do not refuse when you are offered it.

Sarah smiled back anyway. In fact, she was pleased that she was giving her support. She didn't get that from her mother. As if reading her mind, Syl took her firmly by the hand.

- She loves you. She's your mother and she's going to stand up for you to the death, she's been looking for you. Don't be offended by her. It's not easy for her now either. Just give it time and everything will get better.

They stopped at a small vending machine. Seal tossed a couple of coins and picked up a can of Coke that had fallen out.

- "This stuff is terribly harmful to people. But they adore her, just like me" - these words sounded already in her head.

After draining the jar in a couple of sips, she crumpled it up and threw it in the trash.

- By the way, I wanted to ask you. How are you doing with this guy? Are you a couple?

Sarah was embarrassed, she didn't want to answer this question. Yes, she had feelings for Dean, but he didn't accept her. And he's unlikely to be able to accept it. She remembered the night she tried to seduce him in church. He ran away from her as from the plague when she saw another form. He won't be able to take her form. He thinks she's going to kill him or maim him. He was scared. And fear and love are incompatible. John was of her blood and they had no problem with that. Although they didn't have much love either. John had been her whole world for several years. He was a friend, a brother, a protector, a guardian, but not a lover. She did not think that she would meet Dean again, when they left, they thought that they were leaving forever. But she still had a connection with him. This connection allowed them to get him out of the lab.

- I don't know. I'm his friend, nothing more.

Seal nodded and looked into Sarah's eyes with a sly smile.

- And who is he to you?

The question remained unanswered. She still has a lot to figure out for herself. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she asked Forces:

- What about you and your boyfriend?

Syl was a little embarrassed

- What kind of guy?

It was the second time Sarah had seen Sil having a fit of laughter. She was laughing and couldn't stop.

- Are you serious now? Do you think this is my boyfriend? – Sil hugged Sarah without stopping laughing - I liked this joke. No. Paul is my... seconds son

- A son?

-Yeas. At these words, she stopped laughing and Sarah saw the pain, the terrible pain in her eyes – and I'm happy that I have him.

Sarah was interested in the reaction of the Forces, but she did not ask about it yet. They chatted a little more and Syl went back to work as her lunch was over.

- You definitely asked off? I don't want her to yell at me later. You know her. - an obese man in overalls and an orange cap was driving him to the city. A wise neighbor, Uncle Tom agreed to help bring him to a neighboring town.

- I have some business there. I'll drop you off at the center, pick you up at the same place in the evening. Understood? Don't be late.

- All right, Tom.

This town was bigger than their rundown village. But it was still pretty average in size. After saying goodbye to Tom, I went out onto the main street and started thinking about how I could find her. Where she might be. After all, I do not know her address or phone number. Just the name. I looked into several nearby shops and a video rental salon, where I asked if they knew a girl. But no one could tell me anything. But everyone asked why I was alone and where my parents were. And I didn't want to answer such questions at all.

I didn't realize then that a child who walks the streets alone would attract a lot of unnecessary attention.

In another store, a strange woman came up to me and started asking "who am I?", "from where?". I told her that I just went out for a walk so as not to answer a lot of unnecessary questions. But she didn't calm down. She looked quite nice and pretended that she was sincerely trying to help me. But it seemed to me that she was pretending. Saying something about the fact that they were already waiting for me at home, I went to the exit. On the street, she ran up to me again and grabbed my hand and started dragging me somewhere. I started to pull out and scream. But she just put her hand in my mouth. She said she knew my parents and would take me home. That she's my mother's friend. But my mother didn't have any girlfriends.

Now, as I sat at the table and calmly ate my ice cream, which Eva so kindly bought me, I could remember all this without worry and worry. But a couple of hours ago I didn't know what was waiting for me. Eva said that I probably just have a gift for getting into various kinds of trouble.

When this strange woman was about to shove me into a nearby car, someone grabbed her arm and threw her away from me. A woman in a leather jacket, gray T-shirt and shoulder-length white hair stood in front of me. The driver took off without waiting and the car disappeared into an alley.

The woman looked at me and said with a smile:

- An old acquaintance again. You're lucky to get into trouble after all.

I looked at her and then in the other direction, where the woman who tried to steal me was lying on the sidewalk.

- Do you know her?- My rescuer nodded at the motionless woman.

I shook my head.

- I don't know her

- Okay, let's get out of here. I don't want to mess with the cops. - there weren't many people on the street, but some passers-by stopped looking at us and at the body lying nearby. One man ran up to the phone booth and started dialing a number.

Eva, at that time I didn't know her name yet, took me by the hand and led me away from this place.

They had a big house, much bigger than my aunt's. I'm already silent about the room in the social hostel where my mother and I lived before...

Cold chocolate ice cream helped to ward off bad memories of the past.

- Do you like it? - an adult blonde was sitting next to me with her head in her hands. A smile spread across her face.

— yeah... Thanks.. Nigel said without distracting himself, eating ice cream on both cheeks. - What's your name?

The woman looked at the ceiling, thinking about something of her own, then her gaze fell back on the boy:

- Eve

- I remember you. There at night, you were with Sarah.

Eve nodded back.

- Where is she? I was looking for her

- She's busy right now. Why do you need it?

Nigel looked at her, deciding whether to tell her everything.

- This is very important.

- You can wait for her here. But I do not know when she will come home. By the way, won't they be looking for you? Eve cleared the table.

Nigel looked away and decided to change the subject. In fact, he just ran away from home to find them. He didn't ask anyone for permission. He tried not to look in her direction, and that was it. Eve came close and bent down and looked intently into his face.

- Nigel, do you know what I dislike the most? -

her voice became tougher - when they lie to me

He turned and looked into her eyes.

- I'll be picked up in the evening. Tom is coming to pick me up.

Eve moved away.

- OK. And next time, don't go anywhere without asking. It could be dangerous for you. What did you want to tell Sarah?

Nigel was still debating whether to open up to her. After all, he hardly knows this woman. She looked nice, and he definitely didn't feel threatened by her. She saved and took care of him. He had no reason to distrust her. But there was something familiar about her image. Exactly. That picture the man showed him. This woman was in the photo:

- I wanted to tell her that the police and another person came to see me. I thought I should warn her.

Eve looked at him carefully.:

- What kind of person? What did he look like?

The boy described this man to her, and not a single muscle moved on the woman's face. She was still smiling softly:

- Don't worry, this man is not dangerous for her. But thanks for the warning. It's a brave thing to run away from home and go to hell knows where to warn of danger. You're a good friend.

He was pleased to hear the praise. He usually heard only swearing and reproaches from his mother.

- And he didn't tell you anything else - she was obviously interested to find out in more detail why these men came.

And he told her about the photos and that one woman looked very much like her. When he had already blurted everything out, he immediately bit his tongue, realizing that he had just blurted it out. But he immediately added:

- But I told him I didn't recognize anyone.

The woman smiled and patted his hand.

- That's a good boy.

Unable to overcome his curiosity, he decided to ask her anyway:

- Are you Sarah's friend?

She was clearly amused by this question, as she began to shake a little with laughter:

- Something more... I'm her mother.

I didn't expect such an answer, he stared at her with his big eyes:

- Wow. Are you her mom?! Wow!

Having overcome the laughter, the woman replied:

- Why doesn't it look like it?

Nigel opened his mouth to reply, but the conversation was interrupted. Short and long beeps sounded from the radio. A nasty creaking sound. After a short pause, the mechanical voice of the announcer announced:

"Attention! All citizens remain calm! Due to an unforeseen outbreak of severe infection, a curfew is being imposed in the district! Do not leave your homes unnecessarily, use respiratory protection when moving along the street. Have an ID card with you and present it to the patrol on demand! The Government is taking all measures to normalize the situation as soon as possible! And now listen to more detailed instructions in case of an emergency... "

Nigel, unable to move, listened to the alert.

Eve, who was standing next to him, slapped her forehead. Nigel didn't quite hear what she said. But these were clearly not the nicest words a boy his age should know.

- That's not enough yet - She looked at him - And how are you going to disappear home now? Most likely, the police have already begun to set up posts and it is becoming unsafe to move around the city.

Nigel was trying to understand everything that the voice from the radio had said:

- What kind of infection are they talking about?

Eve shrugged her shoulder:

- I have no idea. But I really don't like it. By the way, it seems we have guests. - On the last sentence, she smiled and winked at him.

The door opened and Sarah stepped inside, slamming the door shut behind her. She looked as worried as possible. Looking first at the adult woman, then at the boy sitting next to her.

"It seems we have a problem" - this silent phrase was heard only by Eva and her face immediately became gloomy.

The operational headquarters was deployed near the borders of the quarantine zone. A large staff tent was located in the military camp itself. Vasakh, who had changed his trademark raincoat and suit for an unusual camouflage for him, was listening to a report from one of the senior officers.

"We found one lair here, 30 miles to the southeast in one of the abandoned sheds. We managed to find the bodies of two operatives, but by our arrival all the cocoons were empty. According to our assumptions, they scattered all over the area. There is also a high probability that this is not the only lair."

Vasakh interrupted him:

- How long will the quarantine last? What measures will you take to evacuate civilians?

Instead of the officer, a colonel standing next to him spoke, one of whose eyes was covered with a bandage. He was seconded here with special operations units. They say he has already encountered these creatures and had a lot of experience, like Vasakh himself. Although he had not had to work with this person in previous operations. There were legends that he was just a fucking psycho. After the operation in New York, they even wanted to court-martial him because there were simply monstrous civilian casualties. I don't know what kind of connections he has, but the case was hushed up.

The colonel clearly articulated his plan, which was extremely simple. Settlements will be fenced off and posts reinforced with armored vehicles will be set up. Will release civilians through filtration points, checking their identity and doing a blood test. Any suspicion or disobedience will be punished by firing squad on the spot. He has already given all the relevant orders.

Vasakh listened to him and concluded that this soldier was a real psychopath. However, so did he.

There was a clanking of tracks and the raucous rumble of engines behind the tent's awning wall. "Tanks. Fuck. This psycho brought tanks here. Just a crazy bastard."

Vasakh covered his eyes with his hand. He wanted to do everything quietly and without witnesses. Just a little secret operation. But his plan failed. We'll have to start a massacre again. He didn't want it, but the management had a different view. Not a single piece of evidence of the Athena project should remain on this earth. He had no doubt that Eva and Sarah were there somewhere. They had nowhere else to go. These were the nearest populated pacts from the place of their battle with polishing. They're hiding out here somewhere.

- And if you fail to contain the spread?

The colonel looked at him with his single bleary eye, in which he read sincere contempt for all living things and the fact that he would make any sacrifice to fulfill the order:

- Then I will give the order for the use of weapons of mass destruction. There is a nuclear power plant not far from here. I think we can say that there was an accident. This version will suit the world community.

Vasakh didn't even want to answer that. It was all like a bad dream... he didn't want the situation to go that far…

Without saying a word, he got up from his chair and left the tent, leaving the military to solve tactical issues.

A picture of preparations for a great war opened up before him. Crowds of soldiers and special forces operatives were running through the base. Equipment of various purposes, everything was ready for this fight. He already knew that the district and all the settlements were found in a dense ring. The surrounding forests were mined and helicopters with scanners and televisions constantly circled above them. The local police were alerted and given strict instructions, the story about the infection worked. Not so long ago, a large-scale epidemic of a new strain of influenza took place in the eastern states. And the public should have no questions about such harsh security measures.

He was also aware of the criminal incidents of recent weeks. He had seen all the autopsy and examination reports. It was all too much like the work of half-breeds. The latest victim was a man found dead in his car. One look at him was enough to understand that no wild beast was capable of such damage. Half of his arm was missing, and his torso was a mess. The police are still investigating the details, but they found an identity card in the name of Tom, a local resident.