– The police. Having examined the apartment once again, the man silently left. The door slammed shut. This time, Gena was not around. The window in the room was open. The marks on the mirror said that he would come back. Varya was standing with a rag in her hand. Their dialogue remained unfinished. She did not want to clean up the traces of Gena and especially the police. She loved one too much, hated the other too much.
– When it is all over. Gena promised to spend the night with her. But for some reason, he suddenly disappeared.
The roof of the police car was covered with a viscous substance. They did not know about it. It was not difficult for Gena to stretch out like a pancake on a plate. Gena was not interested in the case brought against him as a mutant. He firmly knew that it was impossible to catch him. This so-to-speak whirlpool was driven by hatred caused by jealousy. Gena firmly decided to take revenge for such an unacceptable treatment of his beloved freckled young lady. On the way to the police station, Gennady managed to partially eavesdrop on the conversation. From what he overheard, he realized that the danger was more threatening to Varya than to him. The investigator leading the case decided to mock Varya and use her to get on his trail.
The Tambov police themselves could not advertise that they were looking for a mutant. Gennady Stolyarov was wanted. Since January, this person could be officially considered missing. There was not much time left. Accordingly, the police were confused, a video posted on YouTube where an unknown person drank beer in one of the night bars of Ryazan and burst blew up the Internet. There was only one thing that could unite this monster and Gena – it was a correspondence in contact, the direct text indicated that something supernatural had happened to Gennady. And breaking into a woman’s apartment without breaking in. The traces left behind indicated not a one-day stay in the house of an incomprehensible creature.
2. I am the best
Dark evening of December was somewhat similar to the polar night. It’s also cold, it’s also dark. Of course, there was not much snow, but the cold and darkness came on time and forced the townspeople to hurry home even not so late in the evening. After the end of the working day, a hated enemy appeared on the threshold of the police station. Sitting behind the wheel and turning on the engine to warm up the car, the man lazily watched as the wipers wiped the frozen windows. Meanwhile, the viscous liquid spread over the roof of his car. On the way home, the side and front windows were covered with film. Ruslan braked sharply. A sharp blow from behind forced me to step on the gas. From that moment on, Ruslan drove at random. He failed to open the side window; the tight film tightly tightened the glass. Ruslan opened the door on the move. The viscous liquid completely covered the front window. The side and rear cars honked, making it clear that the driver’s strange action interferes with movement. Despite the crowded traffic, Ruslan had to stop the car. Outside, he rushed to the front windshield. Touching the layer stuck to the glass with his hands, he tried to peel it off. Anger seized the already aggressive man. Ruslan no longer knew what he wanted more to catch or destroy the water mutant. Of course, first catch, and then destroy. Not having the right to stand in the middle of the highway, Ruslan picked up a non-freezing liquid and splashed it on the glass. The colored tortilla bounced like a live fish in a frying pan. This picture caused many cars to slow down. Artisans filmed videos on the phone. Always hurrying somewhere nervously honked. There was a traffic jam on the Astrakhan Bridge. The colored cake took the form of a man. Purple crystals displayed a bright red color, indicating the resulting burn.
– Who is this? Gena jumped down from the bridge without thinking twice. Unfortunately, for him, the water in the river was covered with a crust of ice. This did not prevent him from escaping and hiding from human eyes.
The eyewitnesses who saw the fantastic picture did not take long to wait for Word of Mouth ran through Tambov. A short video was walking on the Internet. Gena was beginning to realize that he had no place among people. In the summer, it was much easier for him. Walking along the night beach in his village of Goreloe, he felt at home, and thought that this would always be the case. Summer ended, taking with it the body and the comfort of home. There came a merciless cold and cruel persecution. Every day Gennady became unsociable. Only an incomplete love for Varya kept him in Tambov. The cold did not bother him much. Gradually, his body lost sensitivity to subzero temperatures. Only occasionally, it did not need heating for a long time. Having lost track of the investigator, Gennady did not know where to spend the night, at Varya’s? Alternatively, say goodbye to your native places? Weighing all the pros and cons, the cup of love outweighed the native places.
Thanks to its viscous consistency, the Gene got from Astrakhan Street to Internationalnaya Street quickly. Having made his way through the hole in the bathroom, this was his main entrance to Varya’s apartment, Gena knocked on the door of the room. – Come in. Varya said with a laugh, knowing who was knocking. The transparent man walked around the apartment as a permanent resident. Opening the refrigerator, he stuffed meat products into his mouth. Varya looked at him with the same loving eyes, as if nothing had happened. From the outside, they actually looked like husband and wife. A hungry husband and a loving wife at the refrigerator. The meal was over without heating and serving food on the table. – How great! And you don’t need to cook. You can be fed semi-finished products. Gena stroked his stomach with his hands. The incoming food instantly dispersed through the body, turning into small dots. The crystals shone with a bright purple color, as a sign that everything was fine with the body. Varya, putting her fist to her chin, looked mysteriously at the small particles. – What else can you turn into besides snowflakes? A huge cake appeared in front of Varya, shining with bright lights. – Great! Varya clapped her hands. Gene wanted to talk, but he could not. Taking a pen in his hands and now he and Varya were already trying to write a synopsis of the Gene, wet fingers hindered him in this matter.
– I need to leave. I cannot stay here.
– But why?
– I do not belong in this city. The world. I need to sail far away.
– I need you. I will become like you. Gena put his finger to her lips.
– It is impossible. You need to arrange your life. I will be in your way. It is hard for me to be here. Our love will remain in childhood. She is not dead. She will live in the past. Varya burst into tears. She believed until the last moment that Gena would return eventually. But after hearing and reading his words, she could not swallow the lump that rolled up to her throat. These lines were reminiscent of a melodrama, only not of a book she had read, but of her life.
– That is not true. Varya punched Gena, her hand went through his body. Abruptly withdrawing her hand back, she examined her fist and from under her eyebrows looked at the tightening hole in the chest of the water statue. Sitting down in a chair, she continued to sob. Gena wiped her tears with wet fingers. Suddenly his body began to spread out, and he ran to the bathroom. – What happened? The sound of the shower turned on made the girl look behind the curtain. – Ice water? You feel bad from the heat. That is the reason. Varya’s head was splitting apart. Since the development of these events, a sedative and analgesic appeared in Vari’s first aid kit. After drinking both, the girl calmed down a little.
Gena understood that he had no place in any city. Wherever he is, there will be panic everywhere. Every day an animal instinct developed in him. He wanted freedom more and more, and he lost the need for people. Confident that when he leaves Tambov and stops contact with Varya, the police will leave Varya alone, and talk about the monster will eventually subside.
It was a sad night. The farewell to Varya, or you can say it with undead love, was imprinted in the memory of each of them as an unlamented mourning. Dawn has not come yet. A key turned in the door lock. – This is Dasha. Gena waved goodbye and disappeared into the bathroom. Varya did not have time to say anything in response.
– Hi. You are not sleeping! I brought so many delicious things.
– That is you by the way. I ate everything. Varya covered the night guest.
– Replenished the spent reserves!
– Exactly. All right.
– I do not want to go to class so much. Maybe we will take a walk. Varya had been thinking about it since the night before.
– Come on. I do not want to crawl out into the street either. My friends stayed at home. Having made the table sweet, the girls warmed themselves with hot coffee. «Dasha couldn’t stand it and asked,» tell me honestly, did anyone come to you?
– What makes you think that?
– It is just that the smell of the built is very strong.
– Yes. And what does it smell like? If it is not a secret.
– «I don’t know. Either by dampness. Either with salt. Some kind of man. Varya laughed in response.
– You will not believe it. But the police came here yesterday. With a search. They were looking for a Gene.
– Yeah, well. So what?
– Like what? Is he here?
– Of course not. But no one saw him dead. So he’s alive.
– Alive. Of course, he is alive. I know that. After a pause, Varya added. – They ransacked the whole apartment. And even a little threatened.
– Yeah, well? Dasha uttered in amazement. Now I understand why you did not go to class. Wow, what scoundrels, laughing at someone else’s grief.
Gena was looking for an investigator to understand how things were going. Whether Varya is in danger. In general, he wanted to make fun of this interrogator. Spreading across the windows like a frosty pattern, Gene finally found the right office. Being in the police, building was very dangerous, Gena was just afraid of being caught and dying from the heat. Deciding not to take any chances, but to get to the investigator’s home, Gena drove quietly on the pallet of his car. In the parking lot, a viscous consistency in the shape of a snake crawled through the snow in a hurry to get ahead of the walking. Realizing which door the tenant was heading for, the iron door was covered with frost as if it had been. Not noticing anything suspicious, Ruslan opened the door of the entrance with an intercom. The door was closing with difficulty, but even this moment did not arouse suspicion. This time, a gray viscous liquid covered the entrance door from the inside. But it was so fast and not noticeable, it seemed that it was just drops from the cold. Having called the elevator, Ruslan stood with his back to the front door. Sticky dough jumped from behind on the sills. Gene had no choice but to listen to what floor Ruslan lives on. The elevator moved for a long time and barely audible. – So about the seventh, ninth. High. The elevator came back. Gena went up to the seventh floor. Fortunately, for him, the front door opened in one of the apartments. The tenant went out onto the landing and headed for the mailboxes. The noiseless steps of transparent feet played a big role. Unable to breathe, Gena did not even have to hold his breath, he was the very noiselessness. Going up one flight of stairs, he saw Ruslan opening a mailbox. Gene thanked fate. Although in his current position and appearance there was no one to thank. While one enemy was opening the mailbox, another got into his open apartment. Unfortunately, for Gena, his wife was in Ruslan’s house. – That is all I needed.
It was difficult to be in the bathroom. The heat plus the constant fuss. The woman was running around the house like crazy, constantly cooking something and running into the bathroom to fix her makeup or hairstyle. – Oh, my God. Thought Gena. How difficult it is with her. Every time she ran into the bathroom, the Gene turned into splashes or spread out on the tile decorating the wall. The woman did not notice this being too busy with her husband.
– Dear, tell me how your vodoroten.
– Who are they talking about? About me? Gena slid off the tile. Thanks to his Internet fame, the mystical image of Gena was nicknamed the vodoroten. As he got closer to the kitchen, he strained his ears.
– To be honest, I am interested in this case. Thanks to him, I have a chance to contribute to science, become rich and famous. The wife listened to her husband, and judging by the expression on her face, the girl was hooked that her husband spoke in the singular.
– In what way? The girl was not a blunder, a great assistant for someone like Ruslan.
– I see that this vodoroten is not so dangerous. He has not committed more than one murder yet. The most he did was steal the cutlets. By itself, he is an interesting, either mystical, or chemical being. Until they started talking about it all over Russia, or even the world, I have a chance to catch him and become famous. The Moscow police are not taking any action yet. Waiting for information from us. It would be necessary to interrogate the parents of this Gena. Surely, they know something.
– Do you think parents who will declare their son missing tomorrow know something?
– I am thinking about it. Can somehow trace them.
– You think they are hiding something. I think that this idiot Gena is not such a fool as to jeopardize the life of his parents. The girl tried in every way to be useful to her husband. And apparently this Ruslan trusted her beyond the limit.
– So I am a fool. And interrogate the parents. Looks like I am going to be delayed. Covering the side door of the refrigerator facing the exit, Gena cooled his body and continued to listen to the dialogue.
– By the way. This creature is vulnerable. I sprayed it with a non-freezing liquid and it got scared. This liquid was not to his taste. There is a more vulnerable place – this is his young lady. With her help, it will not be difficult for me to catch him. We just need to think about how to do it better. Gena took hold of his head.
– Varya. Parents. What I have done. If I surrender to them, what will they turn me into? What will they do to me? Gena returned to the bathroom and was already rushing home to his village of Goreloe, only not on the water anymore, but on the roof of a passing car. His girlfriend night and companion moon accompanied their mystical companion to the house.
The native house on the eve of the holiday turned out to be gloomy and half-starved. Gennady could not have imagined that it would all turn into such a grief, into such a problem. Not a single New Year’s lantern was lit in the house. There was not a single sparkle hanging, not a single snowflake. Barely warm batteries kept the heat up. The half-empty refrigerator indicated that his parents were eating sparsely. – Damn it. Why would I do that? Slamming the refrigerator door, he forced both parents to get out of bed.
– Gene. It is you. His mother’s voice caused his crystals to change color. Danger was indicated in red. Woe to the blacks. The holiday is blue. Its usual color is purple.
The dog, sensing the smell of Genes, barked incessantly. —What’s the matter with her?» I will go check it out. Gene could not show himself to his parents. But in order to cheer them up somehow, he went outside and started a snowstorm under the windows. Turning into a blizzard, he arranged a blizzard near the house.
– The weather has deteriorated.