Chapter Third

Finally i sat on the floor near the wall — in a first place that was relatively free and “secure”: i always prefer to have solid cover behind my back. On my right there was a circle of three people staring at a small flat screen hanging on the wall. Two of them were also gripping some controllers and clicking on buttons. ..Apparently they were playing some old-school game. I stared at the screen for a while, trying to understand what it was about, but then my attention was grabbed by the shoulder.

It was that same girl from before; apparently she took an interest in me or something. I still didn’t know her name, so i opened my mouth to ask, but she spoke first.

— So, how are you enjoying the party?

The question startled me a bit, since i was lying asleep in the next room just a few minutes ago. But then i realized she might have been partying too hard to notice.

— I’m just warming up, you know. But it’s kind of nostalgic. I haven’t been at a party ever since i left college.

— Mmm, i suppose you’re not a party-goer type. May i guess what brings you here then?

— Eh, sure, go ahead.

She tilted her head a bit, a gesture that looked well-rehearsed. I should admit it still looked pretty damn cool.

— You’re looking for someone, aren’t ya? — she spoke in a such way that i could not possibly guess what she was implying, if she even did imply anything.

— Maybe, — i tried to play along for a while and said that with a hint of smile.

It was too early to jump to conclusions. That girl could have been a spy, an unexpected ally, an overly nosy observer. Or she could have been flirting with me without any back thoughts.

— Incidentally, i didn’t quite catch your name, — i decided i should take initiative to have some time to consider further actions.

— Ah, i’m terribly sorry. I’m Sasha. Sasha Ginzburg, freelance journalist and fanfic writer, — she laughed nervously — I didn’t mean to sound so formal though. It’s just my habit to introduce myself like that when talking in english.

— Isabella Norton, pleased to meet you, — i said in a satirically formal tone and made a joking bow, — At the moment i’m an unemployed traveller, spending my severance pay.

I could see some confusion on her face and thought for a moment that she might have not understand the term i used, but then she smiled understandingly. We looked at each other for a few more moments before bursting into laughter.

***

A person in a bright masquerade costume sat alone on an expensive-looking sofa. “Is it a man or a woman?” was the question that many asked themselves seeing that person, but nobody ever dared to ask aloud. Presently, there was nobody else in the room, yet the person started to talk in a sweet androgynous voice:

— It is my pleasure to have appeared here, after travelling through many places and pages, yet my stay won’t be long for other matters are waiting for my attention.

And then, in a puff of smoke, the person seemed to disappear.

***

There was a strange moment of silence and i became acutely aware of the tension that have been accumulating in the “gamers’ club” for a while now. Finally it bursted out with a muted explosion sound, followed by exasperated exclamation. Apparently those two finally lost their game. They got up, stretching their limbs, and went off, cursing loudly.

The third guy, who i dubbed “observer” (since he wasn’t playing), continued to stare at the screen for a few dozen seconds and then looked at the room expectantly. When his gaze met mine, he stopped and said in a hopeful voice:

— Хочешь сыграть?

I could guess he was asking me something, but there wasn’t enough context to understand the subject of the question. His face started to look puzzled when i failed to reply or give any sign of understanding.

— He asks whether you want to play, — Sasha translated, rescuing both of us, — We could play together, if you’d like.

— Ah, yes, you both welcome, — replied the “observer”, apparently feeling flustered by the situation.

I was a bit confused myself, for i was too engaged in my paranoid thoughts to be expecting so sudden intrusion.

— Come on, lets do it, — noticing my indecisiveness, Sasha pulled me along and i found myself in front of the big pulsating label “Play Again?..” placed on a static explosion background.

— Huh, so you’re into this stuff too? — i asked her after failing to come up with anything better to say.

— What are you talking about? Everybody is into this stuff these days! It’s fucking S.T.U.F.F. — she literally pronounced it letter-by-letter and i was unsure whether that was to indicate significance of the word or actually a proper name, — And don’t worry if you don’t understand something: i’ll be right here to help.

— But before you start, — the “observer” added, — i explain you couple things. First of all, i am master of game, Orpheus. Second: if you win, you get prize.

Self-proclaimed master Orpheus made an especial emphasis on the word “prize”, implying some significance. Perhaps it was meant to encourage me being competitive, but i had no plans of immersing myself too much and losing my vigilance.

Nevertheless, i picked up controller and prepared for an unknown battle.

***

It moved slowly and almost peacefully, but it never averted its gaze from its prey. It tried to appear big and fluffy, but to no avail. The prey, the observers and even the tiny drop of water could clearly see its evil nature.

***

“Booom” — the car crashed in front of me, dealing massive damage. I ran further down the street, trying to get away from all the explosive stuff that seemed to be so attracted to me.

— Bella, on your right!

At this point i already had no idea where did this voice come or whose voice it was, but i instantly dodged and turned back, ready to shoot. When i saw what was coming though, i ended up doing a couple more rollbacks before finally enjoying the sight of another explosion. This time it was a fucking helicopter falling onto the street. I started wondering how long it would take for this to escalate into a nuclear shoot-out between starship squadrons.

But then a few moments later i was back in game, trying to find a peaceful place to heal. I ended up crashing through the windows into some fashion store and had to kill all the security guards who supposedly continued to protect the store, never-minding apocalypse happening on the streets. After the last guard dropped dead, i picked up first-aid box and started pondering on situation at hand.

“What am i doing in this war-torn city? Who am i fighting? Who am i running away from?” — i thought while bandaging my blood-covered limbs. Then a warning voice returned me into battle state:

— We can’t be staying here much longer. Sniper squad has already been deployed, they’ll hunt us down quickly.

— Where do we go then?

— The basement.

I threw away the remaining bandages and went running after Sasha, who was already approaching a small door with “Staff only” sign on it. Luckily for us, the door was open and there was nobody inside. We ran throw the maze of corridors that finally led us to a badly lit stairwell. I was amazed at how easily Sasha was choosing the right path as if familiar with the place.

Our steps made hollow reverberated sounds as we ran down the stairs. For a while it was the only noise to be heard, save for our panting and heartbeat. But then another sound joined in: it was the alarm sirens, going off on a few different floors at the same time.

“Why?” — meanwhile, i continued to ponder, — “Why should i run through these wailing sounds, through the blood of my enemies and innocent by-standers, through the never-ending screams and curses?”

I couldn’t name a single reason, yet i continued running further down, continued shooting back at hordes of faceless black jacket men who were attacking us in waves coming from one floor or another.

Finally, after a seemingly endless descending, we came to a stop on the bottom floor.

***

There was a tiny spot of dirt on the window. An old butler tried to wipe it out, but failed. A young maid tried to wipe it, but failed. So the tiny spot of dirt remained on the window.

***

As we entered the bottom basement floor proper and the door behind shut, i found myself disoriented by the darkness. For a few seconds i became aware i was literally staring at a black screen, but soon my vision adopted and i could discern silhouettes of the surroundings. We were in a big — if not huge — room, mostly empty, except for some weird-looking structure in the middle. It was also surprisingly silent: no sirens, no gunshots, no running steps.

As if to preserve that silence, we didn’t speak and walked slowly forward. It was hard to judge distance in the darkness, especially after that crazy run through the stairs, so it took us more than i expected to get to the structure.

When we finally approached it, i realized it was a sculpture of a kind. But it was still too dark to see it clearly and after stumbling in buttons for a few seconds i turned on my flashlight.

It was a weird sculpture alright. A few tentacles rose from a simple pedestal; atop them were several bodies, — i couldn’t even count them properly for they were interconnected with each other, — concluded with one double-faced head. The face looking at the entrance had a cunning smile and sad eyes, but i could only see a single eye of the second face. At least five hands were advancing from it: one was holding a coffee cup, another was forming a fist, yet another was barely gripping a double-edged sword.

I moved around the sculpture to see the rest of it, but no matter how much steps i made i couldn’t see more than a corner of an eye of its second face. It took me a half of a circle to realize the statue was following me. When i did, i immediately did a double-roll to the right, expecting laser beams or something.

But the stone creature merely followed me with its gaze and gave no other signs of being alive or otherwise active.

— What’s up with that piece of stone?! — i almost cried, becoming pretty disturbed by its behaviour.

— I’m trying to figure out that myself, — Sasha replied after a few daunting seconds of silence. She spoke in an oddly calm voice, which only made me feel even more anxious.

Meanwhile, as i was standing still, nothing changed. I looked around and saw Sasha a dozen meters away, looking at the sculpture as intently as i was a few moments ago. Other than her and the statue, the room was still empty, yet something deep inside was telling me that something was wrong. Not even the statue, something else.

I made a three-sixty degree turn around, trying to pierce the darkness before the creatures lurking there would disappear. But there were no creatures, there was nothing to be afraid of.

Suddenly i became truly scared; being in a dark room centered around a creepy stone structure, with the only reliable ally being a semi-automatic that i gripped in my hands, was quite terrifying indeed.