That is google translate. If this book is too popular, I will translate it.

The road was not pleasing. Not only did we get lost and turned at the wrong turn, but the asphalt pavement was only on paper, as opposed to the money aimed at putting it down. And as a result, there was no asphalt on the road, but there was money. True, the latter - on the foreign accounts of officials - are the very ones that they once again forbade themselves to have.

The corporate weekend started in a spoiled mood.

When a week ago they were told that "to solder relationships and raise the corporate spirit to new heights", they took to an all-inclusive resort for free. And the authorities did not demand any compensation or additional expenses everybody took it with enthusiasm. Which has gone out quickly since it will be a day off, and everyone is obliged to be present. So, on Friday evening, several departments in full force went to a sanatorium 170 kilometers from the city on specially ordered buses.

The only indulgence that was allowed was for several men for family reasons to get on Saturday by personal transport with a strict parting word: "to be by noon".

So now four evil people of nothing unremarkable appearance were driving in the car, trying to fulfill the order of the chief to be by noon. Although there was plenty of time, nevertheless, the nasty little worm began to chew in my soul - no one wanted to lose a job with a good salary, and for this event, the authorities had their unknown plans and the punishment for their failure could be not only cut bonuses.

*****

- All Seryoga, that's enough, look for the natives - we'll look for Susanin!

- Yes, go, you advisor, you know where! Last time because of you, we turned the wrong way! I'll be right back and go as it should, without any smart ideas from the outside!

- Damn, I drove an unfinished one, I immediately told you that you need to take a nap, and you said that you know the way, and now there are signs everywhere and we have mobile phones with Internet access!

- I know the way, but I decided to listen to you for once! So shut up until you continue on foot.

- Both calmed down! - the voice from the back seat, which belonged to a very young guy, unexpectedly really calmed both of them. Although Alexander was the youngest in their company and held a low position as a customer service manager, he was highly respected for his intelligence and exceptional decency. Whether the latter was an advantage, though, was hard to say.

- Sergei, how do you want to go? Without asking the locals and not having a map? Or do you know the way?

-Yes, everything is fine Sash, I know the direction. You know that I have a natural gift to find the right place - the last statement of the driver, although it was controversial, sometimes he managed to find the right place simply based on his instinct, - now we need to go to the right as soon as the road is - I will immediately turn it off.

- Later you will explain to my wife why the prize was not paid to me, - he said.

another occupant of the back seat, Gennady, the former head of the marketing department, -

she will be glad to hear about your instinct, the main thing is not to let her take the pain in her hands.

Everyone smiled involuntarily. The problems of their elder friend with his wife, who was a big fan of solving problems by assault, were known to everyone at the firm, and the trinity of his bosom bowling partners knew this better than others.

By the way, it was bowling that brought them together in this car. For more than a year now, four people from different departments and different positions in the firm preferred to spend Friday evenings together and roll the balls. And every time the only married man in their company had problems with his wife because of his hobby.

- Don't drift, let's breakthrough. It's not the first time to grease your spouse! And no one will deprive us of the prize. We will succeed, - Alexander considered the moment appropriate to defuse the situation and reconcile friends and himself with what was happening.

But he was prevented from continuing his speech by the sharp braking of the car.

- Gentlemen have arrived. A turn to the right and a shield with an incomprehensible inscription on it, hidden from our eyes, because it is directed for motorists going in the opposite direction, - Oleg, the company's deputy chief of security, happily commented on what was happening.

Sergei, not being distracted by empty chatter, briskly jumped out of the car and ran forward to read what was written on the road sign of the oncoming lane. When he reached it, he cried out joyfully:

- Well, goofs! Kiss dad on the shoulder straps, dad took you where you need to and on time! Sanatorium

"Lesnaya Polyana" is at your service! With all of you on the bubble and so not cheap!

Having finished grinning happily, he returned and took his place behind the wheel, confidently leading the car along a new road. His too great joy was not hidden from Alexander. She could only mean one thing - Sergei got lost, and their finding at the right point in space is pure coincidence and luck. Sternly looking at the driver through the rearview mirror, he furrowed his eyebrows, but the driver chose to ignore his gaze or simply did not notice, sincerely rejoicing in his luck.

*****

- Wow, the clouds are good. This is what awaits us for the evening? Hail with a downpour and a heavy wind ?! Meteorologists have guessed the wrong day again! - Sergei joyfully examined the sky above the sanatorium, where the number and blackness of the clouds could compete with the best pictures of the apocalypse.

- All outdoor activities are canceled, you can drink! - Oleg did not fail to rejoice, although the reason was frankly weak.

Suddenly, the clouds in the sky abruptly entered the cycle, but did not swirl into a tornado, but formed a regular circle of vortices in the sky. Lightning struck from the center of the circle, first one, then another, and now, after a few seconds, lightning began to strike from the vortex with an eerily frightening frequency. Part of the lightning went parallel to the ground in different directions, part of it hit the ground, or rather into the standing lightning rod.

The car braked sharply, Sergei jumped out of it, and taking out his phone, he began to shoot the happening miracle of nature on the camera. The rest watched with amazement an unprecedented spectacle.

Suddenly the funnel of clouds sharply increased its diameter several times, covering a huge area and finding itself, including over the heads of friends, and then the clouds fell sharply to the ground. The light faded. Her eyes swam. I got dizzy. And when the friends finished blinking, the only thing left for them was to stare in amazement and remember all the folk remedies for getting rid of hallucinations. Because they were not standing on the asphalt surface of the road, next to the car, but in the forest. And yet they were naked. Moreover, the people who were not far from them at the moment when the sky fell to earth were also present here and in the same form - absolutely without clothes. In the distance, a female screech was heard, which was picked up at several points at once. A girl 10 meters away sharply covered her chest and lower abdomen with her hands, muttering indistinct sounds and stared at Gennady, and then glanced around. Gennady also covered his dignity with his hands and looked dumbfounded at Alexander. Sergei inhaled sharply and loudly - apparently for the first time since the incident. There were swear words. Oleg also did not restrain himself and made a whole set of sounds, which are strictly not recommended to pronounce next to children. Children, however, were not observed in the foreseeable space of the forest. Alexander drew attention back, where a guy of about 30 years old was dazedly touching his eyes and looking around. He was not impressed by the change of scenery, but by something else. Suddenly Gennady stopped just staring at Alexander and in some confusion pointed to his face.

- What's happened?

- Bruise!

- What is the bruise? - did not understand his interlocutor.

- He is not!

Alexander put his hand to the right half of his face, to that very half, which until recently was a huge blurry painful bruise because yesterday it was hit by the unexpectedly opened door of the accounting department. There was no pain or swelling.

"I see without glasses!" Came to a shout from behind. His source was the same stunned guy who was fiddling with his eyes, and at the same time, it became clear why the change of scenery did not surprise him so much.

"Artificial objects!" - flashed through Alexander's head. "There are no artificial objects on us!"

The tongue immediately darted to the fillings recently installed on the teeth, searched them, and ... There were no fillings. As there were no holes in the teeth, there were completely healthy teeth, including the wisdom tooth, which was removed the year before last. Another additional tooth was also discovered - the very only wisdom tooth that has not yet grown in Alexander. True, it was strange to say such a thing about a tooth present in the mouth. I haven't grown, but I have - it means that I have probably grown or manifested myself. He distracted himself from the teeth, to which, guided by incomprehensible motives, his mind drew attention and still tried to understand the situation as a whole, and not in particulars.

I focused on my internal sensations - nothing hurt, my head was not spinning, but it was pulsating incomprehensibly. There was a strange feeling in the stomach, which could not be identified. In addition to a complete set of healthy teeth in the mouth, there was a strange taste that was also not recognizable. The sight had no usual sharpness and clarity, and at a fairly large distance - Alexander saw that there were no moles on the bodies of the people around him and their skin was clean.

Oh, damn it! Yes, Seryoga has more acne on his face than Google has! Staring at Sergei's pure and innocent face, Alexander realized that this statement was not even controversial, but wrong - Google probably has money, but Sergei no longer has acne, not a single one on his whole body, half of which could be personally observed.

The intensity of the sounds made by people in the near and distant environment was growing. The funny thing is that the sounds were heard equally clearly, both close and distant. Moreover, the distant sounds were not only audible but they were also recognized unusually clearly and Alexander felt their approach and removal. For example, he could, with his eyes closed, go to a sound that his mind defined as coming from a distance of 300 meters - a woman was screaming there. Probably, the spirit of the explorer would have forced him to go there with his eyes closed, but common sense said that it was not worth doing this in the forest, and Alexander returned to observing the surroundings, this time giving due not to people or himself, but to the area in which he found himself.

It was a forest, a northern forest to be precise. Moss, ferns, and an abundance of conifers indicated that this was by no means the tropics. The more he looked around, the more he realized that everything looked crisp, clear, sharp. The colors were vivid and vibrant, the outlines crisp both near and far. But Alexander still could not enjoy the stunning picture that his eyesight gave him now. As soon as he paid attention to his surroundings, a smell immediately hit his nose, or rather, an ODOR. Many of the smells inherent in the forest were now simply penetrating his sense of smell with terrifying force. But the strangest thing was the complete realization of what kind of smell comes from what. Alexander never liked the forest, or rather he did not like the smells inherent in the forest - rottenness, decay, flowering of everything and in huge quantities. He perceived only the smell of pine needles with pleasure, he always reminded him of the New Year and the childish joy associated with this holiday. Now the smells were a hundred times stronger but did not cause such rejection as before. He discerned how strong it smelled of mold from that old and almost rotten trunk, knocked down by bad weather or time, a few years ago; how unbearably the smell of moss underfoot creeps into your nose, how all the air around is saturated with the smell of pine needles, how the leaves of a bush smell of freshness and tranquility, how the berries of a plant very similar to blueberries smell sweet, how the freshly dug earth smells pleasantly near that mink under the stump. Among the odors stood out the smell of skin and something alive. The sounds of bush branches being pushed apart by someone came to the ear. Turning sharply at the sound, Alexander froze.

Wolf. The snarled wolf stood between the bush and the tree and looked angrily at the man. Alexander then pondered many times why he did what he did, but he could not find an answer. Meanwhile, it was he who threw himself at the wolf, while the others just stood and watched. At that moment it seemed to him completely logical and correct to attack the predator naked and unarmed. The jerk, the capture of the wolf by the throat, the man and the beast rolled and hit the tree, and then ... then Alexander jumped up, took the wolf by the scruff of the neck, and sharply slammed his head against the tree. The beast whined and went limp in his hand, and Alexander, not too hesitant, repeated his action and hit the wolf's head against the tree again. The beast finally hung in his hand, showing no signs of life. Alexander was not surprised that he was standing and holding a healthy wolf by the scruff with one hand, completely not feeling its weight. After that, having opened his hand, he let go of the carcass and it fell, followed by the man who fell to the ground and threw down the beast, took the skin on the throat with both hands and, pulling in different directions, tore it apart. Blood gushed out and he, gripping his torn throat with his lips, began to drink the ruby-red liquid, greedily sucking it in and swallowing.

Together with the first sip of blood taken in the body, a feeling of unprecedented power, strength, energy appeared. Pictures of the forest, hunting, life flashed through my head. The lives of a newly killed wolf. With blood, Alexander received all the memory of the beast, and while he swallowed blood, which nourished, soothed and gave strength, he looked through the whole life of this creature until the very minute when the wolf, awakened and attracted by the noise, did not decide to see who had invaded his territory.

Alexander looked up from his throat and threw a sharp glance in the direction where his friends stood, as well as a girl and a guy, all looking at him with horror. In addition to horror, there was something else in their eyes - some kind of mixture of desire, hunger, and lust, and all this was directed not at Alexander, but the wolf.

Smell! The blood smells! He just now felt this alluring aroma, which was so impossible to resist, and he did not want to. I wanted to possess this aroma, and always make it my part, absorb without stopping. Alexander glanced at his hands, still spreading apart the torn skin on the throat, and noticed that the blood of the beast is also absorbed through the skin of the hands! Tearing off his lips and mouth from his neck, he continued to feed, absorbing blood into his body!

He let go of the wound and stood up abruptly, looking at his hands - the blood that was on them quickly sucked into the body. The body itself seemed to be overflowing with strength and incomprehensible energy. Alexander again looked at his friends and kicked the carcass of the wolf in their direction. In a few seconds, the skin covering the body of the beast was torn in several places, and people, interfering with each other, sucked and drank blood - those who did not have enough space for such a meal, simply threw their hands into the wound. After a little more time and by the look of the beast it became clear that there was no more blood in it.

Sergei looked embarrassed at Alexander, then at his comrades at a kind of feast.

- Well ... Everyone saw the life of a wolf - everyone felt what he felt?

The people nodded in shock, digesting both the blood and the wolf's memories of his life.

- What was it and why did we attack him so violently like ... like vampires ...

Vampires. The word has been spoken! While Alexander looked at the furious and short meal that happened before his eyes, he managed to assess the situation. The name of what is happening came by itself - a meal of bloodsuckers. But this required verification. And immediate. After taking a few steps, Alexander approached a not very thick tree - only ten centimeters in diameter and hit the trunk with the back of his hand. He even saw his blow, although somehow he realized that it was being delivered at a speed beyond the reach of the average person. And in all its glory, Alexander was able to enjoy the way his brush knocks out a piece of equal size from the trunk, and that bullet flies to the side, and the tree, not yet realizing that it has already been cut down, continues to hang in the air. A slight pain appears in the hand, which increases at a slow pace. The tree began to slope and fall. Alexander grabbed the falling trunk with his left hand and stopped its movement. On his outstretched hand, he was holding not the smallest tree, in a slightly tilted state, and the weight of the trunk did not seem serious to him. Looking at the area for the fall, he changed the tilt vector of the felled tree and released it so that it fell exactly where he wanted. The pain in the back of the hand changed from aching to quiet and then disappeared. Not paying attention to the tree continuing to fall, Alexander quickly approached the wolf's carcass, opened its mouth, and grasping the upper jaw, fixed it well in his right hand. With his left palm, he pressed on the wolf's fang, and with a noticeable effort, he pierced his skin and entered the palm. Raising his hand with the wound to his face, he watched without visible emotion as the wound healed. Five seconds later, a whole and healthy hand were in front of his gaze. To test it, he clenched his hand into a fist several times.

"I think we are vampires.