Chapter 3 - Chapter 3

- We started.

With such a harsh command, the deputy director wanted to achieve the effect of surprise, for some reason being completely confident that the "fighter" he put forward would be better prepared for it than his opponent. But everything turned out the other way around. Alexander bowed his opponent's hand to the ground, without even meeting resistance. Mikhail was not ready for this.

- So it's not fair ... - but Alexander did not let the chief agree on the honesty or not honesty of the fight that took place.

- We are replaying, Mikhail, start pushing on command - I will only keep my hand in one position.

The two guys again joined hands and, on command, one of them began to try to overcome the other. But no matter how hard the firm's record strongman put in, he could not move the hand of a rather feeble manager in comparison with him. Even a couple of centimeters. Alexander had no problems keeping his counterpart in the position he needed, and then simply repeated his victory. True, this time he still felt that Mikhail was trying to resist him, but it was insignificant, although it was clear from the latter's face and body that he was trying his best.

"I ask everyone to take my words very seriously. Fire, water, and weather protection. I will say more - having drunk the blood of a wolf, having come to the smell of blood, you behaved like real vampires. I cannot explain what and why happened to us. Let's proceed from what is.

- Scoundrel! Vampires? Yes, I will! .. - Olga Viktorovna, who has been standing quieter than grass all the last time, has become sharply enraged, - You are a filthy ghoul, Herod, infidel!

The sharp sound of a slap interrupted the tantrum.- Pull yourself together, we are not in those conditions to listen to your tantrums, - a blow on the cheek was struck by the very woman who made such a fierce rebuke in the dispute with Alexei Gennadievich a little earlier.

- And I continue to believe that we need to go to people ...

- Alexey Gennadievich, try to organize people, - Alexander interrupted him, - to search for water, produce fire and build huts. In the meantime, I'm on exploration. And take note of my words about vampires.

The deputy general flared up sharply. Some managers not only gave him directions but also appointed him as the main one! And even though he liked the latter, the boss simply could not let go of such behavior.

- Sasha, you don't need to tell me what to do. Damn you. If you want to explore - go for reconnaissance. We'll stay here for now. I will count the people and organize them. And I can do without your advice. You are too young to give them to me.

Turning away, he showed that the question was closed. Then he began to give people commands, trying to organize them. Oddly enough, they listened to him. For some, he was a familiar boss, for others, the confidence of his voice was important, and not what exactly he said.

Seeing that everything is back to normal here, Alexander went in the direction where he had knocked down the tree and where there were no people. Tearing off one of the branches, he cleared the trunk and sat on it. I had to collect my thoughts. Very soon, all his fellow travelers on the way here, as well as several other people, were next to him. As expected, Semyon approached - his bosom friend and colleague, who could not stand bowling and therefore came to the sanatorium with everyone. In addition to his colleagues at work, there were also a guy and a girl who were nearby at the time of the strange movement, and who managed to drink the blood of a wolf. Just as unexpectedly, a couple, arguing with Alexei Gennadievich, caught up with this company. The man looked at the seated Alexander for a while.

- What you said about blood, right?

- Yes.

Everyone around, except for Semyon, nodded affirmatively.

"Eugene, this is my wife Olga," he reposed and held out his hand.

- Alexander.

For some time, everyone got acquainted. The guy who suddenly gained good eyesight was called Konstantin, and the embarrassed girl, Maria.

- Okay, you keep an eye on Gennadievich here, and I'll go and find out what and how.

- Aren't you going to get lost? - Semyon was not as confident as his friend.

- Everything will be fine. With such strength and abilities that I now have, I will not delude myself.

- It will be a shame if we are all just delusional and we have glitches. So be careful!

Everyone looked at Semyon.

- And it's true. We can't disperse also because all this can be a hallucination, - Evgeny was the first to break the silence, - You never know - something exploded somewhere, or the military did something wrong and we are all delirious now.

- Well, whether we are delusional or not, we have to go on reconnaissance. Nobody will be looking for us here, and it is not clear where to go.

- Yes, everything is clear, - interrupted Alexandra Semyon, - Go, just really be careful.

Nodding, Alexander got up from the tree and brushed off his bare buttocks. Shyly grinned at the people around him and walked away.

*****

Thinking about where to go, he decided to go in the direction of the mountains that were visible on one side. After a few minutes on the way, he decided that it would not hurt to look around. To appreciate the surroundings, Alexander had to choose a tree higher and more powerful and climb on it. Happened. Although the lack of clothing greatly interfered with the process, a few minutes of torment fully paid for itself when, rising above the bulk of the trees, he saw that the forest was spread out around for a rather large distance. A mountain range was visible on one side. Judging by what opened to his eyes, the mountains were not of local importance. The high and extended ridge could be taken as the main landmark. On the other side of the mountains, only a forest was also visible, but with differences. Firstly, there were no mountains there, and secondly, in the distance, and given the newly acquired skills in supervision, significant in the distance, distortions were visible that could only be given by the warm air that rose above the villages. Two such spots of wavering and misty air were visible on the opposite side of the mountains, and one more was to the side on the right hand, if you stood with your back turned to the mountains. The area did not remind him of anything - he traveled too little and had little interest in the world around him to say what part of the planet they were in. Alexander decided that for a start it is better to go strictly from the mountains in the direction of the visible distortions of the air, and then how will it turn out. To find his way back, it was decided to periodically stop and urinate, the smell should have brought him back. Coming down, he practically ran between the trees, trying to move in such a way that his inner senses told him that the mountains, which were now not visible behind the trees, were still looking at his back. As he ran, he suddenly thought that it was a clear day and that the oddity that everything around looked bright and the light was caused, apparently, by the fact that he, as a possible vampire, is a creature of the night. Alexander looked at the sky flashing through the branches. It was densely covered with clouds.

"What if the sun is destructive for us?" - he thought. It was unpleasant. Not only does he now have to get used to the fact that he is a bloodsucker, but perhaps the legends do not lie at all and vampires cannot stand sunlight. The thought that he would have to hide from the sun shivered him. Deciding to distract himself from heavy thoughts, he shifted his attention to the area around and began to observe and smell - the feeling that the wolf's blood gave him was too exciting and Alexander was not at all averse to repeating it. This means that you can not only try to conduct reconnaissance but also hunt. In this case, scent and hearing were the main tools for finding the game. Unfortunately, the nose caught too many odors and so far he could not tell which one belongs to which animal. He only knew how a wolf smelled, but he could not smell other wolves in the area. But he could smell several dozen different animals. While running, he noticed a mouse darting into the hole, and having caught the smell emanating from it, remembered it and classified it as a rodent smell. Unfortunately, the memory of the wolf's blood could only partially help in the classification of odors. Too differently a man perceived smells than a wolf and he could smell too much compared to a predator.

Who are the inhabitants of the forest? An interesting question for a city dweller. From various programs, Alexander knew that their werewolves, foxes, bears, wild boars, moose, hares, squirrels, deer, a whole bunch of different birds in the forest, but the memory of the wolf kept memories of dozens of animal species that he could not remember from the programs. "Okay, we'll determine as we go," I thought, and then it was forgotten - a hare jumped out from under my feet and swiftly, as it probably seemed to the longest-eared one, rushed away. Alexander stopped but immediately continued his run, deciding not to pursue the animal. He will always be able to catch another ... probably he will, nevertheless the hare moved quickly and it will not be so easy to catch up with him in the forest.

Alexander fled, continuing to absorb the smells of the surrounding forest and determined to whom they belonged, remembering how the wolf he had killed perceived the same smells. Then Alexander's nostrils sensed something new and he was surprised to realize that it was the smell of a man. Only human sweat mixed with the dirt of clothes, boots, and shit could smell like that. The smell was faint, but its direction was clearly defined. It lay a little to the side of the chosen route, but people were worth changing it.

Having started to move by smell, Alexander no longer ran, but rather walked quickly, making stops to sniff and look around. During the time that he fled, he retired from the camp at least three kilometers, but rather all four. And although he could not give away the location of others, he nevertheless decided to be careful when meeting people. A naked man who came out of the forest is not normal in any northern country, not Africa tea.

The smells of people intensified. The smells of food, leather, some kind of animals, spices were entangled with them. The hearing began to distinguish screams. So far, he did not dare to define the language, but since he hears people, it means that they are already almost within his reach. Having started running, Alexander stopped looking for an ambush in every bush and rushed to where, as his sensitive ear told him, several dozen people were vigorously discussing something. It became clear that they did not speak Russian. It was not possible to identify the language - it did not resemble the ones he had heard before.

Blood!!! The smell of blood hit my nostrils! Human blood! He even tasted her taste in his mouth, although it was, of course, only a memory of his own bitten lips and tongue, the iron taste was extremely pleasant. There were still a hundred meters to the target. Having slowed down, he began to move more carefully, trying not to make sounds and not to reveal his presence here. The screams were supplemented by the sounds of clanging iron, blows, and other similar sounds, clearly indicating that there was a fight ahead with the use of improvised means. Stopping and catching his breath, Alexander bent down and crept up to the bush. Apparently, because of this bush, a view of what was happening ahead was already opening up. And such a view opened up - literally three meters ahead there was a gap in the trees, there was a road, and on the road ... on the road, nineteen men dressed in clothes strange for the twenty-first century, which probably should have been called armor and armed with cold weapons, were killing a friend. Some of them were already lying on the road, and some of those that were lying showed no signs of life. But they smelled enticingly of blood.

As if spellbound, Alexander watched the action unfolding before his eyes. The road looked pretty decent and was as wide as a two-lane highway. And along its entire width, there was a battle. Neither side had a clear advantage either in numbers or in the skill of its fighters. Which, of course, did not stop them from killing at all. Watching another poor fellow fall into the dust, Alexander suddenly felt an unbearable desire to jump out onto the horn and cling to the wound, enjoying the taste of human blood. Suppressing this not entirely appropriate desire, he began to think about what to do next. The fight will not last forever, and the blood of people will give not only the satisfaction of the strange desires of a new entity but also information. After all, if the blood of animals, together with power, given memories of their lived life, then the blood of people should do the same. Meanwhile, the events on the road came to an end, only five people remained on their feet.

The alignment of forces was approximately equal since two swordsmen fought against a trinity: a swordsman standing to the side, and two spearmen, one of whom had his left arm knocked out, and he could not defend himself with a shield, unlike the others.

The two swordsmen, realizing that they were in the minority, exchanged glances, and together they sharply attacked the enemy armed with a sword.

Together they attacked him from different directions, heaping a barrage of blows, one of which hit the head. Their enemy began to tumble onto the road, to those who were already on it. An uninjured spearman did not expect such significant agility from his opponents by the end of the battle, and at first, he was confused. But already at the moment when a successful blow to the head seemed to have left him with a wounded companion against two unharmed enemies, he struck the side of the nearest of them with a spear, and he also began to fall on the road.

All this time, the fighter, wounded in the arm, stood there with a spear in his good hand. The second hand, which had previously gripped the shield, was now limply dangling along the body. His partner, who had just successfully thrust his spear into the side of the enemy, immediately covered himself with a shield, and a second swordsman, armed with a bastard, appeared in front of him. The latter, realizing that the chances were not on his side, took a couple of steps back, saw a dagger lying on the road, sharply threw the sword into his left hand, bent down, raised the dagger, and without unbending, threw it at the wounded spearman. The dagger reached its target and dug into the chest, just below the neck. The wounded did not even attempt to defend himself, dodge or pull the dagger, knelt, and then fell to the ground. Although he remained upright, the wound in his arm was painful and a lot of blood was lost. His partner managed to take advantage of the situation, and while the swordsman threw a dagger, he threw a spear at him and hit him in the left forearm. The armor stopped and softened the blow, but the swordsman dropped his sword and looked angrily at his hand, on which blood was already gushing all over. Raising the sword with his right hand, he took a step towards the spearman, who managed to raise the club from the ground, pulling it out of the hands of the slain warrior. This weapon was not familiar to him and awkwardly swinging it, he missed, trying to hit the enemy, and without stopping the inertia of the blow, he bared his side. The swordsman immediately pierced his thigh with his sword, and then, continuing his maneuver, was behind him and thrust his sword into it.

The victorious fighter, clutching the wound with his good hand, winced and examined the battlefield. He was alone on his feet, most of the other soldiers were wounded. Alexander even heard their hearts beating, or rather felt it. The swordsman looked around, turning his back to the young lad. It was at this moment that Alexander decided to attack. There might not have been another chance. The decision itself came spontaneously, like the attack on the wolf, but already making a dash, he realized that everything was correct. Better to attack and kill a person who is innocent than to expose nearly three hundred people under attack. More precisely vampires. In the latter, the man had almost no doubts.

The swordsman managed to turn around at the noise of Alexander pushing through the bushes, but he could not do anything else. A naked man who attacked him from the forest tore his throat with his fingers. Naturally, the dead man did not see how the same man greedily fell to his torn throat and began to drink blood.