On the way home, I saw a man sitting on his knees and coughing, blood was coming out of his mouth. He shouted, "Help me! I want to live!" At a certain moment, he began to choke on his own blood and froze. With a heavy heart, I walked past, holding my nose with a rag. The entrance was already visible. Pushing open the heavy wooden door, I heard footsteps from above; someone was standing on the stairs and, sensing me, froze. I took out a knife and began to rise slowly. There was a silhouette in the corner by the elevator, facing me.
"Isn't that Serega?" - it flashed through my mind.
The shirt was the same as when we last met. Seryozha is a good neighbor, with whom we have been in contact since our student days. Over time, he got a family, and I stayed with the dog. We began to see each other less often, congratulating each other only on holidays. He was always proud of his achievements and looked down on me.
I froze. A silhouette in a stained shirt stood with his back to me. His neck was covered with strange round parasites that looked like giant ticks. I thought I could pass by unnoticed, but at the last moment he turned abruptly and rushed to catch up. It really was Serega, but his face...
It was gray and stained, the skin peeling off, exposing the bones. I ran away and took the keys out of my pocket. When he reached the fourth floor, he began to frantically open the lock. He stumbled into the apartment and slammed the door with a bang. He knocked for a while, hoping that I would open it, and then, apparently, left.
From that moment on, my "neighbors" began to go for walks in the entrance. They looked like they were living a normal life, but they were different.