House 16a - continuation of the story.

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║  House 16a.             ║
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(C) SANDMAN
 CHAPTER 3: GUESTS

 At 6.30 the alarm clock rang. I barely opened one eye. Sleep-
At first I didn’t understand where I was, but gradually my memory returned
to me, and I remembered who I am and how I got here. And I also remembered
that it’s time to go to work, because even treasure hunters need money.
To do this, I got a job as a salesman at a food stall.

 I slightly raised my head from the pillow. A sharp pain struck
like lightning. And although I understood that Pontius Pilate was much worse
However, I couldn’t bring myself to get up. Finally I'm slow
He stood up, put on his slippers and slowly walked towards the bathroom.
Opening the door, I expected to see an unpleasant sight, because yesterday
I didn't look there, and I wasn't mistaken. For some reason there would be no cockroaches-
oh, bedbugs too. A single dim light bulb dangled from a thin
wire, there was a feeling that she would not hang for long. But I post-
Penno began to get used to such surprises. Lying in the bathroom
pieces of tiles that were once on the wall. I looked in
dusty cracked mirror. From there tosomeone looked at me
a rumpled, dirty homeless person, in whom I hardly recognized myself. A little
After reviving myself with cold water and coffee, I crawled
work.

 In the evening I came hungry, angry and tired. After eating boiled
potatoes with fish fingers, which did not want to be defrosted -
Well, I've gotten a little better. I lounged in my chair and turned on the
Levizor, when suddenly the doorbell rang. Not without fear, I opened
door. It was Vasya, already under the influence, and with a bottle. For some reason I
was delighted and gladly invited him to come through. Having sat down comfortably
her on a creaky stool, I listened to his stories about this
the house and everything that happened here. Most of all it looked like
fairy tales that scare young children. And although I myself am one of those
I didn’t count them, they made the right impression on me. But, according to
thinking, I decided that there was no point in believing in all sorts of fairy tales from my neighbor -
-an alcoholic and you need to listen to common sense. But I didn’t
heard.

 I don’t remember how I went to bed, but when there was a deafening
ringing, the vodka disappeared instantly. The sound came from somewhere in the kitchen.
neither. I regretted not getting a weapon. Grabbing a hammer from the floor
I began to approach my goal carefully. I was just about to wrap up
around the corner, when the ringing repeated. It seemed as if someone had taken a cleaver and
hammered it with all his might into all the dishes that were onkitchen.
As soon as there was silence again, I jumped around the corner. I'm alive
let me see robbers, killers, monsters, finally, but the kitchen
was completely empty. There was only one thing that reminded me that I had
there was no auditory hallucination: all the dishes on the table were
la is scattered all over the floor. Just in case I checked everything
lockers where someone larger than a fly could hide, but
there was absolutely no one there.  I looked into the ventilation shaft.
The dark tunnel resembled a black hole, although it didn’t suck into it.
Although it was ventilation. I returned to the room and lay down, but
That night I was not able to sleep yet. All sorts of dark thoughts are spinning
were in my head and I couldn’t get rid of them.

 CHAPTER 4: ALLIES

 I lived here for about a week and managed to meet more
some local residents.  And although they turned out to be enough
gloomy people, little talkative, I tried to find out from them
something that would help me in my quest. Unfortunately none of
local residents could not help me, because there were people in the house
only two types: the first did not tell anything, but only said
chatted, and the second ones weaved such tales that I soon got tired of them. I
I realized that I had to act on my own, although I didn’t know how yet.

 But the truth was there was one person among them,which was impossible
belong to these two classes. His name was Alexander, he moved into
this house almost at the same time as I did, and in the same way. He
turned out to be a pleasant person to talk to, often in the evenings we chatted
whether with each other. He was engaged in trade, lived here temporarily,
but, since trade was going well, I wanted to stay here for a long time.
th.

 Once, when I was returning from work again,
The lights were turned off in the house.  I walked up the steps by touch, so
Moreover, there was no moon that night. I tried to look only at
Be under your feet so that you can at least discern the outlines of the steps. It was
difficult.  I quickly became angry at this snail's speed of movement.
niya, and I walked more briskly. “Well, I’ll break my neck - to hell with it,” -
I thought. Suddenly, when I had already gained sufficient speed, I
bodies into someone who was already on the stairs. A woman's squeal was heard and
choice curse words. “Oh, my God, I scared you to death,” they said.
cried out of the darkness, “Who are you anyway?” Judging by the voice, it's
there was some granny.  I introduced myself and said that I came to
Moscow to earn extra money.  In principle, it was remotely similar to
the truth, but it didn’t sound very convincing.

The lights were turned on here. Looking at my interlocutor, I remembered
Russian folk tales. She looked very much like Baba Yaga.
But for some reason I immediately felt for hertrust. Apparently I
he looked so tired that granny’s heart immediately sank. "Posh-
“li, granddaughter, I’ll feed you,” she suddenly said. "Yes, and then
I’ll put it in the oven,” I thought. However, I agreed.

 Maria Ivanovna lived alone with her old husband, who
He immediately treated me with sympathy. After you feed me-
Well, I suddenly had an idea right away. I realized that these people -
These are the ones who will help me in my quest. Having asked them
I learned that they have been living here for at least fifty years.
This made me absolutely delighted. And then for some reason I decided to them
trust and tell who I really am and why I came here.
hal.  They listened with their mouths open, and without interrupting me at any point.
word.

 When I finished, they sat there for a long time and digested
what I told them. Finally I asked, “So will you help me?” B
I heard one word answer: “Yes!”

To be continued...