Yes, there were enough insects in Florida.
“I would not go in there if you were in my place,” a voice said.
Johnny turned around and saw a tall man in a tuxedo, complemented by a top hat and cloak, with a luxurious mustache brush. Beside him stood a girl in a sequined swimsuit and high-heeled shoes.
The stranger took a step forward.
“I'm afraid one of my friends committed negligence.” Jones is a good wizard, but he is no match for the demons of the third round. Alas, he was inflated as easily as you and I could inflate a child with a card or a coin with two eagles hidden in the sleeve. Now it has disappeared - eaten, I suppose - but the damage has already been done ...
The stranger flicked a large moth from the lapel and continued:
“I'm Maxwell Kerning, Amazing Max, and this is my assistant, Doreen.” Perhaps you caught the eye of the poster: “Amazing Max and his Mobile Miracle Frame”. No? Of course, that doesn't matter. And what matters is that Jones seems to have recruited your spouse and your neighbors in an attempt to summon some very unpleasant entities here.
“Louise is not my wife,” said Johnny. “We are not married.”
Amazing Max shrugged.
- The details of your marital status are secondary to the broader issue. Namely - to the approaching end of civilization.
“It seems to me that this is said too much,” objected Doreen, approaching to stand next to the wizard. She had a soft, melodious voice and, as Johnny remarked, very pretty knees. “Perhaps the case will end only in Florida.”
“But Disneyland will fall anyway,” her comrade reminded her. “I believe the destruction of Disneyland will be the key.” I have no doubt that the entire core of the continent will be drawn into this hole. Chaos will rule the world.
“That's right,” Doreen admitted in a very low voice.
“Well, I was glad to meet you guys, but I have to go,” said Johnny. It was hardly worth indulging this crazy man beyond a certain point. Being polite, but firm - this is the main principle of communication with all kinds of schizos.
Johnny opened the door of his house and entered the cold light.
All the lamps in the house were lit and blinked synchronously, like a spoiled neon sign. In the midst of all this, Louise sat in a brown chair. She was wearing a coat, woolen gloves and headphones.
Lord Jesus! Johnny thought. It was even colder here than in Minnesota, and the light reminded him of a mysterious flowing light that flooded the northern skies in front of a storm.
I don't give a damn, Johnny thought, but at that very moment when the thought flashed through his brain, a slippery cold hand climbed inside the skull and stole it, raked the thought out of his head as if it were chocolate candy, left unattended.
“Hi, Louise,” said Johnny. - Well, it's light here!
“Yes, almost already,” said Louise, getting up.
Suddenly, Johnny felt his chest tighten. He knocked back, unable to rest on his feet from a sharp jerk. He was pulled out of the room, the door slammed behind him. The light (blessed light!) Disappeared, and he tried in vain to free his hands and stand up, with the only thought: to reconnect with this fierce, cold radiance.
“Better sit on it for a few minutes until his brain clears,” Dorin advised.
His head hurt unbearably, and Johnny crawled into the bushes, where he vomited.
“Well, now he'll recover,” came the wizard's voice.
However, Johnny did not think that he could feel better. He rolled onto his back. A large bug landed on his forehead, he brushed it off and sat down.
“Oh my god! .. ”He blinked, looking at Doreen's knees, found some comfort in them and asked:“ What happened there? ”
“Dorin lassoed you,” Amazing Max explained. - She handles the rope professionally - and I must say, it turned out to be very useful for you. We, in fact, have almost lost you. I'm not one of those people who like to give advice - let everyone go their own way, I always say this - but you, a young man, are not quite in your element, and I believe that you should listen to the advice of more experienced people who older than you.
Johnny looked at Doreen, who was wrapping the rope serene.
“You saved my life,” said Johnny.
Doreen raised her head and smiled. She had blond curly hair and black eyes - tinted with mascara so generously that it made her look a bit like a raccoon. But still they were very sweet.
“Honestly, nothing threatened your life,” said Doreen. “Unless, perhaps, to your mind.”
“And yet,” Johnny insisted, “I really appreciate you.”
Doreen waved her long eyelashes and looked away.
“My name is Johnny Harmon,” said Johnny. “And I will never forget that.”
Then Amazing Max intervened.
- Of course, I am very glad to hear that you will never forget your name - but I am afraid that the future in which you can remember or forget something may turn out to be very short if we do not pay attention directly to the problem itself. We need to quickly shut off all this light, until he called here the Wondrous People.
- Wondrous People? Asked Johnny.
“You should not know more about this,” the wizard said. - Believe me, meeting them would not give you pleasure. They will have only one chance to break through, so they will wait until the Light becomes bright enough, and only then appear. I think we still have time. Where is your switchboard?
“In the garage,” said Johnny.
A more detailed study showed that the garage door is lowered and locked with an electronic lock.
The wizard questioned Johnny in detail and then said:
- To get to the garage, we have to go through the kitchen. Johnny, you have to do this - you know the location of the rooms. Do you think you can go there with your eyes closed?
“Of course,” Johnny answered. - The door to the garage is just to the right if you go through the rear entrance.
The wizard leaned toward him and squeezed Johnny's shoulders with both hands. Amazing Max smelled of cigarettes and Old Spice.
- Perfectly. Now here's another thing: when you enter the garage, do not immediately open your eyes. As I suspect, the light will also be on there. Can you find the switch that unlocks the gate with your eyes closed?
Johnny nodded.
- Good. And do not open your eyes until I tell you myself that it is safe!
They slipped to the back of the house, and Johnny unlocked the back door. “Good luck,” the wizard told him, and Johnny, closing his eyes, pushed open the door and entered. He walked with outstretched arms, slipping his legs along the linoleum. Contrary to his expectations, there was no cold, but the darkness beyond his centuries was not complete. He felt the pulsating light flooding the room fluttering on his eyelids; iridescent scraps slipped into his brain like ghostly fish.
To his right were the shelves. Porcelain plates, a coffee mug with Abraham Lincoln, Louisine a collection of old bottles ... U-oops! The ceramic pot overturned to the floor and crashed with a loud sound - hr! Some child would have enjoyed such a sound ... Johnny froze. Everything was quiet in the house.
“We have to move,” he told himself. He found the door, rummaged through it until he found a handle, turned. The door swung open.
Woolen fingers touched his neck from behind.
- BUT! Cried Johnny. Surprisingly, he did not open his eyes.
“Hi, Johnny,” Louise said from behind. “I was just thinking where you went.”
“I just decided to look into the garage,” Johnny mumbled. “Just look at our good old garage.”
“Well, of course,” said Louise. Apparently, she had no intention of stopping him - she did not know that his eyes were closed. I didn't know yet.
Johnny slid his foot along the concrete floor. With a roar, the can with nails overturned. He tripped on a spare tire and nearly fell over. Dangerously leaning forward and hammering his hands through the air, he managed to restore his balance, found the opposite wall
and began to make his way to the switch that unlocked the door.
Louise spoke again.
“What are you doing, Johnny?”
“Now, one second,” Johnny muttered. “I'll be right back.” All I ask for ...
- Ha! Cried Louise. She jumped at him from behind, clasping her hands and hurling him forward. His forehead pressed against the wall, but his hand already felt for the switch, and he hit him with his palm. There was a dull clang - it turned on the motor; then the door with metallic rattling and rattling went up.
- Johnny Harmon! Cried Louise, but, turning, hugged her and held her tight, despite the fact that she kicked and raged beneath him. Something banged nearby, there was a clink of glass.
“Now you can open your eyes, Johnny,” the wizard said. - And you need to add: clean work!
Johnny opened his eyes just in time to see how Amazing Max, with a revolver in his hand, quickly stepped into the middle of the garage, kicked off the broken glass with his foot and with a satisfied exclamation lowered his leg to something that shrieked briefly in an inhuman voice.
It - this now quietened creature - looked like a spider, but with a black shiny chitinous shell, like a beetle.
Johnny staggered to his feet and helped Louise get up.
- What was it? Asked Johnny.
- One of the minions of the Marvelous People. By themselves, they are not dangerous, but they bear the responsibility for the light bulbs that cause Marvelous. - Amazing Max pulled a flashlight from his pocket and turned it on. “Please, close the garage door again.”
Johnny flicked a switch. The door slammed down.
Now they were in complete darkness, not counting the beam of a flashlight.
“As far as I understand, this is a shield,” the wizard said. A ray of light danced on a gray rectangular box.
- Yes.
Amazing Max stepped to the drawer, threw both knife switches and then methodically unscrewed all half a dozen plugs and put them in his pocket.
“Well, it's done,” he said.
They left the tightly closed garage and entered the house, now plunged into darkness. A flashlight beam glided toward the kitchen door, revealing fragments of a broken pot.
The wizard's voice in the dark room sounded unexpectedly loud.
- We need to break all the bulbs and find the queen, otherwise she will put off all new bulbs. Actually, I would not be in the least surprised if it turned out to be straight ... - the wizard jerked open the door of the refrigerator, stepped back and blurted out twice. Following the sound of gunfire, another inhuman cry was heard.
“Well, that's all,” said the wizard. - So far, everything is in order.
- How do you? Johnny asked, clutching Louise's waist with his hand.
“It has been better,” she answered. - To start with the fact that my teeth are chattering from the cold.
They walked from room to room after Amazing Max, destroying light bulbs and creatures that lived in them. In the dark, they moved slowly, and the cries of arachnid creatures acted a little on the nerves.
“Nothing, you'll get warm soon,” said Johnny.
The magician, having heard his last remark, responded:
- Alas, I am afraid that this is not so. - He broke another light bulb and crushed with his foot another harbinger of rock.
- What? Asked Louise. The wizard was already retreating into the bedroom, but Louise ran after him, caught him by the elbow and turned him around. - What do you want to say? What will it never pass?
The wizard shrugged.
- Actually, there is nothing to pass here. It is just some shift in perception caused by exposure to this light. The warmer the weather, the colder you will be. The reverse is also true, so I would advise you to consider moving north.
Amazing Max entered the bedroom and climbed onto the bed.
“Hold the flashlight, Doreen,” he said, and set about twisting the light bulb out of the chandelier.
- Oh shit! - said Louise. “Damn it!” - She began to sob.
“Everything will be fine,” Johnny said gently. “We'll keep the air conditioning on, or we can move back to Minnesota.” We'll come up with something.
“Well then, Doreen,” the wizard said in the meantime. - It seems these are the last. Bring light bulbs from my truck, and we will begin to equip the world again as it should.
“What about the Wards?” - asked Louise.
Amazing Max crossed the living room and gestured to a high window.
“It was already too late to do something with the Wards,” he said. “They've gone too far.” I had to light them up. We installed incendiary bombs in them before going here.
Looking out the window, Johnny saw fading flames; from time to time a garland of sparks rose into the starless sky.
Amazing Max Sighed.
- Frankly, I'm already thinking about retiring. At first, Jones almost destroys the whole world, then Blake disappears, without even saying goodbye. Look what I found in his trailer!
He pulled a black object from his pocket and handed it to Johnny. It was a grotesque stone figurine in the form of a lizard, about three inches long.
- What is it? Asked Johnny.
“One of the minions of the Eternal Abyss.” Do not be afraid, he is already dead. The Wondrous People - this in itself is no joke, but it seems that Blake was enslaved to even darker forces. Eternal Abyss! You know what I will say, ”the wizard leaned forward,“ I would not advise you to even think about what creatures live in the Eternal Abyss. ”
He straightened up.
- Well, yes, however, okay. To the cause!
Amazing Max took a box from Doreen, and the tedious work of replacing the bulbs began.
Louise and Johnny sat on the couch.
“I feel terrible about the Wards,” said Louise. “Plus, I feel really bad.”
Johnny nodded.
“It's probably worth looking at it from the positive side,” he muttered. - Still managed to avoid the end of the world, and all that ...
“Yes, probably,” agreed Louise.
The wizard returned to the living room and flopped into a chair.
“We could hardly avoid another crisis,” he said. Then he put his hand in his pocket and took out the twisted corks.
“Doreen,” he asked, “could you turn on the electricity again?”
The girl in a swimsuit took traffic jams and left the room.
“How was this other wizard going to summon the Eternal Abyss?” Asked Johnny.
- I have no idea. I can not find him, respectively, I can not ask. - Max shouted at the door: - Hey, Doreen! You haven't seen Blake today, have you?
Dorin's voice came from somewhere far away:
- What?
Max shouted his question a second time, raising his voice.
“Of course I did!” Doreen shouted back. “I told you.” It was he who gave me these these bulbs.
The sun began to rise above the horizon. Oaks, palm trees and lean pine trees gradually floated out of the dawn, muddy, like mud. The smoke above the Vardov farm was rising to heaven in a crooked column.
The wizard emptied his pockets, taking out the last bulbs that turned out to be superfluous. One of them fell and crashed on a coffee table; a small metal lizard scurried down the countertop, barking grimly.
- Good God! The wizard croaked, jumping up from his seat. - Doreen! He screeched.
Too late. The buzz of the refrigerator, the whispering voice of the speaker in the radio, the hoarse breathing of the air conditioner - all heralded the resumption of electricity entering the house. And, of course, light bulbs - light bulbs lit everywhere. Light bulbs strangled the approaching dawn: they emitted darkness, thicker than tar, blacker than black velvet lining the inside of the coffin.
Johnny realized that so far he had never, in fact, encountered darkness. There was the darkness of a moonless night, the darkness of the windowless midnight room - but next to this new darkness they were simply lost. And now, althoug
h this could not be anything other than his imagination, because before their arrival there were still many hours - Johnny seemed to hear the first thunderous steps.
Jeffrey ford
The Place Where Page 32