The Place Where

by Rodion Pretis

The girl's determination crumbled into pieces. Her palm opened and the basket rolled across the dirty floor. The she-wolf did not bother to raise her. And then Kapucina realized that even if she was still far from the Tiergarten dungeons, still breathing fresh air, still dressing in the worn synthetic fabrics of the suburbs, she was actually already absorbed by a force too powerful to withstand it. Although she had not yet entered the Tiergarten gate, she was already in Wolf's belly.

  But even if she, perhaps, felt herself abandoned by all, she soon had to join the ranks of legendary heroes whom we do not cease to sing today.

  In Tiergarten: rampant courage

  Tiergarten was surrounded by a dense hedge of prickly trees, so that no one could get inside or get out. At the top of the living wall, Hawks were guarded, examining with their huge binoculars the eyes of each person entering and leaving. They did not suspect that the newly arrived prisoner would be the first to triumph over their relentless vigilance.

  A small flock of Volkov escorted Capuchin into the dungeon; next to the tall figures of these repeatedly modified men and women, the girl seemed even smaller than she was. Having passed through the gates guarded by lazy Bulls in human leather jackets, the girl blinked in surprise.

  Beyond the walls of vegetation, Tiergarten was preserved exactly the same as it was once. Grassy lawns were neatly trimmed by freely grazing goats. The paths strewn with white sand sparkled brightly in the sun, and soon the wolves' boots crunched along one of them.

  They passed several animal pens. Capuchin thought of the gorilla that had once been sitting here, with a feeling of pity and envy heaving in her heart. The wolves were undoubtedly endowed with some sense of gloomy irony: the girl again saw bare concrete for the first time since the time she entered the Ring. Cement pens and cages were free from green contamination - the only change Gardeners made was that they now contained people, while the former residents were released and walked along the leafy streets.

  Above the labyrinth of pits, ditches with water and fences hung a stench of excrement, whether animals or human; the smell was so thick that the girl was even surprised that she did not see it in the form of a tangible cloud under the hot summer sun.

  In the end, they approached the huts, where the central lair of the Wolves in the City was located. Although she still held bravely, Capuchin's whole body ached with fear: her muscles were reduced so much that she sometimes even stumbled. But despite all her horror, she was determined not to give free rein to tears. “Never show fear,” Marin once told her; now the girl thought that Maryn would not have been scared in her place, so she should be brave too. “Even if they spank me, I won't cry,” she promised herself. “Even if ... if ...” But worse than that, her imagination was unable to draw anything for her.

  One of the Wolves pushed her into the IB-4 cell and forced her to lie back on a bed on which there was a mattress, but there was no linen. Kneeling down beside him, he handcuffed her to the head of the bunk.

  “What will they do to me?” She asked, in a thin voice, despite her determination.

  The wolf did not answer and left immediately as soon as he had finished his work. Capuchin closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep by force of will, but sunlight was still breaking out of the barred window. The cell was too light, and it was too early for her usual daytime sleep.

  Then another Wolf entered the cell. With a start, Kapucina recognized the woman she had met in the City - the one who had shown her how to get to Sonnenfelsgass. Then she seemed so friendly to her, but turned out to be so treacherous! What will she do now that the girl was in her power? Kapucina just did not suffocate from these and many other questions, waiting for a decision of her fate.

  The wolf turned to the man who stood in the doorway, gesturing for him to come in. He also wore the black uniform of the Wolf, but in appearance he seemed no older than Marin; his features were not yet tarnished by adult vices. He waited, standing at attention, while the she-wolf examined Capuchin, bowing his head to one side.

  “Cute little girl ...” she whispered, measuring with her dark eyes a small figure, spread out on her bunk. - This business requires the greatest delicacy from us. Do you feel ready for this, brother Wolf?

  - Yes sir! The young Wolf yelled.

  Of course, the Wolf said to herself: “What a gentle, soft creature! What a juicy, mouth-watering piece will come out of her! ”But she did not want to risk it - she could have killed Kapucina during interrogation, thereby causing displeasure of her masters. Therefore, she decided to leave the girl in the care of her assistant, who would have to be punished if she made a mistake.

  Capuchin had no idea about all this, since Marin told her very little about Tiergarten. If the Lumberjack or sympathizer fell into Tiergarten, there was no hope for him but the hope of a speedy death. The girl was able to catch only a small fraction of the aura of horror that surrounded this dungeon - from how suddenly silence came when she approached Maryn, talking with friends; from how Marin had a sore throat when she talked about the old zoo; of the many hints, where much less was mentioned aloud than remained unspoken. Now the girl was sure of only one thing: she would not say anything, she would never betray Marin, and in the end she would force her invaders to let her go.

  And when the Wolf familiar to her, before leaving, added: “Remember, be softer with her,” Kapucina could only decide that this was a manifestation of kindness. For all her life in the suburbs, she knew nothing else. Perhaps this was her fatal weakness; however, this is the main sign of civilization - to be mistaken for weakness in the eyes of savages.

  In Chamber IB-4: The Virtuous End

  Imagine if you want everything that the human body can carry without stepping over the edge of death. Imagine all this, for you will not hear about it from the narrator of this story. Imagine what it is like to wait (minutes? Hours?) For a cup of empty stew to cool down, because an attempt to sip a hot brew from it will cause only a dazzling pain in broken teeth.Imagine a mind that loses sight of the course of the day and night, gradually clouding more and more, until its sense of time crystallizes around the wolves, their sharp instruments and their blunt instruments, their wild joyful laughter, expressing pleasure from fun with the always malleable doll of flesh and blood. Imagine where the mind can go in order to forget what is happening with the rest of the body. Imagine trying to breathe in such a way as not to move the chest, protecting broken ribs and bruises from sand-filled socks.

  Imagine if you can, after all this, you still did not say anything to your tormentors. Nothing!

  How long do you think you will be able to remain silent? Once upon a time, the young brain of Capuchin operated on absolute concepts; but absolute concepts exist only for children. Man believes in good and evil, just as he believes in black and white. Her sister Marin was kind. Consequently, the Gardeners, the enemies of Marin, were evil.

  However, evil, as she now knew, was not just the opposite of good; it was a much stranger thing, with an infinite variety of varieties, while good could boast with only a few separate features. Oddly enough, evil was not synonymous with pain: it carried with it its own forms of pleasure, for the liberation from suffering, even for a moment, was an ecstasy, incomparable with anything. And more than once, she caught herself thinking about how lucky she was to endure in the IB-4 chamber such enthusiasms that they erased all her other memories ...

  She lay in oblivion, and these thoughts flew from her lips (although she herself only half believed in them) when a person entered her cell. Distant moans and muffled screams came through the open door. Capuchin no longer paid attention to them - they were now part of the soundtrack of her life.

  She automatically started and closed her eyes, although he wore the red uniform of the humble Ant. She was hardly interested in whether he had heard what she was saying. Some time passed (a minute? A second?), But she still did not feel his hands on her body, and then fear seized her: what kind of new torment was being prepared for her, which took so long to prepare? Sometim
es it was better to know in advance, look at the prepared instruments and imagine the full amount of impending pain, because sometimes Volchata were not as cruel as they could be, and torture did not cause such suffering as she had been afraid at first. Hoping to win for herself at least this meager relief, Capuchin opened her eyes and looked again.

  Little by little, she realized that night had come; however, she no longer remembered well what night meant. Fire trees burned in the courtyard, and their unfaithful light, falling through the barred window, made the shadows dance on the face of a man squatting beside her.

  - Capuchin, can you hear me? He asked as she opened her eyes.

  His red uniform finally came to her consciousness, and the girl relaxed somewhat, breathing a hoarse sigh of relief. Her visitor was just an auxiliary worker, such as those who regularly came to replace her soiled mattress or to wash the floor covered with vomit. They never meant pain. Nevertheless, she did not answer him. Speaking was too painful, and she did not have anything significant enough that she could say.

  “I'm a lumberjack,” the man whispered. “Your sister instructed me to give you this.”

  He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

  - ABOUT! Said Kapucina, recalling her desire - it seemed so distant; a childhood whim that the whole world should have forgotten for a long time. She smiled, her lip cracked again, and a trickle of blood flowed into her mouth. - So it's true! She whispered. “Marin sent you to save me!”

  The effort required for such a lengthy speech took all her strength. Her breathing became labored and she felt dizzy.

  “Yes,” answered the man whose face was still hidden by shadows. He waited for her to catch her breath, then asked: “Do you want me to smoke one for you?”

  - Oh, yes, please! Whispered Kapucina. Her head was still spinning, but she felt as though she was having a wonderful dream.

  The divine smell of burning tobacco leaves swept around her. She grabbed a thin cylinder with two disfigured fingers, brought it to her lips and enthusiastically tightened. She had already practiced smoking before, without Marin's knowledge, but then it was just cigarette butts picked up in a ditch. Now it was infinitely better ...

  She managed to tighten only two times before her throat - torn to meat by pumps that pumped her lungs after being drowned in animal feces - reacted to astringent smoke. She coughed; her lungs burned with fire, and her rib cage was falling apart. In desperation, she tried to sit on the bed, and sharp pain immediately pierced such parts of her body that she had never paid attention to before being in Tiergarten. After some time, however, the cough subsided, and the pain subsided.

  A burning cigarette fell to the floor and continued to smoke there; Capuchin unsuccessfully stretched out her bound hands, trying to reach her. The lumberjack picked it up and again brought it to the girl's lips. Capuchin took another puff. This time she did not cough. She felt her mind clear somewhat, and a trickle of new energy poured into her vessels.

  “How ...” she began. The lumberjack guessed the question she wanted to ask.

  “We can't get you out of prison,” he explained. “In any case, you are not in a condition to escape.” Hawks pounce on us in no time.

  “Yes, I understand ...” said Kaputsina, although she really didn't understand anything. The man continued:

  “But Lumberjacks can't risk you talking.” They can take a chance by sending me because I don't know anything. I only saw Marin once - outside the Ring, in tents of tinsmiths and junkers.

  “I don't understand,” said the girl, closing her eyes.

  - I can no longer see this ad! - snorted a pretty girl with long, slightly curly red hair, waving her hand in the direction of an ostrochevshy bright poster, occupying almost the entire side of the three-story building. - This is just plain mockery.

  - Come on, Alyosha! - laughed her friend - a green-eyed blonde with a fashionable figure. - Advertising is like advertising, well, maybe a little more stupid than others, but there are worse ones.

  “Yes,” the first agreed, “but not in such numbers and not in the center of the city.” Stupid ad about a stupid fashion game.

  - Advertising may be stupid, but the game is definitely not. It brings real money to players and a lot of money. I would love to play. Yes, and you money would not be superfluous.

  “Better say you can't wait to light up on television, Lina,” the red-haired woman smiled slyly. - You just dream of a movie!

  “And that too.” But money ... ”she suddenly fell silent, and then, grabbing her friend's hand, she pulled her along to a bus painted in gold color, which was taken from not far from the trolleybus stop.

  “And I thought you won't notice,” sighed Alyosha, obediently following the blonde who was literally flying through the air, despite the high heels. - or, at least you will notice a little later, when I get on a minibus ...

  - I want to participate! - Lina shouted from a distance, referring to a short, stout man holding a “treasured folder”, in which the participants of the qualifying round entered. “And she, too,” the blonde added, stopping and pointing to her friend.

  “Of course, you can become a participant by filling out the necessary forms,” the man said a little nasally, wiping his forehead with a plaid scarf, “but your girlfriend is completely inappropriate.”

  - Why is this? - surprised the dark-haired girl.

  “Your age ...” the man began, but fell silent when he heard the blonde laugh.

  “So what's wrong with my age?” - Alyoshka decided to make fun of the principle, who had long ago come to terms with the fact that no one had ever given her her real age, considering her much younger. She even took off her sunglasses and innocently looked with her expressive gray-blue (now becoming sky-blue) eyes accented by skillful makeup, from which they seemed simply huge. Under her gaze, the man became embarrassed and mumbled:

  - The main rule ... Age ... Must be ... full ... 21 years old ...

  “I know about the main rule,” Alyosha's lips smiled shyly, and a mockery flashed in her eyes. “But I don't understand why I can't participate.” I've been a very adult for a long time.

  “Nick Nick, if you don’t take her word for it, ask her to show her passport,” a pleasant male voice came very close by, and a second later its owner got off the bus: a very tall man in jeans and a white T-shirt emphasizing a tan. His intricately cut hair was carefully styled, and his very dark eyes glowed with amusement.

  - You have already turned 21 years old? He asked, referring to the dark-haired girl.

  - And what do you think? - She slightly bent her head to her shoulder and smiled sweetly, while guile flashed in her eyes.

  “I think you are a born actress,” the man laughed gaily. - Never wanted to do this professionally?

  “I don't, but my girlfriend is dreaming about it,” Alyoshka said easily. “Will you help her?”

  - Alyosha! - the blonde blinked at the girl.

  - Alyoshka? Here is how? - the man was surprised.

  “Alexey,” the girl corrected, instantly becoming serious.

  “Alexander,” he introduced himself. - When you are completely serious and even so sparkle with your eyes, even Nick Nick will believe that you already have 21. Really Nick Nick? - the fat man muttered something in response and, giving the girls on the questionnaire, headed in the opposite direction, where other people who wanted to become players were already crowding.

  “After filling out the forms, give them to me,” Alexander asked the girls.

  “Come on, Lina, fill up faster,” Alyoshka urged her friend, giving her a pen.

  - And you? - the blonde was surprised, having noticed that the girlfriend does not think to write anything. “You will not leave me now.”

  - Carolina! It is you who want to play, not me.

  - Do you really really do not want to play? - Alexander was surprised, and genuine interest was kindled in his eyes.

  “Contract risk does not appeal to me,” Alexey answered firmly.


  “Strange,” the man rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I thought the little demon that sits in you with both hands will grab hold of such a chance.” Test yourself, and even get paid for it. And are you really ready to refuse to find out what is happening in the finale? I do not believe! - Seeing that she began to hesitate, he dealt the last blow. - This time there will be five finalists, and with your potential it costs nothing to get into this five.

  “You are just a tempter!” - funny devils danced in her eyes. - Let's get a pen.

  * * *

  - Alyosha, I can't wait for tomorrow! - Carolina's delight was even felt on the phone. - Tomorrow is the first day of the game!

  “Lina, I'm feeling uneasy,” the girl rolled onto the bed on her back and looked at the ceiling; the telephone receiver strove to slip out, and she grabbed it more comfortably with her other hand. - I have a bad feeling.