Читать книгу Rebirth - Dmitry Nazarov - Страница 9

– If they’re going to kill you anyway, why are the bastards mocking you? – I asked angrily, getting up.

I was not cold after the icy shower, strangely enough. On the contrary, it felt like a powerful furnace had turned on inside my body and was slowly heating up, so that even the wet clothes clinging to my body felt more like a blessing than an inconvenience.

– I’m in no hurry to die, so I’ll take it,» said the boy on the other side. – But they sure are a handful, aren’t they?

– I think it’s starting, boys! – Nadia said distressed. – I’m so hot I can hardly breathe.

– I’m not too cool, by the way,» said Lekha.

– Shut up, you two! – Someone shouted from a distance. – I feel sick without you!

He confirmed his words with a characteristic noise.

I began to feel sick to my stomach. The internal heater gradually gained momentum, and after a few hours I had the feeling that I was slowly frying from within. I was unbearably thirsty, my skin itched, my clothes quickly dried and felt like shackles rubbing on them, and the bandage itched like hell underneath, so I, ignoring everything, peeled it off. More and more people around me vomited, the stench became terrible, and now a new visit from the man with the hose seemed to me a blessing rather than a punishment. A little later there was a disgusting feeling that my bones were getting too big for my body, as if they were slowly tearing my ligaments and muscles from the inside. It was like I was burning and splintering at the same time, and it was a bloody nightmare, and I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Especially since there had been moaning, heavy breathing, and wailing all around me for a long time. The red, sweaty, lost-looking guys were just lying on the floor, rolling from side to side, and some were clutching their clothes to the iron bars in search of a drop of coolness, and some were shaking in small convulsions, pounding on the floor. Only Nadia and I were still holding on, but my consciousness was already beginning to slip away, and, judging by her dilated eyes staring into nothing, her profuse sweat, and her ragged, whistling breathing, the girl was no better.

No one noticed the arrival of the big guy who had been watering us before, but everyone was glad when he started pouring water on the cages. If, of course, people who were already almost insane could rejoice at all. Some even cried out and put their hands through the bars, begging them to come quickly.

– Be patient, little puppies! – the man whispered, watering, and, strangely enough, this time sounded to my molten mind was no longer cruel, but almost with sincere sympathy. – Not much left! Cool it down a little, and it will go easier.

The first moment the water hit my skin, I had the feeling it would hiss and evaporate. The cold stream was such a relief that I was barely aware of it, and I began to expose myself to it, moaning with what sounded like perverse pleasure. The blessed bath ended all too quickly, and I whimpered as the big man moved on. I stretched out on the wet floor, trying to absorb and retain more of the coolness. My brain didn’t notice how completely dark it got, and the moans and complaints around me began to turn into screams and strange growls. Just at some point something began to finally break and tear inside, and as I opened my eyes in horror at the darkness, which was somehow not a hindrance to my vision, I saw a huge dog in the next cage. I screamed in pain and at the finality of my understanding of the catastrophe that was occurring, and looked around the hangar with one last meaningful glance. In all cages now rampaging and climbing on the bars of the beasties, whose German dog would have easily skipped under the belly without getting caught. I did not have time to realize the degree of shock, because my perception was instantly shifted, as if I, a normal, dived to the depths and there and froze, detached, stunned, watching from the outside and from a distance. On the surface was… me, too. But for this version of me, having so many beasts around didn’t seem terrible. On the contrary, I greedily absorbed their smells, caught their sounds. And I really, really had to run somewhere. My muscles were cramping from the unbearable thirst for movement. But the damned iron around me would not let me free, and I began to throw myself at it fiercely, gnawing and scratching the floor, growling and howling indignantly. The urge to break free consumed me completely, and I continued my attempts to get out for what felt like an eternity. Until the rectangles beneath the ceiling that smelled of that most desperately desired will began to glow, and my body felt heavy and weak. Dullness and apathy set in, and finally I gave up, curling up on the hateful floor and falling asleep almost instantly.