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07
Jun
2017

S-T-I-K-S 1. Human hive (Stone Artem), Suslov Maxim]

Format: audiobook, MP3, 64kbps

Year of manufacture: 2016
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 12:21:17
Description: "S-T-I-K-S. The Human Hive" is a science fiction novel by Artem Kamenisty.
Welcome to the Hive - a place where it's easy to get in, but impossible to get out. And where it is so difficult to survive that ninety percent of immune newcomers do not reach the end of the first week, and those who last a year are considered old-timers. In most of the volatile territory, you are just game, and rare islands of stability can turn into a death trap for all inhabitants overnight. Mutating zombies; attack drones; heavily armed soldiers of unknown armies, for whom you are nothing more than valuable biological material; your brutal colleagues in misfortune, plus a lot of other things, including forbidden, unnamed things - here is a short list of those who are hunting you. So how long will you last here? Day? A week? Year? Time has passed...

03
Jun
2016

S-T-I-K-S. Human Hive (Artem Kamenisty)

Author:
Year of manufacture: 2016
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 12:21:17
Description: "S-T-I-K-S. The Human Hive" is a fantasy novel by Artem Kamenisty. Welcome to the Hive - a place where it's easy to get in, but impossible to get out. And where it is so difficult to survive that ninety percent of immune newcomers do not reach the end of the first week, and those who last a year are considered old-timers. In most of the volatile territory you are just game, and rare islands of stability can turn...

19
Oct
2018

S-T-I-K-S, Dreams come true. Book 1, (Cather Way)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 50 kbps
Author:
Year of release: 2018
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 10:20:02
Description: Waking up in the middle of the night, Victor did not immediately realize that he was no longer in his own world, but in a world full of zombies, mutants, religious fanatics, bandits and anarchy, where the strongest and most cunning survive, where completely different values ​​and certain parts of mutants stand more expensive than gold, in a world that is called S.T.I.K.S for a reason. Was he upset? Did you panic and begin to curse fate? No. Victor has long dreamed of something like this...

11
Jan
2018

S-T-I-K-S. Second Guardian [Book 1] (Andrey Arkhipov)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 56 kbps
Author:
Year of release: 2017
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 12:08:10
Description: Two construction workers find themselves in the Hive, where they confront dangers shoulder to shoulder, but their paths diverge. The Persian, seeking revenge for the death of his beloved girl, deliberately turns himself into a monster, and his friend Phase goes to a distant mountain cluster to carry out a mysterious order for a trade guild.
Add. Information: There is profanity!

03
Aug
2014

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (fan-fiction). “Human Mutant” (Artem Chuprin)

Format: MP3, 128kbps
Author:
Year of manufacture: 2014
Genre: , S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Publisher: Project "SViD" - Fairy tales for Adults and Children
Executor:
Duration: 00:51:28
Description: Friendship in the Zone is an integral mechanism in the survival system. It is a pity that many people neglect this fact. Most stalkers believe that a friend is a burden, that you need to share swag with him, that you need to protect him, help him, but for some reason they also overlook the fact that a friend will also help you. In principle, such people (loners) will not live here for long...

14
Jul
2017

S-T-I-K-S: Territory of the Lucky (Book 4) (Artem Kamenisty)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 128kbps
Author:
Year of release: 2017
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 17:19:38
Description: “Territory of the Lucky” is a science fiction novel by Artem Kamenisty, part of the “S-T-I-K-S” cycle, the genre of combat fantasy. You are the only one who knows where the treasure is hidden, you know the way to get it and you know the safe road to get to it. Your plan is simple and well thought out. Well, go ahead, act, just don’t forget that Styx is a master of unpleasant surprises and his worst enemy is predictable...

23
Dec
2017

S-T-I-K-S. Double (Sharapov Kirill), Alexander Chaitsyn]

Format: audiobook, MP3, 52kbps
Author:
Year of release: 2017
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 14:53:27
Description: The hive is not a place for walking. But it so happened that Leonid Pogorelov, who now goes by the name Amper, had a long journey. A hunt has been announced for him! Everyone needs his life: moors, bounty hunters and just people who are ready to sell their own mother for a reward. But most of all, foreigners need it. The resources of an entire base were thrown into his search, a fabulous reward was promised, and only because...

04
Feb
2018

S-T-I-K-S. Suicide Man (Avasta Pavel), Alexander Chaitsyn]

Author:
Year of release: 2018
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 12:24:06
Description: “Suicide Man” is a fantasy novel by Pavel Avasta based on the world of Artyom Kamenisty “S-T-I-K-S”, genre of combat fantasy. The ways of the Hive are mysterious. No matter what you knew about him until now, no matter what you went through, and the next moment he will turn to you in such a way that you don’t know what to do. There’s just no time to think; it’s very expensive in the Hive. A year goes by in three or thirty-three. Or maybe more expensive - as you agree. Will the agreement succeed...

15
Sep
2017

Book series Universe S-T-I-K-S

Format: FB2, (originally computer)
Author:
Year of release: 2016-2017
Genre: ,
Publisher: ,
Language:
Number of books: 24
Description: Welcome to the Hive - a place where it's easy to get in, but impossible to get out. And where it is so difficult to survive that ninety percent of immune newcomers do not reach the end of the first week, and those who last a year are considered old-timers. In most of the volatile territory, you are just game, and rare islands of stability can turn into a death trap for all inhabitants overnight. Muti...

02
Oct
2018

S-T-I-K-S. Mercenary Ivan: Tracer (Book 2) (Yuri Ulengov)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 56kbps
Author:
Year of release: 2018
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 12:33:54
Description: “Tracer” is a fantasy novel by Yuri Ulengov based on the world of Artyom Kamenisty “S-T-I-K-S”, genre combat fantasy. Former mercenary Ivan has been in the Hive for six months. Having put together his own squad of hunters for the infected, tracers, as they are called here, he continues the struggle for survival in a nightmare world populated by the living dead and inveterate thugs. At the same time, he does not forget for a moment about his main goal - revenge. After all, somewhere...

07
Jun
2017

S-T-I-K-S 2. Man with a cat (Stone Artem), Vadim Pugachev]

Format: audiobook, MP3, 64kbps
Author:
Year of manufacture: 2016
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 12:28:15
Description: A world of endless nightmare. A world where even if you are lucky at the start, the finish will most likely be around the first corner. A world that continuously disfigures and digests everyone who enters it. And yet, even in such a place you can find a calm corner. But peace of mind here is too expensive a commodity, and those who sell it go out of their way to force everyone else to pay without discounts or late payments. If you...

07
Jun
2017

S-T-I-K-S 3. The color of her eyes (Artem Kamenisty, Alya Kholodova), Elena Polonetskaya]

Fantastic novel by Artyom Kamenisty “S-T-I-K-S. The Human Hive" is the first in a series of books. It has an unusual plot and an interesting fantasy world.

Igor is an ordinary guy who after work wanted to have a good evening in the company of a pretty girl. On the way to the cafe, his car got stuck in the mud, he drove until almost dark and realized that he was already late. When he finally managed to get out of the mud and onto the highway, he wanted to call the girl, but it turned out that there was no network reception here, although such problems had never arisen before.

There was fog all around, so thick that you couldn’t even see the next few meters. Igor parked the car at the side of the road, but another car crashed into it. The girl needed help, and since the phone did not work, Igor went to look for the nearest settlement. He had long felt some kind of unpleasant sour smell, and even thought that there had been a release of some kind of toxic chemical substances.

On the way, Igor jumped off a bridge to avoid a collision with a bus, landed unsuccessfully and lost consciousness. When he woke up, he saw that the fog had disappeared. He did not find his recent acquaintance near the car, and there was a lot of blood inside. Perplexed, Igor turned and saw him. It was just impossible to call him alive. But he walked towards Igor.

Igor found himself in a world from which it was impossible to escape. You can live here even for a few days with great luck, and if you manage to live longer, it will be a miracle. The world is full of zombie mutants who eat people, armed soldiers who are not at all trying to save you. The one who was with you yesterday is against you today, where yesterday it was safe is now a trap. You are constantly being hunted. Is it even possible to survive here?

On our website you can download the book "S-T-I-K-S. The Human Hive" by Kamenisty Artyom for free and without registration in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format, read the book online or buy the book in the online store.

S-T-I-K-S. Human hive Artem Kamenisty

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Title: S-T-I-K-S. Human hive

About the book “S-T-I-K-S. Human Hive" Artem Kamenisty

The book “S-T-I-K-S. The Human Hive” by writer Artem Kamenisty is presented in the genre of combat fantasy and captivates with its non-trivial plot with dynamic scenes and fierce battles.

The plot of the book “S-T-I-K-S. The Human Hive” by Artem Kamenisty takes place on a vast territory, which is called the “hive”. It’s not easy to get here, and no one manages to get out. Why? The fact is that most people who end up here die - and this number is more than 90%. The rest last here for several weeks, and only a few manage to survive here longer. Those who have stayed in this place for a year are called old-timers.

The Hive is a volatile and extremely dangerous zone. Here people are just game, and what seems stable today turns into a death trap overnight. But who hunts in this territory and kills people? There are countless villains here: mutating zombies, armed soldiers of unknown armies, attack drones, and even those people who came here as victims, but for certain reasons began to kill their own kind. How long can a new character survive in this zone - a day, a week or a year? Time has passed - the reader can only watch the events unfold.

Of course, the book “S-T-I-K-S. The Human Hive" differs from publications presented in the genre of combat science fiction. Here, in addition to large-scale battle scenes, there is a place for courage and bravery. The main character is so courageous and confident in his abilities that not a single mortal danger can stop him.

Reading this book by Artem Kamenisty is recommended for all fans of military science fiction and adventure, as well as fans of the works of this author. Hurry to find out what the “hive” territory is like, what dangers it is fraught with and how long the main character will be able to wage a fierce fight against numerous enemies. Start reading this book right now.

On our website about books lifeinbooks.net you can download and read online the book “S-T-I-K-S. The Human Hive" by Artem Kamenisty in epub, fb2, txt, rtf formats. The book will give you a lot of pleasant moments and real pleasure from reading. You can buy the full version from our partner. Also, here you will find the latest news from the literary world, learn the biography of your favorite authors. For aspiring writers, there is a separate section with useful tips and tricks, interesting articles, thanks to which you yourself can try your hand at literary crafts.

© Kamenisty A., 2016

© Design by Publishing House E LLC, 2016

Chapter 1

Life is not fair. You make far-reaching plans, make efforts to implement them, and suddenly a gigantic fly swatter is waved over you - something irresistible interferes with your plans, cross-crossing them with a thick black line. And you don’t always realize this right away, because fate knows how to arrange everything in such a way that you yourself won’t notice how you’ll fly downhill in the halo of the rubble of your destroyed future.

Today, the ordinary dirt of a forest road has acted as a large-caliber instrument of fate. It fired without a miss, shattering into smithereens the life of a random victim planned for years in advance. All you had to do was detain her for a short time, not let her cross the line beyond which you don’t even realize that you have avoided a very difficult turn in your biography.

On this seemingly ordinary day, Igor did not at all intend to get into trouble, which radically changes the future of those who, at the wrong time, find themselves in a place from which they should stay as far as possible. His plans were standardly simple, and there was no place in them for adventures that were dangerous to health or, even more so, life.

First, he needs to get to the city, then quickly wash off the sweat of work in the shower, change clothes and go on a date, which he agreed on with cutie Svetka yesterday. He had a sure-fire surprise prepared in advance, which, as a rule, makes women's hearts softer. You see, you won’t have to prolong the already outrageously protracted courtship ritual. That is, you may not have to spend the night at home.

With the latter, he must admit, he hit the nail on the head.

The trivial life of a young lonely man, simple plans - everything was predictable until the outcome of this ill-fated day.

The ghost of the future, which Igor could not even suspect, began to interfere with his plans gradually, a few hours before everything began in earnest. The slaughter had to take place in a certain place and at a certain time, but for this the victim had to be slightly slowed down.

The well-worn, faithful UAZ, which manages to get through where the owners of expensive jeeps dejectedly wander on their own two feet in search of a tractor, is hopelessly stuck at the Khatkinsky turn - a place where an innumerable number of both experienced drivers and beginners have fallen victim to the extremely insidious mud there. Little depended on the person here: one passed almost calmly; the other, a couple of minutes later, follows in his footsteps and lays the car on its belly on the slurry. Such is the mystery of nature.

And what do you want me to do now? Looking for a tractor is not an option. It’s too far to go back to the drilling site; you won’t have time before dark. It’s much closer to Khatka, but there is no equipment in the abandoned village, and there are only a few whips, battered by a dissolute life, which can help or can be ignored - it all depends on the unpredictable swings of their mood and the concentration of alcohol in the blood. You can also walk to the highway, but, again, it will take too much time.

In general, Igor had to roll up his sleeves and climb into the sticky mud. She didn’t really dream of parting with the four-wheeled booty, she resisted desperately, forcing her to sweat until Igor began to curse his hasty decision. It would be better to go to the highway, hitch a ride there, and resolve the issue with the stuck car tomorrow.

He was hopelessly late for a date, and what’s worst is that the phone here is nothing more than an alarm clock and a camera: there is no connection, and it is unlikely that it will appear in the next millennium. Is it possible to try to climb a tall pine tree and get it from there? Come on - nonsense: here, in a narrow damp lowland, surrounded by high hills, this trick will not help.

The mud gave up when there was little more than an hour left before darkness. By this time, problems began with the starter, and during the last jerk the muffler was damaged, and the engine was now roaring like a wounded beast.

Albeit with losses, but now the UAZ is free and on the move. Just so as not to get up now due to breakdowns. In this machine, almost everything can be repaired with wire, pliers and such and such, but this will lead to additional loss of time.

Igor overcame the remnants of the off-road, got onto the highway, rushed towards the city at the maximum possible speed, but was soon forced to sharply slow down due to thick fog. This happens in the evenings in these parts, but the current haze has broken all records in terms of density. The headlights hit the monolithic milky wall, the asphalt was barely visible for a few meters, and then there was impenetrable darkness.

Sveta is already languishing with impatience, biting her painted nails in anticipation of a call, but he still knows who the hell is where from the city. Eh, this is how you plan a pleasant evening...

I stopped on the side of the road, turned on the emergency lights, and walked away from the humming car, which I was afraid to turn off due to problems with the starter. Here, ten steps away, her noise will not interfere with a short telephone conversation. It seems that the new passion is not a completely stupid chicken - she must understand everything, forgive and even regret. Well, if he doesn’t understand the situation, to hell with it. Finding another one is not a problem at all. The point is not at all that he has finally found his destiny, with which he is ready to live and live until his death, but in the eternal desire of the male to have a good time.

He raised the phone to his ear and winced. Somewhere nearby there is definitely some kind of disgusting chemical burning: the smell is as if an open bottle of caustic acid was brought to the nose. Perhaps it’s not fog at all, but smoke from a fire? But what could be burning so big here? The distant suburbs are several villages, eking out a miserable existence on farms, four clay quarries, of which only a couple are active, and an almost abandoned railway stop. Maybe there, at the dead end, a train with tanks was puffing? They carry a lot of different nasty things.

The phone was suspiciously silent, and the reason for this was revealed at first glance: there was no cellular network signal. And this is very strange, because here the mobile phone always picked up properly. Why shouldn’t he catch it if the big city is just a stone’s throw away? On every hill of the tower, you can even enjoy fast Internet.

A huge black SUV rushed out of the fog, swerved at the last moment, dodging a frontal impact with a UAZ, but the maneuver was not timely enough: it hit the edge with wild force; smashed the corner to smithereens; opening the mouth of the folded hood lid and sparkling with the surviving headlight, it skidded along the side of the road, forcefully throwing rubble in all directions. Finally, I hit the metal fence on my side, crushed it and myself, and stopped.

Yes, Igor clearly had a bad day.

However, now is not the best time to think about your injured four-wheeled friend. It was empty, and the SUV was unlikely to drive on its own. The blow was not a weak one, people could have been seriously injured.

Igor rushed to the driver's door, released the handle, and pulled it towards himself. Nothing happened. Once again, again, and here is the result: with a strained grinding sound, the door gave way, almost immediately all resistance disappeared, and obediently swung open. From under the inflated airbag, a heavy, bald man of about thirty-five fell onto the ground, stood up awkwardly, holding on to the battered car, and began to look around feverishly, muttering something inaudibly and shaking his head sadly.

- Eh?! Are you all right?! – Igor asked.

Staring at him, the driver of the SUV wiped the blood from his lip and muttered dully:

- And who are you?

“I’m from the car you kissed.”

He turned around, stared at the damaged UAZ and roared with anguish:

– Where did you buy your license, woodpecker?! Who taught you to drive anyway?!

Igor was not at all taken aback by such an attack. I've seen worse, and besides, a lot can be attributed to stress after a serious collision. Therefore, without unnecessary aggression, but very firmly, he answered:

“Slow down, and there’s no need to shout at the top of your lungs either, this isn’t a funeral for you.” The car did not drive, but stood with the headlights on, with the emergency lights on, pressed against the edge of the curb on the right side. Open your eyes and see it for yourself. There is a double lane here, and for some reason your hearse was rushing in the oncoming traffic at such speed as if it had been sprayed with scum. Do you see the fog? He is now such that even five kilometers per hour is already Formula 1, and you were racing at least fifty or sixty. Well, which of us bought the rights?

- Listen, stop loading already, smart guy. We'll see who stood where and who rode how.

- No problem. – Igor shrugged. - Let's call the guys, let them sort it out, am I against it? Are you alone in the car?

– I... What?! ABOUT! Crap! Lala! Lyalechka!

The stranger, as if waking up, quickly stuck his head into the bowels of the car and, in the voice of a gentle father bending over the cradle, said:

- Lyalya, how are you there? Aren't you hurt too much?

“I crushed my nose on this pillow,” they answered in a whiny and not too melodious female voice. - Maybe even broke it. Grisha, I'm afraid, what should I do now? At this time you won’t find decent doctors anywhere, it’s already night.

- Now! Now we will decide everything, honey! Sit quietly, everything will happen now!

The man began feverishly running his finger across the screen of his expensive smartphone, muttering something indistinctly under his breath. Then, not finding what he was looking for, he asked:

- Don’t you know the telephone number of the hospital? Well, how can I call doctors?

– I know, but there is no connection here.

- You're driving me crazy, I was just talking, that's all!

- But for sure, it doesn’t show a single strip. What the hell is this? Is this the case with you too?

“I’m telling you, there’s no connection.” What is not clear?

- Lyalya is worried, her nose is very bad. Recently they had surgery on him, she loves to make him look beautiful. We need a doctor quickly. Is your car running?

Igor shook his head:

“The radiator was completely screwed, and it stalled after the impact.” It’s unlikely that it will be able to start; even before this, the starter was completely dead.

- Why the hell should we race on rusty cans? All our troubles are because of people like you. It's lucky to run into you, where do you come from...

“This basin will go where your hearse will sink up to the roof.”

- And I don’t drive through shit.

- But I’m going.

– Listen, we need to come up with something with the connection. It's a quick idea. Lyalya can’t wait, her nose is bleeding, she’s impressionable.

– You can go to a farm or village and look for a landline phone there.

- How far is it to go?

Igor shrugged:

“I don’t know, in this fog I won’t understand where we ended up.” I didn’t seem to pass the lake, it should be on the right, and opposite it there is a small bridge.

– I just jumped through some bridge. And then immediately - bang, and hello.

- This is good. There will be a road a little further, also to the right, to the village that is being built behind the lake. Some of the cottages are already ready, people live there. I’m not sure if there are landline telephones in houses, but it seems like you can call an ambulance through the website, and there should be Internet there, the place is not the poorest.

– Is it like through the website?

– I haven’t encountered it, but I heard that it is possible.

- Are you driving there? Will you call? I’m just afraid to leave Lyalya, without me she’s like a little child. Drive away, you're young, isn't it difficult for you? Here, my business card, you can read it to them who needs help. And so, I’ll write the phone number on the other side. Try calling there. Tolik is there, my buddy, he’s a business person, he’s involved in all the topics at once, he decides everything as it should be. Well, why are you standing here? Go already, or we'll stay here overnight. Don't you see that no one goes there except us? The road seemed to have died out because of this fog.

I didn't want to spend the night here. But for some reason there really are no cars. So the proposal is timely and correct, and better candidates than Igor cannot be found here. One thing is bad - the impudent tone in which all this was expressed.

However, now are not the circumstances to get angry over such nonsense. Moreover, it seems that Grisha is not trained to express himself differently.

* * *

The sour smell got stronger and stronger. His eyes are about to start watering. The thought that something dangerously chemical might be burning somewhere nearby couldn’t get out of my head. It is very possible that he risks inhaling this muck to the point of dangerous poisoning. And how to prevent this? He does not have a gas mask, in which direction the source of possible infection is - it is not known where he should run in order to quickly get out into clean air - it is also unclear. The last option remains - get to the village, find out the latest news there and try to get through there.

By the way, the fact that there are no cars at all also suggests chemical contamination. Somewhere ahead and behind, the road may have been blocked, but Igor drove out along a disgusting dirt road from a deep forest, and the driver of the jeep managed to slip through or also appeared from a not very popular side road.

Damn, I should have at least wet a rag and breathed through it. Not a gas mask, but it helps against regular smoke. There is a very unpleasant smell, there is clearly something unclean with this fog.

There was a hint of moisture. In the thick haze, the field of vision was minimal, but Igor had almost no doubt that a lake began on the right. By local standards it is large, and there is decent fish in it - a good option for a suburban village. If he had money, he himself would not refuse to acquire a cottage here, but at such savage prices one can only lick his lips.

That's right, Igor was not mistaken, he really was next to the lake. A barely noticeable stream flowed from it, and a bridge was thrown across the swampy lowland. Very narrow, temporary, only one lane. Cars here pass almost right up to the narrow railings. Contrary to all safety standards, no space was left for pedestrians; there is a path for them below, with a couple of boards thrown across the water. It’s uncomfortable to walk there during the day, but at night, in such darkness and without a proper flashlight, it’s a thriller.

No, Igor will go on top, because there are no cars to be afraid of there. The road is dead.

Alas, the troubles that abounded in the protracted day were not yet exhausted. Before Igor had time to reach the middle, he heard the rapidly increasing rumbling of a car engine. A strange fog distorted the sounds, it seemed that the car was honking a hundred meters away, but suddenly columns of light from a pair of headlights cut through the darkness - and there it was: the quickly approaching bumper of a minibus.

Worst of all, he rushes fast and doesn’t care about possible pedestrians. The driver is a complete psycho, driving much faster than a fat guy in an SUV. How come he hasn’t fallen into a ditch in such darkness yet? Suicide…

All these thoughts quickly flashed through Igor’s head as he threw his body over the railing. Rushing to the other side of the bridge is not an option. It’s too narrow, the crazy driver only has to swerve a little and he’ll get there even there. Only down is not the most pleasant, but the optimal way out. The height is low, so only clothes will suffer; it is dirty there at any time of the year, except in cold winter.

Igor managed to get out of the way a moment before the collision. Seeing nothing, he flew about three meters, tucked his legs, intending to meet the ground with a spring. But instead of the muddy soil, I landed on the edge of the same boardwalk along which local pedestrians move.

The collision was unsuccessful: his leg jerked painfully, all support and sense of orientation in space disappeared, Igor fell into the darkness, casually touching the top of his head against a massive pillar that was part of the base of the bridge. A strong blow completely knocked consciousness out of my head, sending me into complete darkness.

This ended the first night of Igor’s new life.

Chapter 2

Waking up was not a pleasant one. My head ached as if I was dying, my legs dangled in the cold water of a lazy stream, and my torso dangled in the dirty grass. A huge green frog sat right in front of his nose, staring at Igor with an important look. When he began to rise, she jumped away with obvious reluctance.

Igor looked around in bewilderment. I touched the suffering head, feeling a notable lump in the area of ​​the crown. He felt slightly nauseous, but he couldn’t believe that his brain had been so seriously damaged that he had lain in such an unsympathetic place all night. Well, how else can we explain the fact that the time is approaching dawn, the darkness is a thing of the past, even the twilight has already receded.

He pulled his phone out of his trouser pocket to find out the exact time, but here a cruel bummer awaited him: the stream water reached the delicate electronic filling, and the device showed no signs of life. Maybe after thorough drying it will work, but this is not a quick job.

And what do you want me to do? Walk into the village? Yes, he looks like a sad homeless man now. It’s not appropriate to appear in a decent place like this. The driver of the broken jeep did not wait for help, probably he had already resolved all the issues himself, fortunately, as it turned out, there were still cars on the road. Igor did not have time to go far, now he will quickly return and see what the situation is there. In addition, there was a bag in the trunk containing the second phone. He was old, he held it solely by the convenient built-in flashlight, which sometimes helps out. It’s strange that I didn’t remember him at night, when the light would have been nice.

If you remove the SIM card from the flooded phone and replace it with that one, you can try to contact the city. Now it’s not only Svetka who needs to be called with an apology, but also his superiors, because he definitely doesn’t have time for the morning planning meeting.

With these thoughts, Igor climbed up and headed back to the car.

The toxic fog has disappeared without a trace, visibility is excellent. Igor looked at the lake behind the road and the boxes of unfinished cottages behind it. There were no signs of life there, but he knew for sure that some of the distant houses had been inhabited since last year. In addition, there is security on the territory, and there should be workers. If he doesn’t get along with the second phone, he will still have to go there, because such a dirty and wet guy will have to slow down his ride for a very long time.

Igor saw his car around the first turn. A black jeep stood next to her. In appearance, nothing had changed at the scene of the accident; Igor did not like this very much.

And the traffic is again too weak, he never saw a single car the whole time, except for that crazy minibus. But the road is one of the popular ones.

Something is clearly unclean here...

He walked past the UAZ and tapped on the roof of the jeep:

- Hey! Is there anyone alive?!

The answer is silence. Well, it turns out that the people from this car were somehow able to leave. Maybe right now the best luminaries of provincial surgery are saving Lyalya’s nose. It’s a pity that he never saw it, it’s interesting to evaluate it.

The door of the SUV remained open, Igor couldn’t resist looking in. The airbag panels are deflated, the driver's side is thickly stained with blood. He frowned, because the man had no visible serious injuries. Where could so much leak from? The passenger side is generally clean, although Lyalya seems to have a thoroughly bloody nose.

There was a metallic clink under the sneaker. Looking downwards, Igor saw a brass cylinder. He sat down, picked up the cartridge case, and sniffed it. The smell is fresh, judging by the characteristic signs - from an injury.

And what does it mean? Road bandits attacked a broken jeep? This may be so, although such pranks are unlikely, but still they cannot be ruled out. Or maybe the jeep driver himself was sorting things out with someone and couldn’t come up with anything better than using a pistol. Such limited individuals love to carry guns and wave them around for any reason.

He shot a little, covered the car with blood and disappeared somewhere with his girlfriend. Somehow this is all strange.

There's a lot of blood, by the way. It's not a scratch at all; there's a fair amount of damage. Looking at the streaks, Igor struggled with increasing nausea. And the reason for this was not at all what he was staring at, because such things never bothered him - his nerves were strong. It looks like the head got hit much harder than it seemed at first. Or the consequences of that fog are affecting me, I inhaled a lot of bad sourness. Something is clearly wrong with him, even his thoughts are confused, he just wants to stand, not thinking about anything.

Somewhere in the distance a shot cracked, a muffled echo rolled through, and quickly died down. Are the hunters playing around? Yes, it’s not the season yet. In addition, game near the city is rare. Even far from it, where not everyone will be able to travel, you can walk through the forest all day and not see a single brood of hazel grouse. They've exterminated the beast, and soon there won't be any left at all.

Yes, and they were clearly firing from rifled guns, and not from small ones. Such barrels are not so rare, but there is no one here at all to shoot with them. It is necessary to go further, to the river, to damp floodplain forests and floodplains, closer to the wild boars. Well, besides them, you can find a lot of interesting things. And here you can only anger the police with such sounds.

There were no cars, the road seemed to have died out. No, she wasn’t overly busy before, but not to the same extent.

Stop playing dumb, something is clearly going on here. Igor did not know what exactly he had gotten himself into this time, but he understood what needed to be done next. That guy was right, we’ll have to go to the village and act there according to the circumstances. Although dirty, the clothes are not torn, the documents are in perfect order, they will explain that they are in trouble and will help in any way they can. Our people are unsmiling, but responsive.

A noise was heard behind me. Igor turned around and realized that the owner of the broken jeep had not gone anywhere. He was still there, standing ten steps away.

No, I didn't stand. Approaching.

* * *

Like many of his contemporaries, Igor more than once watched films that featured the walking dead, or, in short, zombies. A fairly convenient plot for an ordinary fantasy scenario, because you don’t need to work with expensive special effects to create the wondrous appearance of absolutely fantastic monsters. The enemy is easily recognizable; his motivation does not require boring explanations; Just a little makeup is enough to turn anyone into such a monster. There is not the slightest problem with creating a whole crowd of cheerful dead people, as long as there are enough extras. Moreover, the latter do not need to show any special abilities at all, just know how to hobble with the gait of a crap man, wherever the director orders.

The simplicity of implementation made it possible for even a novice cinematographer or even a green amateur to easily join the popular genre. That is, if you have at least some kind of camera or access to it, you can, on a budget commensurate with the size of a student scholarship, create at least a short film with the loud title “Zombies vs. Strippers.” Great talent or at least a clear plot is not at all necessary, the main thing is enthusiasm, a lot of ketchup instead of blood and a shaky picture.

Naturally, because of such would-be directors and the like, an already ignoble topic was pushed to the point of indecency. Igor sometimes had to deal with the latest crafts in this genre, and he could not help but admit that the level was falling below the very last plinths.

The first thing I remember now is just such films. With the simulated antics of unprofessional actors, poor makeup and cheap ketchup. The driver of the ill-fated jeep looked like the hero of such a “masterpiece” at the moment.

From the moment Igor went to look for the village, the man has changed a lot. He had lost his trousers somewhere, now sporting colorful shorts almost to his knees, the rest of his clothes were torn and stained with blood, which covered the lower half of his face in a solid caked crust. Above the dark red mess, two faded fish eyes gleamed dimly: no life was visible in them.

You could also see a ragged hole on the right cheek, through which molars were visible. Perhaps it was from this wound that so much leaked.

No, the makeup here is clearly not cheap. And it smells like a village toilet, which is unnecessary for cinema.

There's no smell of makeup here at all! Here!..

The walking dead man was breathing noisily, with a strained wheeze. And at the same time, with a slow swaying gait, he approached Igor. He didn’t extend his hand, he didn’t beg for tasty brains, but it was just a zombie or something from the same sepulchral region. The man is irreversibly dead, anyone can understand this just by looking into his extinguished eyes.

And then he started purring disgustingly - scary, not human. Sparkles of lust flashed through his dull eyes. The dead man took a good look at Igor, and he liked what he saw.

From a gastronomic point of view.

A suspicious rustling sound was heard from the side. Looking sideways, Igor saw a woman of unknown age crawling towards him with clearly bad intentions. It was quite obvious that she was a colleague of the first zombie. The unfortunate woman's neck was torn so that bones and an exposed artery could be seen. And yet, despite the very serious injuries, this young lady moved quite cheerfully. True, when I tried to get up, I immediately fell over, but these are minor things.

- Well, stop! Stop, it says! Don't come near! – Igor drawled threateningly.

He was not at all surprised that his urgent request was ignored. I just wanted to hear my own voice, not understanding why this was necessary now. He took a step back, heartily pinching his arm. It hurts, it doesn’t seem like a dream. And a dream can never be so real, at least nothing like this has happened to him before.

One more step, one more. The couple approached slowly, but did not slow down. He could easily get away if he moved quickly, but by running he would leave them far behind in five minutes. But I didn’t want to rush somewhere unknown. The world has turned from understandable and predictable into a madhouse, and this should be understood without fuss.

What should we do now? What should a person do if he finds himself in a situation where walking corpses are walking around him?

Igor knew exactly what should not be done under any circumstances. There is no need to stay on the road where such terrible things happen. Therefore, he climbed over the fence, looked back, assessed the distance to the cheerful dead, quickly walked up the gentle slope, planning to climb the hill, and then, most likely, go around the lake and finally get to the village. Maybe at least something will become clearer there.

A minute later he turned around. I saw the driver clumsily fall over the fence, fall into the tall grass, awkwardly get up, staggering as if drunk, and continued to follow Igor. But the woman has fallen far behind and now cannot understand how to overcome the obstacle, so she crawls along it.

At least, she is no different from the movie zombies in her stupidity. And that was a little comforting.