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– Thank you, can we talk again sometime? Vadim asked, putting his briefcase on the bed.
«I’ll be right there when I’m free, sir,» the young man said and left.
Vadim has never spent time as pleasantly as he does now. It seemed that with this man he could talk for a long time about geography and the sea. Rodion loved water, loved its charms, but not like Vadim, he did not burn with it so that the water evaporated in his stomach, but addressed «You», albeit with a warm feeling. Vadim could feel it and understand, he is such a person.
His cabin was small, with its own toilet and bathroom. There was a small TV, a bed, neatly made, a table, a chair, a refrigerator and a bedside table. His cabin opened directly onto the deck, where water splashed and people walked. A small window looked out into the ocean. Vadim could only dream of such a thing. Despite the good audibility of what is happening around, but Vadim peacefully fell asleep under this noise, he was rocked by the waves themselves and the sounds of splashing water, the motor, which was supposed to be hiding under the skin somewhere nearby.
Vadim would never have thought that he would leave his room so often. Usually, he hid in his dusty apartment, but now he generally forgot that he had a cabin, he lived on deck. I was sitting on the floor, sunbathing next to the pool and looking far beyond the railing of the ship, where the ocean depths hid fish and their predators.
Rodion sometimes came to talk to him, even though Vadim was almost his father, they behaved like brothers or friends. Vadim had nothing to tell from his life, even if the life of a street kid was very eventful, but Rodion was only amused by such closeness of a friend and always told a story from life himself. It seemed to Vadim that he had begun to live again, all his life since the age of nine he had existed as if in prostration, in another world, and when he found himself on this ship, began to breathe this sea air and hear the sound of the surf, then he came to life, as if he had been awakened from a very deep sleep. For this he was grateful to Rodion, and when they sailed for the third day in the Atlantic Sea, he told a little about himself. Previously, the young man knew a small part of Vadim’s personality, this young man did not know more than the stomach of a man who was always looking into the ocean with childish, wet eyes.
– I liked to climb the neighbor’s apple trees and eat them, although my father flogged me, but the apples were worth my sacrifice, – he jokingly told. – And how was your childhood Rodion Mikhailovich?
– My father was not so cruel, I was punished once for painting the walls with paints, – Rodion thought a little, as if he was taking this memory out of a drawer.
– I lived in the Tver region, we somehow coped with our needs, – the smile disappeared from Vadim’s lips. – my father was always angry because of this, he almost drooled when he passionately covered Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other countries with obscenities.
– Yes, I remember, my father was born in 1951, during the Soviet era, so to speak, and always told me that in fact the Russian people lived in poverty while our government tore their hair for foreign countries so that they could live well, but it wasn’t enough for them.
Vadim and Rodion talked about it with annoyance and sadness in their eyes, even though Rodion did not have time to catch those times normally, but he spoke about them with childish love. And in the evening of that day, Vadim Alexandrovich and Rodion Mikhailovich decided to take a picture for memory. Surprisingly, even though many years have passed and what the heroes have not experienced, it turned out that this photo still remains.
Photo of Vadim Alexandrovich and Rodion Mikhailovich on the liner «Columbia» on the first day of the trip
For three days, Vadim tanned a little in the sun while swimming in the pool. The people on the ship were pleasant and not conflicted, but there was little to talk about with them. Another veteran sailed with them, who left the cabin in the evening and gathered a crowd of children in front of him, telling the times of the war. He spoke of her with fear and trepidation, not triumphant and great, but like an animal caught in a trap. Nevertheless, he also told funny stories while he and his battery were sitting in the trenches or somewhere in the woods, when it was allowed to rest after all the horrors.
– Once we got a mine in the toilet, and how it will explode! The old man’s eyes filled with mischief and laughter. – We spent several hours to clean everything up.
The children liked it, and Vadim also listened to the old man’s stories out of the corner of his ear.
How sad it is that now everything is being turned over, such a nuisance!
The food on the ship was delicious, even though they were trying to cut rations in order to make it to Florida to replenish their provisions. The cries of seagulls could be heard slowly.
– «Remember where the seagulls are, there is dry land,» Vadim recalled his father’s words when they went fishing.
– These are the islands of Puerto Rico, Mr. Vavilov – Rodion pointed with his finger.
On this day, the ocean was not calm. The waves raged and flooded the deck with their spray. The sky was gray and completely overcast, lightning flashed somewhere there, it was attracted to the water and struck a couple of times next to the ship. The sailors were shouting and mopping up all the excess water. People in this weather did not leave their cabins, preferring to sit out and play cards. Vadim was wetting his coat on the deck, at that moment he was standing on the bow of the ship and watching the weather in amazement. He would have sketched it, but he couldn’t. Heavy rain poured down, and the ship was shaking in different directions, it seemed that it was about to break apart, bouncing on the waves.
The captain was making a last effort to level the ship and keep it afloat. His hands were shaking, and sweat stood out on his forehead, he sometimes shouted at the sailors that they were spreading panic.
Rodion was working with a mop and occasionally glanced at Vadim, whose eyes reflected lightning that sparkled brightly in the sky. The clouds were heaving in the sky, they devoured each other, but this did not make them smaller. The heart stopped almost every participant of this journey, but if Vadim’s heart beat often from admiration and awe, then others from fear. Rodion was not a coward, but such weather even made him worry.
– Vadim Alexandrovich, maybe you should go to the cabin, otherwise the weather will completely deteriorate! – he tried to shout over the raging wind, holding his cap.
– Much worse! I’d rather stay here! Thanks! The man shouted back at him, looking down under the ship.
The water was black, empty, even the fish hid under rocks and algae. The ship was shaking very much, the deck chairs on the ship flew over the railing, bending them a little. In the mini-bar, all the bottles fell out of the cabinet, and their contents poured out in a puddle of strange something from the room. The lights on the ship were blinking and it seemed like they were about to burst or burn out. The engine was foaming water, but it was slowly starting to stall.
The captain became hard to see, because of the rain, the glass began to blur the view greatly. The wipers did not help well, and the captain began to swear and himself succumbed a little to the general panic of the sailors. Despite the fear, they continued to work, went down, checked the engine, engines, ran through the corridors and checked people, but no one had put the plugs back properly yet, and eventually the electricity was gone. The screams of frightened people were heard, a kind of death song was formed, which included the noise of wind, rain and crazy splashes of sea waters. The sailors immediately went down to fix it, because some of the devices of the ship itself worked with electricity and only.
Soon rocks appeared next to the land. A couple of times the ship rammed the shoal with its nose, so everything went upside down, Rodion fell and almost rolled overboard, fortunately Vadim helped him. He gripped his comrade’s arm tightly and pulled him back onto the deck, but the adventure did not end there.
The ship kissed the ground again, only this time it barely touched it, as the captain began to align the ship blindly, guided by the cries of his friend the sailor. He stood on the bridge and shouted the direction into the wheelhouse, like a helmsman, and the captain guided them until the wipers started working again. All hands were already numb, and the tongue was bitten to the point of bleeding, the captain groaned, but fulfilled his mission.
Vadim also fell after Rodion, the ship turned to the right, and the man rolled in that direction, hitting the tables nailed to the floor. Vadim passed out when he met the back of his head on the leg of the table, the pain was sharp, and then it gave off a wave all over his body until his eyes went dark. The man raced straight to death, his unconscious body slid limply into the depths of the sea and even the railing will not be able to save him from a sad fate. Rodion took a lifebuoy and ran towards Vadim, raindrops blurred his eyes or it was the tears of the young man himself that hindered him, but he slipped on the deck again and abruptly hit his chin on the floor, bit his tongue so much that it bled. The clothes were all wet and wet and stuck unpleasantly to the body. His hands were torn in blood and stung wounds from every contact with water.
Vadim’s back hit the railing painfully, and the light metal bent under his weight. The man caught his coat on the hull of the ship, but the fabric did not hold the weight and the piece of clothing remained hanging. So Vadim fell into the water, it was bubbling and foaming, and the black abyss had already hidden a good part of his body.
– Vadim Alexandrovich! Rodion shouted, he hung on the railing, but when his friend disappeared under the water, his heart stopped for a moment.
Rodion closed his eyes, he panicked for one second, but immediately pulled himself together and jumped after him. He was holding on to a lifeline, which stood out very vividly against the general greyness of the day. No one saw them overboard, everyone was busy with other things, and the ship slowly but began to sail away from the two men. Rodion was able to pull Vadim by the hand at the last moment, he was unconscious.
– Wait! Rodion shouted, rowing with his hands, he threw Vadim into a circle and sailed after the ship, pushing the cargo ahead. – Wait!
The strength began to leave the young man, the scream became quieter, and the jerks became slower and slower. The wave covered them with their heads, and Vadim fell into the water again. Rodion slowly disappeared under the water, he could not see because of the salt water, and the air in his lungs slowly began to come out. It’s a strange feeling from immersion in water. The liquid envelops the body, is felt by all parts of the body and is so pleasant at the fingertips. Something touched Rodion’s leg, it was hard and sharp, because the young man scratched his calf. It glowed with a bright blue glow, and the water with algae reflected from the unusual surface. Rodion did not see, because he ran out of air, and he began to twitch convulsively, but Vadim slowly disappeared part by part in this strange object, he absorbed it silently, only the water wilderness was in his ears. Rodion made a last effort and dived after Vadim, because he had nothing to lose. He felt his way down the pole on which the object was held and touched the surface, she sucked him not sharply, but gently and smoothly. Rodion dived upside down and disappeared, just like Vadim, a trickle of blood was flowing from his nose.
***
Vadim woke up from a severe pain in his back. He jerked violently from fear, because he was in an unknown place, it was blurred. Vadim abruptly assumed a sitting position, and his whole body responded with terrible pain, and sea water poured out of his mouth. When he regurgitated a whole puddle of water, Vadim decided to examine the place in more detail.
It was a huge forest, very bright and lush. There were thousands of different trees and shrubs growing around, so it was impossible to determine the type of forest. Being in a sitting position, he raised his gaze towards the sky and squinted from the bright light of the Sun, but there was a giant arch in front of him. This arch resembled the entrance to the eastern buildings and this gigantic structure covered almost half of the view. On the right side there were about two or three large and more than ten smaller rectangular buildings, it seems there were also huge entrances in front of them. There was also the top of a couple of towers, it seems European style. When Vadim lowered his gaze, the surrounding forest and trees seemed to have no end, and only this huge structure was visible. Under it was an ordinary earth with emerald grass. Berries were growing on the bushes, and small animals were sitting on the branches of the trees. Vadim perfectly remembered Rodion, who was nearby.
– Perhaps we got to Australia or a part of Africa, where it’s always summer, but I never remember such a large structure in these latitudes – Vadim hoarsely squeezed out, his throat still hurt after the sea water.
Looking around once more, Vadim made an attempt to get up from his seat, he succeeded, but he had to lean on a tree that was nearby. The man’s back still hurt, and he is alone here, remembers only thunderstorms, the ship and Rodion, and then everything is in a fog. He touched his back with his hand and hissed painfully, there was clearly a bruise or a broken rib. The man cast a sad glance at his coat, which was wet and torn on the back, there were a couple of buttons missing, and the diary in the pocket along with the wallet were damaged by water. Vadim took hold of his head, all his things were on the ship, and there were no means of communication around!
It was not clear how he ended up inside the forest and why there was no shore anywhere near where he could have been thrown. And anyway, how did he just stay alive? He examined everything once again and tried to walk, despite the fact that he was bent over and walking slowly, he thought it was much better than just lying on the ground and waiting for the predator to come.
At this time, Rodion was making his way through the bushes with blackberries, the young man barely moved his legs, blood was flowing from his right calf. He blinked and hissed in pain, but bravely endured. His clothes were all wet. Suddenly, he saw Vadim nearby.
– I found you! – he exclaimed in a tired and quiet voice, he almost collapsed from impotence, but a strong hand grabbed his elbow.
«I’m glad you’re alive,» Vadim said, smiling sadly. – But I’m not glad that you got into the same story with me. Do you remember what happened to us?
– Every moment! You passed out, after which we fell into the ocean, then drowned…» he blurted out. – That’s what I thought.
Together they looked around the space again in a new way. Only this forest stretched around and the chirping of birds could be heard. Streams flowed nearby and therefore a faint sound of water could be heard.
– We need to go ahead, there is some kind of construction, maybe they will help us, – said Vadim.
They took each other’s shoulders and headed towards the structure, and then they noticed that quite far away, above the tops of the trees, the top of a certain «green wall» could be seen, which also stretched from east to west, like the structure, the tops of which, as the comrades thought, were hidden behind clouds.
Chapter six. A strange place
Vadim and Rodion continued their journey in the thickets of this magnificent forest. Vadim was able to bandage Rodion’s wound by tearing part of the hem of his coat, anyway it is no longer suitable. Rodion examined the back of his comrade, there was also a decent wound. But after a while they began to get used to this pain, because hunger was already drowning it out. To distract himself a little, Vadim spoke:
– Rodion Mikhailovich, this forest is quite strange. There are different kinds of trees and shrubs here – the teacher spoke as cheerfully as possible.
– You are right, Vadim Alexandrovich, but is it possible for us to eat any of these berries? We won’t be able to reach the fruit if there are fruit trees here.
«No, my friend, we can’t take any chances. Alas, I don’t recognize any of the berries,» Vadim Alexandrovich answered after looking around.
– In that case, let’s take a break at this tree – the young man pointed out and sat down exhausted on the grass.
Vadim did the same. As they sat, the tension subsided, and they again examined this wonderful forest. The singing of birds was heard, it seems it was the singing of a nightingale, which later replaced the singing of a pigeon. It’s amazing that there are pigeons in these places. The sounds of singing canary, red-breasted, swallows, sparrows replaced each other. This beautiful melody was complemented by the sound of bubbling clear water nearby. The flowers filled with their fragrance, which was complemented by the wonderful smell of foliage and trees. Nature was fragrant.
The forest in which the comrades found themselves was simply fabulous
Suddenly the singing began to subside.
«Did you hear that?» Rodion asked anxiously.
– What exactly?
– Rustle.
– No, I haven’t.
– It feels like someone is watching us.
– It doesn’t seem so to me – Vadim didn’t have time to say, as the sound of breaking branches under someone’s feet was heard – And now it seems … – the man whispered.
The sounds subsided, and not a single bird could be heard. It was hard to tell who was watching them. Perhaps it could be a predator. Therefore, the comrades got up as soon as possible, leaning on a tree and hurried towards the structure.
Rodion was limping badly, and Vadim began to help the young man walk faster. The feeling of being followed grew stronger. It already seemed to them that thousands of eyes were watching them behind every tree. And they are in a completely unfamiliar place, who or what could it be?! Trying to walk faster, they did not notice how they tripped over a tree root and both fell. Rodion lost consciousness, and Vadim tried to get up, but howled in terrible pain. Apparently he broke his leg! The last thing he saw was someone approaching them…
Vadim opened his eyes. He was lying on a spacious soft bed. He was wearing white pajamas, a thin blanket covered his legs, and there were pillows under his head. The bed was very wide and long, which Vadim decently did not get to the end. Above him was the arch of the bed. The man tried to get up and only expected pain, but felt nothing. When he took a sitting position and examined his back with his hand, there was no wound. The leg was also intact.
When he looked around, he saw that he was in a huge room. This room was 20 meters long and about 15 meters wide. There was a table near his bed, there was also a large table, a desk with all the accessories, a secretary with an electric lamp, and a huge chandelier hung from the ceiling. And there were a variety of yellow patterns on the ceiling.
The room was at least 7 meters high. Large cupboards were filled with various things. In some there were books, in some clothes, beautifully folded, which Vadim saw through glass openings with patterns. The man got up and went to the wardrobe, as he assumed, when he approached the sliding doors opened themselves and there he saw a variety of outfits. Strict suit, smart suits, T-shirt outfits, sports attire, festive attire, tailcoat, raincoat and among them was his coat, which does not have the place where it was torn.
The coat was completely intact, like all things. Including the diary and wallet were in perfect condition. On the hanger he saw various types of headgear – caps, hats, hats, whatever your heart desires. Various perfumes, several combs and much more were laid out on the dressing table.
There was a giant carpet on the ground all over the square, on which Vadim walked in very soft white slippers. On the wall he saw a huge plasma TV. The teacher looked around all this and could not understand where he was. What was this wonderful place? To look around, Vadim put on a long white bathrobe, which also hung on a hanger, next to which there were several umbrellas and canes, and at the bottom a whole row of very different shoes. After putting on a bathrobe, Vadim went to one of the snow-white doors, of which there were two in the room. And she also opened herself.
When the teacher came out, he found himself in a huge room. This room was already about 40 meters long and about 30 meters wide, and it was definitely about 10 meters high. Apparently, it was a living room. Almost the entire wall was blocked by a huge closet full of various things. There were windows made of colored glass, behind which you could see various dishes made of crystal, ceramics, porcelain. Nearby there was, as Vadim thought, a book department, since there were various books on all the shelves, although the teacher did not pay much attention to which ones right now. Also here he noticed another TV of rather large size.
And to the right and left of him were chairs. Next was a large and soft white sofa, the same color of the chair. And in the center there was a large table for 12 people. The table was already set, and the dishes were covered with hoods. The serving was simply magnificent, the dishes placed on the table were made of a variety of materials. Among them were silver spoons and forks, crystal glasses, gold plates, and on some dishes, there were a variety of fruits – from ripe peaches, then juicy apples, over which grapes hung, over which transparent droplets flowed. Often on such a crystal vessel there were such precious stones as sapphire, emerald, ruby. And some dishes were completely made of solid stone, for example, smaller plates, as Vadim Alexandrovich suggested, for salads, were completely emerald.
