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– “And this coming will be sudden, as the flood suddenly occurred in the time of Noah. It is not your business to know the times or deadlines that the Father has put in his power… On that day, the heavens will disappear with a thunderclap, the heavenly bodies will collapse and burn, and the Earth with its deeds will be found guilty…”
And IT happened, and it happened according to the established cycle, but, as always, unexpectedly, because enlightened and sanctified by all religions, naive humanity took wise words on faith, but did not take any practical steps to save itself. The civilized world has gone crazy, having lost the collective intelligence that counteracts self-destruction: bloody wars are the best confirmation of this. And the collective instinct of self – preservation has not been developed as a result of evolution either – apparently, an interstellar wars scenario is needed for this.
On November 12, 2086, an overflowing Yellowstone erupted five thousand cubic kilometers of magma and covered most of North America with a blanket of ash half a meter thick, from Canada in the north to Mexico in the south, from the Pacific coast in the west to Chicago and Memphis in the east. Everything that was within a radius of three hundred kilometers from the volcano died immediately, without much agony. Many cities located further from the epicenter, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Denver, Houston and Kansas City, ceased to exist after a short agony. Chaos ensued. For a whole week, the products of the explosion hung in the air throughout the continent, causing breathing difficulties, enveloping plants and polluting water. Tiny particles of volcanic ash, so small that respirators are not able to prevent them from entering the lungs, penetrated into the body of living beings. Once in the body, the ashes began to harden and turn into stone. People living even thousands of kilometers away from the volcano were also exposed to deadly danger. In just three days, the number of victims reached ninety million people. Most of the northern continent has turned into a scorched desert. The states of the East Coast resisted, among them New York and the capital of the United States – Washington, Florida was the least affected.
But this was only the beginning of the apocalypse. The explosion of Yellowstone caused the eruptions of hundreds of other volcanoes across the planet. Within a few days, all living things died from earthquakes, magma emissions and suffocation. The titanic explosion, comparable to the fall of a giant asteroid on the Yucatan Peninsula sixty-five million years ago, changed the chemical composition of the atmosphere of the entire planet for decades. Volcanic ash in the atmosphere blocked sunlight, and the world temperature dropped by twenty degrees. Cosmic darkness descended on the Earth. So a new ice age has come, replacing the era of the power of two superpowers states – the United States and China – for the period of the death of the civilization of the twenty-first century. Many areas and vast territories became victims of collapse, or were disunited and catastrophically weakened, the financial power of the richest and most influential clans on the planet instantly evaporated along with the institutions of global influence, military power and advanced industry. The world community, the international economy and politics in their classical sense, as well as the virtual world of the Internet, have ceased to exist for many years.
When Kalinkin regained consciousness after arriving at the designated point in space, he was stunned by the surrounding picture: as far as the eye could see, an icy desert stretched to the horizon. Three hundred and forty-fifth year of the thirteenth millennium! Suddenly Peter saw the world in its primeval state, as it existed before the emergence of man, and felt like a polar Adam, with the only difference that, alas, there was no standard set: Eve, apple and Snake, and you can’t walk naked here. Daria is not here either, and, of course, it could not have been, but the main thing he was not ready for was that he did not see the famous capital of the world. Around him is a snowy plain, ice hummocks – a typical Arctic, only cold and unbearable brilliance, and nothing more. Paris, the Mecca of culture and art, an amazing city, the pride of enlightened humanity, disappeared, disappeared without any trace. Whether it collapsed gradually or became a victim of instantaneous tectonic shifts is unknown. The Eiffel Tower, high Gothic cathedrals and mosques with minarets, the palaces of the Louvre and Versailles, gardens and hills, the Seine River were hidden by a reliable cold shell, a snow-white shroud, like the whole country called France, like the whole old Europe.
– And the people? What happened to them?
Yes, billions of people died. But the human tribe, unlike other biological species, is very tenacious. These elephants, steadily decreasing their numbers over the past hundred years and reducing their relatively small habitat under the influence of civilization, may become extinct, and only elephants on the dresser will remain. Representatives of Homo sapiens have settled on all continents for a hundred thousand years, with the exception of Antarctica, and have found something to feed themselves everywhere. Any global catastrophe, be it an asteroid impact, a nuclear war, a worldwide pandemic or something similar, can destroy many millions of human lives. But small populations of homo sapiens have been preserved all over the planet. Why? First of all, because of their location, isolation, perhaps because of skin color, wallet thickness or DNA features. And after hundreds or even thousands of years, they will once again enter the stable path of progress, only to find themselves again at our stage of development in the conditional two thousand twenty-second year. Only years, so, in five thousand, or ten. But, most likely, everything will then slide back to a global catastrophe, demonstrating the monstrous Foucault pendulum in the history of the planet. It was this hypothesis that dear Peter Kalinkin was able to test, moving in time and space to the point where he, without thinking, pointed his finger, under the influence of unfavorable everyday circumstances. Just think, a drunk cuckold man! However, the consequences of any rash act are often much more terrible than the reasons that caused it. But such is our human nature, a timid subconscious developed by millennia of natural selection. This is if according to Darwin. And if Darwin’s theory is not correct, then you don’t even know what to refer to.
Ten thousand years have passed since the triumph of Yellowstone, a hundred terrible centuries. Of the nine billion who inhabited the planet in the twenty-first century, few survived. In remote areas of the explosion – Australia, Malaysia, Africa – populations of intelligent man have been preserved, totaling no more than fifty million. The population of both North and South America and Eurasia could not withstand the prolonged effects of the cold, and these continents became empty. The descendants of the people of the twenty-first century adapted to live in new, harsh climatic conditions, but survival turned out to be exhausting and cruel. All efforts were made to preserve or regenerate the main natural factors of survival. The thick ice cover, low temperature and strong, cold winds dominating the sea and land had a great impact on the human condition. In the most favorable physical and geographical conditions, in areas of autonomous existence, a poor flora and fauna, water sources, power plants, industry and agriculture have been preserved. Mini-states were formed that were remote from each other: societies and local authorities, governments, the army and the police. Communications between individual islands of mind on the planet have been reduced to a minimum. The life of a particular individual in the conditions of such an existence largely depended on the state of his health, will, determination, ingenuity, concentration and endurance. The strongest survived, overcoming fear, loneliness, despondency, hunger, cold, thirst and physical pain. Being determined consciousness. And a significant role in this test was played by a new well – forgotten way of survival – tribal collectivism and shamanism. The thought of Cornelius Tacitus was brilliantly confirmed: once shaken souls are easily inclined to superstition.
The searing cold of the terrible catastrophe and the aching sense of loss penetrated Peter’s heart. He stood alone in this world of white silence, dressed in a warm black jumpsuit like a spacesuit, surveying the blinding surface with white rocks on the horizon, and at the same time not believing what he saw. The mind was not ready to accept the visible for reality. He turned out to be the only one alive today who knows the catastrophic consequences of the coming decades. The realization of the horror of the future of humanity brought tears to his eyes, which he could not even wipe off his face: his eyes were protected by dark ski-like glasses from the gusty wind and bright, blinding light. The hands kept warm in thick but flexible handles with a strange emblem – something like two crossed medieval swords. The same emblem was emblazoned on his chest. Apparently, the intertemporal atelier has started a new promotion of its products? But there was no one to appreciate his bitter humor. Even polar creatures, like polar bears, did not live here – it was very far from the cold seas. Kalinkin hesitantly took a few cautious steps; the snow creaking under his thick boots was so compressed under the influence of the sun and wind that only round holes from the spikes on the soles remained on the hard surface.
– When did this happen? – Peter was looking for a point of report on the death of the habitual world and directed his question to the Almighty Mind, if such still exists in the Universe. Who else would be able to give any answer? Ten seconds later, his doubts turned out to be extremely inappropriate and even blasphemous. Something inexplicable and unthinkable has happened. Suddenly, a violet ray, coming from nowhere, cut through the blue of the sky, drew a straight line, dividing the firmament in half, and then fell on the earth’s surface somewhere near the elusive horizon and drew gigantic signs on a huge icy rock:
– 2086, Yellowstone.
Kalinkin was speechless and silently gazed at the rock with the titanic epitaph on the dazzling white tomb monument of human civilization.
But the demonstration of power did not end there. In confirmation of the authenticity of the message, the higher powers, with the hand of an invisible artist, depicted right there, on a rock, the figure of a young slender woman in a dress of snow brocade, skirt and bodice, with ribbons and lace. Her gorgeous costume shimmered with snowflakes, buttons and silks. On his head is a huge wig, falling from his head to his chest like a frozen waterfall, and spreading abundantly on his shoulders. But the most amazing thing was waiting for Peter ahead. After a few seconds, the motionless drawing came to life… with a leisurely, graceful gait, the lady easily glided across the invisible parquet, elegantly turning her head in his direction and smiling mysteriously. Looking at her classic, chiseled face and huge transparent eyes with icicles instead of black pupils, he almost fainted from what he saw, how unexpected, recognizable and at the same time completely impossible it was. The memory of her pierced him like lightning, and Peter remained in place, as if nailed, unable to move.
– That’s how they go crazy… – Peter thought distantly, as if about someone else.
The Countess de Burlemont, his Daria, looked at him through the millennia.
CHAPTER 13. RESIDENCE. RF
– Hello, Mr. President! – Kalinkin was courteous and emphatically calm. He was comfortably seated in an armchair at the side table, facing the incoming person. A spacious room of yellow-olive shades, with two banners and the coat of arms of the Russian Federation on the wall. On the left, ten meters away, there is a huge monitor. Behind his back is a metal barrel on legs, the only new object in the setting, not counting the guest himself.
– Who are you? How did you end up here? – The Supreme Commander-in-Chief was seriously alarmed, if not surprised, to see a man in his office, protected from the outside world by all available means, from the construction of the labyrinth of the building itself, technical means of protection, to bodyguards and several sanitary cordons. Lost in his thoughts, he started in surprise. Despite the Chekist tempering and endurance gained thanks to considerable managerial experience, he did not expect to see anyone here.
– A normal human reaction … – thought Peter.
To the alarm button placed under the black tabletop with a computer screen, and you need to take five more steps, but for some reason president’s legs refused to obey and grew into the light yellow parquet.
– A terrorist attack? – involuntarily, the most obvious explanation flashed through the brain for a person on the first line of fire, whose motorcade increased annually and this year reached seventy special vehicles, not counting helicopters, snipers and FSO operatives in the form of traffic police officers along the entire route. He fixed his imperious gaze on the newcomer, hoping to paralyze his will, as he brilliantly managed to do in a conversation at his favorite table with all sorts of governors there. Some government officials sweated mercilessly and were afraid to accidentally empty their bladder out of fear. But today the situation was reversed. However, the stranger has not yet made any sudden movements, no weapons were there were, and the president pulled himself together with an effort of will.
Five minutes ago, Peter Kalinkin flew over from ice France and woke up sitting in a time machine chair, on the monitor screen on July 12, 2024, Moscow time – 16 hours 15 minutes. He turned off the unit by pressing the red button and waited. A smart machine moved him to the right point when the owner of the residence was already in public service – to Novo-Ogarevo, or maybe to the Crimea, because the offices were identical, and the exact location of the first person of the state was a secret just in case, but in this particular case it did not work.
Peter gallantly invited the president to take his rightful place and put his hands on the table. He himself remained sitting, turning to the right, to the interlocutor, and immediately got down to business.
– First of all, I do not pose any threat to you, but do not give any signs or commands, I am elusive. And listen, – he asked rather hastily. Then he paused a little and began to speak more slowly, trying to be as convincing as possible. – My name is Peter Kalinkin, from St. Petersburg, your hometown. I’ll be brief. By the will of fate, I am rewarded with an extraordinary ability to move through time and space as I please. I found myself here, and this, I think, is the best proof of the truthfulness of my words.
The president nodded slightly, without taking his eyes off him, habitually assessing the personality and mental state of the interlocutor, a man of about thirty, professionally studied his face, the expression of blue eyes and the movement of lips during conversation.
– Nothing betrays a mental patient in him, except the essence of his speeches, – he thought.
The uninvited visitor was talking some nonsense, really nonsense, but the situation demanded: you need to listen, even express some interest, and then… After all, these…, there, behind the door, at the displays, must sooner or later figure out and take action. Therefore, it is necessary to wait and pretend that you are listening…
– I am invisible to tracking devices, – Peter said firmly, sensing the interlocutor’s concern.
– And this construction next to you is a time machine? – with undisguised irony, the president supported the conversation for the first time and turned his eyes to a nondescript iron barrel with hoops on short metal legs, and thought: – Of course, he is paranoid. But how did he get here?
– I have no barriers, but the place was chosen by the time machine according to the cause-and-effect relationship. – Peter didn’t know how to read thoughts, but he caught this one.
Hearing the legal terms, the president smiled and really relaxed. The anxiety suddenly disappeared somewhere, and he again felt as usual, the master of the situation.
– What do you see the connection in? – he asked politely. It was really curious: what would this decently dressed citizen in a black suit from Keaton answer? By a mocking coincidence, the owner of the office was wearing exactly the same, even speckled ties, even a wristwatch of the same brand, only on the other, right hand. The mirror image, similar to a challenge, was alarming and at the same time distressing.
– I think the importance of the information that I am simply obliged to convey to you, taking into account your unlimited powers in Russia and your influence in the world. This is without flattery.
The president’s face remained impenetrable.
– What kind of information?
– The world, the whole planet is in terrible danger, a catastrophe. I have just come from there and saw everything with my own eyes: there is no Paris, there is reason to believe that the whole of France and even Europe perished under a layer of ice!
The president thought for a while, and then, as if for the record, said:
– The Russian leadership pays great attention to climate problems together with the leading world powers and international organizations. Recently I had to express my point of view on these issues in my interview, including global warming and permafrost in Siberia.
Having finished the sentence, he made a meaningful pause and looked at his counterpart, as if looking for his support and a proper assessment of his words. And he thought irritably:
– It’s already been fifteen minutes, how much longer do I have to act here? Burdocks!
– That is why I am addressing you, Mr. President!
– And what is the source of the danger? – the guarantor asked in a completely businesslike way.
– Yellowstone supervolcano. Located in Wyoming, USA. It will explode in 2086, hundreds of millions will die, the climate will change irreversibly on the planet, dust will eclipse the atmosphere from the sun’s rays, a long cold snap will come, ice will erase the civilization of the twenty-first century, chaos will come.
In every phrase, in every word of Kalinkin, genuine anxiety sounded. The President listened without interrupting and continued to analyze what he had heard:
– Let’s assume for a moment that this is true. The terrible truth. But there is no proof! Am I referring to this subject as a source!? And how relevant is it now, in the period of integration of the country after reconciliation, because sixty years are ahead… And then, it directly concerns America – our business partners, friends of our enemies, and those who have property and investments there. Even if I inform the US president about this, it will not bring any dividends to either Russia or its leadership. But the Western media will easily laugh at me, my image will suffer, and the trust rating will undoubtedly fall…
Peter looked at the president and tried to get into the course of his reasoning, but he clearly failed. Hoping for real support in the name of humanity, he did not expect much gratitude for himself personally, but hoped for unconditional interest in such a serious issue and empathy for a caring, responsible citizen of his country.
– Yes, thanks for the warning. Saving the people is one of the main tasks in Russia. The consistent fight against poverty and international terrorism is important, these are our priorities. I have already stated this from the rostrum of the economic forum, – he heard. – And if your information is reliable, I recommend contacting the US presidential administration directly, without intermediaries. After all, as you noted, this is THEIR volcano. And I will call the volcanologists at our Academy of Sciences, and I will instruct them to thoroughly study this issue. After all, we are on the same planet and have already defeated the pandemic!
The President smiled triumphantly: he masterfully, skillfully handled a difficult situation, gave a concrete answer to an inadequate person and managed to protect himself and, consequently, the entire Russian government and inviolability from a tragic, ridiculous accident. However, so far none of these oafs from the security service has even made an attempt to protect him, he must do everything himself, everything himself… After thinking about it, he decided that a certain benefit from the supposedly unlimited possibilities of this type can still be tried to extract:
– Tell me, can you describe the situation in the world, say, in a year?
– What exactly is meant? – Kalinkin tensed.
The president looked at Peter with cunning and evasively, unhurriedly, they say – you know, clarified:
– Territories of military conflicts, the cost of oil, stock prices of large American companies, the ruble exchange rate in the end! By doing this, you will be able to provide invaluable assistance to our state…
While waiting for an answer, the owner of the office looked at his watch, and then calmly shifted his gaze to Peter. He understood everything, turned around and abruptly closed the door of the barrel. The device is working. A minute later, sitting in the chair of the time machine, he was already typing icons for a trip to the White House in Washington.
– I’ll think about it, – Kalinkin replied, maintaining the dialogue and not looking at the president, trying to buy him much – needed time. Native penates have already become uninteresting to him. Disappearing into the “wormhole”, he did not even have time to say goodbye. Ugh, Peter, how uncultured…
The president was in thought for a few seconds, then pressed the intercom button and calmly said:
– The head of security call to me…
CHAPTER 14. THE OVAL OFFICE
Returning from a meeting with the president, Peter struggled to understand what exactly caused his distrust, or rather, misunderstanding in a conversation with the first person of America. Whether due to sound skepticism, or due to old age, the news of a catastrophe of universal scale did not cause the owner of the Oval Office not only an acute, but even a visible reaction. The owner sat in an armchair at a large table – a gift from Queen Victoria to President Hayes in 1880. Peter modestly sat opposite in the same black suit from Keaton, next to the time machine, and looked around curiously, involuntarily comparing his impressions with the sensations of meeting with the first person of Russia. The whole atmosphere of the conversation in this world-famous hall with a ceiling at least five meters high, artfully draped with gold curtains, windows and numerous doors, parquet covered with a blue oval carpet, in the center of which the American coat of arms was emblazoned, inspired calm confidence and conservatism in traditions and views. After completing his brief statement, Peter waited for an answer, but the president was in no hurry to express his attitude to what he heard. Surprise? Shock? It seemed to Kalinkin that no event could shake the psychological Aikido developed over decades, inherent in a wise man and an experienced politician. What can not be said about taste and political views. Taking office in early 2021, the Democrat installed busts of figures symbolizing progress in his office: Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy… He also hung portraits of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, outlining continuity as his political credo. There is also a moonstone, a tribute to the American space program, science and the American dream. The pause lasted for a good five minutes, and Peter had the opportunity to adequately appreciate all the splendor of the interior and the taste of its creators. Of course, he did not know in the face of these outstanding figures of America, looking with some arrogance at an uninvited guest from canvases and pedestals, guarding the tranquility of the owner – his office guardian spirits.
Finally, after a sleepy reflection of the interlocutor, in response to his rather emotional story (of course, in good American English), he received a leisurely and verified message in his formulations, which boils down to the following:
– If I’m not mistaken, in 2007, during the presidency of George W. Bush, we created a special scientific council for the study of Yellowstone. The volcano began to be seriously studied by the best American geophysicists and seismologists. Even intelligence officers and the US Secretary of Defense joined the work. Meetings were held every month, which were personally chaired by the President. But as far as I know, by now scientists have come to the conclusion that the information about the impending catastrophe has been significantly exaggerated. But even if you believe such forecasts, many questions involuntarily arise. For example, why is there so little talk about this in the press and on television? The fact is that the United States Government has recognized that it is inappropriate to cover this topic, since humanity is unable to prevent the impending catastrophe. Moreover, creating panic and rocking the boat – there are so many challenges and problems in modern society. By the way, the UN has supported and approved our position.
– As in the case of UFOs? – Peter licked his dry lips with excitement.
– Of course, as in the case of the so-called “flying saucers”. And this position has proven its viability over time. Moreover, it seems to me the only true one, – the president wearily raised his eyelids, but still found the strength to express gratitude to the strange visitor:
– However, is this your first time in the United States? I can instruct you to organize an excursion to Yellowstone, or even a representative scientific symposium with your participation, if you consider it appropriate.
– Thank you, Mr. President, – Peter politely declined the offer. – It is unlikely that my opinion represents any scientific weight in this matter. Of course, it’s not easy to believe what I saw with my own eyes…
– Nevertheless, thanks for the warning, we appreciate the concern to preserve the unshakable foundations of the existing world order and the power of our country as a guarantor of stability on the whole planet. – The President straightened up in his chair, making it clear with his intonations that the audience was over.
Without thinking twice, Kalinkin typed “Yellowstone” on the display right in the Oval Office – he was smart enough to listen to the President’s advice.
– Thank you for the conversation, – Peter politely said goodbye, and in response received a slight nod of the head of a tired, gray-haired elderly man, already managing the country and a good half of the world with difficulty – however, as well as himself. It seemed that he would pay dearly to send to hell all this hateful establishment, to ride a young mustang and ride back to the flow of time, to his exuberant youth.
CHAPTER 15. HOTEL 3*** AND THE FOURTH IN ADDITION
On July 13, 2024, the cozy three-story Yellowstone Park Hotel on Grizzly Avenue received a new guest. Emerging from another dimension in Wyoming, the time traveler found himself in a luxury room and felt himself sitting on a wide soft bed in a state of mild prostration. Turning his head, he looked around his apartment with curiosity: beige walls and brown floor of a spacious bright room harmoniously combined with the decor and color of furniture, red and black accents of decoration emphasized the harmony of the situation. The office leather sofa is importantly located at the partition with reproductions of mountain landscapes. Next to it is a photo of some woman who probably left her mark on the history of the development of local territories. And here is a wonderful barrel on legs – she brazenly fit into a niche by the closet, as if she had always stood there as a dubious semblance of antiques. The rumbling refrigerator at the wardrobe turned out to be full of food and drinks, which turned out to be very useful – Peter did not have time to look into the White House buffet. When he saw his haggard, tired face and faded eyes in the mirror, he realized that if he did not stop this exhausting marathon now and did not give the body a break, then he could discard the hooves. It was here, at this moment, that a kind of pit stop came in this crazy race for the super idea of saving humanity: a monstrous fatigue fell on the time traveler with a heavy stone.
– Driven horses are shot, aren’t they? Three days to relax! – having diagnosed himself and prescribed a course of rehabilitation, Kalinkin trudged off to take a shower. Alternating hot and cold streams of water miraculously cheered up his exhausted body, and flowing foamy streams with the scent of balm interrupted the endless running in a circle of obsessive thoughts. After some ten minutes, it felt like he was born again! The anxiety dissipated like smoke, and suddenly a long-heard motive surfaced from the subconscious, and an invisible chorus burst out powerfully:
– Hey, Barguzin, move the shaft,
Well done swim near…
After rubbing his body to redness with a soft towel, he felt weightless and lightened, soaring to the gates of paradise, where, however, he still had to penetrate. The pass was found in the refrigerator: Texas straight bourbon, a weighty flask of first-class first-class corn. Cold and sweet, with the aroma of cinnamon, the “the Texan” quickly spread through his veins, warmed up and with the skill of an impressionist began to paint the world in bright colors. Kalinkin, throwing on a robe, sat down in a wide armchair with a glass in his hand and cast a glance at the green plain spread out outside the window with patches of yellow sand islands. In the distance, at the horizon, there were white tops of distant mountains, the possessions of a Large Volcano. Soon he will touch the mysteries of the beautiful creation of nature, but today – whiskey and cigar, cigar and whiskey…
The next day, Peter woke up from the noise of slamming car doors under the window. It’s ten minutes to twelve on the clock. The room was in semi-darkness, someone’s footsteps could be heard in the corridor. The hotel lived its usual life, the guests came and went somewhere, and the sleepy inhabitant of the luxury suite was involuntarily included in the usual whirl of events and faces. Yesterday, he obviously had too much alcohol and barely resurrected gatherings in a bar with an elderly Indian or Mexican, whom he treated to a drink and chatted about volcanoes and politics. The insidious bourbon hit the brain twenty minutes later already downstairs, at a table on the veranda, and then everything got mixed up and broke into separate episodes. Now the face of the interlocutor floated out of memory like the frames of a chronicle: tanned olive skin, gray mustache and hair, a smile of a gap-toothed mouth. The rest he remembered poorly, even forgot the name – like Joe, or maybe Jack. When Peter was still in control, he found himself in the company of young men and girls, where he introduced as a specialist volcanologist. Glasses with drinks, debates about nothing, music and female laughter, and then – indistinctly, vaguely to the point of disgust…
After making sure that the barrel was in place, Peter barely shuffled to the refrigerator, took out a can of beer and drank it in three gulps. Before taking the second one, he automatically glanced at the whiskey bottle: it was almost empty… Although his head was bursting with pain, Peter remembered that yesterday he took no more than a third on his chest before going down to the bar. So, either he was unconscious and then drank alone in the room, or someone kept him company. Badly… A terrible guess, having penetrated his half-drunk brains, mobilized him to search for the key to the portable safe. Fortunately, soon the ill-fated key was found in the pocket of the suitcase: documents, bank cards and money were in place. His heart is relieved! The false alarm in the soul organically transformed into a small jubilation, which is not a sin worth noting. Kalinkin took another sip of the bottle – there’s no good to be lost… and hit the spot: the pain in the back of his head gently flew up somewhere, to the ceiling, and hid there, insidious. And ten minutes later, warmed up by libations, the undimmed joy of life filled his being to the brim again and called for action. He lit a cigarette greedily, and then began to dress. The Fiesta has started again…
– Are you really from Russia? – the girl at the bar turned to Peter and smiled mysteriously.
– Yes, and how do you know me?
She laughed, throwing her head back slightly and revealing perfect teeth. Then she perkily shook her black shock of short hair and slyly looked at the interlocutor:
– Yesterday we met and even danced…
Due to embarrassment, Peter blushed and did not immediately find what to answer.
– Yesterday I was too heavy on cocktails, – he barely came out of his stupor. – I was overworked the day before, and the resul there is…
He found the strength to smile back, but the smile turned out to be somehow forced. He have to get so drunk that he don’t remember anything…
– You look much better today, but that doesn’t mean you’re more attractive. You told so many interesting things about Yellowstone that our company sobered up a little and focused on your story. What terrible things: a catastrophe, human casualties – is it all a fantasy?
– First of all, excuse the bitter drunkard: what’s your name?
– Catherine Joyce. I’m a student at Broward College from Fort Lauderdale. You can call me Cat.
Kalinkin took a bolder look at her and noted the slimness of her young body, the delicacy of her hands and the grace of her neck, decorated with a thin gold chain.
– Catherine, I am glad to meet you for the second time and I regret my forgetfulness…
– Never mind, sir, – she elegantly brought the conversation back on track. Peter nodded understandingly.
– What is your specialization?
– I’m studying to be a general practitioner.
– And where is Fort Lauderdale located?
– It’s in Florida, not far from Miami. That’s my home.
– Let’s start from the beginning. My name is Peter, I’m from St. Petersburg, from Russia. I can say that I am not a professional scientist, but rather a lover of geology. I was interested in Yellowstone as a potentially dangerous object for modern civilization. Doesn’t that sound very grandiloquent?
– Not really, – the girl supported him. – Is that why you came to the USA?
– That’s right.
– Alone?
– Yes, alone, as a tourist, – Kalinkin paused for a while and gently added: – Alone and in the sense of personal life.
Why did he make this clarification? Perhaps there was something in her besides her bright beauty – perhaps a genuine interest in the topic, or did he succumb to her charms? Meanwhile, alcohol habitually drowned Peter’s natural timidity in a glass and transparently hinted: “Hey, barguzin, move the shaft…”
– Are you alone today too? But…
– They left the hotel in the morning, there was something like a farewell dinner yesterday.
