31

The grotto was not as uncomfortable as it looked from a distance.

The cover of moss was no worse than any feather beds, and in the depths there was also natural lighting.

The stones, shining like stars, scared away the locals of the nearest village.

— How strange that the acoustics are not good enough here...—Bjorn said thoughtfully.— Oh, Olga, Vegard! Now, now I will help you with the wound!—

— Here you go. You'll need it.—Guy handed Bjorn his jacket.

Guy Cornelius' jacket has never been a simple jacket. It was like a repository for tools that Cornelius could not part with, including a set of different muzzles for his multi-barrel weapons.

Bjorn pulled the forceps out of the lapel of his jacket. The tongs, made of metal chopsticks, were very strong, despite their thinness. It was easy for them to pull something out of the wounds, or to get fallen things.

The forceps carefully entered the wound.

— Do whatever you want now, but don't you dare scream, Vegard!—Guy raised his voice a little.— Your cry will spread throughout the valley, then we will really be finished!—

The bone crunched loudly and the metal of the bullet slowly began to move towards the exit.

Maria sat down in the corner of the cave, where the stone was much smaller. It was almost dark here.

She watched from here as Olga and Bjorn bandaged Vegard's wound.

Her father looked paler than her creator now.

It seems that Vegard is really bad...

Maria took cat food out of her backpack, slightly opened the carrier and poured Mathias a small pile of it there.

— How good it is for you, my little cat... You don't have to run, you don't have to be afraid...—

The dream gradually took Maria into its arms. She looked so ordinary now... So humanly, or what?

Only Guy didn't sleep at all that night. He stared into the darkness with his cat-like eyes the color of emeralds.

From time to time he allowed himself to look at Olga, hugging her husband in a dream.

The most terrible of vices seems to have touched his soul...

The name of this vice is love...

***

The storm came after two calm days.

It wasn't a storm in the literal sense of the word, it was people. And not only...

— We were spotted!Stefan shook Bjorn's shoulder.— Dad, wake up!! They've spotted us!—

Bjorn opened his eyes.

— Wake up the others, but quietly. Where's Cornelius?—he said.

— Outside.— the guy answered.

He began to push Olga, Vegard, Maria, Christophe.

Mathias listened to something and hissed.

— Get up, guys! Get up! We need to leave!—Stefan whispered.

Guy returned. His knife was covered in blood.

— It's time to go. We really need to get out of here. We gather and go through the grotto!— he said.

— Clean lines?—Bjorn asked.

Guy nodded, lowering his head.

— We need to leave!— Bjorn took the backpack.— Vegard, how's the wound?—

— Fortunately, it's only an arm, not a leg!—Vegard stood up and sighed loudly.— I can run... —

— Are you sure?—Bjorn asked.

Shouldering their small luggage, three werewolves and three vampires ran down the tunnel.

Bjorn turned around only at the exit. He didn't need proof, he sensed that people were closer now than ever.

When turning, Guy hit a protruding rock. Blood flowed down his temple, but he felt no pain.

***

City... Soon, unless something good happens, all the cities will be as one.

Guy baffled several guards with hypnosis.

— We need to buy a lot of coffee and booze. I'm going to do something that will help create the illusion that our hearts are beating. Until we prove the absence of hostility to people, we need to appear human...— Guy went into the store, leaving the others at the entrance.

— I don't like people...—Olga said softly.— But I would only kill them if they threatened me. —

— People are funny.—Stefan said with a smile.—They think that their life is valuable, even though it lasts only a moment, they believe in hell and heaven...—the guy laughed.— And they themselves are more dignified than any demon with this completely stupid cruelty of theirs...—

— Humanity is the stupidest beast in this world...—Bjorn leaned against the wall.

Girls passed by, clearly paying attention to the vampire.

That's just the Scandinavian did not pay attention to them.

In the mortal world, everything was so alien that it was not even clear where to start. There is nothing native left in this world...

***

They got a military jeep from one of the locals and found a motel room.

They flatly refused to be divided into different rooms, and the manager agreed to this with doubling the amount.

— And why do you need a room? We can sleep in the car. If we sleep.—Maria said to Guy.

— It's better not to show your suspicious unpretentiousness. Often clean lines pay attention to such.—Guy looked around and closed the door.

— And I kept thinking that they were picking on me so much when I was sleeping on the side of the road not so long ago...—Maria threw into the void.

— We shouldn't show up alone...—

***

In the late afternoon, the company went outside.

— So dead... Everything is dead here... Impossible dead...—Maria said.

It seemed that with the onset of night, the city was really dying. The wind that blew through these streets did not seem alive at all.

— it's bad here...—Bjorn looked around.— And there's nowhere to go... Where are we, by the way?—

— Somewhere near Utah. It's good that it's at least a little cooler in the evening. It was simply unbearable during the day...— Christophe took out his smartphone and looked at the weather.— By the way... Who smells like blood? I felt it when we went outside.—

— Don't worry. It's from me.—Guy said softly.—I smelled it in the cave. I'm wounded, but it's not a serious wound.—

— Why didn't you tell me?—Bjorn asked.— Or Stefan? —

— I'm fine...—Guy interrupted him quietly.— And the wound wasn't serious.—

— It doesn't look like everything is really that good...—Stefan muttered.

Together they sat down at a table in an outdoor cafe.

— Enchanted daggers - is that a trifle?—Stefan tugged on Guy's jacket.

— I'm fine! Don't get in my way, Martensson Jr.!—

Everyone fell silent as if on command when the dogs ran past.

Such collars, which were on these dogs, each of the six saw very often. Cameras with thermal sensors are located on dog collars.

— Then I will repeat my question: why didn't you tell me?—Bjorn repeated.

Guy took a sip of beer. Now the senses were sharpened, because of the wound Guy was thrown into a fever.

Cornelius' hair was slightly wet.

— We'll sit for a while and come back.—Olga said.

— Queen of the North, you are a real warrior.—Guy told her.— You have the heart of a wolf. But you also need to rest sometimes.—

— I don't remember what it means to rest anymore...—Olga stroked Vegard's hand with her fingers.— Fun, calmness is not my strong suit. I don't remember that even one day passed without any problems...—

The wind has risen.

In the evening, although there were still few people here, this city looked more alive, much more alive.

—How long are we going to run away? How long will this race with death last?—Vegard asked.

— Only fate knows when the hunt may end...—

When they are returned from a walk, Guy got worse.

— A trifle, yes...—Stefan chuckled, frowning.

— I am...—Guy suddenly staggered and fainted.

— I warned you...— it was the younger Martensson who reacted quickly. Stefan stepped behind Cornelius and immediately picked him up.

Olga felt her heart move painfully in her chest.

This feeling was strange. Previously, the wolf experienced this only to her relatives when something happened to them.

— What are we going to do?— she asked and mentally got angry at how timid the question sounded.

— I'll get Guy's notes... There has to be an answer. I have never been hurt so badly, so I have an absolute zero in my personal experience column...—Bjorn ripped open the collar of Guy's jacket.

Three diaries flew out of there.

— And where is the others?—Stefan asked.

— The others is in here.—Bjorn pulled out a waterproof box of flash cards.

— It would be better to leave everything as it is, printing and ink are stored hundreds of times better than electronics.—Stefan flipped through one of the notebooks.— Is this his diary?—

— Close it, now is not the good time.— flipping through the documents from one of the flash cards, Bjorn suddenly froze.— We need a cow's heart, amber and a snake. It will be easy...—

Olga remembered the damage to her boot.

— Honey, where are my boots?— she stopped Maria.— If I'm not mistaken, there may be snakes where I was. Remember when something scratched my boot?—

— Yes, yes. The boots are in the bag right under your bed, Mom.—Maria opened her purse.— I'm going to get a cow's heart, amber here...—she put the amber on the table.

Olga sat down next to Vegard and put a bag on her lap.

— Darling, my head will burst soon... Soon it will burst with tension, like that strange Swedish cupcake that becomes Vesuvius when you come out of the oven...—the lock buzzed.

Boots were part of Olga Karsten's combat equipment, during battles iron plates and throwing daggers hidden in them very effectively solved some conflicts.

A piece of a snake's fang was sticking out of the sole.

— But how do you know if it's poisonous? Don't pull with your hands!—Vegard grimaced.

Olga materialized claws and pulled out a fang.

The thick sole of the boots crunched when a foreign object appeared from there.

— I was bitten by such things... I recognize them right away, but I don't know the names of these snakes. Do you remember how I got to the Karsten residence? I then

he was bitten by a dozen of these snakes and was deprived of the opportunity to talk...—

Without waiting, Olga kissed Vegard on the graying temple and ran to look for the area in the bushes where she saw the snake.