“Are there other settlements here?” - Anya asked.

- Yes, but they should be bypassed the tenth road. Elizabeth and a few dozen people at first were very far from Brackley. She was brought along with a large group of people to one place far to the north, and something very unusual happened there. A few weeks later it turned out that some women were pregnant.

- How did they manage? - Anya asked. - We were told that it is absolutely impossible, but they never drifted into getting pregnant here.

- I do not know, maybe some kind of error occurred. It seems that they were pulled out right during the process, - Teira grinned. - So after a few months they gave birth ... But the fact that they gave birth to ordinary babies was not very similar. According to Elizabeth, they had purple skin, huge black eyes, and strange processes on the head.

- So, so ... it turns out that they are still people! - I was delighted.

- I was not there, the devil knows what they are. It is very interesting that in spite of their ugly appearance, mothers accepted them without the slightest hesitation. Maybe, then everything would have worked out for them just fine, but - no luck. There was one completely outcast priest in their group. Worst of all, he had a lot of followers. Without hesitation, he declared the babies "children of Satan" and demanded to burn at the stake along with the "witches" who had given them. Some people didn’t like this idea, and as a result a natural carnage ensued. By that time, some people have already tolerably learned how to handle the “guardians,” so the fight turned out to be right. You yourself can already present something if you remember the last night. Blood, guts and severed limbs flew in all directions. In the midst of the fun, our happy moms with children gave a tear and hid in the immense forest. And after all these events, the priest rode the roof. Elizabeth realized everything in time and after a couple of days she dumped out of this madhouse with the sane people left. Wandering through the forest, they found wonderful houses that were just waiting for someone to live in them. At this place they founded their small cozy town called Brackley.

“Fuck it ...” I commented briefly on the story I heard. - And you still have a lot of such secrets?

“We have one with our head,” said Teira. - By the way, according to Elizabeth, then they were still sent chase. After unsuccessful attempts to break away, she offered to ambush. At night, they managed to take their pursuers by surprise and literally tear them to pieces. So our mayor is a very military aunt, unless, of course, he has embellished anything.

“Why didn't she tell us anything like that?” - Anya asked.

“Those who need it are told that,” said Teira. - And the new ones usually have enough scary stories about local creatures, so that you do not run hither and where.

Then Thira began to ask me about the area where I met Dasha and her toothed little family. I didn’t really remember much: a small river, a forest, dome-shaped houses. Most importantly, it turned out that there was an open area next to that village where there were almost no trees. It was a rarity on Tenebris; here almost the entire surface was covered with dense vegetation. Teira got her own, much more detailed maps, and from these meager descriptions she was able to determine the approximate search area. In fact, everything turned out to be not so terrible: it was necessary only to follow the flow of one large river until an inflow suitable for my description was found.

“Looks like you convinced me, kids,” said Thira. - Your story is definitely worth checking out.

“When can we go searching?” - I asked

“Yes, right now,” said Teira.- But to drag in such a distance with two newcomers is fraught with a bunch of problems.

“But we are ... very capable, educated,” I tried to find suitable words, “and easily adapt to any situation.”

- By the way, I am a biologist! - proudly declared Anya. - And Sasha almost immediately learned to control the "cover", even Elizabeth noted that.

“This is only because he visited here before you and managed to pick up the“ keeper, ”said Thur skeptically.

“But only I dealt with these creatures, and I know exactly how they look, their features, inclinations.

“Well, at least you aren’t as bad as most Brackley’s residents,” Teira agreed with us. “But you will have to obey me in everything.”

- Yes, yes, of course! - Anya and I nodded. - We all understand!

- Well, that's great! - Thur's pretty smiled and hugged us.

We did not even go to Brackley, but immediately set off. Thira only left a note in the house where she wrote: where and why we left. According to her, we didn’t need any supplies, she had all the necessary minimum with her, and the rest could be obtained right on the way. It’s not worth talking to Elizabeth or anyone else in order not to raise panic before time. For a start, we just wanted to find out everything as it should, and there it’s already up to you what to do next

The next night we could not spend in a comfortable house. Thair found one very thick tree, the upper part of which resembled a huge unopened bud, which consisted of many thin branches. Inside it was a free space where several people could easily fit. There we settled down, having previously banished the small living creatures that lived inside. Thayra still stretched the rope around the perimeter and pulled the bud tightly so that no one came to us from the outside.

After spending a few more days on the road, Anya and I realized how much we overestimated our capabilities. Although our hearing and vision became much more developed, we still thought with earthly notions about danger. She immediately understood: what should be kept away from, and what should not even be paid attention to.

After several nights in the woods, we finally got to one uninhabited town. There were no fewer houses here than in Brackley itself, but they were all empty. According to Teira, they were scattered throughout Tenebris, but no system was at their disposal. Together, we transformed the internal structure of one of the houses in which we settled down for the night.

Despite the long and long transitions, we were not at all exhausted. The forces recovered very quickly, it was necessary only to eat more. But the next morning we did not hit the road. Teira said that we would linger a day or two to make some preparations. First of all, she activated a device in the house that was used as a mini-plant for the production of fabric and various small things. Thira put the stones picked up on the eve of him, and in a few minutes she received blanks for a pair of hefty knives.

“When we move on, there may be a bit more difficult,” commented Teira.

Anxiously, Anya touched the unknown dark gray material from which the canvas was made.

- This is us? She asked fearfully.

Yeah, anything can happen on the way, ”Thur winked at us. - Do not completely rely on your "keeper".

Teyra herself went not only with a knife, but also with a bow, which she used for hunting.

“Tomorrow I will finish them and show you how to use them,” said Thira, placing her heavy hands on our shoulders. - In the meantime, you can put them aside and relax a little.

- Maybe we should continue to search faster? - Anya asked.

“Your toothy girlfriends are not going anywhere,” Teira dismissed.

- Actually, they can be very, because they know how to open portals on ... - but did not have time to finish, because I felt that Teira had put her huge hand on my butt. Looking into the face of Ani, I realized that she suffered the same fate.

- Frolic, kittens? - Thira smirked and dramatically pulled us to her.- What are your pretty soft ass, so I would have eaten them.

Anya and I are only confused ... Read more →