《The sand of time. Volume 2. "The Book of Flame"》


 Prologue

    A few years earlier ...


    The plane was falling. He felt it with every cell of his body, as if he were one with this wounded machine, fighting in the air for its life. Such wounds inflicted on a huge beast flying through space were incompatible with life. Kai understood that. But he fought, fought to the last.


    Fuel leaked from the holes, leaving the huge body drained of blood. The last growls, coughs, groans, and sobs came from a motor beating in death throes.


    "Don''t die, my friend in battle! You''ve saved me in this battle, save me now! Do not take with you to this endless blue sky! I want to live so much!"


    Kai did the incredible - they were still flying. He kept the machine in the air with the last of his strength. Then he began to descend, realizing that there was no other way out. Beneath them, there was a desert. An endless eternal desert of sand. They couldn''t cross it.


    The machine was dying. It was dying in his arms. A few more moments - and he would hear the last death whine of the motor - then the end would come for both of them.


    It was going down. Now the main thing was to have time to touch the ground, or rather the sand before the engines were turned off.


    The earth was rapidly approaching. The machine groaned, vibrated in its death throes.


    "Darling, be patient! A little more!"


    A tail of smoke lay behind them. Flames flared up, licking the metal, and then extinguished, blown out by air currents.


    The plane, like a shooting star, left a trail of smoke in the blue sky.


    The surrounding space looked indifferently at the struggle for the lives of two - a huge plane and a man in it.


    The plane touched the sand and came into contact with this surface at great speed. They were covered from above by the sand wave lifted by the plane. There was a rumble in his ears. Kai was thrown from side to side in the chair he was strapped to. The plane began to roll over. He heard the groans of twisted metal in his ears - the final scream of a dying machine. And then everything disappeared. Rather, it disappeared for him. He lost consciousness, lost touch with reality, time dissolved for him ...


    The plane was moving forward by inertia for some time, but, getting deeper into the sand dunes, it stopped and froze. The tons of sand he had lifted into the air began to return back. This sand, it saved them, it extinguished the flame, strangled the fire, not allowing it to flare up with renewed vigor. There was no ammunition on the plane, they were all used up in the battle. The remaining fuel leaked out into the air. The dead bomber lay in the sand under the arch of the sky, indifferent to everything that was happening.


    Silence reigned in the desert. Perfect silence, the silence of dead space.


    ***


    Kai felt cold. There was an impenetrable void all around.


    "That''s all ... This is the end!"Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    No! Everything would not end so easily in his life!


    He unbuckled the straps holding him in the chair and fell out of it, rolling to the door. The floor was now tilted at a steep angle as the plane was lying on its side.


    For a long time, he tried to get out of this black vacuum around him. Bumping into objects with hands, he remembered what it was and where it was located, and so gradually he moved towards the exit.


    He felt no pain, he felt fear. Fear of the darkness around and the fear of staying in it - in this darkness - forever. Therefore, he crawled, clung to objects, but did not stop, just to see at least a spark of light.


    All the wiring was shorted from impact and damage, the backup bulbs did not light either. There was nothing at hand that could give even a spark of light, not even his lighter - he did not take it, he forgot it at the headquarters ...


    The fear increased due to the silence around. Only his breathing and the rustle of his movement, and then silence. It enveloped from all sides.


    "How strange ..." he managed to open the side door with almost no effort. The cold air hit his face. He stepped forward and fell to the sand, then slowly rolled onto his back.


    Above him stretched a huge vault of the night sky. There were myriads of stars, the Milky Way, points of movement of satellites, and flashes of lights of flying aircraft. The southern sky - there is nothing more beautiful than it. He froze, mesmerized by this beauty.


    He did not know how much time had passed. Now the time became unimportant for him. Time is important to those who live among people. People have invented time to subjugate the space around, but it has turned out the other way around. Space became a time, a short time of their life. Here, in a space without people, there was no time, there was nothing, only sand and a huge night sky going into infinity.


    It''s cold in the desert at night. This coldness had a healing effect on Kai. His body soaked up the cold, and the pain from the blows gradually faded away. Then he realized that he was starting to freeze. Then he crawled back into the dead car and closed the door. A gloomy vacuum of darkness thickened around him. But now it didn''t scare him. Closing his eyes, he saw the stars in the night sky. He is not alone; he is only a grain of sand among a myriad of stars. A small star that fell from the sky into this desert ...


    ***


    He woke up from the heat. He seemed to be inhaling hot sand. Kai crawled to the door and opened it. The bright light blinded, and the heat of the hot air swallowed him into its embrace. When his eyes got used to the light, he got out of the plane and looked around.


    On the sand, half-buried, lay a huge military bomber. Small parts of it were scattered during its braking. But, surprisingly, the plane was practically not injured, although it could fly to pieces. Now the sand of the desert was gently covering its dead body with its soft veil. Not completely yet. But soon the desert would swallow it into arms and give it an eternity of oblivion in this sand.


    And the desert would give him eternity.


    How long would he live here? He knew that inside the plane there was a small supply of water and maybe something from a dry ration. Later, he would go looking for anything that would prolong his life.


    And then, what would happen next ...


    There was a desert around. He roughly knew the square of his fall. There was nothing and no one here. No one was ever here.


    Should he collect everything and go ahead? This is what fools do. The desert in a couple of days would kill him with the heat of the day and the cold at night. There was a shadow from the plane here, where he could wait out the heat and the plane itself, where he could flee from the night cold.


    "Thank you!" Kai put his hand on the metal of the side, "You''ve died, you can no longer be saved. Your injuries are fatal. No one can bring you back to life. So sleep here, my friend, who has fought to the last for my life. And now I will stay with you. I will be here by your side, I will guard your peace, your sleep until I fall asleep myself. And then only the sky will know where our lives have disappeared ... "


    But now he was still alive. And life was wonderful. How beautiful the desert is! This is majestic infinity. It is a sea of ??sand with soft waves extending beyond the horizon. It is the blue of the endless sky. It was such a bright sunny day.


    Kai sat on the sand in the shadow of the plane, leaning his back against its side, and recalled his such short life ...

 Chapter 1

    Moscow. Fall. Cold. It rains constantly, drops are small and cold. Everything is gray and dirty: houses, cars, and people. They are in a hurry, running along these gray streets with gray faces and empty eyes. Only he stands on the sidewalk and realizes how stupid, senseless everything around him. What is the point of their rush? After all, they do not even have time to see life! Their lives pass in an endless stream of gray everyday life, similar to one another and already washed out in their minds in one endlessly dull gray day like this one.


    Damp and cold made their way under the clothes - the teenager put his hands in his pockets and, throwing the hood of his jacket over his wet hair, walked along the wet sidewalk.


    Why is he haunted by this feeling that this is not his life, not his time, not his place, not his city? Why? Maybe it all started from the moment when he realized that everyone around him was distant from him? When he didn''t become like all of them. Kai glanced at the people running past.


    He''s different. And if you are different, then you are an outcast. People don''t need you. You are internally rejected by everyone you know and love! But why? Why do people close to you stop loving you just because you do not want to be the way they want you to be?


    His family: dad, mom, his two elder brothers, and a sister. Why did the people closest to him, the dearest to him in the world, move away from him? What did he do wrong? He simply began to live, speak, and think as he saw fit. And they wanted him to match the image they had created. They came up with a life for him to live.


    Gradually, they began to realize that the image they had created did not correspond to reality. At first, it was not very noticeable and they even pretended that nothing was happening, that it just seemed to them. But then they couldn''t help but notice that everything was wrong. He was not what they wanted him to be. And nothing could change him, neither talking about what he should become, nor trying to force him to submit to their will!


    When you are little, you depend on your family you cannot fight back and therefore you endure everything they do to you.


    He was constantly put under "house arrest", but this arrest took place in the library, and it was happiness for him, and not a punishment, as they wanted. He opened the book and was transported to other worlds that opened to him from the pages. He found freedom in books. He traveled for hours in other worlds, acquired knowledge and experience given in books, and learned the surrounding space.


    They hired teachers so that he had no time to think about rebelling against them. But he loved to learn and gladly drew knowledge from those who gave him this knowledge.


    They never let him go to school, believing that the world behind the wall would ruin him.


    But he had long ago penetrated that other world. They did not notice it, they missed it. They thought that a little boy riding his bike through the fields around their house, surrounded by a huge fence, would not be able to know that there was another life. But he found out.


    Prokhor! They met then at the pond: little Kai with a mute question in his eyes turned to the sky and such an overly serious teenager who saw the boy''s eyes and felt his loneliness. He was lonely too. But from that day on, they divided their loneliness into two.


    They did not talk about the pain that was already in their souls. Rich, from a good family, Kai, but with such huge and sad green eyes, and Prokhor, a teenager from an ordinary family, where there was no father, only an eternally working mother, whom he always saw tired.


    Prokhor also asked himself a question:


    "Why? Why does his mother hate him so much? Why then did she give birth to him, if his whole existence was now so hateful to her? What for? Why tell him that she works three jobs to feed him and put him on his feet. After all, if you love someone, you do it for him. And if you don''t love? Then you do it anyway and you hate that person even more."


    After all, it was he who was to blame for such her life. It was his fault that his father left when he had been still little. He just left to live with another family. But Prokhor felt that it was because of him, and she knew it, and hatred for him had already arisen in her soul. And now his mother had a broken life - this was how she had spoken of herself to everyone who felt sorry for her. But what was he to blame? It turned out in everything. It was he who broke her life with his birth.


    "How strange," thought Prokhor, "a new life is being born, but it turns out that everyone has already hated it. You live with a person who is dearest to you, the closest on the whole earth, but gradually you begin to feel that this one hates you. Your whole existence is unbearable to this person! "


    The small apartment in which he lived with his mother did not make it possible to exclude communication, and therefore Prokhor more and more often began to disappear on the street. This angered her even more. Now he was gradually turning into a difficult teenager who got involved with a bad company, and that finally ruined her life. It was a vicious circle. There was no way out of it. It was only necessary to accept the reality of what had happened. And Prokhor accepted. He loved his mother, the one he created in his dreams, sweet, caring, loving him. He loved her with all his heart. And in real life, he calmly listened to the next reproaches and painful words addressed to him and left where he was not alone.


    Then by the pond, seeing a boy with eyes full of pain, he read in them a question that had tormented his soul too:


    "Why don''t they just love me, just because I exist?"


    Prokhor did not talk to him about this. He could not answer this question. But from that day on, two souls found each other and the pain shared with the other was no longer so strong. They stopped looking for an answer to their question. They just began to live and enjoy life!


    Prokhor opened another world for Kai. The world outside the wall of his house. It turned out to be cruel and adult. And in order to survive in it, he had to grow up quickly and fight for a place in this world.


    This did not frighten him. Prokhor''s company, to which the boy brought him, was one of the same teenagers who were also simply not loved just because they were born and lived. And it hardened their hearts.


    Kai was under the protection of Prokhor. He was much younger than them, although in conversation and prudence they thought he was older. At first, they hated him for having everything in this life, and then they accepted him, realizing that he did not need all this. That, having everything in life, the most important thing was taken from him - this was his freedom. For them, freedom was the most important thing, and therefore they accepted Kai, and no one else dared to throw an insulting word against him.


    ***


    Once, returning to the place of their "deployment", an abandoned basement, where their small teenage gang equipped themselves a temporary shelter, a group of guys, much older than them, from another gang came out to meet them.


    Prokhor hid Kai behind himself, telling him to flee from here when the fight started. The forces were unequal. Prokhor''s gang numbered ten people - another one was twice as many. And they were well prepared. In their hands, there were sticks, metal rods, bottles, and knives.


    A fight broke out.


    It was then that Kai first used his martial art in a real fight. Then, for the first time, he felt the warm blood of his enemy on his hands. He managed to snatch the stick out of the hands of the attacker, and he fought with it, using all kinds of martial arts techniques that his teachers had taught him.


    Prokhor and his guys froze in amazement when, with another precise movement, he knocked the bottle out of the opponent''s hands and knocked him out with a stick to the solar plexus. But he was still too young, and therefore he also got bit a lot.


    He tasted his blood in his mouth. This taste - the taste of metal - how often he would feel it later in his life.


    The fight ended, or rather, the attackers did not expect such fierce resistance and therefore began to retreat, picking up their guys and dissolving into the darkness of the alleys.


    Having kicked the last two teenagers lying on the asphalt, Prokhor gave the command to leave.


    Kai held on with the last bit of strength. The whole body ached from the blows received, the right hand became numb from such an overload. He spat blood from his broken lips and wiped the dripping one from his nose with his sleeve. Prokhor walked beside him, casting attentive glances over his shoulder at him.


    Already going down to the basement, he staggered and felt that the floor was leaving from under his feet. Prokhor grabbed him, carried him in his arms to an old iron bed in the corner, covered with a torn bedspread. One of the guys brought a roll of toilet paper and, tearing off a larger piece, gave it to his hand to put it on his nose, which was bleeding. Prokhor brought a towel soaked in water and wiped his face. The guys picked ice from the freezer and, putting it in a bag, gave it to Prokhor, who put ice on his nose.


    Kai felt that everyone was looking at him strangely, he understood that his behavior in a fight, his mastery of fighting technique made such an impression on them. From that moment on, their attitude towards him changed radically. Now they treated him with a kind of awe. On the one hand, in their attitude, there was an almost parental concern, because he was younger than them, and on the other hand, respect as he was a cooler kid than they.


    "Does it hurt?" Prokhor asked carefully, bending over him.


    "It''s okay," he smiled, although it was given to him with difficulty.


    "You fight in such a way! This is the first time I''ve seen this! Like in the movies!" Prokhor spoke, not hiding his admiration, "Where did you learn this?"


    "Father''s friend is Japanese, he lives in our house. I have been training since childhood," then he became sad, "and my father also hires such teachers especially for me. You remember I''ve told you that I have to become a military man. That is why they teach me this."


    Prokhor remembered their conversation, when Kai briefly had told what his family expected from him, and that he did not want this, and for this, he was rejected. Then Prokhor did not ask him about the details, feeling that this was a very painful topic for him and it was difficult for him to talk about it. Prokhor understood why he had such sad eyes and why he was with them, and not with his family. And now, having once again heard this from him, and most importantly, seeing him in a fight, Prokhor realized how serious it was in his life.


    "I haven''t asked you, but I want to understand," Prokhor looked into the eyes of his friend, "it is important for me to understand this for myself, because you are here, among us, and you are my friend, so I want to understand you. You''ve said that your family wants you to become a military man, and as I can see, their intentions are serious. Tell me why don''t you want it?"Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    "I don''t want to kill!" he answered very clearly.


    Now Prokhor saw in the eyes of this boy an adult life position, which could not be changed by anything or anyone.


    "But they will not leave you alone?"


    "Yes, I know. I will grow up and then I will be able to decide for myself how to live and what to do!"


    "You have made a decision, I will be with you, we will think of something. When you grow up, you will join my gang. Do you want to be with me?"


    "Yes. I have no one else but you."


    Kai''s eyes glowed with sincerity.


    Prokhor put his hand on Kai''s one and shook it.


    "You are not alone. We will always be together now."


    Then he fell asleep, the load and nervous stress from the first real fight in his life made itself felt. Prokhor, covering him with his jacket and making sure that he was sleeping soundly asleep, went to the guys who were preparing a festive dinner in their makeshift kitchen.


    The so-called kitchen was located here, in another branch of the basement. There was an old gas stove with a gas cylinder, a shabby washstand hung on the wall. Here the guys brought the furniture they found in the trash heap, but the main value was a huge long table at which almost everyone was placed. Benches, chairs, and stools were around the table. Everything that was found in a more or less good condition was brought here to their "home". In the center of the table, there was an old armchair, this was Prokhor''s seat. Nobody even thought of sitting there. Prokhor, although he did not possess the eastern fighting technique, but hit hard and concretely. And he was feared and respected. He was their leader, who managed to unite them and lead them.


    To the right of Prokhor''s chair, there was a chair that no one was occupying either - this was Kai''s place. Even the first time when Prokhor brought him to their gang. He put this chair next to him and asked if anyone had any questions on his wish to see Kai next to him. No one had any questions.


    Prokhor guarded his little friend, although he never made him exceptions or indulgences in anything. He felt responsible for him, as for a younger brother, so he always kept him by his side if they went to fight or to rob. Among the members of his gang, he quickly figured out those who were dissatisfied with such a decision and explained to them once and for all that his decision had to be respected.


    Now in this kitchen, his guys were preparing dinner. After all, they had won! Nobody even expected this. Seeing these adult boys in front of them, and even prepared for battle, they realized that they would fight to the last, but they had no chance. And here was Kai. Who would have thought! Now, opening the stew, stirring buckwheat, and slicing bread, they heatedly discussed how he behaved in a fight. Some even tried to imitate his fighting moves, but this only made the others laugh.


    Prokhor was pleased with the realization of what his friend turned out to be. But even if Kai today, as Prokhor told him, ran away when the battle began, it would not matter for Prokhor. Their friendship would not have broken up. It was strange, but Prokhor understood that Kai would never run away. Why did he understand this? There was something in him that attracted Prokhor - this inner strength. It was an incredible inner strength of mind. Therefore, Prokhor was with him. He never made mistakes in people, even if he was still a little boy, but with huge sad eyes.


    They took out vodka from the refrigerator. They have long behaved like adults, although they were still children. Prokhor drank with everyone. They put hot food.


    While eating such delicious buckwheat porridge with stewed meat, Prokhor thought about Kai''s words: "I don''t want to kill." But he had crossed this line long ago, and he did not care. Although no, then when he realized that the man who had been struggling in his arms had quieted down - he became afraid. It was very scary. It was a couple of years ago. Then he just began to gather around him those who were rejected by this world. They decided to rob the warehouse. According to their calculations, there should have been no one there. But a drunken man was sleeping inside. It was either a watchman or a bum who got inside. It didn''t matter. He saw them and began to shout. Rather, he just screamed when Prokhor''s knife entered his stomach. Prokhor struck several times. The body went limp, short death cramps - and everything was over. Prokhor felt warm blood on his hands. He dried his hands. He looked at the pale faces of the guys standing around him. From that moment on, he became their true leader. It was like a rite of passage - a sacrifice. Now no one dared even think badly of him or contradict him. Those who saw it with their own eyes told the boys who were newly arriving at them about Prokhor, who even without flinching had ripped open the man''s stomach.


    "I wonder how Kai will react to this when he finds out that I''ve killed a man?"


    But that was not the point. He would kill if the situation called for it. It didn''t bother him. This was life. And he accepted it for what it was. He needed to tell Kai about it somehow. After all, he was his friend, and there should be no secrets between them.


    ***


    In today''s fight, Kai suffered the most. The rest escaped with bruises and minor injuries. And not surprising - after all, he was in the thick of the battle.


    An hour later he left the bedroom.


    His body was recovering quickly. And now this hour of sleep restored his strength. Although everything hurt, he felt good overall.


    Everyone was delighted with him. They began to shake hands and pat on the shoulder. They immediately pounced on with questions and requests to teach them how to fight in the same way.


    Prokhor banged on the table, everyone was quiet. He motioned for him to sit next to, in his place. Everyone parted in front of him, letting him pass to the chair. One of the guys quickly ran away and brought him food.


    "How are you?" Prokhor looked at him carefully, trying to make sure of his health.


    "It''s okay."


    "Exactly? You got the most."


    "I am not only taught the art of combat. There are also techniques for protection and recovery. It is important to know and be able to apply. Therefore, everything is really normal."


    "Well, you''re cool! You''ve passed the rite of passage into our gang - you''ve shown yourself in the real case. Now you will always be with me - you will be my deputy."


    Prokhor held out his hand to him. They shook hands. This was the recognition of Kai by Prokhor in front of everyone. Now Prokhor had officially put him in second place after himself in their gang. And everyone understood this.


    After that, the guys could not resist and inundated him with questions about how he fought like that. He ate and answered. Prokhor, being already full and lounging in his "royal" chair, looked at all this.


    "What time do you need to get home today?" Prokhor''s eyes sparkled slyly.


    "Today I can do it late. My parents left for the reception at the Kremlin, they will return very late, and those who are in the house will not betray what time I have arrived."


    "It''s good that there is time," Prokhor sly smiled, "guys, bring a clean glass and pour vodka."


    Prokhor put a glass of vodka in front of Kai.


    "It''s time for you to become an adult. And then you fight better than us, and you haven''t even tried vodka. Is it so?" Prokhor looked into the eyes of his friend.


    "No. Have not tried it."


    "Then drink."


    Kai looked at Prokhor. He trusted him. This was his friend. If Prokhor said, then he must drink vodka.


    He drank. His breath caught. But then a strange warmth poured over his body. The pain from the blows gradually melted into this warmth. He no longer felt pain, he felt good, it was good and easy. And the soul was easy. Everything that had tormented and tortured him from the inside went away and remained somewhere far away.


    Prokhor watched him, saw, and understood what the boy was feeling. He bent down to Kai and, so that no one could hear, asked:


    "Doesn''t it hurt now?" he understood that everything hurt him after today''s fight. He admired how courageously his friend endured pain and did not complain. This glass of vodka was now the only thing that Prokhor could do for him to numb the pain, even if for a few hours.


    "No," Kai replied in surprise, "I''m fine now."


    The guys shouted at him to have another drink. But Prokhor covered the glass with his hand and said that it was enough for the first time.


    He spent that evening in a state of strange euphoria. Late at night, when the alcohol had practically disappeared, Prokhor took several guys with him and went to see him off.


    Since that time, Prokhor no longer allowed Kai to drink vodka. Only on New Year''s, which they celebrated later than the holiday itself, Prokhor poured and allowed him to drink a glass of champagne. After this glass, everyone "lost" him. He woke up in the morning, when, finally, Prokhor managed to wake him up to send him home.


    So he grew up. Then there were many more fights and not entirely correct affairs, to which he went with Prokhor. Although Prokhor did not take him for serious cases. He didn''t want to involve the boy, and he was worried about Kai.


    ***


    Being a teenager, he came into their flat. That basement had long been abandoned by them. And that house was also demolished. Now their gang was based in the flat. It was a huge communal apartment in the center of old Moscow in one of the lanes behind the Arbat. This pre-revolutionary house was dark and gloomy. There was a dark entrance, narrow stairs, and a strange apartment with a long corridor and rooms. There were several adjoining rooms in which they mostly hung out. These adjoining rooms belonged to a relative of one of the guys in their gang. The relative herself lived in another room, or rather, drank and slept there later in a permanent unconsciousness. Other tenants of the rooms were registered here, but did not live; where they were no one knew, and did not delve into the details. Only at the end of the corridor, in the room, lived a strange old man, practically out of his mind, who could walk along the corridor as a shadow, but spent most of the time, shutting himself up.


    When he was here, Kai was always amazed at new faces and strange personalities that one could encounter in the hallway of this apartment and then never see them again. Who were they, where were they from and why were they here? Probably no one would have answered this question to him.


    Their rooms were comfortable. There was also a table in the center, but now it was more decent than the one in the basement. There were also chairs around the table. The invariable royal chair of Prokhor was in the center and a little simpler - Kai''s one - to the right of Prokhor.


    During this time Prokhor turned into a stocky, broad-shouldered youth with straight, short-cropped brown hair, regular features with the first signs of a mustache and beard, which he began to shave off, and penetrating tiger eyes. Yes, if not for these predator''s eyes, he could be called a very nice young man. But this strange look with yellow sparks frightened those looking at him and made his face cruel. There were tightly compressed lips, on which a smile rarely showed, and the unyielding character of the undisputed leader. They were afraid of him. They respected, but more were afraid.


    During this brief period of his adolescence-to-youth transition, he had two more occasions when he had killed. And this left an imprint on him: although he was young, his soul had long ago become stale, and this was imprinted on his appearance.


    One evening, still in their basement, Prokhor called Kai into his so-called office, into a recess in the wall, closed by a curtain, where there was a small table, a couple of chairs, and an armchair for Prokhor. Here he usually planned secret operations, not for everyone, and dealt with each member of his gang separately, if the situation required.


    Kai sat across from him at the table and waited for what he would say.


    "You know, I''ve killed a man," Prokhor said simply, peering into his face, looking for condemnation or self-loathing in him after what he had said.


    Kai was silent for a long time. Then he got up, walked over to Prokhor, who was sitting in an armchair and hugged him by the shoulders.


    "I''m so sorry that you have such a life where you have to do it. You are so good, so kind. I''ll always be with you," said he and returned to his chair.


    That moment Prokhor was shocked to the core. He expected anything his friend would say upon learning about it. But this still boy just hugged him by the shoulders and absorbed his pain into himself. But even Prokhor did not allow himself to think about it. He did not allow himself to admit that after that his soul was languishing with the pain of what he had done. He was moved by the fact that now he was understood and accepted as he was.


    After that, Prokhor told his friend everything, and Kai also told him everything about his life there, behind the wall in his house.


    His life was still the same, but with an even greater tightening of control over himself. After his parents began to find him regularly with a broken face and torn clothes, they began to put him under house arrest more often. But this only added to his knowledge, since he did not waste time. He studied. And at the same time, his desire to find freedom from them grew every day.


    Now, being a teenager and entering their apartment, Kai could already afford not to come home for the night. He could stay here overnight or hang out here for several days. Returning home, he listened distantly to lectures about his behavior. But now it didn''t bother him, he didn''t care what they said to him. This was followed by another punishment in the form of arrest for several days. Sometimes he sat out these days at home if his studies required it, and sometimes he ran away - and no one and nothing could stop him.


    Realizing that their son had contacted a bad company, his parents decided to send him to Rostov to a distant relative for the whole summer. Deciding that this isolated area away from people, and most importantly, from his dubious friends, would benefit him.


    It was isolation, but not for him.


    Being met from the train, he was taken by car for a long time through the Rostov steppes. Kai looked out of the window with delight, he had never seen such a huge space. And then a fabulous picture opened up in front of him - it was a herd of horses rushing across the steppe. The teen''s eyes lit up.


    "I want to fly with them over this steppe!" he decided firmly, seeing the galloping horses.

 Chapter 2

    The car stopped on a large farm. As it turned out later, his distant relative was the director of a stud farm, which was located nearby. From that moment on, Kai practically lived in the stable. He "got sick" with horses. Once he went inside and inhaled the smell of manure, fresh hay, and warmth from horses, he "became infected" with them for life. He did everything in the stable: cleaned up manure, took out dirty sawdust, handed out hay, cleaned old disheveled horse equipment, looked after the horses.


    A relative, seeing his desire to work, did not interfere with this. He was warned that this was a difficult teenager, but he saw a teenager in front of him who worked tirelessly from dawn to dusk. And when Kai asked for permission to ride on horseback, he was allowed for his labors, without even becoming to find out whether he could ride or not.


    Kai did not know how, but he saw how others were riding, and carefully watched them, their actions on horseback. He had already learned how to saddle and unsaddle horses, giving them to the workers for the ride and taking them afterward.


    Therefore, now, having saddled the horse that he liked the most, he led out into the yard and deftly jumped into the saddle. The horse he had chosen was not yet broken, it had only been accustomed to the saddle, no one had ever sat on it. Seeing Kai riding an unbroken horse, people ran to him from all sides, but it was too late to warn him. Now everyone was watching what was happening, or rather, waiting for the boy to fall off his horse.


    The horse, feeling for the first time the weight of the rider on its back, first froze in surprise, and then began to apply all the means at its disposal to get rid of Kai. The horse spun in place, backed up, stood on its hind legs times, and even walked forward in such a way, apparently waiting for the rider to "unfasten" from it. But the rider remained in the saddle. Then the horse began to rush about the yard, suddenly throwing itself in one direction or the other, then he stopped and kicked with its hind legs - again the same result, the rider was on it.


    Kai not only watched the riders but also listened carefully to conversations about what to do if a horse tries to throw off a man. He realized: he needed to force the horse to run forward, then it would not have the opportunity to throw him out of the saddle like that, and gradually, having spent part of the accumulated energy, it would become calmer.


    Keeping all this in mind, Kai squeezed his legs and began to actively hit the rear of his sneakers on the side of the horse. And the horse heard him - rushed forward. In front of them, there was a pole blocking the exit from the stable into the field. The horse easily jumped over it. And they dashed off into the distance.


    All who watched this were standing in amazement. The boy did not fall, although the struggle was serious. He stayed on the horse!


    "He will fall down there," said the watchman, spitting angrily to the side.


    The pale and frightened director of the plant, who came running to the noise, thought with horror that he would now tell his parents.


    Kai "flew" over the steppe - there was speed, wind in the face, and the feeling of freedom. He was not afraid. He slipped the end of the rein under his knee so that he would not slip into the legs of the galloping horse, and spread his arms to the sides. Now it was the full feeling of flight! He remembered this for the rest of his life - a horse galloping under him and a space of air flying towards him with the aromas of herbs and flowers.


    They returned at a walk. The horse was young and, injecting all the adrenaline, was tired. Kai sensed it and didn''t make it move faster. Now they had a complete understanding - he was walking on it, practically giving up the reins, and watched the scenery passing by from the back of the horse. Oh, how wonderful it was. Indeed, the Arab proverb is right that heaven on earth can be found on the back of a horse.


    Their appearance was noticed from afar; everyone again ran into the yard. The teenager calmly on horseback went inside the yard and dismounted.


    "Well done!" finally, the chief brigadier in charge of driving the horses could not stand it and, enthusiastically rushing to him, shouted, "Mikhalych, can we take him as our assistants? We thought there would be a fuss with this horse for a month, a very characteristic horse. Look, the guy made an agreement with it in two hours."


    Mikhalych - this was exactly the director of the plant, he made a stern face:


    "What if the boy is killed or injured? I have to answer in front of his family!"


    "Please, let me help with the horses!" almost shouted Kai, not even expecting to be offered this.


    The radiant eyes of a teenager, glowing with green sparks, looked at Mikhalych. Well, he had never seen such eyes. Mikhalych muttered something else just for show, but then said to obey the senior brigadier and not show any personal initiative!


    From that moment on, Kai''s life became like a fairy tale. He was happy! He was infinitely happy here. There was nothing here to remind him of his life in Moscow. Here he lived and did what he liked. Here he was free.


    Everything was saturated with freedom: this air, this endless distance, the steppes dissolving in the haze of the horizon, and the horses, they were free and gave him this freedom.


    His physical fitness and the fact that from early childhood he trained so actively, helped him to master the art of riding. Although he had to fall, his body drew the knees up to the chest, and he quickly got to his feet, receiving only minor bruises and injuries.


    Horses feel the rider, and they felt that this rider was not afraid. They felt his inner strength and obeyed him. Not immediately, because they were free, but, falling under his iron will, they obeyed. Only free creatures can make a choice and serve someone who has the same inner strength and the same desire for freedom as they do.


    So his summer flew by. It was the happiest summer of his life. Kai had been there for two more summers in a row. But when the parents found out that their son was happy there, and most importantly, free, everything stopped. It was decided to send him for the summer to a teenage military camp for his education and training. So his summer of freedom and flight over the steppe turned into a "prison" and a barracks. But that was later ...


    ***


    Now, entering their apartment from the dank street, he felt warmth. The smell of an old communal apartment hit the nose, such a unique smell of old walls and people who lived here. Leaving his wet jacket on a hanger in the hallway, he headed to their main room.


    Prokhor, upon Kai''s appearance, got up, as always went to meet him. They hugged.


    "Sit down, we are discussing one thing here," Prokhor waved in the direction of the chair, and then returned to the conversation interrupted by his appearance.


    Not only Prokhor had changed and matured, but Kai had also changed. Now he was a short, skinny teenager with a shock of curly resinous hair that always fell over his forehead. His handsome, noble features were eye-catching. But the most amazing thing about him was his eyes - large, expressive, the color of a precious emerald, framed by long eyelashes. No, there was no feminine beauty in his features, it was the beauty of a teenager, although the softness and smoothness of his movements gave his appearance certain femininity. But this was only a deception for those who did not know him. His flexible, plastic movements were mistaken for weakness, and this was his strength. Possessing combat techniques, he moved like a panther, softly and silently. But when a fight broke out, his opponents flew in different directions. It seemed that he had no equal in this. He never lost a fight to anyone. There were already legends about him. Any stick in his hand turned into a formidable weapon. And now, like a cat, slipping flexibly into his chair, Kai drew admiring glances with the elegance of his movements. He didn''t do it on purpose, it was his nature. They looked at him with admiration and envy.


    Having finished planning today''s night raid, the purpose of which was to knock out money from the debtor, everyone went about their business. There was still a lot of time before leaving, several guys went to the kitchen to cook some food. Now their "affairs" were more serious, and they had money in the "common fund" for normal food and alcohol.


    Kai did not like these Prokhor''s cases, or rather, internally did not approve, but was always with him everywhere. After all, this was his friend.


    Sitting on the sofa, he tried to relax, leaning back, and throw out of the head another lecture of his parents about his behavior.


    "What? Did they again rinse the brains at home?" Prokhor could guess even without asking this question to his friend, seeing his face now. He sat down next to him.


    "It''s okay," Kai looked absently into the space in front of him.


    Prokhor respected him for this. His friend never whined, never complained. And no matter if it was mental or physical, he always said: "Everything is fine."


    Prokhor turned to him and asked, looking intently into his eyes:


    "Have you ever smoked?"


    "No."


    Prokhor smoked for a long time, or rather, from the moment they met, he had already smoked. Kai did not smoke. He didn''t even know why, although now he had his own money, earned by him on common business, and he could afford to buy cigarettes. But such a thought did not occur to him.


    Prokhor took out a cigarette, lit it, and brought it to Kai''s lips.


    "Breathe air through it. Try it."


    Just as then, in the basement, when Prokhor handed him a glass of vodka, he did not hesitate to do what his friend said. He sucked in air, or rather, smoke. He coughed immediately, his eyes stung.


    While he was clearing his throat, Prokhor was holding him by the shoulders, smoking a cigarette himself and waiting for Kai to return to normal.


    "Let''s continue," Prokhor again raised the cigarette to his lips. Kai took a cigarette and inhaled, but not so hard. It turned out better. There was no cough. He blew smoke out of himself.


    "Did you like it?" asked Prokhor, removing his hand from the shoulder.


    "Do not know yet."


    From that day on, he began to smoke and did not understand what, in fact, he should like and, in general, what was the meaning of this action - to draw in the smoke and then to exhale it.


    Once, after a very strong scandal with his parents, he went into the garden. It was winter. Snowflakes were quietly falling from the starry sky. Kai tried to understand why snowflakes fell on his face from the clear starry sky. They melted on his cheeks, leaving traces as if from tears. But those weren''t tears, he didn''t cry anymore - he swore he wouldn''t cry anymore. His eyes were dry, only snowflakes rolled down his cheeks, leaving wet paths. Kai looked into the sky and asked the space of darkness above him just one question:


    "Why don''t they love me?"


    They again explained to him what they expected from their son, how he should live and that now he was living wrong - but they would achieve their goal, they would not allow their family to be dishonored. Everyone in their family is military - and their son must love it and live for this, in order to serve for the good of the Motherland!


    When he said that for the good of the Motherland one could simply work or, for example, engage in science, he was shamed for another hour by his girlish manners, and not by the choice of a real man. But Kai, just starting to study chemistry, realized that this was the passion of his life. He did not love any science as much as chemistry. He did not even suspect that next to him there was a parallel world - the world of atoms, trace elements, and everything else that was just beginning to recognize. It captivated him headlong, and then he realized that he was interested in this life. He wanted to become a scientist. This was his dream.


    Having told the people closest to him about his dream, he opened his soul to them and as a result got a thrashing. How painful it is when your family doesn''t understand you.


    "His family" - all this became just an empty word, the essence of this word had long since disappeared.


    Kai put his hands in his pockets. A hand found a pack of cigarettes. It was cold, his fingers were freezing and numb, but the physical cold was not so strong compared to the cold inside. He wanted to see the warmth - a small flame at the end of a cigarette. Striking a lighter, he lit a cigarette. Warm smoke filled his lungs. The light of a cigarette flickered against the background of the cold white snow. Above him, a huge sky with myriads of small cold stars stretched. But now he felt warm. The warmth from this light warmed him in this dead space that did not accept him.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    And so their lives went on. Kai came to Prokhor when he could, and was with them until they locked him up at home again. Prokhor actively made his way in this life, uniting around him more and more young people who were ready to be with him.


    ***


    When they had not moved from the basement, an incident occurred, after which Kai began to be treated with even greater respect. In the fall their gang climbed into the house closed by summer residents until spring. They had nothing to eat, and they knew that in such houses there were always cereals, canned food, and pickled products like cans of cucumbers and tomatoes. To get into such a house meant to spend half of the winter without starving. And they made such an action. Having broken the locks, they got inside. While swarming inside the house, they heard the sound of a car approaching. The car stopped right at the only entrance to the house - only from there they could get out. The windows in the house were tightly shuttered - it was a trap. The lights came on and an elderly man and woman entered. From their characteristic appearance, Kai immediately guessed they were Japanese. Apparently, they rented this house for living outside the city, not only for the summer but also for the fall. With the lights on, the guys saw a fireplace and a fairly well-furnished interior of the room.


    Prokhor prepared for a fight. Kai understood: Prokhor would out Herod. The guys also froze in combat readiness, waiting for his command. The elderly couple froze in surprise, not expecting to see them here. And then he greeted the newcomers in Japanese, bowing politely in the traditional Japanese bow.


    He was answered by a man, also in Japanese. A conversation ensued between them.


    All stood still.


    Then Kai turned to Prokhor and said that they could take whatever food they needed and leave. They could just walk away because the owner of the house did not mind sharing food with them since they needed it.


    The guys silently collected their bags and left.


    Kai said goodbye, again bowed politely, and went out with Prokhor.


    Walking along the dark, cold streets to the basement, they began vying to ask him what language he spoke, how he knew the language, and what the man answered to him. Kai calmly replied that it was Japanese, that he was studying this language, and the elderly man was native Japanese, and it was not customary to refuse food to those in need there.


    "And what other language do you know?" with a mockery asked the guy going nearby.


    "Many different ones."


    Prokhor stopped and, turning Kai by the shoulders, said sternly:


    "Why did you hide it from me?! I must know everything about my people, especially about you! And you hid it!" Prokhor shook him by the shoulders, and since he was taller, now Kai stood on tiptoe, so tightly Prokhor held him.


    "Besides Japanese, I know English and French. Now I am studying German and I have also begun to study Arabic ..." embarrassed, he said quietly. "Let me go, please, it hurts."


    Only now Prokhor realized that he was holding his friend in a stranglehold for his shoulders almost above the ground. He unclenched his hands.


    Kai stepped back from him.


    "And what did you think I had been doing when they locked me up at home? And also I can sing," he angrily snapped to Prokhor for such an interrogation.


    They walked in silence towards the basement. Prokhor caught up with Kai, who was walking, frowning, and was silent, and hugged him by the shoulders.


    "Offended? Come on! No offense. So why didn''t you tell me that before?"


    "I didn''t want to stand out - and without it, everyone thinks me different."


    "You always will be different, not like them. And they will always all envy you. Get used to it."


    "And you?" he stopped and looked into Prokhor''s eyes.


    "You didn''t tell me that - were you afraid of offending me?" Kai averted his eyes. "Silly, I''m proud of you!"


    They went to catch up with their comrades who had gone ahead.


    "Well, now, share your secret, how did you manage to learn so many languages?" asked Prokhor as he walked.


    "You know, a Japanese man lives with us, a friend of my father. I began to speak Japanese earlier than Russian," Kai smiled, remembering his childhood. "Mom did not take care of my upbringing, they hired a French governess for me. She has ancestors from the White Guards who have fled from Russia during the revolution. She not only teaches French but also manners and etiquette. Do you know how strict she is? You take the wrong fork at the table - she beats on the fingers with a pointer," he saw the surprise on Prokhor''s face. "And what about English - so my father constantly has guests, all foreigners, I''m already used to the fact that in our house they speak English more than Russian ..."


    "And German, Arabic?"


    "My father has insisted on German; he says it will come in handy in my profession. And I like Arabic myself, and my parents are all for it, considering that knowledge of the Muslim language will also be useful to me."


    Prokhor did not ask his friend about anything anymore, he was proud of him and was glad that his friend was so extraordinary and talented.


    In the evening, after a sumptuous dinner, Prokhor solemnly announced to everyone that Kai would now sing. Kai glared at him.


    "Why are you staring at me?! You''ve said yourself that you also sing. I am already acquainted with you so much and have never heard you singing, and also the boys," Prokhor said all this calmly, seeing how his friend "boils". "Lads, where is the guitar?"


    The guys perked up when they heard this.


    They brought a guitar, shoved into Kai''s hands. All the guys sat in a semicircle around him, waiting for the concert. It was stupid to behave with false modesty. He, quickly going over the songs in his mind, stopped at this one and began to sing:


    My fleet is of two ships, it is true.


    How can I sail to your pier


    Along fast rivers of wanderings?


    We are lost in space. *


    While he was singing, Prokhor cast glances at him, thinking that he did not know that his friend had such a voice.


    "How cool he is! It''s good that we are friends. I''m proud of you!".


    The chords died down, the guys began to rustle, they began to demand more to sing. But Kai flatly refused, saying another time.


    Now they got off his back, but then he sang for them at each of their gatherings, so his singing and voice fascinated and attracted. The boys each time waited for his concert, listened to his singing, and delighted in their souls. After all, despite all the unsightly truth of their life that they led, their souls were young and pure, they had not yet become completely cold-hearted.


    ***


    Prokhor, as an older brother, on the one hand, guarded and protected Kai from the cruelties of this world, on the other hand, brought him into this world, realizing that his friend would face it anyway. So let him know better from his friend and under his control. So gradually Prokhor taught Kai to drink various alcoholic beverages. He helped him to taste and understand their action and determine his measure for himself. Once he allowed Kai to get drunk almost to the point of losing his pulse, and the next day he walked gloatingly and mocked him, seeing him, half-dead, with a terrible headache, lying on the bed.


    Kai drew conclusions from such experiments and discoveries. He learned the consequences of excessive libation, which he did not like, and he did not like to lose control of himself. Therefore, if he drank, then little and controlled what to drink and how much.


    He started smoking after that incident in the winter when a warm light warmed his soul on a cold winter night. But he also rarely smoked, only when he wanted to feel again this warmth of the burning light at the end of the cigarette.


    Now, having matured, he spent more time in their apartment. Somehow, after another successful case, the guys invited "girls" to celebrate their success. Kai was present at such parties, but he was still considered small, therefore, what the boys did with the girls, going to the next rooms, he only guessed from the scattered information that he learned for himself on this question that was beginning to worry him. He could emphasize all the information only from the books in the library where he spent time. From the artworks read by him, he understood only what happens unsaid by the authors of these works between a man and a woman, when the doors are closed behind them and they are left alone. Having tried to find the answer in the scientific and medical literature, he learned about the physiology of this process and the difference between the opposite sex. This was the end of his knowledge.


    The party was in full swing. Prokhor returned happy from the room where he was leaving with a girl much older than him. With a sly smile on his face, he sat down next to Kai on the sofa. This was the third time that Kai had seen this smile on Prokhor''s face. The first, when he gave him a glass of vodka for the first time to drink, the second, when he brought a cigarette to his lips for the first puff in his life, and now his friend had the same smile on his lips. Moreover, everyone around was also whispering conspiratorially and exchanging glances.


    Feeling a conspiracy against himself, he jerked to get up from the sofa, but Prokhor''s strong hand on his shoulder held him in place.


    Prokhor laughed.


    "Relax! Why have you tensed?"


    "And what do you all have such faces?" Kai tried to get up again, but could not.


    "Well, here with the boys we have consulted and decided. You seem to be cooler than all of us in a fight, but you are not a man yet. You haven''t slept with a girl, have you?" asked Prokhor and laughed. "Well, I do know, you haven''t slept!"


    Everyone laughed.


    Kai frowned and tried to get off the sofa again.


    "Come on, we do not want to offend. Everyone has had their first time. Today you will have this for the first time."


    Kai looked at Prokhor distrustfully.


    "Guys! Pour a glass of cognac for the courage to a soldier!" ignoring Kai looking at him, shouted Prokhor.


    They brought cognac.


    "Drink!" commanded Prokhor.


    Kai drank.


    "Now let''s go."


    Prokhor got up and, not letting go of his friend''s shoulders, led him to the door, from which he had recently left.


    "Otherwise, Marusya has already been tired to wait for you," with these words Prokhor pushed him into the room and closed the door behind him.


    There were curtains in the room, and a floor lamp in the corner was burning. A half-naked girl was sitting on a crumpled bed and smiled as she saw him stiffened as if nailed to the floor.


    The girl, still smiling, pulled the shirt off her shoulders, and Kai saw her big full breasts. Then she got up, the shirt slipped down, and, without lingering on her hips, fell at her feet. What he saw in the picture in the medical anatomy handbook now stood before him live. But unlike the book, it looked many times better.


    The girl approached. Her face was smeared with makeup, strips of mascara remained on her cheeks, lipstick-stained part of her chin.


    She took Kai''s hand and pulled him to the bed.


    "Well, hero, I''ll do everything myself now," said Marusya, pushing him onto the bed and stretching her hands to the belt of his jeans, "I like you for a long time. You are so handsome! Sweetie!"


    Kai felt her hands under his jeans, threw back his head, and the ceiling began to disappear in his mind. The incredible sensation covered him completely and then twisted his body in a sweet spasm.


    Catching his breath and recovering a little, he opened his eyes and sat up on the bed. He saw that Marusya was wiping her hands with napkins, and then, bending over him, wiped the moisture that he felt inside his pants.


    "For the first time, it always happens so quickly. But don''t worry. I''ll teach you everything," just as insidiously as Prokhor, smiled Marusya. "Eee! Do not rush to leave, otherwise, these fools will laugh. You will be out in half an hour so that they all would be envied."


    Kai then did not quite understand what she meant, but believed her and stayed. While he was waiting for half an hour to pass, his young body recovered, Marusya noticed this and decided not to postpone the teaching for a long time, but to continue right now.


    He left Marusya in more than an hour. He was greeted with whoos and pops of opening champagne bottles.


    Clinking glasses with him, a glass of champagne, Prokhor asked:


    "Are you glad?"


    Kai averted his eyes in embarrassment, perhaps now he had not even fully realized what had happened to him, and therefore was not ready to discuss it.


    Prokhor smiled, seeing the detached, still hovering in the clouds, the face of his friend and his pupils dilated from the pleasure received.


    Then he met Marusya several times, then there were other girls. Although for some reason he did not like such girls, it was impossible to separate from the team, and now he had to be a member of their private parties and entertainment.


    ***


    Time passed. Spring came in the world, so it seemed to Kai, he felt such a feeling of renewal and rebirth of nature in himself that it seemed that the whole world felt it and, like him, blossomed after a cold and dead winter.


    He did not like winter, or rather, he did not tolerate the cold very well. Although no one knew about this, except for Prokhor, who saw how hard it was for Kai to spend many hours in an ambush in the street. But his friend never complained and always walked with Prokhor, even when he knew that they would spend several hours on the frozen winter street. Then he came, sat down closer to the radiator, and tried to draw from it the warmth that this cold haze, permeated with stabbing snowflakes, took from him. Then Prokhor brought him hot tea, and Kai, taking a cup from his friend''s hands, warmed his soul with the warmth of this cup and the warmth of Prokhor''s friendship.


    But now winter was slowly dissolving in the rays of the warm sun. The snow was disappearing from the streets of the city, leaving only mud and gurgling streams. The first leaves appeared on the trees, but the main thing was warmth. The warmth came from nature itself, from the air around. Kai loved spring! He loved this warmth, which warmed his soul and gave him hope for a happy life. And this his adolescent spring in his soul gave an aching feeling of something new, beautiful. Kai had never felt such a feeling in his soul.


    There was a girl going in front of him on the sidewalk and suddenly a bag fell out of her hands, one handle came off, and all its contents began to fall and scatter on the asphalt.


    Kai deftly intercepted several oranges rolling to him and carried them to the girl, who was trying to prevent all the products from falling out of the bag. He grabbed the bag from the bottom, helping her with it. They both straightened up and looked at each other. Her eyes were blue, like the spring sky above their heads.


    "What about him? How did he feel? What strange pleasant anxiety in the chest!" he had never experienced such excitement before.


    The girl was saying something to him, and he only felt her hand under his, with which he held the package, and looked into her eyes.


    Finally, she pulled her hand away and began to pick up the other products on the pavement.


    "Let me help you carry the package," he said.


    "Okay," she replied, realizing that she couldn''t handle it alone. She had to carry some of the products separately herself, as they constantly fell out of the torn bag.


    They walked side by side. Kai asked her about everything that seemed so important to him now, she answered, reluctantly at first, but then began to speak calmly and freely, as if she had known him for a long time.


    On the way, they cast furtive glances at each other. She had light blond hair, tied in a braid that twisted like a beautiful golden snake down her back. The delicate facial features of a teenage girl who was already crossing the line between a teenager and a girl. She had a slim graceful figure and light flowing movements. It turned out that she was studying at a ballet school, although she didn''t like it, the parents wanted her to study - it was so familiar to him.


    Her name was Anna, as she later seriously told him at parting.


    Anna also cast glances at the short young man walking next to her. For some reason, he reminded her of a fairy-tale prince. She had not met such guys yet. This face, curly resin hair down to his shoulders, and his eyes attracted her. If it were not for those green eyes looking at her so mesmerized, she would never have taken help from the unknown. Dressed in dark jeans, rough boots with thick soles, a dark sweater with a hood, and a black leather jacket on top, he looked unreal, and his name completed the image of a prince from a fairy tale. Can you call an ordinary guy Kai? No! This could only be called the prince, who happened to be on the streets of Moscow and was now helping her carry these products.


    Walking her to the door of the apartment, Kai left the groceries on the rug, as she had asked her parents not to see him, and, saying goodbye, left.


    But the very next day he waited for her return from the ballet school with a small bunch of flowers in his hand.


    So their meetings began. Thus his first youthful love began. That was true love that happens only once in a lifetime. It is love when the souls of two young creatures come into contact with each other and acquire an incredible feeling of flying over this world.


    * Song: Ocean. Alexander Geints and Sergey Danilov.

 Chapter 3

    It was spring, warmth, love.


    The meetings of Anna and Kai were short, her parents kept track of her schedule for returning home, so they could only be together on the way to the ballet school or back or when she was sent to the store. But their longest meetings were when she was sent with food to visit her aunt, who lived on the other side of the block. Then they could afford an hour to walk in the park or go to the movies.


    Although Kai had already slept with girls by that time, now with her he felt as chaste and innocent as she did.


    A week later, she allowed him to hold her hand on walks in the park and it was when no one was around. A month later, Kai timidly touched her lips with a kiss. It was just a touch and nothing more. But they didn''t need it anymore. They were happy together, youth and the feeling of something joyful and beautiful overwhelmed them. How happy he was then.


    Seeing strange changes in his friend, Prokhor, having caught him in the apartment, dragged him into his office and, closing the door so that no one could hear, asked point-blank:


    "Have you fallen in love?" seeing Kai''s shining eyes, he already understood everything. "Have you slept with her already?"


    A wild fright was reflected on Kai''s face as if Prokhor had touched the shrine - it was impossible to think about that, let alone do.


    For Prokhor, the concept of such love in which his friend was now, did not exist. He stepped over it, considering it superfluous in his life. He moved early to physiological relationships with women. Therefore, all his understanding of "love" for a woman had to end with a bed, and the faster, the better, accordingly, this love was. But now, seeing from day to day Kai "fluttering" over the ground, he began to think that he might have missed something in his life because he did not have the state in which his friend was now.


    "Sorry, I didn''t mean to offend," Prokhor was embarrassed because of his words, seeing Kai''s eyes. "Well, in short, I''m glad for you, friend! Is she beautiful?"


    Kai relented, accepting his friend''s apology, and as always, sincerely shared with him what was happening in his life. He told about her, about their meetings, plans, and dreams.


    Prokhor only chuckled to himself, realizing that in these plans of theirs the bed was not envisaged at all for the near future.


    "Well! The main thing is that my friend is happy! " - he thought to himself after listening to his story.


    Yes, Kai "was flying" above the ground. Love inspired him and painted his life and the world around him with bright colors. He stopped noticing everything that was happening around him. He stopped noticing that Prokhor''s "affairs" were becoming more and more serious. Prokhor got involved with drugs, or rather, with their sale. Older guys from another band approached him and offered to work together, giving him part of the sales for his control.


    More substantial money began to appear in their gang than before.


    Kai was always with him, everywhere and in everything. Rumors began to circulate about Kai, or rather, about who was Prokhor''s right hand. His incredible fighting ability, his fearlessness, and recklessness made him a hero in stories. Therefore, when meeting with other gangs, they always looked at him intently, as if trying to make sure it was true - did this flimsy teenager put everyone in a fight?


    But he did not notice anything: neither the acts that Prokhor began to commit nor his own rapidly spreading fame in his circle. For him, only his spring was important, the blossoming of the gardens and the snowfall of cherry petals that swirled around them.


    He felt the heat of her lips on his own when he dared to touch them with a real kiss ...


    ***


    Kai woke up, still feeling her lips on his ones. This was a dream; this was just a dream. But what a real one! He was there now with her in their cherry orchard, he felt the petals of falling flowers in his hand, which he removed from her hair, he felt now her lips, which he barely touched then. But this was just a dream ...


    Around him the desert stretched, the sun was at its zenith.


    "Gotta go get a drink," he thought.


    It was clearly the heat that created such clear images in his mind from his memories. Even sitting in the shadow of the plane, he was surrounded by the hot, scorching desert air. It was even worse inside the plane, but, bearing the incredible stuffiness of the cabin, he made his way to the water supplies.


    "How strange," thought Kai, looking at the supplies of food and water that he found on the plane, conducting a thorough inspection of everything he got. "There is so much water and food that I will not die right away. I am given time to live still. But why? Maybe in order to remember all my such a short but bright life? Maybe ... But I am definitely given time ... "


    Time. How long had he been here?


    He didn¡¯t put notches on the plane. On the first day, thinking about it, he smiled. How stupid it was to pretend to be Robinson Crusoe and put notches about the days being lived. Why did he need this information - how long was he here? What would this affect? Who cared about it? He? Nothing mattered to him now.


    Coming out of the plane, he found a shadow under its side and sat down on the sand.


    Kai bent down, taking the sand in his palm, which began to flow in golden streams through his fingers. The hourglass of the desert began its countdown to his days. How many more is he destined to see this world? Known only to those who look at him from the blue of the sky. So why then should he think about the days he lived here. They were given to him - and he lives. He just lives by looking at the flowing sand and breathing in its heat.


    Gradually, everything began to move in his mind again - the desert, its heat, and the brightness of golden sand blinding the eyes. He closed his eyes and began to fall into a dream that was so distinctly real ...


    It was Moscow, summer Moscow with watering machines passing by. He smelled of the freshness of poured asphalt and wet foliage. He inhaled deeply.


    "Oh, how good!"


    Leaning against the side of the plane, a young man was sitting on the sand, his eyes were closed, he seemed to be asleep. His face was calm, now he was far, far away. Nothing bothered him, neither the haze of hot air nor the snakes crawling past him.


    ***


    In the early Moscow morning, Kai returned home after another "affair" with Prokhor. They succeeded as usual. Prokhor was pleased. He wanted to throw another party today - they had made good money on this business. Kai promised to be there in the evening, but now he had to return home to "be noted" by his presence. Well, today he had a lot of classes with teachers.


    Having quietly "leaked" into the parental home, he was caught by his father, who was waiting for his return, who, pointing to the side of his study, said that there was a serious conversation.


    The conversation between them was really serious. His father told him that Kai was going to be sent to a military training camp for his peers for the whole summer.


    Because of this news, his whole life just collapsed in on itself.


    "Why? Why are they doing this to him? After all, they haven''t even asked him about his desire, whether he wants to go there? And his life? Anna - their meetings? Their love? But why are they doing this to him?"


    He heard about the prospects for his stay in this camp and that this society would be to his benefit. Father was "enraged" by this unwillingness to obey him, the complete absence of any discipline. As a hereditary military man, he generally did not understand how one could live without discipline, how one could live the way his son lived now. And he found a way out - this was the complete isolation of his son from his friends, who obviously had a bad influence on him. And the most important thing was training him for the right life, and the right life was military discipline.


    Father''s friends secured a unique opportunity for his youngest son to get into a closed camp for teenagers and young men for the whole summer, who then planned to link their lives with the army. Everything in this camp was real - like in the army: living in a barracks, marching, training, familiarization with the types of weapons, even training parachute jumps!


    The father told his son about all this with delight.


    Kai tried to object, tried to explain, but his father did not want to listen to him. He would be sent out tomorrow, early in the morning. The only thing Kai got was permission to go and say goodbye to his friends that day. Although his father did not want to allow him to do this either, seeing his son''s eyes burning with genuine anger, he decided that he would not "go too far" now in relations with him. He felt that his son, growing up, was less and less amenable to his control, and this made him even more irritated towards his son.


    Leaving the parental home, Kai went to her, His Anna. She was now at home, but perhaps she would go to the store. She talked about it yesterday. That meant he would wait, would wait at her entrance until she left. And he would tell her ... What would he say? That their dreams, plans, thoughts were all crossed out?! That his life didn''t belong to him?! And they, as soon as they found the joy of communicating with each other, needed to part. But this was only for the summer ... for the summer they had planned to spend together! After all, now she had no classes at school, and they could be more together. Her parents did not have a summer house, and therefore she spent the whole summer in Moscow, and since her parents worked, the day was completely at her disposal.


    Oh, how much they had planned in total: where they would go, what exhibitions, museums, in what parks they would walk. How many in total!


    He sighed, sitting on a bench not far from her entrance, in order to visually keep him under control and not miss her appearance.


    Then there was his explanation with her. He saw the tears in her eyes. Then for the first time, he felt so painful - this feeling of parting with a loved one, this dreary, aching pain in the soul and the realization that he was not able to change anything. Then there was a quick, stealthy kiss in the dark entrance, and their hands parted, leaving only the warmth of each other''s fingers. Then Kai knew that this was the end. It was the end of his first love, but he drove these thoughts away from himself, he wanted to believe that everything would continue and they would be happy!


    ***


    Prokhor immediately understood by the look of his friend that something had happened, and it was clear - again a conflict with his folks. He was already used to this, but he could not help his friend in any way, he only listened to him carefully.


    "Let''s go, bro, let''s talk!" Prokhor hugged him by the shoulders and led him into his office. "Well, now what? As I understand it, the parents rasp your nerves again?"


    Kai was sitting on the sofa, Prokhor stood opposite him, trying to light a cigarette. He also lit a cigarette and began to talk about what awaited him, starting from tomorrow morning.


    "Yeah," pointedly drawled Prokhor, after his story. And he lit another cigarette. "Can you run away from them? Now we have money, we will rent an apartment for you, you will begin to live normally - as you want."


    "I can''t, my mother has a diseased heart, she will not survive it, and I will not forgive myself if something happens to her because of me."


    "I understand," said Prokhor sadly. "Well, it''s just for the summer. Don''t think that I''m glad. No, I''m just trying to persuade myself ... the summer will pass quickly, and you will return to us."


    "Yes, I''ll be back."


    Prokhor was very hard from such news and from the understanding that he could do nothing to help his friend. After talking with him about this bad luck in his life, he transferred the topic to a more positive one - he offered to forget everything and have fun. Moreover, today for the evening they already had a party. And now there was one more reason - they needed to dignifiedly say goodbye to a friend who was awaiting a summer "imprisonment", as Prokhor sadly called his military camp.


    The guys, having learned about this, were at first discouraged, but then they also decided that three months would fly by quickly, but now they needed to organize a memorable send-off.


    Indeed, it became a memorable send-off.


    They went to a restaurant, where they sat nicely, not limiting themselves in anything. Then we went to the "rooms", that is, to an expensive closed brothel. There they also had a full blast.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    At first, Kai did not want girls, the memories of Anna were too painful, but then Prokhor''s sound voice that he would have to jerk off all three months persuaded him to use the opportunity to sleep with a girl now.


    And Kai ran off the rails. How many girls there were, he no longer remembers. It''s good that before the start of this fun, he told Prokhor where and what time he should be tomorrow - where was the gathering place for those leaving for the camp.


    Prokhor, as an elder and responsible for a friend, though he drank, still kept everything under control and, moreover, Kai. When his friend got totally plastered, he carefully laid him on the sofa, and early in the morning loaded him into the car to take him to the place.


    On the way, Prokhor gave him mineral water, they stopped several times - Kai felt sick.


    They arrived at the gathering place of the summer squadron on time with a green, vomiting Kai, who was shaking because he was hungover, and besides he vaguely remembered who he was and why he was here.


    Prokhor once again tried to give him a proper image, washing him from a bottle with water and straightened his clothes.


    Their expensive bandit-looking cars were parked not far away, attracting the attention of all the well-bred adults who were seeing off their well-bred children. They got out of the cars, everyone hugged Kai, gave him vulgar parting words, and then Prokhor pushed him towards the buses.


    His father, mother, and two elder brothers were standing there. Seeing their faces, Kai sobered up. Although he walked with an uncertain, staggering gait, he was already shaking not being hungover, but from the way, they looked at him.


    "I did the right thing, that decided everything for our son,"  his father said to mother with disgust, looking at him. "Now you understand my rightness!"


    Mom made an effort on herself, quickly hugged her son.


    "Go, son, being there will do you good," then she walked away from him, as it seemed to him, too hastily.


    "Dad, you¡¯re completely right, he¡¯s a disgrace to our family," his elder brother said, looking through him.


    "Come on, I''ll take you to your commander. I hope you don''t bring shame on the family there," the father turned Kai around and took him to the side of the buses.


    Kai realized that his brothers would not even say goodbye to him. He only felt their contemptuous glances on himself.


    "Vasily Petrovich, here is my son," said the father, leading him to a formidable man of about forty. "As we have agreed with you - no indulgences. The teenager is difficult. Upbringing is required."


    Vasily Petrovich quickly examined Kai professionally, understood the essence of his pale green state, felt the smell of alcohol and cigarettes from him.


    "Zatsepa," Vasily Petrovich shouted without taking his eyes off him. "Take him, this is the one you''ve been warned about. Search him - and into the bus," with these words he lost interest in Kai and began to talk to his father.


    Zatsepa, standing next to him, the goon paratrooper, grabbed him by the shoulder and roughly began to push him towards the buses.


    Kai thought that he should probably say goodbye to his father, but realized that his father was carried away by the conversation and had already forgotten about him.


    Now he suddenly didn''t care. A dull indifference began to envelop him. He allowed being pushed to the side of the bus and Zatsepa to search pockets from which husky guy took out cigarettes, a lighter, documents, and the condoms stuffed there by the bros. Then Zatsepa roughly shoved him into the bus, where he pushed him into an empty seat. He plopped into it and closed his eyes. It was a dull indifference. He did not care. The bus started to move.


    Prokhor and the guys saw how relatives treated Kai, but they were just standing there, realizing that they could do nothing to help him. Prokhor clenched his fists and stared into the distance for a long time to the leaving buses, in one of which there was his friend, for whom from that day his carefree life ended.


    ***


    Kai woke up with chills. It was dark, there were only stars overhead. Night fell in the desert. It was necessary to find the strength and move deep into the plane. It was warm there. It kept the heat accumulated on a hot day all night long. He also needed to eat. It''s good that he didn''t even need to heat canned food. They had already heated up during the day and were warm now.


    He groped for the tin in the darkness and with it moved to the door, there was light from the night sky. He didn''t feel like eating, but he needed to eat. But why? To prolong life here, in this desert, under this starry sky. To remember what he later forgot, about which he had no time to remember in a series of endless events in his life. But now he has a whole desert of time, and he can remember it ...


    The buses took a long time. All this time he slept. His neighbor next to him, apparently, also had well celebrated the farewell and also was sleeping. The rest were noisy, jumping around the cabin, bawling songs. This did not bother Kai. One thing made him happy: that he had cleared all the contents of his stomach earlier and now he did not longer vomit - only nauseated, but without consequences, the buses stopped only at clearly planned stops and no one promised to brake at the request of disenfranchised passengers.


    They were brought to the place. It was a closed camp near Moscow, more like an area with a fence with barbed wire and a checkpoint at the entrance.


    They were all taken out of the buses, lined up in an uneven line, and distributed to the barracks. Each group was assigned their own senior, who first led them to be put into proper form, as Zatsepa had said.


    Since this was a camp for children from families of senior command personnel, everything was not poor here, as Kai noticed, seeing the barracks and the general situation around. They didn''t even have to take anything with them. Everything was issued by the state, from linen and clothes to personal hygiene items such as alike toothbrushes, shaving sets, and bath accessories.


    There were five other guys in Kai''s group about his age. Their commander was Klin, as he called himself, and told them to address him that way.


    First, they were taken to a hairdresser. Everyone quieted down, none of the guys was eager to be shaved on a bald head, but it turned out that it was still not an army, but just a summer camp, so they shaved their bald heads only at will, otherwise, they cut their hair down to a decent length and made proper haircuts ...


    Kai stared blankly as his resin curls, cut by scissors, fell to the floor. At the end of this process, he glanced at himself in the mirror - from there a haunted teenager with short-cropped black still curly hair and eyes that had become even larger on his face from the hair were looking at him.


    Then they were taken to have a wash. They forced everyone to take off their clothes and gave them government-issue clothes.


    Then they brought them to the barracks and showed each of them a bunk with a bedside table, which already contained everything necessary for army life.


    Klin introduced them to the other guys who were here. In this camp, training took place not only in the summer, during the holidays, the camp always worked. There was a building where school classes were held with those who lived here all year round.


    From the sight of the guys in the barracks where he was placed, he immediately realized that hazing was flourishing here. He had heard about such a phenomenon, and now he had to face it.


    As soon as Klin left their barracks, Kai plopped down on his bunk and stretched out on it with pleasure. Sleeping in a crooked position on a chair on the bus after such a stormy night was not the best option for rest. He even began to plunge into a doze but heard a loud conversation, which gradually began to develop into a conflict.


    Those whom he immediately noticed as "bullies" were now hectoring the guy who had arrived with him. The victim''s bunk was at the beginning of the barracks, where they all crowded. First, the standard mockery of the newcomer followed, then humiliation followed. Nobody protected the guy, all the other inhabitants of the barracks were watching with pleasure such entertainment. The bullies began to verbally humiliate him - they called him names, and then, seeing that he did not answer them, they began to kick the guy.


    Kai heard the guy crying as he was forced to kneel to acknowledge the authority of his elders and say out loud that he was a sh*t.


    Kai realized that the bullying here was stupid and artless, apparently, the rich kids were so dull with permissiveness that even in the humiliation of the weak they could not think of anything except the level of a showdown in the sandbox.


    He got up and walked over to them.


    "Leave him," Kai looked into the eyes of the chief of the mockers.


    "Oh, who is this girl with green eyes?" the chief said derisively. "Go, beauty, we won''t even touch you, we don''t mess with women."


    Everyone laughed.


    Kai hit the chief in the face, then in the stomach. He jumped abruptly to the side, noticing the mop in advance, grabbed it, and began to wield it - scattering the assistants who rushed to him. A fight ensued. He held on for a long time. His combat skill here worked flawlessly, but there were many of them, and they had been trained here for a long time - including hand-to-hand combat.


    When he practically defeated them, scattering them in the corners, he was hit on the head with a chair, everything floated before his eyes, and then he was kicked by everyone he had already defeated.


    Klin flew into the barracks at the noise, scattered the fighters. He picked up Kai and, holding him by the shoulders, led him to the medical unit. Zatsepa ran there, and then Vasily Petrovich.


    Klin said that Kai fought ten and did a job well, there was admiration in Klin''s voice.


    Vasily Petrovich tried to ask Kai who was the instigator and why it all started. Kai said that he swung at them and that he was the instigator of the fight.


    Zatsepa also tried to find out why he got into the fight, but Kai was silent and they realized that he would not say anything more.


    For this, he was sent to spend the night in a solitary confinement cell, by the bars on the window and the iron door, he realized that this was a prison, it did not look like in the cinema - there was a bucket in the corner, a hard bed and a dimly burning light all night.


    In the morning he was given a plate of food and then taken to dig trenches for his behavior for educational purposes.


    Kai was digging, he didn''t care. Yesterday''s fight brought relief to his mental anguish, shifting the pain from mental to physical. And now, digging a trench in the training field under the scorching summer sun, he got rid of thoughts and everything else. He was just digging stupidly...


    Towards evening he was taken to the shower room, where he was standing for a long time under the streams of water, and then, already in dignified form, to the study of Vasily Petrovich, who held an hour-long conversation for educational purposes. Kai stared distantly at the wall, thinking about his problems.


    Klin returned him to the barracks, to his bunk. He flopped down on it indifferently. But they did not let him lie down for a long time, they were all lined up and taken to dinner.


    There, when he was lazily stirring buckwheat three older guys sat down at his table.


    "And you¡¯re a hero," one of them said amiably. "You smacked these freaks and didn¡¯t betray them, although it was necessary. Why the heck did you dug trenches instead of them? They needed to dig it."


    "What do you need?" Kai muttered without looking up.


    "We''ve come to meet you. My name is Senya, here is Vadik, and this is Misha."


    Kai looked at each one in turn. On his face, there were still traces of yesterday''s beating.


    "We''ve pressed these freaks today; they will not come to you anymore. But if anything, you''re with us."


    "I can stand up for myself," Kai again buried himself in the plate.


    "Hey, little one, we have no doubt about it. As they told us how you fought, our jaw dropped. But don''t be arrogant. We are normal, we want to help you humanly. You will drop dead here. These freaks can do it if you are not with us. They do not touch everyone who is with me."


    "You do not understand; I''ll stand up for myself. I am alone. I don''t need your help," Kai looked into Senya''s eyes.


    "Come on, guys, " Senya averted his eyes. "If anything, contact us ..." he said vaguely.


    The guys left. Kai forced himself to eat, waited for permission to return to the barracks, and went to bed.


    He was so indifferent to everything that he rejected the offer of friendship and mutual assistance not because of self-confidence, but because he was simply not ready to communicate with anyone, talk and, moreover, be friends. Everything here was disgusting and alien to him.


    Indeed, the bullies in his barracks now bypassed him, but most importantly, they no longer touched the other guys. The rest, seeing his unfriendly disposition, stopped contacting him with questions and the desire to talk. He often saw Senya and his guys, but they also kept aloof from him and no longer came up with an offer of friendship.


    The days of life in a military camp dragged on. They woke up early, jogged, trained. Also the theory of military affairs, it included everything: types of weapons, land, sea, air technology. Then there were practical exercises: shooting, hand-to-hand combat, parachute jumping, training on air simulators. Then again the evening theory was, then strength training. There was some free time and sleep. And so it was day after day.


    Kai forbade himself to think, he forbade himself to remember. He mechanically did everything that was required of him. And he didn¡¯t even notice that he did it all the best. He shot accurately, very quickly mastered all types of technique, perfectly understood flight simulators. He won in hand-to-hand combat, and, naturally, was the best in oriental martial arts.


    But strength training was difficult for him, and on jogging, he fell behind and dropped with fatigue.


    But for the rest, he delighted teachers and instructors, although he was not even aware of this, as he just did what he was told.


    Only a month later, when Kai was sitting aloofly on a bench behind the barracks in the evening in his free hour before bedtime, Senya again approached him.


    "Do you want to smoke?" he asked.


    Kai remembered, after all, he had smoked. For all the time here, after the cigarettes were taken from him, he did not even remember this.


    His gaze softened, Senya caught it and waved his hand. They went behind a bush - there was Vadik, Mishka, and a few other guys, all smoking while sitting on the grass.


    Kai sat down, he was handed a cigarette, he inhaled.


    "Well, we thought you were quite a robot," seeing the emotions on Kai''s face, Mishka said smiling.


    "Is it easier to live like that?" asked Senya, seeing how Kai took a drag on the cigarette.


    "Which is easier?" Kai asked distantly looking to the side.


    "When you stop feeling and thinking," Senya also took a drag.  "You didn''t want to get here, did you?"


    "And you?" Kai asked in surprise, finally looking at Senya.


    "Well, we all wanted to get here. It''s generally hard to get here, but this is such a chance - then a military career is already guaranteed," Senya fell silent, looked at Kai. "Were you forced to come here?"


    "Yes. I did not want. I don¡¯t want to be a military man - this is what my father wants."


    "Then it¡¯s clear why you¡¯re so¡­ like a robot¡­ as if you are waiting for it to end."


    Kai just sighed and took another drag.


    "Why don''t you want to become a military man? You are better than all of us here. We see it."


    "Better?" Kai asked in surprise. " I haven''t done anything."


    "Do you see anything at all? Everything you do, you do a hundred times better than everyone else. You were born for all this."


    "I do not want!" Kai jumped up. "Do you understand? I don''t want to! They''ve made me. That''s not mine!"


    "Hush," Senya grabbed Kai by the sleeve and pulled him back down to the grass. "We''ve just thought you are acting out; you want to show how cool you are. And now I understand everything. You only know, after all, what you are and they''ve guessed," Senya nodded towards the commanding corps. "They don''t let people like you go; do you understand that?"


    "What should I do?" Senya and the guys now saw another Kai, a teenager with frightened eyes, who was trying to get out of the nets into which he had got and from which he would never be able to free himself...


    Then they talked about everything for a long time. Kai spoke briefly about himself, family, friends, and plans for life. The guys shared with him their prospects, only they all had plans, and Kai had an ordinary peaceful life in his intention.


    They stayed together until the end of the summer. Kai felt better, having found friends here, even with views of the future that were different from him, but they understood and supported him. And this was the most important thing in friendship - understanding.


    So his summer flew by.


    Upon returning to Moscow, he seized the moment and ran away from home to see Prokhor and all the boys.


    How happy Prokhor was when the guy came to their apartment! But then he scoffed at the guy''s hairstyle, said that he became even thinner than he was before, and these hairs sticking out in curls on his head made him so funny.


    The lads also laughed, but Kai understood that it was not out of spite. Everyone was happy that he had returned.


    By the weekend, Prokhor had organized everything to celebrate the return of his friend. There was again a restaurant, then a trip to the girls, Prokhor''s, and everyone''s mockery about his three-month hunger for women. And then the night of orgy and the morning of the "Streltsy" execution.


    Then Kai thought that maybe things weren''t so bad. Maybe things were working out. And he hoped everything would be as before: study, house arrests, and Prokhor with the boys.


    But after the summer everything changed. Kai''s amazing abilities, talent, and calling were seen and remembered. His father was told that Kai would be taken where only the chosen one could go.

 Chapter 4

    Soon after Kai''s return, his father summoned him and told him how his new life would now be built. In addition to studying, he would attend a special closed training center, where he would continue training in his future specialty, namely, to become a professional military man.


    He had to visit this center on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. On these days he would have short classes with teachers, and then he would be taken there and taken away from there. Kai understood that the inevitable was approaching, it was swallowing him up and all his attempts, dreams, and hopes for another life were shattered into smithereens.


    He began to object to his father furiously, fiercely. And then for the first time his father recognized his strength - he made a compromise. He understood that his son could not be persuaded, but he could enter into a contract. The agreement was simple: on the rest of the days, he could go to Prokhor after classes.


    Kai was confused by this proposal. He realized that his father was now negotiating with him. He did not act harshly but tried to work out a joint agreement. Why? Probably because he was growing up and his character, will, and determination frightened his father. His father, as an adult and wise, decided that it was easier to come to an agreement with such a teenager than to enter into an open conflict.


    Realizing this, Kai put forward his condition that he officially would stay with Prokhor overnight and return only to classes in the morning.


    The father looked at him carefully. Kai shyly averted his eyes, he realized that his father as a man understood why his son needed these nights, and his father agreed. The father agreed because he understood that his son was growing up, and he wanted the son''s growing up period to pass faster. In Prokhor, he was not mistaken - this guy would give his son a good school of life, which would be useful to him later.


    By making this addition to their agreement, they came to a mutually beneficial compromise.


    But Kai''s mother argued with his father for a long time, considering him still small and not understanding why the boy should be allowed to spend the night not at home, but with some dubious friends.


    ***


    So his new life began. Every day his personal teachers came to their house, and in the afternoon he was taken to this center. This closed institution was equipped according to the best canons of a spy thriller.


    Behind a large fence, under guard, on a huge territory, there were several buildings. They had everything: aircraft control modulators, combat modulators, and in any element. There were strength training rooms, classes for theoretical lessons. In the courtyard, there were all types of techniques: from modern to historical.


    Here Kai was taught everything. A lot of time was devoted to theory, including psychology. Kai knew what it was for. This was intelligence work, he was prepared for it: understanding a person, "reading" his thoughts, hiding his own. He studied the peculiarity of interrogation, information memorization, and much more. Kai liked these activities, in contrast to running around with a machine gun over rough terrain.


    Kai was assigned instructors who worked only with him, only a small part of the classes he listened to in general classrooms - mostly he had individual lessons and personal teachers.


    In this center, he met Senya, Vadik, and Mishka, who were very happy to see him, and only they brightened up his stay here at least a little.


    The first time, when they were finally able to sneak out for a smoke break out of constant control, hugging the guys, Kai lit a cigarette, and Senya, looking at him, asked:


    "How long are you here?"


    "I don''t know, I''m here on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays."


    "Not the worst option," Senya looked closely at Kai. "Have you changed your mind yet? Maybe you want to become a pro like we? Not a bad specialty," he finished not quite confidently.


    "No, it''s not mine."


    "Then what are you doing here?" Mishka asked irritably.


    "They forced me, or rather, I made a compromise with my father: he doesn''t forbid meetings with my friends on other days."


    "Do you understand how serious all this is? You can''t get away from them. Then they will tighten the screws so that you will completely belong to them," Senya looked at Kai, saying this.


    "I understand, but I will find a way out, I will definitely find it!"


    ***


    But there was no way out. He just lived, resigned to what was happening.


    During all this time, he never found the strength to find his first love. He thought a lot about this: about her, about the fact that then between them began to emerge and everything was so rudely trampled. Then he realized that as long as he did not have the power to dispose of his own life, he could not break the life of another person. What could they have? Brief meetings, painful partings - that''s all. He does not have a future with her, he simply will not be allowed to build the future that he wants. This means that the result will be disastrous. He will bring pain to her. He will make her suffer, he will destroy her life. No, he doesn¡¯t want that, he probably really fell in love with her, so he was not ready to hurt her now. He hoped, she had probably already been ill with their love during this time and it was not worthwhile to resume everything, no matter how hard it was for him from this thought. He was strong, he could handle it, he would survive this pain.


    So a year passed. On holidays he was again sent to a camp near Moscow. There he stayed for two weeks in the fall, two weeks in the winter, and another two weeks in the spring. The rest of the time, his life went according to the plan approved by his father: he studied before lunch and then went to his friends.


    And there life began, thanks to which he tolerated and endured everything that he had to accept. There were friends in his life, real boys. Now it was an adult company. Kai was the youngest in it, but the way he now began to fight and behave earned respect from everyone. Kai was unmatched in valor before and in all fights came out the winner, but now these activities in the special center influenced him. Now he beat, as Prokhor put it, "without a soul", he simply beat, clearly controlling himself and his opponent, removing any manifestations of feelings. Kai was feared and respected. Prokhor was proud of his friend, but at the same time he understood how bad it was for him to live the life he did not want to live. Prokhor offered him a way out - to leave the house, but Kai did not go for it. Although the financial part of the issue had long been of no concern to their gang. Now they were doing serious business, and they had serious money. Now they had completely rented their entire communal apartment for themselves. Rather, they redeemed rooms from all tenants, resettling them quietly and peacefully.


    However, at first, they wanted to buy more decent housing, but they liked it here, they got used to it. Therefore, they limited themselves to good repairs and new furniture. Now it was a huge apartment with rooms, Prokhor''s office, a common living room, and a huge kitchen. Someone constantly lived in the rooms, hung out in the living room, cooked in the kitchen. The apartment was always crowded, noisy, and fun. Kai liked it here. He liked hanging out with everyone, talking, spending the night in one of the rooms, and having breakfast with everyone in the kitchen in the morning.


    His favorite time was from Saturday evening, when he came here after the center, here he could spend all Sunday and only on Monday morning go to his class.


    Despite such a life schedule, Kai managed to be with Prokhor on his trips and showdowns. All this Kai did not like, but he was very worried about Prokhor and therefore was with him.


    Prokhor felt his concern for himself and understood why he was traveling with him. Prokhor saw that all this was sickening to his friend, but he was going only because of their friendship. Prokhor appreciated this, appreciated real friendship, appreciated such a friend who was ready to go to hell and back for him.


    On one of these trips, having arrived at the "rendezvous", the showdown began, which grew into the shooting. At some point, Kai knocked a pistol out of the hands of one of the attackers, pointed at him, but did not fire. Another second - and Kai''s confusion would have given his opponent an advantage over him, as he pulled out the second pistol and pointed it at Kai. Prokhor fired first. The guy fell over. Kai stood there with a pistol in his hand.


    The guys saw it too, but now there was no time for it. When it was over and they returned to the apartment, Prokhor grabbed Kai by the shoulders and, shaking him, said angrily:


    "If you can''t shoot - don''t go with us. Sit here. We don''t need such people."


    Prokhor let him go and, without turning around, went into his study. The guys did not say anything, pretended not to notice him, went into the living room, on the way vigorously discussing today''s showdown.


    Kai was left alone in the hallway. He stood in the dim corridor, then took his jacket and left the apartment.


    It was spring, cold spring. The warmth hadn¡¯t come here after a long winter. It was dripping with rain. It was dark, wet, and damp.


    Kai just walked in this wet space, cars drove past, splashing him from puddles. It was already late. Rare passers-by hurried home. The rain was getting worse.


    Kai put the hood of a sweatshirt over his wet hair and wrapped his leather jacket tighter. But the dampness and moisture had already penetrated under it - it was cold and disgusting.


    It was disgusting to understand that now he was left all alone. Alone in this vast world. His friend turned away from him. But what did he do wrong? Was he supposed to shoot? To shoot a living person? For what? Why was he supposed to kill him? To kill a man. How scary it is! No. He doesn''t want to do it. Never, never. Even at the cost of your own life. After all, he saw how he aimed at him. Well, let him do it. Let him shoot. And he won''t shoot. Never.


    Kai felt the moisture of the rain on his cheeks and eyelashes. He was hurt and hurt for not understanding by Prokhor. Yes, Prokhor saved his life today. But why didn''t he understand him? Why doesn''t he want to understand that he won''t shoot? To beat, to fight is not to kill. He will not take the life of another. Never.


    A car stopped ahead, Prokhor got out of it. He went up to Kai, blocked his way, and intercepted his hand.


    "Wait, have you decided to walk all night?" he said peacefully. "Well, you are cold," Prokhor took his fingers in his palm. "Let''s go."


    "Let me go," Kai tried to pull his hand. "I''ll go home."


    "Well, let''s go home and go, but only to me," Prokhor grabbed Kai in an armful and pushed him into the car.


    Once in the warm car interior, Kai went limp, realizing how cold and wet he was.


    "Where are we going?" Kai asked, chattering his teeth and sniffing.


    "To me, I''ve told you," Prokhor took out his handkerchief and began to wipe his friend''s face and nose as if that was a little boy.


    Kai weakly resisted, but the understanding that Prokhor had forgiven him and returned him deprived him of his strength.


    "Have you forgiven me?" he asked uncertainly.


    "What for? Oh, for your standing and waiting for a bullet. No, you will get more for this! What are you doing? Do you want to deprive me of such a friend ?! And how will I live on ?! Have you thought about me ?!" Prokhor was in high snuff. Now he was shouting all this menacingly in the car, again shaking Kai by the shoulders. "Why are you huddled in a corner? Scared? Can you guess how frightened I was when that moron aimed at you?"


    "Sorry ... but I couldn''t shoot ..." Kai whispered.


    "I know. That''s why I did it for you."


    "We''ve arrived," said the bro from the front seat. "Shall we pick you up tomorrow morning as usual?"This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    "Yes, as always," getting out of the car Prokhor said goodbye to everyone and dragged Kai towards the entrance.


    Kai realized that Prokhor was taking him to his apartment. After the money appeared, Prokhor bought his own apartment and, as he later said, got himself a woman there. Prokhor believed that he shouldn''t be huddled in the rooms of their common apartment.


    He also offered his friend to buy an apartment, but Kai refused, reasonably explaining that he had no time to live there and he did not need it now. And even more so, he liked to hang out with the guys in a shared apartment - it was fun and there was someone to talk to.


    "Prokhor," Kai spoke already in the elevator. "You don''t seem to live alone, why do you need me there?"


    "I have many rooms. Do you think I leave my friend, frozen, wet, hungry, or what?"


    "But ..."


    "No buts about it," smiled Prokhor.


    The doorbell was answered by a very beautiful tall blonde, dressed as if she was going to the theater - even in high-heeled shoes.


    Prokhor, seeing the admiring look of his friend at his choice, proudly kissed the blonde on the lips, and briefly explained to her about Kai. Despite all her doll-like beautiful appearance, the blonde, whose name was Masha, turned out to be a very sweet and kind girl. She immediately took the initiative into her own hands. She pushed Kai into the bath. She ran a bath for him herself, said that she would then take care of his wet clothes, but in the meantime, she brought him a tracksuit, which, however, hung on him, but was warm and comfortable. From the bathroom, she immediately brought him to the kitchen, where the table had already been laid, and there they drank vodka for three. Moreover, Kai was poured more - for purely medicinal purposes.


    Then Masha and Prokhor took the half-asleep Kai to his room, where a bed was made for him and where he quickly fell asleep in the warmth and feeling of home comfort.


    ***


    Kai woke up - these were just memories of that distant life. Now he was here in this desert, alone in this endless space with no chance of salvation and only faint hope for a miracle.


    In the desert, it gets dark quickly, the sun is setting, the heat subsides. Probably it was the heat that inspired all these memories in his brain. He got on the plane again, soon it would be dark and cold. He needed to eat. What for? He just needed to drink, and then wrap himself in a parachute cloth and fall into oblivion, being transported back to his past, to Moscow ...


    Summer was coming again in Moscow, dusty and hot. For the summer, Kai was again sent to a camp near Moscow, but already different. There were no teenagers in this camp; everything here was already adultly. Again there was a barracks lifestyle, early waking up, and then classes in the classroom. This was where the real teaching of everything started. In addition to military espionage science, as Kai mentally called these classes, he was taught additional, expanding his knowledge and abilities. Much attention was paid to foreign languages, secular etiquette, even music, and dance. At least it made Kai happy. Since childhood, he loved music lessons and played the piano well, but here his abilities were in demand as if he was preparing for a world tour with a concert program.


    There were also dancing classes, which also pleased him, the teacher turned out to be a sweet girl, several years older than him. Plastic Kai was good at any dances; the teacher was pleased with his results. Soon, their dancing began to develop into something more intimate between them. And since they were mostly alone in the dance class, the door began to be locked, and then the dance movements between them were completely different. It brightened Kai''s stay here.


    In this camp, he again met the inseparable trinity - Senya, Vadik, and Mishka. With them, he ran to smoke and chat, because everyone else was, by Kai''s definition, "real" military and could, like robots, talk only about everything connected with the army. Undivided trinity was not yet so zombified, and it was possible to chat with them. Senya quickly saw through the affair with a dance teacher and then regularly teased him on this topic, but kindly. They repeatedly helped him organize meetings and retire in different parts of the building with classes, and they were the lookout. Having found friends and having a love affair, this summer for Kai was not even as stressful as the previous ones. To the delight of all the teachers, he studied well, quickly absorbed all the knowledge, and made them happy in the tests.


    Besides theory, there was a lot of practice here. Here he took courses in military surgery, he was taken to a closed hospital, where the military from troubled areas lay.


    In addition to this practice, they regularly traveled to the airfield, where Kai, for the first time after training simulators, scrambled a helicopter into the air, and then a combat aircraft. He did it well. He felt the vehicles, so he navigated them confidently and competently. But he didn''t like it: either the height, or the flight, but nobody asked him about it.


    By the end of the summer, when there were no signs of trouble, they were alerted at night and taken to the airfield. Kai dozed in the car, taking this as another teaching. All were loaded onto a transport plane. The plane flew for a long time, upon arrival they were placed in barracks, from which it was impossible to leave. They gave them food and rest. Then again raising the alarm, distributing weapons, warning everyone that it was combat. The commander gave the task - to destroy a group of militants. They were put into a helicopter and it took off.


    He understood that this was no longer a game, that he was where everything was for real. But he didn''t want that! He didn''t want to shoot - only there was no way out, the helicopter was flying, Senya, Vadik, and Mishka were sitting opposite him. From their faces, he understood that they were also the first time on such a flight and that they also understood that it was not military exercises.


    Their group of fifteen was landed on a mountainside. It was night, they quietly moved somewhere, then lay in the stones.


    Then those they were waiting for appeared. A shootout began. Kai did not shoot, he could not, could not see a man in the sight of a machine gun and pull the trigger.


    The militants were successfully "cleared", their ambush was a surprise for those and their position was unfavorable, they were at a glance. Kai realized that they were taken out to shoot people. He was sitting there, leaning against a stone, clutching the machine gun with his hands.


    Everyone saw that he did not shoot. If not for Senya and his guys, who protected Kai from contemptuous ridicule, he would have gotten from everyone. The commander didn''t say anything, but Kai understood his attitude towards himself after today''s battle. Although the guy didn''t care. He made a decision that he would not shoot!


    They walked back, it was already dawn. The helicopter was not far away. Many walked in a relaxed manner, knowing that they would be taken away, and then the shooting began. They were ambushed. And now their position was very unprofitable - only small stones behind which they could hide. By the number of automatic rounds, it became clear to everyone that the enemy was superior in strength.


    The guys were shooting back. Kai was just sitting behind a rock and watching. A wounded man fell near him, this guy was from a nearby barracks. The guy was shot in the forearm, he writhed in pain. Another fell on the other side of him, and Kai realized that he was dead, looking into his open, unblinking eyes. And then Mishka fell, Kai ran up to the lad, raised him - the hand holding his head was wet with warm liquid. Not only blood flowed from Mishka''s head, he realized that it was also brains. Several explosions thundered, two guys ran past him and pressed themselves to a stone. He saw fear in their eyes.


    Then he took the machine gun and started shooting.


    He moved quickly and from an open position moved to the side slope, there were more stones and a better view of those who shot them. The skirmish gradually developed into close combat. Kai fought when he was attacked and fired when possible. How long it took and how many people he picked off - he did not know. Then everything was quiet. He wiped the bloody knife, which he had taken out of the body of the militant he had killed, and looked around. Despite the numerical superiority of the militants, they killed them all. But their losses were also tangible. Of the fifteen people, five were killed and seven were wounded, three of them seriously. There was not a scratch on Kai.


    Their commander was also wounded, now he was looking at Kai, who was providing first aid to his comrades.


    Then helicopters came and were taken away.


    Upon arrival at the barracks, Kai plopped down on the bunk. No, he had no stress, no shock, no hysteria. It was just that at that moment he realized that they had forced him to step over this line - he began to kill people. He realized that he did not control his life, that he was just a pawn in their game.


    Kai refused food, refused everything at all. He was just lying on the bunk. Then his commander came with a bandaged hand, said that a plane had been sent for him and he would now be returned to the base.


    Only then did he get out of bed and go to the plane.


    At the base, he continued to behave in the same way. He just lay there and stared at the ceiling - then ran away. He had studied the entire security system of the base long ago: all posts, their changes, and locations found weaknesses in the protection of the fence. After waiting for the night and calculating the time for passing the guard, he passed all the posts and climbed over the fence.


    In the afternoon he called Prokhor from the phone, having entered the management office. He did not explain anything to Prokhor, he simply said where to wait for him in the car.


    The car was already waiting for him. Prokhor was there, he hugged him and understood from his eyes that something had happened. They drove in silence. All the boys were waiting for them in the apartment, no one was sleeping when they learned that Kai was coming.


    They went into the living room.


    "Have you escaped from them?" finally, Prokhor spoke up.


    "Yes."


    "Tell me, or do you want to talk to me alone first?"


    "No, everyone should know this," Kai paused, went to the window, began to speak without turning. "Yesterday I killed people. A lot. I don''t even know how many there were. They made me do it. We were taken to a hot spot. While they were cleaning the militants, I did not shoot, and when we were returning, we were ambushed. There were more of them, the guys with whom I flew on this mission were falling dead next to me, and then I started shooting ..."


    "Pour cognac, quickly!" commanded Prokhor to the boy standing next to him, and he went up to Kai, hugged him. "You had no choice - on, drink."


    Prokhor practically forcibly began to pour cognac into Kai''s parted lips, realizing that Kai was not here now.


    He had already drunk the third glass himself. Prokhor made him sit down at the table and drink. He poured him more and more. The boys were understandingly silent, realizing what they had heard. And Prokhor realized that now his friend had killed more people than he had in all this time. But he didn''t care, but Kai did. Prokhor knew that all this his training would be reduced to such a result. Only he hoped not so soon.


    Now Prokhor did not ask his friend about his plans and what he decided to do. Prokhor understood that today the best thing for his friend was simply to forget.


    Kai was dressed in a khaki uniform, naturally, before escaping, he did not change clothes, and there was nothing - all civilian clothes had been locked. Prokhor first saw him in the military. Kai looked different, it suited him, the uniform gave him aggressiveness and severity. The guys saw it too and even a little stood aside from him. Now here, although he was the youngest, but in all other respects, he surpassed them.


    Only by lunchtime the next day Kai came to his senses. Prokhor, finding him in the bathroom, took him from there and led him into the kitchen, where one of the boys had already prepared soup and the second, and where, under Prokhor''s control, he ate it all.


    "Will you still drink?" Kai realized that Prokhor was not asking him about water.


    "No. Give me time to think now. OK? I''ll go into the room," seeing Prokhor''s worried face, he explained. "Don''t worry, I won''t do stupid things. But I need to think it over. I must find a way out of this."


    "Okay, but will you tell me what you will decide?


    "Yes."


    The rest of the day Kai was sitting in the room, staring unseeingly out the window. Now he had something to think about. His life changed dramatically. It was impossible to return anything. His hands were covered with blood, he felt it physically. But the future ... he understood what future these people had prepared for him. So must he obey them? No, never! He will fight! He will change everything. He will build his life, he will not allow it to be disposed of. It doesn''t belong to them.


    And Kai made a decision.


    When he left the room, Prokhor understood from his face that his friend had decided everything.


    "Do you want to talk?" Prokhor asked him.


    "Yes. Everyone should know," he sat down at the table in the living room. "Now the only lever of pressure on me is you, Prokhor, wait, listen, you know about the agreement with my father - that I attend all these military exercises for permission the rest of the days to be with you. My father used this, I agreed. Now the game has changed. Now they are making me an assassin, a mercenary, a puppet who will do what they want to do at their command. I don¡¯t want to be their dog on a leash," Kai paused, looked at Prokhor. "I must end this once and for all. I''ll go back to my father now. I want them to understand that there is no longer any leverage over me. I won''t come here again ... for some time at least. I don¡¯t know how long it will take for them to understand that I cannot be persuaded or broken."


    Prokhor was silent, realizing that now this is the only way out.


    "I''ll wait. As much as it needs. If you need help, let me know. OK?" he said dryly and briefly.


    "Yes."


    "Do you want to go home now?"


    "Yes. I don''t want them to come here to take me."


    Prokhor came up and hugged Kai, then all the boys in turn. Then they walked in silence to the cars. Kai was taken to the gate of his house. There he got out of the car and, without turning around, went to the door with a bell.


    "Is there anything we can do for him?" one of the guys asked Prokhor.


    "No, not now. Just to wait ..."


    ***


    Then hell began for Kai. When his father realized that the blackmail in the form of Prokhor was no longer going away, he began to hold many hours of conversations with him about his duty and honor. Mom also joined these discussions. At first, his two older brothers also admonished him about his duty and their family traditions, then they simply decided to give him like a brother a good beating, but in this, they were very disappointed. They didn''t expect Kai to fight like that. Being taller and wider in the shoulders, with well-developed muscles and also having the skills of hand-to-hand fighting, they were powerless in front of his art of reflecting and delivering blows. Within a couple of minutes, they were lying scattered around the room. After that, they no longer approached him.


    His family changed the tactics of communicating with him. If at first, they tried to influence him by playing on family feelings, then realizing that Kai was adamant in his decision, they showed their true attitude towards him - his complete contempt and ignorance.


    Kai was ready for this, although it was painful and offensive, he was ready.


    One evening he was again invited by his father, again tried to convince him that his calling was to be in the military, and to shoot at the enemy was a duty and nothing more. Seeing that Kai was unbreakable, his father was silent for a long time, then he spoke:


    "They won''t leave you. You have exceeded all their expectations. You are the best and they will do anything to get you to work for them. You see, anything."


    "I do not care. I will not work for them. You can tell them this," Kai turned and left, realizing that he had nothing more to talk about with his father.


    Three days later, his mother was shot, a bullet hit the lung; shot in the center of Moscow when she got out of the car, heading to the store. She was operated on, the bullet was removed. But she had a weak heart. Therefore, everyone was afraid of the complications and consequences of this operation.


    Kai wanted to go to her, he ran out into the street when his father got into the car.


    "Father, I''m with you," he ran to the car.


    "I warned you, I asked you, you did not hear me. Well, got it?"


    His father slammed the car door in his face. Kai''s legs gave way, only now he realized who and for what had shot his mother. He barely reached his room, slid down the wall to the floor, realizing that there was not enough air.


    So he sat and looked into space, but even then he knew that now everything was over for him, the trap had slammed shut - he was completely theirs.

 Chapter 5

    The next day a car was sent for him. He didn''t even bother asking where and why they were taking him. On Smolenskaya Square, their car stopped in front of the entrance to the Foreign Ministry building, his escort showed him that it was time to get out. Having entered the central doors, he, accompanied by several people in identical strict suits, entered the elevator. The elevator buttons indicate that he was being taken to one of the upper floors of the building. After passing through luxurious corridors covered with dark red carpets, they came to the office door. They were expected: the doors opened, Kai went inside.


    From the first office-reception, they went on to the second office. Entering it, he looked around: it was a huge office with expensive massive furniture, a half cabinet table, chairs around it. At the table, there sat an elderly, overweight man with a look that stared Kai with cold cruelty. Next to him - to his right and his left - sat several more men, similar to him, just as heavy, already aged, and with the same soulless eyes.


    "Well, we''ve met, my boy. Finally, I see you," the man got up from the table and began to approach Kai, who stood frozen in the middle of this half-dark office. The light came in here through the heavy drawn-off curtains on the dark green windows. It was gloomy and heavy in the office, the whole situation - this massive furniture, this twilight, these people - everything crushed and oppressed by the very appearance.


    Kai realized that it was this man who was watching his life all this time.


    The man walked slowly around him, carefully examining, and then, without ceremony, grabbed the chin and lifted his face, turning towards the light.


    Kai jerked, but his hands were instantly grabbed from both sides by two huge guards.


    "Handsome," said the man and let go of the face, the guards let go of the hands. "Do not be offended, I''ve seen you only in the photo. I wanted to take a closer look," as if it were quite commonplace, the man explained.


    "Let''s go into the light of God, let''s talk," he said, pointing to the glass doors that open onto the balcony. Even this phrase from his lips sounded somehow mocking, Kai winced, but he inhaled and followed the man to the balcony.


    The balcony was huge, with two sofas, several armchairs, and a table in front of them. Indeed, here, in contrast to the twilight of the study, there was light - a bright summer sunny day. It was warm, a blue sky without a single cloud stretched over their heads. The balcony was framed by a massive, wide railing of marble, like everything else here.


    Everyone went out onto the balcony, the man sprawled imposingly in an armchair, those having sat at the same table with him also moved here and took the sofa and armchairs. Judging by their faces and postures, Kai realized that they were waiting for a show program, where the main character was him.


    "Well, here we finally met," the man repeated, glaring at Kai. "Otherwise I only hear enthusiastic stories about you, but I haven¡¯t seen anything personally. You''re good! You have not disappointed me, my boy. I''ve made the right bet on you," the man paused, watching as cups were put and tea was poured in front of him on the table. Then, taking a cup, he began to stir tea in it. "You are good at everything. Such successes - and in such a short period of time. You are a talent, a child prodigy. But your main talent, you know about it, right?"


    Kai was standing in silence, he was not offered to sit down, nor, let alone tea, making it clear who he was here, in such a way they indicated his place.


    "So, your main talent, which I''ve discovered in you, is the talent to kill. Why are you sparkling with your eyes? It is your gift, my boy. After all, it is only thanks to you the guys have returned after that shootout. There were many more enemies, many more. Only you could avoid getting confused and save everyone, and all the rest turned out to be milksops, cowards. They got frightened, panicked. And you - no, cold mind, clarity of action. You put everyone away there. You have killer talent!


    "I saved my comrades," Kai snapped angrily.


    "Perfectly! This is exactly what I suggest you do in the future. You will continue to work for us, develop your gift, so to speak, use your talent for its intended purpose. Let this be called the salvation of comrades," everyone laughed disgustingly, the chief also laughed, only his eyes were just as cold and lifeless.


    "I won''t work for you. Never!" again he answered them angrily, looking into those dead eyes of a living person.


    "And you are impudent! I like it. Although, of course, you need to be brought down to your marrowbones, you will show your ambition in another place, but here you have to be nice and meek - do you understand that?" from the mouth of this man it sounded scary.


    Kai shuddered, but keeping calm, he continued to stand and look into the eyes of the main one.


    "Never mind! You will understand," continued the chief. "Your mother has a weak heart. You know, anything can happen in the hospital, the staff will overlook ..."


    At this phrase, Kai rushed forward, but this movement was predicted, four husky guys intercepted him and, wringing his arms up, forced him to kneel. Kai struggled, a few more movements - and he managed to feel the inaccuracy in the actions of those who held him, and he took advantage of it. He was fast and accurate. Four big fellows were scattered in different directions on the balcony.


    The chief enthusiastically clapped his hands and showed the guards with a gesture that they no longer needed to approach Kai. Then he picked up the phone. Looking into his eyes, he said:


    "I''m making a call now, and you get your mother''s corpse."


    Kai froze, turned pale, saw how he pressed the call.


    "Wait!" he shouted. "It is not necessary ... what do you want from me?"


    "Well, let''s start with obedience. Get on your knees," seeing that Kai was looking at him, the chief answered into the phone, where they were already waiting to hold on.


    "Yes, it''s me, do as we''ve agreed. Our boy wants to be convinced of our power. Let''s give him this pleasure."


    "Stop!" he shouted and fell to his knees.


    "Wait, don''t do anything, it seems we manage to come to an agreement, but don''t leave there yet," the man, looking into his eyes, put the receiver down on the table. "You probably still don''t understand who you are dealing with?" he said in an icy voice without mockery. "I have no time to play with you. I don''t have the time and desire to see you and talk to you at all. Jordan will do it, he will be my second self for you," the chief waved his hand towards the door, there was a gloomy-looking middle-aged man, Kai realized that this was probably Jordan. "You belong to me. Completely. Your life belongs to me. You will work for me. Everything has already been decided," seeing again the disobedience on Kai''s face, he continued. "Don''t you want it? Then you know what will happen - I will kill everyone dear to you, methodically and slowly, so that you have time to bury them and enjoy the pain of loss. You have a large family; it is pleasant to kill them - it will be a long pleasure. And in the end, I will kill Prokhor. Well, then I''ll decide what to do with you. You are so cute, it''s even a pity to kill right away. Probably, first, they will have you, and then you will die yourself. You will have such a life, my baby, - long and happy," everyone again laughed with a vile laugh.


    "What do you want?" not his own voice asked Kai.


    "Stop acting like a child, I have no time to run after you and persuade you like a girl to go in bed. You are an adult already. All that I want, Jordan will tell you, and you will simply do it - and that''s all."


    He was kneeling before them with his head bowed.


    "Get up already, otherwise you arouse pity in me, the old man."


    Kai got up slowly and with an imperceptible movement retreated to the balcony railing behind him, then in one deft movement, he turned and jumped onto the railing. They were wide enough, his coarse boots with thick soles just fit them. Kai staggered but caught his balance. Everyone froze, no one twitched. All looked at the young man standing on the railing.


    He stood half a turn towards them, then stretched out his arms to the sides, under him below, although the net was stretched, if he fell from such a height, it would not have saved.


    Kai looked at Moscow under his feet. Standing like that, with his arms outstretched to the side, he felt a flight. He hovered over this world, over the houses below, people, cars, life. Above him, there were clear blue skies and freedom. Just a step forward - and he would find it. Just a step ...


    "Don''t do this," the chief''s voice changed. "You¡¯re a church member, suicide is a sin."


    "It¡¯s a sin to kill people," Kai replied without turning around.


    "It is a sin to kill yourself and not carry your cross to the end. You will go to hell and be damned for your weakness."


    "Are you a priest?"


    "No, but I''m a reasonable person," he paused. "We can agree. I underestimated you. But that makes you more interesting to me. Listen to me before you make a decision," seeing that Kai froze, he continued. "You will be on a special account. You can dictate your terms. I am willing to compromise. Do you hear it? I am ready to listen to you. I''ve already understood that you will not be a puppet, but you being so rebellious, real suit me. I''ll make puppets from others. This is not a problem, but there is no one like you," he paused, then continued in a more human tone. "Accept it, my boy. Yes, you''re out of luck, your ability, your giftedness, has caught our attention. You are the chosen one. It is your lot to work for us all your life. Take it for granted, as your cross - but you will always be the chosen one. You can always say something though everyone else who works for me is deprived of it, and I will be ready to listen to you and even make concessions. You will have a good life. Believe me. Of course, at first, you will have to work in war zones, and then you will move on to a quieter job, already behind enemy lines, and then, perhaps, you will take a place next to me with such and such a character," he paused again. "Stop standing there already then, sit down on a chair - we''ll talk. I''m already dizzy from you."


    All this time, Kai stared into the endless blue of the sky, then looked down at the small world of people at his feet. He staggered slightly, but again caught his balance, then, turning, jumped off the railing and went to the chair offered to him opposite the main one.


    ***


    Leaving the Foreign Ministry building at the end of the conversation, Kai caught a taxi and mentioned Prokhor''s address. He refused the car offered to him to take him to the place, they did not insist.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Going to Prokhor, he silently walked over to the bar with bottles and, pouring a glass of whiskey, drank it in one gulp. Prokhor went out to the noise, froze, watching this picture. All the other boys also silently watched Kai drinking. The fact that he did not have a face was not a simple figurative expression applied to him. That something happened again, everyone understood.


    Prokhor went up to Kai and took the third glass he filled with him.


    - My friend, I have not seen you so much, - Prokhor turned him to face him, - tell me!


    - Give me another drink, please ...


    Prokhor returned the glass.


    - Do you want to talk to me alone or with all our brothers?


    - With everyone.


    Prokhor led his friend to the sofa and made him sit down. Then he sat down opposite himself, lit a cigarette, handed him a lit cigarette. Kai took a few puffs nervously and spoke. Although his story was now confused and jumped from event to event, everyone understood its essence. And the point was that life does not belong to him now. That he works for the special services until the end of his days and there is no longer a choice. Prokhor and everyone just now found out that his mother was shot and she was in the hospital. And that this was the first signal to him to become compliant. Kai recounted the threat of reprisals against everyone, including Prokhor, if he refused.


    ***


    Leaving the Foreign Ministry building at the end of the conversation, Kai caught a taxi and pronounced Prokhor''s address. He refused the car offered to him to go away, they did not insist.


    Entering into Prokhor''s apartment, he silently walked to the bar with bottles and, pouring a glass of whiskey, drank it in one gulp. Prokhor went out to the noise, froze, watching this picture. All the other boys also silently watched Kai drinking. He was as pale white as a ghost and it was not a figurative expression. Everyone understood that something had happened again.


    Prokhor went up to Kai and took the third glass he filled with him.


    "My friend, I have not seen you so much," Prokhor turned him to face him. "Tell everything!"


    "Give me another drink, please ..."


    Prokhor returned the glass.


    "Do you want to talk to me alone or to all our guys?"


    "To all."


    Prokhor led his friend to the sofa and made him sit down. Then he sat down opposite himself, lit a cigarette, handed him a lit cigarette. Kai nervously took a few puffs and spoke. Although his story was now confusing and jumped from event to event, everyone understood its essence. And the point was that life now did not belong to him, that he would work for the special services until the end of his days and there was no longer a choice. Prokhor and everyone just now found out that his mother had been shot and she was in the hospital. And that this was the first signal to him to become compliant. Kai recounted the threat of reprisals against everyone, including Prokhor, if he refused.


    "And what have you decided?" after a long pause asked Prokhor.


    "They''ve made the decision, now I don¡¯t decide anything," Kai answered, looking into Prokhor''s eyes. "But I managed to agree on the terms with them."


    "How?" Prokhor exclaimed in surprise. "How did you manage to make them listen to you?"


    "His office opened onto a balcony, this is some twenty floors, and maybe higher. I stood on the railing, and then they heard me ..."


    "Were you ready to jump?" Prokhor''s voice faltered.


    "Yes, I was ready¡­"


    "But this is a sin, a mortal sin!"


    "Yes, this is what this man has told me ..."


    "You must carry your cross to the end, no matter how hard it may be. Forgive me for telling you such cruel things, but I would not forgive you, my friend, if you committed suicide."


    "Prokhor, I didn''t go for it. I am here with you and I am ready to carry the cross ... pour me some more ..."


    Prokhor poured whiskey and, going up to him, hugged him by the shoulders, "Come on, you need to sleep. We¡¯ll decide something. After all, the main thing is that you are alive, we are alive. Everything else is solvable."


    "Prokhor, do you understand what I will become now? I am a professional killer, I work for them, I don''t exist anymore ..."


    "Quiet, don''t say anything now. You are you. I will not leave you, we will not leave you. Do you hear it? We are all with you. I will find a way to take you away from them. Just give me time. Ok?"


    Prokhor led Kai into the room, who, after nervous stress and drunk alcohol, could hardly stand on his feet.


    ***


    How hot and thirsty! Probably after yesterday''s whiskey ...


    He opened his eyes, looked around - it was dark and hot. He began to move along the wall by touch, felt the handle of the door, opened it - a bright light struck his eyes. He closed his eyes, waited, then opened. Before him, an endless sea of ??sand stretched.


    So, these were just memories of that distant past life.


    He returned to the back of the plane, found water. It was too warm and tasted nasty. But he drank - it was necessary. There was still a lot of water. This meant that he still had time to remember the past.


    He recalled that first conversation with the main one. Yes, then he did not jump. Was he bluffing at that moment? Probably not. At that moment, he saw only one way out of the trap into which he had been driven. Although he understood that it was a sin. He had no right to this, he must live and accept all the trials that were destined for him. But his actions made a strong impression on them. And they always remembered this, they realized that if they went too far with him, he would take a step into the abyss and they would lose the one in whom they had invested so much effort and money. For them, it was an unacceptable loss, and why, when they could compromise. And they did it, as he then realized - slightly loosened the nuts. But it was a victory, albeit just a little, but he preserved himself, his self, his personality. He did not become a limp tool in their hands. They began to negotiate with him, discussing their joint work.


    Then they talked for a long time. But the bottom line was this he fulfills their task, they reduce the pressure on his life. He transmits his demands through Jordan, and their tasks also go through Jordan. That, in fact, is all.


    That morning, when Kai woke up from oblivion after whiskey and nervous stress, he, sitting in the kitchen at breakfast, once again talked about it with Prokhor.


    Prokhor then again was silent for a long time, then he said:


    "I thought about it for a long time. About your life, about our life. You know, I now have a goal, for which I am doing all this: money, power. All this is for you," Kai looked up at him in disbelief. "Understand, I can only snatch you from them by becoming stronger than them, that is, money and power will give me this. Do you understand me now?! It just takes time ... be patient. I will organize everything here, and so things have gone uphill. There are the right people, connections. I will create my empire. I will become strong and powerful, and then we''ll see who will win. Do you believe me?"


    "Yes, I believe you. I will endure. You''ve said right - this is my cross ... but for what? But now it doesn''t matter anymore. I will carry it to the end."


    "I''m with you. We are together. I''ll take you away from them."


    Then they were sitting for a long time and talking about it. Then Kai darkened, looked at Prokhor.


    "I want to go to my mother in the hospital."


    "Let''s go," Prokhor stood up resolutely, making it clear that he would go with him. Kai didn''t mind.


    Arriving at the hospital, he, Prokhor, and three other lads putting on their robes went up to the department. In the corridor near the ward, he ran into his brother, who blocked his way.


    "What, bastard. Did you come to see what you had done?" not letting Kai pass, his brother said angrily.


    "Let me go," he did not react to this attack.


    "You''ve come with criminals - are you afraid alone? Well, come in, look into the eyes of your mother," the brother stepped aside, letting Kai pass. "Soon the father will come - he will kick you out of her!"


    He went into the ward.


    Prokhor and the guys all this time kept calm, realizing that this was Kai''s brother and for his sake, it was worth tolerating it.


    His mother was in a separate room. He walked up to her, she looked at the ceiling, then looked at him. She was still under the influence of drugs, a thin tube of a dropping-bottle stretched to the hand. The look was expressionless. Kai sat down on a chair next to her, took her hand.


    "Forgive me. Mom, I''m sorry. I love you," he buried his face in her cold hand.


    Door opened. He raised his head.


    "Get away from her!" said the father menacingly. "Quickly! Or I''ll throw you out by the scruff of the neck!"


    Kai didn''t want such a showdown in his mom''s room. He got up and, walking past his father, left the room.


    "Go to your convicts, your place is there," his father said in son''s back and closed the door behind him.


    He saw the smiling face of his brother, who enjoyed watching this scene.


    "Let''s go," Prokhor said quietly, pushing him by the shoulders along the corridor.


    Kai didn''t resist.


    Already in the car, recovering a little, he said:


    "Excuse me for my brother and father."


    "Don''t even think about it," replied Prokhor.


    "Thank you for not saying anything to my brother."


    "There is not the right place to sort things out."


    "You''re right, sorry, but he doesn''t understand this ..."


    "How is your mom?" Prokhor looked at the pale face of his friend.


    "She is still on medication; she hasn''t even recognized me."


    ¡°I spoke to the doctor while you were with her. The crisis is over. She will be on the mend. Now only time is needed for her recovery."


    "I am to blame for everything - do not interrupt, you still do not know everything ... I am the youngest child in the family, the fourth. She was not allowed to give birth. Doctors warned that the fourth birth could cause complications in the heart. They offered to have an abortion ... my father insisted on this when he found out everything from the doctors. She refused. During childbirth, she almost died, but the consequences of all this are a weak heart. You see, I''ve almost caused her death then and now ..."


    "Shut up! If she has had health problems, why then to make a fourth child? Didn''t your father think about that? And now he decided to put all the blame on you."


    "He loves her very much, very much!"


    "It''s not your fault here. Stop harassing yourself," Prokhor spoke dryly and harshly.


    Kai was silent for a while, afraid to even speak to such a formidable Prokhor, but then he asked:


    "Where are we going?"


    "To my house, you will spend the night with me."


    "I''ll spend the night in our apartment. You have your life. Prokhor, please, no need. I do not want to bother you."


    "If you say that again, I will really be offended by you. When will a normal guy trade a woman for a friend? Here you are silent - and be silent, you will go to me!"


    A tall and incredibly beautiful girl opened the door to Prokhor''s apartment. Kai wanted to ask about Masha, but fell silent, realizing that another had taken her place.


    "And when does Prokhor have time?"


    Masha was also a beauty, but this one ... Then already in the kitchen, when this beauty, whose name was Galya, served them food and cut bread, Kai thought that such girls should sit on the throne, and not wash plates in the kitchen. She was so pretty that it seemed strange to see her in an ordinary apartment.


    Seeing Kai''s admiring glances at his choice, Prokhor proudly declared when Galya left, so as not to interfere with their conversations:


    "What, have you appreciated my choice? Is she good?"


    "Yes, I only saw such girls on TV," Kai answered honestly.


    "So, I liked her too," Prokhor laughed. "I know that you want to ask about Masha. I''m tired of Masha, so I''ve decided to change the blonde for a brown-haired woman for a change."


    Kai didn¡¯t quite understand how a living person could be identified only by hair color. After all, there must be something more, but, looking at Prokhor, he did not talk about it.


    They again switched to the sad theme of his life. Prokhor found out that his friend had only a few days, and then he left for a training camp, where he would continue his studies. But Kai agreed that on occasion he would be allowed to return to Moscow and see Prokhor. In the future, he would have regular trips to combat points for training, and then in general he would be sent to some country for several months to learn the art of combat. In general, his future was bleak.


    At the end of the conversation, Kai hesitated, realizing that he needed to ask Prokhor this, but he did not know how.


    "So, come on, lay it out," Prokhor saw his confusion. "What did you want to ask? I can see from you."


    "Well, I want to ask ... you are older ... more experienced ... I still do not quite understand everything ... they said there that if I had not agreed, then after they would have killed everyone, they would not kill me, but they would use me until my death. What did they mean?"


    Prokhor listened to all this in horror, realizing how bad his friend was, and when he heard the final phrase from his lips, he realized how much Kai was still a child. He looked at him. Perhaps now, after this question, Prokhor first looked at his friend a little differently and realized that his friend was becoming very beautiful for those who love it. Prokhor immediately understood what was at stake. But all these years he perceived Kai as a child, a younger brother, a best friend. And now ... Yes, men would like his friend - he was so refined, slender, flexible, such lips, cheekbones, hair, and huge eyes.


    "Prokhor, what ... why are you looking at me like that?" Kai scaredly moved away from the kitchen table.


    "You are still quite a child, "said Prokhor in a strange voice. "Let me explain to you later what they meant. Ok? Go to sleep now."


    Kai didn''t ask anymore, he got up and left the kitchen.


    And Prokhor watched his soft feline movements, how he, without suspecting it, gracefully put his hand on the table, leaning against it and arching, slipped between the table and the door, and, as smoothly and easily stepping on the parquet, left.


    "Oh shit! Bitches! Beasts!" Prokhor in impotent rage twisted in half.


    He understood what they were talking about. And he just looked at Kai - the way others saw him.


    Prokhor never understood this. Although he was calm when his mobsters were used to bugger the guy, passing him round. Prokhor was neither attracted nor excited by this. He perceived this as one of the methods of forceful influence, very convincing, and intelligible. He never took Kai to such events and forbade the guys to discuss it with him, believing that his friend is still small and it is too early for him to know this side of life. But now Prokhor realized that he had to show him this too. He, like an older brother, had explained everything and showed him, taking custody of him. So the time came for him to see what other guys do with guys.

 Chapter 6

    Prokhor phoned the guys, explained the essence of the event and, most importantly, what it was for. Kai had faced a different, already adult life, where Prokhor and all of them would not be around to protect and patronize him. Therefore, his friend had to see it. After all, anything could be. He must understand this and know what men mean by saying this to him.


    The mobsters understood everything and said that they would organize such entertainment by tomorrow evening. Moreover, there was one contender - a tent holder who behaved too bold did not understand their hints of cooperation. On top of that, he decided to hand them over to the authorities, dashed off the application. Well in this department they had their people - they warned them. So with this fag*t they decided to do as he deserved.


    The next day Kai spent in their shared apartment with the boys. He distracted himself from sad thoughts by participating in general conversations, watching TV, and playing on a computer.


    In the evening Prokhor said that he needed to go somewhere. Kai, as always, went with him without question. They drove for a long time - it was the Moscow region, around there was an abandoned construction site, fences, trees, dilapidated buildings.


    Arriving, everyone went inside one of the buildings, went up to the second floor. They went into the room. There was a chair and, just in the distance, a table. The room was bright enough, a small chandelier was burning on the ceiling, miraculously preserved in this devastation.


    Prokhor turned to Kai.


    "Do you trust me?" he asked in a strange voice.


    "Of course," Kai looked around, not understanding Prokhor''s question.


    "No, look at me. Do you trust me completely?"


    "Yes," he looked into his eyes.


    "Can you do what I''ll ask you without questions?


    "Yes," Kai said firmly.


    "Ok. Please sit on that chair."


    Kai walked over to the chair and sat down on it, realizing that the iron chair was welded to the protruding reinforcement from the floor.


    "I will now put handcuffs on your hands and chained you to this chair. This is my request, let me do it."


    Kai looked in surprise at Prokhor, then at the brothers standing in the room.


    "Okay," he breathed.


    Prokhor saw the unhappy face of his friend, stopped, knelt next to him.


    "Just trust me. With you nothing will happen," Prokhor fastened the handcuff on his wrist, then on the second. "You fight too well. I don''t want to fight you, and the guys don''t. Do you understand?"


    Kai realized that now his hands were on the armrests of the chair, handcuffed. Prokhor continued:


    "Do you remember, you asked a question yesterday? I said that I would answer it later. Now, I want you to see this. You should see what could be ... you know; no one is immune from this ... you should know how it happens. So just watch."


    Kai looked blankly at Prokhor, then turned his head towards the noise. Two guys dragged a guy of about twenty-five into the room. He resisted, tried to break free. He was thrown into the center of the circle.


    The bros brought vodka and snacks. They began to drink directly from the bottle, passing it to each other and eating cucumbers, which they took out of the jar with their fingers. The loaf of the sausage was broken off and also passed in a circle.


    The frightened guy was looking around hauntedly. Since he was in the center of the circle, Kai realized that the lighting was positioned so that he could not see him and Prokhor standing next to him.


    Then the already tipsy mobsters began to approach the guy who tried to run, but he was grabbed, and then Kai saw that they were not hitting him as he expected, they were pawing him - everywhere, everything. They even started kissing, holding the chin, then they began to tear off his clothes.


    Kai jerked and remembered that he was tightly chained to a chair.


    "Prokhor, why are you doing this to him?"


    "You''ve said you believe me. So trust as you''ve promised," Prokhor replied indifferently. He had seen enough of such scenes, which was now unfolding in front of him, and it did not impress him.


    Despite all the resistance of the guy, he was completely stripped, continuing to paw and kiss. He fought back and tried to scream. But one of the mobsters, holding his throat, began to speak something in his ear. The guy squeaked and then nodded his head in dismay. Then the mobster let go of the guy and pushed him down. He fell to his knees in front of him. Brother unbuttoned his pants and took out an already excited member. The guy hesitated and then took it into his mouth. The mobster grabbed the guy by the hair and told him the rhythm of the movement, then thrusting him onto the penis, then removing him. The guy gasped, tears rolled from his eyes, but he sucked, and then swallowed what was in his mouth.


    Without even letting him catch his breath, the next member appeared in the guy''s mouth and everything repeated, and so on and on again.


    Kai tried to twitch again, but the chair didn''t even move. Now he could not look at Prokhor, he only felt his presence behind him. He began to feel sick from what was happening in front of him.


    When he thought that this was all, it turned out that this was only the beginning. Another bro, the biggest of all - everyone jokingly called him a thug - pushed the guy standing in front of him on his knees, removing his mouth from the penis, and, roughly lifting him, threw him on the table with his stomach. Several people immediately grabbed the victim''s hands and stretched him with an asterisk on the table.


    Kai saw in horror what they were going to do next.


    "Prokhor, no need, please. Enough!"


    "Do you believe me?" Prokhor put his hand on the shoulder of Kai, who continued to twitch in the chair and pressed him into this chair. "Sit and watch," he said in a cold voice.


    At this moment, after dirty comments and poking fingers into the guy''s anus, the thug put his penis to his anus, which then pushed it into him with a swing. The guy screamed. The thug began to move, sharply, rigidly, picking up the pace. The guy screamed and cried. After a few minutes, the bully bent over, growled, froze, and then walked out of him. Kai saw the white-red sperm flow from the half-open hole of that one. Immediately the place of the thug was taken by the next, then another.


    "Prokhor, that''s enough. Please," Kai lowered his head and closed his eyes, and immediately felt that he was pulled sharply by the hair, lifting his head.


    "If you don¡¯t look at it, there will be another tomorrow, and so on until you finish the whole show. Do you get it?" Kai did not recognize the voice of Prokhor - now it was the voice of a stranger, harsh and merciless.


    "I''ll watch," he said.


    Prokhor let go of his hair, continuing to watch so that Kai did not close his eyes.


    The guy was turned over on his back, he was already weakly resisting and did not even shout, but only sobbed. The next few people f*cked him as he lay on his back with his legs raised and resting on his shoulders.


    Then they took him off the table and f*cked him, supporting him under his stomach. One entered him from behind, the other - from the front into the mouth. Then they f*cked with two dicks - two in the anus, two in the mouth in turn. The guy was gasping for breath, saliva flowed from his mouth, and bloody semen flowed down the inside of his thigh. He was already like a weak-willed doll - he did not resist. He was twisted, turned, inserted - he accepted.


    Now his face, body, thighs, and buttocks were in white and red stains. Then a brown ooze poured from his bottom.


    "Oh, shit," one of the bros swore, getting his dick dirty in it. "It was necessary to wash the fag*t before that."


    The guy was thrown, he was lying on the floor, his knees pulled up to his chin. Red-brown ooze continued to flow from the torn-up ass.


    "That''s enough, guys. We''ve played enough, " summed up the thug, walked up, and inserted an almost entirely empty bottle of vodka into the guy''s torn ass.


    Prokhor realized that Kai had lost consciousness. Others saw it too.


    "The latter was unnecessary," Prokhor threw angrily over his shoulder, unbuttoning the handcuffs on Kai and looking worriedly at his pale face.


    "You''ve asked him to see how it happens," the bully said in confusion. "Let me carry him to the car."


    The thug went up to Kai and, easily lifting him in his arms, carried him to the exit.


    "Does he eat anything at all? I don¡¯t feel his weight at all," the thug said puzzled, walking past the bros with Kai hanging lifelessly in his arms.


    "Eats. You carry him carefully," Prokhor said angrily, seeing the state of his friend.


    In the fresh air, Kai came to his senses, opened his eyes, and saw what was in the hands of the thug. He screamed, pushed himself off, fell out of his hands, and began to crawl away. The thug froze, guys too. Prokhor ran up to him.


    "Kai, it''s me, you hear, it''s okay," he grabbed him and hugged him. Then he helped him up. He looked closely into his pale face, "How are you?"


    "Nauseous," Kai pushed Prokhor aside and, staggering, walked away to a pile of broken brick, where he started to vomit.


    He felt sick for a long time. He had not eaten as much as he vomited. Prokhor stood next to with a bottle of water, the others smoked in silence. After that, they also got into the cars in silence.


    Prokhor again took Kai into his apartment. That night, Kai slept, waking up from nightmares and memories of what he had seen. Prokhor several times ran to him, hearing his cries, gave him tea, hot milk, then some kind of sedative. He scolded himself for driving his friend to this. He did not realize that his friend was so impressionable, thinking that life had already tempered him. But he realized that he was mistaken - Kai was pure in soul and consciousness, and therefore everything was given to him so hard - and here he arranged a demonstrative training, although Kai should know this anyway, Prokhor convinced himself of this.


    He was sitting on the bed of his friend, who had finally fallen asleep after the medicine, looked at his face, illuminated by the dim light of the nightlight, and thought that more than anything in the world he would like to protect him from the cruel world into which he would fall, but this was no longer his authorities.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    The next morning, having arrived at the guys'' apartment, Kai shied away from everyone and, finally, huddled in a corner, sat there with his feet on the couch, and played a game. Prokhor threw worried glances at him. The guys did the same, and besides, they learned from Prokhor that for half the night he was giving him sedatives.


    Finally, Prokhor went up to him.


    "Are you going to sit there now?"


    "I''m just playing. Do you need me now?"


    "We always need you. Are you now not with us after yesterday''s case?"


    Kai was silent, he was tormented by a question to Prokhor.


    "I want to ask you. Prokhor, do you also do this with those who need to be punished?"


    Prokhor considered the question, then in a cold, indifferent tone, looking at Kai, said:


    "Yes, I do. Everything that you saw yesterday, I am doing too," the bros looked at Prokhor in surprise but kept silent. "Now you know everything. You have the right to drop such a friend."


    Kai studied his face intently.


    "Prokhor, you will always be my friend, I will always accept everything you do. I don''t care what you are. You are my friend."


    Inside, Prokhor ached painfully, he stood, shocked by what he heard, then sat down next to Kai on the sofa, hugged him, pressing the friend to himself.


    "I lied. I''ve never done this. Not out of pity, you should understand this, and not out of humane feelings. My dick doesn''t erect at guys. Even if I''m drunk. Even when the guy takes it into his mouth. It doesn''t turn me on, you know? It''s just not mine. That''s all," then he hugged Kai to him again. "Thanks for not disowning me. You are my only true friend."


    Kai''s eyes shone with joy. Yes, he would have accepted any Prokhor, but he was pleased to know that Prokhor was not doing what he had seen yesterday.


    "Are we making peace? Will you forgive the boys for what they do? By the way, that guy will be fine. He''s in the hospital now. Nothing is wrong. In a couple of weeks, the ass will not hurt - and everything will pass," Prokhor said ordinarily.


    "It''s good that the guy is okay ... I didn''t take offense at anyone, the thug just scared me, I didn''t expect to see him after everything," the guys laughed, remembering how Kai screamed, breaking free from the thug. "I have one more question ... Do I have to do it to be with you?"


    "No, only at will," answered Prokhor.


    Kai exhaled and smiled.


    "Well, more," Prokhor paused. "You must know this and understand," he paused again. "You are going there, you will be there alone ... anything can be, you know? Of course, you can stand up for yourself, but it happens that you can''t cope with everyone. So, know: if something like this happens to you - just without stupidity! You understood me?! Look at me, at the guys - we will accept anyone, no matter what happens. Remember this. No one will condemn and blame and, moreover, consider that after that you became a bugger. In short, you must know that no matter what happens, return to us. We will all wait for you, and I will wait!"


    "Thank you, Prokhor. I''ve understood you¡­"


    The bros, also looking at Kai, had long noticed what he was becoming. They knew that he was a real kid, and how he fought, he was cooler than all of them put together, but his appearance ... They also saw it. What kind of person he was, people liked him, they looked at Kai - they looked when he was on the street, was with them in a restaurant, when he was with them at meetings. The bros saw this and saw that Kai did not notice this, did not understand. They protected him, fenced off this side of life. But now they won''t be able to. It was also hard and painful for them to understand this.


    Prokhor decided to change the subject.


    "For today evening there is another program," said Prokhor cheerfully, seeing that the word "evening" Kai had already tensed. "We will invite the girls; we will have booze!"


    "Prokhor," Kai became serious. "I need to go to another place for a day now. To Father Nikolai. I''ve already called him; he is waiting for me. Don''t be offended, okay? I really need it now."


    "OK. The guys will take you and you¡¯ll tell them when to pick you up, they will come for you."


    "Thank you."


    ***


    Father Nikolai was waiting for him. Together they went into the church, stood for a long time in front of the icons - they prayed. Then he took Kai to the refectory, where the novices of the monastery served a modest evening meal. He ate with gusto. Only here, in the church, he liked the food. It was so amazingly delicious. He ate lean buckwheat, almost licked the plate, and restrained himself in time. He saw Father Nikolai''s smile from under his gray mustache.


    "Maybe some more?"


    "No," Kai controlled himself, suppressing his carnal desires.


    In the evening they talked a lot, or rather, he said, and Father Nikolai listened to him and only then spoke.


    "Do you know what your name means? The name Kai means a predisposition to the life of an ascetic. And an ascetic is a person who is capable of sacrifice not even for the sake of some lofty goal, but simply because "he can afford it" - to be out of personal happiness for the sake of another person''s happiness. In the life of an ascetic, there must be someone at whose feet the whole world can be thrown, otherwise, life will not make sense, " Father Nikolai paused, letting him comprehend what was said. "This is your name, my boy. You''ve given up yourself for the happiness of your family, for the life of your friend... Accept everything that God sends you, and remember: He never gives beyond your strength. Everything that will happen to you, you will endure everything and come out of it as a winner. Accept trials with dignity and believe that He loves you and will preserve your soul..."


    That night, lying in a common cell with the novices, Kai could not sleep, thinking about the conversation with Father Nikolai - about God, about faith.


    His family treated faith strangely: on the one hand, everyone believed and regularly attended church, on the other hand, they treated it as a certain tribute to traditions. Kai felt that in their souls there was not that deep faith, sincerity, feelings.


    Even the name of their last child was not given an Orthodox one. The father insisted on this name. He could not forgive him the health of his wife, undermined by his birth, and insisted on this name. Then, when Kai was baptized, he was baptized under a different name, but he never learned that name. The father did not tell him and forbade his mother to do it. Kai resigned himself to this. Let it be so because the main thing was that he sincerely believed because this was the main thing.


    When he was very small, he was afraid of the wrath of God and treated God like a stern parent who punishes all wrongdoings. Then faith faded into the background in his life. There was studying, friends, entering adulthood. He remembered the faith, but not so often, although his confessor, Father Nikolai, regularly asked to bring Kai to him for spiritual talks. His parents were happy about this, but during this period of his life, he did not particularly need spiritual support. Only now, when his life dealt such a blow to him, he remembered that in his life there was a person who sincerely treated him and always helped him with advice and support - this was Father Nikolai.


    The time spent within the walls of the monastery in prayer and conversations with Father Nikolai gave him a lot. And now, lying on the sand and looking at the starry sky, Kai read prayers, those that he remembered, and it became easier for him, he recalled the words of Father Nikolai, their last conversation. He accepted everything that happened in his life as a test, knowing, or rather, believing that he would overcome everything ...


    Even when he was sent for three months to a remote, closed Tibetan monastery, where they made a warrior out of him. He remembered the hell he went through inhuman conditions, food slop, and constant pain from impacts. They beat him with sticks. He was also given a stick for protection, and then there were no rules. He, half-naked, in some remnants of torn clothes, all sticky with sweat and blood, tried to survive there. There were also training sessions, which showed methods and techniques, but then such training grew into a battle and Kai had to fight off one, two, three, ten, or more opponents. And when he got a spill and fell into oblivion, he came to himself from the cold water that was poured over him and again continued the fight. Then there, lying on the dirty floor in his urine and vomit, covered with flies that constantly sat down on his wounds, he recalled the words of the prayer and read it. And the strength returned, he continued to live, withstood, and he survived. There he discovered some strange ability to practically not sleep, or rather, to sleep, but at the same time to hear and control everything around. There, he acquired incredible flexibility, stamina, and superhuman survival abilities. There he acquired such a fighting technique, which later saved his life. But all this later, and then he survived, forcing himself to eat this stinking slop, forcing him to get up and continue to fight with those who attacked. He did not break, he did not ask for mercy, he passed it.


    However, then he was treated for another three months in a closed hospital, restoring the repulsed internal organs and their vital functions. His body was young, he coped with it.


    But after the hospital, he was given two weeks to recover and allowed to go to Moscow. Kai understood that he was not expected at home. He knew that his mother was discharged from the hospital and was recovering at home. And he also knew that everyone lived quite happily without him, so as not to destroy this idyll, he decided that he would not go home. This was no longer his home. Although it was very painful for him to realize it. The house in which he grew up, his room, library, his Japanese teacher - how he wanted to see all this now. His soul was eager to go there, to his native walls, to his relatives. But there he was not expected, he clenched his fists painfully, forcing himself to overcome this desire.


    Kai went to Prokhor. He called, the door was opened. It was a thug who froze, and then, screaming, rushed to hug Kai, who almost suffocated from his embrace.


    The thug dragged him into the apartment, where the others came running to the noise and literally stuck to him. Then everyone parted, Kai saw Prokhor, they hugged. Prokhor put his hand on his shoulder and led him into their living room.


    "You have changed somehow," Prokhor said thoughtfully, looking at Kai.


    Prokhor did not say that Kai had become even more attractive - that golden tan, more adult look, his eyes ... even more, plastic movements ...


    Kai sat down gracefully on the sofa and lit a cigarette, pulling the ashtray towards him.


    "How are you, my friend? Are you okay?" anxiety was heard in Prokhor''s voice.


    "What worries you? Was I fucked or not?" Kai snapped angrily, then broke off, his voice softened. "I''m sorry, it is nerves."


    "I am not offended. You, apparently, have not been easy there all this time."


    "Yes. At first, there were several sorties to shoot in war zones. You know, now I calmly kill people. So if you need to, contact me," Prokhor said nothing to this attack. "And then they sent me to study ... they had been teaching me for three months ... then they had been treating me for another three months, although they didn''t give me time to feel pain - they loaded me with theory.


    "What happened to you?" Prokhor sat down opposite Kai in a chair.


    "Nothing fatal, so, they beat off everything possible, but the doctors said that the body was young, everything would be restored. And now, you see - everything is fine. For this, they even have given a vacation - two weeks. Only there is nowhere to go, at home, they hardly want to see me."


    "Should I pour you a drink?"


    The guys brought brandy, light snacks, poured them on to everyone.


    "For the return," Prokhor raised a pony of brandy.


    Kai drank, choked - he had not drunk for a long time, and now the cognac painfully burned his throat.


    "Your home is here. You will live with me this time."


    Prokhor fell silent and fixed Kai with his eye, who lowered his head, the dashing bravado had already left him, and now he felt bad, very bad. Prokhor moved to him and hugged him by the shoulders.


    "I can¡¯t help you, my friend. And it hurts me a lot. It hurts to know what they are doing to you, what you have to come through ... but now I am powerless to change anything ... sorry."


    "I shouldn''t have said all this. Forgive me."


    "Then maybe we just celebrate your return?" Prokhor shook his friend by the shoulders. "Let''s celebrate the occasion. You''ve recovered, haven''t you?"


    "What do you mean?" Kai knew that this glint of Prokhor''s eyes would not lead to anything good.


    "Exactly to that ... you hardly had a woman there during this time, right? Well, confess? Why do you avert your eyes? Now we will organize everything and go to the girls. You need it after all..."


    "Maybe not today? I am now ..."


    "I know - you are not ready, you can''t and all that jazz. You have not changed at all, the same modesty," Prokhor laughed. "So, bros, come on, organize everything for us for today - let''s mark in full!"


    Kai knew resistance was useless. Therefore, he resigned himself to this fate. Indeed, all this time he had no one, and desires did not wake up. He was really not up to that. And in that hell, he generally decided that he had become impotent - so everything was punched. Now he even doubted whether he could fuck, after all.


    But it turned out that he was still alive. Everything worked out: the girls were experienced, Kai was drunk and everything worked out. They had fun for three days. Everyone was having a full blast.


    On the second day, towards evening, when everyone was drinking in a large country mansion, Prokhor put his hand on Kai''s shoulder.


    "Sing, my friend."


    The guys, having heard this, perked up, made a noise. Kai didn''t refuse. He saw Prokhor''s eyes. A friend asked him, he would sing for him and everyone. There was a small stage in the hall where they were sitting at the tables, where musicians were playing and a girl was singing.


    Prokhor called the manager of the establishment and explained that his friend would sing for them. Kai, having quickly talked with the musicians, went on stage. Music started playing, lighting became softer, lights of light appeared, flashing across the stage and hall.


    Kai began to sing. For the first time, he sang for Prokhor in the hall on stage with a real orchestra. Before that, he only sang in their company with a guitar.


    Prokhor did not expect, like everyone else - now they saw him different: his voice, manner of performance, the words of the song, the way he looked harmoniously on stage, such a fragile, beautiful and with such a voice - a silver one.


    Prokhor saw that other visitors to this institution, scattered around the large mansion, flock to the hall to hear the one who was singing. Even the staff, forgetting about everything, froze and stood looking at Kai.


    The boys also listened, one of them took out a lighter, raised a flame, and began to wave his hand to the beat. Everyone else supported it. Now everyone was in one fit, carried away and bewitched by the words of the song:


    "A short evening


    Will turn into a dark night without dreams.


    And again it''s a gray night, and I trust only it.


    You know, gray night, all my secrets."*


    Having finished the song, his voice disappeared into the halls and fell silent ...


    That evening, Kai no longer sang. Prokhor threw admiring glances at him, Kai was embarrassed, and soon he preferred to go to sleep in his room than to listen to more compliments about his singing.


    * Song: "Gray Night"

 Chapter 7

    Returning home, Kai immediately noticed the "shadowing". They were being followed. He and Prokhor were sitting in the back seat of the jeep. Their driver was a young kid, next to whom a thug was sitting. They were followed by two more jeeps with the bros, the rest had left earlier.


    "The shadowing is behind us," said Kai''s voice.


    Prokhor sobered up immediately.


    "Come on. How have you guessed?"


    "Three jeeps are going behind two cars from us all this time."


    "Why were you silent then?"


    "Prokhor, it is your security who should speak, what are you paying them for? I''m starting to worry about how you''ve organized everything here. Speed ??up," Kai put his hand on the driver''s shoulder.


    Now Prokhor realized that they were being chased. And at the railway crossing, they were cut off from the boys in two other jeeps. They simply did not orientate themselves and remained to wait for the train, and the jeep with Prokhor and three "shadowing" jeeps went ahead.


    Though the young driver put on speed, it was not enough.


    "Very slowly, faster," Kai kept in sight the jeeps following them.


    "I can''t go faster," the guy admitted honestly.


    "Well, further there is a turn onto a dirt road. Drive sharply at it, without reducing the speed, then on the branch to the right and press the brakes - we will change places. Prokhor, what about weapons?"


    Prokhor and the thug pulled out their pistols. Kai took them, looked at them, and took the thug''s pistol.


    The driver did everything exactly. Waiting for an abrupt stop, Kai flew out of the door and, crouching down, began to shoot at the wheels of the jeeps rushing towards him. Now, after they left the track for the dirt road, it could be clear even to the "goof" that they were being pursued.


    While Kai was shooting, the driver got to another place, then the lad jumped into the driver''s seat and pressed the gas pedal.


    "Buckle up, everyone," Kai met his eyes with those of Prokhor through the rear-view mirror. "I ask you."


    Prokhor buckled up, however, like everyone else. And everyone saw that one of the pursuers'' jeeps flew into a ditch.


    Kai was driving fast, very fast. He flew off the dirt road onto the main road and soon the car turned into a point. Those still tried to catch up with them, but could not, since Kai regularly drove into the oncoming lane, overtaking along, or flew to the side - then the car was shaking and it flew up on bumps. The pursuers could not stand such a pace of driving. They began to lag. After a while, they broke away from them.


    Kai slowed down so as not to attract the attention of the traffic police, but still very quickly and extremally, in everyone''s opinion, brought the car to their entrance.


    There they got out, he saw that all the passengers were happy to be able to leave the car. Already in their apartment, the thugs and the driver in glaring colors told everyone how Kai drove a car.


    "You¡¯re flying in fighters now," Prokhor said vaguely, not yet moving away from such a trip.


    "Yes, I have to."


    "Tell me, my friend - have we been driving fast or flying low?"


    "We have saved now, and this should not have happened. Prokhor, what the hell is going on at you. Who is it? Do you know them?"


    "These are the features of my work. There will always be those with whom I have interfered. And not to interfere, you yourself understand, I cannot. I think this is from the southern ones - now I have serious issues with them."


    "Then I do not understand why there is no normal security and everything is such rubbish?"


    The security chief of Prokhor turned pale and took a step towards Kai.


    "Did you tell me that?"


    "Sit!" Prokhor commanded him. "And be silent when my friend speaks," then turned to Kai. "Can you offer something specific?"


    "Yes."


    And then Kai for the first time seriously delved into Prokhor''s affairs. He analyzed the organization of security at the moment. He talked to people, finding out their level of training. Then he redistributed who, where, and for what was responsible, swapped people around depending on their skills and abilities.


    For the next two days, he was busy with this.


    On the third day, ten people broke into their apartment. Kai asked Prokhor not to send security on the weekend. But Prokhor did not listen, saying that everyone needed to rest, they were people too. He had left only a couple of people to guard the apartment. The rest went away. However, there were other bros in the apartment, but they drank and these questions did not bother them.


    Apparently, those who needed Prokhor watched the apartment, which was what Kai had assumed. They, taking advantage of the opportunity - the absence of the main guard, knocked down the door and flew inside, laying everyone face down. Only Kai continued to sit quietly on the sofa, cross-legged in Turkish style and watching this picture.


    "Doll, do you not understand what to do?" with a southern accent said the bandit who entered the apartment.


    One of the attackers approached Kai and held out his hand to grab him. Then it all started. Prokhor, who remained sitting in a chair at gunpoint, calmly watched this whole scene of instant combat. Then the bros, raising their heads from the floor, watched what was happening.


    In a split second, Kai knocked out the one who reached out to him, snatched the machine gun, and, already wielding the butt, began to knock out the others. His movements were lightning-fast and precise. Everyone who rushed to him flew off with broken faces or blows in the stomach and for a long time could not catch their breath.


    Finally, the bros were able to seize the moment and, having risen from the floor, help Kai knock out those who were still stirring.


    Seeing that the boys took control of the situation, Kai knocked down the chief and jumped on top of him, holding a knife to his throat. Now everyone froze - looked at them.


    Kai spoke in Arabic, quietly, calmly, but his monotonous voice made everyone afraid.


    The man with southern features lying under him did not even twitch, only gimleted with eyes. Then he began to answer him. Then he fell silent. Kai spoke again and began to drive the knife along the throat of the lying one. The knife cut through the skin, leaving bloody streaks. Kai pressed harder - fear appeared in the bandit''s eyes, he spoke again, Kai interrupted him from time to time, then listened.


    "What do you want me to do with him?" Kai looked at Prokhor.


    "Let him go," Prokhor understood that killing someone in their apartment was not the best option.


    "OK".


    He jumped off the recumbent bandit and returned to the sofa, again sitting in the same position and watching from there as the bros escorted the intruders away.


    "How did you manage to get him to talk?" Prokhor went up to Kai.


    "Do you know who I am? I work for special services - that''s my job."


    "I just saw you different. I even got scared of you ..."


    Kai just smiled sadly.


    "What did you talk about with this?"


    "I asked him questions about you," Kai darkened. " I will now comprehend his answers and then I will tell you, okay?"


    Indeed, then he explained in detail to Prokhor and all the bros who had gathered at the council of the general situation of their destruction, which people hunted them and their goals. Kai managed to learn valuable moments about Prokhor from bandit''s story. They consulted for a long time what to do with this and how to further ensure the safety of Prokhor and everyone.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    In the evening, Prokhor took Kai to his place for the night, saying that all this time he would spend the night with him, and not in a shared apartment. Kai understood that he would offend Prokhor by refusing, so he went.


    In Prokhor''s apartment, another new girl was waiting for them. He was not even surprised by this anymore. Again, she was tall, slender, with legs from teeth, with a Hollywood smile, and very beautiful. Kai froze again, looking at such a "picture". Prokhor was gladdened by this. He liked it when his companions made such an effect on others.


    The dinner was very tasty, despite its beauty and perfect manicure, it turned out that the girl cooked very well, homely, delicious. Kai appreciated this - he ate everything that she had put on the plate.


    Then they drank cognac with Prokhor, as he said, for good sleep, and Kai went to bed, leaving Prokhor with his new one in the kitchen.


    The next days of his short vacation passed without incident. He helped to establish the security service, now, after the raid on the apartment, they listened and heard him.


    The time of his vacation came to an end, after a touching goodbye to everyone, he got into the car sent for him. There he forced himself to remove all feelings, emotions, and thoughts and become only a weak-willed robot - the executor of someone else''s will.


    Half a year later, he found out that Prokhor was taken into custody under the article for murder with a group of persons and he faced up to fifteen years.


    He called Jordan and asked what he should do to prevent Prokhor''s sentence from taking effect. Jordan laughed, humiliated and mocked him, and then said he would call back.


    All this time Kai was actively trained: there was theory and practice. They were also regularly taken out to shoot. He lived in a common barracks. All this hell was brightened up only by Senya and Vadik. After Mishka''s death, they continued to be friends. The guys understood how hard it all was for him, and therefore did not leave him and, if possible, were with him. He was very grateful to them for such support. Thanks to them, they quickly dealt with the hazing and those who had any questions for him. Soon, everyone fell behind him, preferring not to notice his presence. Therefore, Senya and Vadik were the only people with whom he could talk and understand that he was still alive.


    Jordan called back, said that Prokhor could be given two years, it was impossible not to put him into prison - he deeply got into mess. For this, Kai would be sent to Afghan, where he must do everything that he would be ordered from the center. He immediately agreed and asked if he could see Prokhor. Jordan said yes.


    He was brought to a meeting with Prokhor after the trial. They led them down the long gray gloomy corridors. A guard walked ahead. He opened and closed doors behind them. Finally, they entered the room. Prokhor was there. They exchanged glances, waited for the guard to come out and close the door.


    Realizing that now they were alone, Kai stepped to Prokhor, who glared at him.


    "What are you going to have to do for buying me out?" Prokhor realized that it was he who pulled him out of such a prison sentence.


    "Nothing that I have not done. I''m leaving for Afghan," Kai froze, bumping into the hard gaze of his friend.


    Prokhor turned pale.


    "How much?"


    "Forever. They don''t need me here," he saw Prokhor''s lost gaze. "Stop blaming yourself! You have nothing to do with it. We knew that sooner or later this would happen."


    "Yes, we knew, but I caused you to be sent there.


    "I would have been sent there anyway, so good that there is at least some benefit from it."


    "Thank you," Prokhor''s voice trembled. "You know, two years instead of fifteen is very serious. If it were fifteen, I would come out being an old man."


    "It''s good that I am useful for something, after all."


    "Shut up!" Prokhor sharply pulled his friend to him and hugged him. "Do you remember what I promised you? I will become rich, strong and I will have power, then I will take you from them! You hear - I''ll take! Just be patient ... take care of yourself," Prokhor squeezed Kai even more, and then let go.


    Kai sighed heavily. Prokhor, after a pause, continued:


    "Do you remember that conversation, well, when I told you didn''t play the fool if something happened to you? Well, this, you understand ... if suddenly you ..."


    "I remember," Kai looked down in embarrassment.


    "So, I want to tell you again. You, most importantly, remember that you are the only one - you are my friend, I have no one else but you. So I don''t give a shit about everything! The main thing is that you will come back. Do you understand me?"


    "Prokhor, " Kai looked into his eyes. "Why are you talking about this now?"


    "You are becoming very handsome."


    "This is usually said to girls."


    "I''m your friend, so I have to tell you this. Haven''t you noticed the way men look at you?"


    "No ... how?"


    "They like you. Why are you so surprised? They want you - do you understand that?"


    "And you?" burst out from Kai, he regretted it, but it was too late.


    "My dick doesn''t erect at you. Are you smiling? It''s good. But the rest ... In short, remember, I will accept you any, just come back! Got it?"


    "I''ve understood. But you will also be in prison, it happens there too."


    Prokhor smiled.


    "You don''t even have to worry about me. Important people have already put in a word for me. Everyone is warned of my arrival and knows who I am. I''ll get to know the chief mob boss there; he takes me under his wing. In short, I will become his deputy - and in general, there are many necessary people and relationships. You see during this time our gang has become significant in our world, they have appreciated me and want to promote me. In general, we will discuss everything there with the men and decide. Therefore, I will have no time to be bored - I will have to continue building the empire, seizing power!"


    "Wow - great. It''s great that everything will be all right with you there. Otherwise, all these days I felt so bad in my soul, worried about you."


    "What? Did you think, stupid, with me, as with that guy, they would do?"


    "Stop it, Prokhor, I''m just very worried about you."


    "Thank you. But will you be calm now for my two years there?"


    "Yes, I will. Will your gang break up without you?"


    "No. Boris will be here instead of me, you don''t know him yet. He is a normal man - he is hard upon fifty- serious and acts without foolishness. He will manage my business for now. By the way, he also knows about you, it''s a pity that I didn''t have time to introduce you."


    "I am glad that your empire will live while you will be in prison."


    "You know, I''ll get myself a tattoo on my chest, well, as is customary for everyone who was sitting. And do you know what will be written there?"


    Kai looked blankly at Prokhor.


    "I will write there: "My friend forever - Kai!" And a skull with bones."


    "Prokhor, please, not the skull!" he smiled after he imagined it.


    "Do you want two doves and a heart?"


    "No! Tattoo something else. Do you promise?"


    "I promise!"


    Kai understood that this was the end - now they would say goodbye and this was forever, he became sad.


    "Well, that'' all, bro, let''s say goodbye," - Prokhor was still on the wave of a positive tattoo. He pulled him in and hugged him, it was rather formal, like an ordinary parting.


    Everything in Kai''s soul was cut short, bleeding, he felt so lonely and scared because now he would go out this door and remain all alone in this world. He clasped Prokhor''s back with his hands and grabbed his jacket with his fingers, pressing his whole body against him. It turned out so childishly naive and pure. Prokhor froze, then realized that his eyes were filled with tears.


    "It''s so good that Kai doesn''t see this," he thought, and hugged him, pressing tightly.


    Kai stopped breathing, only his fingers gripped the fabric of his friend''s jacket. He heard Prokhor''s heartbeat.


    The bolt on the door creaked and opened with a metallic clang. A guard appeared at the door.


    "You have to go," said an indifferent voice.


    Kai''s breath caught in his powerlessness to change anything. Prokhor raised his eyes, not allowing tears to roll down his cheeks. He pushed Kai away from himself, ran his hand through his hair, and kissed his forehead like a father.


    "You are still a child," he whispered. "Take care of yourself and remember: everything will be fine. I promise. Do you believe me?"


    "Yes," Kai replied just as quietly.


    Prokhor abruptly pulled back and was grateful to his friend for simply turning around and leaving this room, and not looking into his eyes, from which tears rolled down when the iron door closed behind him.


    Kai walked down the corridor, hearing the grinding of doors being closed. He understood that this was the end - the end of his childhood, the end of his life, where Prokhor was, their apartment, and their gang of boys. He was in pain, insanely hurt, but when he went out into the street and the last door closed behind him, and Jordan was standing in front of the entrance next to a black Merc and his bullies at the jeeps, Kai became indifferent. He simply became a robot, a puppet in the hands of others, without thoughts, desires, and feelings. He became what they wanted him to be - a killing machine.


    ***


    Afghanistan was hell on earth. Kai did not know why he had already gone to hell. It seemed that in his short young life he had not yet managed to sin so much - so why was he already in hell?


    There was sun, heat, dust, and death.


    During the year spent here, he only saw death. It was everywhere. And he lived, just lived, removing all feelings, thoughts, sensations. He stopped feeling the taste of food, the taste of life. He stopped feeling...


    He died, he became a robot, a machine - it was easier this way, he could survive.


    One of the advantages of his work was the apartment that was allocated to him.


    The entire command staff of the garrison had such apartments.


    He furnished the apartment to his taste, throwing out all the state furniture from there. He still had vomit memories of life in the barracks. Thanks to his efforts the apartment was like a normal home. Now he had money, a lot of money that he had nowhere to spend. They paid well for his service, plus Prokhor opened an account for him and his share went there from their "affairs". And besides, there was ransom from parents. According to the will of his deceased grandfather, whom he had not even seen, his father was obliged to give him a certain amount of their family capital, distributing it among all his children. Maybe his father did not want to do this, but everything was spelled out and legally fixed. Kai understood that he was rich, but why did he need this money?


    He considered the main advantage of his stay here that he was not harassed with military discipline. He was in a privileged position here, many were annoyed by this, but he didn''t care.


    The head of the garrison, Pyotr Ivanovich, and among the people just a daddy, received clear command instructions regarding Kai. Therefore, they turned a blind eye to his discipline. But the most important advantage in his entire elite stay here, Kai believed that he was allowed not to cut his hair short, as it should be according to the charter. Those short haircuts - they drove him mad. Now he could afford a flyaway hairstyle. His hair was long at the top with curly locks falling over his eyes and cropped at the lowest part.


    Everyone was already used to Kai''s appearance, and his strange position - he seemed to obey, but he seemed to be on his own.


    There had been many things that year. There was a war, blood, minor wounds, and captivity by Mujahideen, which he did not even want to remember now. There he was beaten, beaten, and beaten. Then they tortured him. He held on, and when they thought he was dead, he fled.


    ***


    Kai woke up from painful memories - again it was a hot day, the sun, sand - a desert. A breeze was rising - a sandstorm began.


    "I''ll have to get on the plane," he thought.


    It was incredibly hot on the plane, but had to endure, as the wind intensified, raising the sand.


    In this stuffiness, Kai fell asleep again ...</a>