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THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 41
“Vulture,” hissed the Fox, trying to control the pain and keep outwardly impregnable. - Scavenger!For some reason, the legs themselves began to measure the distance between the walls of the tent, the voice became more insinuating, and the posture was proud.- Grave thief. "The dead don't need treasures," is that what you said?From the sudden change of image, the weirdo stared at the Fox with a glazed look, dropping a chicken leg from his hand. When the girl took a step towards him, he jumped back with a squeal, as if he expected her to at least punish him.He left his family to die of hunger. And he spent the loot on good food, corrupt women, booze and gambling! - with a venomous grin, the Fox looked at him carefully, considering him for the first time, not as a terrible creature, but as an image invented by the Man for punishment. With a smooth gait, she slowly approached him. - It's a good mask! Ideal for you. Do you justify yourself at night while everyone is sleeping? Do you kee
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 42
The wrists are tied with a tight clothesline. Again the same nightmare about drowning in the bathroom. Doomedly I press my cheek to the edge of the tub. The real world is not much better than the world of my nightmares. There is no desire to fight. I'll just wait until it's over and maybe wake up.A middle-aged woman with a dry, unkind face appears. Now she reminds me a little of Claudia. I involuntarily begin to fidget, lips whispering the words assigned to the role of this victim. It's probably a good thing that I see the nightmares from the faces of the victims. If I were in the role of maniacs, I would quickly go crazy. Perhaps my subconscious is saving me this way, rearranging the roles.– So it is necessary, the sun, – hands fall on my shoulders.I close my eyes. Now everything will end.However…A sharp jerk down under the water, which has become unpleasantly cold. The wrists are untied. I can control my body without being shackled by chains or a nightmare scenario.Around the
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 43
But the main action takes place not in the heat of battle. A grown-up girl with aquamarine eyes stands in front of a man. She is again out of place in a formal dress. The girl herself is disheveled and exhausted. The man is completely in his element. Predator movements, imperious voice, seductive notes. There is an offer to join the Circus in exchange for saving everyone else. Yes, the years go by, but the methods do not change. Again, dirty blackmail and a game on the girl's nerves. However, boldly looking into the slits of the Mask, she refuses.- What a disappointment! - despite the image of the imperturbable Dark Lord, the refusal responds with a painful prick.Then, having taken the disagreement to heart, the Man makes an even more obscene proposal to the accompaniment of the increased screams of the girl's friends.“You will live your worthless life and after death you will join us as a freak!” Choose or all your friends will die! - a wave of burning hatred becomes a bold allusi
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 44
- No, nothing like that. On the contrary, he became friendly . He helped with Mary and Dary, talked to me without a clear desire to bury my body under the Hellebore as soon as possible, - Alice answered, feeling a strange desire to straighten her hair and check whether everything was beautiful with her face.She was careful not to lie in the hope that honest answers would convince the Man not to violate her personal space.- Interesting. I have nothing to do with this. This is your job, young Witch! he smiled slyly. "Do you want to confess something to me?"- I touched him yesterday, or rather he me ... it doesn’t matter. I saw his memory. But not like yours. Only pictures, fragments, like a mosaic. Now I barely remember what I saw yesterday, - Fox caught herself in an unexpected phenomenon. - But yesterday I told him in full who he is and what he deserves.“You shouldn’t be ashamed of this,” looking at the girl blushing with shame, the Man seemed pleased, like the cat that got to the
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 45
V The second night repeated exactly its predecessor. The beginning nightmare, this time with a lobotomy, instantly ended with a dash through the ice barrier, after which, with the Mask of the Man on her knees, Alice found herself alone in a clearing under the stars. In this realm of dreamless sleep, she mentally tried to tame the memory of others still spontaneously surfacing in her head.However, attempts to curb foreign memories led to the opposite results. Awakening Lis met in a broken state. The man was not in the tent again. Spots danced before her eyes, turning into another frightening scene from his life when she closed her eyes for more than a second. With difficulty, she forced herself to stand up. Every step, every movement seemed like an incredible feat based on overcoming oneself.“Apparently, this is how my stay at the Circus will alternate: either everything is fine, or immediately very bad! - Through the hum of voices from someone else's memory, she thought, putting her
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 46
"I hope you're happy!" she thought angrily, pressing her back against his back. For mutual convenience, the Man chose a chair without a back.“Try practicing voice suppression. At their core, they are just a part of obsessive memories, like a melody that eats into the mind and does not want to leave! he suggested, feeling her displeased fuss on his back.“It’s like I became part of the Siamese twins!” Lis muttered. – But you can rejoice, Man, even in theory I won’t be able to plan something against you!"You didn't mean to!" he replied mockingly.“I didn’t mean to, but now I won’t!” she nodded. - What will happen in the evening?“You will see how the Circus really works. What happened yesterday is just an attempt to play for time. Decades drag on. It makes no sense to give a show every day, and you have to look after other candidates for a long time, ”she visibly tensed. The man gently nudged her with his elbow. “Today all you have to do is look carefully and describe everything you s
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 47
The fingers blocking the view parted slightly, and something could be dimly seen in the gap between them. The fox strained her eyes with all her might, involuntarily moving her head. Finally, the eyes caught the man's face. His gaze was worried. The lips are compressed into a thread, the movement of the facial muscles is visible on the jaw. The eyes are sad. Almost like the day when ...The girl staggered in the Headmaster's arms, momentarily limp like a doll. His hands instantly moved to her shoulders, carefully supporting her in an upright position.- Devil! she breathed involuntarily.- One day I will start to punish you for bad words! the Man promised in a hot whisper with a smile. – What did you see?“He…” Alice shook her head, pushing away the vision. He was a teacher, I think. Worked with young children. He was expelled from his hometown. Friends and family turned their backs on him. He was accused of seducing the little five-year-old daughter of his friend. She said that he to
THE MYSTERY CITY CHAPTER 48
“Something is happening. Perhaps right now! - Tapping her fingers on the back of the sofa, she thought, looking into the darkness behind which was the dome of the tent. - Think, Alice, do you need it? The revealed secrets have two problems. Having learned something unpleasant, it is no longer forgotten. But, even worse, the revealed secret often has to be buried in a mass grave along with all the witnesses!”Unable to stand it, she got up from the sofa, put on her shoes and went out into the night.“I didn’t promise that I would obediently sleep! Maybe I'm a lunatic? she mentally justified herself as she quietly paced between the tents.The circus looked like it was asleep. No extra movement, no noise. Everything is quiet. The serenity of the night began to hint that it was time for the Fox to return to the sofa, as it was not at the right time, the memory helpfully reproduced the words of the Man regarding the tent-stage:" You don't have to go there! »“I was already there at night.