UNDERGROUND

129

Victor lowered the curtain and left the room at once into the cramped hallway. The front door was closed with a chain. He touched the dusty leatherette, looked through the peephole. Through the twilight, the doors and a piece of the wall covered with a marker were barely visible. Victor took off the chain, turned the latch of the lock and left the apartment. Going down the stairs, which were lit by dim bulbs, across the floor, he smelled urine and sweet decay - quite expected for such an entourage, but he had a feeling of unnaturalness of what was happening. This place was clearly not what it seemed to be.

Nevertheless, when he stepped out into the yard, he felt a completely natural cold, with tingling in his nose and icy jets of air, but still something prevented him from fully feeling the street. Perhaps this dense, hopeless darkness overhead.

A well-visible figure on the second floor flashed before my eyes.

- Hey little one! Viktor screamed. – Do you hear?!

Victor ran, drowning in