Notes of a madman

#4. The world that will soon be covered by darkness ...

— Mary! Peter...—I didn't catch up with no one. 

 When I was outside, the situation changed. Mary told me in the car that these places are "wandering" - meaning that at certain times they spontaneously disappear in one place and appear in another. 

It doesn't have to be the same time-Mindless can appear in the second place without immediately disappearing in the first.

 Our world is surely doomed. But I don't want to put up with it. 

People like me have the strength to fight.

 Now the situation is one that could be labeled "at least cry"-I can feel the wet leaves scratching my legs even through my jeans, the medallion with the photo of my family tapping a nervous rhythm on the badge on my chest. And the only type of lighting I have is my own hands. And somewhere in the distance, car headlights flash like some unattainable star..  

 Road is not as far away as I first thought. Her canvas is beaten by time. 

The old road so I did not come across... Where am I anyway? 

There was a sharp stone under my foot, cutting through the sole of my sneaker and the leather. As I fell on the small stones, I felt my foot begin to burn. 

Gina, my love, I would like to be near you more than anything in the world... 

Stupid thought occurred to my brain and I started laughing hysterically. What if Mary and Peter managed to escape before this place moved on to another point? Haha, this is going to be really bad! Haha, it will be even worse if I split into two halves! 

Stop, you need to stop laughing... Laughing for no reason doesn't do any good... 

Limping, I ran to the edge of the road and waved my arms. Maybe this will attract the attention of someone... 

Huge truck whizzes past me. My father and I used to hang out in a similar Peter Bilt to escape the Mindless monsters... I don't want to think about what it cost me to save his soul... No one damn car stops. I don't even ask for a ride, I just want to know where I am!! I put my face under the raindrops. I stand there for a while, startled by the screech of brakes. — This one seems to be alive! Well, finally, I'm tired of eating one rotten people...—two men got out of the car. 

 I recognized these Baal brats: The tall, skinny one is giggling Joe, who, according to Mary's notes, became a monster after the lobotomy, and the other, fat and heavily muscled, is Ironteeth, an cannibal during his lifetime. This nickname stuck to him because of the sharpened titanium jaws. 

 Fear always gives you the strength to run, I learned this from my own experience. I was running as fast as I could, as if I wasn't injured and didn't have any pain right now. Raindrops slap my face, and all I can think is, faster, faster...  

 Falling, I'm clutching at a broken branch and it hit in the face Ironteeth. I wish I could have knocked my jaw out... 

 His teeth are digging into my thigh, this pulling and stabbing pain is spreading all over my body... HE'S CHEWING ON MY THIGH!!!!!! And I can't do anything right now... 

There's a vague whiff of salvation ... 

Bullets are whistling and the wild ones are falling. 

I roll over and look up. 

— Toooooooom!!!—I shout with joy. 

For the first time, my salvation was a powerful man driving an ambulance! 

— How long will you think?—Tom grabs my arm and pulls me into his transport with one left hand. 

— I know it would be very stupid to ask, how did you get here?—I fumble with the lock on the heavy first-aid kit and tear open the fabric of the bag. My strength still surprises me... 

— I have a similar question arises!—I can tell by the sound of a good new engine that it just hit someone. Tom hadn't changed much, and now he had a demon-like tattoo on his shaved head. Pentagrams, pentagrams... Strange tangles! Probably not just for beauty... 

— We were looking for Perez! And so...—I grab the flashlight, turn it on, and point it at my face. I want him to see my white, bleeding eyes... 

— Yeah... As always, you look beautiful. Now I understand why you are popular with girls! Where did you get such beauty?—Tom joked, without changing the tone of his voice. 

— Perez said I'm a demon. Although his eyes are even scarier than mine...  What is this??—I felt my knees tremble with horror. 

An old woman stood in the road, pitted with sores. Her slimy body was visible through the rotten robe. She had a drill in one hand and a leash in the other, dragging a man's head along the ground. Her ugliness was stressed by her crazy. Some of the holes in her robe were covered with crossword puzzle magazines and television consoles. The curlers fell from her moldy hair. 

— This is Nina, one of the oldest patients... I think we should just go around it, believe me...—Tom turns the steering wheel. 

Strange, she didn't seem to notice us. 

The old woman pulled out a checkbook from somewhere and began to scribble on the pages with a fountain pen. Bursting receipts flew in all directions. 

— I wish I had a chainsaw...—I sighed. 

*** 

We found Peter and Mary in the car cemetery. 

Yes, yes, I call this place a cemetery, because it doesn't even look like a dump. It smelled of death. 

Peter's superficial abdominal wound and punctured shoulder were not as bad as they seemed at first glance. But the glasses are dead on the spot... 

— Peter! Peter, wake up!—I shook the man by the shoulder.—Peter, where's Mary?— 

— What? Tobias? And ... well, of course! Now that we're all here, the situation is at the top of the s**t meter...—Peter growled through his teeth when he noticed that it was time for his glasses to dig a grave. He started suddenly— She... Damn it!— 

— She...—Tom was afraid to finish his sentence. 

Peter ran a hand over the back of the head: 

— I remember how we fled, and that the mountain collapsed... Mary!—he must have noticed something. 

 It was very painful for me to step on anything. The pain was spreading all over my body. I have never been so exhausted mentally and physically. I wonder if this place can draw energy? Even though those remains of the building were blown up, it's the same Mindless one, only it's become more like a smudge of paint that can't be erased... 

Mary was hiding in an old Buick. The girl was heavily smeared with mud, and her eyes were a little wild with fright. When we opened the door, she didn't immediately recognize us. 

— He's out of bounds. Most likely, the explosion of Mindless will come out sideways to us...—Mary ran her hand over the wound on Peter's shoulder.—What a mess we're in, my dear...— 

— And what else can this life be? Are you all right now? Where or who did you run off to so quickly?—The bride's hair was matted with dirt, and Peter ran a hand through it, holding her close. 

— Have you seen Baal?—Tom asked. Hamilton was startled by the familiar voice, turned, and said softly: 

—If you find a weapon, come on, I'll show you...— 

She was still very pale, a glow radiating through her almost white skin.

 I hope she's still alive ... 

***

 — Don't you think you'll die here?—Baal asks loudly. 

We were still quite far away and none of us knew who the question was addressed to. 

—Mary!—The long-nosed man called loudly.—I can smell your cowardly soul!— 

— I'm not a coward, or I wouldn't be here.—pale and no longer seeming as usual powerful, she came out from behind a large column piled on top of each other cars.—Tobias, Peter, Tom, stay here for now... This is my curse!— 

When she said that, I felt so bitter. Even if I had the words, I couldn't say why. 

— You knew what you were doing. Strange you mortals- eat, eat from the different tables that your world presents and get angry when fate gives you a bill in your hands!—Baal's eyes flashed in a series of different colors. 

— First, if I ran away, I wouldn't come back, and second, Baal, who are you kidding? I wasn't human!—Mary turned around. I know that feeling, though not to the extent that Mary felt it now. 

The pain does not ache so much in the heart when you look at your favorite eyes for even a second. Peter wasn't very good at navigating without his glasses, but I'd bet my head that he could see Mary now. 

— So you've come to lay down your head?—demon looked askance at the girl. His eyes were like a crow's. 

— No, I've come to kill you and break my contract.—Mary shuddered and let out a loud breath as blood flowed from her eyes. It happened when she looked the demon in the eyes. 

But her hands were firmly gripped by the broken shaft of the Buick. 

— I don't want to now. Your soul has not reached that level, or, if you like, that taste. But believe me, you'll have to come to me yourself...— 

He vanished into thin air, like a dream or a weightless puff of smoke. 

Kicking one of the car's hulls, Mary screamed angrily. 

And it was echoed by voices rising from all sides...