Hero, Raven, Rougue. Zargerion Sabter

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СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      – It seems he has some problems… – came from one of the dogs.

      – Are you okay, little human? – asked the dog standing right in front of Alex.

      – Today my father died while I was walking with, I guess, an imaginary friend. So – no, not everything is okay! – exclaimed Alex, crying.

      – Can we help you with anything, little human? – asked the dog.

      – Why should we help him, Nay? – suddenly said another dog, addressing the dog that was talking to Alex. – We have enough problems of our own. We still need to get a bunch of food, for example!

      – You’re right, Boll… but when was the last time you saw a human capable of talking to us?

      – Um… Never! – answered Boll.

      – Same here! What if he can be useful to us? We’ll help him, and he’ll help us! – declared Nay.

      Meanwhile, Alex, listening to the dogs’ conversation, was just trying to come to his senses, thinking that he was going crazy.

      – So, how can we help you, little human?

      – Are you with me on this? – asked a bewildered Alex.

      – I don’t see any other little humans around…

      Alex burst into tears again, saying:

      – I must be going crazy!

      The dogs looked at each other, and Nay, the dog standing right in front of Alex, suddenly growled menacingly several times in the direction of the crying Alex, who abruptly stopped crying.

      – Stop doing that, little human, and answer whether you need help! – Nay declared.

      – Help? – asked Alex, wiping his tears. – You can hardly help me resurrect Grandpa Remy. Or at least bury him… Although… He always wanted to be cremated…

      – We can’t resurrect people, but we can help you cremate your Grandpa Remy, if you mean burning his dead body, of course, – Nay said.

      – But you’ll help us get food in return! – added Boll a little discontentedly – and all the dogs around supported him with their barks.

      – Can you really help? – asked the boy.

      – It seems only if you help us get food for my pack afterwards, but yes, we will help you!

      – It seems that even madness has its advantages… – suddenly, with a sad and uncertain voice, Alex said and finally managed to get up from the carousel seat with difficulty. – Let’s go; I’ll show you where he is! Otherwise, I’m freezing here… – rubbing his shoulders, the boy added.

      And off they went down the dark and deserted streets of Detroit. Along the way, Alex continued to listen to the dogs’ conversations, which gave him some insight into their lives. For example, about their nomadic lifestyle because they are constantly chased by some evil humans, or about the fact that finding food becomes worse and worse as winter approaches, and also about how Nay has been the leader of their small pack for three years already.

      When they finally arrived at the place, Alex initially had no desire to go back into the basement, where the lifeless body of Remy awaited him. The dogs, almost all of them, entered inside after Nay. One of the dogs that stayed outside suddenly said to him in a female voice:

      – Go! What are you waiting for?

      After that, Alex looked at the dogs left outside and, finding strength in himself, still went inside.

      Inside, the dogs had already settled around the mattress on which the deceased Remy lay. Alex, seeing this, slowly approached them, standing right next to the corpse.

      – Wrap him in this mattress and blankets, and tie everything up! – Nay said. – It’s dark and deserted outside now. A perfect time to drag a human corpse through the streets without attracting unnecessary attention!

      Alex sighed and nodded his head, slowly starting to fulfill Nay’s request. It was hard for the boy to look into the eyes of the lifeless body, which he had once seen alive. So, first, he wrapped the head in a blanket, and then the rest of the body. After that, Alex took the scissors and the oldest sheet he could find around. He made several ropes out of it. Then he approached the body wrapped from head to toe again and started wrapping it in the mattress on which it lay, simultaneously tying it up. A little later, he finished all the preparations for transporting the corpse.

      – Now it’s our turn! – Nay said to Alex. – Let’s go! – he then said to the others and grabbed the mattress with his teeth, starting to drag the wrapped corpse. The rest immediately came to their leader’s aid.

      Slowly but surely, and not without Alex’s help, they managed to pull the dead man out of the basement onto the street. However, there was still a quite long way ahead, and dragging the corpse in this way would not be very practical. This prompted little Alex to put another sheet on ropes, with which he tied some of the dogs and also attached them to the mattress at its bindings. This was supposed to significantly speed up the transportation of the corpse to its destination.

      In the end, Alex, throwing one of these ropes over his shoulder too, wearily said:

      – Well, let’s go towards the forest…

      After that, some dogs barked, and the load started moving. So, they moved along the semi-deserted streets of the night city towards its wooded outskirts.

      There were very few people on their way, and those who happened to see this strange scene with the dogs and the boy dragging something in a mattress through the streets had long been accustomed to the fact that they sometimes see strange things. Although the dogs could move this load faster, they unanimously decided not to hurry because of the slow little human who initiated all this. Therefore, they spent half the night on the road to the forest, and upon arriving near the cemetery, they spent just as much time gathering and arranging large logs and sticks for kindling. When all the preparations were finally complete, the dawn sun was slowly appearing on the horizon.

      – Do you have something to ignite it with? – asked Boll.

      Alex looked at the dog and took out a metal lighter from his pocket. He lit it and brought the flame to some papers at the base of the pile made of sticks and large logs, which was literally piled with the mattress-wrapped Remy’s body. As a result, a large bonfire ignited and, a little later, truly flared up.

      – Forgive me, Remy… – Alex said, shedding a tear. – I hope you’ll be better in the other world…

      For a little while, the pack and the boy watched the blazing bonfire. However, when the sun had fully risen above the horizon, and the fire had almost died out, young Alex, taking a piece of cloth, gathered some ash from the edge of the bonfire. He carried it to a tree and sprinkled it directly underneath, placing a few stones on top. Only after this, already yawning in unison with some dogs, Alex finally headed back to his familiar basement.

      After a silent journey, Alex eventually reached his home. Upon entering, СКАЧАТЬ