Азизбек Карамзин - Apocalypse «Beginning of the End»

Sooner or later it had to happen. They came for me… though it seemed a little different.

This overcast morning I was awakened by a roar coming from the back of the change house. I jumped out of bed and listened. For the first few seconds, it seemed that only the beating of my heart was heard, giving off a pulsation in my ears. I tried to calm down, and after a moment the feelings escalated.

Outside the small window, the wind swayed the trees. It was about to start raining. “Maybe I had a dream…” – I thought, and just about to exhale with relief, something boomed outside again. I carefully pressed myself against the wall and now I could clearly distinguish wheezing and sobbing behind the thin walls.

Weapon! We need some kind of weapon! Why didn't I prepare for this before?

Fire shield on the wall of a neighboring change house! There's an ax in there! Thoughts were quick and clear, and time seemed to slow down. I opened the door and, making sure that the way was clear, I ran out into the street. Within seconds, I had a long, double-edged fire ax in my hands. Even though I covered a distance of only ten meters, my breath was hit by the surge of adrenaline.

The infected heard me, of that I was absolutely sure. They will definitely come to the sound, now it's only a matter of time. The sound for them is a clear signal that the victim is somewhere nearby. It started to rain, but I was still hot. I stood and waited for them to appear from around the corner, but they were not there. The long wait was depressing. His eyes fell on the road leading from the construction camp to the city.

The rain began to fall a little harder, and the wind died down. I could hear the infected wheezing and sniffing around the corner, but they were in no hurry to show themselves to me.

“If these have come, then others will come,” I thought. – You can't hang around anymore. We need to get out of here, go home to Novosibirsk, find my sister and niece, pick them up, and together get out into some wilderness, where the infected are unlikely to get. We need a car and some kind of weapon.”

In Nobosibirsk, I visited a shooting club and shot well. Twice I even participated in clay shooting competitions, and once the competition ended in my victory.

Perhaps the military is still handing out weapons… I felt the jacket in the breast pocket and made sure I had my passport with me. When I left the construction camp, the wind finally died down, but the rain continued to pour in a measured wall, muffling the sounds. Despite the fact that I was lightly dressed, and all my things had been wet for a long time, it was not cold. I just didn't think about it as I continued walking along the road, prudently hiding in the bushes and trees on the side of the road. I took my time, thinking about how best to proceed. It was impossible to give in to despondency and think about the bad in any case. It will shake my mind, drive me crazy or kill me, however, now it's the same thing.

I was reminded of a movie I watched once. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember the name. The world in it was destroyed either by war, or by cataclysms … Not the point, the film was about a father and son who walked through the ruins of destroyed cities south to warmer climes. Along the way, they encountered different people, and almost always these random people they met turned out to be far from the most worthy people. Some of the people they met were robbers, others turned into cannibal killers who did not want to get food in another way. People hunted each other, huddled in packs to corner and devour the weaker like hyenas, and the weak were many, and they were doomed.

I thought about whether this happens to people in the real world? Will the same transformation happen over time? Who knows, I wanted to believe that not, because there is a common threat that should rally people … Let's wait and see.

Ahead was the parking lot of the children's camp. Most likely, those infected came from here, because there was nothing else besides the forest nearby.

There were only two cars in the parking lot: a cream-coloured Vista station wagon and a black Land Cruiser SUV with a large roof box. I walked closer and, hiding behind the road fence, began to look around. The parking lot was small, only five cars. A steep staircase led from it to the children's camp, located a little higher on the hill. There was a bright sign that said: "Welcome to the children's health camp" Smile ".

On both sides the road seemed empty, and in general, everything looked as if no one had been here for a long time. Unsurprisingly, it was said on the Internet that the infected were drawn to sounds, and until recently there were plenty of them in the city.

A very strange thought crept into my head that if I became infected, I would definitely go to the city.

Well, there will still be time to think, but now it's cold and chilly, and we need to act.

I jumped over the road barrier and took another look around. Making sure that everything is calm, crouching, moved to the SUV. At the tailgate, I froze again and listened, but the rain, rhythmically drumming on the roof, prevented me from making out anything.

Suddenly, my eyes fell on the pavement under the Land Cruiser. Rainwater flowed from under the car, stained with blood, and, straying into streams, flowed over the road, rushing down the slope.

I shifted to the side, changing the angle of view, and saw a dark figure lying near the car. As I got a little closer, I saw the girl. I watched her for five long minutes, but she didn't move.

Clutching my ax tighter and bracing myself for anything, I walked over to the driver's door.

The girl lay with her eyes closed, her head thrown back. Her mouth was open, and everything below her nose was covered with half-dried blood. Pieces of her crown hung from her head, entangled in her hair, and I easily assumed that she had shot herself.

I was not afraid of the sight of blood, and I have never been particularly squeamish. The picture was just bad. I looked into the cabin and made sure that there was no one else there, after which I pulled the driver's door, and it succumbed easily.

Leather beige interior greeted with a pleasant smell of car air freshener. A beige clutch lay forlornly in the driver's seat. I checked its contents, but finding nothing of interest, I tossed it aside and climbed into a dry chair, quietly closing the door behind me.

The sound of rain subsided, replaced by the sound of raindrops on the bulky body of the SUV. The key was in the ignition and it had already been turned one click. In addition, the headlights were also turned on, and this indicated that the battery would almost certainly be discharged. I verified this by turning the ignition key.

Jumping over the seats, I looked into the trunk – it was empty, but I remembered the second roof rack and began to get out into the street. Suddenly it dawned on me: “If the owner of the car shot herself, then what did she shoot from?”

Falling out into the street through the back door and climbing onto the roof, I easily opened the black autobox.

"Jackpot!" I exclaimed quietly when I saw its contents. There was a real set of a traveler fisherman: an easel backpack equipped with a tent and a fifteen-liter canister, a large hiking bag, a car first-aid kit, a fire extinguisher, large rubber boots, two spinning rods, a bowler hat, a tripod and a bunch of other small camping accessories.

Okay, now the girl's corpse. Having closed the autobox and descended from the roof, I began to examine the corpse, but, unfortunately, even turning it over, I did not find the suicide weapon. Well, then, only the contents of the autobox will become my prey, but how to take away all this goodness? Only with the car! How do you start a car with a dead battery? Another battery! I approached the second car in the parking lot. The alarm lamp did not blink – this is a bad sign. Most likely the battery is dead. I tried the driver's door, but it was locked. Looking around like a thief, I hit the driver's window with the tip of a fire ax, causing it to crumble into small pieces. Turning on the emergency gang through the broken window, I looked at the front of the car. The battery, as in the first case, was dead.

Returning to the SUV, I began to think that of the items presented in the trunk might be needed. Thinking and figuring, I was looking at the slope of the road, and suddenly a crazy idea came to my mind.

The road went down at a steep angle and, bending around the hill in an arc, led out into the city. The distance was about five kilometers, but before the first gentle turn about one and a half. “What if you start Kruzak from a pusher?” I thought. With manual transmission cars this trick works, with an automatic (the Land Cruiser was equipped with an automatic transmission) I wasn't sure nor had I ever heard of such an experience. In any case, there was nothing to lose. Need to try! After climbing into the car, and making sure that all appliances, including the stove and headlights, are turned off, and the key is turned to the ignition position. With difficulty pressing the brake pedal, shifted the gearbox to neutral. Then, turning the steering wheel to a U-turn, he released the brake. The car reluctantly rolled back and, having run over the leg of the suicide girl, rolled out onto the road with its front wheel.

The car began to pick up speed very slowly, and in the meantime I was trying to figure out at what speed it is better to shift the gearbox and in what position should I put it? Regarding speed, it was definitely worth accelerating as long as possible, the faster it is, the better.

Looking at the selector, I realized that the choice is small: there was only the “D” position, and then the possibility of lowering by switching down again. A special piquancy of the situation was given by rain flooding the windshield, reducing visibility to a minimum.

Firmly clutching the steering wheel with wet hands, I peered at the road, occasionally glancing at the dashboard:

Now the speedometer shows 3 km / h

To the end of the mountain slope is approximately 1139 meters

The car continued to pick up speed confidently, and the rain poured more and more intensively outside the window. The arrow on the dim instrument panel slowly crept up.

I was more and more doubtful. What if the wheels stop and I get skidded? How long is the flight from this mountain? With every second it became more and more dangerous …

– I'm lucky!

I pressed the gear selector button and with force abruptly switched it to the “D” position, depressing the gas pedal all the way. The SUV, almost without jerking, started up and roared the engine.

Not believing my luck, I let off the gas, stopped the car, turned on the wipers and once again examined the instrument panel – everything worked fine. Confused only by an orange light bulb, indicating that gasoline is coming to an end. This car must have brutal appetites, you should be puzzled on this topic in the first place.

The radio tape recorder started playing, and the mood immediately improved. To an unfamiliar cheerful tune, I directed the car down the serpentine towards the city, on the way thinking about my past life, and what to do now

Almost two months have already passed since the beginning of the epidemic, and maybe more. I couldn't be more precise because I didn't remember exactly when it all started. Until today, I have been hiding in a construction town where workers were working on building a cell tower on the outskirts of the city of Leninsk-Kuznetsky.