Chapter two

      In the dungeon

      The hatch was very narrow; she, resting her legs and arms, carefully descended lower and lower into a yawning blackness. Nikto was following her. At some point, she was afraid that his shoulders were wider and he would not get into this hole, but he apparently was emaciated, because with great difficulty, but he squeezed there. Soon Karina heard the murmur of water, the pipe ended and she plopped down into the icy water, painfully hurting her knees.

      “Watch out! It’s high here,” she cried, barely having time to crawl to the side when Nikto plopped down almost on her. And he again grabbed her hand and pulled her somewhere, as if some unknown seventh feeling was leading him.

      “Well, wait, let me at least to take the flower out!”

      He obediently stopped, and as soon as she pulled out a long-suffering flower from her bag and put her hand in his one, he immediately rushed deep into these catacombs, squelching through the water, as if not noticing it. And generally not noticing anything around.

      “We will get lost here, die from hunger and cold, and they will never find us,” thought Karina. She was scared, not because of Nikto, although he looked creepy and acted like an animal, she was not afraid of him now. Although she clearly understood that he would kill her in a second, even in such a state, blind, she won’t even have time to squeak. “He is really very dangerous, like a sharpened blade. But unlike other girls, I can handle cold weapons,” smiled Karina. Maybe he took her with him in order to eat her later and to survive here? Sooner or later, get out somewhere on the surface, can this really be possible?

      ***

      “I'm tired, I can’t stand it anymore,” said Karina after some time, during which they walked and walked, circled, and sometimes crawled into some very narrow skin-scraping hatches. No, they’d never be found there.

      Nikto put a finger to his lips and nodded. She didn’t get it. Her feet were wet. In general, she was all dirty.

      “Nikto, please, let’s take a break…”

      He nods again and… continues to drag her further.

      “Nik! I don’t know how you can go so long, and what leads and supports you, but I can’t do it anymore! No matter what you want!” And Karina stopped resolutely, pulling her hand out of his hand.

      He shook his head, again showed this strange movement, as if drawing an arch.

      “Output? Are you showing the way out?”

      Nikto nodded.

      “Do you know where it is?”

      Nikto nodded again. This inspired Karina, she seemed to get a second wind, if he knew where the exit was, then there really was no need to sit there to relax, rather they needed to get out!

      “Then let's go!” She held out her hand to him again.

      It was not long before he stopped in some rather large hall, in fact it was the largest room that they passed here. It seemed to her that the room had a round shape, but the flower couldn’t illuminate it enough to say with confidence. And to Karina's unspeakable surprise, Nikto let go of her hand and sat on the floor.

      “Nik, did you decide to rest? Where is the exit? Are we coming soon?”

      Nikto nodded.

      “Well,” Karina crouched besides, since the floor in this room was dry. She put a “stone flower” next. It was completely uncomfortable there. How did he manage… In these narrow underground catacombs, Gods knew what for they were intended, all these hatches – not to drain the sewage? So, how did he manage to find there such a large room of some strange round shape and such a high ceiling?

      Did he really know where the exit was? Maybe he just lost his mind and was seeing things. Karina looked at Nikto, he closed his eyes, sitting, cringing as if sleeping. In the obscure light of the “stone flower” his hair seemed light green, for some reason, Karina thought it was beautiful. In general, everything in her head mixed up in a heap, and didn’t sort out on the shelves. She was unthinkably tired and nervous, and the dumb Nikto couldn’t support her, but she went to him for advice! Everything turned completely different. If he knew where the exit was, then why didn’t he lead them further? Was he tired? But he didn’t collapse in exhaustion, which meant he could still go, she generally had the feeling that Nikto could go for a very long, endlessly long time.

      In his movements, there was nothing superfluous, no fuss, he acted as a mechanism. It forced to respect his strength and endurance, respect him, and at the same time, at some instinctive level, it frightened her, as if there was something alien to human nature in him. She suddenly remembered how easily he had survived a ninety percent fatal wound in his stomach, how he then got up from the floor and went down the stairs, mounted his horse… now the same thing. Maybe her father was right in something? And Karina started shaking. Now his hair no longer seemed beautiful to her, on the contrary, this green shade gave them some ominous color. And he was on his mind, strong, hardy. Did he really need her help? Well, maybe just to get out of the chamber. And then? Why did he follow her if he had a plan in his head? The plan of escape in the exact opposite direction. Why didn’t he immediately run to the hatch? Why were all these chases and killings needed? Why did he carry her everywhere with him? “I won’t manage without you.” And Karina suddenly clearly understood, he would manage, he would open the hatch, and this room… What were they doing in this underground hall? How did he find it? Wasn’t he waiting for salvation, for some friend from the other world? No, of course, she didn’t believe in the devil and all this nonsense… or she did. In such a gloomy atmosphere, it was not difficult to believe in anything. Why did he bring her here and sat down? What was he waiting for? Karina grabbed the bag, her hands went in a sway. Apparently, having heard her swarming, Nikto turned his head to her. He was still blind, and strangely enough it reassured her a little.

      “I want to give myself an injection,” she explained, “with a restorative, or… my nerves have gone to hell.”

      He pointed a finger at himself.

      “Well, I'll give it to you too, just write what,” Karina handed him the notebook again, and this time, he wrote what she wanted from him. At last! Not “What day is it today?” or “I want to die.”

      Karina was relieved to read the name of his usual “restorative”, which meant that Nobody was recovering.

      She pulled out a clean syringe and an ampoule with a rather weak (according to Nikto, Arel, Lis and others) stimulant, Karina with difficulty, and it was terrible (it was good that Nikto couldn’t see this disgrace), at third attempt got into her vein, her hands were trembling. Then, hiding, as she decided, “her syringe,” she pulled out, as she thought, “infected” syringe of Nikto. She made a solution for him. He immediately reached out, as if seeing, was he guided by sounds or by smell?

      “Do you want to try yourself?”

      Nikto nodded, and Karina gave him a syringe. Well, his hands were free, though a heavy handcuff with a chopped chain remained on his right wrist, well, let him try it. If he so wants. He didn’t roll up his sleeve, as she expected, and didn’t do something else, any preparing. He just put a needle to his neck, somewhere under the collar and… ten seconds hadn’t passed when he held out an empty syringe to her.

      “You… you… well, cool you are!”

      And Nikto, she was ready to argue, tried to smile at her, a little out of the corner of his lips.

      Karina