Water pipes

Human hive - Stony Artem - STIKS. Artyom Kamenisty “S-T-I-K-S

Artem Kamenisty

S-T-I-K-S. Human hive

Life is not fair. You make far-reaching plans, make efforts to implement them, and suddenly a gigantic fly swatter is waved over you - something irresistible interferes with your plans, cross-crossing them with a thick black line. And you don’t always realize this right away, because fate knows how to arrange everything in such a way that you yourself won’t notice how you’ll fly downhill in the halo of the rubble of your destroyed future.

Today, the ordinary dirt of a forest road has acted as a large-caliber instrument of fate. It fired without a miss, shattering into smithereens the life of a random victim planned for years in advance. All you had to do was detain her for a short time, not let her cross the line beyond which you don’t even realize that you have avoided a very difficult turn in your biography.

On this seemingly ordinary day, Igor did not at all intend to get into trouble, which radically changes the future of those who, at the wrong time, find themselves in a place from which they should stay as far as possible. His plans were standardly simple, and there was no place in them for adventures that were dangerous to health or, even more so, life.

First, he needs to get to the city, then quickly wash off the sweat of work in the shower, change clothes and go on a date, which he agreed on with cutie Svetka yesterday. He had a sure-fire surprise prepared in advance, which, as a rule, makes women's hearts softer. You see, you won’t have to prolong the already outrageously protracted courtship ritual. That is, you may not have to spend the night at home.

With the latter, he must admit, he hit the nail on the head.

The trivial life of a young lonely man, simple plans - everything was predictable until the outcome of this ill-fated day.

The ghost of the future, which Igor could not even suspect, began to interfere with his plans gradually, a few hours before everything began in earnest. The slaughter had to take place in a certain place and at a certain time, but for this the victim had to be slightly slowed down.

The well-worn, faithful UAZ, which manages to get through where the owners of expensive jeeps dejectedly wander on their own two feet in search of a tractor, is hopelessly stuck at the Khatkinsky turn - a place where an innumerable number of both experienced drivers and beginners have fallen victim to the extremely insidious mud there. Little depended on the person here: one passed almost calmly; the other, a couple of minutes later, follows in his footsteps and lays the car on its belly on the slurry. Such is the mystery of nature.

And what do you want me to do now? Looking for a tractor is not an option. It’s too far to go back to the drilling site; you won’t have time before dark. It’s much closer to Khatka, but there is no equipment in the abandoned village, and there are only a few whips, battered by a dissolute life, which can help or can be ignored - it all depends on the unpredictable swings of their mood and the concentration of alcohol in the blood. You can also walk to the highway, but, again, it will take too much time.

In general, Igor had to roll up his sleeves and climb into the sticky mud. She didn’t really dream of parting with the four-wheeled booty, she resisted desperately, forcing her to sweat until Igor began to curse his hasty decision. It would be better to go to the highway, hitch a ride there, and resolve the issue with the stuck car tomorrow.

He was hopelessly late for a date, and what’s worst is that the phone here is nothing more than an alarm clock and a camera: there is no connection, and it is unlikely that it will appear in the next millennium. Is it possible to try to climb a tall pine tree and get it from there? Come on - nonsense: here, in a narrow damp lowland, surrounded by high hills, this trick will not help.

The mud gave up when there was little more than an hour left before darkness. By this time, problems began with the starter, and during the last jerk the muffler was damaged, and the engine was now roaring like a wounded beast.

Albeit with losses, but now the UAZ is free and on the move. Just so as not to get up now due to breakdowns. In this machine, almost everything can be repaired with wire, pliers and such and such, but this will lead to additional loss of time.

Igor overcame the remnants of the off-road, got onto the highway, rushed towards the city at the maximum possible speed, but was soon forced to sharply slow down due to thick fog. This happens in the evenings in these parts, but the current haze has broken all records in terms of density. The headlights hit the monolithic milky wall, the asphalt was barely visible for a few meters, and then there was impenetrable darkness.

Sveta is already languishing with impatience, biting her painted nails in anticipation of a call, but he still knows who the hell is where from the city. Eh, this is how you plan a pleasant evening...

I stopped on the side of the road, turned on the emergency lights, and walked away from the humming car, which I was afraid to turn off due to problems with the starter. Here, ten steps away, her noise will not interfere with a short telephone conversation. It seems that the new passion is not a completely stupid chicken - she must understand everything, forgive and even regret. Well, if he doesn’t understand the situation, to hell with it. Finding another one is not a problem at all. The point is not at all that he has finally found his destiny, with which he is ready to live and live until his death, but in the eternal desire of the male to have a good time.

He raised the phone to his ear and winced. Somewhere nearby there is definitely some kind of disgusting chemical burning: the smell is as if an open bottle of caustic acid was brought to the nose. Perhaps it’s not fog at all, but smoke from a fire? But what could be burning so big here? The distant suburbs are several villages, eking out a miserable existence on farms, four clay quarries, of which only a couple are active, and an almost abandoned railway stop. Maybe there, at the dead end, a train with tanks was puffing? They carry a lot of different nasty things.

The phone was suspiciously silent, and the reason for this was revealed at first glance: there was no cellular network signal. And this is very strange, because here the mobile phone always picked up properly. Why shouldn’t he catch it if the big city is just a stone’s throw away? On every hill of the tower, you can even enjoy fast Internet.

A huge black SUV rushed out of the fog, swerved at the last moment, dodging a frontal impact with a UAZ, but the maneuver was not timely enough: it hit the edge with wild force; smashed the corner to smithereens; opening the mouth of the folded hood lid and sparkling with the surviving headlight, it skidded along the side of the road, forcefully throwing rubble in all directions. Finally, I hit the metal fence on my side, crushed it and myself, and stopped.

Yes, Igor clearly had a bad day.

However, now is not the best time to think about your injured four-wheeled friend. It was empty, and the SUV was unlikely to drive on its own. The blow was not a weak one, people could have been seriously injured.

Igor rushed to the driver's door, released the handle, and pulled it towards himself. Nothing happened. Once again, again, and here is the result: with a strained grinding sound, the door gave way, almost immediately all resistance disappeared, and obediently swung open. From under the inflated airbag, a heavy, bald man of about thirty-five fell onto the ground, stood up awkwardly, holding on to the battered car, and began to look around feverishly, muttering something inaudibly and shaking his head sadly.

- Eh?! Are you all right?! – asked Igor.

Staring at him, the driver of the SUV wiped the blood from his lip and muttered dully:

- And who are you?

“I’m from the car you kissed.”

He turned around, stared at the damaged UAZ and roared with anguish:

– Where did you buy your license, woodpecker?! Who even taught you how to drive?!

Igor was not at all taken aback by such an attack. I've seen worse, and besides, a lot can be attributed to stress after a serious collision. Therefore, without unnecessary aggression, but very firmly, he answered:

“Slow down, and there’s no need to shout at the top of your lungs either, this isn’t a funeral for you.” The car did not drive, but stood with the headlights on, with the emergency lights on, pressed against the edge of the curb on the right side. Open your eyes and see it for yourself. There is a double lane here, and for some reason your hearse was rushing in the oncoming traffic at such speed as if it had been sprayed with scum. Do you see the fog? He is now such that even five kilometers per hour is already Formula 1, and you were racing at least fifty or sixty. Well, which of us bought the rights?

- Listen, stop loading already, smart guy. We'll see who stood where and who rode how.

- No problem. – Igor shrugged. - Let's call the guys, let them sort it out, am I against it? Are you alone in the car?

- I... What?! ABOUT! Crap! Lala! Lyalechka!

The stranger, as if waking up, quickly stuck his head into the bowels of the car and, in the voice of a gentle father bending over the cradle, said:

- Lyalya, how are you there? Aren't you hurt too much?

“I crushed my nose on this pillow,” they answered in a whiny and not too melodious female voice. - Maybe even broke it. Grisha, I'm afraid, what should I do now? At this time you won’t find decent doctors anywhere, it’s already night.

- Now! Now we will decide everything, honey! Sit quietly, everything will happen now!

The man began feverishly running his finger across the screen of his expensive smartphone, muttering something indistinctly under his breath. Then, not finding what he was looking for, he asked:

- Don’t you know the telephone number of the hospital? Well, how can I call doctors?

- Yes, you’re driving, I was just talking, that’s all!

- But for sure, it doesn’t show a single strip. What the hell is this? Is this the case with you too?

“I’m telling you, there’s no connection.” What is not clear?

- Lyalya is worried, her nose is very bad. Recently they had surgery on him, she loves to make him look beautiful. We need a doctor quickly. Is your car running?

Igor shook his head:

“The radiator was completely screwed, and it stalled after the impact.” It’s unlikely that it will be able to start; even before this, the starter was completely dead.

- Why the hell should we race on rusty cans? All our troubles are because of people like you. It's lucky to run into you, where do you come from...

“This basin will go where your hearse will sink up to the roof.”

- And I don’t drive through shit.

- But I’m going.

– Listen, we need to come up with something with the connection. It's a quick idea. Lyalya can’t wait, her nose is bleeding, she’s impressionable.

– You can go to a farm or village and look for a landline phone there.

- How far is it to go?

Igor shrugged:

“I don’t know, in this fog I won’t understand where we ended up.” I didn’t seem to pass the lake, it should be on the right, and opposite it there is a small bridge.

- I just jumped through some bridge. And then immediately - bang, and hello.

- This is good. There will be a road a little further, also to the right, to the village that is being built beyond the lake. Some of the cottages are already ready, people live there. I’m not sure if there are landline telephones in houses, but it seems like you can call an ambulance through the website, and there should be Internet there, the place is not one of the poorest.

– Is it like through the website?

– I haven’t encountered it, but I heard that it is possible.

- Are you driving there? Will you call? I’m just afraid to leave Lyalya, without me she’s like a little child. Drive away, you're young, isn't it difficult for you? Here, my business card, you can read it to them who needs help. And so, I’ll write the phone number on the other side. Try calling there. Tolik is there, my buddy, he is a businessman, he is involved in all topics at once, he decides everything as it should be. Well, why are you standing here? Go already, or we'll stay here overnight. Don't you see that no one goes there except us? The road seemed to have died out because of this fog.

However, now are not the circumstances to get angry over such nonsense. Moreover, it seems that Grisha is not trained to express himself differently.

* * *

The sour smell got stronger and stronger. His eyes are about to start watering. The thought that something dangerously chemical might be burning somewhere nearby couldn’t get out of my head. It is very possible that he risks inhaling this muck to the point of dangerous poisoning. And how to prevent this? He does not have a gas mask, in which direction the source of possible infection is - it is not known where he should run in order to quickly get out into clean air - it is also unclear. The last option remains - get to the village, find out the latest news there and try to get through there.

By the way, the fact that there are no cars at all also suggests chemical contamination. Somewhere ahead and behind, the road may have been blocked, but Igor drove out along a disgusting dirt road from a deep forest, and the driver of the jeep managed to slip through or also appeared from a not very popular side road.

Damn, I should have at least wet a rag and breathed through it. Not a gas mask, but it helps against regular smoke. There is a very unpleasant smell, there is clearly something unclean with this fog.

There was a hint of moisture. In the thick haze, the field of vision was minimal, but Igor had almost no doubt that a lake began on the right. By local standards it is large, and there is decent fish in it - a good option for a suburban village. If he had money, he himself would not refuse to acquire a cottage here, but at such savage prices one can only lick his lips.

That's right, Igor was not mistaken, he really was next to the lake. A barely noticeable stream flowed from it, and a bridge was thrown across the swampy lowland. Very narrow, temporary, only one lane. Cars here pass almost right up to the narrow railings. Contrary to all safety standards, no space was left for pedestrians; there is a path for them below, with a couple of boards thrown across the water. It’s uncomfortable to walk there during the day, but at night, and in such darkness and without a normal flashlight, it’s a thriller.

No, Igor will go on top, because there are no cars to be afraid of there. The road is dead.

Alas, the troubles that abounded in the protracted day were not yet exhausted. Before Igor had time to reach the middle, he heard the rapidly increasing rumbling of a car engine. A strange fog distorted the sounds, it seemed that the car was honking a hundred meters away, but suddenly columns of light from a pair of headlights cut through the darkness - and there it was: the quickly approaching bumper of a minibus.

Worst of all, he rushes fast and doesn’t care about possible pedestrians. The driver is a complete psycho, driving much faster than a fat guy in an SUV. How come he hasn’t fallen into a ditch in such darkness yet? Suicide…

All these thoughts quickly flashed through Igor’s head as he threw his body over the railing. Rushing to the other side of the bridge is not an option. It’s too narrow, the crazy driver only has to swerve a little and he’ll get there even there. Only down is not the most pleasant, but the optimal way out. The height is low, so only clothes will be damaged; it is dirty there at any time of the year, except in cold winter.

Igor managed to get out of the way a moment before the collision. Seeing nothing, he flew about three meters, tucked his legs, intending to meet the ground with a spring. But instead of the muddy soil, I landed on the edge of the same boardwalk along which local pedestrians move.

The collision was unsuccessful: his leg jerked painfully, all support and sense of orientation in space disappeared, Igor fell into the darkness, casually touching the top of his head against a massive pillar that was part of the base of the bridge. A strong blow completely knocked consciousness out of my head, sending me into complete darkness.

This ended the first night of Igor’s new life.

Waking up was not a pleasant one. My head ached as if I was dying, my legs dangled in the cold water of a lazy stream, and my torso dangled in the dirty grass. A huge green frog sat right in front of his nose, staring at Igor with an important look. When he began to rise, she jumped away with obvious reluctance.

Igor looked around in bewilderment. I touched the suffering head, feeling a notable lump in the area of the crown. He felt slightly nauseous, but he couldn’t believe that his brain had been so seriously damaged that he had lain in such an unsympathetic place all night. Well, how else can we explain the fact that the time is approaching dawn, the darkness is a thing of the past, even the twilight has already receded.

And what do you want me to do? Walk into the village? Yes, he looks like a sad homeless man now. It’s not appropriate to appear in a decent place like this. The driver of the broken jeep did not wait for help, probably he had already resolved all the issues himself, fortunately, as it turned out, there were still cars on the road. Igor did not have time to go far, now he will quickly return and see what the situation is there. In addition, there was a bag in the trunk containing the second phone. He was old, he held it solely by the convenient built-in flashlight, which sometimes helps out. It’s strange that I didn’t remember him at night, when the light would have been nice.

If you remove the SIM card from the flooded phone and replace it with that one, you can try to contact the city. Now it’s not only Svetka who needs to be called with an apology, but also his superiors, because he definitely doesn’t have time for the morning planning meeting.

With these thoughts, Igor climbed up and headed back to the car.

The toxic fog has disappeared without a trace, visibility is excellent. Igor looked at the lake behind the road and the boxes of unfinished cottages behind it. There were no signs of life there, but he knew for sure that some of the distant houses had been inhabited since last year. In addition, there is security on the territory, and there should be workers. If he doesn’t get along with the second phone, he will still have to go there, because such a dirty and wet guy will have to slow down his ride for a very long time.

Igor saw his car around the first turn. A black jeep stood next to her. In appearance, nothing had changed at the scene of the accident; Igor did not like this very much.

And the traffic is again too weak, he never saw a single car the whole time, except for that crazy minibus. But the road is one of the popular ones.

Something is clearly unclean here...

He walked past the UAZ and tapped on the roof of the jeep:

- Hey! Is there anyone alive?!

Silence in response. Well, it turns out that the people from this car were somehow able to leave. Maybe right now the best luminaries of provincial surgery are saving Lyalya’s nose. It’s a pity that he never saw it, it’s interesting to evaluate it.

The door of the SUV remained open, Igor couldn’t resist looking in. The airbag panels are deflated, the driver's side is thickly stained with blood. He frowned, because the man had no visible serious injuries. Where could so much leak from? The passenger side is generally clean, although Lyalya seems to have a thoroughly bloody nose.

There was a metallic clink under the sneaker. Looking downwards, Igor saw a brass cylinder. He sat down, picked up the cartridge case, and sniffed it. The smell is fresh, judging by the characteristic signs - from an injury.

And what does it mean? Road bandits attacked a broken jeep? This may be so, although such pranks are unlikely, but still they cannot be ruled out. Or maybe the jeep driver himself was sorting things out with someone and couldn’t come up with anything better than using a pistol. Such limited individuals love to carry guns and wave them around for any reason.

He shot a little, covered the car with blood and disappeared somewhere with his girlfriend. Somehow this is all strange.

There's a lot of blood, by the way. It's not a scratch at all; there's a fair amount of damage. Looking at the streaks, Igor struggled with increasing nausea. And the reason for this was not at all what he was staring at, because such things never bothered him - his nerves were strong. It looks like the head got hit much harder than it seemed at first. Or the consequences of that fog are affecting me, I inhaled a lot of bad sourness. Something is clearly wrong with him, even his thoughts are confused, he just wants to stand, not thinking about anything.

Somewhere in the distance a shot cracked, a muffled echo rolled through, and quickly died down. Are the hunters playing around? Yes, it’s not the season yet. In addition, game near the city is rare. Even far from it, where not everyone will be able to travel, you can walk through the forest all day and not see a single brood of hazel grouse. They've exterminated the beast, and soon there won't be any left at all.

Yes, and they were clearly firing from rifled guns, and not from small ones. Such barrels are not so rare, but there is no one here at all to shoot with them. It is necessary to go further, to the river, to damp floodplain forests and floodplains, closer to the wild boars. Well, besides them, you can find a lot of interesting things. And here you can only anger the police with such sounds.

There were no cars, the road seemed to have died out. No, she wasn’t overly busy before, but not to the same extent.

Stop playing dumb, something is clearly going on here. Igor did not know what exactly he had gotten himself into this time, but he understood what needed to be done next. That guy was right, we’ll have to go to the village and act there according to the circumstances. Although dirty, the clothes are not torn, the documents are in perfect order, they will explain that they are in trouble and will help in any way they can. Our people are unsmiling, but responsive.

No, I didn't stand. Approaching.

* * *

Like many of his contemporaries, Igor more than once watched films that featured the walking dead, or, in short, zombies. A fairly convenient plot for an ordinary fantasy scenario, because you don’t need to work with expensive special effects to create the wondrous appearance of absolutely fantastic monsters. The enemy is easily recognizable; his motivation does not require boring explanations; Just a little makeup is enough to turn anyone into such a monster. There is not the slightest problem with creating a whole crowd of cheerful dead people, as long as there are enough extras. Moreover, the latter do not need to show any special abilities at all, just know how to hobble with the gait of a crap man, wherever the director orders.

The simplicity of implementation made it possible for even a novice cinematographer or even a green amateur to easily join the popular genre. That is, if you have at least some kind of camera or access to it, you can, on a budget commensurate with the size of a student scholarship, create at least a short film with the loud title “Zombies vs. Strippers.” Great talent or at least a clear plot is not at all necessary, the main thing is enthusiasm, a lot of ketchup instead of blood and a shaky picture.

Naturally, because of such would-be directors and the like, an already ignoble topic was pushed to the point of indecency. Igor sometimes had to deal with the latest crafts in this genre, and he could not help but admit that the level was falling below the very last plinths.

The first thing I remember now is just such films. With the simulated antics of unprofessional actors, poor makeup and cheap ketchup. The driver of the ill-fated jeep looked like the hero of such a “masterpiece” at the moment.

From the moment Igor went to look for the village, the man has changed a lot. He had lost his trousers somewhere, now sporting colorful shorts almost to his knees, the rest of his clothes were torn and stained with blood, which covered the lower half of his face in a solid caked crust. Above the dark red mess, two faded fish eyes gleamed dimly: no life was visible in them.

You could also see a ragged hole on the right cheek, through which molars were visible. Perhaps it was from this wound that so much leaked.

No, the makeup here is clearly not cheap. And it smells like a village toilet, which is unnecessary for cinema.

There's no smell of makeup here at all! Here!..

The walking dead man was breathing noisily, with a strained wheeze. And at the same time, with a slow swaying gait, he approached Igor. He didn’t extend his hand, he didn’t beg for tasty brains, but it was just a zombie or something from the same sepulchral region. The man is irreversibly dead, anyone can understand this just by looking into his extinguished eyes.

And then he started purring disgustingly - scary, not human. Sparkles of lust flashed through his dull eyes. The dead man took a good look at Igor, and he liked what he saw.

From a gastronomic point of view.

A suspicious rustling sound was heard from the side. Looking sideways, Igor saw a woman of unknown age crawling towards him with clearly bad intentions. It was quite obvious that she was a colleague of the first zombie. The unfortunate woman's neck was torn so that bones and an exposed artery could be seen. And yet, despite the very serious injuries, this young lady moved quite cheerfully. True, when I tried to get up, I immediately fell over, but these are minor things.

- Well, stop! Stop, it says! Don't come near! – Igor drawled threateningly.

He was not at all surprised that his urgent request was ignored. I just wanted to hear my own voice, not understanding why this was necessary now. He took a step back, heartily pinching his arm. It hurts, it doesn’t seem like a dream. And a dream can never be so real, at least nothing like this has happened to him before.

One more step, one more. The couple approached slowly, but did not slow down. He could easily get away if he moved quickly, but by running he would leave them far behind in five minutes. But I didn’t want to rush somewhere unknown. The world has turned from understandable and predictable into a madhouse, and this should be understood without fuss.

What should we do now? What should a person do if he finds himself in a situation where walking corpses are walking around him?

Igor knew exactly what should not be done under any circumstances. There is no need to stay on the road where such terrible things happen. Therefore, he climbed over the fence, looked back, assessed the distance to the cheerful dead, quickly walked up the gentle slope, planning to climb the hill, and then, most likely, go around the lake and finally get to the village. Maybe at least something will become clearer there.

A minute later he turned around. I saw the driver clumsily fall over the fence, fall into the tall grass, awkwardly get up, staggering as if drunk, and continued to follow Igor. But the woman has fallen far behind and now cannot understand how to overcome the obstacle, so she crawls along it.

At least, she is no different from the movie zombies in her stupidity. And that was a little comforting.

The security post looked bad. Broken glass, a warped door hanging on one hinge, and a clear imprint of a bloody hand left on the wall. Igor twirled a heavy stick he had picked up along the way in his hand and carefully looked through the window. Inside there was an overturned table and chairs, brown splashes, some scattered narrow pieces of paper of different colors. Neither living nor dead, and nothing useful, like a working phone.

Turned around. The former residents of the village, greatly inspired by his arrival, slowly swayed and inevitably approached from three sides. No different from the unsightly couple he left behind. There's a bearded man crawling just like that woman, barely holding his head up. On some you can see wounds or at least bloody stains on their clothes, others did not appear to have received any damage, but there was no desire to have them examined.

Bang-bang-bang! – the elite of mutants rushes through the concrete jungle behind the immune brows.

Crum-crunch-crunch! – the work of the giant food chain is not interrupted for a second.

Clack-clack-clack! - the occipital sacs of monsters crack, opened by people in search of the most important thing...

This is what he is like: a hit-and-run zombie fighter (the latter is incorrect, but in this case it is not important))) from Kamenisty. Quite, by the way, quite nauseating in places. And this despite the fact that I do not suffer from particular disgust. Hmmm... It turns out that such realism should be considered a virtue)

A mixture of “The Age of the Dead” by Andrei Cruz with “Strategy” by Vadim Denisov. Well, and of course, a lot of Kamenisty himself. Remember the same “Border River”, or even “Ruthless Paradise”. Such, at least, a good Stony one.

Is there a lot of literature here? Entertaining - to the maximum. Other advantages/disadvantages in appropriate proportions. For fans of all of the above, it will be quite suitable.

Yes! And a fatty and tasty “plus” for the cat (Grand).

Rating: 7

The only and indisputable advantage of this opus is proof that any set of letters and words will find its “reader”.

I’m not a literature snob, and I read books by a wide variety of authors, from what is considered classics to outright pulp fiction. But here! There is no plot; banality on a cliché, drives on with stupidity; world - lack of logic and imagination; a cardboard hero (he's the only one here, the rest don't even look like cardboard ones), dialogues are at the level of a stupid teenager who is sure that there is no one cooler than a convict; and pathetic attempts at humor...

A! I lied, there is one more advantage - if you want to demonstrate the stupidity and absurdity of this writing - you don’t need to look for quotes! You can open it to ANY page and read a couple of paragraphs.

Don't waste your precious time on this. Is it true. In no case. And if you accidentally step in it...quickly, before anyone notices, wipe the shoe on the leaves and run to the bookstore to get some medicine!

Rating: 1

Is it worth talking about the popularity of Artyom Kamenisty? I think it's unlikely. The writer's activity has been growing exponentially in recent years; Artyom writes more and more novels, which readers snap up like tasty and satisfying hot cakes. Kamenisty is the author of such cycles as “The Intern”, “The Ninth”, “The Border River”, which have gained loyalty among fans of science fiction and the theme of “getting caught” in particular. For the most part, the heroes of Comrade Kamenisty’s works are ordinary people who, by the will of fate and chance, find themselves in another world, be it a parallel reality where magic and medieval customs reign, or a planet destroyed as a result of an unknown catastrophe. Artyom Kamenisty’s series are multifaceted and interesting, mainly in the “combat science fiction” genre. Sometimes each of us, when we come home from work, needs to unload our brains, relax, and forget about pressing problems. And it is precisely this kind of literature that gives rest to our perception, gives us time to spend reading in comfort and coziness. Naturally, for the most part, such prose contains tons of waste paper, which is not worth touching, because graphomania, which, unfortunately, is printed, floods bookshelves, fills network resources, and sometimes it seems that there is no escape from it. And in the flow of such literature, you need to identify priority authors. One of them for me is Artyom Kamenisty. Yes, he has enough weak books, this cannot be avoided, but now we will talk about a new novel by this author, quite interesting and effective in his work. Let's get started.

About the plot (no spoilers).

Imagine the situation: you are going on a date with a girl, you have a romantic program planned for the evening with a delicious ending (it sounds vulgar, but that’s how it is). While driving off-road, your car stalls, you leave it, try to call, but the network does not work. And then an expensive jeep crashes into your vehicle, the owner of which is a redneck guy who begins to “pump his license”, and even his passion, in the collision, breaks his nose. We urgently need to call an ambulance! But cell phones don't get a signal. Moreover, some strange fog is spreading along the deserted road. Unnatural. Frightening. You go looking for help. A moment - you fall and lose consciousness. And as a result, you wake up with a headache in the ditch where you fell before. The sun is shining, silence, grace. You decide to go back to the car. And in the end you meet the same guy who flew into your car. And everything would be fine, if only not for his appearance: he is covered in blood, there is a gaping hole in his cheek through which his teeth are visible, and the man himself is barely dragging himself towards you with very inhumane intentions. And then you understand one thing: he is a zombie. Yes, yes, the walking dead. And what should you do in this case? Right! Survive at any cost.

Don’t think that I decided to do a retelling, I just gave an introduction to how the hero ended up in another world inhabited by the infected, that is, the dead and more seasoned creatures. I once said that in zombie novels there is no global plot, there is only a goal - to survive. It would be wrong for me to talk about the adventures of the main character; I just showed how it all began. But it’s definitely worth telling about the world of “S-T-I-K-S”.

The zombie apocalypse did not occur on planet Earth, but on various copies of it. Surely you are familiar with the concept of “multiverse” - the universe as a whole as a collection of worlds, one of which is the universe (universe) in which we live. That is, there is a hypothetical set of all possible real-life parallel universes (including the one in which we find ourselves), and most of them differ from ours so insignificantly that we will not be able to notice the difference.

In the world where the main character finds himself, entire cities from various parallel Universes are copied, along with their population. But the most unpleasant moment is that there is a virus walking in that world, turning people into walking infected people, similar to zombies, ready to eat a bad person with pleasure. There are also immune individuals who form the backbone of the survivors. Our protagonist belongs to them. However, there are two key "buts".

First, the infected mutate. There are entire categories of mutation, from the most common ones, getting fast running and long jumps, to complete transformation of the body - a person turns into a fear-man with incredible abilities. The mutants persistently search for survivors in order to eat heavily and reduce the number of immune ones.

And the second aspect is the most unpleasant. Survivors cannot exist without the infected. Literally. Mutated individuals have special growths - spore sacs, which contain sporons, things similar to grapes, which any immune person cannot do without. Spores are necessary, like food and water, since without their use the survivor begins to waste away, he develops weakness, and in the future he can simply “glue his fins together” without this muck. But on the other hand, sporons help in the regeneration of the body. These are, excuse the absurdity, pies with apricots.

At first it seemed to me that the author exaggerated a little in his fantasy, because it is vital for all survivors to run around clusters (failed locations from different parallel Universes) and zealously shoot mutated creatures, ready at any moment to feast on the ranger. But, reading further, I began to get used to the realities of the world described in the novel, and came to the conclusion that ordinary zombie shooters would not interest me so much, there are already so many of them on the book market. Kamenisty came up with his own picture of what was happening; it is unusual, heterogeneous and individual.

Naturally, I told you the foundation, you will read most of the details and the basis in the work, I only told you superficially, “for starters.”

The novel reminded me of a furious action, thriller, even a computer game like “Left 4 Dead” and “Dead Island”. The world into which the hero finds himself is filled with the dead, specially infected, and even the survivors are ready to shoot and rob the poor fellow for cheap material benefits. There are dangers at every step, just have time to react and dodge the next blow of fate. The adventures are so dizzying that they make your eyes dazzle. Clashes give way to battles, battles give way to various skirmishes. And so on in a circle. By the middle of the novel I was somehow tired of them, there were too many of them. Yes, they are colorful, but I personally felt sad for another reason to get involved in a fight. All clashes are justified and necessary for the hero, the world is extremely dangerous and the key character has no time to rest.

The protagonist himself is described well, but without any frills. There is almost nothing to say about the hero, he is not an analogue of Rimbaud, but not an office clerk either, he can stand up for himself and deal with the enemy. There is no need to look for any special drama, since the novel is essentially entertaining and does not carry an intellectual load. Of course, I empathized with the hero; after all, he is not “cardboard”, but alive, real, albeit strange in places. But I knew perfectly well that the hero would get out of any trouble, even if he was severely crippled, but he would survive at any cost.

What can I say about the cons? Considering that the novel is an entertaining read, I did not see any negative sides. Personally, I was confused by too much “combat”, but this is just my nit-picking, the inexperienced reader will not agree with me. And he will be truly right.

Exciting action in a post-apocalyptic setting, filled with the dead, specially infected people and people surviving as best they can. A solid action movie, starting a new series of books. According to the author, there will be a continuation and I will be happy to read it after it is published in print. If you are interested in the theme of the zombie apocalypse, survival in extreme conditions, or simply love spectacular action films, then this novel is for you.

My rating: 8/10.

Rating: 8

I’ll warn you right away that I read little literature about “misfits,” so don’t judge me harshly for my rating and review of this novel. So to speak, I came across this work by accident.

There are approximately equal numbers of minuses and pluses, but the minuses outweighed them in their content. I'll start with the "bad":

1. A lot of dialogue. There is also a “rational” grain in them - the situation is revealed, a description of the world, but most of them are “empty” conversations, I repeat, of which there is an incredibly large number.

2. Lubricated end. It seems that the author typed and typed pages and did not know how to finish, since the given rhythm - constant conversations + alterations did not make it possible to finish the work. It was possible to end when the hero got into the “stub”, but the author did not end the hero’s adventures on this note, and then it was too late and he had to cut the end.

3. Lots of hints about the central part of the world, but little information. A hint at the hero’s further adventures, this is understandable, but I would like more (this is not a minus, it’s a complaint).

1. Cat. An interesting character, minor, but commanding respect. In some situations he reminded me of Simon the cat.

2. The only moment that really “pulled me” into the novel was when Karat got into the stub. There are dialogues “on the topic” and a healer. Some lines and reasons have been revealed. But this was the topic until the riots began.

3. Scheme of development of immune and infected people. Not just stupid zombies, but developing individuals, with virtually no final degrees of development. And with immune people, not everything is so simple. It is this feature of the novel that is a huge plus.

Rating: 4

A book from the “cheap reading” genre. I read it like I watched a trash action movie. GG sees in front of him pools of blood in the car, spent cartridges, hears shots nearby and “thinks” - probably hunters. Well, then nonsense went on. Zombie, Hive, Can, Karat and Racist. The hackneyed techniques plus the imagination of a schoolchild produces a “book” for fans of the zombie genre.

Rating: no

In short, it means getting into a post-up with elements of Stalker and any zombie.... but nevertheless, interesting finds were found, and this novel is interesting to read.

The world in the novel, in my opinion, is very interesting, the motivation of the hero and his entourage, as well as their actions, is simple and understandable, and it’s natural that the first book is just the beginning, where the storyline is just outlined.

I'll definitely be looking forward to the continuation.

Rating: 8

A rather pleasant work in the fantasy action genre - no lengthy reasoning or philosophy, events develop at lightning speed, and the characters die in batches, except for the main one, of course. Yes, there are obvious mistakes in the text, but they didn’t spoil the impression for me much. The book is like a passable action movie on TV, which you watch and relax, where there are good and bad guys, although you understand who will be on the horse in the end, and almost the main feature is the cat - not a masterpiece, but time was not wasted .

I would like to advise comrades with negative reviews to get acquainted with the author and reviews before reading a work; it is stupid to expect from a book what the author himself declares is not in his books.

Rating: 8

If you were planning to plunge into the interesting world of the “Border River” of the first books, or missed the dynamics of “The Ninth” (again, the first novels, while the author was one person), then you were sorely mistaken. But! Did you still want the hitchhikers? I have them!

A group of comrades codenamed “Artem Kamenisty” created a new opus. What does it take to create a new road reading book?

1. Hitting is a feature of LLC Kamenisty and Co. The author responsible for this aspect of the novel did not break his wits or figured that the publishing house’s budget was only enough for half a bun and coffee, and decided that the plot plot would suffice: “I slipped, fell, woke up, cast.” There is, of course, a hint of a secret sacrifice, the essence of which we must learn in the sixth book of the series. The idea of the world is interesting, but there are a lot of mistakes regarding the economy, geography and time frame (I won’t reveal the plot).

2. War game. The gentleman, who decided to describe the bang-bang and other booms, took the manner of Cruise. But glory to Bacchus! You will not see here a 3-page rant about the difference between a cartridge from a Makarov pistol and a nuclear bomb, there will be no picattini rails and other crap. But you will still get a lot of unnecessary information about small arms. In general, it turned out to be such a mini Cruise. Kruzik I would say.

3. Zombies!! And what? Stylish! Fashionable! Youthful! Well, the author hasn’t had anything like this before, but oh well. Now will be. It also turned out ala “Cruz - the era of the dead” with the development of zombies into higher forms.

4. Dialogues. Oh... That's a separate conversation. Why did the author decide that in order to increase the atmosphere and other tension in the situation, all the characters should speak like seasoned prisoners? I find it difficult to answer. It is also not clear why the author projects his homosexual-anal problems onto the characters’ vocabulary. A lot of conversations turn to this topic. Again, why???

As a result, it turned out to be the beginning of another tedious cycle in the “quest” style with completing tasks, discovering the super abilities of the main character, but with a very poor design. I read the first and half of the second book. There is no point in reading further. The author lost his originality and became just another...

Rating: 4

But instead there is a story by Shust where he repeats the same thing several times. Then GG thinks about the same thing. Then the GG tells the next arrivals about this. The text grows, the number of characters increases. Well, there is some originality in the idea - people eat zombies and zombies eat people. Another Shust with the reasoning “be glad that we don’t need to eat human flesh, but just peas from corpses.”

Shooting, running around, some mysterious observers with drones who are probably arranging all this or at least just observing the phenomenon.

GG is a hero, everyone else is a sucker. He's here, half-dead, knocking down the top creatures with practically his bare hands, why does he need any weapons at all?

Spoiler (plot reveal) (click on it to see)

He climbs, barely breathing, onto the pipe along with a crowbar and kills the creature by throwing it from above. It seems to me or was it written that creatures get smarter over time? Something doesn't add up. You see, you can’t kill her with a gunshot, but by throwing something from a height, it’s easy.

Karatu lacks only super strength and super speed like the “pearls” and above, but, apparently, this is not far off. It was in vain that he ate the pearl.

And the cat is good. A cat is never out of place :)

Rating: 7

All or almost all books of this author are adaptations of already existing books by different authors. BUT the adaptations are so well written that it’s hard to call them clones (besides, don’t forget, for example, that Dumas and Shakespeare also rewrote other people’s stories and books in a new, much better way).

In this case, the book is analogous to Zlotnikov’s “Com” series. In general, I would advise those who are familiar with one of these authors and appreciate his work, but are not familiar with the other, to read the books of the second. The plots are similar, but at the same time the differences are so significant that it will be interesting to read.

Rating: 8

Many consider the modern, relatively newfangled genres of “hit and miss” and LitRPG to be worthless literature and are disdainful of taking on it. I agree: most of these works do not shine with talent and are essentially blatant graphomaniacs - meaningless and merciless, but there are also high-quality copies. Among the most talented authors is Artyom Kamenisty, who can safely be considered one of the brightest representatives of the era of “hit and miss” literature. The duology “Ruthless Paradise”, the first parts of the cycle “The Ninth”, “The Strangest Noob”, “Border River” - all these works were given to me many hours of relaxing and interesting reading. I looked forward to each new release with great impatience and, upon leaving, ran headlong to the bookstore.

Now I buy Kamenisty’s books purely out of principle and out of old memory - what if something worthwhile comes out, but every time my hopes melt away. When purchasing the novel “S-T-I-K-S. “The Human Hive” was more inspired than ever - after all, it was praised quite a lot. However, expectations were once again not met - only with great reserve can this project be called successful. A strong, average action movie with another lucky hero and a world where semi-feral people fight for the sake of survival hunting for spherical formations (this is not what you thought!!!) mutant undead...

It has long become obvious to many that under the pseudonym Kamenisty there is most likely a whole team of authors working: they are exploiting and squeezing the last juice out of the popular name. Faceless and soulless piles of waste paper come out as if from an assembly line. We should not exclude the possibility that the writer, for the sake of quantity, spat on quality. Although you can’t call the world of the Hive a failure (I was still able to read it to the end), but... In general: bring back to us the joyful era of the good old drunken, foul-mouthed parrot. The new era of the mutant intellectual cat does not impress me personally...

Despite all this, I will buy new products authored (or not?) by Kamenisty, nostalgic for the old days, and believe that a happy moment will come and we will see a quality product!!!

Rating: 7

It’s difficult to describe this “work” better than Comrade Kaliban, and yet...

The novel will fit completely within the framework of a novella, or even a short story, if you remove from it multiple repetitions, pouring from empty to empty, stupid dialogues-explanations about the essence of the world of “misfits”, dissected far and wide by much more gifted authors. In general, it turned out cheap, flat, so straightforward that you can’t even call it light reading - such “literature” will straighten out all the convolutions and converge into one. And also the language of presentation. Some kind of extravaganza, written by a gopnik, well-read, but still a gopnik, who, judging by his fixation on the homosexual topic, has had some complaints about the rest of the contingent from the very first turn.

“Empties”, “crawlers”, “sporans”, “pea-peaters”, “lottery players”... If the author has nowhere to put his abundance of imagination, let him give birth to children and give them such names)))

For show, I’ll break it down point by point:

1) The characters are rather weak, especially for Kamenisty, but in principle they are tolerable

3) The language is not bad, although not exactly a masterpiece

4) There is enough humor, but to be honest, the abundance of flat jokes about gays is somewhat annoying - I have nothing against it, but I prefer that the humor not be so one-sided

5) I didn’t notice any logical connections - if they exist, they get lost in the wild dynamics

6) We couldn’t do without pianos, but there aren’t many of them

7) In terms of originality, idea, plot - one cannot say that this is a “new word”, but it is a fairly successful compilation of the ideas of the Epoch, Stalker and Borderland

Some write that it’s too detailed, brutal and disgusting - I don’t agree, Tsarenko’s comrades didn’t read it, everything here is quite typical for the genre.

Overall it’s not bad - I won’t re-read it, but if the sequel comes out I’ll read it.

Rating: 8

A well written book.

Although the plot is slightly frayed, it is easy to read and captivating, maybe not from the first pages, but definitely from the first ten.

Unexpected moves, plot dynamics, and descriptions of the characters made the book very readable.

The need for people to hunt zombies in order to survive does not seem to be new, but the author managed to add a twist to this idea.

07
Jun
2017

S-T-I-K-S 1. Human hive (Stone Artem), Suslov Maxim]

Format: audiobook, MP3, 64kbps

Year of manufacture: 2016
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 12:21:17
Description: "S-T-I-K-S. The Human Hive" is a science fiction novel by Artem Kamenisty.
Welcome to the Hive - a place where getting in is easy, but getting out is impossible. And where it is so difficult to survive that ninety percent of immune newcomers do not reach the end of the first week, and those who last a year are considered old-timers. In most of the volatile territory, you are just game, and the rare islands of stability can turn into a death trap for all inhabitants overnight. Mutating zombies; attack drones; heavily armed soldiers of unknown armies, for whom you are nothing more than valuable biological material; your brutal colleagues in misfortune, plus a lot of other things, including the forbidden, unnamed - here is a short list of those who are hunting you. So how long will you last here? Day? A week? Year? Time has passed...

03
Jun
2016

S-T-I-K-S. Human Hive (Artem Kamenisty)

Author:
Year of manufacture: 2016
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 12:21:17
Description: "S-T-I-K-S. The Human Hive" is a fantasy novel by Artem Kamenisty. Welcome to the Hive - a place where getting in is easy, but getting out is impossible. And where it is so difficult to survive that ninety percent of immune newcomers do not reach the end of the first week, and those who last a year are considered old-timers. In most of the volatile territory you are just game, and rare islands of stability can turn...

19
Oct
2018

S-T-I-K-S, Dreams come true. Book 1, (Cather Way)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 50 kbps
Author:
Year of release: 2018
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 10:20:02
Description: Waking up in the middle of the night, Victor did not immediately realize that he was no longer in his own world, but in a world full of zombies, mutants, religious fanatics, bandits and anarchy, where the strongest and most cunning survive, where completely different values and certain parts of mutants stand more expensive than gold, in a world that is called S.T.I.K.S for a reason. Was he upset? Panicked and began to curse fate? No. Victor has long dreamed of something like this...

11
Jan
2018

S-T-I-K-S. Second Guardian [Book 1] (Andrey Arkhipov)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 56 kbps
Author:
Year of release: 2017
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 12:08:10
Description: Two construction workers find themselves in the Hive, where they confront dangers shoulder to shoulder, but their paths diverge. The Persian, seeking revenge for the death of his beloved girl, deliberately turns himself into a monster, and his friend Phase goes to a distant mountain cluster to carry out a mysterious order for a trade guild.
Add. Information: There is profanity!

03
Aug
2014

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (fan-fiction). “Human Mutant” (Artem Chuprin)

Format: MP3, 128kbps
Author:
Year of manufacture: 2014
Genre: , S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Publisher: Project "SViD" - Fairy tales for Adults and Children
Executor:
Duration: 00:51:28
Description: Friendship in the Zone is an integral mechanism in the survival system. It is a pity that many people neglect this fact. Most stalkers believe that a friend is a burden, that you need to share swag with him, that you need to protect him, help him, but for some reason they also overlook the fact that a friend will also help you. In principle, such people (loners) will not live here for long...

14
Jul
2017

S-T-I-K-S: Territory of the Lucky (Book 4) (Artem Kamenisty)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 128kbps
Author:
Year of release: 2017
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 17:19:38
Description: “Territory of the Lucky” is a science fiction novel by Artem Kamenisty, part of the “S-T-I-K-S” cycle, the genre of combat fantasy. You are the only one who knows where the treasure is hidden, you know the way to get it and you know the safe road to get to it. Your plan is simple and well thought out. Well, go ahead, act, just don’t forget that Styx is a master of unpleasant surprises and his worst enemy is predictable...

23
Dec
2017

S-T-I-K-S. Double (Sharapov Kirill), Alexander Chaitsyn]

Format: audiobook, MP3, 52kbps
Author:
Year of release: 2017
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 14:53:27
Description: The hive is not a place for walking. But it so happened that Leonid Pogorelov, who now goes by the name Amper, had a long journey. A hunt has been announced for him! Everyone needs his life: moors, bounty hunters and just people who are ready to sell their own mother for a reward. But most of all, foreigners need it. The resources of an entire base were thrown into his search, a fabulous reward was promised, and only because...

04
Feb
2018

S-T-I-K-S. Suicide Man (Avasta Pavel), Alexander Chaitsyn]

Author:
Year of release: 2018
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 12:24:06
Description: “Suicide Man” is a fantasy novel by Pavel Avasta based on the world of Artyom Kamenisty “S-T-I-K-S”, genre of combat fantasy. The ways of the Hive are mysterious. No matter what you knew about him until now, no matter what you went through, and the next moment he will turn to you in such a way that you don’t know what to do. There’s just no time to think; it’s very expensive in the Hive. A year goes by in three or thirty-three. Or maybe more expensive - as you agree. Will the agreement succeed...

15
Sep
2017

Book series Universe S-T-I-K-S

Format: FB2, (originally computer)
Author:
Year of release: 2016-2017
Genre: ,
Publisher: ,
Language:
Number of books: 24
Description: Welcome to the Hive - a place where it's easy to get in, but impossible to get out. And where it is so difficult to survive that ninety percent of immune newcomers do not reach the end of the first week, and those who last a year are considered old-timers. In most of the volatile territory, you are just game, and the rare islands of stability can turn into a death trap for all inhabitants overnight. Muti...

02
Oct
2018

S-T-I-K-S. Mercenary Ivan: Tracer (book 2) (Yuri Ulengov)

Format: audiobook, MP3, 56kbps
Author:
Year of release: 2018
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 12:33:54
Description: “Tracer” is a fantasy novel by Yuri Ulengov based on the world of Artyom Kamenisty “S-T-I-K-S”, genre combat fantasy. Former mercenary Ivan has been in the Hive for six months. Having put together his own squad of hunters for the infected, tracers, as they are called here, he continues the struggle for survival in a nightmare world populated by the living dead and inveterate thugs. At the same time, he does not forget for a moment about his main goal - revenge. After all, somewhere...

07
Jun
2017

S-T-I-K-S 2. Man with a cat (Stone Artem), Vadim Pugachev]

Format: audiobook, MP3, 64kbps
Author:
Year of manufacture: 2016
Genre:
Publisher:
Executor:
Duration: 12:28:15
Description: A world of endless nightmare. A world where even if you are lucky at the start, the finish will most likely be around the first corner. A world that continuously disfigures and digests everyone who enters it. And yet, even in such a place you can find a calm corner. But peace of mind here is too expensive a commodity, and those who sell it go out of their way to force everyone else to pay without discounts or late payments. If you...

07
Jun
2017

S-T-I-K-S 3. The color of her eyes (Artem Kamenisty, Alya Kholodova), Elena Polonetskaya]

Genre: ,

Book description: The hive is an unusual place that is easy to get into, but impossible to get out. It is almost impossible to survive in it; 90% of immune newcomers rarely make it to the end of the first week. Those who lasted a year are called old-timers. The territory is always changing and the people there are like game, fleeting islands of stability overnight turning into a death trap. Inside you can meet mutating zombies, attack drones, soldiers of unknown armies for whom you are nothing more than biological material. How long will you last here? Day? A week? Year? Combat fiction tells about military events taking place in unrealistic conditions.

In these times of active fight against piracy, most of the books in our library have only short fragments for review, including the book S-T-I-K-S. Human hive. Thanks to this, you can understand whether you like this book and whether you should purchase it in the future. Thus, you support the work of the writer Artem Kamenisty by legally purchasing the book if you liked its summary.

Welcome to the Hive - a place where getting in is easy, but getting out is impossible. And where it is so difficult to survive that ninety percent of immune newcomers do not reach the end of the first week, and those who last a year are considered old-timers. In most of the volatile territory, you are just game, and the rare islands of stability can turn into a death trap for all inhabitants overnight. Mutating zombies; attack drones; heavily armed soldiers of unknown armies, for whom you are nothing more than valuable biological material; your brutal colleagues in misfortune, plus a lot of other things, including the forbidden, unnamed - here is a short list of those who are hunting you. So how long will you last here? Day? A week? Year? Time has passed...

Artem Kamenisty

S-T-I-K-S. HUMAN HIVE

Chapter 1

Life is not fair. You make far-reaching plans, make efforts to implement them, and suddenly a gigantic fly swatter is waved over you - something irresistible interferes with your plans crosswise, crossing them out with a thick black line. And you don’t always realize this right away, because fate knows how to arrange everything in such a way that you yourself won’t notice how you’ll go downhill in the halo of the rubble of your destroyed future.

On this seemingly ordinary day, Igor did not at all intend to get into trouble, which radically changes the fate of those who, at the wrong time, find themselves in a place from which they should stay as far as possible. His plans were standardly simple and there was no place in them for adventures that were dangerous to health or, even more so, life.

First, he needs to get to the city, then quickly wash off the sweat of work in the shower, change clothes and go on a date, which he agreed on with cutie Svetka yesterday. He had a sure-fire surprise prepared in advance, which, as a rule, makes women's hearts softer. You see, you won’t have to prolong the already outrageously protracted courtship ritual any further. That is, you may have to spend the night away from home.

With the latter, he must admit, he hit the nail on the head.

The trivial life of a young lonely man, simple plans, everything was predictable until the outcome of this ill-fated day.

The binding, which Igor could not even suspect, began to interfere with the plan gradually, a few hours before everything began in earnest. The slaughter had to take place in a certain place and at a certain time, for this the victim had to be slightly slowed down.

The well-worn, faithful UAZ, which manages to make its way where the owners of expensive jeeps dejectedly wander on their own two feet in search of a tractor, is hopelessly stuck at the Khatkinsky turn - a place where an innumerable number of both experienced drivers and beginners have become victims of the extremely insidious mud there. Little depends on the person here: one passes almost calmly; the other, a couple of minutes later, follows in his footsteps and lays the car on its belly on the slurry. Such is the mystery of nature.

And what do you tell me to do now? Looking for a tractor is not an option. It’s too far to get back to the drilling site; there’s no time to get back before dark. It’s much closer to Khatka, but there is no equipment in the abandoned village, and there are only a few battered whips from a dissolute life that may or may not help, it all depends on the unpredictable swings of their mood and the concentration of alcohol in the blood. You can also walk to the highway, but again, it will waste too much time.

In general, Igor had to roll up his sleeves and climb into the sticky mud. She didn’t really dream of parting with the four-wheeled booty, she resisted desperately, making him sweat until he began to curse his hasty decision. It would be better to go to the highway, hitch a ride there, and resolve the issue with the stuck car tomorrow.

He was hopelessly late for a date and, what’s worse, the phone here is nothing more than an alarm clock and a camera, there is no connection and it’s unlikely to appear in the next millennium. Is it possible to try to climb a tall pine tree and get it from there? Oh well - nonsense, here, in a narrow damp lowland surrounded by high hills, this trick will not help.

The mud gave up when there was little more than an hour left before darkness. By this time, problems began with the starter, and during the last jerk the muffler was damaged, the engine now roared like a wounded beast.

This book is part of a series of books: