Spheres E-Book

Miko

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

An alternate world with buildings and structures common to all people will open with special details. Where the siren that rings in the city is a sign to leave the streets as quickly as possible, saving their lives from the monsters.  Thereby making room for a special unit called the "sweep team". It is these units, subordinate to the organization of the "SomeOne" act as a shield. They risk themselves in the fight against various-level "parasites" to save the civilians and their serenity. The system has been operating successfully for many decades, having become routine for everyone in the world. The country is developing, growing, everything is taking its course. But is everything so serene?
 This story begins the narrative with squad number six. Questions arise in their heads after an encounter with a priestess. But there is another strange personality who appears on deadly missions...
 Who is it? As if untouchable priests weren't enough. With each step only one thing becomes clear to heroes: they are completely unaware of what is going on around them. And these mysteries must be answered. Even laying their position and the familiar days of society at stake. Where will this eventually lead them?

Leseprobe

THE SIXTH SQUAD

Once the phrase "big city" is mentioned, something awesome, marvelous, and beautiful is jumped to mind. You imagine joyful, smiling, happy people and limitless possibilities. Allegedly, you're welcome here with open arms. In fact, it is a regular anthill made of concrete with high-rise buildings and wide roads. It is not necessary to explain how developed public places and stations, road junctions and communications are. That's the beauty of general knowledge, but you can still add your own colors by describing the specifics.

The scenery and large parks here were breathtaking. The river sprawled with woods all along the border, which branches out, along with roads, into some areas. It created a stark contrast between the coziness of brick-framed comfort and the beauty of wildlife, only slightly humanized. Green lawns with many sidewalks leading to stops through playgrounds and cafes. A police station in the middle of one of the squares was next door to a couple of important facilities occupying high-rise buildings. And a glass sixteen-story building is among them. The building was similar to many, only separated by a significant area of asphalted parking lot. The whimsical name "SomeOne" crowned the roof high; thanks to this structure, the city prospered and the citizens were safe. True, in relative terms.

The sunset sky today was in beautiful pastel colors, from pale yellow and peach to deep pink and lilac. The clouds flew leisurely, glorious in their majesty, unaware of the birds flying about in alarm, or of what was happening on the ground. A siren was blaring through the streets, piercing ears with its dreadful sounds. Civilians scattered to houses, shelters, stores, basements, anywhere to avoid being on the street. Shadow creatures suddenly emerged on the roads. They always had different shapes and sizes, sometimes small and sometimes huge, but always deadly. When they attacked, the monsters never spared their victims, tearing off their legs, arms, heads, or simply tearing them apart. These monsters killed and disappeared like an explosion, appearing suddenly and disappearing just as unexpectedly, leaving behind only death and destruction. And there were two of them right now. Their bodies looked like images woven out of darkness. Black, but at the same time volumetric and as real as flesh and blood creatures. As big as a small bear, the specimens walked on their hind legs, like Bigfoot, with a round, spherical head and empty eye sockets. With their huge jaws, the parasites opened their mouths, clacking their teeth and moving slowly down the street searching for victims. And from around the corner three men in uniform appeared, in black military uniforms, but without vests or weapons in their hands. Faces covered by dark rag masks up to their noses, goggles on their eyes, similar to ski glasses. The third differed in one detail. His mask was a full-face, Japanese-style white wolf with red eyeliner around his eyes. From his wristwatch the sweet voice of a girl came on.

"Squad 6, District 9, Sector 5. Your target is parasites of yellow color. I repeat, the color is yellow."

"In place," the character in the white wolf mask answered.

The creatures responded to the sound with anger, got down on all fours, and ran very quickly toward their newly found target.

The commander-in-chief in the white mask did nothing, just showed the first charge the "forward" signal in one motion.

Like a ninja, with one leap the charge flew over the heads of his comrades-in-arms, finding himself between enemies and with a flick of his finger stopping those running. The parasites froze in time and could not move. Then the commander gave another signal for the second one to act and he, sliding on the ground like ice on skates, began circling around the frozen ones. The rider made three laps and clapped his hands, stopping two meters away from them. The ground shook and under the feet of the creatures instead of asphalt there was a mixture that looked like quicksand. The substance quickly pulled the bodies of the time-frozen monsters underground. After a few minutes, the tops of the parasites disappeared from view, and instead of the sands, the road emerged again. The so-called battle was over. One could probably sigh and go back to base or just go ahead, trivially have a quick word or two, but the siren was still humming, and the commander-in-chief's gadget was giving off a general wave.

This time there was a man's voice.

"The Ninth District! The eighth sector! The color is green! There are twenty individuals," the operator shrieked suddenly, "civilians..."

"The sixth squad has accepted," the commander replied.

The coordinates were followed by a team on the run.

"You may not make it in time," the operator responded.

"Keep transmitting, if anyone responds, we'll be there to help," the commander said.

"Roger that."

This operator sounded quite familiar, only in this situation there was no time to think about it. For several blocks, the group ran for the call. They could also get in the car, only the commander knew that these are the coordinates of a public transport stop, it is not far, but vehicles would have to go around a lot. The commander knew how to take a shortcut on the sidewalks through the park area. That's why he led the others. Cutting their way through playgrounds and planting trails, the group was already three minutes up - finding that their squad was the first to arrive. A whole swarm of parasites gathered around the bus stop. From here, the objects looked like a black mass, with no individual limbs, or bodies.

"Let's go to scheme B," the commander said to the operator and his squad.

"Nathan!" the operator shouted.

"So, it is you, Stan," the captain said, "and I thought you sounded familiar.

"Yes! It's me but it doesn't matter now, you don't stand a chance without using your powers," Stan said.

Nathan gave the sign to his guys and the time manager went forward, freezing the entire circle of creatures. The second, pounded the asphalt, turning the solid mass into a liquid substance, a stone bat emerged from its smoothness. The guy took his weapon in his hands and quickly slid down the sidewalk as if he were riding on roller skates.

"Who said no powers?" Nathan replied, taking a small iron object out of his pocket.

With one movement of his hand, he turned it into a long cane; now Nathan was ready and marched to his comrades-in-arms. What happened next did not look like a battle, but more like uprooting. The spider-like creatures, resembling ordinary house spiders, seemed to be glued together. The parasites had to be picked off and plucked from the group. Which was done with a bat and a cane. The creatures seemed even uglier on their own. Thick, hairy paws came from a round, humanoid body. The creatures had a head like a fly, but hundreds of human eyes, not faceted like those of insects. After being frozen, only their pupils could move in their orbits. The parasites themselves were clearly awake. There was fear in their gaze. The creatures understood everything, knew what was happening, but could do nothing. Not even able to move. And it's wonderful to know that the creatures know the fear before they die. The charge who made the bat delegated his weapon to the time manager. And when the creatures were separated from the group, the sand wielder clapped his hands and the parasites sank one by one, disappearing beneath the earth. This went on for quite some time. It was hard to say how much, no one was timing it. But by the time the last spider was neutralized, it was already getting dark outside. Only the roadside lights and the lamp in the bus stop where the civilians were sheltering were lit.

"Are you there?" Nathan called to his acquaintance, waiting for a response from his gadget.

"Here," Stan answered after a little while, "are you done?"

"That's right, friend," the captain looked to the bus stop, where the six men were still standing, "you know, I gotta hand it to them.

"To whom?" the operator asked quietly.

"Civilians," Nathan looked at the people who were still frozen.

An interesting picture emerged, like a still frame from a movie or a photo. Everyone was standing in the same position in which the spider-like creatures had attacked them.

One, a big, pumped-up, bogatyr-like man, was at the front of the group. The bulky man held the bench horizontally in his hands. Ripped out with a base of concrete, using the bench as a shield, which apparently was able to hold back a group of piled-up parasites for a while. Of course, the man wasn't alone in this endeavor, two other scrawny office managers were helping at his sides, supporting him. The fourth one was an old lady. The old lady's small handbag hung in the air. She was probably trying to kick her enemies with it. The fifth was a teenager of about fifteen. With his laptop in his hands, the guy still swung it at his opponents, not sparing his beloved gadget. And only one girl stood aside, arms folded across her chest, huddled up in the corner of the bus stop. There was a strange grimace on her face, expressing no particular emotion.

"Commander," one of the charges asked, "can we unfreeze the civilians?"

The siren was no longer humming. It is quiet and one can even hear the wind rustling the branches of the still green leaves.

"Oh," the captain joined in the present, "of course. Why do you ask?"

The guy running the time-stop simply walked over to the victims and waved his palm, as if he were removing an invisible sheet. Now the picture has come to life. The frightened civilians, unlike the parasites, could not see what had been going on all this time. Their consciousness froze together with time. Therefore, at this very moment, the victims were still experiencing the attack.

"Ah-ah-ah," a man who looked like a bogatyr shouted.

"Ah-ah-ah," his assistants on the sides yelled as well.

There was no more pressure on their shield, so the three collapsed to the ground along with the bench. The old lady with her eyes closed is waving her bag amusingly. At that very moment, the teenager launched his laptop, understanding that it was flying quite far away, and there were no parasites in front of him. One more second and everyone realizes that there are no more parasites. Emotions of surprise, happiness, and incomprehension at the same time. It looked truly ridiculous, like a clipping from a sitcom. So those watching couldn't hold back a chuckle. But at that very moment, the boy saw that his laptop had broken in half. Running up to it as his most precious treasure, the young man fell to his knees.

"No - o - o - o," the teenager shouted, almost crying and looking around to see if there was any way to glue it back together.

One of the sweep team walked up to the kid and sympathetically said.

"Well, why are you getting so excited? This is just a laptop. You're alive, and the other things..."

But then the second man came up, he could barely contain his laughter, almost grunting. And when the kid turned to them and looked at them with tears in his eyes, he couldn't stand it.

"He might have lost all his gigabytes of porn," the joke may not have been funny, but his laugh was so infectious that even the three adult civilians standing on the sidelines laughed.

"Stop it, man, don't be so cruel," his friend struggled not to laugh himself, so that his attempts to restrain his comrade only encouraged him.

And the joker, supported by the crowd, continued.

"Look at the beauty over there," he pointed to the girl still standing in the corner of the bus stop, "go to her and try to pick her up, it's definitely more useful than a virtual..."

The boy mechanically looked at the young woman. She looked about twenty-five years old. Maybe more, maybe less. She looked ridiculous. She wore an old ochre coat, a blue shabby checked scarf, and black old wide pants that were clearly several sizes larger than its mistress. And the shoes, you cry when you look at them. Long out of fashion with a pointy toe, suede boots. It was hard to see his face behind large-rimmed glasses, and his blond, almost gray hair was streaked down his cheekbones and forehead. And the kid suddenly couldn't hold back a smile either, forgetting about his laptop.

Only Nathan didn't laugh, he turned around in the opposite direction, still communicating with the operator.

"It's been a long time since we've seen each other, hasn't it?" There was a note of sadness in the captain's voice.

"It's true," his friend answered.

"So how about to go somewhere for a beer this week?" he suggested to the operator.

"I thin..." Stan didn't finish

A girl's voice suddenly rang out from the side of the bus stop, so loudly that the operator just snuggled up with the background.

"And you find that funny? Seriously?" It was the same girl with the glasses, her scream sounded very loud and so angry.

Nathan even turned to the source of the noise, watching as the civilian, who had been standing sideways in the corner a short while ago, almost jutted her chest forward and walked at the two guys.

"We'll talk later," the captain disconnected without listening to the line.

One of the rescued men, who looked like a bogatyr, took the girl by the shoulder, trying to stop her.

"It's a sweep squad, kid," said the bogatyr very affectionately, "they saved us, didn't they?"

"What's the big deal?" she threw his arm away from her like a fluff and looked at the two of the sweep crew, "Aren't they ashamed? Maybe he has a term paper in there or an important report? How could you be so indifferent to other people's misery?"

"Just the opposite, we were trying to che..." one of the squads justified himself.

"What are you talking about..." the other one tried to say.

But the girl was already got a spark, the just absent demeanor showed a completely different side.

"I don't care what you wanted. I don't feel comfortable with that. Your behavior, whoever you are, is unacceptable."

There was something about this young woman that made heroic warriors and serious lads put their heads down like misguided students and listen to what she had to say. Nathan didn't like it at all. Stepping in front of his charges, he forced the girl to retreat backwards.

"You should be grateful and not to be told off. If we hadn't gotten there in time, you wouldn't be alive," Nathan looked down on the girl, and not only because she was short.

"Great Tree, what has this mouse done?" one man in office clothes said.

This nickname immediately stuck with the girl in the audience. This little woman’s hair was indeed as gray as a mouse's. Saying nothing of those bulky red-rimmed glasses all over her face. She was funny and ridiculous, but she was demanding in a not-childish way.

"I," the girl looked at the captain and suddenly became embarrassed, returning to the image of a silent person, "I," again found herself in the corner of the stop, hiding her face.

"That's better. That kind of behavior is more appropriate for you," the captain cut off rudely.

And the troublemaker kept quiet. Probably it would have been that way, but at that very moment an old lady and a teenager and three other men ran up from the side and literally made a bow to Nathan.

"Thank you a lot."

Someone from the civilians added.

"What would we do without the sweep team at all, thank you for your work..."

"You are one of the legendary sweep squads," the kid unbuttoned his padded jacket as he pulled him away from the stop, "maybe you could get your autograph on my T-shirt?"

Nathan had already forgotten about the girl, but she suddenly reminded him of herself.

"That's why you have to set an example with your behavior," the girl raised her head high, looking at Nathan through the lenses of her glasses with her large gray eyes.

Catching up with the commander, pushing everyone along the way. She had such pressure, such energy, and such a confident face that everyone around her froze in astonishment. The captain did not say a word, trying to gather his thoughts, there were no sane orders against the enraged civilians.

"And you also approve of the behavior of your charges," she poked her finger in the captain's chest.

She pressed so much so that he had to take a step back with every claim of the mouse.

"And it's you who should apologize," the girl pushed him with her finger again.

Nathan didn't have time to think. He was taken by surprise by this behavior. And then, suddenly, something unseen slipped into his mind, something that stung his chest painfully. And the captain took another step back. But the furious mouse didn't calm down.

"And tell them to apologize," the girl pointed to Nathan's team.

The first wrinkles had already appeared on the young woman's forehead, her face was so close to his that the captain could see them. And also, he could see in detail the long eyelashes of the rebel, the plump cherry lips and thin chin with a dimple, but that steely look of the huge, crescent-like eyes. It was as if they glistened, piercing him sharply through.

"And…"

But Nathan could no longer hear the girl's voice. Her eyes reminded him of someone from his past life. The whole situation brought back memories. The stranger's behavior triggered associations and Nathan went to the cathedral of memory. Then it was also evening and the same time of year, even a fresh September breeze as now. Nathan remembered clearly a black-haired girl of about seventeen. Beautiful, slender, in a tight black cloth. The figure of the person from the memory was the shape of a guitar, sexy. The eyes were gray, steely and blowing him away. With her plump red cherry lips that night, the little-known girl shouted hurtful words at the future captain, repealing all attacks from the outside with as much assertiveness as this gray mouse. The man had already forgotten the meaning of the quarrel and all the words spoken, but he remembered what their first meeting had been like. Then in the company, around these two gathered faces already faded in the memory and blurred. In such a short time, Nathan and the girl had time to quarrel and then engage in an unequal fight. And it wasn't Nathan who was stronger. At that time, the future captain was not yet able to control his emotions, and quickly went round the bend. And after a short verbal battle, the boy tried to attack her, but was immediately met with a rebuff. The blow from the girl's invisible shield pushed him away and Nathan was thrown about five meters away. This made Nathan angrier, but the girl's face suddenly changed, and she approached him boldly, offering him her hand and beaming. This gesture disarmed, the surprise effect worked, reducing the anger. Nathan was too proud, so he got up on his own, but even here the girl, who would soon become a friend, took him by surprise. The black-haired beauty took a swift step toward Nathan, walked up to him, embraced him, and drew him close against her. In the first seconds he felt rejection, anger, and was afraid to turn into a beast, to tear her apart right there. He wanted to push the insolent maiden aside, but her hands clenched together.

"I won't let you," the girl's voice whispered softly at the boy's chest level.

Those words sounded so stupid, but Nathan suddenly froze. He didn't understand why, but that tone warmed him at the level of the solar plexus. It enchanted him. A feeling of something familiar and close penetrated his soul. It was as if the two of them had known each other for hundreds of years, maybe even in a past life. So, the lad's arms rested on her waist and hugged her to him. Unspeakable feelings lit up at chest level, soothing a real cradle. Nathan did not want to let her go. He wanted to stand like that forever; it seemed the girl did too.

"Mira," Nathan whispered through his reverie, coming back to reality as he found himself grasping the stranger's hands.

"Mina," she broke out, taking a step back.

"Of course not," the captain sighed with relief.

Looking at what he thought was a semblance of a girl.

"You're also crazy," said Mina in astonishment, "you should visit a staff psychologist or something..."

"Come on, don't be rude," someone on the outside advised the girl.

"Why? He grabs my hands," the mouse turned to Nathan's charges, "and do you have a book of complaints or where can I call at all?"

"I must have been overworked," the captain said deliberately, turning to his group, freeing himself from the sudden images of the past.

"Hmm," the girl smiled, "so you can still talk politely."

The observers whispered in surprise. Even his group.

"Give me a break," said the captain, "we've wasted enough time here as it is. Let's go," he called to his subordinates.

And the three of them left. All the way back to the car Nathan was silent, not responding to any conversation, in the salon only supporting work topics. And then there was an awkward silence, but one of the subordinates decided to dispel it.

"Chief, you could have easily shut that chick up, right there in that corner," with a note of a smirk.

The second one decided to keep the conversation going.

"And how do you imagine that, hitting her or something?"

The first one clicked his tongue.

"Well, why, he could have just kissed that mouse, and then she would have shut up for sure."

"Yeah, that would work for sure, a hundred percent," his friend picked up, chuckling.

This theme could have been developed, Nathan could even have smiled at these jokes, but it was still necessary to keep profile in front of his subordinates.

"Okay, stop talking," he looked at the streets outside the window.

Dark houses with lighted windows and lanterns illuminating passersby going home created a pleasant atmosphere for thoughts and relaxation. The driver turned on the radio and the captain, hearing the relaxing tune, leaned his head back, exhaling with relief. 'All right,' he thought.

About an hour later, the squad arrived at the base. Already in the locker room, before taking a shower, Nathan went to the washbasin and took off his mask, placing the item on the dressing table, leaning tiredly on his hands. The captain looked at his face in the mirror, examining every inch of it. Thick eyebrows, bags under the big green eyes, tired puffy eyelids holding back the thick lashes. He looked at his protruding cheekbones and his broad chin with a dimple. He looked at his lips; there was a faint scar there. He smiled, sighing heavily, turned on the cold water and washed his face, stretching it into his blond elongated hair. Going back to the memories when he was still seventeen. To Mira that this gray mouse reminded him of.

'How could she act like that? Who is she anyway?'

Himself, giving the answers.

'Nobody.'

But then why did this girl remind him of the past? These two individuals were so unlike each other. Mira had black hair, this one had gray. Mira's skin was as clean as a porcelain doll's; this one showed wrinkles and even visible pimples. Yes, there was a dimple on her chin, but Mira has a long face, and this one has a round one. The lips are slightly similar, but the black-haired friend had beautiful, red ones. Maybe they have a similar shape of eyelids, but Mira's eyes could not be confused with anyone else's. Nathan squared his shoulders and lifted his head up, so that his eyes stared straight up at the ceiling.

'And besides Mira...'

Memory again threw the captain to clippings of the past, of a friend lying face down on the ground. The girl's black hair was mussed and her body was immobilized like a lifeless rag. Mira was bleeding, and Nathan stood over her, feeling lost. How hard his heart was beating now, as if he had gone back in time. Pity was a heavy burden on his chest. So much so that it was hard to breathe. If only he had waited a bit, then, everything could have ended differently. The guilt was eating him up from the inside.

His thoughts were interrupted by another siren, and from the gadget he heard the operator's voice.

"District ten, sector eleven, color orange, one individual, repeat color orange..."

Nathan didn't like going on assignments during his off-hours, but he hadn't handed over his shift yet, and he probably wouldn't be able to sleep now. There were too many anxious thoughts in his head. So, the captain decided to distract himself with one last assignment.

"Did you guys hear the operator?" he pressed the button on the gadget.

"Yes," the first voice belonged to the time freezer, and he answered first, but very lazily.

"That's an affirmative," the sand wielder answered tinkling.

"Shall we take this sphere for ourselves?" The spirit of the adventurer awoke in the captain.

"Proceeding," the subordinate gave in to the mood.

"Whatever you say," the time-freezer muttered in response.…

CLASS REUNION

It was beautiful September weather outside in the evening, and the trees were still in colorful greenery, but in some places yellow and red leaves made a splash of color. The lush grass stretched toward the setting sun, and the dry asphalt gave away the heat gathered during the day to passersby, dressed as for summer. Sunset colored high-rise buildings and storefronts, cafés in the city center. At any time of the day, the area is lively and never empty. Long streets ran a whole block up along the park, and not far from the fountains, down the paving stones, in the middle of nowhere there was a school behind fences, hidden by high walls with a sign "focis," from the "SomeOne" Corporation. Two mothers wheeled baby carriages along the school fence. Now they had left their domestic cares, their children were sleeping sweetly, covered with light sheets, and now the softer sex representatives had free time to talk. One of them, the older one, looked with interest into the distance at the closing gate, where an expensive car drove in.

"I would send my little one here."

"Oh, really? Has your child shown any special abilities yet?"

"No," she waved her head, "it's too early."

"But you can't do it without special skills," Mommy laughed, finishing up, "My friend's husband, who is very rich, works at "SomeOne". Anyway, his child didn't pass the tests. So, he tried to stick his kid in there for three more years in a row. But in vain, no way money could have gotten it out. He even tried to threaten them, to throw his weight around."

"And?"

She was surprised, her eyes rounded.

"And nothing. The main thing is that the child fits the profession of "SomeOne," and it doesn't matter what family he comes from or how much money he has. So, you can't just get into this school. There are certain limitations. It's all certified, and there's no way to argue the law. And they have such a special program here, like the military, they create a squad out of the kids. Half of them will be sent to the sweep squads…"

"Oh, the Great Tree. There's survival rate..."

"Yes, from an early age child are turned into weapons," she sighed heavily.

Nathan walked behind them all the time and overheard the women's conversation. He wasn't proud of it, but the friends were talking so loudly that it was simply impossible not to hear them.

"That's true," Nathan concluded as he walked through the opening gates of the school, stepped onto the paved red sidewalk, paused for a moment, getting a lungful of fresh air," and nothing has changed here."

The captain walked languidly looking at the area with nostalgia. The breeze caressed his face, bringing the smell of freshly cut grass. On either side of the path there were neatly mowed lawns and ball-shaped bushes. There were a couple of wooden gazebos and fountains. "How many recesses have been spent here," Nathan imagined himself at that wooden table where he and his friends cheated off each other's homework. An uncontrollable smile appeared on the man's face. As he approached the high steps of the old building, Nathan looked into the distance; there was the stadium and the swimming pool building, and further on the park. What fond memories were left behind these walls? But the courtyard, usually swarming with students, was still empty. The school year here began not on the first day, but in the middle of the month. 'Never mind, soon the yard and the dorms will come to life,' he thought, and went up further. The school building looked more like a red-brick Town Hall, with huge columns holding up the bulky, peak-shaped roof. With an imposing main entrance and sharp Gothic but wide windows. The captain was only halfway to the front door when he heard a familiar male voice from behind him.

"I didn't think we'd meet so soon," a pleasant surprise sounded.

Nathan turned around.

"Stan, I couldn't dial you," he referred to the last conversation from the gadget, "I forgot to ask for your number."

His short friend hadn't changed much, despite the wrinkles appeared on his face, Stan was the same scrawny fellow, with his small rat-brown eyes, his potato nose, and his thin lips. Only his hair was different, now cut short. Though at one time Stan could boast of very thick hair. The height, unfortunately, has not changed either, once he was knee-high to a duck mosquito, and nothing changed. But the expensive classic wet asphalt suit raised the level considerably.

"That's okay, you'll ask me today," he corrected his light blue shirt, walking up to his friend, "I didn't expect to see you here."

"I didn't either. I was just passing by" one could tell from Nathan, he was wearing threadbare jeans and a leather jacket over a white T-shirt "and I thought, why not?"

"I see," he waved his hand, "let's go, surprise the others."

"You look much better in a suit than in your school uniform," Nathan tried to compliment him, but could not contain his mocking smile.

"Hey," Stan resented, "it's not my fault there's never been a uniform for my size.

"But it looked huge on you," gestured a friend, "especially the pants, like you were shitting yourself."

Yes, at that school all the kids wore the same uniform, namely gray tracksuits. Teachers used to say it's a neutral color that allows you not to stand out. Doesn't encourage aggression in shifters and equalizes all students with each other. No one is better than another. Everyone is equal.

"The uniform looked terrible on everyone," the little one still tried to protest.

"But not like you're wearing," Nathan laughed.

"I thought you'd get smarter with age," Stan squinted his eyes slyly.

"I'm always serious," Nathan patted his friend on the shoulder loosely, "and I can fool around with old comrades."

He opened the doors and wanted to add more, but a sound hologram appeared in front of them, forever greeting all students and any other visitors. A pleasant female voice voiced a table hanging in the air in front of their eyes. Five colors, each with a vector picture of civilians and a parasite.

"The color green - one at a time no danger, yellow - potential danger to civilians, orange - risk to the lives of the population of the whole area. Red means," the monotonous voice raised its tone, "phenomena of extreme intensity, increased security measures are needed. White is a ban on actions, I repeat, a ban on actions."

All this time the friends passed slowly, haunted by translucent images, but Nathan could not stand it and dispersed the image with his hand, like a reflection on the surface of water.

"When will they replace the greeting? I've been sick of it since high school."

"And I like it," Stan replied, looking at the high ceilings, walking farther and farther down the wide corridor, "reminds me of the plain and simple days."

In fact, the building inside was beautiful. Wide marble-blue corridors, lit by an abundance of light from windows covered by translucent blue curtains. The color from the street directly impregnated the walls and white doors of the classrooms with a pleasant, relaxing flecks. The image of a benevolent friend pulled Nathan after him. Through the huge hall, where there was a seating area with sofas and tall palm trees to the ceiling. How many hours have been spent here? At the tennis tables and the coffee machine by the little bar. Now, of course, the room is empty, but very soon children will be resting here at recess. The friends continued on their way, the sound of the music and the voices of the guests being heard more and more clearly as they progressed toward their goal. Finally, the comrades came to the huge arched doors of the assembly hall. Two guards stood in front of them. One of the workers pulled out a device that looked like a newfangled electronic thermometer that resembled a pistol by its shape. Instead of a muzzle recess, it had a lens.

"Confirm your identity, please."

Nathan and Stan took turns bringing the device to the retina.

"You are on the list, please come in."

The doors swung wide open. A crowd had already gathered here, with music playing at a moderate volume in the dim orange lighting. Men in expensive suits and women in evening gowns, one more beautiful than the other. Waiters carried snacks and drinks among the guests. Realistic whales made of energy and light floated above their heads, splashing in the ocean of planets. Bright constellations covered the entire ceiling with a scattering of stars. In other words, holograms. Nathan had forgotten how large these meetings could be. Slowly they made their way to the back of the hall. Totally accidentally they bumped into one of their classmates. It was Julia, once a swarthy, slender and long-legged beauty, with green cat's eyes and chocolate hair, who drove men crazy, but now... Now her glittery dress was tight around her rather rounded figure, and she also smelled of alcohol.

"Nathan? I can't believe it!  My, oh, my!" The girl, surprised and happy, rushed to hug an old acquaintance, "You came after all."

"Hello to you too," replied the captain in a clinical fashion.

"What are the odds?" Julia tried to keep the dialogue going with banal phrases.

"Just like that," Nathan replied even more dryly.

"Okay," Julia shouted in his ear. She realized that the dialogue doesn't work at all, "let's go to ours."

The young man silently agreed, anyway, Stan abruptly disappeared from his sight. And so, the two of them go to their classmates, a small group of ten gathered. Stan is already standing there, with a few girls nearby. Nathan immediately recognized them, the self-proclaimed top four. They were dapper, beautifully dressed, with expensive rings on their hands. The girls had been aiming for the secretariat from the start, apparently reaching their goal, one for all. Pretty girls from the first grade were like a dragon with four heads, only instead of one body they have one brain for all.

"Thunderbird!" said one for all, the girls were the first to see a former classmate, "what a person, here and among us."

There were a couple of other guys just like Nathan, he saw them often in the "SomeOne" building, someone from the scientists floor, someone from the supervisor of newcomers, there was even one from sweepers. They looked around. And one by one they uttered verbal gems.

"Well, yeah, that's an unexpected twist."

"Am I awake?"

Nathan put his hand on his forehead and was already turning around to leave.

"Let's not get emotional, or we won't see him here for another ten years," Stan blocked Nathan's path and turned him to their friends.

"Well," the company quickly switched to other topics.

And so, everyone is standing in a circle, trying to communicate about something. The topics are not fascinating.

"Yes, there aren't many of us left."

"Only ten came? Seriously, out of thirty, ten?"

"Some of them died in the arena, some of them died in missions for points, and some of them were expelled in their final courses."

"We're lucky to be alive."

"Where's Dan?" Stan was obviously sick of the subject, too "he said he would come."

"He might be late," Julia took a sip of champagne, "He's become a deputy, he's so poised. If I had known, I wouldn't have rejected his advances," she muttered with frustration in her voice.

One of the four did not hold back a sting.

"But he was crazy about Mira."

The girl's name made Nathan and half the crowd shudder. Dan appeared at this point, catching the name of an acquaintance vaguely.

"That was a long time ago. But yes, she was only here for a year and she left a mark on all of us. Talent," Dan said without anger or judgment, on the contrary, with a lightness in his voice, "it's good to see you, Nathan," he held out his hand in greeting, not paying any attention to the event.

That's what Nathan liked about Dan; he always knew how to behave. His friend did everything well and beautifully. Even now. Straightening a tightly knotted tie from his white shirt. Нe was wearing a black suit with a diplomat badge on the pocket.

"How are you doing?" Nathan smiled at his friend, hoping his friends would change the subject.

But things didn't quite go according to plan. Julia had been Mira's best friend at school, never seemed to hold a grudge against her or say mean things behind her friend's back, but now, well-oiled and perhaps under a pile of her own complexes, Julia broke down.

"Mira was one of a kind, from the very first day," Julia lowered her head, turning to Nathan, "Am I right?"

Nathan hadn't gone to a reunion for about five years to avoid remembering this person, and now that he had been here for such a long time he heard her name again, 'Wasn't there any other topic,' he thought. And independently of himself, he remembered the image of Mira smiling in a circle of friends, with a bright red ribbon in her black hair. There was always a large gathering of people around the girl, it is what it is. Perhaps if Mira were here today, it would be everything like before. The captain imagined how they would have all laughed together with Dan, Stan, and Mira. Probably the girl arranged something great, fidgety by nature was not only the instigator, but always supported game for anything and any idea. Nathan himself felt more alive around her, but now the nostalgia came out of the blue. It had been many years, things had been different for a long time, and the mood was dropping precipitously.

"So, are you from work?" Stan saw his friend's reaction and insistently changed the subject.

Although he knew for sure that he was. This was evidenced by Dan's neatly styled hair.

"From work," the deputy's white hair accentuated the cold tired look in his blue fox eyes.

Nathan immediately noticed how his face had changed; even in his youth Dan had sharp facial features. But now his eagle nose was even more pronounced, as was his slightly protruding chin. A horizontal wrinkle appeared between his angular eyebrows.

"How do you like being a deputy?" Nathan raised an eyebrow, "I hear you're going to run for office?"

"How quickly rumors spread," Dan took a glass of champagne from a passing waiter's hand, "and it's true," he said, his jaw becoming more clenched, causing the edges of his lips to droop slightly.

"And what kind of company will you be running?" - Stan asked.

"And this is a spoiler, no-no, wait and see for yourself," Dan's tall stature and broad shoulders seemed to sag under the burden of job responsibility.

A pretty blonde with a stunning figure, wearing a red tight-fitting dress with a ponytail, joined the company.

"Darling," she took Dan's arm, "we need to go to," and whispered the rest in his ear.

"I'll be right back" the diplomat replied, introducing his companion to his friends, "this is Irene, my wife."

"Nice to meet you," Irene bowed her head in respect, "I apologize, but we have to go."

Dan took his leave and followed his companion. The evening without a comrade was becoming even more boring. Stan also caught this wave and invited a friend to take a walk.

"Shall we have a drink at the next bar?"

"Why not?" Nathan replied.

The street was filled with blue, it was not yet completely dark, but the sunset sky had already disappeared over the horizon. The sidewalk lights illuminated the road to the gate.

"I think we can do without reunions next year," Stan scratched the back of his head.

"Exactly." Next time, let's get our school team together - you, me and Dan, just like in the good old days.

Friends were already leaving the gate.

"Oh," Stan raised his index finger, "that's right. And to the bathhouse."

"Or billiards," Nathan suggested.

"Or we can go to the bathhouse and to billiards. At the same time."

"Won-der-f-u-l," the next word was supposed to be "idea," but someone bumped into Nathan.

With all his strength knocking him off his feet and also falling down on top of him. In a second, Stan saw the interesting scene. Nathan is lying on the sidewalk with a little girl in a black tracksuit on top of him. The face is not visible, the hood is on the head.

"S-s," Nathan bumped his back and head hard, he felt a pain and everything went black.

"Are you comfortable?" Stan was being sarcastic, the little body was still lying on the captain, as if on a mattress.

Nathan tried to look at the face of the insolent person who did not want to get up. But at that moment the girl was like reading the thoughts of the victim, rolled over his rib cage and sat down on the sidewalk beside him.

"Damn you," said Nathan, slowly raised himself into a sitting position and rubbed the back of his head.

"Young lady, you should be more careful," Stan scolded her in a very disgruntled and nasty voice.

When Nathan drew himself up to his full height, he looked at the frail figure, who was sitting almost in a lotus position with her head down.

"Let me help you, it's cold on the ground," he tried to help, offering his hand, but the lady hid her face in the shadows, and then silently shook her head in disbelief.

"I'm sorry," the girl bowed, "I didn't do it on purpose."

"Try to use your eyes" Stan was indignant.

"Leave her alone," the captain saw no point in raising a fuss over such an occasion, "it's no big deal, let's go."

However, the girl was in a fighting mood, as was his friend.

"I said I was sorry," she jumped up and her hood came off, releasing her gray hair.

"You?" the victim was surprised, looking at the familiar red-rimmed glasses from the ill-fated bus stop.

"Have we met?" The girl adjusted her glasses, wrinkling her forehead, and took a few steps, bringing her face to his, trying to get a good look, and then looked back at Stan.

A faint emotion flashed through Nathan, strange and so familiar. And he was already a little tense, expecting a squabble on her part. He had absolutely no desire or time to stay long. 'Oh right, she couldn't see my face because of the mask and couldn't hear the operator so she could recognize his voice.' Stan recognized the girl, too; he saw her on his work monitor. Both had already encountered the character of this person and, without agreeing among themselves, responded.

"No."

"Then I'm sorry," the girl rattled, "I'm really in a hurry", and ran as fast as she could towards the river into the depths of the park.

The friends were going the other way, so they just parted, but Stan turned around after the girl.

"This mouse is strange after all, where is she in a hurry?  Like somebody lit a fire in her whiteys."

"No, not you too." captain marveled at how the same nickname from completely different and unfamiliar people flew out in the direction of this person.

"Mm?" Stan didn't understand.

"Forget it. Let her run wherever she wants, as long as she stays away from me," Nathan concluded, he wasn't really interested, so let her run.

Why should he be interested in other people's affairs at all? Nathan never interfered in other people's lives or problems; the only exceptions were direct requests. The two had already managed to walk to the end of the alley, to the lane with the coffee shops.

"Let's go to the Orange," Stan pointed to the glowing orange sign.

"Yeah," his friend grimaced skeptically, glancing at the bar with its fancy sign of intertwining jellyfish in one word. Yes, precisely by creating the name "Jellyfish" out of drawings.

The friends looked at each other and realized that their tastes were different, but the argument did not have time to start, the alarm suddenly howled. The siren blared, and passersby scattered. Cafes covered their windows and entrances with iron screens or rollers, inviting civilians into the shelter.

"Let's go," Stan looked at his friend, pointing to the owner of the first coffee-shop he saw, who was waiting for the last two people left outside to close the doors.

But Nathan was in no hurry; the silence in the air made him tense, even the wind seemed silent. Suddenly, on the opposite side of the park, a red streak flashed across the sky, like the tail of a comet. Nathan saw a red fireball. It went over the horizon and suddenly and flashed brightly. Next came the loud sound of an explosion. Bang-bang! The ground vibrated. And then another one. Bang!

"Isn't that coming from the river?" Nathan asked, feeling the vibrations under his feet.

"Do you want to check?" Stan was surprised.

"No, it's my legal day off," but Nathan was still looking in the direction of the incident.

"Will you come in?!" the owner of the cafe shouted loudly, "if not, I'm closing!"

"We are coming," Stan walked slowly toward the shelter.

'Didn't that mouse run that way?' the captain looked around just before entering, 'and even if she did, who cares?' he banish the thoughts from his mind like an annoying fly. 'It's a day off, I'm off today.'

ORANGE RANK

Nathan's mockery was slightly audible from the phone's speaker.

"You must have missed the school walls, you came back in a week," Stan chuckled, "you'll probably end up living there..."

"I'm in the distribution building," Nathan replied calmly, "it's not…"

"The building belongs to the school," a voice from the speaker of the phone, "no, no, you want to be a vigilante again, one time wasn't enough. Like the first day of the first year of school, that's cool" he burst out laughing.

"I'm the babysitter here," the captain was getting angry, "and not of my own free will.

Nathan had to constantly compete with one of the charges, who was released from prison and was now serving his sentence on probation. But on one condition; that he go to serve in a sweep team under Nathan's command. The boy was only allowed to leave his confinement at home for errands and the occasional walk, under the watchful eye of the captain, if Nathan was not lazy.

"What do you mean?" Ivor descended the spiral staircase to the minus-second floor, silent until this moment, but now he protested vehemently.

"Babysit for whom?" Stan was surprised to hear the protester.

"I don't need a babysitter at all, you can go," a young man with shoulder-length hair walked two steps down in front.

"Later, I'm busy now," Nathan pressed the red tube on the screen and put the gadget in his pocket, ignoring his subordinate's words.

"Boss, actually it hurts," Ivor stopped, frowning his arched eyebrows and looking seriously with his almond-shaped gray-blue eyes at the boss.

Nathan was still silent, studying the emotion of the person standing opposite. He had a neat, elongated face and a symmetrically elongated nose going to his wide, now slightly curved with emotion lips. The box-shaped goatee gave the thin face a masculine quality and, at this moment, even more seriousness. And any normal person would have already decided that he ran his mouth about, but then a young curvaceous lady in a long mint skirt with a slit on the thigh passed by. The pretty person looked around at the guys and seemed to float by, coming down the steps.

"Forget it," his opponent's serious face suddenly changed, his eyes rounded, and Ivor smiled fervently, ran his index finger and thumb over his goatee.

The guy clearly hurried after the girl, quickly running up the steps past her, snapping his fingers. At that very moment, the girl stopped and seemed to freeze in the frame.

"Not bad," the ward glimpsed her skirt, quickly assessing the lingerie on her delicate curves.

"Ivor!" Nathan tried to give him a slap upside the head.

"I'll ask no hands," the ward overreached, "I forgot that you can't be frozen," he shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie in frustration.

Along the way, Ivor removed the action of his ability from the girl, listening to the instructions.

"That's why you ended up in my group," the commander went round the bend, adjusting the collar of his black turtleneck, "stopping time to look at the underwear, that's a good 'un!"

"Well, not only to see the underwear," Ivor was theatrically offended, "I have made a fortune thanks to my skills."

"Fraud," the captain clarified, "which put you on probation and with frozen accounts."

"And what's the use of such power if you don't use goodies?" Ivor chuckled, "And it's not stopping time at all. I prefer to call it freezing. After all, you can't stop the clock escapement, it's like trying to catch a waterfall with your palms. But a specific moment, as if a strong cold turns into ice…"

"You're lucky I'm immune, and you can work it off. Otherwise, you would have been in jail."

"Oh, stop it," Ivor opened the door, "I came here to look at my nephew. And you're not my boss now, but my babysitter, so mind your own business," he said the second part quietly, so Nathan wouldn't hear, because he knew that right now the temper could be held until the right moment.

Although it was hard to do, he never followed the chain of command before the service. But it was still worth the patience. He did all kinds of damage with his powers until he was caught, and when he was caught, he was put behind bars. It's much worse in prison than on probation, under Nathan's control.

A huge square was hidden behind the door. So big, in fact, that the ceiling would have collapsed a long time ago if it weren't for the square columns every ten meters. There is a huge crowd of high school students, teachers, and their parents, which made it hard to see everything thoroughly. But Ivor still managed, and there was a lot going on. All sorts of unseen equipment, unusual gym machines are arranged around the perimeter of the room.

"Is this an arena?" the huge glass dome with a red backlight was empty right now.

"Yes," the boss confirmed.

"Is it after that that they assign you to a specialty?"

"No, there are skill competitions between the students," Nathan answered calmly.

"Then how do they assign them to groups?" they walked through the crowd.

"I forgot you didn't go to school," the captain chuckled.

"Why would rough diamonds like me need school? I'm already in the coolest group of the sweep squad," Ivor's tone became a little skeptical, "which I didn't want."

"In general, it's hard to get into a sweep squad. Look at this," Nathan pointed to the side where two groups of selected teenagers were standing in rows.

"Well?" One group had black armbands; the others had white.

"From the beginning of the eighth grade, children with more active strike force are selected to serve in the volunteer squad, are assigned to teams of three. These teams are called "Volunteer squad" or "Patrol". Now guys with more active forces are being selected for the “Black Squad”. They go on patrol after school, each on his own shift. If the operators get weak parasites - they send children to the mission. On gadgets, students have a built-in program that calculates how much a student has killed and how. And how strong were the strokes, speed, endurance. Everything is calculated, then points are awarded. And by the end of the training, a tally is kept. Those with the highest scores are sent to an internship in the sweep team, the rest are assigned...

"Well, well, well. I've never heard so many words from you as now," Ivor interrupted him, "The rest are allocated by hierarchy to easier positions such as field officers and emergency services. I see. And the white ones?"

"The white ones, they are humanitarians. Our bright minds, the healers, the scientists, the operators, the teachers, the developers, the servants of the halls of spheres, the archives, the logisticians. Gardeners monitoring the rhizomes of the great trees and their connections to the outside world. You have no idea how many guys of the white ones become diplomats and even ambassadors. Like our Seventh for example. This man started from the lowest ranks before earning such a high rank. Although some whites may go into strike groups, just as blacks go into the humanities if...."

"I found them," Ivor interrupted, "it's my nephew over there, look!"

There was a huge glass aquarium opposite them. Students were standing around and laughing loudly. Nathan didn't see what was happening at first, only heard the teacher's voice.

"If you don't stop, I'll cut you off from taking the test," the mentor's voice sounded very serious, "do you hear me?"

A couple of the students stepped aside then Nathan could see the whole picture. The corpse of a small slimy slug-like creature was already lying on the ground, its body torn apart, which was impressive, but the teenager himself was behaving defiantly. He danced and at the end of his act turned his back, took off his pants and rested his butt against the glass. Such a climax of the act blew up the audience. Laughter. Ovation.

"Is everyone in your family a pervert?" Nathan wondered.

"Yes," Ivor raised his eyebrows, "you don't know my grandmother yet."

'I'm afraid to imagine,' the captain thought, but did not voice it.

And the teacher attracted everyone's attention. He pulled the brat out of the aquarium by the scruff of his neck.

"Stop laughing," shouted the man with the black mustache and bushy hair.

He handed the brat a black armband and pushed him into the group, waiting for the class to be quiet. And then he continued.

"Don't be fooled," the mentor had a vessel with an energy shield and a tightly closed lid in front of his feet, with little slugs crawling on the walls. The creatures looked harmless and even cute. "Despite their size, they're rank yellow, the sweep squads are always called on them."

One of the parents protested.

"But why the test rank is yellow? The chosen ones will be sent on duty anyway…"

The teacher carefully took out one of the slugs and threw it into the maze.

"And how do you know who will be able to face the real danger? Only under controlled conditions can we choose those who have a chance of graduating alive," the mentor changed his voice as he chose the next test-taker from the crowd, "Shindo! Yuki, inside!"

"I don't want to!" - a plump girl with big breasts and a rat face answered.

Ivor's nephew stood between his uncle and Nathan, and with a pity in his voice said.

"She's not going to make it."

At that moment the girl hesitantly stepped over the border, the transparent doors slammed shut, and her thin gray eyes squinted even harder with fear, and her thin lips quivered, revealing teeth that protruded like a rabbit's.

"Congratulations on passing," his uncle said, shoving the teenager with his shoulder.

"Thank you," the nephew staggered back and reciprocated.

The company continued to monitor the test. The parasite felt the adrenaline released by the kidneys due to fear, which caused it to grow dramatically in size. The creature's mouth with a powerful throat full of sharp teeth opened, startling the girl, and the slug's hitherto slow body proved to be not so much clumsy as fast.

"Something's wrong," Nathan said.

The creature rushed at the student and could have seemed to have eaten her, but the girl turned into a rat. Leaving her clothes on the floor, she ran skittishly forward across the aquarium, taking the hunter with her. This lasted only a few seconds, after which the huge slug turned its attention to the audience and hit the glass.

"This is definitely not a yellow rank," the captain cocked his ears, adopting a fighting posture.

"Well, why? It's just a test," the charge said in a relaxed voice.

But the creature struck the glass once more, a crack formed, and the children frightenedly stepped aside.

"The rank is orange!" The teacher shouted dumbfounded, "Clear of the room."

He ran up to the post, pressing the alarm button. The siren sounded and the evacuation from the premises began.

"How did he get here?" Nathan wondered, but tried not to think too much about the question now.

"Go," Ivor said to his nephew, "but don't panic".

The children were prepared for such situations, so there was no panic, running, or shouting. In even columns, in pairs, they calmly headed for the exit. But all the same in the movement of a large number of people present the clue of what was happening was lost. Broken glass, the slug is already outside the aquarium. The vessel with the other creatures burst from the inside, and all of its contents escaped to the surface. There were a lot of medium-sized slugs and a second big one appeared in addition. Teachers immediately began to eliminate the threat. Some held swords in their hands, some battled with balls of fire, ice, chains, and energy spheres. Shaolin stood nervously aside from the excess of hand-to-hand combat and ninja flying in the air. Nathan and Ivor participated as well, effortlessly pinning down small and medium-sized slugs. But Nathan was trying to advance toward the orange rank. From this side, only the upper part of the creature was visible from behind the mastheads; it was now fighting with one of the teachers and was clearly winning.

"Let's go," the captain jerked his charge, pointing to the target.

But by the time Nathan and Ivor were able to move closer to the parasite, the two slugs teamed up and still broke through, literally breaking through the wall and ending up outside.

"Follow them," Nathan ordered.

"But we are not on duty and without a uniform," Ivor protested.

The commander ignored the arguments, connecting to the gadget.

"Operator, area nineteen, sector four, color orange, the sixth squad was forced to accept," the captain took out his white mask from his backpack, put it on the move. Next, taking out a black bandana, handed it to Ivor,"cover your face with this and go ahead."

"Incomplete," the mentee covered his face with a black cloth and pulled his hair tightly into a ponytail as he removed a rubber band from his hand, "got it," following Nathan through the breached wall into the street.

It was already getting dark outside. The lighting consisted of only two pale-white roadside lanterns. There were no other light sources except the lit windows of the building, because it was based outside the city. Trees, bushes, dry tall grass are quite thickly overgrown and if the creatures had thought of shrinking back in size, it would not have been so easy to find them.