“Is it true?”
“What?” Leonid was smiling at her.
“That with the emerald city? The ark? That there is such a place in the metro?” Sasha’s voice sounded like she was sunken in thoughts while she was looking at her feet.
“There’re rumors.”
“I would like to see it… You know, when I was walking around up there it had pity on humanity.
Only because of one mistake it won’t ever be like back then. But it is so beautiful… I think at least it is.”
“Because of one mistake? No that wasn’t just one. To destroy the entire world, to kill six milliards of people, can you even call that a mistake?”
“Still. Don’t you and I have earned their forgiveness? Everybody deserves a second chance, to change and try again and again and even if it’s the last time.” Sasha turned silent for a while and then she said: “I would like to see how it looks like in reality. Back then I didn’t care. Back then I was just afraid and everything was so ugly up there. But it seems that I had just gone up at the wrong place. How stupid… The city up there is like from another life before mine. It has no future. Only memories and even those are strange to me. Just ghosts. I’ve realized something important when I was up there you know…” She was searching for the right words.
“Hope is like blood in your veins. As long as it flows you’re alive. I want to keep hoping.”
“What do you want in the emerald city?” Asked Leonid.
“I want to see how life was back then. You’ve said it yourself. There the people are probably totally different. They haven’t forgotten yesterday and they will surely have a tomorrow. So they have to be totally different, totally…”
They hastily walked along the
Homer had gathered all his courage and went to speak with the commander of the station. He had been gone for a while now and there was no trace of Hunter.
Then at the marble passageway of the
Always a big arc and a small arc, a bigger one and a smaller one. Like a man and a woman who were holding hands. A man and a woman, a man and a woman… Suddenly she felt the need for the broad and strong hand of a man. To put her hand into his.
“Even here you can start a new life.” Said Leonid and winked with his eyes into her direction.
“Sometimes you just have to go somewhere else and search… Sometimes it is enough to look around.”
“And what am I seeing?”
“Me.”
“I’ve already seen you. Already heard you play too.” Finally Sasha smiled as well “I like your music very much. Like all. Don’t you need the bullets? You’ve given so many away to get us through…”
“I only need enough for food. I always have enough. To play for money is stupid.”
“Then why are you playing?”
“Because of the music.” He laughed. “Because of the people. But not to just for them. Because of what music does to the people.”
“What are you doing to the people?”
“Whatever I want.” Now he was serious again.
“I got one for love and another for tears.”
Sasha gave him a distrusting look. “And the one that you’ve played the last time? The one that doesn’t have a name? What does it create?”
“That one?” He whistled the song. “Nothing. That one just takes away the pain.”
“Hey old man!”
Homer closed his book and slid from one side of the uncomfortable bench to the other. The officer on duty towered over a small desk that was almost completely covered with three old black telephoned that were missing the dials. On one of the apparatuses a small red lamp was flashing.
“Andrey Andreyevitsch is ready. You got two minutes, so don’t doddle but get straight to the point.”
Homer sighed. “Two minutes aren’t enough.”
The officer on duty shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve warned you.”
Even five minutes wouldn’t be enough, Homer didn’t know where to start and where to end. Nor did he know for what he should ask or plead. Except for the boss of the
Andrey Andreyevitsch was an of malice dripping fat man with an open uniform and didn’t listen to the old man for long.
“Are you crazy? This station is on alert, eight of my men are dead and you come here with your epidemic! There’s none! Stop, you’ve stolen enough of my time! You leave now or…”
Like a whale that jumped out of the water the commander of the station raised up his body and the desk almost fell to the ground. The officer on duty looked into the room trough the door.
Homer rose as confused from the hard visitor’s chair.
“I’m going. But why did you order men to the
“What’s it to you?”
“They say at the station…”
“What, what? That’s enough. Spreading panic…
Pavel, into the ape cage with him!”
Another moment later Homer was being dragged out of the room. The officer dragged the struggling old man into a narrow corridor while telling him to calm him down and hit him right in the face.
Homers respirator flew away. He tried to hold his breath but he got another punch into the stomach so that he started to cough cramped.
The whale appeared on the doorstep of his office.
He filled the entire door. “And there he shall sit for a while. We’ll so us later…” Than he barked at the new visitor. “And who are you? You got an appointment?”
Homer looked back at the stranger. Not even three steps from him hunter was standing, not moving and his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was wearing a new uniform and you couldn’t see his face under the shadow of his opened visor. It seemed to he didn’t recognize the old man or he that he didn’t want to get involved. Homer had expected that he was dripping with blood from head to toe like a butcher but the only dark red stain on his clothes was the blood of his own wound.
Hunter looked at the commander with his stone hard look and suddenly he was moving straight to him as if he wanted to go through him into the office.
At first Andrey was angry, mumbled something but retreated and made space for Hunter. The officer who was still holding on to Homer’s collar stopped unsure.
Hunter followed the fat man into the office and him silenced him with a predator-like hissing sound.
Then he whispered something into his ear which sounded like an order.
The officer who had let go of the old man had stepped onto the doorstep. One moment later he flew
