Глава 16

Th-The Patrol Units.

You defeated the Patrol Units.

Th-The guards, and, the people, in the lab.

They're not here.

I, I—

Who else doesn't want you to live?

The black... monster...

And... and...

Why? I... I can't remember...

Let me ask again.

Are you holding the hands of your family?

Turn around, Vetochki.

Vetochki does not want to turn around. As long as she does not do so, those cold and withered hands will forever remain the way they are.

Tell me. What do you see?

Don't turn around. Don't turn around. Don't turn around.

She keeps telling herself.

But she turned around.

Babushka is in front of her. Babushka is singing a lullaby.

I... I see Babushka Nadia.

No. Look more closely.

Babushka is in front of her. Her hands are cold.

I... I...

What do you see?

I see... circle. I see—

Red.

Vetochki frantically shakes her head.

Why...

Why is it always red?

Babushka sitting, babushka standing, babushka, colors ever-changing.

Babushka lying in a pool of blood, deciding that Vetochki may die.

Brrr. Is this what autumn is like in Ursus? I would hate to see what they call winter.

An open-air party, with no lawn or picnic table? What are you inviting us here to see?

Entertainment you don't get in Kazimierz, no matter how rich you are.

A few lives and deaths, big deal. I doubt those miners we saw on the way could give us a show that measures up to knightsports.

The knights fight every year, but Breskenoy hasn't seen a single death sentence in a decade under the rule of the current Grand Duchess! This is a truly rare event.

Death sentence? Who's the criminal?

A miner couple caught in the act, plotting to organize an Infected strike.

My, my, how awful...

Yes. It was such a horrendous crime that the Grand Duchess apparently wept when she signed the death warrant.

But there is no precedence for humane death sentences in these parts. It's easy to bury them in the nearby swamps, but it would be such a waste of a rare death sentence, wouldn't it?

Which is why we're here.

The procedures start with whipping. I heard paying guests like us even get to pick the whip, add blades to it, soak it in brine...

What if they died sooner than planned and their rocks exploded in front of us? I had this dress made just for this trip, you know.

That won't be a problem! Their infection isn't that bad. It would have taken them years to die if they didn't commit their crime.

As for the party and picnic that you asked about, you'll see it soon enough.

Now, let's get ourselves warm by the fire.

Are they still breathing?

Th-The woman's still babbling treason...

Is the man dead?

Cut his tongue out yesterday.

Why not cut the woman's too?

Th-The guests yesterday said no.

They wanted to hear her scream—

Did she?

No! Not even once. She keep repeating her 'petitions', saying things like 'for the other children who died in the mines'...

Couldn't understand a word of it! She must be mad.

Wouldn't have tried to start a strike if she wasn't.

*sigh* Cut the woman's tongue too.

Yes, sir!

And that kid. She was standing there yesterday too, wasn't she?

Yes. The constable wanted her to stand there and watch, until her parents breathe their last.

Then send her back to the quarters once they're dead.

I'm afraid she has to go down to the mines with her mom's lamp and ID. She was born in a mine, you know, which makes her a miner too.

...Does she have a lamp? Do you see a lamp in her hands?

N-No, sir!

Then send her back to the quarters once it's done, <i>mudak!</i>

Vetochki... here, take these. Butter, minced meat, chocolate... Good girl.

Uh...

D-Don't get any wrong ideas! It wasn't my husband who sold your parents out! I earned these myself, pushing the carts in the mines!

There's only you and your babushka now. Take care of her, alright?

Tell her she doesn't need to return the scissors she borrowed. Come find me if you ever need anything...

I'll do what I can to help.

*sigh* My kid would be around your age, if she had lived.

She said some other things, but I never answered.

Was it because I couldn't talk, or because I had already walked away and went home?

All I know is that I saw red—

Red dripping on greyish-white plastic.

I thought I was back outside at that place again... but no.

It was babushka.

Argh—ahhhh!

Ugh...

Yesterday, and today. I learned that the red inside a human body isn't endless. It will dry up. It makes people hurt. It brings death.

So I tried to stop the red that was flowing out, with my hands, like the game that I played with my friends when I was little.

'Whoever picks up the most water has the most happiness.'

'Whoever bags the most winds has the most freedom.'

*Sob* *sob*—

No—no, no!

I can't keep it.

I must keep it.

I can't—

Babushka...

Babushka.

The cold body sinks into the plastic, into the mud, before my eyes. I look up and see 'it'.

A pale, standing shadow.

I cried—

'Babushka Nadia?'

I'm here.

...You told me to, endure, and forgive.

To survive, yes.

Must we still, endure?