His tentative steps and a police stance, which was the special position of the left arm on the right one, guaranteed steady aim in the case he would need to bring his gun into play in a strained situation. Obviously, the actions of Arthur were the result of the skills in carrying out operations to capture leaders of the underworld learnt in the Academy. He could shoot and reload with his left or right hand standing on his head.
He walked past the bed, passed the rounded aisle and once in the dark hallway, first glanced to the left and gently continued to step to the right side.
The rustle was heard again… Now these acts are really justified.
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Glass floor slabs made his feet cold; heart started to beat faster from step to step with incredible swiftness, causing pain in the temples.
«What's wrong with me… Quiet, Arthur, quiet.»
Inexplicable fear came back.
Arthur managed to pass two translucent doors. Shadows from chrome-
plated pipes hung in various places: the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. They seemed fancy and twisted silhouettes, concealing a hidden reality which was turning into ignorant phobias peculiar to rocky human consciousness.
Rustle, so inexplicable and unexpected, was heard to his left. Arthur stoped, closed his eyes, and, bending his elbows, brought the gun to his face; drops of sweat stood out on his forehead, marking extreme storm of emotional experience spilled everywhere.
Rat-tat… Rat-tat… Rat-tat, through his teeth he uttered the sound from the dream imprinted in his memory.
His neck was wet with sweat, two drops of sweat fell on the glass floor slabs, clearly ringing out on the entire length of the corridor; his head seemed to be pressed against the iron grip, the body was burning with blood boiling in the veins. «Make up your mind… you or it»… Arthur opened his eyes and motionless was staring at the door; wrinkles appeared on his face. By the fiat of will he skillfully swung to the left, with a scream he rushed through easily opened door to the illuminated room… The bathroom was empty, shimmering with mercury color and twisted thick pipes.... A rustling came from the adjacent to the toilet thin plastic tube.
«What the hell! – cried Arthur, having changed his countenance.
Breathing fast, he slowly turned back and, at seeing the horned ugly mug, bended back and started shooting. A moment later the index finger of his left hand went on pressing the trigger of the gun which was just clicking the shutter, though the cartridge clip had already been emptied.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Arthur stood up and headed for the door. The monster turned to be just a shadow of two bottles of aromatic oils with red and blue sprigs of ikebana put on the nightstand next to a metal vase. The place of the «devil's head» was dotted with bullet holes.
A beep of a new message was heard from the bedroom. Stooping down, Arthur sadly went to the bedroom. Respiratory slowed down, heart
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rate went back to normal, but dragging pain, ruthlessly undermining the soul, had not stopped.
– Message from Thierry Zemeckis – began the computer in an unctuous voice. – «Detective, start to the police station, we have arrested a subject with a severe fotoaugliofobia». The reading is finished. There are no more messages.
– Damn! The world is crazy, and it has involved me into the vortex of madness; I will not stand the new regime. No, I can't stand it! Listen, I can't stand it! – He shouted in syllables, turning to the extinct computer monitor.
The clock on the nightstand to the right of the bed, highlighted figures showing that it was two o’clock a.m. Arthur took remote control, turned on the miniature music center which started playing a melody with a dash of gentle and invigorating notes of rock ballads; the composition provided a smooth awakening.
The lights studding the ceiling crossed with iridescent unevenness flashed. Arthur passed to the bathroom again, turned on the faucet adjacent to massive rounded tub, set the water temperature and, after removing the tight-fitting trunks, put his body under the hot water flow.
After seven minutes he was sitting on the glass chair at the same table. The table had one leg consisting of two winding pipes curved on the floor. Arthur was eating chicken cooked on the electric grill with side dish of brown rice and raisins from transparent deep square dish, washing it down with clean water. Having finished, he put the dishes in the sink, passed the kitchen doorway, and appeared in the bedroom. Doors of the built-in metal wardrobe slided apart and a coat flashed from there with its leather shine. The city was raging in the ebullient night life. The moon was shimmering in shades of blue tones, turning into flushed yellowness, or crimson glow. Silent graveyard was bathing in the dim light, and the pervasive and routine silence was disrupted by a bunch of young people in black clothes. People were the teenage Goths waiting for transformation; and the creatures were
enlightened werewolves.
– There are dark gravestones, lit bonfires and the forthcoming Orgy
with the female of the pack of werewolves who was the witch; there are captives, chained with barbed wire to abandoned, overgrown with morning glories crucifixion; everything is so delightful, – prepuce voice was heard. –
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You’ll behold the reign of darkness this night, and you will change. Darkness will embrace your souls and the blood will wash you, throw you out of the relation… ha… and you will become a part of the new life that will gain you.
The quiet of the night was broken by roar of a motorcycle; chrome turbine was spitting fire.
– You, Sweeney, come. Take this blade from my hands and stick it in the heart. Yes, Sweeney, in your heart. You, Bella, take off your garments, appear before Baal; tie her to the altar… – the speaker tripped and fell with his head crushed by the slug.
Bulky motorcycle shooted up off the sloping roof of the vault and landed on the cemetery's land; and, throwing the ground from under broad rear wheel, whirled, and intensively ran off ahead. The driver in the black fluttering cloak opened out his hands clutching the silver and black handguns and started riddling cartridge clips of lead. Eluding like the lightning werewolves were escaping wounds; suddenly the werewolf grabbed the bumper and knocked the «steel horse» appeared from nowhere.
– Shit, the sect, I see the things seem to be crappy…
Pale werewolf in a suede cloak stood up. The upper part of his head, having been splitted, exposed brain.
– Oh, shit!
– Yes. Yes! – chuckling, said the disfigured. – You showed up on time to become the victim.
– Fuck! Arthur King has two tiddlers, and they like it hot!!! – He grabbed out two guns; werewolves swiftly ran. – A-Ah!!! Devil, die!!!
A Goth, appearing behind him, stuck a folding knife between his ribs. Arthur howled and threw the teenager over his head; bullets flew cursorily, without touching the moving werewolves. His hair dropped on his sweat face and prevented him from seeing the surroundings. The sword ascended, and the detective, dodging the naked blade of the katana, disappeared behind the scattered column with the cherubim. Moving in the flying dust, he took a short blade with the fabric intertwined handle from his trouser-leg. A single swing resulted in a demolished to the ground werewolf’s head; katana of the defeated enemy struck in his hands, and Covenant invested by the master, was expressed in the speech:
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– The debt of the soul is deeper than the seas and higher than the mountains. My enemies are you. Happiness is ephemeral, when a foe’s heart hits shivering of life and bubbling Evil deters willful strike of all- conquering character. Have I frightened you, whoresons?! I’m pouring out my blood; – he laughed madly, – do not rejoice! I will die with you, here and now! Fear, rescued from my soul, will descend in you! – and, playing with the swishing blade, Arthur was rapidly approaching the werewolves, ripping and crushing the Goth who had broken into a run. His sword was seen as a revolving circle, being a perfect mastery of renzoku-waza that is a complex combination of thrusts. His gaze became cold-blooded determination and extraordinary calm; the second werewolf fell, having experienced the power of iaijutsu; the third, being behind Arthur, clasped him in his arms and plunged the claws into the flesh, whispering in his ear:
