– Pasha said you were heading to Novosibirsk. To family?

– My sister is there.

“Well, if she’s in Red, then she’s all right,” he stood by the cupboard, leaning on his elbows, waiting for the kettle to boil, but so far it only hissed noisily.

– "Red"? I asked.

“Red is a hideout like ours. There, as with us, their own resistance to the disaster was organized. The people and the army are united, as they say. Conscious people occupy and hold strategically important objects in cities, establish some kind of infrastructure and communications. Rescue expeditions are organized. We have something here, okay, a small town, and there are probably two dozen such shelters. Women and children live in the Red.

– And how much is it?

“There are three of us and this mine with bandits, damn it …” he suddenly got angry. “Zastava,” they call this place. Heard, probably, already … – the kettle behind him began to boil. “Tell me, Artyom, what is your profession?”

– Well, he worked as a signalman. They built a cell tower here.

– Served? Can you shoot? He put two mugs of tea on the table and pushed one of them towards me.

– Sergeant. BMP combat vehicle commander. I know how to shoot, discharger, practiced until now.

– Well, I see that you are a strong man. We really don’t have enough of them now,” he pointed to the tea in front of me with a nod of his head. – You drink tea, it is with sugar.

"Thank you," I said, but I didn't touch the tea. – Trofimych, I need food, gasoline and weapons. After Novosibirsk, I plan to go south with my family. You understand, the path is not close.

– That is, you can not persuade to stay with us?

“No,” I shook my head.

– We have food here, you won’t find gasoline in the city, everything was looted a long time ago, they even poured it from cars. We have some reserves, of course, but mostly we trade gasoline with the miners for food. I just can’t give it like that, I myself must understand, we have our own mouths here for two thousand pieces. Don't want to earn?

– Want.

– Well, since you are with us for a short time, then I will give you a difficult and dangerous job. You'll manage, I'll equip you on the road, as it should be. Moreover, we keep in touch with Red. I can inquire about your loved ones, if everything is fine there. Good?

“It depends on what needs to be done,” I shifted in my chair.

“Well, I won’t tell you anything now. Move to Belovo, do you know where?

– Certainly. – I knew, since it was in this area that the subsidiary office of the organization in which I worked was located.

– There are warehouses on the outskirts, you will see signs – move there, they will already be waiting for you there, you will find Victor, you will say that it is from me. If you help him, consider that you have helped me, and it will not rust after me. At the same time, let's see what kind of test you are, – he stood up, making it clear that the conversation was coming to an end, I followed his example. – If you have any questions, talk to Osipov, he is here, on the floor below in the workshop – his name is Roman. And also, if you don’t know, don’t go to the city at night, such creatures crawl out there to hunt, you won’t dream in a nightmare.

I said goodbye to Trofimych, shaking his hand warmly, went out into the cool corridor and went down to the first floor. The spacious hall on the first floor of the administrative building met me with coolness and slight twilight, since only one weak light bulb provided lighting, and there were no windows here as planned. It smelled of construction dust and welding. Under the stairs leading to the second floor, there was a large workbench, behind which sat Roman – a young guy in contact glasses, he soldered something, as always, listening to music from a small tape recorder.

Roman looked up and waved to me in greeting, then went back to his business. Apparently, he was a local jack of all trades, and in the case when something needed to be repaired, soldered or sharpened, everyone went to him. I approached Roman and, after greeting, asked if he had a minute to answer my questions? Roman was a talkative person, and therefore he gladly put aside his tools, moved closer to the workbench and, gesturing me to sit opposite him, prepared to listen and broadcast, for some reason taking a heavy file in his hands.

– And what is generally heard, what is happening? Only we have such a mess, or has everything gone to hell in other countries too? I asked

“As far as I know, zombies all over the world bite. Even when the Internet worked, did you look at the main page of Google?

“No,” I said.

– But in vain, there was a map, and on it all the places where infections were recorded were marked with red dots. So before the internet went down, the whole map was spotty, right down to the islands in the Pacific Ocean.

– Have you heard anything from the government now?

– And there is no government for a long time, bye-bye. Roman spread his arms out to the sides. “They all ran somewhere. At first it was announced that the situation was under control and that everyone was asked to stay at home. Then there was an order to law enforcement agencies to seize weapons from citizens, which, if you think about it, was the height of idiocy in the current situation. A few days later, the military entered the cities to restore order. And it seems like some kind of order began to appear, but the situation in the country, and in the world, continued to deteriorate. It was then that mass desertions among the military began. They left not just leaving their service, they left in whole groups, dragging equipment, weapons and all kinds of state property with them. He took a Makarov pistol from under the workbench and put it on the table. – Then there! Those who stayed and deserted from other parts here to their families, they began to set up military posts on the outskirts of the city and distribute weapons with cartridges to civilians. They gave out one barrel at a time in the hands of a passport, and if there were no previous convictions. They pierced right on the ground at the base. Someone was given Simonov rifles, someone was given PPSh, but then we generally transported these PMs by trucks. He pointed again to the pistol on the table. – Cartridges were given an average of a couple of hundred per snout. Some were given more, the situation is different for everyone. We began to collect the survivors. They drove right through the yards, some shouted out the window, called for help, some hung sheets with inscriptions … Of course, less often, but to this day they ride, they sometimes find someone else. They cleared key objects in the city, created a refugee camp. Recently, we have established a connection with several cities. In general, we survive somehow. I think if it weren't for mutants at night, so it would work just fine. Yes, and those, lead from machine guns were picked up, and for a long time they no longer come close to the camps. They are watching from afar … a terrible sight, I have seen it more than once in night vision. In short, at night we try not to stick out of shelters, at night the city is their territory.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Oh, now I am working on a very serious order for one very influential person,” Roman said proudly, pointing his finger at a strange object lying on the table in front of him. It's a decoder! For breaking serious electronic locks.

– Probably cool. – I tried to understand how this strange electronic device with a green screen, lying in front of the house, works, but I did not understand anything. – What are you going to hack?

– But I can’t say this yet.

“I understand,” I nodded condescendingly, smiling at the talker. How did you become such a bear cub?

“Before all this bullshit with the epidemic, I made and sold locks. I had my own shop. “Safes and locks” was called, maybe you heard?