Finally, it seemed to get brighter ahead. Olga quickened her pace, but her friend overtook her and even pushed her a little to the side. But when Olga turned around, she saw that Katya was still following her. Olga quickened her pace a little to catch up with the one who pushed her away, but soon abandoned this attempt. Whoever this person was, he had already passed the tunnel created from the fog. Finally, the girls went out to where the air was fresh, transparent and the sun was shining. Olga took off Katerina’s helmet, Katerina did the same with Lelya’s helmet. While Olga was putting the helmet in her bag, Katya went around her friend and tried to pick up something round and shiny from the ground, Lelya barely managed to stop her at the last moment.
“Don’t you dare,” Olga shouted, “I told you, before you take anything, you need to check this thing with a dosimeter.”
“But isn’t that what we came here for?” Katerina objected offended. “Why are we enduring the inconvenience?” For example, it’s very hard for me in these clothes and these gloves.
- Yes, you’re right, this is exactly what we came for, but you must remember, the thing we take from here should not harm you or those around you. Moreover, when we pass through the checkpoint on the way back, we will be thoroughly checked for radiation. If at least one of the things you collect does not pass the test, then, firstly, it will be taken away, and secondly, you will simply be blacklisted, and you will never be able to get into the Burial Ground again. I already told you this, weren’t you listening to me attentively?
- Sorry, of course, I listened carefully and remembered everything, but it’s one thing when you just listen to theory, and another thing to see everything with your own eyes, that’s probably why my mind was blown!
- Nevermind. You will gradually learn everything. Soon you will be taking out, checking, and putting the dosimeter in place automatically.
- Fine. But what about this particular thing? Will you check it out?
- No. This is your thing, you should check it. Get out the dosimeter!
While the girls are fiddling with the find and the dosimeter, let's take a look around. I think that you will not be surprised if I say that the yellow fog that was behind the girls has disappeared. Both in front and behind was just an asphalt road.
The artifact turned out to be harmless, that is, some kind of radiation came from it, but it was normal, and Catherine solemnly took out the bag, and carefully placed her first prey in the bag, or rather, in one of the compartments of the bag. After that, Olga helped Katya close the bag hermetically, and the girls set off.
Darkness fell suddenly, Olga had only three o'clock in the afternoon, and night suddenly came to the land of the Burying Ground.
“What are we going to do?” Katya asked, looking around in fear. “Shall we get off the road?” Shall we find a place to stay for the night?
“Why?” Olga laughed, “we’ll spend the night right here.” If we leave this road, then there is a high probability that we simply will not find it in the morning. You can, of course, spend the night in the forest, but then you will have to walk through the forest to your destination, and this is very inconvenient and even dangerous. You agree?
“Yes, but,” Katya tried to object, “what about us, right in the middle of the road?” What if it’s a car, what if it’s travelers? And here we are in the middle of the road, at night.
- No, there will be no travelers, there will be no cars, this is our road. Since she chose us, then only we can follow her. Although...
Olga suddenly remembered the figure that pushed her away and overtook her, but Katerina did not say anything about it.
The road was wide, and the tent that the girls pitched did not take up much space on the road. Olga told Katerina not to undress and to sleep just like that, in a suit. Despite the fact that it was only four o'clock in the afternoon, the girls fell asleep instantly. However, they did not sleep for long. Two hours later, the setting sun illuminated the tent. Everything is back to normal. It was 6:00 pm and the sun was behaving according to the clock. Katerina was lucky, and she told Olga that since it was already sunset anyway, she should sleep until dawn. Lelya did not agree, but smiled at her friend and allowed her to take another five minutes of nap. After that, it was time to assemble the tent. They walked for a long time. When real night came, and it became so dark around that it was almost impossible to poke out your eyes, Olga turned on the flashlight and told Katerina, who was falling asleep as she walked, that it was time to put up the tent again right on the road. After that, as soon as the tent was set up, Olga immediately fell asleep. But Katya couldn’t sleep. Either the protective cream that Olga and Katya applied to their faces was too greasy and was slowly absorbed into the skin, or the dinner was too rich, or Katya slept through her lunch nap, but she could not force herself to fall asleep again. The tent was large and spacious. There was plenty of space. The asphalt under the tent was warm, even hot, I’m listing all this so that you understand that Katya’s condition was not like that because nature and the current situation were fraught with some shortcomings. It was something else. Finally, Katerina decided that the problem was that she was uncomfortable sleeping in clothes. She did not dare take off all her clothes, but pulled off only one glove. Katya got used to sleeping with her left hand under her heade. Nodding to her friend, Olga bravely stepped into the fog; Katya probably did the same. Visibility almost disappeared immediately. When Lelya turned around, she saw the fuzzy silhouette of Katerina. The oxygen supply has started. Maybe here, in the fog, it was also possible to breathe, but as you understand, Lelya did not check this fact. The going was easy. Surprisingly, it felt like someone was pushing you in the back. It even seemed to Olga that her body had become light. Of course, it was far from weightlessness, but walking, as I said, was comfortable. However, the fog did not end. The girls kept walking and walking. Lelya pressed the button, the clock built into the headdress showed that the girls had walked about 2 km in the fog. The time spent on the road through the yellow fog was so far forty minutes. Olga sighed, well, nothing bad has happened yet. Forty minutes is not that much. The only thing that worried Lelya now was Katya’s condition. As far as Olga knew, Katya did not suffer from attacks of claustrophobia, but, being in extreme conditions, any human body is a mystery.