Student of the Port School. City of Dead

RED GATE AND THE CITY OF THE DEAD
The city stretched far. The artificial hill, as Nikolai realized, stood almost exactly in the middle of the city. From the hill it was clear that the city was divided into two halves. One half consisted of scroll houses, while the other half of the city was shaded. The outlines of houses were visible through the gloom, but it was impossible to see anything for sure. There was no clear border dividing the city, however, when the guys nevertheless reached this half of the city, although they had to spend at least three hours for this, they immediately felt the moment when they crossed the conditional border.
Everything was drowning in a gray fog, houses, trees, stone steles, monuments. At every step came across small Buddhist goddesses. The place was strange, but not disturbing. The houses were small, for one room, an altar was pressed against one of the walls, on which there was a stand for clay tablets, there were stands for candles, there were also barrels made of jade in the room, but when people approached, these barrels did not fill with water.
In general, nothing in the room reacted to the fact that people entered the house, there were no lamps or bells on the door. In front of the gate, through which it was possible to exit the city, stood a huge temple, elongated in length. The temple went around the entire perimeter of that half of the city, which was drowning in dusk. It was not even so much elongated as built in the form of a giant letter "p".
Kolya was tempted to leave the gates of the city and see what was next, but Zoya resisted. The girl suddenly became ill, her face turned pale, drops of sweat appeared, her heart began to beat at a frantic pace, and it became difficult to breathe. Kolya did not experience these symptoms, he just really wanted to eat and drink. Zoya lost consciousness for a few seconds, and then came to. The young man realized that he urgently needed to leave this half of the city to the sunny side.
Nikolai was very interested in what was there, behind the red gate, and why the animals did not enter this gate if it was open and not protected by anything, but there was no time, Zoya was getting worse every minute. Zoya was helped by the fact that Kolya still had half-eaten fruit from the Butramousse tree in his pocket. Having divided the remains of the fruit, the guys quickly refreshed themselves, and moved to the conditional border separating the city.
The border between dusk and bright light was already very close when the girl finally lost consciousness. She didn't react to Nikolay's words, didn't react to the shaking. The young man had no choice but to take Zoya in his arms and run. However, even when the border was passed, Zoya still did not come to her senses.
The house, which stood closest to the conditional border, greeted travelers with the chime of door bells, multi-colored reflections of lamps, and fresh water in a crystal barrel. Water helped Zoya right away, it was clear how life was returning to this thin body. Soon her face regained its usual color, her breathing became even, and the girl opened her eyes.
- We're home? she asked Nicholas
— No, we are still in the city of glass, but already on the sunny side.
“I want to go home to my mother,” Zoya sobbed, “mother is probably crying now, and father frowns sternly!
“I want to go back to the city too. I must have been lost at work, and at school!
- I want to go home! - it seemed that Zoya lost her mind, she cried, and stopped recognizing Nikolai. Physically, she returned to normal, which could not be said about her mind, the weak psyche of the girl after visiting the gloomy side of the city was shaken.
It was the fourth day of stay in the glass city. Nikolai had to return to the house where he spent the night, there was a mirror and a bell left, but Zoya could not be left. On the fifth day, Zoya came to her senses completely. She did not cry, she just looked plaintively at Kolya and asked to come up with something in order to leave the glass city as soon as possible.
Zoya was already able to walk on her own, and after a few hours the travelers were in place. Zoya went into her house, and Kolya went to check if the mirror and the bell were in place. Zoya lay on the couch and looked at the ceiling, or rather, she simply looked up. There was no ceiling in this house, the glass dome was invisible from here, and the complete impression was created that you were lying somewhere in a clearing, in a forest. The dome, and the walls of the house also did not delay the sounds of the taiga, and everything that happened outside the walls of the glass city was perfectly audible.
Kolya came in, said that he wanted to go to the garden for the fruits of the Butramuss tree, and called Zoya with him, but the girl refused to go. She was already in this garden with Kolya on the second day of her stay. The garden is like a garden, Zoya did not see anything special in this garden, and therefore, having convinced Kolya that she would sleep and would not go anywhere from the house, the girl remained in the house and lay listening to the sounds of the taiga.
On the day when Kolya and Zoya came to the garden for the first time, they were still full of energy and emotions, they were delighted and surprised by everything in the glass city, and they wanted to quickly examine everything, and therefore they did not stay long in the garden. Now Kolya decided to devote more time to the garden.
The garden was large, it served the function of not only the garden, but also the park. Not only Butramousse trees grew here, but also pears, apples, there were also several rows of trees with mulberry fruits, there were trees with peaches, apricots and plums. The trees in the garden were planted in the form of a square, and the park itself occupied the middle of the garden.
Reservoirs, gazebos, fountains, bridges - all this bright splendor called those who came to the garden to relax, enjoy the silence, and the wonderful smells from ripened fruits. Near each tree were baskets, large and small.
Looking at the baskets, Kolya realized that if he picked up the fruits, then it would not be theft, because it was not for nothing that the owners of the garden, whoever they were, prepared these baskets. After eating, and picking up apples, pears and other fruits, including Butramousse apples, Kolya decided to return to Zoya, but having approached the majestic and only building in this garden, he nevertheless decided to postpone his return. Leaving the fruit basket at the entrance, Kolya went inside the building.
The building was of Gothic form, and yet it was not Gothic in the full sense of the word. The building had no dome, no ceiling, nothing to separate the building from the world above. The large and empty room was full of light. A five-meter octagonal mirror hung in the air, touching neither the floor nor the walls. As soon as Kolya entered, the mirror lit up and began to rotate around its axis, but after a few minutes it went out and returned to its former position.
Kolya was a little frightened, and when the mirror calmed down, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was possible to return, but Nikolai decided to bypass the mirror. The effect was unexpected. The building, just like the whole city, was divided into two halves, light and dark. On the dark side, that is, on the other side of the mirror, it was insanely cold. Kolya immediately froze, and steam came out of his mouth, his arms and legs turned blue.
In the bright half, all these unpleasant consequences immediately disappeared, but Kolya would not risk repeating his experiment again for any price. Deciding to return here later with Zoya, the young man left, picked up the basket and went to his house.
Evening came, the guys sat near the dome and looked at the animal kingdom, which stuck around the dome of the city. Everything repeated the same as it was on the first day, or rather on the first night. The rays from the Golden Woman woke up Kolino's mirror and bell, and then touched the taiga animals. Fortunately, like last time, it didn't last long.
When silence reigned around, Kolya suddenly remembered a five-meter mirror, and decided to tell Zoya about it.
- ... then I returned to the sunny side, - Kolya finished his story and looked at Zoya. Something was wrong with the girl again, rapid breathing indicated that Zoya was agitated by something
“I saw this mirror in my dream when I was sleeping near the stone-bird!” Let's go to the mirror now!
- Zoenka, let's go in the morning! I'm kind of tired today. The mirror will not disappear until the morning, and we need to rest!
Looking at the young man, Zoya was forced to agree, Kolya did not look very good, his face turned gray, and he vigorously rubbed his eyes.
Returning to their homes, the travelers fell asleep.
Opening her eyes in the morning, Zoya immediately remembered the story about the mirror, which Kolya told. Running out of the house, Zoya called Kolya, but the young man did not respond. Zoya had to go into the house where Kolya spent the night. Kolya tried to get up from the bed, but could not, for some reason he did not have the strength to get up. In general, Kolya got sick. Now it's Zoya's turn to treat Nikolai. There was magical water from barrels, there were Butramousse apples, and gradually, during the day, the disease was defeated. Thus another day passed.
The seventh day was marked by the fact that Zoya, impressed by the story of the young man, went to the garden to take a walk, and then look at the mirror. Kolya had a different goal that day, he wanted to see where the red gates, which were on the dark side, lead. You ask the reason why the guys decided to split up, and I will answer you in detail.
The reason is simple, the guys had a fight. For lovers, everything is always difficult in relationships, and therefore we will not now delve into the essence of what happened, but simply decide who to follow now, Zoya or Nikolai? If it were dangerous in the city, then Kolya would never let the girl go alone. Offended by Zoya, he would have followed her anyway, but the city was safe. There were only two people here, Zoya and Nikolai.
Let's still follow Nikolai first, and then fast forward to Zoya.
Standing on the moving belt, Kolya peered attentively at the houses, at the landscape that floated before him, and thought. He thought about why people, whoever they were, built such a huge city. The young man already understood that this city was created as a refuge, as a place where children, old people and women could be hidden from the enemy army.
But there were many questions that Nikolai could not answer for himself. He did not understand why the city was divided into two halves, light and dark, what role the building plays in the garden, and why the giant mirror first began to move and then abruptly stopped? There were many questions and no one to answer.
Like last time, Nikolai raised Xia to the statue of the Golden Woman to look once again at the city from above. This time the city looked different. The border between the dark side and the light side has changed. The dark side was taking over.
The dark fog had already spread far beyond the aisles of the artificial hill and was creeping up to the garden and park. What these changes mean, and whether they carry any threat, Kolya did not know. From above it was clear that a dark fog was splashing near the foot of the artificial hill, but it could not rise up to the statue itself. The golden woman stood on a pedestal, which was carved in the form of a lotus flower.
In general, the word baba, as Chen told Nikolai, is translated as a sorceress, sorceress, priestess, goddess. The common Russian word baba, the golden goddess, had nothing to do, well, if only because she was feminine. Nikolai once again peered into the beautiful image of the golden goddess. The sculptor tried to carve the golden woman in such a way that the sculpture struck, first of all, with an incredibly beautiful face. I wanted to look at this face without stopping.
The golden goddess was not a collective image, she was made from a specific person, the prototype of the goddess was the most beautiful girl in the village where the sculptor lived. Squatting down and leaning on the pedestal, Kolya thought, he did not like the dark fog, he did not like that the fog was creeping up to the houses where he and Zoya lived.
The pedestal was warm to the touch and resembled the material from which the bird's head was made in the dungeon where their hard journey began. The material from which the pedestal was made pulsated and seemed like a living tissue. Going down, Kolya decided to go around the hill and look through the door where he had not looked the last time. However, this time the door turned out to be closed, maybe this happened due to the fact that the tentacles of the dark fog had already reached the door, maybe for some other reason, but the fact remains that Kolya could not enter the door.
Like last time, Kolya did not feel anything negative. Having crossed to the dark side of the city, he just suddenly wanted to eat and drink, but visibility, compared to the last time, worsened. Apparently it was very bad. Kolya moved almost to the touch. Sometimes the landscape ahead suddenly cleared up, and then the young man began to orientate himself.
Contrary to the young man's fears, the red gates were open. Entering the gate, Kolya did not see anything at first, the corridor from one red gate to the other was filled with red fog. Then, having oriented himself a little, the young man understood why the black fog could not seep out of the gate - the red fog prevented him. Signs hung on both sides of the corridor, the text of the signs was written in Chinese. In order not to give here the text of each tablet, I will tell you the general idea that was traced in each tablet.
The road from one red door to another was the road of the emperor, the road of the chosen ones, if the traveler reached the gate without obstacles, eternal bliss awaited him ahead.
I quote verbatim: “The traveler who enters the city on the first day in the morning, and leaves through the red gate in the evening of the same day, will be immensely gifted. The traveler who leaves the gate in the following days will not be able to count on the help of the red gate, for the city of the dead, the dark half of the great glass city, will declare its rights. Only he who enters on the first day and leaves on the first day will be able to experience bliss outside the red gates of the city. For those who try to leave the gate after one day, the exit will be closed, and danger will await ahead. The traveler who entered the city and revived the city with his arrival must leave the city within a day, while the city is still divided into two halves. If this does not happen on the first day, the city and the traveler will be in danger. The souls of the enemies trapped in the trap houses of the dead city, along with the dark fog, will be released and take over the living.
That, in fact, is all that was written on the plates. Despite the warnings, Kolya decided to follow the road of the emperors, that is, along the passage between the two gates. It was easy to walk, it seemed to Kolya that he was not walking, but hovering, it seemed to him that he had wings. It was easy to breathe, the mood was excellent, and it seemed that all the hardships of the past path were just a trifle.
And then something unexpected happened, the young man suddenly felt that he was being pulled forward. So it is, red hands stretched out from the walls to the young man. Each hand pulled Kolya and pushed. The movement accelerated, the signs began to flicker, and then turned into one continuous line. Waking up, Kolya tried to resist, his hands immediately went back to the wall, and he smoothly sank down.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, he saw that he had left the second red gate. And Kolya did not even notice the moment of transition. Turning around, Nikolai saw that the gates were slowly closing. Rushing to the gate, the young man suddenly realized that his legs had become heavy as cast iron, every movement was given to him with incredible difficulty. And the gates closed inexorably, cutting off Nikolai from Zoya. Falling to his knees, the young man tried to crawl. But that didn't help, Nikolay leash moved a few centimeters.
Despair overwhelmed the young man, tearing the mirror from the top of his boot, he threw it, trying to stop the movement of the gate. Of course, if Nicholas had time to think, he would hardly have committed this blasphemous act. The unique mirror, which was several thousand years old, should not have been destroyed so ingloriously, but Kolya simply did not have time to think. Whatever it was, but the mirror did its job, hovering between the gate leaves, it hung in the air for some time, and then ... Then it turned black, turned into fine dust and fell to the ground.
By this time, Kolya was already able to somehow get to the gate. He literally fell into the red corridor, and took a breath. But the corridor, to his horror, was no longer red; fine, black dust hung in the air, similar to that which remained from the destroyed mirror. Dust clogged in the nostrils, did not allow breathing, pressed on the shoulders, and on the head. Dust fell continuously, and tried to bury the young man under him. So I wanted to give up, lie on the ground, and no longer move. This has already happened to him, then he was saved by a Chinese boy. If not for him, Nikolai would simply have fallen asleep then under a white blanket of snow and would not have woken up. But now, unlike that time, Kolya had someone and what to live for.
The young man suddenly came up with the idea that if he had an umbrella, or some kind of cape, he would have a chance to get out of here. Kolya began to remember if he had at least something similar and suddenly remembered the red Chinese bedspread.
It was then that Nikolay carried away this blanket from the shed, from that shed from which his adventures began. The bedspread was so thin that it took up space in the pocket that a handkerchief could have taken. Sometimes, at moments when it was necessary to think and make a decision, the young man put his hand into his pocket and stroked the smooth fabric. Sharply pulling the veil out of his pocket, Kolya tried with all his might to free his other hand from the black captivity, and covered his head and shoulders with the veil. Then he ran, hoping that the science of navigating in space, which Chen taught him, would help him now. And so it turned out. Gasping and spitting, Kolya jumped out of the red gate and the gate slammed behind him with a loud thud.
Nikolai found himself in the dark half again, in the quarter of the dead. Spitting out the dust, he pulled off the fabric, dusted it off, folded it into a small triangle, and put it carefully in his pocket. It was time to go to Zoya, but the dark fog suddenly became dense and began to form into figures.
A figure blocked Nikolai's path, and from the foggy cocoon appeared yes pairs of hands, four, six, eight. The figure began to look like a spider. After that, a foggy figure, who finally imagined himself to be a spider, threw out the threads and tried to entangle the young man.
Kolya began to fight, twitch and struggle, but the more he twitched, the more he became entangled. The figure began to pull Kolya by the threads towards him, it seemed that the death of the young man was close, when suddenly a bell without a tongue began to ring heart-rendingly. The figure first stopped, and then began to convulse, and disintegrated into wisps of fog. Nikolay gratefully patted his pocket, in which the bell lay, and rushed headlong to where he had left Zoya.
By the time Nikolai returned to the bright half of the city, evening had already come. He saw Zoya from afar, she stood near the glass wall and looked at the animals and birds that surrounded the dome and walls.
“Today there are more of them than ever,” she said, when Kolya came up and hugged her.
“Because… Because we brought trouble to the city!” Kolya spoke with difficulty, his throat ached and itched from the accumulated dust.
- Yes, I know. - Zoya pulled a peach out of her pocket - the trees are dying, the fruits are rotting. Even the wood from which the bridges in the park are made began to rot.
- We have to leave! I just don't know which way. Passage through the red gate is closed!
“I… Wait, don’t kiss me!” Otherwise, I will lose all thoughts! I know how we can get out of here, I knew it from the moment you told me about the five meter mirror.
- Okay, I'm glad! - Kolya pulled the coverlet out of his pocket - this is a long conversation, as I understand it, sit down and tell!
- I already told you about the fact that I saw this mirror in a dream! In reality, it turned out to be even more beautiful and majestic! When I entered the temple, the mirror began to rotate around its axis, and then stopped. Then, near the stone of the bird, I saw the future. Two people should come to the mirror, then dreams will come true! Kolya, go away, I'm talking about a mirror, and you're talking about kisses again!
While lovers are arguing about love and kisses, I will digress a little.
Remember the scales of time, the very ones that fulfilled a wish and brought a person back? The mirror of time did almost the same thing, it also granted a wish, then it sent a person forward, into the future!
The retreat is over, now let's go back and listen to what our travelers are talking about!
“…I thought I wouldn’t see you again!” The mirror saved me, it died for me and you! The mirror is gone! Why are you shaking?
- Kolya, you feel it's getting cold! look through glass on the trees, there is a real hurricane! It feels like the wall is thinning! A cold wind is coming in here!
— Yes, I can feel it! And… Something is wrong! The golden woman no longer tells the beast behind the glass to fall asleep! How many animals and birds!
Kolya, you have to run!
- Where?
- To the temple! To the big mirror! Oops, the glass is cracked!
- Let's run!
It was hard to run, the black fog had already covered the entire glass city!
When the travelers ran into the garden, the top of the temple was visible to her.
The garden made a deplorable impression. Almost the entire crop was lost.
Only the Butramousse trees stood untouched, but several fruits were already lying on the ground.
Zoya ran to the temple, but Nikolai hesitated, he bent down to pick up the Butramousse apple. Zoya turned impatiently towards Nikolai, but the young man was already running towards her.
“Here, take it,” the young man put the apple into the hand of his beloved, “you never know what lies ahead, but with an apple, at least we won’t die of hunger.”
“Okay,” Zoya put the apple in her pocket, “now hurry up!” The temple is near!
A bird flew over Nikolai's head
- Faster! Zoya shouted, “since birds fly, it means that there are no more walls!”
Frightened, Zoya stumbled over something and fell.
Pausing a little, Nikolai lifted Zoya in his arms and ran to the temple.
When the travelers were already inside, they heard something heavy hit the door of the temple. Nikolai lowered Zoya to her feet and put her behind him. He was going to sell his life dearly. Kolya did not like to fight, but he remembered a few tricks that Chen taught him. These are the tricks he was going to try out on unknown enemies. However, the knock didn't happen again.
Zoya burst into tears. Having calmed down, the guys joined hands and went to the mirror. But to their surprise, the mirror was motionless. Kolya exchanged glances with Zoya. Something was wrong! Letting go of Zoya's hand, Kolya stepped towards the mirror, and then the mirror sparkled! An unknown light came from the depths of the mirror, the light became stronger and stronger, finally, it became so bright that the guys closed their eyes! And then the mirror buzzed. Opening her eyes, Zoya screamed!
Kolya opened his eyes after her, he was afraid that something had happened to Zoya. However, there was no threat. The round hall became diamond-shaped, it was the flaps on the round walls of the hall that flew up. The mirror slowly turned, sending its rays in all directions. Six tablets arranged in a circle lit up.
Kolya read what was written on the tablet, and then moved on to the next one. He followed the rays of the mirror. The mirror seemed to feel Kolya, in any case, Kolya had time to read the text before the beam began to highlight the hieroglyphs on the next plate.
Having finished reading, the young man reassured Zoya, he said that the tablets say that as soon as they leave the city, everything will fall into place. Animals and birds will return to the taiga, and the glass city will return to its previous state.
The whole problem was how to leave the city.
After passing the circle, the mirror stopped.
“I want to sleep,” Zoya suddenly said softly, “if the mirror is not going to do anything, maybe we can go back to the houses?” The house has delicious water!
“Okay, sit quietly, I’ll look out the door!”
However, there are places where you cannot return twice, and Kolya understood this immediately, as soon as he looked out the door.
An unprecedented number of animals crowded in front of the temple. They stood without making a sound. Birds didn't behave like that at all. They rushed from tree to tree with alarm cries. One of them noticed the confused Nikolai, who was standing on the porch, and immediately rushed towards him. She flew, accelerating her flight, and Nikolai realized that if he did not immediately get inside the temple, he risked being left without eyes.
Returning, he took a silk coverlet from his pocket and spread it on the floor.
“Lie down here and sleep,” Kolya looked into Zoya’s eyes, “oh, you’re already sleeping!”
— I want water from a barrel! - Zoya said sadly, - I want to spend the night in the house!
“Well, what can I say,” the young man spread his hands, “I don’t want to upset you, but, apparently, you won’t be able to return to the house. Under the doors of the temple, all the animal host gathered.
— But what about it?
— Don't worry, go to sleep, maybe in the morning something will change.
- Good! I'll sleep.
“I will sit next to you and not fall asleep.
- Good! Just don't sleep! I will be calmer if I know that someone is not sleeping.
Nikolai did not fall asleep, as promised, there was nothing complicated about it. He could not sleep for a long time, up to five days.
Morning has come. Sunlight penetrated through the unglazed roof of the temple. Zoya slept well. And had a great breakfast too. A quarter of a Butramousse apple turned out to be an excellent, hearty breakfast.
- What do we do? - Zoya spun around Nikolai - I like it here! Will we stay here?
- Are you serious? Kolya looked in bewilderment towards the merry girl.
“Of course not, I’m just trying to cheer you up!”
“Yeah…” Kolya squinted in the direction of the mirror, “consider that I’m already having fun!”
How do you think…
- What?
“Do you think the mirror has calmed down for good?”
- I dont know. Probably ... Maybe we'll go to him!
- Not. No need. It does not like being approached uninvited.
It's noon. Zoya reasoned that no danger threatened them, and ordered Nikolai to lie down. sleep. The young man obeyed with visible pleasure, however, without sleeping for twenty minutes, he was awakened by the buzz and vibration of the mirror.
Rubbing his eyes, he stared in bewilderment towards the mirror, Zoya was no less amazed. The mirror moved from a vertical plane to a horizontal one. There was a huge five-meter circle in front of the guys, which almost touched the floor.
The vibration shook the mirror, and it moved closer and closer to the guys.
- What is it? - Zoya jumped aside - it is moving towards us!
- Don't be afraid. I don't think it can harm us!
Why did it turn around like that? It looks like ... a huge pancake!
- Well, you said! - Kolya admired, - and what should we do with this ... pancake now?
- Kolya, look at me! - Zoya tried to turn the young man towards her, but he, as if hypnotized, looked towards the mirror, - I think ...
- Yes, I think so too, - Kolya gave Zoya his hand, - get up, let's go!
The young man and the girl approached the mirror and, after a little hesitation, climbed onto its glass surface.
The vibration turned into a deep rumble, hieroglyphs ran along the rim of the mirror, Kolya was afraid that he would not have time to read them, but the text was repeated over and over again. Finally the young man said
- The mirror tells you to focus, and think about what you and I want at the moment the most!
- I want to eat and drink! Zoya laughed.
- No, Zoenka, - Kolya also smiled, - this should be a cherished dream, what you want most of all!
“I want,” Zoya began to say, but Nikolai pressed his finger to his mouth
No need to talk, just think!
- Good!
- And yet, the mirror warns that our thoughts should be calm! The mirror is our friend! Whatever happens, we must be calm and trust him!
“I…I’ll try to calm down and focus!”
- And yet, for everything to happen the way we want, we need to stand in the middle of the circle, and join hands!
- I'm a little scared!
"Come on, don't be afraid!"
The guys stood in the middle of the mirror. The lights that ran along the rim of the mirror began to group and move towards the middle, to where Zoya and Nikolai were standing. Then a glass iridescent dome began to form over the mirror. The dome began to darken, and soon the guys found themselves in a dark purple space.
It was not terrible, I just wanted to, I really wanted to sleep. Kolya was the first to surrender, he sank to the surface of the mirror, and pulled Zoya along with him. So they fell asleep holding hands.