An island that doesn t like people

It so happened that in the middle of the noisy, sparkling metropolis, there was a small area not occupied by houses. The place was unusual. If you look from one side - it was the center of the city, but if there was a desire to refresh your eyes and look at this place from the other side, then it seemed that it was almost the outskirts of the city. It also happens! For a long time there was a forest here, or rather, what was left of a once huge forest. Then, the last trees were cut down and an amusement park appeared on this place. A dug moat, as well as channels that were filled with water after each rain, bridges on six sides, separated this small oval piece of land from the rest of the city. Then the park went bankrupt, but less than six months later, this place was rented by a company that wanted to place a botanical garden here, but for some incomprehensible reason they did not succeed. Soon this place was empty. For two years, the site of the former amusement park was empty. After two years, it was decided to organize a zoo in this place. This project was state-owned, so the residents of the city were looking forward to when the project would come true. It was promised that prices at the zoo would not be high, and a tour of the zoo would be available even to children from low-income families. Work began to boil, houses were built, enclosures were placed, as well as cages. The tower in the form of a tiger's head was supposed to help visitors get a bird's eye view of the zoo. To reach the tower, one had to climb high up the mountain! The tower could not always be seen from afar. Usually it was surrounded by a foggy haze, and only on especially fine days the silhouette of the tower became clearly visible. The base of the tower was the remains of a rock that stood on this site for many centuries. And that was not all. Labyrinths, caves, sudden turns ending in dead ends, from which you could climb up the rope ladders - all this was created so that children would have fun at the zoo. There were dry fountains in which children could frolic in especially hot days! There were waterfalls, there was a huge lake, a space that could be overcome on boats, with the help of a rope crossing, that is, clinging to a rope with your hands, or by cable car. The work was carried out at an accelerated pace, each step was covered in great detail in the media, but when everything was ready, and the animals that were brought here from all over the world took up places that were supposed to be their home, strange things began to happen at the zoo.
But let's start from the beginning.
Zoo workers - caretakers, attendants, administration started work in September, although not all animals were brought yet. What I will tell, the city administration subsequently preferred to keep secret. The fact is that some strange disease began to mow down the people who worked on the territory of the zoo. She did not touch the animals. But the animals had to be fed and cleaned up for them, to monitor their safety, but the people who were hired to work in this zoo could not fully fulfill their duties. As I have already said, people, not having worked even a week, began to fall ill. Can you tell me what's wrong with that? All people get sick. However, there came a moment when not a single person was left in the zoo. Everyone got sick. The disease, I repeat, was strange. The opening of the zoo has been delayed. However, in three days they were supposed to bring the last batch of animals, which were brought all the way from Africa. People were needed who would accept the animals and place them. With difficulty, they recruited temporary workers who were supposed to meet a new batch of animals. As you understand, people who work with animals must be experts in their field. So it was in September, when the zoo was preparing to open. The people who waited for the arrival of the pets in September were specialists. But back to the group of temporary workers who were now preparing to take up their duties. Or rather, they started, a group of new animals was accepted. The animals were distributed, catalogued, and... And that's it. A group of temporary workers fell ill the next day, after the entire animal world of the zoo was staffed. A strange disease behaved very incomprehensibly. As soon as people drove a few kilometers from the island on which the zoo was located, it became easier for them. However, if these people returned to the island, they again became ill. Each time, the strength of the disease grew. And there came a moment when the return "to the mainland", as I figuratively call the city, could no longer change anything. The person became so ill that only doctors in the hospital could help. The city administration was shocked, banners had already been placed, advertising on television broadcast every day about the nearest opening of the zoo, but the people who were supposed to work at the zoo, for some reason, began to neglect their duties and even became ill. The irritated mayor ordered a third team of temporary workers to be found in order to prepare everything.The zoo is about to open. The third team finished the job. It was sunny on the opening day of the zoo. The weather was un-autumn hot. The mayor of the city was supposed to cut the red ribbon, so although the opening was planned at noon, the journalists took their seats early in the morning. The deputy head of the city appeared near the zoo at 11:30. His task was to check whether everything was ready for opening. However, as he approached the zoo gate, a nasty surprise awaited him. The zoo gates were closed. The deputy mayor of the city could not believe his eyes, yesterday he was talking with the person acting director of the zoo and he assured that everything was in order at the zoo, moreover, the deputy agreed with the director that at ten in the morning the director would personally wait for him at the zoo gate . It was now approaching noon, and the gates were closed. The deputy called the director, but no one picked up the phone. The case took an unpleasant turn. The deputy mayor jumped several times to see what was going on in the zoo, but saw nothing behind the high gates. One of the animals trumpeted, and then laughter was heard. The one who laughed was probably not a person, the sounds that came from behind the zoo fence most likely belonged to an animal. Several journalists approached the deputy to say hello. The deputy mayor of the city did her best to pretend that everything was in order, but the excitement was probably still reflected on his face. The journalists began to ask uncomfortable questions. The deputy called the mayor's head of security and warned of heightened security measures. Finally, the car of the mayor of the city appeared. I will not pull the cat by the tail and just tell what happened next. The opening of the zoo did not take place. When the iron gates were broken, it turned out that the members of the third team of zoo workers were unconscious, and the director of the zoo was also unconscious in his office. The animals were all right. However, some animals have already begun to show concern. Dinner time was approaching, and they didn't even get water in the morning. The journalists were sent away, and soon several ambulances drove up to the zoo gates. The people from the third team came to their senses as soon as the ambulances drove a few kilometers from the zoo.
After witnessing what happened, the mayor of the city finally understood the seriousness of the problem. But something had to be done. Animals could die from dehydration and lack of food, but people from all three teams, who came to their senses and now feel pretty tolerable, categorically refused to return to their place of work. Unprecedented security measures were taken, and soon the animals went back to where they were brought from. The people who were involved in the evacuation of animals were dressed in suits resembling spacesuits. But, strangely, even these measures did not help. Several people from the evacuation team lost consciousness. It seemed that the island was becoming more and more hostile towards people. If the first team of people worked on this piece of land for almost a week, then the second and third teams were given no more than two or three days. And the tow team was probably allowed by the island to stay here for no more than two or three hours. Rumors spread throughout the city, articles with mystical allusions appeared in the newspapers. The Zoo project needed to be liquidated as soon as possible. For this, three teams of tow trucks were created, which changed every two hours. After three days, the territory of the zoo was empty. The commander of the evacuation team closed the iron gates to the castle. After some time, he handed over the key to the castle to the economic part of the city administration. The city's deputy mayor for economic affairs was a superstitious person. As soon as the city was covered by a wave of autumn colds and the deputy fell ill, he decided that the whole thing was in the key to the zoo gate, and, returning home in the evening, he threw the key into the gutter. Maybe, of course, it was a coincidence, but after the key was thrown away, the man felt much better. If in the evening he had chills and fever, in the morning he was completely healthy.

Five years have passed.

One day at noon, two guys, a girl and a boy, climbed over the fence. The iron gates were still firmly closed. Five years is too short a time for the gate to rust and break.
The boy jumped down first, and then gave his hand to the girl. After that, they took a breath, looked at each other and laughed. The girl took off her hood, and the boy took off his sunglasses and baseball cap. Upon closer examination, it became clear that the disguise reduced their age by three years. The two young men were in their prime. Moving a short distance from the gate, the young man took off his backpack.
“Yana,” he turned to the girl, “do you want to have a bite to eat?” We've been on the road too long.
“No, Jan,” the girl smiled, “I don’t want to! Everything is fine!
“But the doctor said…” the young man took out a piece of paper from his pocket, “Look, it says here that you need proteins every two hours, otherwise…”
- Okay, - the girl laughed, - come on.let's get to that house, and then we'll eat! Do you think we got Father's guard off the trail?
- I hope, - the young man looked around, - listen! It's so quiet here!
“Yes!” The girl laughed softly, and then fell silent.
So they walked in silence. Approaching the door of the house, the young man hesitated a little, and then resolutely took hold of the door handle.
The house consisted of two rooms, and there was also a small kitchen. There was no electricity in the house, and the water was turned off. Having discovered this, the guys were absolutely not upset, it seemed that nothing could upset them now.
Somewhere in the distance, a bird snapped very loudly, the girl's nerves were so tense that she shuddered.
Seeing this, the young man stopped taking food out of the backpack, approached the girl and pulled her to him.
“Well, what are you doing?” he whispered, “calm down! We are safe! At least for a while!
- No, everything is fine, - the girl exhaled, - it's me involuntarily. You know, I'll probably sleep a little. For some reason, I don't have the strength at all.
- Well, - the young man agreed, - Let's have a snack and you will sleep. We've been on the run for far too long! Sleep! And I will sit and guard you.
While you're sleeping, I'll take another look at the map of the island that Michel downloaded for us from the city's database and try to get our bearings.
- Do you think Michel will not be punished? - the girl lifted her head from the pillow, - after all, everything connected with this island is classified!
- No, - the young man again put the fair-haired head of the girl on the pillow, - he has already destroyed all traces, no one will know that he hacked into the database. He knows that our life with you depends on it, and, by the way, his life too!
While the girl was sleeping, the young man took the map with him and went outside. There was a table on the covered veranda. The young man spread the map on the table and decided to orient himself a little. However, after leaving the house a few minutes later, he realized that he did not need the map, in general. There were signs everywhere. Following these signs it was easy to get to any point of the island. And also, a few meters away, just in the direction of the Tiger Tower, there was a huge map standing on four legs in the form of tiger paws. With the help of this map and with the help of pointers, it was easy to understand where and what is on this island. The map was glazed. And so five years of rain and snow had absolutely no effect on her.
Jan was afraid to go far from the house and therefore walked around the circle several times and made sure that there was no one here except them. On the island, everything remained in the form in which it was when the evacuation team left this place. The young man knew the history of this island, and perfectly understood why no one had broken or destroyed anything so far. The fence and iron gates have never stopped vandals, as well as the ubiquitous boys and girls who are hungry for all sorts of adventures. The only thing that could stop the uninvited guests was fear. The girl and the young man also did not immediately decide to enter here, but, firstly, they were from another city, and horror stories about the island did not really disturb them, and secondly, the lovers were simply in a hopeless situation. For several weeks now, they have been trying to break away from the chase, which was organized by the father of the girl Yana.
Yana screamed and cried in her sleep, so the young man interrupted his thoughts and rushed into the house. After the girl woke up, she could not understand for a long time where she was.
Finally, she fully came to her senses, and the first thing she did was smile at the young man.
-Yan, it's all right, I just woke up, and you're not around. I decided that the guards brought me home, and my father again ordered me to beat you half to death!
- No, we are safe for now, - Jan stroked the girl on the head, - will we stay here or go further?
-I had a great sleep! -the girl stretched, -of course, let's go further! It will not get dark until about three hours later, so that we will have time to reach the big house in which the director lived.
Yes, I'll pack my backpack and let's go! It is necessary to leave everything in the house in the same form as it was.
Fifteen minutes later, the guys moved on. The headmaster's house was almost on the side where the Tiger Tower was. The guys reached this place almost at dusk. Yana was very tired, although on the way to the director's house they stopped endlessly. Scattered all over the island were benches of the most bizarre shape, covered gazebos and bizarre terraces. The guys were in no hurry, and by the time Jan showed with his hand that the director's house was very close, the tension finally left Jan completely.
“Even if they attacked our trail, they won’t do anything at dusk,” the girl said thoughtfully, “and in the morning, well, it’s still an eternity until morning.” A night with you is like a whole life!
“Everything will be fine,” the young man stroked the girl’s hand, “you’ll see, now everything will be fine!” Well, let's go to the house, shall we?
The director's house, unlike the houses of employees, was two-story with a small balcony. The guys were pleasantly surprised when they found that there was water in the house, moreover, there was even light in the house, but the guys decided not to use it. They didn't want to leave a clue for their pursuers.
When it got dark, the girl went out onto the balcony, the young man followedbehind her and threw a sweater over her shoulders. He showed the girl the direction in which tomorrow, of course, if they have the strength, they will rise to the Tiger Tower.
The Tiger Tower was clearly visible from here, because the perimeter of the tower was surrounded by small luminous dots. The girl suggested that they were fireflies, the young man expressed doubt, He said that at this time of the year, fireflies, it seems, should not be. However, it did not matter, there were so many luminous points that the Tiger Tower was brightly lit.
When morning came, it turned out that water was pouring from the sky. It seemed that a universal flood was approaching. The director’s house was quite high compared to the employees’ houses, and from the balcony it was clearly visible how the streams of water were moving stones with great force, which prevented them from going down. There was a large lake between the director’s house and the Tiger Tower, which I already mentioned. The lake overflowed from the rain. It probably started raining last night. It rained all day and all night, and then it continued for three days and three nights. The lovers were happy, in fact they didn't want to go anywhere. They were good together, topics for conversation did not end. When they wanted to be silent, they simply sat side by side, clasping their hands, and were silent. The silence was cozy and warm, because the girl and the boy knew that they could break this silence at any moment.
The young man knew they were safe now. With this kind of weather, the capture team will not be able to silently approach the place where they are hiding now. The earth was soaked and turned into a solid mess. Of course, there were concrete paths on the island, but they were not everywhere, and ended not far from the place where the director's house stood. And on the segment between the director's house and the Tiger Tower, there were no paved paths at all. Huge earthen steps led up to the Tiger Tower, but probably the steps were not to be found now, they disappeared under the streams of water. The young man didn't know that they were now safer than he imagined. The canals that surrounded the island overflowed with water, and the water overflowed even the six bridges that surrounded the island. The water rose so high that the bridges did not even look through its thickness. I repeat, the young man and the girl did not know all this. The young man was worried about something else. The food supplies he had brought with him in his backpack were slowly fading away. There was food left for two days. There were also squirrels in briquettes, there were six of them, but it was a reserve in case of emergency.
Yana was calm and therefore her health was excellent. She asked Jan to get her music book out of her backpack and go out onto the balcony. She wanted to record the sounds of rain with music. Soon, she was so immersed in her work that she didn't even hear Yang calling her for dinner.
Leaving the notebook on the balcony, she entered the room. When the girl returned, it turned out that the rain had stopped and for the first time in four days the sun peeped through the clouds. However, these were the evening rays of the sun, they soon went out and fireflies took over the sky over the island.
Yana worked a little more on composing the symphony of rain, and then went to bed. She left the notebook on the balcony again. In the morning it was still drizzling, the bad weather did not want to recede, but the sun stubbornly broke through the clouds. After breakfast, the girl again took up the composition of the symphony. She pulled out her notebook and froze. The music staff was covered with fireflies. Now, during the day, they were asleep. Yana quietly put the notebook in the same place, she was afraid to disturb the fireflies. Suddenly, a thought came to her mind. Yana thought she was dreaming. No, that's how it was! Fireflies slept on those lines of the musical staff, where Yana made a mistake when composing music. Now, with the help of fireflies, the musical crossword puzzle was solved. Returning to the room, Yana sang a melody that was not given to her. In the evening, the fireflies left the notebook. Yana immediately, before she forgot, entered the notes of the notes where the fireflies were still sleeping a few minutes earlier.
The earth was soaked, and they set off only on the sixth day. It seemed to the travelers that the Tiger Tower was nearby, but they reached the foot of the tower only in the evening, although they set off on their way at noon. The fugitives walked slowly and made big failures. Upon closer examination, it turned out that the island is not so small. Rather, the civilized part of the island, where zoo guests could freely walk, was not very large, but the territory that stretched from the director's house and above turned out to be quite extensive. The earthen steps that led to the Tower of the Tiger were partially damaged by the streams of water, but slowly but surely, the lovers climbed step by step. At some point, Yana decided it was time to take a breath. The girl went to the parapet that enclosed the recreation area and looked down. She was curious what the headmaster's house looked like from up here. The house looked great, but everything else was not so rosy. Yana's attention was drawn to the black dots that were moving from the zoo director's house in the direction of the Tiger Tower. The young man, who wanted to go on, was stopped by the cry of the girl.
-Yan, -girlsand suffocated - they found us! Look, they're coming over here!
“Wait,” the young man took a step back, “I’ll take a look now!”
The girl was right, they were the pursuers. A group of people in black raincoats moved at a leisurely pace to where the boy and girl were now.
- Yana, - the young man pretended not to be at all alarmed, - we have gone far enough. It will be dark soon. I don't know what the Tiger Tower looks like from the inside, but the passages that wind around it are on the map. At least not for long, but we can hide.
“And then what?” the girl whispered, “We are running out of food.
- But there is a lot of water! - the young man pulled the girl to him, - do not be afraid, baby! We'll break away from the chase!
The girl perfectly understood that there were almost no chances to get away from the chase, but she did not argue with the young man, it simply did not make sense.
A few kilometers from the Tiger Tower was the outskirts of the city. Beyond the outskirts there were several groves interspersed with fields, and only beyond the field did a real forest begin, but the travelers could not get that far. From the very beginning, Yang understood that there was no chance to break away from the chase. But the lovers stubbornly fled, not hoping for anything. They just moved on, enjoying every hour they could wrest from their abusive parents.
Jan and Jana were modern Romeo and Juliet. The parents of the lovers were irreconcilable enemies and there was no chance for reconciliation.
In the meantime, it got completely dark. The fugitives were rising higher and higher!
The closer to the top of the tower, the rarer the landings became. The top of the tower - the head of the tiger, was the largest platform from which the entire island was visible. Ideally, the venue should be brightly lit, and slowly move in a circular motion to the music. Through the eyes of a tiger, one could look through a telescope at the starry sky, as well as at the largest buildings in the city. The ears of the tiger were small balconies from which fireworks could be launched, the nose of the tiger was designed to make jumps into the void with safety ropes. The tail of the tiger was the exit to the platform from where the trailers went by cable car. However, now the head of the tiger, as well as the tail, as you understand, were inaccessible to ordinary visitors. The fugitives climbed several flights of stairs and approached massive doors. It took a little effort to open them. In front of them was the huge, dark space of the restaurant. This restaurant was supposed to move in a circle, and the landscape outside the window was to delight the eyes of night visitors to the zoo. Jan flipped the switch, just like that, just in case. As expected, there was no light.
I do not like to describe pictures of persecution, because my heart beats with horror, my ears are pawned, and hope is slowly melting under the onslaught of strangers, hostile people! The fugitives did not yet know that Yana's father ordered the girl to be returned home in any condition. She had to return home alone. Ian was ordered to be destroyed. I repeat, the guys, of course, did not know all this, but they assumed that the outcome of the capture would be a disaster for them.
Yana began to weaken. Crossing the rope ladder, which Jan discovered with the help of the map, was beyond the girl's strength. There were many more escape routes. The creators of the zoo came up with many loopholes with which you could get out of the tower. Underground, through the air, through the side tunnels of the tower, all of these paths were built to make visitors have fun at the zoo. But all these escape routes were not for Yana now.
There was nothing to do, Jan got his beloved drunk and decided to take a break. The night before, the guys looked through all their belongings in the hope of finding a "bug" that gives a signal to the pursuers and shows the location of the guys, but found nothing. However, something in the boy's backpack or the girl's purse gave the men in black an accurate lead. The young man thought. Some thought haunted him, some omission, something ... And suddenly he understood! Notebook! The music book was the only thing he didn't examine thoroughly. Jan was in awe of the girl's musical talent and did not examine the music book. For him, it was almost sacrilege!
But now it was not up to lofty feelings. With the permission of Yana, the young man took out a music book from his backpack and leafed through it to the end. And there is! Attached to the back of the notebook was a tiny transmitter. The young man looked questioningly at the girl. Yana took the notebook from his hands and tore off the pages from the spine! However, she suddenly began to doubt that this act of vandalism would solve anything and began methodically tearing up the music notebook. Soon shreds from the notebook flew down from the tower of the Tiger. The wind immediately picked them up. The spine of the notebook was also torn into small pieces, and the place where the piece of notebook with the transmitter landed was unknown even to the guys themselves.
The transmitter was finished, but the young man doubted that they were safe now. Too late! From above, it was clearly visible how the pursuers entered the central doors of the Tiger Tower. The clock on the Tiger Tower struck nine o'clock. The Tiger Tower was filled with a quiet buzz, and it became light outside the windows! This tower of the Tiger was honored by the presence of fireflies. Yana closed her eyesmi. The light from a billion fireflies was growing. Yang also tried to close his eyes with his hands, but it did not help, his eyes hurt from the light! As soon as the guys tried to take a few steps to leave the restaurant hall, the buzz intensified! But as soon as they sat down on the plush sofa, the buzz immediately became barely audible. So they sat. Then the doors slammed and the pursuers entered the restaurant.
The aggressive actions of the men in black against the young man and the girl excited the fireflies to the utmost! Soon, the entire space of the huge restaurant was filled with fireflies. The buzz of insects intensified, as did the light. Yan and Yana tried to escape from the hands of their pursuers. The more they fought, the more the fireflies buzzed. And then this happened: the fireflies went on the attack and began to stick to people's clothes and bodies. The fireflies did not care who was in front of them - a good person or a bad one! All people were now just a target for them. One of the pursuers let go of Yana's hand and fell. He had nothing to breathe. Yana rushed to her beloved and grabbed his hand. Surprisingly, she could fight! She, so weak and painful, for some reason was now given a second wind. However, the girl understood that the fireflies would not pity her, they stuck around the bodies of people more and more densely with a continuous layer! She sang that melody of rain, which she composed together with fireflies. The restaurant hall had good acoustics and Yana's weak voice sounded like she was singing into a microphone.
Fireflies began to rise into the air. They swirled to the beat of the melody. Whirlwinds of fireflies shot up to the ceiling and down to the floor. Left and right, up and down - these are fireflies flying behind the melody. In the morning, the pursuers began to come to their senses. There were no more fireflies in the restaurant hall, however, as well as fugitives. In the morning, people in black combed the entire territory of the zoo, but they did not find the fugitives.
Probably, the girl and the guy were already far away, maybe even already on their way to another city. Soon the zoo gates slammed shut behind the men in black, and all was quiet again.
The fugitives returned in the evening. They did not even need to climb over the fence anymore. The gates were open. Entering the zoo, Jan stopped, and then beckoned the girl to follow him. There was no danger. The zoo was empty. The guys returned to the director's house, they brought a lot of food with them. They were no longer in danger. It was unlikely that the pursuers would guess to return. Every evening, at exactly nine o'clock, Yana and Yan went out onto the balcony and admired the fireflies circling around the Tiger Tower. From here, the buzz that the fireflies made was even faintly audible. Sometimes the fireflies flew to the balcony, and Yana sang songs to them.
When winter came, the children left the zoo. Where they are now, I don't know. And the fireflies will return in the spring.