Chapter 11 Primer

His name is Maxim. It's not an uncommon name, but it's not as common as Sergeyev, Andreyev, and Tim.Good to hear.A nice Russian name doesn't matter if its roots go all the way back to the Greeks, Varangians and other Scythians. He's also good looking.It's not the sweet beauty of TV actors, nor is it the usual "crappy" face.He is a handsome man who stands out from the crowd.At the same time, he's a strong enough guy, but not the kind of big, blue-veined guy who goes to the gym every day. He works as an auditor for a large foreign company, and his income can satisfy all the weird wishes, but he may not be afraid of those blackmailing thieves.

As if his guardian angel had decided: "You're bound to be a little bit better off than everyone else." Just a little, but that's good too.The main thing is that Maxim is happy with it.To climb higher, to waste one's life for a better car, an invitation to a high society party, or an extra room in a house...for what?Life is good in itself, not in the possessions that can be earned.Life and paltry money are very different opposites at this point. Of course Maxim never thought about it a little bit so directly.One of the gifts of those who have masterfully taken their place in life is that they think it is what they deserve.Everything should be as it should be.And if someone doesn't get what he deserves - he has only himself to blame.That said, he's either overly lazy or stupid, or his pursuits are too high a standard.

Maxim loves this line: "The standard is too high." It puts everything in its place.It would explain, for example, why his clever and beautiful sister hangs out in Tambov with her alcoholic husband.She asked for it on her own, looking for something better and more promising...and she found it.And his old classmate, who has been in the trauma department for more than a month.Didn't he want to make the business bigger?It is bigger.Fortunately, he still got his life back.You must know that the market share of non-ferrous metals that these civilized people compete for has been divided long ago.

"Too high a standard" includes many aspects, and there is only one aspect in which Maxim can identify with this attitude, and only himself, and yet it is such a strange and complicated aspect.... ponder.The simpler way is not to think too much, to tolerate those strange phenomena, which sometimes happen in spring, sometimes in autumn, but seldom happen in the middle of summer, because the weather is uncomfortably hot at that time, which makes people Losing reason and caution, and having some doubts about his mental state... However, Maxim never considers himself a schizophrenic.He's read a lot, consulted with experienced doctors... of course he won't go into details.

No, he is normal.It seems that this kind of situation does exist, and it cannot be explained by reason, and it is difficult for ordinary people to accept it.Asking too much...is unpleasant.But are they actually too high... Maxim sat in the car, a well-maintained "Toyota", not the most expensive or luxuriously decorated, but already much better than most cars on the streets of Moscow.The engine was switched off, so he was not visible at the wheel from a few paces away in the dim light of the early morning.He spent the whole night like this, listening to the soft "squeak" of the cooling engine, he was cold, but he was not allowed to turn on the air conditioner.He doesn't want to sleep, which is usually the case with him.He doesn't want to smoke either.Thinking of nothing, just sitting there perfectly still, waiting like a ghost in the car parked by the side of the road.There is a little grievance-the wife thinks that he is with her lover again.How to prove to her that he doesn't have a mistress, a long-term mistress—no, all the crimes are nothing more than a romance in a resort, an affair at work, and a professional woman he meets during a business trip... Besides, they are not Hua's family The money bought, but the customers provide.At this time, you cannot refuse, otherwise you will offend others.Or people will think you're gay and bring some young masters next time...

The numbers on the watch changed: five o'clock in the morning.The people who clean the yard are about to come out to work. This is an ancient holy place, and cleanliness is very important here.Fortunately there was neither rain nor snow, and winter was over, and the vermin died, giving way to spring, taking with it all its problems and exorbitant ambitions... The door slammed shut with a bang.The girl went outside, stopped when she was about ten meters away from the car, straightened the bag on her shoulders, and stepped directly on the sidewalk.These ridiculous houses have no yards, are inconvenient to work in, and uncomfortable to live in. No matter how luxurious they are, what good are they? The chimneys are rotten, and the one-meter-thick walls are covered with a layer of mold. There may be ghosts wandering inside... …

Maxim smiled slightly and got out of the car.His body looked very light, and his muscles didn't feel numb all night, as if he had gained strength.These are all reliable signals. No, he still wants to know: Are there ghosts in the world? "Galina!" he yelled. The girl turned to him.This is also a good sign, she ran away without running away, you must know that there is always something suspicious and dangerous about a person who is waiting for you at the gate early in the morning... "I don't know you," she said quietly, curiously. "Yes," agreed Maxim, "but I know you."

"who are you?" "I am the judge." That's what he liked, the old, proud, stately look.Judge!That's the kind of guy who has the right to judge. "Who are you going to judge?" "You, Galina." Maxim was engrossed and serious.His eyes began to dim, another reliable signal. "How is it possible?" She sized him up quickly, and Maxim caught a yellowish gleam in her eyes. "Can you do it?" "It can be done." Maxim replied holding up a hand.He held a short sword in his palm, a thin wooden short sword, this sword used to be light in color, but it has turned black and dirty in the last three years...

The sharp wooden sword pierced the girl's heart, but she didn't say a word. As usual, Maxim was frightened for a moment, this kind of fear was short-lived, coming up all at once-what if he did something wrong anyway?just in case? With his right hand he touched the crucifix, a crude wooden crucifix that had been hanging over his chest.And so he stood, holding the crucifix in one hand, and he stood until the girl began to change... The transformation process happens quickly.It always happens very quickly: man becomes beast, and beast becomes man.Moments later a lying beast appears on the sidewalk, a black panther with glassy eyes and bared fangs, a huntsman's prey in a well-formed jacket, pantyhose and loafers...and the process is reversed — as if the pendulum swung for the last time.

What seemed strange to Maxim was not even this brief and generally overdue change, but that the dead girl left no scars on her body.In an instant of change she was clean and healed, save for the knife marks on her shirt and coat. "Thank goodness," Maxim muttered softly, looking at the dead shapeshifter. "Thank goodness." He was not at all opposed to having this role in his life. However, this role is still too difficult for him, who does not pursue a high level, after all.