Are you sure dear?
He nodded. Then he smiled, took Mala's chin in his hand and concluded in his hoarse voice:
– Why do we waste time?
CHAPTER 5
Thunder's apartment at Ozzy House on Seven Mountains has become not just our home, our nest, but also our headquarters. My lover worked through hundreds of scenarios every day that allowed him to speed up the process of completing the ritual. We made sorties to different parts of the city, collected the necessary amulets – somewhere it was a page of a book torn out by someone and left in a park, somewhere it was earth from a flower pot located in a specific place.
I quickly became convinced that he could do everything. Next to me was a real and reliable man, albeit with a criminal past. Yes, and real, too, why be honest? But I was so calm next to him, so warm and comfortable that I forgot to think about his personal sins.
Every day we became closer, we spent time in endless conversations, caressed each other and caressed. He sometimes went away for the evening – and I knew that we were talking about another victim. But reading him morality was not in my rules. I transported things from my attic on the Wheat Field to him and this 2148th Earth year smoothly became our common year.
Thunder once said he wanted to show me something. When I asked where we were going, he replied that we were going to the garage. But when we arrived, it turned out to be a whole hangar! When we went inside, I expected to see a plane or something like that, but what I saw was even bigger and much more unexpected!
Thunder called her (or him?) "My doll." It was a real spaceship, which, as he said, he built himself, with his own hands. What I saw impressed me in earnest! I was just dumbfounded and quietly shocked. But the most touching thing in all this was that on the left side, on the case, my name flaunted. The inscription "Mala" in English letters.
A month has passed since Captain Ulysses met this unusual couple in a deserted alley. The police were still unable to figure out what happened to the old teacher, and several more corpses were added to her.
To find out what the killer wanted to tell them, he spent days in the cosmological library. One day, he still came across a description of a similar ritual. It said that the victims in this scheme become part of a common link-like whole: a ring that closes on the 12th victim. This method opened the way to other worlds, the so-called "portal of death" – a point in space from which you can jump to another Galaxy.
“But this requires a spaceship,” the captain thought almost out loud. He looked up at the ceiling – it showed the Earth's Solar System. The supposed point was in the orbit of the moon – that is, it was possible to fly there on something terrestrial, but further? Captain Ulysses believed in God, but still did not believe in alien life. For the first time, he caught himself thinking that perhaps life could still exist in this universe or any other. If they are guests, can we stop them?
As he walked home, from the library, the captain saw a couple on the other side of the street. Boy and girl, nothing special – but he had the feeling that he knew them from somewhere. Suddenly, images of the night when the fourth victim was killed appeared in my mind. Now there were already seven victims. The captain immediately remembered these two – a creepy guy, and his beauty is a friend. For some reason now, as then, they aroused his sympathy.
Not being completely sure that they would be happy to see him, he called out to them.
Mala and Grom turned around. Mala immediately recognized the hapless police captain they met on the day they met. She wanted to whisper to Grom that they leave immediately, but Grom, as if reading her thoughts, calmly said: "Everything is all right, let's go say hello!"
Mala obeyed and they slowly covered the distance separating them from the captain.
– Well, strangers, are you all walking? It's afternoon now? Captain Ulysses joked amiably.
– Do you remember us, captain? How cute. – said Thunder quite calmly, taking out a cigarette from a cigarette case.
– You have a very colorful pair.
– Thank. Well, have you solved that case? How much has passed, about a month? Did you find anything? – Thunder conducted the conversation like a completely unrelated person, which further delighted Malu.
– Not, …. Ah … what can I call you guys?
Thunder frowned, paused for a moment, and then, shaking off the ashes, spoke again:
“Nothing personal, captain, but we wouldn't want to give our names. We're not big friends of the police. '' To Mala's great surprise, Thunder said.
– Problems with law? The captain replied, still joking.
“Not at all, captain. I just don't like people in uniform and with superior weapons.
– As you say. In general, they found nothing. There is one clue, but it's a very delusional theory, some …
– Share? – Thunder asked in a completely uninterested voice.
– There is a version that we are dealing with a maniac. There are already seven victims, and the situation is one-to-one similar in every murder. But what's most interesting, the killer seems to be performing some kind of ritual. In one of the books on cosmology, it says about some kind of ring of the Sphinx, if you believe this theory, then we will have 5 more victims, unless of course we catch it. If this is an alien, then apparently he wants to fly home.
The captain fell silent, and there was a pause. Awkward and long. Thunder ran his hand over Male's back, coughed and smiled:
“Sounds really crazy, captain.
– Yes. You're right. Well, I won't detain you anymore. I hope to see you again!
The captain shook hands with Grom, waved to Male and walked down the street towards the bridge. Grom and Mala walked in silence. Since they started dating, Mala has never transformed with him. That is, he could not make sure that it was her that he saw that evening. On the other hand, Thunder left at night in search of his victim, and Mala could freely transform into her totem.
Now it became obvious to both of them that his little secret had been revealed, Mala thought that the most logical thing would be to throw a little hysteria so as not to reveal that he was informed in his affairs. But Thunder was not one of those people with whom such a number would have passed. Therefore, Mala decided to gently make it clear that she supported him in everything, whatever it was.
“Dear, the captain said that….” She began awkwardly.
– Mala, listen! The man cut her off abruptly. – You shouldn't have learned about it this way….
– But I am not…
“I knew that you would consider me a monster, so I was silent. Unfortunately, I have no way out. I have to finish with … eliminate them to complete the ring. Only then can we fly away from here. Fuck it.
Mala said nothing. She simply hugged her beloved to make it clear that she was supporting him.
CHAPTER 6
Now Thunder has ceased to hide from Mala, which is a key link in his ritual. True, he spared her and did not discuss the subtleties of the murders with her. Just now leaving on his absences, he openly took weapons with him. He told who the next victim was, explained to Male that he was a bad person and that he should not be pitied. Mala and Stalker were spinning a roulette wheel together, but every time he pointed to a name, Male felt uneasy. She dreamed of flying away with Thunder, but believed that there was another way – to go to his homeland. When he left, she spent nights at the monitor screen, realizing that there was no real effective information on this in the World Wide Web, but still hoped to find at least something.