Partridge's igloo
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– Ahhhhhh …
I heard a subtle and slurred scream. This sound rang out to the limit of audibility and I stopped. New scream. Weak and barely distinguishable. I heard it, as if to my right. There was no more screaming – groan. A faint moan? Women or baby. Maybe I hear it, only inside my head? It seemed?
I cursed mentally and still decided to check. Does it scream me or not? I climbed to the top of the next hill and went around a group of large boulders. Now I had to go against the wind and I went down to a ravine with steep slopes.
At the bottom of the ravine lay a teenager half-buried in snow. I managed to make out. He was dressed in the national clothes of the peoples of the Far North. From deer fur, with the name – pajik. On their feet were dressed, embroidered with beads – untaikas. The teenager did not see me and sobbed quietly. When he noticed me, he stopped crying. He waved his hand, calling to himself.
What happened to you? I asked. How did you get here?
– Help, man! – answered me a thin, slightly hoarse voice – The deer was frightened of something and threw me off! My leg is broken. Help!
Girl, or what? I thought. Since when, local nationals began to ride deer? How did it get so far from human habitation?
I answered her – Of course! I will help! Now I will take you to our CUB! I'll call the helicopter on the radio, which will take you to the hospital.
Saying this in a soothing voice, I carefully lifted the girl in her arms. Trying not to hurt. Since her right leg was twisted and stuck to the side. As soon as I turned in the direction of the tractor track, the girl hid in my hands.
– No, man! Only not in your self-propelled beam! She vigorously protested. Bring to another place. Get over there! To the hill!
– There's nothing there. Boulders alone! – I objected.
– Everything's there. There is a doctor and a hospital!
The blizzard continued to intensify and began to howl already. There was no time for altercation.
– Okay – I succumbed to the stormy pressure of the girl – On the hill, so on the hill. Only – an agreement. If there is nothing there, I carry you to CUB!
I turned around. The wind now began to hit my right cheek. I went to the next hill the girl was pointing to. The top of which, at times completely disappeared, behind the dense jets of the blizzard that began.
– And now where? – I asked. We were on top of a snowy hill. Dotted with huge boulders.
– Over to that stone, please drop me down there too.
I lowered the girl next to the boulder. She leaned on her healthy leg. I held her. Just in case, for the belt. Here, at the top, gusts of wind hit especially hard. The stubborn right shin, for sure, was – broken.
The girl moaned softly, holding on to me with one hand. With her other hand, she reached for the stone. What happened then. Made me doubt my sanity.
The girls barely touched the surface of the boulder, which had been corroded by time. How a thin, rapidly expanding crack appeared in it. The top of a huge boulder silently slipped to the side and hung in the air, as if it did not weigh anything.
– Well, what are you, man! – the girl whimsically called – Do not stand a pillar. Help!
She did not let me come to my senses. With a gesture, she showed me to help her climb onto a boulder cut in an unknown way. On a flat, polished surface that. Oscillating dark, foggy – circle. The diameter is seven feet.
I probably also had fog in my head. I kicked off my skis and was not aware. Together with my burden, I climbed a boulder and entered into a circle. I saw my feet plunge into the fog.
– Do not move and do not be afraid! – a little companion warned me sternly – So huge, but afraid!
As if the feeling of fear depends on size! I mentally snapped back. Aloud, I did not utter a single word. Because I already managed to plunge into the fog, on the chest. Just in case, I took air into my lungs and closed my eyelids tightly.
Chapter 2. Alien house
My cheeks felt a gust of hot wind and a slight tingling sensation. Nothing else happened. When I again dared to open my eyes, we were already in a round room. There were luminous walls and ceilings around. Only the smooth, like glass, floor did not glow.
– Rather, man!
The stranger extended her hand to the wall, barely touching. The wall from her touch, went rosy stains. Caved in. Like water covered with a glowing film of oil. Parted, letting us in – on.
Now we have moved to a much larger room. Also with luminous walls. Lighting concealed the size of the room. Only appearing on the walls, fluid patterns, allowed to determine. What is this room, in shape and location – a vertical cylinder. About ten steps in height and forty steps in diameter. There was nothing in the room. Absolute emptiness.
– Bring me there!
The girl held out her hand. Pointing to a brighter section of the wall. Located opposite. I lifted the girl’s light body and carried it to where she pointed.
– Man, help me take off my clothes. I myself can’t overpower, it really hurts.
I hurriedly pulled off her fur jacket – pajik. Having set her on the floor, I removed the untaika from her left foot. But barely touched the right foot, as a girl, she cried out from a sudden pain. Without hesitation, I pulled a penknife out of my pocket. I carefully cut open the untaika deer skin – the camus.