Project Ouroboros (8 page)

Early in the morning, when the sun was just rising an ambulance arrived at the military airfield of Anshan. The driver and his assistant opened the car and dropped a wheelchair on the pavement, and then a young man with blond hair left the car. The driver said something to the young man while a person in the wheelchair was sleeping.

— ...are you aware, that he should stay in the hospital? — Nurse almost shouted at the young man and it awakened El'Athar, he tried to look around, but the neck ached unbearably because of the awkward position.

— Yes, I am — Aleph sighed. — But it's not up to me.

— He needs surgery, his lungs would not operate for a long time in this state. If the attacks are repeated, one day he will be simply suffocated.

— No operation! — El'Athar's low voice was hysterical.

— Surprisingly, Mr El'Athar, you are alive and in good health. doctors treating you created a miracle, but you have to take care of yourself, because otherwise it would be in vain. If you continue in the same spirit, you would not last long. You need to stop drinking and working so much, and see a doctor immediately after the return.

— Thank you — Aleph nodded and held his hand to help the agent up. — I'll look after him.

— Yeah, Mr Aleph, look after your brother, because he behaves like a child. — The nurse put the seat in the car.

— Thank you for everything, goodbye. — The young man helped El'Athar as numb legs did not obey, and the agent was slightly limping.

The car drove away, Aleph and the agent went to the control room, it was possible to get on the couch and wait for everyone else.

Gathering at the airport was appointed for half an hour before departure, at 7:30 am. Everyone but Tekhina was on place. Immediately after the conversation with the director El’Athar met with professors of geological and technical faculties of the University of Elam, they agreed to help happily. Agent was accompanied by Aleph, Tharsis refused to give up work and took care of the house during the absence of the owner and his friend.

— Excuse me for being late — Tekhina dragged a huge suitcase with her things. — Do not look at me like that, I'm not late because of that. I had to contact the doctor and postpone the surgery. And here are the tools for research. Basically.

— So you still dared? — asked El’Athar.

— Yeah, — Dr Ami nodded and stared up at Aleph, pouring something underfoot.

Tekhina climbed into the cabin.

— I think she despises you — Aleph grinned. — Since when have you stopped to get along? You had a kind of ...uuuuuuuh... relationship.

El’Athar shrugged in response. He scraped his hair back in a ponytail and walked behind the others on board.

— How long do we fly? — Asked Trier Lugal a co-pilot, a young man with eastern appearance, settling on the seat.

— Six hours. So you can sleep, read or listen to music. I hope everyone took  something to eat with them, because you'll get your rations only after landing. — The co-pilot smiled.

— Yes, we know — obviously predisposed to baldness signalman took a huge computer from his tracking backpack. — We have not had time to meet before boarding. My name is Irinae Gellis. I would be glad if I was simply call Irinae. I'm the chief specialist of the department of data and the only one in this country who still knows how to work with the transmission of radio signals in an emergency.

— This is important — adjusting his glasses, joined the conversation the geologist. — Once, during excavations on a small island, we drowned our satellite transmitter. We were cut off from the world. We were fortunate that Irinae was on the expedition, he practically saved us all.

— Yes, — he nodded in agreement. — In our time only the military use radio. But it was enough to get us pulled out.

— Let's hope, the radio would not come in handy — geologist smiled. — By the way, I am Neal, deputy dean of the Faculty of Geology.

— And I am Heth — the co-pilot turned to everyone — and our crew commander, whom you should love and respect, and for the next six hours not act on his nerves is called Julius. Everyone get ready for take-off. We hope for a flight you will not have time to mope. Think that not so long ago it would take us fifteen hours to cover the same distance. And rejoice.

All buckled up.

Two pilots were complete opposites of each other. Julius — a big fifty year old black man with a serious face, while Heth looked no older than thirty, though El’Athar knew that he was in his late thirties. Despite the urgency and lack of time, he chad time to study the cases of everyone, who agreed to this trip. From the file he found out that all Heth's ancestors were from the Far East, it seemed from the country once known as Korea.

The tiny plane had two seats next to each window and a sufficiently wide passage in the middle. In the first row on the one hand Irinae and Neil sat, on the other — El’Athar and Aleph. Behind them was Tekhina. Dr Lugal sat separately, having put a pile of books on the seat next to him.

— I know you did not take anything with you. Is that right? — Over El’Athar's head appeared a female hand, which was holding two apples. — Aleph, I know you love apples.

— Thank you, Dr Ami — Aleph took fruit and handed one to El’Athar.

— No, thank you, Tharsis seem to have bought me chips and candy. Does someone else eat that?

— I do not think so — Tekhina returned to her book.

— I have not tried chips — Aleph shrugged as usual.

— How can you claim that you do not like to eat, if you have not tried? — outraged the agent.

— I have tried regular food.

— What do you mean? — El’Athar did not immediately realize what it meant.

— When I first appeared in Anshan, I lived with a woman. She made me eat. It was very tasty, but I felt so bad that I tried to throw away everything that was in the refrigerator while she was at work.

Aleph pulled a pad and pencil from his backpack and started to write something. Then he gave the notebook to El’Athar. It said: "Yesterday you came too late and I could not tell you. I was able to translate the record. "

El’Athar took his pencil and wrote the following:

"Did you write down the translation?"

"No, I remember it"

"What can you say? About everything"

"I'm scared"

"Why did not you quit?"

"I promised to help you. And I have to know what is happening "

"Thank you"

"Stay away from Trier Lugal"

"How are your wounds?"

"Better"

Half an hour later Aleph dozed off, and El’Athar moved to Tekhina.

— When is the operation?

— In ten days. In just a few months of work at the university and "Enki" I have earned enough money for new eyes. Who would have thought...

— Thirty years later, the world is still in ruin.

— But not Elam. Why didn't you call?

— I've had some problems. I did not want to bother you.

— You could have just said, instead of ignoring me for two weeks.

— Unfortunately...

El’Athar changed his mind and got up to fetch Aleph's notebook and pencil. The aircraft swung, and the agent barely stayed on his feet.

— What's happening? — Irinae was scared.

— It's okay — the second pilot grinned to everyone — a little turbulence does not hurt. I hope no one here is afraid to fly?

— I think — said the geologist — that few of those present has flown before.

El’Athar returned to Tekhina and scribbled in the notebook:

"did you see what they did to him ?!"

"Yes"

"Why you didn't you tell me?"

"I tried. Then, on the beach "

"Do you know anything else?"

Tekhina settled back, her whole manner implying that she had a lot to write. "The blood of Tharsis is virtually identical in chemical composition to the human. But Aleph generally has nothing to do with us. I think his DNA is of extraterrestrial origin, and the other Lamashtu are hybrids. It's uncomfortable to write. Later I'll tell you more. And them, too. "

"Thank you"

— I'm still mad at you, — said Tekhina aloud and handed the notebook, with nothing more written in it.

— So I can get back to my seat? — El’Athar smiled.

— I'm tired of you.

The agent sat at his seat and put the pad back into Aleph's bag. He smiled tightly at the falling asleep blond and reached out to touch his hand, but stopped at the last moment. "Yeah, — thought El’Athar — isn't it too much of guardianship? A little more and paternal feelings will wake up in me. It's time to pull myself together." Then he let his hair down  to get comfortable in a chair and take a nap.

Thought were spinning in his mind, not letting him to relax, although it seemed that the eyes were closing themselves. The agent felt completely devastated and did not know how to overcome this state of permanent indifference to the whole world. Apathy and unemotional consumed him from the inside for years, as long as he could remember. Now he just felt tired of indiscriminate pretense. He didn’t care about Tekhina, Aleph, Mr Director General, and himself too.

But it would be desirable to know the truth...

Exhale.

Before sleep, El’Athar rethought what Tekhina said. "Who are you, Aleph? What am I to do with you?.."

The temperature difference was a real disaster for all arrivals. Accustomed to warm, dry climate of Anshan, the team members were in a place, where all landscapes were uniformly cold, dazzling white and deserted. Some of the visitors were both suffering badly from frost and happy — they had never seen snow. El'Athar was breathing heavily, affected by his lung problems. Sometimes he seemed to be choking and his eyes darkened, the snow certainly didn't please him.

— I grew up in the forest settlement of evacuated Scandinavians — said Tekhina. — There was always a lot of snow in the winter.

— Taymir? — asked the agent.

— Yes.

— I was there in evacuation too — Trier Lugal replied. — Ten years of our lives with Lydie before we were allowed to come back to Elam.

— After only ten years?

— Yes... We were among the first who began to rebuild the city. I was born and grew up in Anshan. I knew I had to return.

— It’s very cold — Aleph could not wake up, trembling and wrapping in a blanket, which he took from Tekhina.

— When is the dinner? — The second pilot circled the aerodrome in search of a place where he could smoke.

— We still have to go for about half an hour by car — said Julius, — the aircraft would be locked in a hangar, the keys would be with me, though, I do not know from whom to hide here. It is rather a protective measure — so that it would not get covered with snow. It has been already a couple of thousand years, that almost no one lives here. Two half-empty cities in a huge country, and those are far away in the south.

Heth drove a minivan out of the garage and gestured for everybody to get in.

The car was so crowded that El'Athar had to put Aleph on his knees and try to squeeze in a corner, so that Tekhina could sit down next to them and there was enough room for all their things. There was a feeling that his knees are somewhere close to his ears, and the blonde was sitting right on his head.

— That's fine, — co-pilot turned from his driver's seat and smiled to the passengers shivering from the cold — it's not a long drive. The main thing is that there is no storm. Well, at least Dr Ea Aoni promised that everything would be fine.

— Oh, you know her? — Aleph was surprised. — Is she doing well?

— She still is angry with you, — said Heth. — Have conscience — visit her.

— All right.

Julius locked the hangar and sat on the seat next to the driver. The car was difficult to start, it was too cold, but in the end it began to move.

It was hard for everyone, as they felt tired and hungry, and the dull grey-white landscapes were the only thing seen from the windows, gradually replacing each other. It started snowing, sweeping the road and interfering in the work of the navigator. Heth swore silently to himself — wipers could barely cope. It seemed to be an endless journey.

After nearly an hour they saw the Research Station: standing at the foot of the mountains long one-story building with a sloping roof and small windows. Next to it there were a garage and storage rooms — all covered in snow.

El'Athar was almost choking.

Alef said that he would go for a walk for a little while, while the rest would be engaged in their meal. He looked wilted, his stooped figure slowly vanished in the snow towards the mountains. But the snow was getting stronger, and El'Athar started to worry. Having eaten his sandwich, he went after his ward, trying to keep up and not to be seen.

Aleph kept going, without stopping even for a second. Agent wandered after him.

Blonde stopped abruptly.

— Why are you following me? — He asked, without turning around.

— I do not want you to get lost. I tried not to interfere.

— I saw you. Somehow...

— Why are you going there? What do you want to see?

— I am called. Here I am in the right place ... and I begin to understand what is happening.

— What are they saying to you?

— ... they are asking for help. Let's go to.

Research mines were scattered throughout the mountain range, and Aleph, apparently, was interested in the most distant of them, which, according to El'Athar's estimates  were still about half an hour of walking away.

It was getting colder, but Aleph did not stop for a second. How hard-nosed he was sometimes! His whole-hearted and complaisance disappeared somewhere, and he walked and walked, without detracting from the intended target.

The radio that El'Athar managed to get from Irinae hissed. Apparently, the technician had already set up the radio and decided to give a signal. Agent inspected the intercom, trying to figure out which button to press. These pieces hadn't been in use for a hundred years.

— El'Athar, can you hear me? — The voice belonged to Irinae.

— Yes, I'm in touch. Do you copy?

— Yes. Where are you? It's been more than an hour, where did you go?

— Can't you see on the radar?

— No! Too much snow. The signal cannot be set up now. Communication on the radio, too, may be interrupted. Come back!

— We've come too far to go back, without satisfying the curiosity. When does it get dark here?

— Never, it's the North Pole!

— We are in the mountains. Interested parties can join us.

— We will discuss your proposal.

Communication was interrupted.

Stopping to talk El'Athar overlooked that Aleph could continue his journey by himself, and then he was no longer visible. Endless snow immediately covered the tracks. The agent began to go faster, as much as possible, trying to see a dark stooped figure in front of him.

— Why didn't you stop? — He shouted at the boy's back. — You can get lost!

El'Athar coughed. He could not breathe. Instead of inspiration he wheezed.

— No, I won't get lost here — Aleph first turned to look at El'Athar. Agent became even more uncomfortable: usually pale, almost colourless blue eyes were filled with bright turquoise light, blush appeared on his cheeks from the cold and thin lips broke into a satisfied smile. Blonde no longer looked tired and indifferent — as if everything was imbued with his presence and power of spirit. — This is my home, — he added, and turned toward one of the mines.

El'Athar felt something warm in his chest, as if some old reminder, almost weightless, slipping from memory. Something like a half-forgotten childhood memories filled with some special magic. Warm and native image ... he wanted to reach out a hand, but the agent did not move. He was, without blinking, looking at the Aleph's silhouette going away, and tried to stop this elusive moment of the past.

Recovering, El'Athar hurried afterwards.

— This is the home of other Lamashtu too?

— No. Their home is research centre "Enki".

— Tekhina said...

— Yes. But I am the real one. So they did not need a study Tharsis. Now I remember everything. Let's go.

— A voice from the video? ..

— This is my voice. I am very-very old... Oh, you have no idea how old I am. I do not feel weak as in Anshan. Can you walk?

— Yes. I only need to catch my breath.

— I didn't know you were sick.

— Elam's climate is quite favourable for people like me.

Fifteen minutes later, they were inside a huge and apparently miraculous cave in which there were many passages deep into the mountains. They began to descend  one of them, which lead deep into the earth. For thirty years of disasters and cold mines had become virtually unusable. All iced, the steps were so slippery that the way back upstairs was questionable. On the ceiling, once lined with sheets of metal, there were stalactites, the constructions executing once the function of railings were iced.

— Do not worry — Aleph seemed to feel panic growing in the soul of the agent — I know another way.

At the end of the descent, they were in the cave again. It was tiny, with a well, and the light came only from the ladder by which the Aleph with El'Athar had just descended.

— Do you want to go down?

— Yeah ... I just don't know how. There was once a wooden staircase which scientists from "Merkhaba" used. They are still there ...

— There?

— Yes... They were downstairs when it flooded. In fact Tiamat started from here, from this well.

— Is it because of you that a hurricane occurred?

— Of course. Do you hear voices?

— Voices?

— Yes. You hear them for a long time; I just knew it as soon as I moved in with you. I also hear them. They talk to us... You know, I tell you what, El'Athar? You've started a pretty darn smart game.