Virusomahia

Now no one will remember how this malicious virus got to the Earth. Whether it was created by mother-nature or the meddlesome minds of scientific people. But what happened, happened: the sudden accumulation of exhaust and the smell of something sweet awakened in people previously dormant vices: anger, envy, lust, greed, suspicion. Those who were friends before broke ties, families collapsed, primitive communal relations and the right of the big fist returned to society. But it was in this world, tired without love and sympathy, that our hero, the little Perun, appeared, and our story will be about him.

A woman wandered through the frozen city in search of a place to sleep. Strangers were not allowed in, and there was not enough money for a hotel. Finally, tired of wandering, she went down to the abandoned subway. Once there was a metro, underground trains that transported people around the city. But since the Virus came down, there have been mass fights and robberies in the metro, and the authorities have decided to close this source of vandalism permanently. Shops, public canteens, and all other crowded places were closed. Now everyone was moving in the advance caused by the car on autopilot and worked from home via the Internet. Doors and windows were sealed with iron shutters, and it was extremely difficult to meet passers-by. In addition, the Christmas frosts fully demonstrated the unsightliness of the streets. But right now, she needed to be in town, find a midwife, and give birth for a baby. By the time she reached the city gates, night had fallen, and it was useless to knock at the iron doors. So, having lost hope, she went down into the darkness of the subway, found a phone, turned on a flashlight, and wandered along the wide hall of white marble once Kropotkinskaya station. The ribbed columns, spreading out like stone flowers, looked like giants in the light of the phone flashlight, and the moving shadows made her heart beat faster.

"Stop who's coming", she heard a child's sharp voice call out.

"Pickpockets", she thought with a sigh. But at that moment, her strength left her and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

She awoke in a corner covered with rags and lit by a dim energy-saving light bulb that divided the area into even squares. On such, drawn with chalk squares, once, in her childhood, she jumped with her friends on the street. And the sun shone brighter, and people's smiles were sincere, and she was not afraid of anyone or anything then. She tried to get up on her elbows but realized that her hands were tied.

"Aunt Vera, she's awake", said the same shrill voice, not of a child, but of a girl of about fifteen.

Then aunt Vera appeared in the dark, huge as a cook.

"Go, Lubava, warm up the water", commanded aunt Vera. Then, turning to the bound woman, she continued, "and you, to eat more quickly, you will probably give birth soon, you will need your strength".

She held out a soft slice of rye bread. She poured water into a Cup.

"Thank you", the woman said hesitantly, and pointed at the knot on her wrists.

"What's your name?" Aunt Vera asked, unwinding her hands.

"Marina", she said, chewing her bread greedily.