All at once. Book two

Icy chills ran down Orlov’s spine.

He recognized that boy…

It was him!

On that ill-fated evening, a neighbor asked him to go to her acquaintance and pick up medicine for her sick daughter. She was almost dying, and only this drug could save her. This acquaintance lived on the next street and had access to then scarce medicines. And when he was already returning home, local thugs followed him. They saw that he was hiding something in the inner pocket of his coat. And they decided to get this something at any cost.

That evening, the little boy Petya did not bring the neighbor the long-awaited medicine. And the next evening her daughter died. She blamed him for her death! A terrible persecution began! Over time, all the neighbors joined this persecution. Because of this, he and his mother had to leave for the Moscow region to his aunt.

The little boy stood up, wiped his bloody nose with his hand, and, brushing off the snow, limping, went home.

Orlov silently followed him with his gaze.

And when he entered the entrance, after a couple of minutes, angry shouts of the neighbor were heard.

– I’m not guilty of anything! – Orlov shouted into nowhere. – There were five of them! What do you want? You want to make me feel ashamed? For what?

– I didn’t do anything! What do you need? Damn freak, – he took a couple of steps forward.

– A bright blinding flash and crack…

Andrey slowly opened his eyes. Everything was as if in a fog. Looking around, he saw bare, shabby, pale blue walls of a large barracks bedroom. Which were abundantly furnished with metal bunks. On one of which he lay in an old, gray pajama with patches on the side. Andrey stood barefoot on the floor and tried to understand where he was.