Candle in the Attic Window(90)
When he had finished his recital, Solotin got up and poured the vodka on the floor. On tiptoe, he returned to the wounded man and, suddenly, stuck a needle in his bruised arm. The vodka began to invade the body of the Teuton. Iliev dared not flinch, but he knew that the experiment was going to be cut short, that without a doubt, the German would kick the bucket in a minute or two! His blood would be poisoned by Product 61, the name given to the vodka brand by the Soviet soldiers because of the rank it occupied in the list of articles with which they were furnished. A product of the first necessity, which permitted the combatants to withstand the hell of war.
At first, the Fritz did not move. Then, after a few minutes, came some slight convulsions and, once the vodka had inundated his entire being, there were violent spasms that shook the unfortunate man. He began to bellow like a madman.
– Quick! Hide yourselves! Solotin cried, rejoining his confused comrades. They hid themselves in the back of the room. Brusquely, the wounded man got up. He staggered as his entire body was dismantled by fits and starts of unspeakable brutality. His head spun without end. Iliev could not believe it. This man should have died several minutes before because of all the vodka in his veins! Instead, against all medical logic, he had succeeded in standing up!
– But, good God, Ruslan! What have you done? shouted Iliev.
The other man remained tight-lipped. Totally caught up in what he was seeing. Iliev and Simonov, quickly understood that they were in the middle of assisting in a metamorphosis.
Indeed, the German had only a distant connection with the human that he had once been. His arms were transformed into powerful legs, ending in sharp claws. His skin cracked into multiple scales of a copper colour, shredding his grey uniform into a thousand tatters. Petrified, Simonov never ceased to cross himself and invoke all the saints of Russia. As for Iliev, he trembled like a leaf, searching desperately for a way to flee that accursed place. Solotin, for his part, did not lose sight of what was happening.
The groans redoubled in intensity, when the mutation neared its end. Finally, it gave birth to an infernal hydra. Part-human, part-dragon.
In seeing this monstrosity, the three men experienced an ambiguous feeling, mixing at once the worst of fears and the most unhealthy of curiosities.
They believed their final hour had arrived when the beast’s eyes, yellow and saurian, fell on them. The sight of this filthy being greatly disgusted them, including the thick slime dripping from its reptilian mouth, studded with sharp fangs. The men were medusaed, hypnotised.
In a burst of lucidity, Simonov grabbed his pistol and shot at this thing which faced him. At the same moment, two armed soldiers, alerted by the cries of the beast, entered the room. They were instantly roasted by a wave of fire. The beast spat anew and grilled another soldier who had just come in. Others followed, their guns rattling. Then the fire broke out, charring, burning, carbonising everything in its path.
Several bullets pierced the armour of the dragon, whose blood flowed purple on the floor. Entering into a maddened rage, he vomited new flames, deadlier than ever. In one bound, he escaped, breaking the glass of the windows in the room. In an instant, he had vanished in the dark. Outside, they heard gunshots and cries of terror. Then silence fell upon the plain.
– Damnation, what is this circus, Ruslan? bawled Iliev.
– I wanted … Let’s just say that I wanted to practice ... something that my master-shaman had taught me, explained the Buryat, hanging his head.
– What?! You’re mad! My word!
– Of course not. It was the curse of the man-dragon. I took the opportunity to test it … and it worked beyond my expectations ….
– It’s not possible, lamented Iliev, raising his eyes to the ceiling. We’ll have to find him and eliminate this demonic creature at once! Then I don’t know what canard we’ll serve the NKVD. If we tell them the truth, it’s the firing squad for us! At any rate, they’ll never swallow this unlikely story!
– It’s going to be easy to find, said Simonov, who was leaning out the window. His wounds left traces of blood in the snow. We mustn’t lose one minute!
Indeed, the monster was quickly located. He was hiding near the hospital, in the ruins of an old school. Illiev had commandeered a score of men to lay siege around the lair of the beast. They circled the place carefully with several batteries of machine guns placed at regular intervals. Each waited for the release of the prey, fingers poised nervously on the trigger.
While snow fell in fat flakes, cold tore the flesh of the combatants. And in this atmosphere frozen by ice, everyone could hear the rattle of the creature.
– It’s dying, said Simonov.
– Yes, it’s suffering like a martyr, added Solotin.
– Oh, you’re unfeeling, Ruslan! May I remind you that this thing was human not so long ago! And that, without all your bullshit, we wouldn’t be where we are, Iliev snapped.
The Siberian clenched his teeth, but refrained from answering.
– Be on your guards! If this trash raises its nose, shoot it! We’re waiting for reinforcements before the attack. Be ready, Iliev ordered all the soldiers.
– When I tell this to my wife, she’s going to think I’m nuts! Simonov said with amusement.
– I am truly sorry, Solotin said.
– You got lucky this time, my friend! I just learned tonight that the NKVD guys aren’t here. So, we can arrange everything as we like, Iliev reassured him.