Chapter - 16

- Nadia, water? Do you want to drink some water, dear?

The woman heard her husband's words, looked at him, but did not answer. Grisha squinted in the direction of the queue.

- Honey, I need to leave you here for a little while. Don't get up, I'll come and get you myself. Do you understand?

Nadia closed her eyes for a few seconds, and then opened them.

Yes…

The spouse heard and understood her husband.

- I love you, - Grisha bent down and kissed his wife on the forehead.

The guy moved towards the crowd of "whites" and on the way opened a brochure, which was handed to Grisha by a military man at the entrance. A small leaf, with a bright design and text in the middle. The rehabilitation center was called "AWARENESS".

"Help to everyone and everyone who realized that it is no longer possible to live the same life. Welcome to a new life."

An interesting slogan. Nothing useful or meaningful, but these words warmed the soul. Still, the local security guards have a simpler face, but that's probably why they are guards to inspire respect. Grisha noticed that along with the brochure he received at the entrance, new leaflets began to be distributed among the crowd. People in white coats appeared from the doors of the center. A table, boxes with ampoules and syringes were brought out. Grisha crumpled up the first pamphlet, put it in his pocket and rubbed it hand in hand in impatience.

One of the people in camouflage was passing by and the guy called out to him.

- Do you not know how to record? - he asked.

"Get in line," the soldier replied.

Grisha looked around and asked who was the last one. No one answered. It didn't look like there was a recording or a live queue in the crowd. His guesses were confirmed by the words of several people that there is no queue here. Interesting. More and more people flocked to the courtyard of the former kindergarten. You don't have to be a genius to understand that the center will not be able to mix everyone… Grisha's fears were dispelled by a man in a white coat passing by, who handed the guy a new brochure.

- Can I ask you a question? – Grisha, as an exemplary student, raised his hand.

"They'll tell you everything," the doctor snapped. – No questions asked.

The man in the white coat still had a dozen pamphlets in his hands and he handed them out to the people who were standing next to Grisha. People turned small laminated leaves with interest, more like business cards or tickets in their hands. Grisha looked at the brochure. What he initially took for an ordinary laminated piece of paper turned out to be a plastic card, not quite ordinary. The guy clearly saw the chip, the magnetic stripe and some number. The number 92. I wonder what that could mean. He thought that he should have taken such a thing to Nadia, but it was too late. Perhaps one card for two will be enough for them, or he will give his pregnant wife his own card. There was no doubt that the card was of some value. More than half of the people gathered, who were standing behind Grisha, did not have such a card.

Out of the corner of his eye, the guy noticed how two military men went to the gazebo where his wife was sitting. The military came close to the gazebo, talked about something among themselves and examined Nadia, who never fully recovered. One of them pointed the muzzle of a machine gun towards the girl.

- Wait, what are you doing, - Grisha ran up to the gazebo in a hurry, out of breath.

He noticed that one of the soldiers was looking at the bracelet on his wife's arm. The fighter turned his gaze to Grisha's plastic card.

"Is she with you?"

"This is my wife," Grisha nodded.

Nadia was breathing heavily. Grisha has already regretted a thousand times that he injected her with a shock dose of sleeping pills at night. But otherwise they wouldn't be here, otherwise everything could collapse like a house of cards, their hopes, dreams, expectations…

- I don't think she will survive vaccination, you shouldn't have brought her here, - said one of the military.

"She's pregnant, you know how it happens in pregnant women... fainting, dizziness..." Grisha stammered.

- Call them a doctor, let them take a look, - the military turned to his partner. – And I'm going to see what kind of idiots are standing on the sidelines.

- Be here, - said the second soldier, he turned around and walked towards the rehabilitation center.

The man in camouflage, who was conducting the dialogue, walked towards the two men, whom Grisha noticed only now. The men were standing apart from the rest of the crowd and talking about something. However, there was no time to be distracted by such trifles. He bent over his wife and took her hands.

- Honey, can you hear me?

Nadia nodded.

- Get together, I ask you, get together, we are in the very center that we dreamed of, - said Grisha.

He wiped a tear that had rolled down his wife's cheek and kissed her on the lips.

- Thank you, - Nadia's voice was trembling.

- It's okay.

Literally out of nowhere, a doctor appeared in the gazebo. Without saying a word, he sat down next to Nadia, measured the girl's pulse, examined her visually and squinted at Grisha with some surprise.

- How long has the girl been infected with the NSM strain?

Grisha was confused, not knowing what to answer. A whirlwind of thoughts rose in my head, from which it was not possible to catch one correct one.

- Doctor, I can explain everything, you probably misunderstood…

- I'm asking, how long has the girl been infected? – the doctor asked again more insistently.

"The first symptoms appeared four months ago," Grisha replied. – Doctor, but you are…

The man in the white coat raised his index finger and put it to his lips, asking Grisha to be silent.

- Is the fetus infected?