Imagine a five-storey apartment building,

 narrow corridors and neighbors doors, located too close opposite each other. So close that any careless word uttered by a high tone becomes the property of the public. Therefore, the tenants are jealously protect their lives behind the thick iron doors, the sophistication is followed by the neighbors in the door eye and ready to prevent any time to repulse anyone. In a word, in such a house and lived my friend Olga. Our friendship began with a third class when she was transferred from another school to us. A modest girl with a long, tight braided pigtail for some reason, I liked it terribly, and, as it turned out, our houses were very close to each other. So the strong friendship faced. Olga had the eldest sister Natasha, its complete opposite is in character. Live, active and energetic, she actually did not give us with Olga aisle, constantly thinking about some adantures and forcing us to participate in them. Until the day, like ... This was Saturday. Girl's parents went to the village, leaving the house on Natasha. Olga, of course, invited me overnight - the program was planned to celebrate our end of the first course. Modest maiden gifts dragged up to midnight, and not quite sober Natasha literally suffered. She began to tell stories - funny, sad and just interesting - about all their friends. It has reached the neighbors. Natasha mysterious gesture put his finger towards her lips, thereby causing us to lean towards her closer, and a solemn tone said: "Opposite her husband and wife live us." They are strange, they ... the other day I came home and suddenly heard the laughter of the child behind them. But they have no children! - How do you know? - Olga doubted. - Maybe it was some cousin or niece. Natasha snapped. "And then he took and evaporated just like that, right?" After all, before the night, nobody came to them, and no one went out from there. I watched. This could not be doubted. If Natasha installed after someone's surveillance, then the poor fellow was not hiding from her, no matter how hard he tried. "I don't say anything about anything," Olga stubbornly stated. Natasha got up from the table and disappeared into the room. A minute later she returned, holding a clipping out of some newspapers. - Here, read, this is the number for the past week. Olga ran his eyes with his eyes, shook her head and pushed the note to me. In the middle of the middle of the header, "the child is stolen right from the hands of a kindergarten." Next, it was told about the mysterious criminal, I managed, according to the very teacher, "hypnotize" her. Coming out with the children for a walk, she noticed some man standing near the fence, and approached him, intending to ask what he was doing here. On the question of what the man looked like, she said only that "it was either a large woman or a man," without giving the slightest closer to the consequence. The taper who happened was not able to describe, saying that he remembers only a strange fog and child crying. - Well? - Natasha clearly waited for a rapid reaction. Olga skeptically chuckled. - Natasha, do not go crazy! Maybe they are now sitting in the kitchen and suspect that we could steal this child. "Then tell me," Natasha continued ominously. - You noticed that in the evenings they have no light in the house? "There's," I said. Literally a couple of days before that, and Olga and I were very late at the entrance and talked. I mechanically translated a glance from one window to another and noticed that the light burns in the window of their neighbors. - Yes, there is. But weak, right? I, thinking, nodded. - The same, what happens from the candle. "There is something in this," Olga stretched thoughtfully. "In general, I also noticed the oddity." I do not understand, for example, why make garbage only at night? "It makes sense in it," Natasha picked up. - If you have something to hide in the trash room! I tell you - something is wrong with them. Another half hour we spent about conversations about the neighbors, until the time finally it's time to sleep. Already lying in bed, Olga unexpectedly asked me: - Do you believe in witchcraft? - What? - I ask, do you believe that the case with a child really mystical? - Well, I do not know. Honestly, it seems to me that the teacher is actually to blame. Olga smiled and leaned back on the pillow: - I also think so. And about the neighbors ... nonsense, full. Fantasy Nataski. And anyway, I heard in the voice of uncertainty. In the morning we had breakfast, and I decided to get home. But, already standing on the threshold of the apartment and say goodbye, we suddenly heard the heavy door of the neighboring apartment closed. Natasha quickly sniffed to the eye and whispered: - This is ELLA, it leaves somewhere. After a few seconds, the steps were asleep, Natasha turned to us, literally shining with joy. - Do not believe! - What? - She forgot the keys in the doorway! - She almost jumped from joy. Olga and I have surrendered in complete confusion. It would be the most correct in this situation to catch up with a woman and give her keys. But ... We, too curious girls, washed to find out - and what is the mysterious neighbors in their apartment? - Are you sure that there is no one else? Natasha nodded. - Her husband will return only in the evening. From day, always such a tired comes ... - Well, then they went. In some socks, we tiptoe tipped to a neighbor door. In the door braided a huge key on a bundle with another two smaller. "You're still on the post of stay," Nataska ordered me and turned the key. In silence, the climb of the lock seemed to be deafening. "Order," Olga summed up and slid into the apartment. Natasha followed her, nodded his head inviting me to join them. I am not very sure about what I do, I crossed the threshold of the apartment and carefully covered the door. "We'll have to follow from time to time to not miss when it returns," Olga noticed. A twilight reigned in the hallway, and when the eyes got used to the dark, we differed on the wallpaper a light spot of the switch. - Not attracting attention! - Natasha was sought when I closed on him, refreshing the hallway to the dim light. "Okay," Olga responded from somewhere from the kitchen. - It's weakly visible from here, nothing will notice anything in the windows. To the left of me the door, apparently, led to the bathroom. Two others - to the hall and bedroom, judging by the symmetric planning of the apartment of the girl. Natasha approached one of them and drove the handle. - locked. "Try the key," I suggested. - Strange people, - turning the smallest of the keys in the castle, Natasha turned to me. - Why, leaving, close the hall to the key? "Maybe they are afraid of thieves," Solga's voice heard from the kitchen. "And the right fear," I grinned and went into the bathroom. Apparently, stressful nerves affected my vision, because in the first second it seemed to me that the bathroom was full of blood. I suffered fading along the wall and finally stumbled on the lever of the switch. Instantly all items lit up with luminescent light, and I was convinced that the bathroom shines the pristine whiteness. Going closer, I carefully examined her, but I didn't even find the slightest traces of rust. The wall had a bathroom locker from a pretty expensive tree with a mirror, shampoos, gels, tongs for curling hair were lined up on the shelves ... Apparently, the aunt Ella really appreciated the order. And nothing mysterious or unexpected. I even disappointed slightly. - Well, what? I asked Olga, coming out of the bathroom. - Yes, nothing but the Natasha was the right about the candle. On the windowsill, they have a beautiful candelabr. It is quite suitable for a romantic dinner. - And the garbage did not look? "I watched," she giggled. - Potato cleaning and chocolate wrapper. In spice lockers. Everything is in order. "Wait," dawned on me. - And what kind of spices? Olga did not have time to answer, as the grocery boulevard was heard because of the door of the hall. We rushed there, and, opening the door, froze in place. In the middle of the room stood Natasha, by one hand, clap my mouth, and the other shaking some kind of dark item sticking to her palm. Olga approached her and, having considered the subject, screamed from disgust. Finally, they managed to fly away this thing and Natasha, sobbing, ran past me, holding a hand on weight. "You just look," Olga called me, bending over the subject flying towards the subject. Approaching, I saw that this was dried in a paw, cut off at the elbow bend. Claws on it were painted red. - Do you understand? It clung to it. That's how simple, like a living, - Olga whispered. - We must put this abomination in place, "I looked back in search of a suitable cloth, which could be wrapped. Even the idea that she would touch her hand, caused me an incomprehensible tremor. The sofa lay a combination of raspberry color. Olga lifted her by climbing big and index fingers, as if he was afraid that she could flash at any time. I wrapped my hand with a nightie and carefully moved a terrible subject to the place specified by Olga. - Everything. Now - quickly from here! I placed a combination and put it back it, as suddenly felt that she was some kind of wet. Without believing your eyes, I turned the shirt and felt - dry. However, the feeling of something sticky on his hand remains ... I brought my palm to my eyes and felt that I was bad - the hand was smeared in the blood. I heard Olga's voice, but for some reason stopped to figure out, understanding only one thing - that you need to leave this damn apartment, until something terrible happened. With difficulty, rearring the legs, I felt like Olga leaned me to the wall, locating the hall and loudly, aloud - apparently, could not get into the well shaking hands. I looked at the door of the bedroom ... The beam of the light under the jamb died, then again lit up and again. Someone standing outside the door. At that moment, Olga grabbed my hand and pulled out from the apartment, locked it and leaving hanging out the key in the door. At home, Olga slammed the entrance door and, turning his back, sank down without his strength. I darted in the bathroom, where I found a pale Natasha holding a hand under the jet of cold water. The wound was washed, but the skin remained scratch from three long claws. I jumped my bloody palm under the water and removed with relief that it was washed off. - How are you? - I heard the weak voice of Olga. - Are there still vodka in the refrigerator? - hoarsely responded Natasha. - Yes. About an hour passed, and we could not come to ourselves. As if conspirable, we watched each other in full silence, not even the forces to discuss the inconsistent. Finally, I said I was time to go home. Olga opened the door, not to mention a word, and already going down the stairs, I realized that for her, as for me, the most terrible was silent Nataski. It meant that something really terrible happened. What kind of occasion was this incident, it turned out the next day. Olga called me and, crying, reported the news that their neighbor hanging at night. - She knows, you know, knows! She whispered in the phone, and from this phrase I had goosebumps on my back. - Ol, well, why did you get? Maybe he had her own ... - Look at my hand! Do you remember what was on her yesterday?! She screamed. I looked at the palm and screamed - there was a bloody spot near the burning finger, like a burn. I tried to drop it about clothes - to no avail. - See you? We are cursed, - Olga got into the tube. - Nataski scratch, you have blood. - And you? - Wax, - she silent a little. "I considered the candelabr, and one of the candles suddenly drove into my hand." He seemed to be in the skin. I was truly shaking. - He saw everything. - Who? - I did not understand Olga. - Husband. He was in the next bedroom. I saw him stood at the door. Olga did not answer anything. We sat on different sides of the phone tube and cried, wept ... And after another day, Natasha got the key. He came in a dense white envelope without the address of the sender - so told Olga, sitting in my kitchen and holding a cup in his hands with long-cooled tea. It was a duplicate key from the front door of the neighbors. The girlfriend said that Natasha threw him in horror and locked him in his room, refusing lunch and dinner. Closer to the night, she first came out of the room, with a white as if the death of her face and said that he saw the next day the neighbor was smiled at her, rising along the steps up. Olga woke up a terrible scream of his sister. Having sacrificed from his room, she rushed to the door, which father already broke. Putting in her room, the parents were pulled out of a terrible spectacle - Natasha's throat was broken, from those who discovered the arteries sluggishly drowned blood, the pillow and part of the blanket, and the glass pupils were Stolen in open window. Olga sent to the aunt. Three days later she called me and, sobbing, said that she came to her white envelope. Olga was afraid to open it. It was closer to midnight, she called me, and a broken whisper said that he hears some knock on the walls, and that he approaches her window. Suddenly the conversation was interrupted, and short beeps were heard in the tube. Throughout the night, I could not get through to it. Olga disappeared. She is already looking for the fifth day, but no traces found. I do not think she is alive. Today I met a woman on the street with a gray-yellow color. And even before I saw her only from the back, I know that this is aunt Ella. She went to meet me and smiled. At home I was waiting for the envelope. I do not know which key received Olga, but it seems I guess what I got. I am sure that this very key. I dreamed sleep. I was again in the damned apartment, looked at the door of a small bedroom ... and blood flows from the keyhole.