kroki CD 2

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I was approaching the construction site.

It was exactly 2:15 a.m., and my gray-and-white Mustang glided silently through the black streets.

I counted my steps after work. The distance

from the bar to my house was exactly one and a half steps less than before.

Yet this is really happening, the world is shrinking. Was Lodzack right that the end of our blue planet was approaching?

I felt that the Reck Company held the key to solving the shrinking city, and probably the entire globe.

They were all involved…the strange redhead…the entire Reck company, and who knows, maybe the entire city council, which had approved the construction of their supposed office building.

Something told me this mysterious structure was intended for a completely different purpose than commonly believed.

I hadn't had any suspicions before, but now…now nothing seems as it should be…

The mysterious woman is working with them.

If she knew about the shrinking, then the Reck Company is surely more than just a manufacturer of high-quality carpets.

If they had no trouble getting rid of the councilman who was so hindering them from achieving their goals, what was the problem with eliminating some old man and my friend who had learned too much?

I no longer believe their strange building will be just an office building… oh no…

This shape was given to it for certain reasons, which I intend to find out

. However, one thing puzzled me.

If the mysterious woman was working with Reck, then why and for what purpose had she unexpectedly appeared at Tom's, talking about shrinking?

I planned to explain that too.

I arrived at the site, my heart racing and adrenaline surging through my blood.

I was strangely excited… I was on the trail.

I turned right, and a moment later it emerged from the darkness.

A futuristic structure under construction.

Dimly lit by moonlight and streetlights.

Tons of concrete surrounded by massive scaffolding.

I parked the car out back. The

door creaked softly and resonantly.

I stood in front of the fence, tilting my head up, surveying the entire structure.

I felt a strange revulsion at this half-finished building .

It looked eerie under the cover of night. Terrible and powerful.

To my right, a plaque on a concrete fence depicted a picture of the office building after its completion. A small lamp, cleverly placed in the upper frame of the plaque, illuminated the drawing.

What distinguished this office building from other skyscrapers was the rounded base.

In reality, it resembled more of a vast, tall cylinder than an office building. However, the strange structure took on a futuristic quality thanks to its rings.

The drawing depicted strange rings being placed every three floors.

Now, after it had been built to a height of about eight floors, there were already two such rings.

Over two meters wide, they encircle the entire circular structure, as if pressed onto the building from above, the way a woman puts a ring on her finger. If I've counted correctly, there will be eleven rings for every thirty-four floors.

The two existing ones are made of concrete, but every two meters or so, metal plates about two meters long and one and a half wide are placed in the rings.

At first, I thought they were windows, but now, looking closer, I see they're metal reflecting the moonlight.

The strangest thing, however, and the most controversial, were those two arms...

I remember the city authorities trying to convince the Reck Company to abandon these unnecessary, bizarre arms, which in no way contributed to the beauty of their future headquarters.

Reck representatives, however, were stubbornly stubborn.

So, according to the plan, two metal legs, as if they were to be built on the right and left sides of the building. The

left leg was already in an advanced stage of construction.

They reminded me of the extending jaws of a black widow, or better yet, two colossal boomerangs, facing each other on opposite sides of the strange building.

Both were quite thin, made of metal, and were intended to converge above the large, round roof in the form of two sharpened spikes.

I used to think, like everyone else, that this dross would only disfigure the entire structure, but now I'm inclined to believe that these strange metal legs had a specific purpose.

I looked again at what had already been built. Above the last finished floor rose a skeleton of enormous rails and various two-inch-thick wires arranged lengthwise.

The wires would probably be bent and welded to form semicircles, and then the concreting would begin.

Some of them were already protruding from the finished columns, and in the darkness of the night, they resembled straw sticking out of a scarecrow.

I looked back and wondered if I could climb the fence.

It's quite high, made of three slabs, but if I jump up and brace my foot against the post, I should be able to get there.

I instinctively looked around to make sure no one was watching me from the dark, and rubbing my hands together, I kicked off the concrete post, throwing my arms up as high as possible.

The fingers of my right hand gripped the edge of the thin fence.

Using my legs, I pulled myself up on both hands and somehow managed to climb over.

I was already at the back of the building; now all I had to do was get inside.

I took a deep breath and looked ahead.

After a moment, I spotted a simple gray door set into the raw concrete.

I cautiously moved toward it.

As I approached, I noticed it wasn't as simple as it initially seemed.

Standing next to it, I realized it was a thick, armored door with a massive lock and several triggers.

"Why the hell would they need a door like that on a construction site?" I thought.

I tried to push it open, but of course, it was locked.

The jammed triggers also indicated this, but it was always worth a try.

I cursed silently under my breath, a sad reminder that I'd have to find another way to get inside, if at all possible.

I took a few steps back, examining the walls of the building. On the second ring, there was a rectangular hole, supposedly filled with a metal plate or something. If I were Spider-Man, I could get in.

If the front entrance was half as secure as the back, there was no way I could investigate this building from the inside.

I was about to go check it out when I spotted a small black window.

I walked up to it. It was placed about five feet above my outstretched arms.

I also noticed that there were more of these little windows along the entire length of the building.

I don't know what they were for, but they'd help me get inside.

I looked around the back of the square.

In the corner stood a small storage unit with cement and cinder blocks.

After a few agonizing minutes, I'd brought enough cinder blocks and climbed up them to the small window.

The small pane of glass turned out to be plastic, but I'd find out soon if I could get it out.

I punched it with my fist.

It made almost no sound. "

It would be better if it were glass," I thought, trying to knock out the plastic—at least it could be broken

. After a few pushes and blows, the right corner began to peel off.

I punched a few more times, and the slab was already hanging inside against the wall, and I was making my way through the narrow opening.

I hung on my hands and jumped silently to the concrete floor.

I took a small flashlight from my pocket.

The first floor was in a state of disrepair.

Along the walls, I noticed large tables with various tools.

In one corner, some cylinders. Probably gas.

Spotting the stairwell, I headed toward it. I ascended in almost complete darkness, using only my light to avoid hitting my head on the steep steps.

The subsequent floors resembled the first.

I was on my way to the sixth floor when I heard strange noises.

I turned off my flashlight and ascended higher in complete darkness.

My blood pounded in my temples.

The noises grew louder; something was happening on the seventh floor.

I was approaching the exit to the upper floor.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I found myself in a column of light.

Realizing this, I quickly hid behind the wall, terrified.

My heart pounded.

I wondered if anyone had seen me.

But the sounds continued, and no one had yet appeared in the stairwell.

That was good.

I waited for over a minute and cautiously peeked out

. They were working.

A dozen or so people were working, illuminated by tall lamps placed in the corners of the room.

Some were cutting wires—sparks flying wildly—others were building some sort of partition wall out of boards, and still others were engaged in various construction tasks that I didn't recognize at first glance.

They were working at night. It was almost 2:40 a.m.

They really want this office building built quickly, I thought.

I carefully examined the workers.

What struck me at first glance was that they were working with total concentration, not even looking at each other.

The silence was broken only by the sound of wires being cut, hammers being struck, cinderblocks being moved, and so on.

"What's going on?" I asked myself, disgust in my voice and a look that said, "This is all getting sick."

They reminded me of the pale redhead I'd seen on the news.

They all had the same blank expressions and stares, as if they'd been thoroughly brainwashed.

I wondered if they'd even notice me if I stood in the middle of the room.

I was about to answer that question myself when someone suddenly put a hand to my mouth and held it tight.

In a second, a thousand thoughts raced through my mind.

Like, would I share the fate of Tom and Lodzack, or would I become one of the empty workers in yellow hard hats and help with the construction...

Terrified as hell, I instinctively turned around, and after a long moment, the image of a mysterious woman pressing her finger to her lips, telling me to be quiet and still.

I felt like maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

12.

"What are you doing here!?" she asked in a raised whisper.

"Who the hell are you anyway!?" I replied, calming down a bit and starting to catch my breath.

Finally, I asked the long-awaited question.

I fixed my gaze on her.

"My name is Rebecca," I heard in reply.

She had a quite pretty and pleasant face—I hadn't noticed it before.

"What are you doing here?" she repeated the question, piercing me with her gaze

. She was wearing a beige T-shirt and brown corduroy pants.

"I saw you in the photo with the Reck company presidents and wanted to check what was really going on here. What are you doing here?" I asked instinctively

. "I came to deal with them once and for all. And you shouldn't have come here at all if you want to live." She added quickly, with a palpable note of concern in her voice

. "My friend died because of you," I replied, "because you told him about shrinking!" I added slowly, my face twisting in anger

. I surprised her. She didn't think I knew what was going on. I answered her

before she could .

"That old man Lodzack was here, his dismembered body found in the house

." "They killed him..." she replied, only interrupting me .

"Who are they?" "Tell me everything you know." "Who killed Tom? " I asked, my voice getting louder and louder—too loud. Anxiously, I leaned out to see what the workers were doing. They worked as before, not even paying attention to each other . I looked back at the woman. "Who is Reck Company really?" I asked, now completely quiet and calm. "This company exists only on paper. Its entire operation is a sham," I heard in response. "Reck Company is just a front for the Rahni Hani religious sect. " "WHAT!!" I almost shouted. "Shhh!" the woman tried to silence me by putting her finger to her lips again. "Are you saying that some sect is building a strange building in the city center under the guise of a carpet company, and this is all really happening in my city!?" I said as quickly and quietly as I could. "The Rahni Hani sect was founded in the 1970s. At first, it was a harmless and small community, but now it threatens the entire earth," the woman explained. "I see! They're trying to shrink the planet!... How is that even possible?" I asked, hoping to finally satisfy my curiosity. "The cult's leaders and the rest of its followers are just clueless subcontractors. They were chosen by THEM. They act and do everything under the influence of THEIR minds. They control them as if they were machines, not independent thinkers. I was right. These people really have been brainwashed or something. Besides, she put a special emphasis on the words "them" and "their," and she also talks about people as individuals. "What them? Who are these They?" I sensed she was referring to influential names. "Who cares about shrinking the earth, and why the hell would they?" I was confused. It was all so strange.As if someone was just setting me up, only to finally tell me what a complete idiot I was for believing it all.

The mysterious woman seemed hesitant to tell me the rest, or perhaps she couldn't find the words to say it.

She had a pretty face as she thought and watched me – for the second time, I thought she was a pretty woman.

"I belonged to a cult, but they couldn't control my mind, and I, knowing the whole truth, escaped," she replied evasively to my questions.

"Hey, who's there!?"

That short phrase threw me and her off balance.

I turned my head instinctively toward the door, or rather, the rectangular hole in the concrete wall where the door was supposed to be placed.

The toe of my shoe was sticking out over the edge, illuminated by the light.

Holy shit!! What an idiot I am!

Brainless sheep in helmets, yet they could talk and were observant enough to notice this tiny detail

. "We're running!" the woman shouted, grabbing my hand.

For a second, I saw how terrified she was. Her face and eyes showed that she was truly afraid of these people.

She pulled my heavy body with her, but the workers were faster than us, and before I could move, I was pushed away from Rebecca.

Before I could recover, someone punched me in the face.

I tried to defend myself, but in the blink of an eye, these hypnotized zombies surrounded me and began to beat the crap out of me.

The blows came from everywhere, hitting every part of my body.

"Catch that bitch!" I heard somewhere in the distance.

As I tumbled to the ground, I saw Rebecca running down the corridor, but two tall men had already taken off after her.

My vision blurred, and I finally collapsed, under a blow that seemed to drive my nasal bone into my brain…