The Other Side
Something moved. But it was too dark to tell what it was. "Probably a rat... But who cares??" Andrzej didn't care either. He continued walking. He felt his entire body craving rest. It had been another day of damn hard work. It was getting harder and harder to find the will to get up the next day. But what can you do? Such is life.
A few more steps. A cool beer from the fridge, a moment in front of the TV, and sleep. Forget about the surrounding grayness for a few hours. An ordinary Polish evening. "Just a few years ago, everything was a challenge, and now..."
Wearily, he reached the right gate. The coolness of the doorknob welcomed him like a refreshing breeze. "Finally. Another day out."
He entered the house. The apartment was neat. It was tidy. But that wasn't the owner's nature. Since he bought the apartment, Andrzej had never had time to truly enjoy it. He hadn't even had time to make a mess.
He looked at the interior with disdain. "Further proof of my helplessness..." He walked wearily to the fridge and peered inside. "Damn. I forgot to buy beer. I'd better take a shower and go to bed. Nothing good will happen to me today."
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. "Oh, that's something new. No one's been in here..." He couldn't remember exactly how long... He was interrupted from his reverie by another, slightly more insistent doorbell. Andrzej walked to the door and, opening it a crack, peered outside. A man stood by the gate, acting suspiciously, to say the least.
"What's the matter?"
"Please... Please... help me." The man's voice was noticeably weak.
Only then did Andrzej notice that the stranger was barely able to stand. He was holding a rag pressed against his left thigh and seemed to be in excruciating pain.
"I don't know you!!! Who are you?" Andrzej might have been tired, but the sense of sudden danger immediately sent adrenaline rushing and his heart racing.
"Please... I... I can't handle this anymore... please... I know you... I can't handle this... please..."
The man was clearly losing his strength. Andrzej had to make a decision: either help him or leave him to his own devices. For a moment, he considered what he should do. He didn't want to get involved, but this idiot was ready to die before his gate, and he'd certainly already left marks on the doorbell. The police station would never believe him that he had nothing to do with this. He knew their methods; he'd dealt with them too many times professionally to underestimate them. There was only one thing left...
"Don't move... I'm leaving now..."
Andrzej closed the door to remove the chain and open it. The cold night air hit him like an ominous wave. "Winter's already in the air... We need to get some warmer clothes out of the closet." He shivered, wrapped himself more tightly, and moved toward the stranger.
"What's wrong with you..."
***
Rajmund walked proudly, his head held high. "Yes, I finally made it." A faint smile appeared on his face. Yes, he couldn't afford to show his joy now. Now he had too much to lose. Something different in the evening... He would finally have a moment to see Lilly. "But enough of this nonsense, snap out of it, Mund, you're at work, and you can't afford to lose your concentration here."
But he couldn't completely shake off his good mood, especially when he remembered his early days. Everyone said it was pointless. They said he was too stupid and wouldn't cope. But he persevered. He trained hard. Every day he told himself that someday, someday, it would all pay off. "And now?? If they could see me now... ha ha ha... that would be a sight."
The future president's bodyguard... "Better not jinx it. The election is only two days away, but everyone says he'll win. So it's definitely going to happen." He smiled again at his thoughts. Suddenly, there was silence...
Rajmund didn't understand what was happening... The whole world seemed to stand still. "What the hell? I didn't take anything yesterday." A shock ran through his body... At that moment, he realized this wasn't the first shock he'd felt. "This silence..."
A sudden wave of heat began to course through his body... Its source was somewhere to the side... Rajmund placed his hand there... He raised his hand to get a better look... A moment passed before he understood what he was really seeing...
"This... This is impossible..." He looked around as if searching for an explanation... But everyone there, as if touched by a strange madness, was rushing in different directions... They seemed to be screaming something, but their voices seemed not to be ripping from their throats... Before Rajmund could comprehend anything of the scene, he fell to his knees... Then, only the sight of the floor approaching... the floor and his own unnaturally bent hand... His hand covered in blood... A moment later, he was dead.
***
Darkness. Pain piercing his entire body and darkness. Consciousness slowly but painfully returned to his mind. "What's happening? Where am I??" A man lay bound on the icy floor. He was dressed only in his underwear. Still, he couldn't remember how he got here. He tried to reconstruct recent events, but couldn't remember anything.
The chilly dawn made its presence felt in an icy breeze that blew through the cell. The man shivered, but the shiver that went through him was nothing compared to the pain he felt at the sudden movement. He must have been lying there for some time. He felt every fiber of his being screaming in agony. "Another moment, and I'll lose..." He didn't finish the thought, however. His senses had failed him earlier...
The state he now found himself in resembled more of a nightmare than reality. He couldn't tell if he was awake or dreaming. Strange visions of people he once knew... But their faces were terribly distorted... Suddenly, he felt himself sinking into some void... He felt as if the entire surrounding air had suddenly turned to ice... One of the faces approached him... He didn't recognize her... But she seemed to be saying something... After a moment, her voice reached him
: "...you slacker. Come on, we don't have all day."
Suddenly, the face began to take on a more distinct shape. It was joined by the stocky figure of a man dressed in a neatly tailored uniform. It reminded him of something, but he wasn't sure what.
Now, the entire surroundings of the strange figure emerged from the darkness, and the man realized he was in the same room he'd last woken up in. And the figure now leaning over him was none other than his tormentor.
When the prisoner began to show signs of life, the guard brutally lowered him to the floor. A new wave of pain surged through the prisoner's body. He was about to faint again when a sudden fire ignited his veins. Instantly, his senses returned to normal. The man quickly realized that what had brought him to his feet had been an injection of some substance. "Probably some new stimulant," he thought.
As his senses sharpened, he felt warm sunlight fall on his body. He looked in the direction from which the rays seemed to radiate and saw a small, barred window. "I must have fainted for at least a few hours." The man tried to take a deep breath. However, it ended with a sharp pain in his chest and another on his face when the guard noticed that the prisoner was paying no attention to him at all.
"I was telling you something, you bastard!!! Get up immediately!!! We're going to interrogation!"
The guard yanked the man upright and forced him to his feet. The man, barely able to stand, tried to take a step. This ended with the sight of the ground approaching rapidly, the cackling of some unseen figure, and a new wave of excruciating pain shooting through the prisoner's body.
The guard, who had already helped the prisoner to his feet once, was not in the mood for laughter. He immediately called the joker, and together they lifted the prisoner. They dragged him out of the cell and, holding him, began leading him down the corridor.
The prisoner, still reeling from the pain of his fall, barely registered. Suddenly, something caught his attention. "This air... Something's not right here." He tried to take another deep breath to determine what was so strange about it, but suddenly the guards made a sharp turn, and a door opened, revealing a new sight.
"Andrzej Mostkowiak. You've been charged with first-degree murder..."
Suddenly, the full gravity of the situation dawned on Andrzej... What he had always feared most had happened... He found himself on the other side...
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