The Castrator by Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov (short books for teens txt) 📕

AM READY TO BE WITH YOU AND TO GET OUT OF THE DRY AND HECTIC EVERYDAY LIFE. UNEMPLOYMENT IS SKYROCKETING AS IT IS, AND THE BUILDING TRADE UNIONS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE ENTIRE REAL SECTOR - FRANKLY, THEY'RE UNBREATHABLE.

IT WAS SUCH A STUPID DECISION TO PURSUE A LEGAL CAREER. I THOUGHT I WAS HELPING OTHERS, BUT I WAS ACTUALLY LIVING THEIR LIVES. IT WASN'T RIGHT, IT WAS MORE LIKE A MISTAKE. BUT MY PARENTS WERE RICH AND BASICALLY WANTED THE BEST FOR ME. I SOON REALIZED THAT I WAS ON THE WRONG PATH, BUT THERE WAS NO TURNING BACK.

- "I MET ZONARA SOON, AND SHE IS SO IMPRESSIVE," I MUTTERED.

WHEN ZONARA COULDN'T HEAR US, JAKE TURNED TO ME IN A FRIENDLY WAY.

- MANY THINGS IN THIS WORLD ARE TOO DECEPTIVE. I WOULDN'T TRUST HER IF I WERE YOU. NOT EVERYTHING IS AS IT SEEMS. AND MAYBE SHE'S NOT SO WELL-MEANING.

I PONDERED HIS WORDS-PERHAPS THE MODERN MELANCHOLY LOOK OF SALT LAKE CITY HAD GONE TO MY HEAD AND SHIFTED MY FOCUS FROM WHAT WAS TRULY IMPORTANT. HONESTLY, I WONDERED WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE LIVED THERE - TECHNOCRATS, INDIANS, YUPPIES, ATHLETES. AND FINALLY I JUST GOT A HEADACHE.

DROVE US AROUND IN HIS VOLVO - AN SUV SEDAN, AS HE THOUGHT THAT KIND OF CAR WAS MORE MANLY AND RELIABLE ON THE ROAD - ESPECIALLY OFF-ROAD DRIVING. NOT THAT HE WAS A GEEK, BUT HE WANTED HIS CAR TO BE FIT FOR ALL CONDITIONS. I COULD AGREE WITH HIM - WHERE HE WAS TAKING US THOUGH WAS UNKNOWN.

AFTER MORE THAN TWO HOURS WE STOPPED IN FRONT OF A SHACK THAT WAS LOCATED GOD KNOWS WHERE.

 - "THERE ARE A LOT OF INDIANS LIVING IN THIS AREA. WELL, NOT THAT MANY, ACTUALLY," HE ADDED. "MOST OF THEM UNDERSTAND MAGIC, ALTHOUGH WHAT FELISTER DID SEEMED SINISTER ENOUGH. I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE WHAT REAL DEMONS LOOK LIKE - IT DOESN'T CROSS MY MIND."

WE ENTERED THE TYPICAL INDIAN TENT, WHICH WAS CALLED A TEPEE, AND WHICH HONESTLY LOOKED PRETTY FUN.

- THE GOVERNMENT GRANTED THEM SOME LAND. IT WASN'T EASY FOR THEM TO GET ENOUGH PRIVILEGES TO SURVIVE. NO ONE WANTED THEM AND IT WAS RUINING THEM, BUT IN THE END SOMEONE NEEDED THEM ANYWAY. ONCE UPON A TIME, FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD, OF COURSE, SOMEWHERE OUT THERE AROUND THE FRESHWATER LAKES AND STREAMS CAME THEIR FIRST DESCENDANTS. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND SALT LAKE CITY WAS FOUNDED BY MORMONS.

THE MORMON FAITH WAS PECULIAR - YES, IT WAS TRUE THAT THERE WERE ALL SORTS OF CHRISTIAN SECTS LIKE THE "BRANCH OF DAVID", THE "SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS" AND SO ON, BUT THE MORMONS HAD A VERY STABLE FAMILY STRUCTURE.

- "WE ARE ALL TEMPORARY VISITORS TO THIS WORLD AND NEED NOT EXPECT APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL FOR OUR ACTIONS. IF YOU REALLY THINK ABOUT IT, ONE MUST BE SELF-SUFFICIENT, AS TRUE LOVE DOES NOT EXIST!" HE REVEALED HIS PHILOSOPHY. "FELISTER LIVED BY HIS OWN RULES AND WITNESSED HIS OWN VERY SAD END INDEED. 'BUT ENERGY IS NOT LOST, IT ONLY PASSES FROM ONE STATE TO ANOTHER," HE SHARED HIS RATHER BANAL VIEWS.

WE THEN WENT INSIDE AND A RATHER ELDERLY INDIAN WOMAN WAS WAITING FOR US - APPARENTLY JAKE HAD BEEN HELPING THEM WITH THIS AND THAT TO ARRANGE THEIR RIGHT OF ABODE. THERE WERE ALSO QUITE A FEW NGOS DEFENDING THEIR RIGHTS AS WELL. OR PRETENDED THEY REALLY DID.

- "I SEE YOU WELL, YOUNG MAN," THE STRANGE WOMAN TURNED TO ME, "YOU ARE NOT LIKE THE OTHERS BECAUSE YOU WERE NEVER BORN. OR YOU WERE BORN DEAD. YOUR LINE OF DESTINY IS RATHER CONFUSED, BUT I SEE INTO THE FUTURE. THERE ARE NO HIDDEN SECRETS FOR ME."

IT WAS VERY QUIET INSIDE FOR A WHILE AND NOTHING COULD BE HEARD.

AND IF ANY MINIMAL LIGHT CAME IN AT ALL, IT WAS FROM THE TWO SMOKE DIRECTIONAL DAMPERS.

HER FACE WAS LINED WITH A MULTITUDE OF WRINKLES, WHICH MUST HAVE BEEN

AFTER A MOMENT'S SILENCE, THE WOMAN CALLED:

- I TRIED TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE SPIRITS AND THEY WOULDN'T GIVE ME AN ANSWER - AT LEAST NOT RIGHT AWAY. BUT AFTER A WHILE I MADE CONTACT. OUR MAGIC IS FOR RAIN, FOR BIRTH OR DEATH AND SO ON. BUT HOW CAN I HELP YOU, SINCE YOU WERE NEVER BORN AND NEVER DIED? YOUR SITUATION IS QUITE CONFUSED AND I'M AFRAID MY POWERS AS A SHAMAN WON'T BE ENOUGH TO SAVE YOU. AND MAYBE YOU HAVE TO FIND YOUR OWN WAY, BUT I CAN TELL YOU ONE THING FOR SURE - THE GREAT SPIRIT[2] IS ALSO SILENT, AND I DON'T KNOW WHETHER TO SEE THIS AS A BLESSING OR A CURSE! YOU WILL HAVE TO GO ON!

JAKE DIDN'T INTERVENE, BUT ZONARA DECIDED TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

- AND WHAT DO YOU SEE OF THE FELISTER’S LEGACY...

THE WOMAN WAS SILENT FOR A MOMENT AND TURNED AWAY:

- DIFFICULT QUESTION YOU ASK ME. FELISTER WASN'T AS UNCLEAN AS YOU THOUGHT HIM TO BE, BUT HIS COMMUNICATION WITH DEMONS HAD FAILED HIM. THERE IS NO TREASURE IN HIS FARM - EXCEPT THE GRIMOIRE BOOKS, AND THEY ARE A SOURCE OF KNOWLEDGE, NOT SO MUCH OF AVARICE AND HATRED OF HUMANS!

I FELT, HOWEVER, A STRANGE PRESENCE IN THIS INDIAN TEPEE - AS IF SOMETHING INVISIBLE WAS FOLLOWING US, AND IT WOULD CAUSE OR INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF LATER EVENTS.

WE BY-PASSED SALT LAKE CITY AND DROVE ON TO DENVER COLORADO, WHERE THE REAL SEARCH FOR THE TRAIL LEADING TO THE PROPER PLACE FOR THE RITUAL WAS TO BEGIN.

I NOTICED THAT ZONARA WASN'T TOO TALKATIVE ON THE WAY, BUT THEN SHE RELAXED. IT WAS AS IF A CERTAIN CHANGE HAD COME OVER HER. I'M NOT CONVINCED THAT SHE BELIEVED ANY SHAMANIC SHENANIGANS THAT COULD FOOL THE MIND AND LEAD YOU TO HELL.

THE THREE OF US MERRILY CHATTED ABOUT WHAT LAY AHEAD TO FIND THE SECRETS OF THE SHADOWY FELISTER.

DENVER COLORADO HAD LONG AGO DECRIMINALIZED THE USE OF HALLUCINOGENIC MUSHROOMS, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, THE OLD FELISTER LIKED TO SAY:

- WE PRODUCE THE REAL STUFF, BOYS. AND THE CATTLE INDUSTRY IS BOOMING IN THIS COUNTRY! FORGET CROP PRODUCTION! WE CREATE THE REAL VALUE-ADDED!

HE DEFINITELY HAD A PERVERSE ENOUGH SENSE OF HUMOR!

FELISTER'S ANTICS WERE UNIVERSALLY KNOWN, BUT I GUARANTEE YOU THEY WERE FAR FROM CHAOTIC OR MINDLESS! NO THIS MAN WAS A GENIUS OF VIOLENCE AND TERROR!

AFTER A CAREFUL EXAMINATION OF THE MAP OF CRIMES IN DENVER, WE NOTICED THAT THEY WERE CONCENTRATED IN THE CENTRAL AND NORTHWESTERN PARTS. WE HAD TO RECRUIT SOMEONE TO HELP US BECAUSE IT WAS JUST THE THREE OF US, AND MAYBE SOMEONE ELSE HAD GONE AFTER US.

THE EXPERIENCE WE HAD GAINED IN OUR THREE-WEEK STAY IN SALT LAKE CITY HAD TAUGHT ME ONE THING. SOMETIMES YOU CAN FIND COLLABORATORS MUCH MORE EFFECTIVELY WHEN YOU POINT OUT TO THEM YOUR COMMON INTERESTS, BECAUSE ANYONE CAN MAKE MONEY!

WE SPENT THE NIGHT AT ONE OF THE MANY HOTELS IN TOWN. NO REASON TO GET INTO TRITE AND REDUNDANT DESCRIPTIONS, BUT WE FOUND JAKE DEAD IN THE MORNING. HE HAD GLAZED OVER HIS EYES LIKE A DOG! IT WAS UNNECESSARY TO TELL ME THAT THE MALIGNANT CURSE OF THE FELISTER HIMSELF MIGHT HAVE BEEN DIRECTED AFTER US.

HE WAS PROBABLY CHASING US FROM THE GRAVE, ANGRY THAT WE WERE SO SLOW TO FIND WHAT WE NEEDED AND COMPLETE THE RITUAL ONCE AND FOR ALL.

CRIME IN A CITY RISES WHEN THE CITY GOVERNMENT IS UNABLE OR UNWILLING TO DEAL WITH IT.

- "WE FOUND JAKE SMILING!," I SAID THOUGHTFULLY. "HE MUST HAVE DIED REALLY HAPPY. HE OBVIOUSLY ENJOYED BEING LEFT ALONE WITH DEATH! MAYBE HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS IN HIS LIFETIME!"

ZONARA SAID NOTHING AGAIN. APPARENTLY, SHE HAD TAKEN SOME STRANGE VOW OF SILENCE. HER FACE REMAINED ABSOLUTELY IMPENETRABLE, AND I WAS UNABLE TO MAKE IT OUT.

JAKE'S OX COULD HAVE BEEN USED AT LEAST A LITTLE LONGER, BUT I STILL DECIDED TO EXAMINE HIS CORPSE BEFORE THE PARAMEDICS ARRIVED, AND THEN HIS BODY WOULD BE SENT TO THE MORGUE TO THE PATHOLOGISTS.

I TOUCHED IT WITH GLOVES SO IT WOULDN'T BE RECOGNIZED. AND ZONARA WASN'T WATCHING ME, BECAUSE AT THAT MOMENT HE WAS ON THE PHONE TO 911, AS WAS HIS TURN.

AFTER EXAMINING HIM CAREFULLY, I FOUND A NOTE IN HIS MOUTH:

- YOU'RE NEXT! BE CAREFUL! FELISTER WARNS YOU! HE LOVED YOU LIKE A NATIVE SON!

THE MENTION OF FELISTER'S NAME ASTONISHED ME, AND I MYSELF HAD NO IDEA HOW FAR THIS WHOLE BUSINESS MIGHT EXTEND.

THE PECULIAR THING ABOUT IT WAS THAT ZONARA HADN'T FOUND THE NOTE, WHICH PUZZLED ME, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND SHE WAS PROBABLY JUST IN SHOCK AND HADN'T MANAGED TO CHECK THE BODY LIKE I HAD.

I QUICKLY BACKED AWAY FROM HIM SO HE WOULDN'T SUSPECT MY FIND. BUT THE FEELING FOR THIS FATAL WOMAN WAS GROWING STRONGER! APPARENTLY SHE COULD HAVE CAUSED A WHOLE SERIES OF MURDERS THAT WERE UNPREDICTABLE!

IT WAS FRIGHTENING TO THINK WHAT WAS HAPPENING ALL THE TIME:

- "MAYBE JAKE WAS GIVEN HIS FIRST OPPORTUNITY TO PASS THROUGH THE LIGHT!," I WHISPERED SO SOFTLY IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANYONE ELSE TO HEAR ME.

ZONARA RETURNED AND WE BOTH WAITED QUIETLY FOR THE POLICE TEAM. HE CAME ALMOST LIKE CLOCKWORK EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS TRAFFIC CONGESTION IN THE CITY AND IT WASN'T UNEXPECTED FOR THINGS LIKE THIS TO HAPPEN TO PEOPLE.

THE DETECTIVE WHO CAME, HOWEVER, WAS PARTICULARLY ROASTED. BUT HE GAVE NO INDICATION THAT HE KNEW ABOUT THIS CASE. DETECTIVE DONOVAN'S DEATH WAS ALL TOO TELLING, AND HE HAD ALREADY LEARNED ABOUT IT FROM HIS COLLEAGUES IN MISSOURI. INFORMATION WAS INDEED MOVING AT SPEEDS MANY TIMES THE SPEED OF SOUND.

THE COP LOOKED AROUND THE SCENE MOST APPRECIATIVELY, NOTING JAKE'S APPARENT DEMISE. HE INFORMED US ONLY THAT HE HAD NO PARENTS ACCORDING TO THE POLICE REPORT AND COULD NOT PRACTICALLY BE BURIED WITHOUT MUNICIPAL INTERVENTION, WHICH WOULD PROBABLY DISPOSE OF HIS PROPERTY OR AT LEAST HELP THE STATE TO DO SO.

- "AFTER ALL, JAKE WAS ACTUALLY WEALTHY, ADDING HIS ANNUAL SALARY TO THE JOHNSON LAW FIRM OF APPROXIMATELY ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS PLUS HIS PRIVATE PRACTICE. WELL, MAYBE THIS GUY WAS WORTH ABOUT TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS IN HIS LIFETIME. WHEN YOU THINK HOW MANY ORPHANS HE COULD HAVE HELPED WITH THAT KIND OF MONEY - A LOT, REALLY," MUTTERED THE OFFICER, WHO HAD GOTTEN SOME INFORMATION FROM THE POLICE REPORT AND WAS NOW SCRATCHING HIS HEAD IN PUZZLEMENT.

THE OLD COP COUGHED - HE WANTED TO BELIEVE WHAT WAS PROFITABLE TO BELIEVE, AND SEE WHAT WAS PROFITABLE TO SEE, AND THAT WAS HIS DEFENCE MECHANISM. IT WAS HOW HE'D SURVIVED IN THE JUNGLE OF LIFE, AND HE CONSIDERED SUCH BEHAVIOR TO BE PERFECTLY IN ORDER. THE SUBTLE POINT WAS THAT IN THE SOCIAL JUNGLE YOU CANNOT GET ALONG WITHOUT HAVING YOUR OWN SOCIAL IDENTITY, AND WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A REAL ONE YOU ARE FORCED TO HIDE BEHIND THE FORMAL ONE THAT YOUR PROFESSION OR POSITION PROVIDES.

CAREERISM IN THE POLICE WAS NOT LOOKED UPON WITH A KIND EYE, AS IT WAS EVERYWHERE, BUT FRANKLY THERE WERE OTHER METHODS OF DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM.

THE FINGERPRINT TECHNICIANS HAD TO FINGERPRINT THE VICTIM BECAUSE WE WERE AUTOMATICALLY PLACED UNDER SUSPICION, AT LEAST UNTIL THE CASE WAS CLEARED UP. THE SPECIALISTS WOULD USE THE PAPILLARY LINES ON HIS PALM TO REPORT EXACTLY WHAT HE HAD OR HAD NOT TOUCHED. WELL, IT HAD TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR, TOO, THAT THIS DISTINCTIVE FINGER-PAINTING WAS COMPLETELY INDELIBLE.

IT WOULD NOT BE SUPERFLUOUS TO MENTION THAT THE FINGERPRINT FILM ITSELF, SILICONE RESINS AND FLUORESCENT SUBSTANCES WERE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE.

THE TWO OF US WITH THE ZONE STOOD IN GRIM ANTICIPATION FOR THE IMMINENT OUTCOME OF THE CASE. BUT THE MORE TIME PASSED, THE MORE I REALIZED THAT NOTHING WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. EITHER ZONARA HAD BEEN REALLY SNEAKY, OR WE JUST HAD TO STAY AND WATCH HOW FAR THE COPS WOULD GO IN THEIR ZEAL TO FIND CLUES.

NATURALLY, NOTHING HAPPENED AND WE WERE BOTH ALLOWED TO LEAVE, BUT BEFORE THAT WE STOPPED BY THE STATION FOR FURTHER QUESTIONING.

WE WERE THEN FINALLY RELEASED.

OF COURSE, WE COULDN'T USE HIS CAR AS ORIGINALLY INTENDED, AND ZONARA