The woman unintentionally remembered her past. An eleven-year-old son who looked like Kyon, a wonderful husband, their home and family. And then the tragedy caused by her husband's debts ... She managed to escape, leaving her past life ... Reminiscences about it warmed the soul and brought incredible torment at the same time.

Happiness smiled on her as an elder of the Stones noticed her healing skills. He was the one who employed her here. The contract was signed, and now she worked here as a doctor, a month for month and for a very low fee – but in her position she had no choice. She was pleased with even such a coincidence.

Martha, not having heard any answer from young men, told with sincere care:

«Have a rest, I'll take care of you.» - and she left to examine injuries and to render a.s.sistance to the just arrived patient.

An hour pa.s.sed. After a delicate knock, a plump man opened the door.

«Bob, is that you?» - asked Martha, looking up from her notes.

«Yeah, hi. It's time to pick up the guy... The reception time is coming up.» - there stood obediently beside him a huge dog, about a meter tall, with thick black hair and a small barely glowing horn on its forehead.

Having noticed an animal cheerfully wagging its tail, Martha hastily exclaimed:

«The dog will not let here! The last time was enough for me! Catch it!»

However, Rogash already got in and began to turn circles around beds. The woman managed only to close the cabinet with the medicines.

«Place!» - ordered Bob and Rogash stopped brawling, ran up to the master and fell on its a.s.s, faithfully looking into his eyes and funny tongue out of its mouth

«Your dog should be castrated.» - sarcastically said Martha earnestly examining their possession for any damage.

«Ahaha, why? You see how obedient it is.» - the fat man patted the dog's protruding ears lovingly. - «Buddy, stay outside for a few minutes.»

Bob turned to the already "sleeping « Kyon and quietly asked Martha:

«Well, how is he? Does he have any injuries, fractures?»

«No, just exhaustion.» - jwhispered the doctor. - «I have fed him, he will soon be more or less stronger and recover. How many days did you say he was gone?»

«Three days. We couldn't find him wherever we were looking for... the formation didn't respond to the call, no one saw him, even Rogash couldn't smell him! What a mystery! And I have to submit my report soon... I don't know what to say to justify myself...» - Bob sad wilted.

There was an awkward silence. Having realized that Martha was not going to tell him anything in support, Bob coughed in embarra.s.sment and decided to go for a trick:

«In fact, Mob offered its own version, but I immediately refused it.»

As expected, Martha immediately perked up and exclaimed indignantly:

«That heartless b.a.s.t.a.r.d! ... Probably offered something terrible?! Although no... You'd better don't speak, I don't wanna know...» - the woman has boiled with rage. She even closed her eyes to calm down in any way.

«That's right...» Bob began, but Martha raised her hand in a plea not to continue.

All the time they stood by the bed, and Kyon, diligently pretending to sleep, listening to them.

«Bring him back after examination. He must have rest and recover. It pains me to see this exhausted child.» - the doctor exclaimed anxiously shaking her head piteously.

«I would he happy, but I'm afraid knowing the violent temper of Flits, it is likely that he will force the kid to work today.» - the fat man grunted as he stared awkwardly at the floor.

«Bob, please, persuade him! As for me... I'll even write an explanatory note! They say that he has injuries, exhaustion, tension, bruises, and whatever else... Maybe he will listen? Understand, he needs a couple of days of rest...» - the voice of the woman was penetrated by aching pity for the puny boy, as if he was an unhappy abandoned puppy or kitten with a broken leg.

And she knew that, if she breaks this rule and holds Kyon in the hospital more than a day, she will be punished... But within herself she already knew that she was going to take the risk whatever it might cost her.

Flitz had a high rank in the mine. He was fully ent.i.tled to increase the treatment period for any time...

Under the imploring look of the women Bob felt simply obliged to make everything possible. But will he succeed?...

He sighed heavily:

«The note, of course, will add the chances... But what if I…»

The woman rested her hand rea.s.suringly on Bob's soft shoulder:

«Please... You're a kind man because you brought him here and didn't listen to the Mob. So bring the good to the end, do not stop halfway…»

Bob nodded contritely and shaked Kyon.

«Buddy, get up, we have to go somewhere.»

While Ken was tearing his eyes open and putting on his simple set of clothes, Martha was in the office hastily filling out an explanatory note, praying that it would help.

«Good Luck, Bob.» - she softly said after the fat man with the young man the stone clinic.

That day Bob had a mandatory weekly report on all incidents in Sector 3. In addition to the dry figures on the amount of extracted fossil, it was necessary to put all the information in the paper which concerns control. From conspiracies and the mood of the ma.s.ses, to premeditated murder and exposes... everything was strictly checked and controlled.

This is due to the fact that the structure of the mine involved an artificial hierarchy of slaves. There was the leader of the 1st rank, his subordinates of the 2nd rank, and the ordinary slaves of the 3rd rank. All of them were left to themselves, however, to everyone who was higher in rank, it was not profitable that there was something wrong with the lower «layers of the population».

Plotting and trying to escape was a failed campaign in advance, which was equated to ma.s.s suicide in the end, but the incidents of riots still happened ... all this together gave rise to the following basic law: «Any activities in the mine must be under control.»

A backpack with reporting doc.u.ments was sadly waiving on Bob's back. He looked extremely depressed which was not surprising. And the point concerned not only Martha who bargained from him and his consciousness promise to attempt to help the boy, but also because he promised Mob that he would take all the responsibility for the situation with Kyon on himself.

On the way to Flitz, the black dog was clearly interested in Kyon. Wagging its tail, it ran up to him, trying to bite his finger, then jumped back, resting on his front paws, as if calling to play.

Dancing of his pet distracted Bob from his sad thoughts even for a second.

«Boy, Rogash actually likes you, that's amazing.. Perhaps, it has taken you, so puny, for a baby?»

The language barrier didn't allow Kyon to answer. When the playful dog once again brought the curious face closer to his hand, he immediately touched the point under his ear. A fluffy dog froze at the same moment.

{Even though you're with a horn, but weaknesses of all dog are also typical and for you...} Kyon began to ma.s.sage the area under the ear which caused the dog to roll over on its back and start jerking its back foot.

«Wow! I've never seen him react like that!» - admired Bob.

Along the way the landscape diversity did not please: a stone door engraved with inscriptions, lanterns, stone door engraved with inscriptions... Sometimes they met people with formations on their forehead. They walked for 9 people in the group behind "supervisor" who was also marked and wore a slightly different uniform.

Almost everyone looked shabby and exhausted, although it would seem that it was only the beginning of the day. All of them were dressed in rags, their beards were unkempt, and there almost bald heads which completed the image. The eye immediately caught the fact that they were all approximately 20 years old and older.

{Why are there no young men my age here?}

On the way, Bob started a unilateral conversation. Maybe the dog gave him his mood... Besides, the silent, only nodding listener is useful anywhere... It came about Rogash:

«By the way, it is very smart, understands commands of all kinds, and enjoys dog chocolate, though, I can't every day give it... It is expensive... I mean not expensive, but I can't afford the extra costs... my wife and I sent almost all the money to our daughter to school…»

The whole way took about 15 minutes, then the road went up by the stairs.

At the end of the corridor, there was only one door, on the sides of which two guards towered as majestic statues - gilt on armor, s.h.i.+ny swords in scabbards, tall and fighting aura, obviously elite.

Bob ordered Rogash to stay outside and not make noise.

The man showed wrist to the guard which had a formation on it, symbolizing his rank and position, after which they were allowed into the room.

Kyon just now realized that the staff is also marked but the formation is located not on their foreheads, like a star, but on wrists, hidden by clothing.

There was a s.p.a.cious room with a beautiful design behind the door. In the center there stood a carved desk made of dark wood, behind it there was a chair and a rack with different sorts of strange equipment that divided the room into two parts. There was a shabby-looking chair and a table for the reception of slaves in an inconspicuous corner of the room.

The smell of fresh baking was hovering in the air.

A well-dressed middle-aged man was sitting at the carved table. He was reading a book with interest but, having notice the visitors, he immediately looked up.

«Come in, take a sit.» - He stretched his lips in a wide smile, greeting Bob, who stood frozen as a stone statue with his mouth open in surprise.

«Martin, how could... And... And where's Flitz?»

«Would you embrace an old acquaintance of yours?» - the man smiled in response to his bewilderment.

«Haven't seen you for ages... I... I've been sure you work here no more!»

«Right you are... I'm a temporary subst.i.tution. Flitz, old fart, left for his family deals, so, the next month I'm going to subst.i.tute it.» - and his pensive face became more vivid : - «Well? How're you doing? What's new? Who's that guy looking out your back? Tell me, while I poured the tea. My cook made the buns according to a new recipe, yummy.»

Bob involuntarily smiled at the m.u.f.fin and pulled up a chair and sat down.

«I love buns ... You always knew how to cheer me up. Referring to the guy ... you know, the amazing thing occurred ... he got lost, and we couldn't find him for a few days…»

Martin, almost spilling the tea from the cup, surprised, and interrupted his buddy:

«Could not find? And what about the formation? Was it out of order?» - and looking at Kyon, waving his hand to himself, he said: «Guy, come here.»

Kyon understood this unequivocal gesture and obediently approached. The man put his hand to his forehead to make sure that there was no energy in the formation.

«Oh, my G.o.d... Really!» - exclaimed he after verification of his hypothesis.

Bob scratched his nose thoughtfully.:

«Yes, the point is... generally, yesterday he nevertheless was found, completely exhausted and with the beaten-off memory...» - the supervisor didn't fail to embellish events a little to protect his own a.s.s. «By the way, Martha gave me a note saying he's injured, would you give him a couple more days off?»

Kyon, watching the fat man knew that he was nervous like he's hiding something…

«No problem. And no… No note needed. I believe you. So, why the formation is out of order? There's no energy at all in it. An ordinary blow to head is not capable to do this. Unless there's a 200-pound boulder is involved in this story that can just smear a boy's head in a thin layer, I refuse to believe it, ahahaha!» - Martin turned his gaze to Kyon.: - «Hey, guy, perhaps, you'll tell us what happened to you?»

The young man desperately pondered over the question, and, after a short pause, responded with a mutter in a foreign language, hoping that it will be the solution. «Bones are not broken...»

The meaning and clarity of the words indicated that he strongly got a stone on his top. Bob mentally smiled with grat.i.tude – apparently, the little boy still can think and decided to play along with him.

Martin, stunned, stared at his old acquaintance.

The fat man smiled sourly:

«I told you that his head was knocked off...» - and pretending to think, yet «decided» to add: - «I guess, I can find one more reason! That's almost certainly true!»

«Oh, what?» - Martin raised his eyebrows in interest.