Synopsis
Kostya is the only guest in the world of «Tomorrow.» For everyone else, this ruined land is home, no matter how cruel it has become. To complete his mission and preserve even a single chance to return home, Kostya must go through what no one can be prepared for: brutal battles, betrayal, mutants, bandits, military schemers, and his own doubts.
Every step forward is a trial. Every person he meets is an unknown. Every day is a new struggle where he cannot stop as long as there is even one chance to return to where he is so desperately waited for… And the further he goes, the clearer it becomes: in this world, nothing is given freely, and the price of every decision made is sometimes too high.
Chapter 1. Vysokovsk. Preparing for Battle
«Valentin Ivanovich… Wake up…»
Sergey carefully shook the professor by the shoulder when movement began outside the dusty window. Diffuse dawn light, mixed with the blue smoke from the night fire, seeped through the cracks in the old gates. The streets were still empty, but dull footsteps and sharp shouts already echoed across the factory grounds.
A month had passed since they were brought here, to Vysokovsk—a small town southwest of Klin. Once, it had been a quiet, almost forgotten place with pre-revolutionary architecture and the red brick walls of an old textile factory. After restoration, it was planned to become a cultural center, but everything turned out differently. When the catastrophe struck, the building was quickly taken over by militants.
The prisoners were thrown into one of the concrete boxes—a former factory garage. It stank of oil, old fabric, and dampness. There was a narrow, high window and gaps under the ceiling, and in the evenings, the only light came from a kerosene lamp lit for the night outside the small window. Metal shelves, once cluttered with tools, now served as beds. The walls were adorned with rusty hooks, remnants of Soviet-era posters, and the shadows of patrols passing by the gates.
When the catastrophe began, the factory quickly fell under the control of this passing gang. They operated in an organized manner, splitting into teams and combing the surrounding area. They searched for anything that could be useful in the new world: provisions, weapons, medicine… women.
At first, the militants wanted to get rid of the professor. Dealing with an elderly, sick man was pointless for them. But Sergey persuaded them to spare him. He promised to take care of him, work for two, and follow any orders. It worked. They let him live. For a while.
