As he scrambled up onto the edge of the embankment, he paused to catch his breath. Thoughts whirled through his head and he couldn’t think straight. Yesterday he was headmaster of School Number Seven and today he was a man on the run. Everything was unreal, strange and incomprehensible. The darkness bore down on him like a mass of lead and his mind became even more tangled.
As he was listening to the swirling of the river beneath him, it was only then that he became overcome with despair. He cried aloud: “Sergei! Sergei, I must go and get Sergei and take him with me. They’ll show him no mercy!”
But soon he realized it would be too dangerous, it would only result in disaster for them both. Then he thought of Marusia, of Zena, of Ohrimko…. He was leaving them all behind, never to see them again. They would stay in a land with no future, a land forever at the mercy of a ruthless despot up to his elbows in blood.
The uncertainty and sense of loss were unbearable. Feverishly, trembling all over, he burst into bitter tears, and as much as he tried, could not stop sobbing.
At last the Stryy! Kulik inhaled deeply and looked around. The sun was already starting to creep over the eastern horizon and it was just a matter of time before everything would be drenched in sunshine. He started along the shore, quickly and vigorously. He had to keep moving, staying one step ahead of the secret police. Listening to the sound of the water, his spirit lifted. He was filled with hope. He believed that his life was not over.
Wave of Terror Page 36
