Chapter 1

I was sitting in my parents' room. The only room in which you could study in silence. Almost in silence. Except for the sounds that the walls let through.

There was a Russian language lesson.

Due to the high incidence in the classroom, we were quarantined. So the lessons were held online.

- So, we're doing the ass... - the conference is suspended.

And here are the disadvantages of distance learning.

- What is it again? - it annoyed me.

Home appliances are not intended for teaching. This laptop is the same age as me. And there's something wrong with the Internet. How should I study!?

"I wonder if I'm the only one with this problem right now, or does everyone have it?" - it happened that this happened to all participants of the conference. That would calm me down.

I looked at the notification area. Even there, the Wi-Fi icon didn't show up. It was already strange.

Then I seriously wondered what was wrong with the Internet. After all, a teacher could ask me at any moment. And if I don't answer, I will be given an unsatisfactory grade. And I didn't want that.

There was no Wi-Fi on my phone either. Strange.

— Okay. I'll connect it to my mobile, - I turned on 4G and an access point.

The mobile phone didn't catch well either.

What is it? I've never noticed that the Internet was not catching well in this room.

The noise distracted me from my Internet problems. It was the younger brother who ran into the room and pushed open the door.

- FIRE!!!

I didn't have time to think about anything. She jumped up and ran after her brother.

I coughed as I ran out into the corridor. There was dense dark gray acrid smoke.

After leaving the house, she froze for a second.

- Come here! - mom's loud voice accompanied the rumble from somewhere above.

I quickly ran up to her and my younger brother.

I turned around and saw my father throwing a box of documents out of the house and going back into the house.

We squatted down by the gate. It was very noisy. Mom called 112. She was shouting into the phone, as the surrounding noise drowned out her voice.

- Where's Shoko? - my brother asked.

-****, she's at home. - mom swore, after which she and her brother started calling the dog.

"Maybe she's behind the house?" - the only thought that gave me hope.

- Maybe she's behind the house? - my mother voiced my thoughts. And at that moment I was already running.

A rumble was heard from the side of the house. He didn't subside, but I ignored him, hoping that I would find the dog and she would be fine.

Running behind the house, I started calling for Shoko in the hope that she was really here somewhere.

Lucky. The dog came out from behind the gazebo.

- Shoko! Let's go! - I'm not without relief.

It was obvious that she was scared: she pressed her ears back and whined softly. I'm lucky she's okay.

"Here's a Shoko," I said as soon as we ran to my mother and brother.

"Go outside the fence," my father said, once again leaving the house.

It was a good idea. It was dangerous for us to stand so close.

- Let's go, let's go, - mom, pushing us in the back, pushed us forward.

- What a nightmare, - a man stood in front of the house and looked at everything that was happening.

- Yeah, - Mom decided to keep the conversation going. - So surprisingly, everything happened instantly.

Then I noticed that the man was filming what was happening on camera. I don't know what happened to me. Either the chameleon effect worked, or my habit of shooting everything and everything, but I picked up the phone and, so that no one would notice, turned on the shooting.

- We just managed to jump out, and that's it, - mom continued to tell.

- Yes, I'm going once - black. I didn't understand, - the stranger spoke with an accent.

The house was almost completely covered in smoke. It was difficult to see him.

- Everything is my good one, - holding the dog with her hand, her mother soothed her.

Looking at this, it dawned on me. The dog was not our only pet.

- And t... - the words came hard to me, the realization is even harder.

-The turtle... - I said softly.

- Is the youngest in training? My father asked, looking out at us. No one heard me.

- Yes, the three of us were only at home, - mom answered the question.

- And the turtle... - I repeated softly again, but this time I was heard.

- ****, and the turtle is at home, - mom swore again.

- And Erhant, - my brother reminded me of the hedgehog's existence.

-****.

Mom and I swore at the same time.

It was difficult for me to stand and I squatted down while finishing filming.

I tried to control myself and kept sniffing, trying not to cry. My younger brother was there, I didn't want him to understand what a terrible situation we were in. Not even us, but them... The realization that they were there, in a burning house, hit me hard.

-Calm down, ] my mother began to soothe me when I began to sob louder.

- OK... - I was really trying to calm down. She raised her head to lower it to her knees. She sighed. He sobbed again. It didn't help.

- Calm down, - the mother said much more firmly.

- They're dying, - I said, stuttering on the vowels.

- Daughter! - mom said in the same firm tone.

- Why don't you come to us for now? - my mother's attempts to calm me down were interrupted by a neighbor who came out at the noise.

- Take the children, let them sit with you, - my mother replied to the offer.

- Come on, - the man called us.

My brother and I followed him.

They entered the house through the garage. My brother, meeting a neighbor's child, ran into the room with him, and I sat on the ottoman near the shoe rack.

I was shaking. Thoughts quickly followed each other. I was thinking that I wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for the animals. I would have borne the loss of things calmly. But not theirs. Why? Why didn't I think of them earlier? Why did you think only of yourself? I'm responsible for them. How can a turtle, a hedgehog sitting in a cage, and a snail locked in a terrarium save themselves? No way. The thought of being responsible for their deaths made me shudder even more.

I do not know how long I sat there. Then I was escorted to the kitchen. They sat me down on the sofa and offered me food and drink. I refused. I was still shaking and lonely tears rarely rolled down my cheeks.

I wrote to my friends to explain why I abruptly disappeared from class. They supported me. It hit me again when I started telling them about my feelings about pets.

I have no idea how long we stayed with the neighbors.

At some point, Mom came. I started to come to my senses a little bit then. She started to calm me down, but she only made it worse.

When my aunt called me to take us home, my sister had already arrived.

We went out. My aunt's colleagues got into the car.

As we drove, I looked out the window. It was hard to control myself, but I was coping now.

My phone vibrated in my hand. A notification has arrived.

"What's in there?"

When I saw a photo of a live hedgehog and a turtle in my uncle's arms, I smiled.

- Turtle and Yerkhant are alive, - I said to those sitting in the car.

- And the snail? - my brother asked.

- I'll ask you right now, - I started typing.

- She's alive too.