On the stone road

– Suppose…

– Assume – continued Anders – the energy source of our planet – the flame that never dies, but can only grow and grow. And when its size exceeds the allowable, there occurs an emission – the release of excess energy.

– Like a volcanic eruption? – Eric puzzled, trying to imagine, what Anders said, and also trying to suppress a smile.

– A kind of, but not so big and spectacular. When the source is getting rid of excess energy, it emits a tiny beam that carries the incredible strength. If the release doesn’t happen, the source will continue to grow, resulting in a burst.

– And how often there is an emission? – Eric asked, solely to maintain the conversation.

– Every time when the same month replaced the thirteenth time.

Anders silenced and watched the stupor, into which fell Eric.

– That is… every twelve years and one month? – He said.

Anders nodded.

– Are you saying – we live on a bomb? – Eric couldn’t help laughing, but then stopped fun time, making out potentially possible surge of anger.

– This bomb always disarms itself, don’t worry – calmly explained Anders, while Eric spun uncontrollably, digesting his words, not the food.

What Anders said was unthinkable, though it sounded convincing, but it was crazy!

– Even so, – for a second, Eric imagined that this is possible – what I’m involved in this?

Anders’s expression became stern maliciously. The waiting has dragged and the tip of the index finger of Eric was threshing on a circular table top.

Leaning forward, dark-haired man finally spoke:

– Usually, when the beam escaped from any ejection, it disappears in the vastness of space surface, but sometimes, this ray can hurt a person. Its invisible invasion of the human body creates the illusion of appearance: lightning, flash of light, and much more.

All Eric’s limbs froze, as if he had fallen into a tub of icy frenzy. He immediately remembered what had happened to him on the porch of his house, on the last day of summer. A glowing ball, which had fallen from the sky, crashed into him. After this phenomenon, with him and began to occur unexplained events, which were accompanied by devastation and death.

From the Ander’s words followed, that there was no balloon, it was just an illusion, caused by the emission beam. Unfortunately, all that happened after it was the reality.

No, no, no! Is Anders hoped that someone would believe it, in all this nonsense? Eric couldn’t decide: believe it or not?

– And what will happen if … “suppose” – Eric blurted, thus expressing doubt – emission beam gets into a man?

– He should cease to believe and just accept it!

– No. Do you mean to tell me, that I was influenced by some kind of ray emission? – Eric came to the conclusion that he didn’t believe a single word of a madman.

Eric lost his confidence in Anders. The guy reached for a glass of water. Taking the vessel in hand, he raised it to his lips, intending to make a couple of sips. For an instant, the glass scattered on the gravel, all the water in the glass spread over sweatshirt and jeans crotch of Eric.

– Not only you was – Anders said coldly.

His focus remained unnoticed by the public eye. The visitors of the cafe kept carefree chatter or hastily tucked into lunch, so as not to be late for job. Nobody paid attention to the guy with the gray hair spilled over the water.

– You are afraid because you don’t understand. All we tremble in horror before the unknown, but the feeling must be overcome, otherwise the question would be deprived of the answer – Anders said.

– The point is not in it!

Eric didn’t want to believe Anders for one simple reason.

– So, it’s…

“My fault, I killed him…” – Eric finished by himself; now he knew the truth, cruel, intolerable truth.

Eric didn’t have the strength to put up with the murder. He felt unbearably sick of himself. He remembered the sound that told him of the death of his father, how he smashed his head against the wall. He killed him! That terrible night he will never forget. The hope of innocence has extinguished, like a flame on the candle wax, which was flowing down a candlestick. Eric’s feelings out of desperation moved into general indifference.

– I’ll help you, Eric, – Anders pulled him a hand, which was clad in coal glove without fingers, and stopped half way, before reaching the middle of the table.

In any other circumstances, Eric would have considered him the crazy fanatic. Perhaps he really was, but then he was crazy too. The delusional explanations of Anders were delusional explanation for the events that occurred to him: there were no other explanations.

Taking advantage of the general silence, Eric began to comprehend all that told him Anders: an energy source, emissions, and other unimaginable things. There was something ticking inside him, likely it was a shock. After all, not every day is said that the beam from the heart of the planet gets to you. If it had not unfortunate consequences may be Eric was drowning in admiration.

– How… how are you going to help me? – He asked quietly, staring at colored eyes, through the sun glasses.

– The same thing was with me, as with the others. An ugly moment in life became a transition to a different reality, with other rules and regulations, – slowly said Anders. – We’ve all got the power: someone found it for free, while others thought that it was curse.

– And who we are? – Eric asked.

– Just the carries of an extra source of energy, – easily and naturally Anders ranting, as if he was talking about something, which is taken for granted.

– Is there a shorter name? – Eric growled.

– If you want, you can come up with yourself: there is no objection. Judging by your appetite, we can leave. – Ander’s eyes pointed at untouched pancakes in Eric’s plate.

– I haven’t given consent yet, – reminded him Eric.

In response Anders chuckled, then spoke sternly:

– My suggestion is not an invitation.

– If so, what’s the point was to persuade me? – Eric puzzled.

– This option is not as troublesome – it was obvious that for someone like Anders, this reason was considered quite significant.

– Why do I think this is a threat? – Ironically asked Eric.

– Most of caution, but certainly not a threat! I’m sure you’ve had time to inquire about the strength, and of course the danger that carry the energy carriers, – his words forced Eric to think about her father; he immediately darkened. – Apparently – yes. Then you must understand that control is needed.

I did not realize what I was doing … – justified Eric to nowhere, not knowing exactly to whom it was: to himself, to Anders, to father?

– Now it is not important, important not to let this happen again. And I’ll help you, Eric. However, for this you have to stay with me for a while, and I will teach you to control your energy.

In fact, this need was a real gift for Eric, though he didn’t recognize it. He will be provided with the time and place to glue himself after the fall.

Of course, he wanted to go home, he imaged how his mother was going crazy because of his loss. Eric thought she should know that he is alive, in order she could live in peace within herself. But just what to say to her? What if Eric’s plan won’t work, then he won’t be able to subdue the energy and it will subdue him, how then to be? He didn’t know how to act, how was better to do.

Immersed in himself, Eric wondered: how not to soil his soul with blood once again.

– How much time it will take? – He asked, still thinking about his mother, who didn’t know where her son was.

– It depends on you, – Anders said in didactic tone.

Eric imagined how his emotional pain completely dissolves, freeing him from the heavy shackles. “No, of course not! Nothing can heal me! Guilt will stay with me forever. It is a worm that eats the apple from within. It will destroy me … "– donated by self-doubt, it grinded a tiny hope of a happy ending.

However – it worth of trying.

The rays of the sun gently fell to the ground; passers-by every now and then denuded: they rolled sleeves, took off their jackets, unbuttoned cardigans for the greater contact with the warm reflections of light.

The Ander’s car, as he himself, stood out the lack of certainty. It is hard to understand to what decade it belongs, and to what brand. Polished to a high gloss car shone in inky-black tones on the convex hull, and on the lid it shone in a silver color.

Eric didn’t examine the car; the reason for the lack of enthusiasm was not so much in indifference, as in hatred. Throughout his life, he had to watch as Karl Lanter with great joy squandering money on rattletrap, rather than on his family. The obsession with machines had forced Mr. Lanter acquire new goner, and in connection with the meager income he had to get rid of the old one. Thus, he changed a rotten to another, desperately trying to find the same car that would fully meet the high demands of his ego. Despite the hostility to his father, Eric also hoped that soon he would find his dream on wheels, because debts grew from year to year, but not his salary.

Eric fell into the seat and closed his eyes, embarrassed in front of the wonderful weather. After twenty minutes, Anders left him alone with himself. During this time the dark-haired man didn’t utter a single word, it seemed, that the limit of revelations was exhausted. Eric sat and looked at his knees, trying to put things in order in his head: but his trial has failed.

Anders returned to the car, holding a few cartons.

– Here it is, – he handed the bag to Eric – I bought some clothes for you. For your clothes it’s time to go in the trash. You look… in a very inappropriate way.

– Come on.

Eric felt worse than he looked. Eric forgot that he was not alone, he was silent, until they left the big city behind. The travelers moved on the endless road that ran to the Arctic Circle. The nearer they approached it, the darker became ash cloud, which were stretching to the sky above them.

The free landscape behind glass windows gradually turned into the high mountains.

– Maybe you want to ask something? – Anders said, after a few hours of the road.

All this time there was silence in the car: the young man realized that Eric needed time to get used to the thought of what he had become. Therefore, he didn’t want to disturb him, and he didn’t do it after a silent response to the question. Eric wanted to stick to the quiet, hovering within him. The silence protected from verbal sounds, which attracted reflection on memories.

The music started in the car, Anders turned on the radio and immediately switched the radio wave, when the leading spoke about the missed teen.

– Sorry.

The radio announced about the disappearance of fifteen years old Eric Lanter, a resident of the small town of Silent Valley. The last one who saw him were local citizens, who stumbled on him in the ruined city park: it was about 20:30 p.m. The leading started to say that in the same town, there was another tragedy, because of this fact the teenager so quickly declared wanted. By the time he was going to clarify what kind of tragedy occurred in a small town, Anders pressed the switch button.

Carl Lanter burst without warning, angrily saying: “Don’t even think, just to forget it!” The torments of Eric fivefold increased strength.

The silence didn’t help, and then Eric has chosen a different strategy – to drown in the world, about which he hadn’t heard previously.

Unexpectedly, he realized what a strong sense of curiosity was bursting him.

– I hope you picked up a warm jacket for me – he started talking, looking out the window at the snow-capped mountains that grew out of the ground.

– You won’t need a jacket – said Anders, turning off the main road, on a country road, that leaded through the fields.

– Explain —asked Eric with a grin.

Perhaps, the surprising was foolish, but he still wanted to know – why he didn’t need a warm jacket in the middle of the north, which was shrouded by the cold?

– Excess energy source much warmer than down jacket. It is like a fire that settled in your blood and bones. All the energy is concentrated in it. Due to this, such as we don’t feel the cold at all.

– What about the heat? – Inquired Eric, when he was already surprised, in order to marvel even more.

– In this case, the body temperature normalizes energy, and will also continuously maintain the balance of body fluids. By the way, if you use the energy of sources for a long time – the media will be weakened and will need to meet the normal human needs: such as food and sleep – until the energy is recovered. So, many carriers avoid places, which are known for its hot climate. There their energy consumed much faster than in any other place, and they can’t affect it. With increasing temperature the energy is consuming automatically, without the consent of the carrier. While with decreasing energy is not consumed.

The car continued to drive straight through path, approaching the dark bottom of the mountain, with pure white tips, the ends of the mountain hadn’t been seen. They were somewhere in the clouds.

– So we almost don’t sleep, well, that’s… that’s great news, don’t say anything – sleep deprivation meant for Eric loss the only possibility at moment to disconnect from the madness, which had seized him. – Tell me something else. What’s more, I no longer need? What’s on the air through? Surely we don’t need … – Suddenly, Eric had an idea. – Don’t answer, I’ll check! – Immediately he said.

Eric hold his breath, he pressed his lips and blew out his cheeks. Anders saw, as his eyes were bulging and blushing and interrupted silly experience.

– Stop it, without air, we can’t do. In order to spare you the cost of precious time, I’ll try to explain it all at once, – hurriedly said Anders. —By air we breathe, by water we quench our thirst and we inhabit the land, and by the energy we live. All of the above are attributes, without which the existence of the carriers is impossible. Don’t worry about anything else. Well, about almost everything – his bristly face broke into a smile.

Baring white teeth, Anders replaced mercy to anger and slammed on the gas pedal: the car roared, increased speed and raced forward, easily climbing a steep slope. Eric, who was sitting next to him, was a little nervous, though, he was trying not to show it.

– When you said that we would go to the north, I didn’t think so literally! Why do we climb the mountain? – Eric asked, not taking his eyes from the window.

They continued to move up, moving on a winding trail. Incredibly, the cobblestones, which were lying on the path jumped to the side as soon as the wheels of the machine approached them. It seemed that they were ordered to clear the way and they obeyed unquestioningly. The trail narrowed, leaving to a steep cliff. Sharply turning, the car raced along it, and almost gathered down.

– I live here, – said Anders hurriedly.

Here, on top of the mountain? – Eric was amazed, still glancing out the window at a frightening precipice, which was fenced by miserable rotten fence. It’s like closing a lion into a brier cage.

– No, at the foot of the cliff, with the adjacent upland – Anders pointed to the mountain, which looked like a giant tower.

It was unclear: how he was going to get there? Indeed, in order they could get to it – they must overcome very wide gulf between the snow tower with a mountain on which they are moving right now.

The engine was almost silent; there was only the sound of the tires, which run into little pebbles, and the roar of the wind, which was wafting everywhere. Without dropping the speed, passenger transport continued to drive tailwind: the trail began to zigzag, leaving to the right. After closer inspection, Eric noticed a huge overhang in front of him, which stretched to the rocky snow tower balcony, to the mountain – where was a house of Anders.

– No! – Eric shouted, recognizing the obvious.

– Don’t worry, it’ll be great!

Surprisingly, but Anders glowed with joy in anticipation of the upcoming flight. But Eric on the other hand, wasn’t amused by the coming leap across the chasm. He thought again about the mental state of a new friend, whether he did the right thing, when he trusted him?

Jumping on a horizontal platform, Anders put pressure on the gas again and steered the car straight ahead! Frozen in time, the guy with the gray hair looked the icy desert, so large and incredibly beautiful and then he jumped from a hard landing on a nearby ledge. There was a quiet rasp of metal, most likely the bumper suffered from the crazy jump. Eric hoped that this single race stopped on it: of course he was wrong! Absolutely indifferent, with the same crazy mood – Anders continued to pull the transmission lever, picking up more speed. The car flew faster than the wind; this time is not up, but down on the uneven rocky path, leading through the cleft. The pile of blocks of ice on the rocks eerily evoked a deadly threat because of its massiveness. In the fear of being walled by avalanche, Eric clenched his fists in fear, trusting in the mercy of heavy depths. He worried that any movement of the car will cause an avalanche.

As a result, it ended without incident; the undulating trail cleft brought them out of the clutches of the stone to a spacious terrace of a snowy tower. The brakes squealed, and the car slowed; Eric decided that Anders was lost, that they fell into a dead end. Instead of obstacles they had a clear path to the mountain terraces. And when he realized that the car was still moving, albeit slowly, but moving – fifteen years old guy howled in displeasure.

When they reached the cliff, the black car slowly banked, allowing passengers to admire the breathtaking view from the top. The rear wheels came off from hard stone and the car flew down. Eric cried aloud, looking at the tip of the hood, which was rushing into the snow. No matter what was down there: if the car collapsed with such a great height, the car wouldn’t had chance to survive; Eric and crazy Anders had even less chances. But Anders, apparently, didn’t care about it.

Before they had to stick into the ground, like a knife through butter, the car stood in the air, in inches from the frozen surface. When the car stopped, Eric with all the dope hit his nose on the dashboard: the blood immediately gushed from the reddened nostrils.

– Oh, yes … – Anders said, looking at Eric, who was trying to stop the bleeding by means of his sleeve. – Don’t worry, our wounds heal very quickly! In no time!

The trunk has lined from hood on one level, after which the car fell to the snow-covered ground, but at a much lower altitude.

Chapter 4

The squall of incredible feelings of joy and excitement overwhelmed Eric at the sight of endless spaces, which were hidden from the high mountains of the horizon. Snowflakes quietly fell from the sky on stony ground, which was covered with a white veil, where the sharp spears protruded out of depth.

– That’s my house – Eric heard a peaceful voice of Anders behind.

When Eric turned, he couldn’t see the Ander’s mansion: hid home was disguised as a rock, which was strewn with non-viable land, gravel and snow. Among the natural grandiose construction it was impossible to see the elements of an artificial construction.

In the distance of a slate landscape could be seen a sparse forest. Its sparse vegetation situated on a hill at the foot of the mountains.

– Are we on the edge of the world? – Eric marveled.

He had never seen anything like this. Previously, he had only hoped that in the near future he will be able to see the world from various angles.

– You can say so!

Going down from desert slope, Eric landed in a deep snow. Eric startled by the sudden collapse, he immediately rushed to get out of the quagmire of snow, which was concomitant with an unpleasant feeling of snow by the collar. Frozen icicles didn’t burn with cold fire. Eric hasn’t felt the icy touch, if only a touch of snow on the skin.

– Something is wrong? – Asked Anders with a serene expression on his face, when he drew attention to the thoughtful Eric.

– I don’t feel it … – indifferently said Eric, looking at snowflakes on his hands.

He felt by skin was, how chilly air, which was rushing around the body, was.

He felt its icy ferocity, but he still only felt, but he didn’t feel truly at its touch.

– And you won’t feel until you have an extra energy. Cold is one of the items in the list of unwanted feelings. The extra energy will protect its carrier from everything, except itself. And of course, it won’t protect of clumsiness – Anders added.

– But it is not the protection; it is deprivation of liberty, the senses! Am I not right? – Indignation captured the young man with gray hair.

Anders looked sympathetically; at least, he has tried to portray compassion, then he moved on to the valley, which reflected the night light by thin coat of frost.

They stood counterpart: at such a close distance Anders seemed even higher. It was quite funny to look at a man, which was dressed in light clothes in the middle of the mountain cold. The fierce blizzard, which suddenly appeared, has mercilessly blinded Eric and his friend. Finally, the weather taunts ended: snowflakes didn’t stop falling, they just froze. There were so many that they closed all around; Eric and Anders stuck in its web. Some later snowflakes budged, but in the opposite direction. The frozen fluffy drops rose skyward. A layer of snow underfoot was reducing; it climbed to the top, followed by the rest of the crystals. The rate has increased, Eric looked at his feet – he almost saw the earth, which was hidden from the eyes by the snowy mass. When Eric looked around, he didn’t see anything, even Anders, he saw only a continuous dark veil.

– Oh wow…! – he amazed.

It couldn’t fail to impress!

Eric heard a sniff of Anders. All the snow, which took off, instantly fell back to earth. After a few seconds, Eric brushed the pilings up of snow from his head and squinted grimly at Anders. The dark veil has disappeared, and then he could see the bristly beard: they once again stood on the flat valley, which was dotted with snow. – Very funny, I hope you will show me not just tricks – although he liked the focus, but that moment it wasn’t important. – You’d better to tell me how you control it, how do you manage it?

– First of all, you need to realize and accept the existence of energy in your body. Only after that, you can manage it. All the necessary levers for this are here – Anders touched his index finger to his temple. – Your mind controls the energy.

– That is, the energy takes whatever came into my head? – Eric tried to understand. – Energy is not a magic pollen, which grants wishes – said Anders, assumed a mine. – With the help of the energy source we can manage any matter, without touching it. We can move it, or break apart. Our mind works on the subject due to the energy source, but for doing this it needs to know and understand what a given object, how it works, what it consists of. Without this knowledge it is impossible to control the subject – he walked away and leaned on a small boulder, – he hid his hands in his trouser pockets.

– Really? What a shame, and I was hoping that you can get it by clicking fingers – Eric upset.

– Not so easy.

The silence lasted just a minute, and then Anders said:

– Come on, try something!

– Do you want me to repeat your trick? – Eric shrugged. – But I have no idea how to do it. And I don’t understand what I can do? What is our strength in?

– In a move – pointedly said Anders.

– Manage your power in the same way as the parts of the body. Send commands from here – Anders again tapped his index finger on his temple – use your imagination.

Eric began to think, what he would try to make. He didn’t try that did Anders – it was unlikely he will succeed; probably he won’t manage to do anything. Eric shook his head in different directions; his attention caught nothing. Then he just decided to lift into the air a small clump of snow. Moreover, it was a very simple task. After all, according to Anders, he could use his energy on the sole, whose nature was known for Eric. And what was the snow – Eric undoubtedly knew, like any other!

Mentally Eric began to present the outlines of a lump of snow, its size, how it was raised. Nothing happened. Even when Eric pulled his hand in front of his imaginary lump – the result didn’t change.

“If only my friends have seen me… they would have a good laugh!” – Self-doubt didn’t leave him for a moment. Discarding the thoughts, he began to concentrate all his attention only on the snow pile again. Eric began to imagine how cold and light it is, as he takes it and lifts. He began to feel it; he believed that he could do it: thus, Eric believed in himself.

Something moved. Noticing this, the young man tried to focus even more. A little snow separated from the land and then headed straight into his face.

– Damn it! – Eric angrily cursed. He had to shake off the snow again.

Suddenly he heard a laugh, Eric stared at Anders, but he just gazed peacefully somewhere in the sky.

– Just don’t be so; I know it was you laughing! – Eric angrily uttered, wiping his nose.

In fact, the failure of Eric looked very funny, but the laugh Anders teased him, as it was with any other laughter, which was directed at him. He hated to look foolish. He always tried to avoid such situations; they are unbearable for him.

– I have no idea what you’re talking about?! – With a straight face Anders rejected Eric’s accusations in schadenfreude.

Of course, the teenager didn’t believe him. Eric definitely heard his laugh, and he didn’t doubt it, although Anders tried to portray apathy.

– Well, you already have at least some idea of how your energy works, and how to use it, – Anders summed up the success of Eric.

– Probably, – he mumbled doubtfully.

He really managed. The main thing was that a little result happened. A little snow really took off the ground; and though it subsequently flew straight into the nose. By the way, Anders was not lying – the nose quickly stopped hurting after hitting the bar, and since then, it was no longer bleeding.

– Try again! – Anders ordered.

– I should to pick it up in the air again? – Eric said, turning to him.

– Try… to give it a shape.

Eric nodded.

“If only I knew how!” – In addition to this, Eric began to think, what kind of form to give a handful of snow. The choice fell on the most common variant – the ball. The main difficulty of this assignment was completely different.

“To believe, you just need to believe, to perceive your ability seriously” – it was not the easiest task, especially for an uncertain person. The thoughts of madness were constantly wandering somewhere nearby. Sometimes it was hard to resist.

Eric tried to abstract from all those things and focus on the goal. Little by little he began to do it. Snowflakes whirled one after the other at a small distance from the ground: they chased faster and faster. When one overtook the other, snowflakes combined, and then the new players joined the chase. It lasted until the snowball didn’t appear in front of Eric. He was of small size, below the knee.

Happened! He did it! He did it, he did it deliberately, controlling entirely the whole process.

– Okay, you’re done! – Anders immediately praised Eric, when he saw the embodiment of his efforts. He didn’t even stinged with the approving smile.

– I don’t even know what to say … – Eric was glad and he could hardly talk, he was amazed by himself. – Is that the control of which you spoke?

– No, – cut off Anders. The smile on his face disappeared. – Control – this is not a skill to sculpt a snowman, it is much more. – Anders took a couple of steps forward.

– Then why am I doing this? – Erik immediately got angry. He didn’t want to waste his time.

– This is the path to what you really must do.

Anders came to the stone, reminiscent of the parapet, and raised his left hand over it. Under his hand, which was slowly moving, built rectangular figures from the snow, like dominoes.

– The great begins with the small. The path to the desired lies through overcoming difficulties, laziness – he kept going – and of course time. The main thing is to keep on and not give up – Anders hand stopped – otherwise everything will be in vain, – he pointed to the last figure, which was created by him, and the whole chain has fallen to the ground.

– That is, it needs a very long time? – Eric mournfully pursed his lips and lowered his head.

Anders rubbed his nose and said:

– I didn’t mean it that way, but in general you caught my meaning. Eric, you have to practice to use a source of energy, in order to learn, how to control it. If you don’t want it to control you – he flashed his colored eyes. Even in the night Eric could see its shine. – In this case, it will occur the things, because of which you’re here.

Eric didn’t answer; he decided to keep silence. Fire and death crunch squeezed his throat, cutting off access of oxygen. Memories.

– What happened to you? – Anders noticed haze in his eyes. – Is something wrong?

– Oh, you’re very obvious! – Barely holding back, grunted Eric. – I need time. I have a feeling like I was stuck in something sticky… It seems that I’m sleeping! – He walked from place to place. – I find it hard to take, and so easy to get used to the idea that all of what you tell me, Anders – the truth!

– I perfectly understand, through what you have to endure now. But know this, you’re the lucky one; other people, who faced with the madness, experienced it alone.

Indeed, Anders was right: Eric should be glad that he was not alone. The loneliness would destroy him! Eric said nothing, but in his eyes could be seen gratitude.

Without any reason, he flopped back in the snow and stared at the sky, which was painted in dull black tones. The iron clouds overshadowed the shine of stars; tiny dots occasionally were shown between the sliding through the air smoky blocks.

It was so strange, Eric couldn’t see anything ahead. Earlier it was different. He always adhered to the stability, he was afraid to be in an unpredictable position. Much of what he had done before, was sent to the steppe. After the school followed the entrance to college, then was a future job, then a career, and so forth on a sloping, which was the existence of the average person’s life. He didn’t want to become a lawyer, together with Constantine, but at the same time he understood that this path will lead to unwelcome particular destination. This, as he always thought, was mandatory! Even if it didn’t suit him.