Chapter 4

He let go of the wound and stood up abruptly, looking down at his hands - the blood on them was quickly drawn into his body. The body itself seemed to be overflowing with power and incomprehensible energy.

Alexander looked at his friends again and kicked the wolf carcass in their direction. In a few seconds, the skin covering the body of the beast was torn in several places, and people, interfering with each other, sucked and drank blood - those who did not have enough room for such a meal, simply ran their hands into the wound.

A little more time and by the look of the beast it became clear - there was no more blood in it.

Sergey looked embarrassed at Alexander, then at his companions in a kind of feast.

- Everyone had seen the wolf's life - did everyone feel what he felt?

The people nodded dumbfoundedly, digesting both the blood and the wolf's memories of his life.

- What was it, and why did we pounce on it so fiercely, like... like vampires.....

Vampires. The word had been spoken! While Alexander watched the furious and brief meal that happened before his eyes, he had time to assess the situation.

The name of what was happening came by itself - a meal of bloodsuckers. But it demanded verification. And an immediate one at that. Taking a few steps, Alexander approached a not very thick tree - only ten centimeters in diameter - and struck the trunk with the back of his palm.

He even saw his blow, though somehow he realized that it was made at a speed unavailable to an ordinary person. And in all its glory Alexander could enjoy how his hand knocked out a piece equal in size to it from the trunk, and that bullet flew away, and the tree, not yet realizing that it had already been cut down, continued to hang in the air.

A slight pain appeared in her arm, which increased at a small pace. The tree began to bow and fall. Alexander grabbed the falling trunk with his left hand and stopped its movement. On his outstretched arm he was holding not the smallest tree, in a slightly tilted position, and the weight of the trunk didn't seem to be a serious matter.

With an eye on the area to fall, he changed the tilt vector of the felled tree and released it so that it would fall exactly where he wanted it to. The pain in the back of his palm went from aching to quiet and then disappeared.

No longer paying attention to the still falling tree, Alexander quickly walked over to the wolf carcass, opened its mouth, and straddling the upper jaw, secured it well in his right hand.

With his left palm he pressed on the wolf's fang and with a noticeable effort it pierced his skin and entered his palm. Bringing the hand with the wound to his face, he watched it heal without apparent emotion. After about five seconds, he had a perfectly intact and healthy palm in front of him. He clenched his hand into a fist a few times to test it.

- I think we are vampires.

The statement was greeted by an almost sepulchral silence. As he listened, he realized that he had stopped hearing the voices of the people who had previously seemed to form the natural background of the local nature.

The shouting, the swearing, the emotional speech all interrupted and replaced by the sounds of walking. Hundreds of bare human feet were now walking towards him and apart from the usual sounds of the forest, there was nothing else.

"Blood!" - flashed through his mind, - "They're coming at the smell of blood."

He had no time to consider further, for from behind the trees came the first men who approached. Naked men like him and his buddies. But there was no embarrassment in their eyes. Their eyes burned with curiosity and hunger.

It was the look of interested predators, not of people who just a couple of minutes ago were in central Russia and relaxing. New for them feelings forced them to go where it smelled so wonderful and delicious. But it didn't even smell like food. Power. Life.

Since smell was not a lasting thing, if its source was gone - and the wolf hadn't smelled blood for some time now - people who came to a spontaneous gathering with the attitude of fierce predators found themselves almost at a broken trough and began to feel a little uncomfortable.

For about a minute Alexander watched as more and more people came to the small clearing. Those of them who came first were already looking around nervously. Something had to be done about it, and the moment was unusually good.

- Okay. Attention. Everyone, please come this way, at the sound of my voice. Don't be shy. Come this way. Those who are already here, go around me and stand on the other side, give room for others. Everybody come over here. Attention...