Under protection

Chapter 1. Nightmares

April 24, 2020

"... 15 ... 14 ... 13 ... 12 ...." - the countdown of the system did not stop.
- Stop it! STOP !! Anyone!
- Wire, Cody, RIP IT OFF! SOON !! - the shout did not stop in the other side of the room.
- It won't help! It is not connected and will not stop the reactor! - hopelessly and helplessly answered shouting Cody.
- GOSH!! ...
"... 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 .."
...

***
May 11, 2020

- Cody, turn around !! - shouted Baldi with horror looked at the creature that ran straight at them.

The thing jumped and grabbed its claws straight into Cody's neck.

- AAAAAAARRGHH! - Cody screamed loudly in pain and fell to the ground.
- Hold on, I'm coming! - shouted Baldi confidently through fear. But it was too late .. The creature disappeared, and Cody lay motionless on the ground with a torn neck - she didn't breathe.
Everything went dark around.
- Cody! ... no no !! Please ... don't leave me !! - Baldi fell to his knees.

Through tears, he saw only her dim image.

And then, Cody's body was gone. The sky darkened more, it became quiet and cold. Wind started to blow. Baldi didn't even hear his own breathing: he was very scared. He did not move, only stared in horror at the place where, it seemed, a second ago, Cody's body lay.

"It's all your fault .." - whispered an unfamiliar evil voice in the distance and fell silent.

Something stirred from behind, and an unpleasant cold passed through Baldi's body. Something approached, very quietly and carefully, as if afraid to frighten away. Baldi that his heart is about to burst with fear and pain; hearing a crunch from behind, he turned sharply.

"SKRAAAAAAAAGGHH !!" - the creature that killed Cody pounced on him. "Baldi .."
- NO !! I beg! AAAAAH !! "Baldi!" - The creature scratched his eyes and painfully dug into the neck with sharp teeth like a knife. "Baldi!" - Enough! AAAAAA! N-nooo !! Noooo! - he already shouted in a ragged voice. "SKRAAAAAAAAGGHH !!!!" .. "Baldi!" - NO !! NO !!
- Baldi! Baldi! WAKE UP !!
- AAAAAAAh !! - Baldi jumped up, trying to take a breath.
- Quiet, quiet! Oh fuck, you scream like that for almost an hour! It's just a dream, calm down, - said Cody in a calmer voice: before that she tried to get Baldi out of his nightmare.
- C-cody? - Baldi whispered hoarsely in a broken voice, he still could not breathe normally.
- The same nightmare again? - Cody asked him sympathetically. - The most important thing is to breathe, I'm here, with you, everything is all right, - she said very soothingly, trying to help Baldi recover. He was trembling strongly and this made Cody nervous as she was worried about his health.

Baldi slowly looked at her with a frightened, guilty look.
- Cody! - it seems that emotions will break his heart: he was so glad that Cody was alive and was next to him. Baldi rushed to hug her tightly, - Cody! .. there .. you .. and t-that creature ... I could not ... forgive me .. I .., - he tried to speak through tears, - sorry ... p-please ..
- Hey hey, you don't have to apologize, it's not your fault. Hush, it's okay. - Cody hugged him tightly to her chest and hugged by her wings. - Shhhh, I'm near and I will never leave you, I swear.

The small room where they were staying was quiet and peaceful. Baldi gradually calmed down and came to his senses. He always felt good from the warm hugs of Cody: friends were, as if, by something connected with each other even before their acquaintance, and this made them an unusual couple, unlike anyone else.

Being close to Cody, Baldi always felt safe: it seemed to give him confidence that she would support him in difficult times.

The trembling and fear slowly began to pass and Baldi felt relief in his soul. - That's better, already,- Cody said and looked into his eyes. - Do not take these nightmares to heart, whatever they are, you know that I will not die even if I wanted to, and that means that I will always be with you until the very end.

She smiled and Baldi smiled back at her.

- Thanks, Cody. Really. Thank you. - You know, as a cruel and merciless devil, you are probably the only kindest creature on this planet for me.
- Heh, - Cody breathed, - I know that I'm the only one kindest creature on this planet.
- Yes, you're right, - said Baldi and sadly looked away somewhere. - What time is it now?
- Seven in the morning, - answered Cody, looking at the tiny alarm clock that stood on the nightstand and clicked its arrows. - It's too early, you can still go to sleep if you want.
-Uh-huh, - Baldi muttered quietly to himself, without taking his eyes off the corner of the wall. Teacher looked sleepy, but he didn't want to sleep anymore after the nightmares that tormented him all night.
-Take cover, it's cold in the morning, and wait a bit, I'll get you some water,- Cody said and went into the kitchen.

For a while Baldi was still looking at an empty corner of the wall, thinking about something of his own, but then, nevertheless, he turned his gaze to the window that was very close to the bed.

The dawn outside the window was brighter than on other days, it seemed as if it was now 2 pm than 7 am ...
Baldi slowly got out of bed and reached up, straightening his back from the clamps. It was cold, so he put blanket on himself, and very reluctantly went to the window. Looking with horror at what was happening, he was tormented by only one question: "Oh God, but w-what is it?"