The apartment

Day : 0

The Russian winter is violent in north west Siberia . A simple commute out the сладкий зеленый apartments and across the street to the золотые наркотики pharmacy could prove fatal . The ice on the roads caused cars to skid around everyone corner, only the most skilled drivers ever drove but even if you walked you had to watch out , the town of Редмаркет was home to gangs and wannabe thugs who would do anything for their time in the limelight. The crime rate here was higher than anywhere else , it was the number one place to avoid . Yet most people in Russia still come here because it's cheap .
The only place to live in Редмаркет was two big apartment buildings, pretty much the same building one was сладкий зеленый and the other was Блюджей the cheaper one was сладкий зеленый as it was filled with the thugs that live in Редмаркет and crazy old PTSD filled soldiers, those who weren't thugs or had mental problems either drank their sorrows away or through themselves from the roof of the сладкий зеленый .The residents of Блюджей weren't much better the only difference was was that they were actual thugs and didn't have to prove themselves to anyone, so as long as you were on they're good side you were safe . However not everyone was bad , most people are just ordinary residents who just work and sleep .
Ivan debrovynych woke up , ready to start another day he was one of few sane residents at сладкий зеленый but he could feel his grasp on life loosening by the day . Ivan looked out his window , 4th floor up , he looked down to see the old groundskeeper shovelling snow and people who committed suicide, no one knew who was next , most thought it would be an old soldier or someone stuck in some dead end job , or both . Every morning before work , everyone contemplates throwing themselves out the window, it's a custom at this point.
When Ivan bought his apartment he wasn't allowed to see it till he moved in , he was only told it was a single room apartment in a gated community. On the drive in Ivan thought he struck it lucky, such a cheap apartment in such a nice community when he saw the security guards controlling the perimeter of Редмаркет . But when he got in he realised he was surely mistaken, he tried to jump out the car but the doors were locked, the driver parked and turned around and said "good luck" before putting in a gas mask the only thing he remembered before he went out cold was the name tag of his driver , the ferryman .
But that was three years ago and Ivan had a job to get to , if he was late again this week he knew he would be fired . He worked at the под полом market , known for being in miles of underground space that was once an old military bunker . This place was shrouded in mysteries and all people knew were the rumours : they're military experiments out there ; monsters live in the wood ; it's a governmental experiment; no one there is real . Ivan didn't believe any of these before he came to this shitty town , but when he did he knew one thing , everyone around here sure acts like robots.
Ivan put on his jeans and winter coat and started walking toward the door of the stairwell . The inside of the building was no better from the outside : the wallpaper was peeling ; the floors covered in piss stains ; people arguing in the corridor ; suicide notes lost in the wind . Ivan stopped at the elevator door and looked at it , every day there was the same sign there "на обслуживании" Ivan sighed and walked to the stairwell where he saw one of his elderly neighbours , Abram .
Abram was an old coot who spent most of his days harassing cyclists and getting his medication from наркотики . When Abram first moved here he opened наркотики pharmacy, it was the only one in town which made it a big hit with the Now long dead locals, his son dimitri was beaten up by some of the now wannabe thugs as a child , Abram had just escaped ww2 and didn't take it , instead of hurting the kids he scolded them harshly . One day the thugs parents broke in and killed his wife and nearly dimitri, Abram gave his son to the neighbour andrii who took the buy to the hospital, when the police came Abram said he scared the attackers out of town , only andrii knew the truth and later his son : Abram killed all the attackers with a broken shard of glass , and because he was a part time security guard he had access to the basement where the wood chipper was . It's said he shredded their bodies and threw the meat for the bears . Now he's just an crazy old man who harasses everyone.
"привет , Abram" Ivan always said "привет , Ivan" Ivan was a part time carer and really liked by most the people he looked after . "You heard we're getting a new resident?" Ivan was shocked by the news "I guess they already filled up ol' vlads apartment .... Do you know who it is ?" Ivan asked lighting a smoke for himself "can I have one too , but it's apparently some hotshot American actor who's doing a film in Moscow and he wants to , get into character" Ivan gives Abram a cigarette who spits on the floor . "It's cold today eh Ivan?" "Yeah it's -15 , coldest it's been in a while" "well that's how you know winters coming" Ivan walks down the stairs to here a commotion on the bottom floor , Ivan walks out and sees a fight has broken out , but somethings different . It's not two thugs fighting , it's only one and someone with an unrecognisable accent . Ivan shakes his head and walks past them , ignoring them until he hears a body hit the floor , Ivan looks over to see it's the thug "howdy neighbour"the American sticks out a hand "I'm Steve , you?" Ivan looks at him and walks out "I'm gonna be late" he mumbles .
At his work Ivan is shocked by how empty the market is , usually there is one or two people coming in to by shopping or just steal and fight , but because of the bizarre circumstances Ivan's boss let's everyone go home , except Ivan who has to clean the shop floor . Ivan sighs as his boss and coworkers leave as everything is off as Ivan mops in the pitch black , whilst he's mopping he hears a knock on the window . Ivan is startled before turning to see one of his many older neighbours , Sasha who wasn't able to get her shopping before the store shut . Ivan walks to the door and says "what can I get you Sasha" Ivan listens before getting the things she wanted and giving them to her "до свидания Sasha" "до свидания Ivan"
Later that day after Ivan gets off work he goes to the bar and orders a vodka straight . he has a sip
As the American walks in "hey it's you from this mornin' I never got your name . Can you tell me now" Ivan sighs and begrudgingly turns to face him "Ivan" "say Ivan I think we're gonna get along well now can I get you a drink? Ivan looks at him and motions his existing drink at him "oh sorry , one whiskey straight" stevie says to the bartender .
After a few hours the pair finally head home for the night and walk to their respective apartments "goodnight partner" stevie says to Ivan "good luck , people don't last long here , those that aren't stabbed or throw themselves out windows are too smart to avoid gangs and weak to jump"
Ivan walks into his room and locks the door before walking across his apartment . "Great , I was out so long they've already cut the water and power , no lights , and no dinner" Ivan walks to his room and goes to bed .
Ivan wakes up at 4AM and walks onto his balcony, as he begins to smoke he hears a noise coming from the entrance. Ivan walks out his apartment and begins to walk down the stairs when he slips and bangs his hip . The agony is unbearable, he tries not to scream to wake up the others , the loud crack of the fall echoes through the stairwell , Ivan's too pained to investigate and drags himself back up the stairs , trying not to scream . He curses under his breath "fucking useless cleaners not drying the floor , it's -23 , water freezes instantly I could have died , what if it was andrii or Abram , no one could have come to help" Ivan walks back into his room apartment and is getting ready to go back to sleep"my fucking hip"

Before he can get back to sleep he hears footsteps outside his door and sees a torchlight Ivan walks out into his apartment and looks under the door "what the-" Ivan is cut off by a terrible roar like nothing he's ever heard before coming from the woods . In his mind he's trying to pin it to an animal too high pitch to be a bear , too loud and long to be a dog or wolf , too aggressive to be an elk , moose or deer , too animalistic to be human , if anything it sounds like a combination of all of those creatures "the fuck ?"

After the roar stops Ivan shuts his window and locks his balcony door before returning to sleep , tossing and turning for hours about what he heard . He can't help but wonder about the mystery of today