Europe, distant future. A meteorite impacted on the area of Russia, turning the area into a dead zone. Moreover, it emits a strange radiance which increases the impact survivors and their offsprings' endurance and strength, but also causing them to...
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Zoya enters the bathroom where we are still accompanying Svetlana. She's almost completely alright now, so before the tournament ends, she'll be able to walk away on her own legs.
We watched the live stream ov Zoya's fight on my pentop. It's a let-down for all of us, especially Svetlana. She was rooting for Zoya throughout the whole fight, hoping she'll avenge her defeat. However, Zoya failed.
And it's not the only thing wrong about the fight. Zoya had several good chances to score a point, but she didn't. I don't know why, but one thing is for sure - Zoya didn't fight at 100%. I'm slowly reconciling with the fact Zoya was another victim of Nightingale's deadly seduction and she fought under braker, just like Svetlana. For some reason, the image of Zoya having coitus with Nightingale is unacceptable for me.
I wouldn't be able to see Zoya with the same eyes ever again.
"I'm so sorry," she mutters as soon as she steps in and closes the door.
"What the hell happened?" I burst out, probably more harshly than I intended. "It wasn't you in the fight, Zoya. Something was stopping you. Do you have braker inside, too?"
"Don't yell at her!" Katerina scolds me. "She did everything she could!"
"She didn't!" I retort. "And that's my problem!"
"Braker...?" Zoya frowns. "No, it wasn't that."
"Then what?"
I feel a heavy hand on my shoulder - Sotiris, the huge Greek Champion. "Let her rest for a while, for God's sake," he utters. "Healthy. They can never imagine how it's like after we finish the fight."
I bite my tongue and let Zoya wash her face in the sink. I'm growing impatient. I want answers. What prevented Zoya from fighting to the fullest? Maybe she'll deny her braker influence since it didn't have as strong effect as on Svetlana, but I'm ready to take her blood sample if she did.
God, since when am I so mistrustful?
Fortunately, there are always chocolate bars in my pocket. I eat two of them to calm myself down. After the momentary burst of emotions is gone, I can finally see Zoya as she is again. Devastated from the defeat. Guilty, but not humiliated like Svetlana. Now I believe she didn't succumb to Valentina's charms, but I still can't explain her questionable performance.
"Sorry for lashing out," I mutter.
"That's okay, I'd probably think the same if I were you," Zoya replies. "There's a whole different reason why I couldn't fight to the fullest. Nobody knows about it, except Isaiah. It's... quite an embarassing thing to talk about. But I guess I couldn't keep it secret forever."
"If we didn't judge Svetlana for sinning with Nightingale, we won't judge you for anything," Jensen says. Sajid gives her a scolding look since this remark wasn't exactly sensitive towards Svetlana.
