The World of the crazies by Astella

Описание: Felicia, 24-year-old French-Canadian smart girl, lands in Winnipeg, Manitoba from Paris. Alone, she wants work and to meet friends. She boards a bus toward the hills, gets off at a tiny village between a river, a lake, and snow-capped mountains. The village is strange: rough stone houses, shadows stretching along narrow paths.

To enter, she must squeeze through a 20-meter micro tunnel of jagged rocks, scraping against walls. Pain shoots through her body, but she forces her way through. Inside, dry paths wind past stone houses; old men sit outside a tavern, old women watch quietly.

A small hotel appears. Empty. She rings the bell. A woman dressed as a witch emerges.

“Is there work here?” Felicia asks.
“Yes. But you must work with children. You’ll stay wedged in crevices — eight hours without moving, five days a week. 150 USD/month. Boring but effortless.”
“No. Thank you. Goodbye,” Felicia says.

She retraces her steps through the micro tunnel, exhausted and scraped. Outside, an old man leans on a cane.

“Always this complicated?” she says.
“Yes. That’s how it works here,” he says.

Shivering, she mutters: “These people… insane. This village… a trap.”

Her phone rings. Friends ask if she found work.

“No,” she answers.

She climbs 20 kilometers uphill to meet them. Exhausted, she finds a ski slope. Relief? No — it is deformed, unmarked. She skis down a forbidden trail, realizing returning uphill is impossible. The valley is empty, forests stretch endlessly, and she walks thirty minutes until the forest opens onto a sidewalk along the lake and river.

She continues walking another thirty minutes. No cars. No buildings. Not a single soul. The road stretches endlessly beside the lake and river. Water glimmers faintly. On the far side, scattered industrial buildings and isolated farmhouses, but most is deserted and silent.

A car appears. She waves. A family stops. She kidnaps them drive until a building by the roadside.

“You can go now. I almost died today,” she says.

Alone again, she notices the same deserted area along the lake and river while sitting in a park. Then — movement. An old woman sits quietly. Behind her, a 20-meter metallic dragon, a children’s attraction… until it moves.

Its joints grind. Its red eyes flare. Its jaw opens, teeth glint. In an instant, it devours the old woman.

Felicia screams and runs. The dragon chases her. She dives into an open manhole, the dragon unable to follow. She crawls through dark tunnels for three days, emerging weak and filthy at a Police Station. She wants to report everything but cannot.

Straight to Paris, ignoring friends. Alive. Safe.

Now, in Italy, protected by the Franco-German Gendarmerie, she carries a small briefcase capable of activating medium-range missiles. Silent, ready… a warning that she is no ordinary survivor.