"Well. Are you going to ring the doorbell after all?" Ella asked Toivo while they were standing at the front door.
"I'm not sure if I should. Do I want to be a bother?" Toivo replied.
"Well, do you have any better ideas right now?"
"Not really. I'm just nervous."
"Ugh. Let's just do it." Ella said and rang the doorbell herself.
"No! Are you sure?" Toivo said.
"Too late now." Ella said as the sound of the doorbell echoed around.
While waiting for the door to open, Ella remained as friendly mannered as ever and Toivo was nervous and straight backed as if a hockey stick was inside him. The door opened and it was the same lady who let Toivo and the others hide there the last time.
"Uhh. Hey. Me and my friend here need to hide again. Are you still willing to let us?" Toivo asked politely and ashamedly.
"Again? This is not a haven for criminals. I agreed that one time but I can't let this be a habit. And who's this miss here?" The lady asked.
"Another friend who needs to hide." Toivo answered.
"You know, I'm starting to get an odd feeling here." The lady said.
"About what?"
"About what? I heard about those refugees from the no-contact zone who were found yesterday, and about the three people who ran away from the same place today. And here you are yet again hiding from the police with someone. I had my suspicions about your people and your foreign sounding accent. You're disease carriers, aren't you?"
"Disease carriers? What? Do we look sick?" Toivo asked.
"I don't know if the symptoms of that disease are visible. And I don't want to find out. Get out of here!" The lady said and slammed the door shut.
"What was that?" Toivo said to Ella and couldn't believe what just happened.
"Looks like she figured you out." Ella said back.
"So we really are called disease carriers now."
"Well, most people here think that your homeland is a contaminated zone where a deadly disease has ran rampant for over twenty years. The only people who know the truth are people who illegally go there. Are you surprised that people who come from there are assumed to be disease carriers?" Ella replied.
"Why hasn't anyone told them the truth then?"
"Well, illegally trading our common goods for them is a pretty profitable business for many, including my dad, so no wonder they don't want that to end. And I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the coast guard already knows the truth but they just hide it because it's a fact they get extra funding for every boat turned around or sank. And the police gets extra funding for every no-contact zone refugee they catch here on land."
"Wait, is that actually true?"
"The defense minister proudly announced that policy in the news years ago!"
"Well, that's just sick."
"It is. So I don't think there's any convincing the authorities that you're all normal. Well, not normal but at least healthy."
"Doesn't sound like they'll just let my family out then. Even if they're proven healthy, they'll be kept in captivity just to keep the charade going."
"So whatever happens, don't let them find out where you're from. I can at least prove my identity but you can't. You don't have an ID and your fingerprints aren't in the records. If you get caught, you'll get to reunite with your family but not in the way you'd like." Ella warned.
"And if you get caught with me, they'll assume that you're infected too for being near me probably." Toivo figured.
"If you're still trying to get me to leave your side, it's not working. I'll stick by you for as long as I can."
"At this point you may have to. After everything that happened today, the police now know your face too. I got you into this mess so I should help you with it. But unfortunately I'm intending to get deeper into this mess."
"Then I'll get deeper into this mess with you."
"Then that's our deal."
"It's not a deal. It's loyalty." Ella said, trying to raise Toivo's morale.
"Heh. Sounds good. But we shouldn't waste time talking here. We need to hide until the morning and then buy those tickets." Toivo said as he heard banging from inside the house and muffled shouts telling them to leave.
"Toivo?" Ella asked.
"What is it?"
"Why did you hide in the dog house when you could have just busted the door of the actual house and hid there?" Ella asked.
"Because I didn't think of that." Toivo answered and felt embarrassed.
"Haha. It's okay. Maybe we can go there. Dad is staying in the bike shop for as long as he needs to and I think the owner of the bike shop is too paranoid to leave anyone alone there, so he won't be returning home soon." Ella guessed.
"I already have to admit that I'd be lost without you."
"Now imagine where you'd end up if you went on your trip alone." Ella said in a jokingly arrogant tone and Toivo didn't even bother to answer.
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Ella still remembered where the bike shop owner's house was located and she led the way. They ran between houses and buildings rather than walking the streets, even if that wasn't needed since no law enforcement was on the streets that night anyway. They found the familiar house and unashamedly trespassed on the front yard. Ella decided walk to the dog house and look inside.
"Aww. The wise man found home. Let's let him sleep. He's earned it." Ella said and then regrouped with Toivo at the front door of the actual house.
"So. Here it goes. I'll do it quietly. The same way as the police station." Toivo said.
"Let's hope he doesn't have a security system. I don't see any stickers saying so." Ella said.
Toivo shattered the hinges of the door and then he and Ella gently took the door aside. They both sighed in relief that no alarm went off.
"Going to be cold inside but it's the best we have right now." Ella stated.37Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUvGLW7NpaR
They stepped into the house and it was a nice place indeed. Right at the lobby it was evident that the resident of the house lives alone. At the hooks on the wall were no jackets. There was a pair of large rubber boots on the lobby but those were the only shoes there were. There was a stinging smell of beer and tobacco in the house as well.
"If I lived here, I'd barely spend any time here myself." Ella commented.
"I've been in worse. Now let's not make too much noise. If anyone notices that the door is busted open, we'll be caught, so we don't need any attention." Toivo said.
"You know what is the first thing we need to do?" Ella asked.
"What is it?"
"We need to find the wise man some treat for what he did earlier for us." Ella said and smiled.
"That's the first thing?"
"What? We have no idea when was the last time he even ate something other than clothes."
"You're right. He's a good dog." Toivo said, seeing reason in Ella's words.
"Let's find something then." Ella said and went deeper into the house.
They arrived into the kitchen where the first thing that Toivo noticed was a tablet computer on the table. Ella opened a cupboard but only found cans.
"We're not giving canned garbage to the wise man." Ella said and opened the fridge.
"Okay this is good enough for him." Ella said happily and took a sausage out of the fridge and then went outside with it.
Toivo took the tablet from the table and sat on the table. He opened the News tab to see if anything was new.
"Defense minister Granlund: It's time to stop pretending like a problem doesn't exist. While the number of people caught going to and coming from the no-contact zone has been low in recent years, yesterday's case has the people worried. Yesterday in a remote coastal house in the northeast we found three people who were from the no-contact zone. January isn't over yet and we've already found three. And this is the first time that we've found disease carriers on land and not coming by boat or crossing the land border further north. This is a worrying sign and we may not know how many disease carriers we actually have living in society among us. I urge health officials to advice all people to be cautious of people that you don't know. And I personally recommend all places of trade to ask for indetification from everybody who walks in, no matter how inconvenient." The article said.
"Well, this won't be good for us. Didn't Ella say that the police get bonuses for all disease carriers that they arrest? So obviously my family weren't the first ones to be found here, like this article says. Liars." Toivo said out loud.
"What won't be good for us?" Ella said from the front door, having just come back in.
"They're scaring the people now into thinking that there are disease carriers among them." Toivo answered and showed the article to Ella.
"Hmm. Or maybe this will be a good thing for us, if people stay away from us." Ella said.
"Maybe. Let's hope we won't have to stop by in many places. And let's hope they won't ask any indetification in the bus."
"I always have my passport with me. Just in case. But you don't have one. But maybe the owner of this house has left his own somewhere here. We should check every place. See what else we can find while we're at it." Ella suggested.
"You really just want to rob this guy?"
"Well, not rob. I think we could pack something for the trip. This is him just repaying us for the favors that we did. We're not stealing his family jewels or anything." Ella said as she was already digging through a cupboard.
"Get medicine to Rasputin before March." Ella said out loud when she saw a note glued to the inside of a cupboard's door.
"What did you say?" Toivo asked while digging through another cupboard.
"That's what it says here. Could Rasputin be the wise man's name? I mean it would be a fitting name."
"How so?"
"Well, the wise man has that burn mark and if you know this historical figure who I think was even mentioned in one of my past school history books that I let you read..."
"Ohh, right. Heh. You can try calling the dog by that name to see for sure."
"I'll do that when we have to say Goodbye to him." Ella said and kept searching.
"Uhh. Ella?"
"Yes?"
"Do you feel like you need a way to defend yourself?"
"What are you getting at?" Ella asked.
Toivo pulled a glock from one of the cupboards.
"Woah. In the kitchen? I mean, dad has already taught me how to use these things, but I don't think I'd want to get caught with that thing. You remember what you read? We're going to be watched."
"So should we just leave it?"
"Yeah. Besides, you have a pretty good way for defending us both."
"I do, but that didn't really work back there at the station. We had to rely on Rasputin to save us. We got lucky." Toivo argued.
"But getting caught with that in my pocket would just get us in unneeded trouble."
"You decide. That was the only interesting thing I could find here." Toivo said.
"I couldn't find anything here either. Let's search the rest of the house." Ella said and closed the cupboard.
They left the kitchen and went through the lobby into the living room.
"Woah. What are these?" Ella asked when she saw three flags hanging on the wall.
One was a black flag with a white tower and golden sunrays, a familiar flag for Toivo. The second flag was a gray flag with a crudely painted large black X on it. The third flag was the same as the second one, but white instead of gray.
"I know that the black one is the flag of the regime that I lived under before I came here. I don't know what the other two are. I have a very faint memory of seeing the gray one in one of my dreams a long time ago, but I don't know what it is."
"So this guy has clearly gotten them from where you came from. Dad has told me that artifacts from there are highly valued by some collectors here so I'm not shocked that this guy would have these."
"Interesting. Well, let's see what more there is here." Toivo said and checked the glass table in the middle of the living room.
"That's what we came to do." Ella said back and got to work.
"There's another gun here. In case you've changed your mind." Toivo said.
"I haven't. Keep it where you found it." Ella replied and kept searching the bookshelf at the back wall of the living room.
On the shelf was a small chest that got Ella's interest. She opened it and found nothing but bottles of hard alcoholic beverages. The sight disgusted her. She took two bottles and poured their contents on the wooden floor.
"What are you doing now?" Toivo asked.
"I hate this poison and what it does to people." Ella answered and kept pouring.
Toivo made no further comment, knowing Ella's family's relationship with the poison.
"Actually. Hey, Toivo?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you do your thing on these bottles? I want to see them smashed."
"We'd be making a mess here! We shouldn't. I said that we should be quiet and not cause chaos."
"It's only chaos. And besides, nobody will notice at this hour." Ella argued.
"I'm not sure if I'm convinced yet."
"Okay, let me start." Ella said and then chucked the wooden chest onto the glass table, shattering it completely and scaring the soul out of Toivo who jumped back.
"What are you doing? We should be quiet! You want to wake up the entire street?"
"Just do the thing and I'll be as quiet as wind for the rest of this night."
"I'm not sure if I believe that anymore."
"Would you do it if I..."
"No!"
"Fine." Ella said and was about search the bookshelf some more but just as she took a step, she slipped on the whiskey puddle on the floor and fell on her hip on the floor.
"Oh! Did that hurt?" Toivo asked and rushed to Ella's side.
"Agh. It didn't hurt too badly, but now I smell like this poison. I need to get this jumper off." Ella complained.
"No, you don't! You'd be just in your t-shirt. You'd freeze here!"
"I can't smell this poison! It makes me hate myself." Ella insisted and stood up herself.
"At least go steal something from this guy to replace it." Toivo suggested.
Ella left the living room and went to the next room over to see if she could find anything.
"Why did she do that? Is she not serious at all?" Toivo wondered alone in the living room.
"Oh hey! Toivo! Guess what I found!" Ella shouted from the next room.
Toivo went to look and saw her holding a passport with the picture of the bike shop's owner.
"Very nice! Where was it?" Toivo exclaimed.
"It was on the wall in a frame."
"What?"
"I'm not joking. It was in that frame right there." Ella said and pointed to an empty frame on the wall.
"Is this a common thing?"
"No. I was just as baffled as you when I saw it."
"Well, at least we have it now. And why are you wearing a coast guard's jacket?" Toivo replied and asked.
"I don't know why this guy even has one of these in his wardrobe. But I figured it could be useful. Makes me look less criminal." Ella answered.
"Good thinking. Sort of a disguise."
"Yep. I think we're pretty well set to go." Ella said with glee.
The glee quickly went away when they both heard the sound of a glass shard getting stepped on. They both instantly froze and listened to what they could hear from the living room. They both then heard the whimper of a dog coming from the living room. The sound of claws hitting the wooden floor got more rapid and both figured out what was going on.
"Is it just the wise man?" Ella whispered.
"Probably."
"Well, let's check." Ella said and went into the living room where her favourite dog was visibly in pain.
"Oh no, wise man! What is wrong?" Ella said and got closer to the dog.
"Toivo, turn the lights on!" She shouted at Toivo who did as told.
"Oww, there's a small shard of glass stuck in your paw." Ella said and winced.
She then turned her head to Toivo to give another command.
"Find a first aid kit and some pliers! Now!" She commanded.
Toivo just sighed and went to the bathroom where he figured he'd find a first aid kit. He did indeed find one there, along with some tweezers, and then brought them back to Ella.
"Thank you. Now calm down, wise man. This won't be easy if you don't calm down. Rasputin! Still!" Ella said to the dog that calmed down when it heard its name.
"Huh. So it is his name." Toivo said.
"Seems like it. Now can you hold his foot still so I can pull this shard out?" Ella requested.
Toivo sighed again and did as told. He held Rasputin's foot very weakly and as soon as Ella started pulling the shard out, Rasputin pulled its foot away from Toivo's hand.
"Do it right! Hold it better." Ella commanded.
Toivo did as told. Ella got the small shard out of the dog's paw and took some bandage from the first aid kit to wrap around Rasputin's paw.
"There. I think that should do it. But now we need to get all of this glass out of here so he doesn't step on it again." Ella said, sounding happy with herself.
"Is this really our priority?" Toivo asked.
"What? We can't just let him get hurt again!"
"So when we're supposed to be quiet, you smash the place and make noise like you own it but when this dogs gets hurt, that's when we need to be careful?"
"Well, yes because we're not going to hurt ourselves. He might. It was stupid of me to want to break things here to begin with and I realise that now."
"So now you realise it?"
"Is it a bad thing that I don't want Rasputin to get hurt again? Do you not have any compassion?" Ella asked.
"Compassion is the reason why I'm going on this trip! Do you not have common sense?"
"I think what I asked makes sense!" Ella argued.
She then saw in another house on the other side of the street the lights turn on. She gasped and ran to turn the lights off and went quiet. Once it was dark, Toivo also realised the light coming from outside and crouched down. Ella pulled Rasputin close to her to make sure that the dog didn't start doing anything that might make noise. The three of them sat down on the floor and leaned on the living room sofa listening to what they could hear. They heard a door open in the house across the street and they also heard faint footsteps that stopped before coming close. Light from a flashlight came to the living room from outside and everybody in the living room stayed low and quiet and the light went away eventually. Some more footsteps could be heard going away again and the door on the other side of the road closed.
"I think we're in the clear." Ella said.
"I think so too. That was well thought. You might have saved us there." Toivo said.
"Now what did you say about common sense?" Ella asked proudly.
"Okay. You have common sense. Just make sure to use it." Toivo replied jokingly.
"I'll use it if you help me clean the glass off the floor."
"Fine. I'll do it to make sure Rasputin doesn't get hurt anymore." Toivo said humbly.
He stood up and retrieved a brush and a dustpan that he remembered seeing in the kitchen earlier. In the dark living room that was illuminated only by moonlight, he tried his best to get all of the small shards out of the floor and then threw them into the kitchen sink. He returned into the living room where he found Ella and Rasputin on the sofa. Ella was seemingly asleep laying there and Rasputin was on the other end of the sofa where Ella's feet were.
"Well, that was quick. I should sleep closer to the front door just in case somebody comes here. I'd be found first and Ella could have a chance to escape." He thought.
He went into the house's bedroom and dragged a matress and a blanket from there to the edge of the living room. Once he lied down, he was worried about tomorrow.
"We're actually doing this. We're wanted by the police and on our way to places I've never been in. No time to turn back." Was the first thought that he had.
"Do I not have compassion? Well, maybe I was a little cold to Rasputin today."
"How I allowed Three to go like that was not very compassionate of me."
"Nice to be this warm for once." He thought alone there on the floor.
He then realised that he got a blanket for himself but not for Ella.
"So. Compassion." He thought and stood up.
He slung the blanket on the sofa and then went back to his mattress without it.
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In the morning Toivo quietly woke up to sounds coming from the kitchen. He stayed still for a moment listening to what was going on. It sounded like somebody was digging through things. It sounded like objects were clanging in the cupboards. From the living room Toivo heard that Ella was about to wake up.
"Mmm, what is happening?" Ella said from the sofa.
The noises in the kitchen stopped and a hoodie wearing man rushed out of there. The man got to Toivo who didn't even have enough time to stand up. The man put his hands around Toivo's neck and stared at him.
"Where's your money? Where is it?" The man was screaming.
Toivo couldn't even answer because he was getting choked. The man didn't like getting no answer and started shaking Toivo. The man suddenly froze and went quiet when he heard the sound of a gun's safety being taken off. He looked into the living room where he saw Ella pointing a gun straight at him.
"Let go of him." Ella said seriously.
"Look, I just need some money. No need to get violent." The man begged.
"Then you shouldn't have gotten violent. We don't even live here. We don't know where anything is. Please just let go of him and leave."
"Ohh, it looks like you two cleaned this place up before I did. You thieves."
"We're just stopping by here for one night and then leaving. Now let go of him! And please get your life on a good track so you won't have to resort to this." Ella explained while pointing the gun.
The man let go of Toivo and slowly backed off.
"You better be telling the truth or I won't just carefully step over you the next time." The man warned and then ran out through the door frame.
Ella saw from the living room window how the man was running in the streets and going away. Once Ella had figured that the man was gone, she ran to Toivo and sat next to him with great worry.
"Did he hurt you? Are you all right?" Ella asked.
"It wasn't nice but I'm all right."
"We can't stay here too much longer. This place isn't safe." Ella said.
"When is the next bus leaving?"
"Ohh, we forgot to check! The timetable should be at the bus stop! What time is it?"
"Well, the clock on the wall says that it's about half past six." Toivo said and pointed at a clock on the wall.
"Is the clock right though? Wait, I can just check the tablet that this guy has. I can check the bus schedule from there too. See? Common sense, haha." Ella said and stood up.
Toivo also stood up and followed Ella into the kitchen where the tablet was still on the table.
"The guy wanted money but he didn't take this valuable item?" Ella wondered.
"People don't always think straight when they're desperate." Toivo replied.
"That's true. I feel bad for that man. He didn't look like everything was right with him."
"Clearly not. Is that why you didn't shoot? You felt bad for him."
"I don't want to hurt anyone. I hoped that just scaring him would be enough to drive him away. You didn't hurt him either, even though you could have. Did you feel bad for him too?"
"You caught me. I did."
"Don't act like that's a bad thing. It's a completely human thing. I guess living half of your life in a cell, and then the second half in a remote house doesn't exactly do good for your ability to understand other people." Ella said.
"Are you making fun of me now?"
"What? No! I'd never! Don't even suggest that! I'm sorry if it came off that way."
"Don't be sorry. I just read it wrong. But haven't you lived all of your life in a remote house too?"
"I have. But unlike you, I at least went to school where I got to talk with more people."
"I guess that could have helped me too."
"Don't imply that there's something wrong with you. That's just who you are and that's not a bad thing." Ella said and smiled warmly.
"Anyway. What time is it actually, and when does the bus leave?" Toivo asked, wanting to change the subject after getting embarrassed.
"Well, it looks like it actually is half past six. I doubt the bus would leave that early. And looks like I'm right. From the nearest station the next long distance bus leaves two hours from now."
"How far away is it?"
"Well, it says here that it only takes twenty minutes to walk there."
"That device knows all kinds of things." Toivo pondered out loud.
"So now we have to choose if it's safer in here or out there." Ella said.
"I'd say it's safer in here. We can just scare away anyone who comes in the same way we did with that guy." Toivo suggested.
"I agree. So let's just enjoy a good morning here and hope that no uninvited guests show up." Ella said.
"Aren't we also uninvited guests?" Toivo joked.
"Oh quiet. You know what I meant." Ella replied and chuckled.
Toivo then sat down on a chair by table and put his elbows on the table. Ella did likewise.
"What's in the news?" Toivo asked.
"Hmm. Nothing that should worry us. Oh hey, an amusement park is being built in... Nowhere along our way." Ella read from the tablet.
"I see. Have you ever been in one?"
"Before you came here, my family would drive every summer to the nearest one. We stopped taking those annual trips once mother's alcohol problem got worse."
"Oh. That's sad."
"Let's not worry about that now. We're going to go on a trip of our own." Ella said, hoping to get the mood up.
"That's right. You want to eat something before then?" Toivo asked.
"How generous of you to offer me this guy's food!" Ella joked.
"I wasn't pretending to be generous. Just asking."
"Well, what does he have?"
"I see some eggs over there. Should I return the favor and fry you some?" Toivo asked.
"Would you do that?" Ella asked back and sounded delighted.
"Of cour... Ngh!" Toivo said when he stood up and felt pain in his shin as soon as he put weight on his foot.
"Oh no, is it still hurt?"
"It is. I'll go sort it out myself once I'm done with cooking."
"You shouldn't delay it. It's more important. Go take care of it now and I'll make the breakfast."
"It's fine. I just want to return the favor and do a nice thing to you." Toivo insisted.
"The nicest thing you can do to me is make sure that you're okay. And besides, I like doing nice things to you." Ella reassured.
"Well, if you say so." Toivo said and went to the first aid kit that was still in the living room.
In the living room he met with Rasputin who was awake but in his sleeping position on the sofa. When Toivo opened the kit, Rasputin turned to look at him and watched the process of him changing the bandage and applying the ointment.
"I guess we two aren't too different." Toivo jokingly said to Rasputin and looked at the bandage on Rasputin's paw.
"You like the smell coming from the kitchen?" Toivo asked when he saw a little bit of drool leaking from Rasputin's mouth.
"We'll save some for you." Toivo said and stood up.
Before returning to the kitchen, he walked around the house and took care of some other business. Once he returned to the kitchen, Ella turned around and put her hand on the gun on the table.
"Don't worry. It's still me." Toivo said.
"I can't be too careful. Not after what happened. But anyway. Breakfast is done. Just take as much as you want. Not like we have to save it." Ella said back.
"Actually we do. I promised Rasputin that we'd save some for him."
"Aww. How considerate."
"He asked so nicely." Toivo joked.
"He's a very polite wise man." Ella joked back.
"Anyway. Sorry, that you had to make breakfast. I know you don't like cooking."
"Again, don't worry about it. I can like anything if the intention is right. Even if I'm not good at it." Ella reassured again.
Once they had sat down with their plates, Ella wanted to ask a question.
"So how was your night as a squatter? Aside from what happened this morning."
"I managed to sleep. I guess that's all that matters. I'm a little worried about what I saw in my dream." Toivo answered.
"What did you see?"
"Three is still hanging out with strange people in a strange place."
"That is worrying. Could you identify the place?"
"I couldn't."
"Well, if she wants to come back, she'll easily find you." Ella stated.
"Yeah. But how was your night?" Toivo asked.
"Mmm, it was lovely. The sofa was comfortable and Rasputing laid on my legs and somehow a nice thick blanket had gotten on me." Ella answered with glee.
"Must have been nice." Toivo added.
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After Toivo and Ella had done everything in the house that needed doing, they decided that it would be a good time to head to the bus station, but Ella remembered something.
"Before we leave, we have to say Goodbye to Rasputin the wise man!" Ella said when she remembered.
"If you want to." Toivo simply said back, sounding like he wasn't opposed to the idea.
They both returned to the living room where Rasputin had already finished the eggs that Ella and Toivo spared.
"Hey, wise man. Me and Toivo have to leave now. Thanks again for helping us out at the police station. It was really nice to meet you and I hope your owner treats you well and I hope he doesn't blame you for the mess that we made here." Ella said to Rasputin very sincerely.
She then rubbed Rasputin's head and continued:
"You'll be good, won't you? I bet you've been through a lot so your owner getting mad at you won't be the worst thing in the world. If we can come back here, we'll come see you again, won't we, Toivo?"
"I hope so." Toivo responded.
"Goodbye, Rasputin. For now." Ella said and gave Rasputin a rub on the cranium before turning around.
She and Toivo left the house without bothering to fix the door and Ella followed directions from the stolen tablet to make it easier to find the bus station.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
