Arseniy Popov

Now Anton heard only the sounds of gunshots, the screams of his parents and the swearing of some people unknown to him. How did it all start? Seventeen-year-old Anton Shastun, a tenth-grader at a city school, lived in an average family. Alcohol, beatings, and smoking were commonplace. But Anton didn't complain. Despite his fragile appearance—tall, thin, unkempt wavy hair, sad green eyes—he endured it all. He loved his family, no matter who they were.

My father never had a drug addiction, but at work, someone slipped a weight of powder into his pocket. A weight of powder that should never have found its way into Anton's apartment.

Arseny frowned, listening intently. Could there really be anyone still alive here? He quickly realized the sounds were coming from behind the sofa. But instead of the expected threat, he saw a teenager with a bullet in his leg, about to lose consciousness.

"There's a child here. What should I do with him?" asked a man unknown to Anton, addressing the person on the other end of the line.

"Keep him in your room for a while. He witnessed our fight, he might be needed," came the answer on the other end. Arseny frowned. He was a killer, not a nanny, after all! But he didn't argue, and with a heavy sigh, he hung up, turning his gaze to the unconscious boy.