Choice

 The dark room, which looked like an old warehouse, was illuminated by the dim light of the moon peeking through the broken windows near the ceiling. There was an operating table in the center. There was a man lying on it, a girl, still alive. Dina sat in the shelter and was afraid to even move. Fear literally paralyzed her, she tried to hold back the nausea that kept coming up. She could only watch and hope that she would not be noticed, that everything would be over and she would be able to get out of here...

Meanwhile, a creature appeared who was running the action in this peculiar anatomical theater today. It looked strange and frightening: 180 centimeters tall, a wide dark cape with a hood, only his hands and face peeked out from under the cape. Face… It was difficult to call a huge bird's skull a face, so white that it seemed that even in absolute darkness it would glow with a dim inanimate light. The long beak was constantly ajar, revealing a row of sharp teeth. Red lights danced in the depths of his eyes. Dina was ready to give anything just to be away from this "bird" now.

The performance began: the creature made sure that the victim was alive, ran its bony hand-paw along the entire body of the unfortunate woman, bent lower and began to whisper something. It was impossible to make out the whispers, but the unwitting spectator did not want to — she already guessed what would happen next. It was impossible to move — there was a ringing silence around, broken only by eerie whispers, and any extraneous sound, even a slight movement, a turn of the head could betray Dina. All that remained was to sit behind two tin cans and watch.

The girl lying on the table started crying. She could only say through her sobs, "Shut up, please, don't." The scary bird bared its teeth, its beak spread into a kind of creepy toothy smile. Then everything happened very quickly: the white beak struck the victim several times in the heart area, and then the creature began to tear small pieces out of the body and eat them. Tears began to flow from Dina's eyes. She was so terrified that she couldn't do anything — she just sat in hiding, afraid to move, and watched the creepy performance.

Suddenly, the bird-man froze, tilted his head a little to the side and listened. After a moment, the eyes with red lights stared straight at Dina. She was noticed. The creature bared its teeth again, cocked its head to one side like a bird and slowly walked towards Dina.

—Dee, honey! Dee, I'm here, you're home, everything's fine!  Oleg took his wife by the shoulders and shook her gently.

"This dream again, this terrible dream! Everything is more real every time! It saw me, it noticed that I was there... — Dina was crying, sobbing, her whole body was shaking.

— Dee, calm down, it's just a dream, just a dream, you're at home, next to me, everyone has nightmares from time to time.

— Oleg, this is not just a nightmare, it's something more! I had never felt such horror before these dreams. I still feel like I'm there, I'm going to throw up from fear, I feel bad...

—Honey, let me get you some water." When did you take your medicine? I'll get you some water and medicine, you need to calm down.

— Oleg, I don't need medicine, it doesn't help. I think it only makes it worse. Please, just give me a hug.

"You're like a child." I'll hug you, of course, but you need to continue your treatment. You'll feel better soon, and then the nightmares will go away. Baby, I love you, I'll be right back...

My head was buzzing, and my arms and legs felt like they were made of monolith pieces. The white light shone directly into the eyes. It was very cold. Directly above her, Dina saw a bird-man. He was even more intimidating up close. His bony hand ran along her body. The bird knew that Dina was alive, alive and conscious.

The creature bent over the girl and began to whisper. Dina didn't just hear that whisper, she saw everything the bird told her, and it was terrifying.…

Dina woke up in her bed, Oleg was not there — he had left for a business trip yesterday. The girl was completely calm. She knew exactly what she had to do to stop this whole nightmare. Dina carefully got out of bed and went to the window. One of the reasons they (or rather, Dina) bought this apartment was the beautiful view: from the height of the fifteenth floor, the park and the river were visible, the bedroom windows faced east, and in the morning you could watch the sunrise. The girl opened the window and took a deep breath of the predawn air, then she stood on the windowsill and stepped forward.

"You're a genius, honey, just a genius!"  Oleg hugged Irina and kissed her.

— Yes, yes, I know. Thank you, my love. Let me go, let me change my clothes and let's go. I hope the champagne is already cold?

— Champagne, strawberries, caviar, whatever you want, Irochka! Aren't you bringing a white coat with you?  Oleg was beaming with happiness.

"I'll think about it,— Irina purred.

— I'm so tired of her tantrums lately. It's good that your medicine worked faster than we thought. And the most remarkable thing is that no one will ever guess that it was because of him that she began to suffer from nightmares and hallucinations, and with her impressionability, it could not have led to any other outcome. You are a genius, Irinka is a medical genius, and I am an inconsolable widower and the heir to a huge fortune!..

With her head slightly bent to one side, as birds do when they look at someone, Dina looked out from her hiding place at Oleg and Irina. Dina wouldn't have been able to live a normal life anyway. The medicine, developed by a talented doctor, her husband's mistress, had damaged her body too much. But there was a way out — to take revenge. To become one of... well, she didn't really know who she was yet. To become what she has become, or to die. She chose the path that was offered to her. Resentment, anger, and pain forced her to make this choice. Oleg and Irina didn't give her a choice themselves.

Now they will pay. They will pay cruelly. In the near future, they will only have nightmares, and then death — a painful death without a choice and alternatives.