"You're a mess yourself!" Agnia exclaims unhappily, pressing the remote button to change the channel. She doesn't succeed on the first try. After skipping through a couple of menus, the large smart TV mounted on the wall finally gives in. One of the central channels of the national network appears on the screen. The president makes a statement in his usual calm manner. It's boring for me. But my partner is impressed.
"Wow! They're showing something dark! I thought all Russian-language channels had been blocked long ago."
"This is web TV. Look, there's even a router sticking out from the cabinet. The owner probably set up broadcasting through a proxy internet connection."
"Ugh, what a 'vatnik.' He's swallowing imperial propaganda," the girl ironically remarks, openly delighted by the resourcefulness of her unknown compatriot.
"I guess we could watch some sci-fi action movie... Look around in the list. Political stuff is boring," I yawn, voicing my thought. But the talkative young lady doesn't stop...
"You voted for him?"
"No. They managed without me."
"But you support the operation..." She looks at me with her piercing green eyes.
"I don't support it—I participate... Just like you, by the way."
"Well, I have personal reasons... But why do *you*?"
"Without me, they couldn't manage..."
I yawn again. I toss and turn on the old dusty sofa, turning away from the screen and closing my eyes.
"Are you going to sleep?"
"No. We can't. Transport might arrive at any moment..."
"Then I'll go make coffee. I saw a pack in the kitchen."
Her bulky black body rises with a dry creak, rustling across the floor. Passing through the doorway, she turns into the next room. There's the sound of running water, the dull thud of a kettle, the click of an electric stove, the squeak of a kitchen cabinet door, and the clinking of mugs.
"Actually, this is looting...— I remark—"The owner won't like you rummaging through his things."
"Do you think he's alive?"
"It doesn't matter."
"It's not me—it's us... Responsibility needs to be shared."
"That doesn't matter either."
"In any case, he didn't really need that pack... Otherwise, he would've taken it with him," Agnia reappears in the room, handing me a mug. "Here!"
The girl has grown up. Now she barely fits through the door, even having to duck her head. However, this doesn't spoil her appearance at all. Her straight, jet-black hair, naturally braided into a thick braid, has become even longer. A worn leather jacket, like her slender shoulders she covers, is a reminder of her human past. Starting with small birthmarks on her neck and quickly spreading toward her collarbones, her entire body is covered with thick, black, keratinized epithelial plates. Around the jugular notch, these plates finally merge, forming dense rhomboid scales. Despite all these features, her torso still looks normal and even feminine. As for the lower part, it sprawls across the apartment. Massive, intricately patterned, the tail coils into rings, constantly contracting like a spring, wrapping loop upon loop to take up a more compact position.
"So, are you going to drink your coffee or not?"
I realize I haven't taken the mug from her hands yet.
"Yes, thank you... Why did you accumulate so much biomass?"
"I'm experimenting with my body... I tried making the plates thicker. Look, almost like armor!"
Agnia demonstratively punches her chest.
"It's pointless...— I shake my head.— Unless it stops a pistol bullet... Maybe it'll stop an automatic rifle round. But they'll shoot at you with larger-caliber weapons. They'll aim for your head. They'll try to blow you up. And they will. Bone tissue only reduces mobility. Three-layered chitin is better."
"At least, check it out! This makes my breasts look bigger..."
I sip the awful coffee, now understanding why the owner left it behind, and sigh silently. There's still too much humanity left in this girl. Living with this will be difficult. Fighting will be even harder. I know that well enough...
"Don't cling to your former form. Embrace your new essence. You're just a collection of cells. Biomass. Be like water. Water cannot be cut. Water cannot be tied. It's useless to shoot at water. It simply flows."
Agnia laughs.
"You're so Zen-bu..." but she doesn't finish her sentence because a large-caliber bullet flies directly into her neck from the window on the right side. Instinctively grabbing her throat, the girl collapses behind the sofa, choking on blood. It seems some of the splattered blood lands in my mug. Well, this coffee can't get any worse...