soon , he lost all sense of time , then a fantastic parade of figures arose in the black before him : stas and ignat , huge and laughing ; tatiana , dancing and twirling a tray full of shining coins ; the marsh hare in its slimy endlessness ; his mother , driving down the road beside lake badoom ; the guys from his team in mottled armor , tossing a smoking salamander stomach back and forth ; matthias and the math club standing guard in a castle made of stacked books .