Metro 2033 Fanfiction
Chapter 1
The End of a Man-
"Who am I? Why am I so cold?"were the first thoughts of a man who'd woken up to find himself in a solitary nightmare. His name, his past, his very identity was lost with the murky black surrounding him. He sat up from his laid position in hopes of a better view but his sight was completely blocked by the pitch black darkness surrounding him, this made any attempt to comprehend his surroundings a futile effort. Minutes past and water trickled in the distance but the man could only sit and think where he was, or more so, who he was. "Am I dead? Is that why I am so cold?" he asked himself. As time past he began to recall brief visions, a large metal cart, men dressed in black, something sweet smelling, and a horrible scream that echoed in his mind but these memories provided only a brief distraction; quickly the lack of a name or history was the least of his worries. He was stranded in a room of immeasurable size without light, heat, food, or even basic clothing. This problem soon gave him the motivation he lacked for exploring his dark and foreboding surroundings. Slowly rising to his feet the man began to walk forward, the gravel and dirt crunching under foot with each step. After a few steps the man brushed against a hard rock surface and figured he'd reached a wall. Using his fingers as guides he began to follow the wall and it's tiny cracks. The more he felt the wall the more of an understand he grew about his surroundings, especially the all encompassing dark. He had doubts but the wall's smooth shape and texture proved it was man made, specifically a curved tunnel wall. What little hope this realization brought was destroyed when he realised the chances of escaping were remote. A tunnel usually had an exit but which direction that was, combined with the possibility of a tunnel collapse, made an escape route difficult. But with no better option the unknown man began following the wall till it lead him toward salvation.
Time seemed to slowly drip away in the surrounding darkness but the distance he walked never ended and seemed to repeat. Soon the endeavor of finding an end to his dark expansive prison appeared hopeless as each step brought him closer towards nowhere. Finally, as strength began to leave his legs and the cold began to close around, a soft echo came from the boundless space in front of himself. Something that sounded more like a voice than water but still faint and echoing like a droplet. He followed the sound, desperate for it's source and the possibility of salvation from his inky surroundings. But, quickly as the sound came, it vanished without a trace and left the poor man alone in the dark.
He stumbled blindly ahead, sure that rescue was in within his grasp but the sound that spurred him on was gone. It wasn't till countless minutes had exhausted the unknown man and left him stranded once again that he stopped to collect himself. It was at this moment he let his hand slip and fall onto a cold surface unlike the rest of the wall. This surface, or object, was cold and circular but sounded hollow when his fingers tapped against it. The new addition to his environment was a welcome change but it didn't provide any more answer than the wall or the floor. That was until the voice came echoing from within the metal tube he grasped in his hand. Fear overtook him, his hand recoiling in horror, but it was quickly replaced by curiosity of the wall fixture. Out of a mad desire to hear the voice and gain any information the man knelt and brought his ear up to the tube. At that moment he heard a clear voice, it was that of a small child who kept themselves from giggling between each word. It spoke quickly but it's message was simple, "Hello? Can anyone hear me?". The man sat fixed with confusion and curiosity as to why a child was yelling into a pipe. He decided the best thing to do was answer the question with only to find a way out of his nightmare. "Hello, can you help me I'm lost?" the man asked pleadingly into an opening of the pipe. Silence ensued for minutes but no response came and soon the man was resigned to following the wall, the pipe, and hopefully a path towards freedom.
Hypothermia slowly began to overtake his naked body with each step, the blackness unending in both size and depth. Light and hope had already died, only the burnt ashes of survival kept him from falling to his knees and weeping. It was then the universe spared him from a cold death by providing a small gift, designed to prolong his isolation and torture. This gift came wrapped in torn clothing and covered with a thick layer of dust that both scared and confused the man. His feet had been the first to stumble on the odd pile but his hands were 2nd to touch and examine the weird bundle, misplaced among'st the gravel and concrete. Slowly his hands recognized buttons, a zipper, a bone, and then a round ball with three holes in the center. The man jumped back upon feeling the skull in his hands, unmistakably human by the shape and feel of it. Obviously what lay before him was the only other journeyman he'd met on his cold.
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