My Name is Artyom
*I would type the character speech in Russian. But know none.
In the year 2013, the world as we knew it was plunged into the dark heart of an apocalypse. The cities, towns, countries that made the world beautiful were now scarred by a fierce nuclear winter. Buildings, roads, houses and people remain, but are changed by this new world. The roads are split open, covered in dirty snow and ice, leading to pits of radioactive stagnant water, which steams in the cold weather. Rusted heaps of broken cars and vans litter the roads and garages. The buildings, hallways still remain and desks still intact, but broken and dirty. The once populated hallways of libraries, apartment blocks are now dark and deserted.I would guess that if Alien's will ever visit soon, they would guess we have been wiped out, and see the former great monuments of a towering civilization. These are what the wise old men, hustled in dark, dimly lit corners of stations tell people interested in the surface. Travel to the surface is impossible for the majority, no direct link, or the having tunnels filled with dangerous mutants. The sky is covered in lifeless grey clouds, blocking the sun from melting the ice. The trees have mutated to monstrous twisting things which could've come out of a vampire novel. When you get there, a gas mask is required, as harmful gases lead to death within 10 seconds or so. In our own arrogance, humanity took from itself, what it cherished most- , my story takes place in Moscow, in the Metro, as we Russians found it the only refuge from the cold, heartless surface. I am 20 years old, born days before the descent to worldwide death. And my name is Artyom
Chapter 1 - Revelations
I woke up in my room, on my I could do anything apart from get the sleep out of my eyes, my stepfather Alex arrived, dressed in a simple leather trench coat. He is pretty old and was born before the apocalypse as well. He has a kind but wrinkled face and a big patch of grey hair, not styled.
"Hey Artyom, awake at last,Hunter will soon be here, come and see him at the gates" he then walked off
My room is very small, consisting of a sofa (my bed) along with a desk with a lamp on it and 6 small bookshelves about that, On the other side is an area for clothing and eating food. Above my sofa is a wall partly covered in postcards with various monuments,such as Big Ben, and a famous viaduct.
I had to switch on my headlight for any reasonable light, because it's so very dark down here.
I walked out of my room and turned left, to Alex. He walked forward. Along the way people were sitting down talking, sleeping, watching over their playing children or preparing meals. Just because we live in the Metro, it doesn't prevent our humanity from wavering.
After a short time we came across a Doctor, bearded with glasses and who wore a pale blue coat with a red cross at the back.
"Hey"the man greeted us, with a concerned look on his face
"What's up Nikolay?" Alex questioned
"The station can't survive much longer if these attack don't stop, we must do something." Nikolay replied
"What more can we do?" Alex countered. With that we continued our walk.
"The Dark ones will kill us all!" Nikolay called after us.
"We'll see what Hunter says" Alex muttered.
As we walked on, various people greeted me.
One guard told me a patrol was attacked and that the hospital was full - it was clearly worse than Nikolay had let on.
In the background, a group of people consisting of men,women and children were in a chained area, probably waiting to be let in.
Alex walked up to a door a man at the front was facing. He knocked on it once,
"No visitors" came a dulled voice inside.
"Petr"
The hatch in middle, covered in white words fell back, revealing a man, who must be Petr
"Oh, it's you"
Petr closed the hatch, then opened the door.
"Come on Alex"
He faced me as I went through.
"Hello Artyom"
I continued to follow Alex, into a hospital-like area. The sheets were dirty and light poor. The stench of blood, death, sweat and mess filled the air. I saw a man with half his organs and blood bare in a massive wound with a small bandage across his forehead. He didn't move.
"How are the wounded?" Alex asked a doctor
"Not much improvement" the doctor replied, walking over to us. He wore the same uniform as Nikolay.
"Two died this morning." He faced us and I could see his slightly pudgy face, with a pair of glasses couple with a blue sweater.
"The Dark Ones do not kill outright, but they damage a victim's mind… sooner or later, this leads to death" Alex replied. Walking forward again into the gate room. This was much bigger than my room, but about the size of the hospital without the beds in it. Two guards with armour and a helment as well as Kalashes stood next to the gate, which is basically a load of metal plates in two sections which could be driven together to create an effective barrier, which were locked by planks of wood on our side by being driven into the ground. Another guard stood the left, in identical kit.
As we entered, Alex put his right hand up, and a knock sounded on the gate.
The guards repulsed from the gate
"What the hell? Who could that be?" the guards questioned.
"It's Hunter" Alex told them
"Mutants don't knock first - open the damned gate" the left guard ordered.
The two guards next to the gate compromised, cranking the circular handles, raising the planks of wood, unlocking the gate. They then threw the two sections aside, dust gathering in the air and cold draft blowing in. We all stared at Hunter. He was a Ranger, a legendary guardian of the tunnels. The Rangers we apparently able to take on anything and survive. They saw themselves at the antibodies of a body - the Metro, killing all the "infections" - the mutants. He was of the Elite Order.
He was kittied out in a metal helmet, complete with a gas mask, and Nightvision goggles. He also wore lots of armour complete with leather patches. He also had a brown package with some string holding it together. It was big for a package.
"Welcome to Exhibition, Hunter" a guard said haltingly.
Huter raised his arm in greeting before grabbing the rectangular package sliding it in.
"Thanks, now close your gate" Hunter advised.
The guards slid the two sections back together as Alex walked forward, offering a handshake to Hunter.
"It's been a long time, Hunter"
Hunter grabbed his Nightvision/Gas mask contraption and pulled it upwards, his face now exposed.
"Good to see you to, Alex" Hunter shook Alex's offered hand
Up close, Hunter had indistinguishable eyes from the darkness, but his face showed strong bone structure and he had some stubble on his chin.
He faced me.
"Good to see you too Artyom."
Alex turned away, walking for the fire to sit down and listen to Hunter's adventure's and current situation report.
"So Hunter, what's happening in the outside world these days?"
Alex asked
"Not much, most of what I hear is about Exhibition, and the "Undead" infesting your tunnels" Hunter admitted.
"Artyom, I met a trader selling old postcards of New York City. I thought of your wall."
Hunter faced, me giving me an old postcard of the green Statue of Liberty.
"These are not the usual mutant creatures, this is something much worse." Alex said while I held my new postcard.
"What the hell…?" a guard interrupted our conversation as I pocketed my postcard.
"Dark Ones, well, whatever the hell they are, my Order has a motto: If it's hostile, kill it" Hunter muttered.
"The dark ones do not kill outright-" Alex was interrupted by the tannoy system before he could say more.
"Intruder alert, in the main vent shaft, they're coming in from above!" the tannoy warned.
"Shit, just what we needed!" a slightly scared guard said as everyone except me unholstered their guns.
"The hospital just behind the wall…the wounded." a guard said, his face a picture of despair.
"Kiril, take your group to the tunnels." Hunter turned to Alex.
"Alex, we must defend the hall" Hunter told him as the guards ran off.
Alex then went to a weapons locker, opened it and gestured to a pistol.
"Alright Artyom, quickly get a weapon"
As I loaded the revolver, Alex spoke again.
"Shit, they've never come this far into the station!" he said, pointing his gun at the air ducts.
"It's the hospital, they smell the blood" Hunter reasoned grimly.
The room filled with strange creaks, grunts and sqeaks, Then lights came on inside the air ducts, and dust fluttered down from the main airshaft.
Then, as if to climax the scenario, the middle duct collapsed as a Nosalis came out.
In the years after the war, the wildlife on Earth mutated due the radiation. In Moscow, in the metro, rats, bats and moles were prominent critters, and the radiation caused the moles to mutate to creatures around three to four foot high, with skin pink and bloody, and mouths of teeth to rival lions, suddenly Humans weren't so good at surivival anymore.
Anyway this Nosalis leaped right over to Hunter, clawing at his face and chest. It got nowhere as Hunter flipped it over and stapped it with a knife, killing it within seconds.
What ensured was a decent fire - fight with me popping rounds of revolver ammo into the Nosalis clawing at the air ducts, Alex and Hunter helping me ensuring no mutant made it into the the fight several more came from the middle duct and one duct burst open while I was firing at the Nosalis inside. None made it into the room except from the middle duct.
After the last Nosalis bit the dust, Alex turned to me.
"Artyom, are you alright?"
"Of course, he's a dead-eye shot this one." Hunter replied for me
As we discussed this whole idea of Dark Ones as "homo-novus" the next "evolutionary step" we got news that the frontier was under attack. We ran to find the men dead, looks of pure terror in their eyes. After considering what to do, Hunter announced he would be leaving, to go after them and end the oppression. As he left, he told me that if he was not back by tomorrow morning, to take his dog collar, with a red and black symbol on it, to Polis, our "Capital" in the Metro, and take it to "Miller". Before being eaten by the darkness, he turned to me and said
"Left it be known, Artyom, that from this moment forward, you are now a Ranger." And with that he left my sight.
That was the last time I saw him alive.