Hello all and welcome to my Escape from Tarkov fan fiction. I am a relatively new writer, but those who have read my work have given me good reviews and thus I have decided to post the first chapter to my story.
I'll be treating it as a sort of teaser chapter to see if there is a community of people who would like to read it. I will try and advertise it on multiple forums, but if any of you who discover this story would also like to help me get the word out about it I would greatly appreciate it. Just PM me a link to the forum you posted at and I will give you a shout out at the end of my next chapter I post.
After this chapter I will try and write a few more chapters in advance in order to provide a sort of buffer in case I can't write for a bit.
Also quick side note, any dialog that is in italics (i.e. "Like this") is spoken in Russia during this chapter. In later chapters, all dialog is spoken in Russian unless I specify.
Also, this was posted through the app while on break at work. I apologize to anyone if there is some messed up formatting, but I will be correcting it later tonight when I get home. Any future updates will be done through my PC and should therefore have all the proper formatting.
Enjoy!
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Christoph Tsereteli hated college. All he wanted to do was get his degree and start making money so he could help his family out. Unfortunately, that meant he had to go through five years of impossibly boring and ultimately unimportant classes. The only class he had truly enjoyed was his 'Mastering the Russian Language' class taught by Professor Ivanoz. When his professor announced that he would be sponsoring a 3 week trip to Russia for extra credit, Christoph immediately signed up for the trip. Not because he needed the extra credit, in fact he had grown up in a household that spoke both Russian and English, but just because he had always wanted to visit his family's origins.
The trip started off with an uneventful plane ride in which Christoph, Chris to his close friends, slept most of the way to Paris. From Paris they took multiple different trains usually with a few hours of waiting in between, until they finally arrived in Moscow.
While most of the students were nowhere near competent enough with the language to be of use, Christoph helped Professor Ivanoz navigate through the city.
Learning about the history of the Russian people through museums was boring for most of the small group of twenty tourists. It seemed only Christoph and the professor lingered at any section of the museum before slowly moving on.
It wasn't until the last day of the trip that things took a drastic turn for the impossible. They had toured throughout the country, only staying in any given city for a day before moving on. They had taken a train route through the northern region of the country that would eat up their entire last day. Their only layover between trains occurred in the northern industrial and financial center of the country, Tarkov.
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"How much longer do we have to wait?" one of the students asked the professor.
"It should only be 30 more minutes until our train is ready" the professor answered again for the annoyed students.
"Finally! We've been here for like an hour already!" another responded.
"We've been here for 15 minutes" Christoph responded with a chuckle.
"Can it, you communist" Dave replied. He and Christoph glared at each other for a moment before laughing at the dirty looks he received from the natives waiting with them on the platform.
"Must you really call me that here? I swear someone may just stab you" Christoph complained sarcastically.
Dave just rolled his eyes and turned back to the game on his phone. Christoph grinned victoriously to himself before he set his attention back on the TV that hung from the support column in the center of the platform.
"This here is footage of the increasingly aggressive conditions involving UN peacekeepers, Internal Troops of Ministry of Internal Affairs, and what appears to be two different private mercenary companies" the man on the local news began. Footage of men armed for war flashed on the screen. What appeared to be a factory had armored units and vehicles deployed outside of it.
"This here is Terra Group International's main packing facility, reported to be guarded by a private mercenary company known only as USEC". The reporter paused for dramatic effect, before the screen went blank for a moment. A loud screeching noise played out if its speakers before the screen flashed a bright blue before Russian words scrolled sideways across the screen.
"Attention. This is your local emergency broadcast system. This is not a drill" a robotic feminine voice said. "All civilians are to evacuate the city and her surrounding areas until further notice".
The TV began to repeat the same message as everyone stared at in confusion. All the students turned towards the professor with looks of horror on their face.
Two men clad in UN military uniforms and holding assault rifles across their chests strolled onto the platform and called for attention.
"If everyone could please calmly board the train we shall have you on your way momentarily" one called out.
"Okay class grab your bags. We are boarding now" the professor announced and led them towards the train.
Everyone began to crowd the doors in an attempt to get on first. Christoph's class was in the back of the crowd trying to board at the center of the train. Unfortunately for them, they were boarding the train right over where the explosives had just been placed by the Russian men who were impersonating two UN officials. Those explosives went off as soon as the doors opened, sending shrapnel and fire racing towards the crowds of innocent pedestrians.
Fortunately for Christoph's class they were in the back of the crowd. Unfortunately, they were directly under the metal roofing that collapsed moments after the explosion.
Christoph and his classmates were thrown backwards from the blast, most being knocked unconscious upon impact with the concrete platform. For those who weren't, they were crushed by the metal roofing only moments after they hit the ground.
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'Ouch' was the first thought Christoph had once he came to. Almost immediately after came the pain that would accompany being thrown backwards by an explosion.
Around him the fire from the explosion had burned itself out. The only noises being made were the distant sounds of gunfire that came from almost every direction.
Christoph didn't know how he was alive, but he wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He had gotten lucky. The explosion had sent his body back towards the seats he was sitting on only moments prior. Somehow the seats were supporting the metal that had crushed the rest of his class.
Looking around, he spotted a spot where he could crawl out from under the roofing. Doing his best imitation of an army crawl, he worked his way towards and through the hole. Once he was free he continued to crawl towards the edge of the platform where he dropped down onto the tracks and crawled under the lip of the platform that juts out over the tracks. Crouched and leaning his back against the platform, he had his own little area protected by the charred remains of the train in front of him.
After a few moments to steady his breathing, he took stock of his surroundings. He was safe where he was, the only way in or out was the small gap between the platform and the train. The train itself was completely destroyed. The car protecting him from the outside had been tossed off the tracks, was leaning over the tracks against the platform, and bent into a curved shape.
'This would make for a decent shelter' Christoph mused to himself before promising to return here later for shelter.
Now came the issue of what he should do. Everyone he knew was either long dead, or had somehow survived like him and left. Presumably to leave the city.
Deciding that he needed to learn more about what was going on he climbed out of his hiding spot and walked towards the train house at the far end of the platform. It was still in one piece, if you ignored the giant hole that had been blown out of the wall on one side. The sun was no longer high in the sky but off to his right.
'Must have been knocked out all night'.
Choosing to ignore the charred and disfigured bodies that littered the area around him, Christoph made his way into the train house. In the far corner a TV was still playing the news.
"Due to the escalated attacks in Tarkov, the UN and the Russian government have set up checkpoints and blockades to prevent anyone from entering or leaving Tarkov. Anyone without a military ID will be shot on sight if seen approaching one of the checkpoints. To all civilians who are trapped inside and are hearing this, it is recommended to find shelter and whatever resources you can to survive and stay safe. Reports of firefights in the shopping district involving scavengers and military personnel are still coming through".
Pictures and videos of multiple checkpoints and the massive barricades placed around the city flashed on the TV.
'Shit. This is serious' Christoph cursed his luck. He had originally assumed this was some terrorist attack that he was unlucky enough to be caught in, but it appeared much worse than that.
'Okay, stay calm. I already found a pretty decent shelter. I just need food, water, and protection from the elements and I can wait this out'.
Remembering that there was a small strip mall not too far from here, Christoph quickly made his way from the train house into the woods, choosing to take the covered route.
Almost an hour later Christoph hadn't encountered anyone and was approaching the mall cautiously.
Deciding that a backpack and clothes were more important, he made his way into the retail store and cautiously checked the store. Most of the items were still on the shelves and there were no signs of any conflict.
Thanking his luck, he quickly ran towards the back and found the outdoor gear section. He quickly stripped out of his clothes, including his boxer briefs, and began to tear open the packages of fresh clothes.
A pair of thermal underwear that stopped just above his knees was first, followed by a pair of water resistant socks. Dark green cargo pants and a black short-sleeved, water resistant athletic shirt would do a pretty good job of protecting his body from the elements. A pair of high-ankle combat boots would provide him with sufficient protection and grit to keep him moving even in the worst of conditions.
He quickly grabbed a dark green-camo rucksack off the racks and fitted it to his muscled upper body. An extra rucksack and clothes were stuffed into the bottom of the pack before he moved on to the camping gear.
There were plenty of equipment to choose from and soon had his pack and pockets loaded with everything he thought he might need.
A flint and steel, 1 body tent, multiple water canisters, fishing gear, and thermal blankets were tossed into his pack. Smaller items like an assortment of knives, multi tools, and protein bars were stuffed into its outer pockets.
After scanning the rest of the aisles and finding nothing of use apart from a black baseball cap that read 'Russia's safest city', Christoph left the store and made his way to the small grocery store.
The door was locked and there was no other way into the store, apart from smashing a window. Deciding that the reward outweighed the risk, Christoph backed up before throwing a softball sized rock through the window. The glass shattered easily, leaving a small hole with jagged pieces of glass daring him to try and squeeze through.
Christoph went back into the retail store before returning with a wooden baseball bat, which he used to clear the glass away from the bottom of the frame, and a blanket that he draped over the bottom. Deeming it now safe, Christoph fastened the bat to his sack and crawled through.
Christoph knew he didn't have much time, so he immediately made his way to the canned foods section and began loading all different kinds of food into his pack until it was almost full.
'Wait. How will I cook all this?" Christoph cursed himself. Before hurrying back into the retail store again he checked the cash register and found nearly a thousand rubles. He emptied it in case he ever needed to trade for resources and ran for the retail store. He didn't want to be here too long unless some unfavorable people showed up.
It took him a few minutes, but he soon found a single flame, compact cooker that used propane.
His bag was almost unbearably heavy now and he knew that he would be sore as can be once he got back to his little hiding spot.
Christoph was about to leave the store when he heard voices approaching the grocery store.
"Maybe they're still in there and we can catch them unaware" one man said.
"We better. I need a better weapon than this Makarov" another voice replied.
A third voice shushed them both as they got to the smashed window.
Christoph watched them through the crack in the door, holding his breath.
"I am going to check in here" the third voice said. He made his way to the door Christoph was standing at quickly and silently.
Christoph quickly backpedaled to the back of the store and hid behind some outdoor equipment.
The man entered the store and like a trained professional, he began sweeping the store for any hostiles. His weapon, an AKS-74U, was clutched in his hands and attached to his shoulder by a harness.
The man slowly approached where Christoph watched him through the tents and chairs that were set up as display items. There was no way he could escape quietly without alerting the man.
Christoph's only safe way was to attack the man first and take him out silently. Quietly slipping the pack off of his back, he placed it onto the floor and took out a hunting knife. He waited for the man to pass him before unsheathing the knife and making his way out of his hiding spot.
He kept his knees bent, using his legs to dampen the effects of his footfalls on the ground as he slowly closed the distance between them.
As if he was trained to do it, Christoph suddenly burst forward and closed the remaining foot between them and jammed the knife into the man's neck.
He made a gurgling noise as he dropped towards the floor, Christoph catching him before he made too much noise. Christoph held the man in his arms as he watched him drown on his own blood, his AK long forgotten in his limp hands.
'I just killed a man' Christoph thought, astonished at his actions. While a small part of him knew it had to be done, a much larger part of him was screaming internally at murdering someone.
Choosing to ignore his emotions, Christoph moved fast. He went back to his pack and quickly slung it back on his shoulders. He took one look back at the man before he quickly moved for the door.
Christoph stopped just before he pushed the door open and looked back at the man, now laying dead in a pool of his own blood.
Realizing his mistake, he swiftly moved back towards the man and began to search his belongings.
He opened his rucksack and found a large sum of rubles and euros in the outer compartments. Inside he found medical supplies such as bandages and antibiotics. Christoph looted what he could before his bag quickly filled.
Christoph quickly removed the man's military vest from his body before putting it on. Inside it was multiple magazines and a few more medical supplies. Christoph put his rucksack back on and adjusted the AK that now hung from the shoulder straps of his protective vest.
Remembering that money could be useful, Christoph looted the cash register of its money and quietly slipped out of the store. He made his way in the opposite direction of the grocery store before bolting down the side of the building towards the woods.
Christoph didn't stop running until he ran out of breath. He sat down resting his back against a tree and fought to control his breathing. After a few moments his heart rate returned to normal.
He could hear the sound of moving water and immediately began searching for it. Not much further ahead he found a small stream that gently flowed through the woods.
Christoph knew better than to drink from a random water source, so chose instead to fill his canteens with water.
Cautiously, he made his way towards the suburban train station. He jumped at every sound he heard, expecting the other two men to be chasing after him by now. The sun was now past its highest point in the sky and was slowly starting to dip closer towards the horizon.
Making his way through the ruined station, Christoph returned to his hiding spot before dropping his pack into the gravel. Climbing back out, he dragged a decent sized piece of charred metal towards the entrance to his camp.
A few hours later Christoph had set up his small tent and was sipping on his boiled water while he waited for his food to cook. His eyes never left the makeshift cover he had used to cover the gap in his roof. The distant sounds of gunshots never ceased, but the intervals between grew increasingly longer as the sun went down.
His belly full and his thirst sated for now, Christoph curled up in his tent and tried to sleep after the worst day of his life. Unfortunately for him, nightmares would cause him to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.
Thank you for reading my first chapter. I hope you all enjoyed. If you did please fav, follow, and/or review and tell me what you think.
Until next time!