Chapter 2
A metal clanging sound was heard from the other side followed by a plethora of curse words, he must have made some poor guard jump, knocking off a plate or a mug. A small latch opened at the side of the door, behind which a face, contorted from squinting at the moonlit room, peered through. Adrian took a step back with his gun slung around his waist, the guard's eye widened when the boy stepped into view, he proceeded to slam the door. Did they not accept outsiders? Did he notice the rip in his suit or the crack in his mask and think him to be a lost cause? Adrian's mind ran with worries, his stomach began to tie in a knot before his thoughts were interrupted by the emergency light above the door turning on and an alarm echoing throughout the cramped intermission room. He had made it! He had gotten past the most perilous part of the adventure. A new life awaited.
He shunted his arm behind his back as to not show the gash in the shitty "protective" suit which was already plastered in duct tape from previous wounds as well as a mix of dried and still-wet blood. Most of the blood was from the hellspawn that had been ripped to shreds in front of him only 10 minutes prior. As the door widened he flicked the safety on his rifle to make another click, just so that it didn't go off when he didn't expect it. The guard raised his rifle at Adrian's chest, a mix of anger and confusion on his face. This guy was seriously pissed off. Adrian raised his hands awkwardly, the suit didn't allow him to fully raise his arms leaving him in a very uncomfortable pose. Noticing Adrian's obvious discomfort, he signaled the boy to lower his arms by shaking the rifle barrel toward the floor. Letting out a sigh of relief, Adrian nodded in appreciation. The guard walked slowly backward signaling the stranger to follow but not taking the gun off him for a second. He knew what he was doing and Adrian admired that.
The guard presumably wasn't speaking as to not alert any undesirables to their presence. As Adrian neared the center of the intermission room, a large scraping noise made him jump. the doors were shutting, but how? As Adrian searched for an answer, his eyes caught with ones of a child. standing, sure enough, beside the door control panel. The child was half the size of Adrian, dressed in an oversized coat and gas mask. After a few seconds, the child looked away and began to march back to the assortment of toys, fashioned from cartridges. The door made a large click, breaking Adrian's train of thought. The urge to cough overcame him, he quickly whipped his mask up, off of his face in an urgent jerk before taking a stunted breath and coughing into his hand. When Adrian turned back to the guard, he looked slightly more anxious. He looked Adrian up and down before he began to walk again, this time faster than before. This man just wanted to sleep and the deep black marks below his jaded eyes showed it. Not wanting to keep the poor man up, he shuffled the mask into its appropriate pouch and picked up his pace, although, making sure not to look too eager.
The guard led Adrian to a cramped glass booth from before the war, a guard was squashed inside. The door guard yawned before explaining to the booth guard the situation. The man's monotone voice made Adrian yawn. It had been 2 days since Adrian had a proper nights sleep and it was only after hearing something so boring that he had realized it. once the story had concluded, Adrian was practically half asleep. The booth guard looked over at Adrian with the same luggage under his eyes as the first guard, "Passport." his birley voice droned. Adrian peeled open a compartment on his suit, pulled the sheets out and placed them down in a confident manner. After looking through the document multiple times and comparing it to the young boys face as they always did, he passed it back through and opened the gate with a small button protruding from his tiny desk. A sudden rush of heat and noise flowed from the opening, giving Adrian a long needed feeling of safety. Although he disliked the cramped-ness of the metro and how claustrophobic it always felt, he was glad to be back.
Now what? A horrible sense of dread filled the young boy's stomach. Adrian felt tiny compared to the seemingly monstous tunnels, bursting with life. The amount of freedom he was presented with was suffocating. He could go anywhere, do anything, and be whatever he wanted. He wanted to hide. It was too much. But he mustered his courage, put on a brave face and set out for the closest bar. A stiff drink would calm his fried nerves.