Chapter 3: An unlikely partner.
-We were all able to arrive in the Riga station without any lives lost. It was a lucky situation than none of the mutants were able to take anyone off. Though I question of the experience of what happened in the tunnel, I'm glad that my friends and I survived. The caravan couldn't progress any further from here. Boris decided to throw a celebration for Artyom, Natasha and I for protecting everyone. Though the vodka helped ease my mind, the growing fear of finding more supernatural phenomena festered in my mind. From what I could understand, there was more to see in the Metro than meets the eye... Artyom and I ended up finding someone, whom I could question morally, to help continue our journey.- Demitri.
Demitri was having a small cup of Shroom Vodka. Much to his surprise, it tasted good.
"Good stuff..." Demitri said.
"Aren't we a strong person with alcohol?" Eugene said, impressed.
"Old enough to kill, old enough to drink." The man from Riga commented.
"Truer words were never spoken." Demitri said.
"Hear, hear. Let's honor or toast to Artyom, Demitri, and Natasha for ensuring we all survived this trip." Boris announced.
"To their honor." Eugene said.
"And for our survival." Artyom continued.
The men had their drink as they celebrated their survival. Though they all felt grateful, Demitri couldn't help but recall the experience within the tunnel. Reluctant on relying to talk with his friends, he began writing his thoughts on his note entry.
-I do not know what we all experienced that time... We all heard the whispers and crying, but there was something else in that tunnel. God, the voices were silent, but they kept repeating incoherently. It never came to me that my ability to sense paranormal threats became evident. I heard rumors of the tunnels in the Metro with such phenomena. I never thought we all experienced something like that... I just hope we don't find such places again. We were lucky to make it through unscathed.-
"You guys deserve a good payment. Take some bullets, you guys earn it." Boris said, providing 20 MGR for Artyom, Demitri and Natasha.
Demitri didn't felt tipsy, despite being young. He was able to hold off the alcohol. However, Natasha looked slightly intoxicated.
"I think she had enough to drink." Demitri said.
"I'll say. Have your girlfriend take a rest from the drinking. Take her out till her system is clean." Boris agreed.
Demitri held Natasha as she began making slurred speeches. He kept a calm face as he let he lean on his shoulder.
"I see thee Demitri..." She spoke.
'She's totally drunk... Better not give her any alcohol when we celebrate.' Demitri thought.
"I always I wanted to be with you." Natasha said in a drunken voice.
"Take it easy, Natasha... You're already being tipsy." Demitri said.
"I'm not drunk..." She denied.
'Somehow, I feel that she'll be having a killer hangover when she sobers.' Demitri thought.
He sat down near an unoccupied tent to hold Natasha close to him. She soon grabbed his head in a swift manner.
"I'm going to kiss you..." She said in a drunk, husky tone.
Before she could even get close, Natasha fainted. Demitri just watched as she collapsed like a tree. He managed to catch her, giving a faint smile.
"Take a long rest, Natasha. I'll help with your problem when we wake up tomorrow." Demitri said, feeling tired.
Boris arrived and noticed Demitri and Natasha. She was dead asleep, but Demitri was awake.
"You're lucky I was about to say that the tent is vacant. Anyway, I'll let you guys rest here. It has been a stressful time." Boris commented.
Demitri nodded with a blush on his face, knowing Boris may have misunderstood what he was implying. Though with the alcohol in his system, it began affecting before he too passed out.
"Out just like that. Those two look young, but that guy has been training hard." Boris said to Artyom.
"He's a young kid like I am... Three years younger than me. He wanted to be prepared to travel through the Metro." Artyom said.
The next day, Demitri got up. He noticed Natasha sleeping calmly. Feeling a minor headache, he slowly stood up to gain his bearings.
'Hopefully that's the last time I drink alcohol... I didn't drink much, but man it gives a hangover.' Demitri thought.
Natasha groaned as she woke up. She felt an intense headache suddenly surge.
"Oooh... My aching head..." She groaned.
Demitri noticed some water with a pill. There was a note written near the cups.
-Those are hangover pills. The water's filtered so have a drink to calm your headaches. From Boris.-
'Gotta hand it to Boris. He knows how to handle the hangovers.' Demitri thought, smiling.
He provided Natasha with the pill and cup of water. She slowly chugged it down, feeling the effects of the medicine. Demitri soon followed, taking the medicine and chugging the water down.
After a few minutes, the alcohol was purged from their bodies. They now had a decent look around Riga. It was a rundown station, appearing no similar to a slum. Much of the area looked rusted and somewhat shoddy. Despite the appearance, it gave a good atmosphere to be in.
"Alright... We had a good celebration... Let's meet up with Artyom so we can continue." Demitri said.
"Okay... Let me recover for a moment. I'm still feeling awful..." Natasha said.
"We can walk slowly if you want." Demitri said.
Natasha smiled as Demitri held on to her while they searched.
"How will we find Artyom though?" Natasha asked.
"Boris or Eugene might know." Demitri said.
Soon, they found the men talking with each other within the market section. They saw the couple on their feet.
"Ah, the two remaining transport heroes. Your friend, Artyom decided to wait for you guys by having a chat with us." Eugene said, pointing to Artyom.
"Had a nice sleep?" Artyom asked.
"A pounding headache if you ask me." Demitri responded.
Artyom performed a hand gesture to Demitri, telling him to come close for a private talk. The young man knew this was a serious matter. Natasha followed along to hear them out.
"We had a good time last night so let's get our heads together. We should aim in going to Polis." Artyom said.
"I know. However, it seems that reaching it will require us to pass through the Hanza and Nazi territories. We have to be careful going through them..." Demitri responded.
"How are you holding up though? You looked like you were about to hurl back in the caravan." Artyom asked.
"I honestly don't know what it was that we experienced. I'm just getting used to the fact I'm sensitive to anything that's supernatural. I feel fine right now, but there's no mistaking what we saw. No doubt in my mind those were ghosts." Demitri said.
"I'll have to agree. I don't want to experience something like that again. Mutants are one thing, but ghosts?" Artyom questioned, baffled.
"We all heard their whispers. Even seeing their last moments... Whatever it was, it made Demitri feel sick." Natasha followed.
"I'm just figuring out on my sensitivity to ghosts. All I know is how to sense them, even if I can't see them." Demitri replied.
"That may help in knowing if there's ghosts... Whatever the case may be, we now know a way to tell." Natasha said.
"I won't like it, but I'll have to go through with it... I don't want you guys to experience anything from what we saw back there." Demitri said.
Walking through the station, the trio observed the area. Demitri, thinking of what he wanted to write, began scribbling on his notepad. Artyom also did the same thing.
-Riga, also called Rizhskaya, is quite a lovely station, despite its appearance. I know the people in VDNKh often comment how it is. Despite being called...unlucky, these people have it peaceful. They usually deal with incidents such as their pigs catching a bug, a tunnel leak, or merchants drinking their money away. They are friendly neighbors despite their present circumstances, though a bit clumsy in my opinion. I'm somewhat mortified to realize that my home station poke fun to them, yet the people of Riga showed such optimism. In a way, I don't just envy them. I can understand what they feel. Though their lifestyle is questionably glum, it doesn't weigh them down. Everyone in VDNKh knew how to live. Despite the threat of the Dark Ones, everyone in Riga believed it to be a myth and moved on with their lives. I wish I could be more optimistic like them, akin to a naive child wandering in the open world. However, present circumstances say otherwise. The lives of Riga all depend on Artyom, Natasha, and I to inform Polis of the Dark Ones. I don't want this station to be affected just like how VDNKh is.-
Natasha took notice of what they were writing. Seeing their written thoughts, she liked how he was providing his thoughts in a philosophical manner.
"You two are good writers, you know." Natasha commented.
"It's a way for us to cope with what we experience. We're not fully grown men yet." Demitri defended.
"We still have each other so if one of us snaps, then the others will have to snap us back." Natasha said.
"Fair enough... We need to find a way to sneak out of Riga since the other tunnel is on lockdown. That military caravan may have been derailed or a tunnel collapsed." Demitri recalled.
"There should be a way to get through. I don't see any spots to sneak out of the station..." Artyom observed.
Soon, a young boy came to them.
"Are you three Artyom, Demitri and Natasha?" The boy asked.
"Who wants to know?" Demitri questioned.
"A rude man asked for you three to come to him. I can show you the way to him for one bullet." The boy said.
Demitri had to admit, the boy was gutsy. Instead of paying one bullet, he decided to surprise him.
"Take five bullets. It should help with your family, kid." Demitri said.
"Thank you! I'll lead the way to the man." The boy said with joy.
The trio followed the boy leading them through the station. It was a short walk, if one considered the station was long. Soon, they arrived.
"He's through here. Thank you." The boy said.
"Take care, kid." Demitri said.
Natasha smiled thanks to Demitri's actions. His actions proved of his patience and morality.
'He will be a good parent one day.' She thought.
The man looked to be a young adult, but something about him made Demitri cautious. He looked similar to a Soviet era person.
"Ah, Artyom, Demitri, and Natasha... You three found your way here thanks to a guide. Come and sit." The man said.
"Who are you? And how do you know our name?" Artyom asked.
"The name's Bourbon. Heard about you three from the nearby tavern from our workers here." The man named Bourbon introduced.
"I see... So, what is it that you're interested about us?" Artyom questioned.
"Getting to the point, I see. I'll make this quick. I have some business to attend to in Dry station. Since Riga is now in lockdown due to events that you three experienced, we can't make our way normally there. But, I know a 'cursed' passage that the locals don't use. It's a back way to sneak out of Riga. Heard the two of you are immune to the bullshit out in the tunnels." Bourbon explained.
"So we have to escort you to Dry station to deal with 'business'... It would seem risky, considering the tunnel to Dry station is accessible through a tunnel." Demitri said.
"Exactly my point, kid. Since we all have maps of the Metro, they will help. In any case, the tunnel leading to the Dry station is also within the Market station. We should head there first." Bourbon suggested.
"Okay then. What's in it for us though? This isn't some low risk escort..." Demitri questioned.
"You three help me make it to Sukharevskaya Station, aka Dry Station, and I'll provide you my customized Kalash. Deal?" Bourbon asked.
"Deal. I'll trade mine to yours with a special mod I've placed." Demitri said, showing a special scope.
"An IR scope? That's a fair trade, kid." Bourbon agreed.
"A fair trade indeed." Artyom commented.
"Alright then. We should be able to sneak through the station. Let's enjoy a nice meal while we have the time." Bourbon said.
An hour had past while everyone had their share of the meal. Demitri began recording his thoughts in his notepad.
-There is a local phrase the people of the Metro share... 'Nothing to rely on around you, but better to have a companion.' This Bourbon is quite strange... Surely I never met someone as complex as him. He seemed to be a traveling merchant, but is in a debt crisis. Why would he need our help to get through the tunnels, especially the passage he was leading us to? He seemed to know them like the back of his hand. Could it be there's something in there? If so, he probably overheard the celebration of us being able to resist...whatever it was in the tunnel leading to Riga... I'm not too sure of whether we're immune to the phenomenon, but I know I'm not a freak. For now, I'll have to trust Bourbon, hoping he doesn't attempt to attack us in a dark tunnel.- Demitri.
Everyone finished their meal. They were now ready to leave Riga.
"Follow me, for I know where to find the tunnel." Bourbon said.
The trio followed Bourbon as they were lead to the back of the Riga within the outskirts. From there, several boxes and crates were blocking a passage.
"This is the back way to the Market?" Artyom asked.
"Yes, this is the one. These tunnels have been abandoned for God knows how long." Bourbon replied.
"So it seems... This place looks like it hasn't been used at all." Natasha observed.
"Again, God knows how long ago it was used." Bourbon dryly commented.
"Let's get this over with. We won't have another chance to go through Riga if we waited in the station till the lockdown is over." Demitri said.
"He's right. Let's get going." Artyom agreed.
The trio made their way into the abandoned tunnels, unaware of the circumstances that lie ahead.