Artyom was gasping for air as the massive door closed behind them. His trip to the surface almost cost him his life.
He pulled his gas mask off of his face and breathed in as much oxygen his body would allow before breathing out again.
The trip to the surface was worth it to the Ranger. He found an answer to his question. And another question to ask: are there other Dark Ones still alive?
If one was able to live long enough to speak to Artyom, then others had to be out there somewhere. There had to be.
Beside him Tyson and Ulman were were exchanging glances and talking to the Hanza guards.
"Here's my passport.", Ulman handed over his paperwork.
Tyson stood there not knowing what to do. Artyom walked to him and asked him if Miller issued him a passport yet.
"No. He didn't even mention it.".
Artyom handed his papers to the Hanza and was getting ready to explain Tyson's situation to them.
"Alright, you two may pass. We need to have a word with this one.", the guards pushed Artyom and Ulman into the station and looked Tyson over.
Artyom waited by the gates for Tyson. No doubt the guards were harassing the poor kid for military grade bullets.
"Thanks. And remember to enjoy your stay in the Ring.".
The Ring station was nice and clean compared to most of the metro. One thing Artyom always hated was that people here never suffered, and they always had their wants and needs taken care of. They even had vast amounts of supplies, but refuse to share freely with the rest of the metro. They only gave stuff out for military grade bullets, and never accepted bargains.
Tyson walked in through the gate and saw Artyom waiting for him.
"So why did you go to the gardens?".
Artyom knew what he had to say. "I needed to see if any of them were still alive. I needed to finish my mission.".
Tyson looked at Artyom for a minute. "You better tell that to Colonel Miller. He was pissed when I told him you went for the surface.".
Artyom wrote a mental note to keep an eye on this one. He had somehow figured out Artyom went to the surface before everyone else. And he told Colonel Miller about it.
Ulman walked away from a vendor with a small basket of shrimp. "C'mon guys, we need to eat. Then we can die by Colonel Miller's hands later.".
They all found a place to sit by the rail tracks and dug into the fresh food. Artyom thought it tasted funny. Probably because he never had shrimp before. It was only caught near stations with flooded tunnels. And like everything else in the Ring, it was expensive.
"Alright are we done? Good. Let's move on to D-6. There's an entrance in Polis.".
Ulman wasn't as soft-hearted as he was earlier. He was serious now... Was that even possible for him?
Artyom walked behind Ulman and Tyson. The trip was going to be a long one. They were a good five stations away from Polis. One of them belonging to the Nazis.
As they passed through two stations with ease Artyom started to feel tired again. His vision was going in and out, and his legs were wobbling under him.
Ulman noticed Artyom's symptoms first. "Alright guys, let's take a break at this station while we're here. No need to kill ourselves on the way back.".
They found a large tent to rent near the station's exit. It had enough room for two or three people.
When Artyom walked in he noticed a faint smell. It was like rotting meat. Chicken maybe? After a few minutes he learned to ignore it and he passed out on his blanket.
In his dreams Artyom saw his museum of death again. Each and every scene was just as haunting as they always were. Each scene a mistake he made.
Some of them he was proud of like the Nazi officer he shot. Nobody like that deserved to live. Artyom was certain of that.
There were some scenes that scarred him. Scenes where an innocent died while he watched. One of them was the missile commander's son. He was just a little kid and the bio-weapon in D-6 consumed him.
Artyom probably could have saved him, but he didn't. When he saw the kid in his dreams the bio-weapon was behind him. And just like ever other time Artyom sees the kid in his dreams, he tries to warn him, to save him.
And just like every other time Artyom had this dream, the kid just sits there and dies.
Artyom continued through his museum until he found the Dark Ones. He watched the missiles rain down again, wiping out humanities last hope for redemption. Condemning his people to war and death.
"There is no hope.", the Dark One was beside Artyom.
He turned and was getting ready to slash the being with his knife but it was already dead.
"You do not understand.", Artyom turned to the source of the voice but there was only another dead body.
"You bring death.", Artyom turned and saw Hunter walking towards him with a knife.
"Why did you destroy us?", Hunter was getting closer. Murder was in his eyes.
"You do not know. You Yet you understand. You listen but you can't see.".
Hunter was now holding the knife against Artyom's throat. The older man's eyes were grey and staring at nothing.
"You destroyed us. You killed hope. You must repent through death! Justice must be seen!".
Hunter drove the knife down against Artyom's neck. The blade cut through easily and destroyed Artyom's throat.
Artyom woke up from his nightmare. He instinctively reached for his throat only to feel his neck still intact.
"it was just a dream. It was all just a dream.".
Artyom looked around the tent and saw Ulman and Tyson still asleep. He checked his watch and saw that it was early in the morning.
The Ranger reached for a spot on the front of his vest and panicked for a minute that his journal was gone. Then he remembered he had lost it at the botanical gardens the previous day.
He also remembered that he had Hunter's helmet camera. It was still recording, damn gadget. Artyom couldn't figure out how to turn it off. Maybe it recording still would help. Maybe.
Artyom jumped when Ulman stirred and awoke. The older Ranger was not as happy or sarcastic looking. Something else was there. It was either fear, or sadness. Maybe both. Artyom thought.
"Artyom, when did you wake up... actually it doesn't matter. We just need to get back to D-6 and report to Miller. If we leave in the hour we should get back in time for evening mess.".
Artyom woke Tyson up and they all left the station without breakfast. Tyson complained loudly about it for a while.
"Did we really have to skip a morning meal?".
Artyom slapped Tyson on the back and gave him the hand signal for silence.
The group found a turn in the tunnel and ended up being blocked by a bandit camp.
"Alright, Artyom take point. I'll throw a flare to distract them. Tyson I want you to be long-range support. Stay behind us, but keep us in your sights. If you see someone we don't, shoot them.", Ulman was whispering carefully.
Artyom moved up towards the massive wooden barricade blocking the tunnel. He noticed something off about it. The construction was too good to be the average bandit group. Too clean.
The barricade had a door built into it. Standard doorknob. Easy to force open quietly enough.
Artyom pulled his trench knife out of it's sheath and jammed it in between the door and the frame. He forced it down and heard a 'click' meaning the door was now ready to open.
He put his knife back and readied his AK-74M, and opened the door.
The bandits were still asleep. Most of them were at least. There were a few walking and talking near drum fires and cooking pots.
"Ulman, four by the drum fire, two by the cooking pot. All of them are wide awake, but unaware we opened their door. What's your take?", Artyom was whispering quietly.
"Move in and get ready to make a crossfire.", Ulman was formulating a plan.
Artyom moved silently through the open door and found a hiding spot behind a group of empty barrels and drums.
Ulman came in behind him and hid behind a ruined sofa near a crashed train car.
Tyson sat behind the doorway and had his sights on the bandits by the fire.
Artyom took the safety off of his AK and was taking aim at the closest bandit. Something felt off, but he didn't know what.
He looked to where Ulman was hiding. His AK was just barley visible behind the couch but it was good to see his partner there in case things went wrong.
"Look out!", Tyson yelled.
Artyom turned his head and dived to the ground as a lead pipe came crashing down where his head was a second ago.
The bandit holding it was a big guy wearing a torn military jacket and jeans.
"If I was you I would drop my gun right about now.", he was a cocky bastard.
Artyom aimed at the bandit and heard over a dozen 'clicks' of safeties on rifles being removed.
Knowing he was defeated, Artyom dropped his rifle. A skinny bandit walked in front of him and kicked him in the shin. Another grabbed Artom's hands and tied them behind his back.
"We're taking you all for a walk. You will stay quiet if you know what's good for you. I want to take you places alive. It doesn't matter if your bleeding to death from a slit throat, or a few bullets to the gut. As long as we get places.".
Artyom felt a hand pull him up and push him towards the tracks. They were walking toward Nazi straight towards a Nazi station if the signs were to be trusted.
"That's a Nazi line. They'll kill us all!", Ulman was trying to reason with the bandits.
The big one hit Ulman in the side with his pipe, knocking the wind out of the Ranger.
"I said to be quiet if you know what's good for you. Next time, you die.".
Ulman just nodded and stopped struggling. Artyom thought Rangers couldn't be broken. Hell, he thought they couldn't be beat in combat.
Today he was proven wrong. He and his party was beaten, and captured. Being taken to who knows where.
Artyom thought of struggling, try and delay them and maybe get rescued. Then he remembered that they were outside of any legal territory. This was bandit country and they could do whatever they want as long as they don't go near civilized stations.
Artyom did the only thing he could and went with it. No point in struggling now and dying for it. He mentally prepared himself for a slow and harsh journey, and kept walking with his captors at his back.