The road was quiet, very quiet. Aside from the bestial cries in the night, the young man continued on his journey looking for the man who stole what was rightfully his. As he continued on his journey for his Kalash, Artyom took a quick glimpse at the Pip Boy, observing its strange design. He heard tales from Polis that there used to be devices like these, but were no longer useful once the world died. If he somehow got their attention with this device, perhaps they could come to his home station just to learn about its secrets.

Then his heart ached when he thought about his home, the people he knew as a child, and it's wonderful tea the station exported. Artyom's mind continued to think about the danger Exhibition was in with the mutant threat getting out of hand. He had promised to help Hunter send a message to Polis and fight the Dark Ones, but Bourbon already prevented that possibility from happening. Artyom wanted to blame him, but didn't want to. No one from the rest of the Metro knew about the threat of the mutants that plagued his home and perhaps they didn't care.

However, he removed his thoughts about home as he began to take a another glance at his Pip Boy. His thumb clicked on the middle button that read "Inventory", but what did that mean? The screen began to change into a different set up while it piqued his curiosity. Then his eyes noticed the five sections his inventory was made up.

'Weapons'

'Apparel'

'Aid'

'Misc'

'Ammo'

Before he could continue looking into his Pip Boy, Artyom knew better than to be a sitting target. He looked around and found there was nothing on the road that he could shelter in. The east was barren and filled with nothing, but open desert as the west landscape was filled with hills. The terrain could potentially hide him, but it could also endanger him. Danger lurked in this place and just like the surface of the Dead City every step could be his last.

To his surprise, there was shelter present. His gaze fell upon a small trailer with a small campsite nearby. Maybe travelers used it every now and then, just like the stalkers.

Understanding that sleeping in the open was suicide, Artyom walked towards the trailer as he reached for his Bastard gun. The weapon's sink and it's stock was heavy, but he never complained about it's weight. Having to avoid overheating the weapon in the middle of combat was a worthy trade-off he never wanted to have.

Once he reached the empty trailer, Artyom peeked his head in and found nothing except mattress on the floor. There wasn't any pillows, but it was better than laying in the sand. He took his first steps into the trailer and flipped the mattress over, just in case. Ever since his first encounter with bandits in the Metro, he didn't want the risk of detonating a bomb.

Luckily, nothing was underneath the mattress. "Good enough, I guess." Artyom placed his Bastard gun in his chest as he laid his head back on the mattress. All that mattered was when he needed to wake. The last thing the stalker needed was opening his eyes as a prisoner to whoever enjoyed taking advantage over people. Problem was, how was he going to know someone would be coming for him. He could use the old tripwire trick with a grenade, but the blast would kill him in his sleep. The other available option was using tin cans at the doorway to alarm him of intruders. However, where was he going to find tin cans and some string?

The stalker drew his Bastard out and placed beside him as he laid on the mattress. It would remain as his response weapon against anyone if he remained awake. That was if he dared to stay awake.

Then again, he was going to take a look at the Pip-Boy while he remained in his little shelter. After bringing the device up to his face, Artyom continued to look through the sections within the Inventory system. It was a strange device indeed, but as he switched it into the weapon section his eyes widened in surprised. The device apparently knew what weapons was on his person and the kind of bullets it normally used.

'Bastard'

'Duplet'

'Revolver'

'Trench Knife'

This revelation made him curious. How did this Pip-Boy know? He wanted to ask it's secrets, but Artyom knew that it will never tell him. After the bombs fell, perhaps that secret died with those who created this. Much like the men who made the Metro.

He immediately reached for his Bastard as he heard a crunch outside. Someone or something was coming. The young man aimed his sub-machine gun at the doorway as the crunching continued to get closer. Then he heard a man's voice calling. "Hello, is anyone there I need help!" The tone of his voice was that of a desperate soul. Yet, Artyom knew to remain cautious and allow himself to be tricked.

With his weapon in hand, the Russian slowly sat near the doorway and saw the shadow of a man looking around frantically.

"Hello, is someone out there!" When his head turned towards him, his eyes were looking at him with hope. "Hey, I hate to bother you, but I need help." The stranger began.

Artyom waited quietly as the person stepped closer. "Stop right there." He ordered.

The man did as he was told. "What's this all about? I'm not here to hurt you."

"I'm not sure. It's dark and you're here shouting." The stalker replied.

"Look, I need help. My sister is stuck on a ridge and is surrounded by geckos, I'm looking for someone to clear it out for me so I can rescue her."

"Why are you two walking in the middle of the night?"

"Well, there was this refrigerator with some chems and I thought it would be nice to make some caps selling it. Look, my sister is in need of a rescue. I could probably share some of the chems with you."

A way to make money on the side, perhaps it would do some good. However, there was a strange feeling that didn't go well with the man. Why was this man looking for help in the middle of the night? It did not make sense, but then again the things he had heard and seen in the Metro beg otherwise. "Okay, you caught my attention. I'll help you out, understand?"

"Got it, just please save my sister quickly!"

After this, he might sleep comfortably with a good deed done for the day. The stalker rose from his mattress and stepped out of the small shelter he found in the middle of nowhere. "Where is she?"

"My sister is up this ridge past the broken antenna tower. You won't miss it."

"Okay, I'll take care of those creatures for you." Artyom replied.

But the man expressed a curiosity when his eyes looked at his weapon. "Hey, what's that. I haven't seen that before." Strange, why was he asking that question when his sister was in danger? There was something off about this man, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The stranger was not wrong. There was a broken antenna that he passed by, but as he continued up the ridge he felt a strange sense of danger nearby. Artyom didn't know why, but he could feel the threat getting closer as he went up the ridge.

After passing up a ridge, his eyes noticed figures running towards him. Since he lived most of his life in the dark tunnels, his sight was used to seeing in the darkness and the moon was up in the air. Artyom raised his Bastard as the three geckos ran towards him without hesitation. Were they they desperate? Doesn't matter, his weapon would answer their hunger.

The stalker looked down his sights and gunned the three geckos in quick succession, but in short and controlled bursts. The SMG was best used in such manner, the only time it should be used automatically was when there was no room for aiming. The gunfire was enough to drop all three geckos to the ground as he made a slow ascent to the ridge.

The closer he got, Artyom noticed there was a refrigerator that was closed shut on the left. Where was the sister? He wondered. The closer he gotten, he saw more geckos, but they were already dead when he arrived. However, their limbs were cut to pieces with a strange trap that ripped through their flesh. This is not right.

When Artyom arrived near the edge of the ridge, he found a table, a few chairs, and a body of a man whose blood was already spilt. Then he heard a click behind him. "Don't move, pal." It was the stranger who sent him here from before. "Sorry to trick you, but I needed you to clear out the geckos for me. Thank you for that. However, I'm going to have to kill you."

Looking over his shoulder, the young man recognized the blonde's face. "Why didn't you kill the geckos if you had a gun?"

"I didn't have enough bullets. Besides, I can't aim for shit with this gun."

Artyom had heard many stupid things said by people, but this was the worst of them all. "You shouldn't have said that." He replied.

"Why not? I'm not the one with the gun against my back."

It was a risk, but it was preferable than letting that idiot kill him and fall to his death. The stalker rolled away from the edge of the cliff as his gaze fell upon the surprised fool. The man fired his pistol, but Artyom fell faster than the bullets could hit him. Rather than standing, he rested on his side as the trigger was squeezed.

The Bastard unleashed it's quick reputation on Artyom's assailant as he fell back, riddled with bullets. Once the man was on the ground, he rose from dirt and began to check for any signs of life in the man. The stranger gurgled in his own blood as his eyes began to look over to his gun and tried to use his remaining strength to fight back, but it was all in vain. Too much blood loss made him succumb to his inevitable death.

After the stranger did not move for a few minutes, he settled that the man was dead. "Pity, I actually thought you had a sister." Artyom quietly said to himself as he looked away from the man's eyes and off to his weapon. He grabbed the pistol out from the dead man's grasp as he slipped the safety on and put it into his backpack.

Then he glanced over to the refrigerator behind his back and made his way towards it. It wasn't a total loss.

Such was life in the apocalypse...

Author's Note: I was having a hard time trying to find a name for the chapter, but apparently a simple lightbulb gave me an idea. If any of you understand the title of the chapter, good for you. If any of you have no clue, look it up.

AZNMAGICMAN: Well you also forget that factions in the Metro have heavy automatic shotgun cannons.

Francisco914: Sorry to tell you, but the Metro/Gate crossover is discontinued. I will not continue making that fic since I have some problems to write out with that one. As for Artyom speaking English, can't comment.

guest: Preachers? No. I don't know where you got that from.

guest: He's not the only one following Artyom.

TMDF-Artyom: How do I explain it, the guys in the Legion are taught to deal with the pain no matter what. So while they are shrugging off heavy machine gun rounds, they are also ignoring the pain as best they can since they are fanatics for Caesar.

TwilightScarlet: Yes. Yes it is.

DocHoliday0316: Actually, Artyom will not be traveling with the courier, sad to say. She will have a small conversation with her, but they won't be traveling together. Rather, it will focus mostly on him.