No one had any time to grab their belongings and most of the railcars were used by the civilians while the militia had to resort to their delaying their enemy while giving enough time for the civilians to escape through Riga and meet with Hanza at Prospekt Mira. That is if Hanza allowed them into the station.

Sukhoi organized the men to hold the main tunnel into Riga as the demolitions experts prepared the tunnels for destruction. He began to reload a fresh magazine into his weapon as the remaining survivors were moving north once more, not to retake their home, but to prevent others from losing it. Nothing good was going to come out of this, the people of Exhibition had become refugees within the Metro.

The Dark Ones and now this? How long would it be until the people of Exhibition and the former survivors of Timiryazevskaya find a place to settle down once more? Too many people died from this terrible turn of events. Hunter, his friend from the Polis Rangers, was most likely dead when he left to fight the Dark Ones in the Northern Tunnels. The worst thought of all that had occurred to him was the disappearance of his adoptive son - Artyom. Ever since his presence was gone, Sukhoi continued to wonder about her whereabouts. The thought of his stepson coming home, only to know that his people left was concerning at the very least.

Of everything he had endured, he almost wanted to cry… almost. However, he knew that he had to keep face for his soldiers. He walked from one side of the tunnel and across the tracks while his men reinforced the one-way tunnel up north.

A man walked up to him, with a smile on his face. "Sukhoi, I got some good news!"

He paused in his tracks and looked up from the ground. "Petr, what's the news?"

"Bourbon, he's back with some help."

It had been some time since Bourbon left Exhibition for Polis. How he was able to circumnavigate around the Hanza stations was a question he wouldn't want to ask. If Bourbon returned there better be something worthy to bring.

Bright flashlights lit up the tunnel from the south as a figure walked past the messenger with a smile. "Sukhoi, I think we arrived just in time." The stalker stated. "What's going on? Why aren't you at Exhibition?"

The sight of Bourbon was relieving, but it was already too late. "The station was overrunned. The enemy is consolidating their territory in Exhibition, but we've managed to get out in time for the civilians to leave. However, we don't want to take the risk of letting them into the rest of the Metro."

"Shit. I was hoping the Polis Rangers would be enough."

He brought more Polis Rangers here? "How did you convince Polis to send more men?"

The lights behind Bourbon came closer as the leader recognized the famous uniforms of the Polis Rangers of the Spartan Council. "I can answer that question." One of the Rangers stated as he lifted his visor above his face. "What Bourbon brought was enough to bring a couple of Rangers to help, but I guess we are too late."

Bourbon took a step aside and gestured his hand towards the Ranger. "Meet Colonel Miller. He is the head of the Rangers."

Sukhoi nodded his head in his presence. "It's quite an honor to meet you, sir."

"Likewise." Colonel Miller replied. "What you are doing is something I would have done as well. However, I do have a few questions for you since I have very little knowledge of what I'm up against. How many men does this enemy have at Exhibition?"

"I don't know. I counted about three to four dozen men assaulting us during the first wave."

"Damn it, I was hoping we could charge forward and take it back, but I guess your militia isn't equipped to fight an all-out battle against the invaders."

"No sir. We're only equipped to fight off mutants."

Miller acknowledged the militia's restraints with a nod. "Then we'll have to blow up the tunnel and prevent them from penetrating deeper into the Metro." He glanced over his shoulder and shouted to his fellow soldiers. "Vladimir, help these people with the explosives."

"Yes sir." One of the men said as he departed from the group and joined the demolition team.

"Now then, do we have any clue about our enemy catching us off by surprise?"

Sukhoi nodded his head. "I do have a token force further north to delay the enemy and allow the demolitions enough time to hold them off."

"Good. If things go according to plan, the people who attacked us might not be able to last long being cut off from the rest of the world."

Gunfire echoed from the north and Sukhoi was afraid. "Damn, that's my men."

"Okay then. Danila, Bourbon, I need you to get a few men to form a fallback. Can you both do that?" Miller ordered.

"Yes sir." The stalker and the Ranger said in unison.

"Let's move. The enemy does not rest."

When the group began moving north, the gunfire grew closer before the battle cries turned into agonizing screams. As they passed by the wounded being brought from the front, Sukhoi saw a hopeful look from the men at the sight of their reinforcements. Morale was bad enough, but seeing Rangers come to their aid was enough to give them some hope in the fight.

Once they arrived, the Rangers took positions behind the sandbags and wooden palisade while someone manning the machine gun fired away. Sukhoi watched the tracers fly into the dark tunnel, only to see the silhouettes of men flying towards them. "Open fire!" Colonel Miller shouted before the firing line unleashed a hailstorm of dirty ammunition downrange.

Bodies of red-colored soldiers fell upon one-another with spears and sledge hammers in hand. Despite the primitive weaponry, glimpses of enemies with firearms were sighted behind their melee brothers.

One of the Rangers noted their appearance. "What the fuck? They look like Romans."

Sukhoi sprayed his carbine downrange as the bodies continued to stumble upon the tracks. Yet, the enemy was able to get shots off on the defenders. The machine gunner fell from his post as the leader called for a medic.

Colonel Miller ordered one of his men to man the machine gun. "Stephan, man the DShK. We need suppressive fire!" Without question, the Ranger manned the gun and began to fire bursts of 12.7mm rounds downrange. Even the armored enemies were no match for armor-piercing rounds. Bullets peppered the wooden palisade and the sandbags, but the small slits the defenders used were enough to ensure their safety.

"It would be nice if we had, grenade launchers." Another Ranger commented.

Then the machine gun fell silent. "Stephan, what's going on?"

Sukhoi watched as he replaced the ammo box and began to look around. "I'm out. Shit!"

When the former leader of Exhibition turned away from the gunner, he saw a large wave of people sprinting towards the palisade. "Brace yourselves, they're about to charge us."

"Fix bayonets!" Miller shouted before he switched his weapon out for a shotgun.

Bodies smashed into the palisade as the attackers shoved spears through the vision slits. Yet, it did little to help when Sukhoi slipped the barrel through and held down the trigger. The enemies cried out in agony before the defenders held them off with their automatics. His ears couldn't hear beyond the loud blasts of Miller's shotgun blasting into the crowd. Some of the enemies tried to climb over their living brethren, but the Rangers gunned them down and spilled blood with their bayonets.

When the carbine was empty, Sukhoi pulled his weapon out of the vision slit, only to be grabbed forth by a strong hand. "Die profligate!" A hand-held chainsaw began to come into the vision slits in an attempt to reach out for him. Sukhoi fought back with every inch of his body, but he pulled out his knife and stabbed at the hand pulling him to his death.

The person he wounded departed from keeping him back while Sukhoi stepped back and reloaded his carbine.

Then Miller shouted. "Got a call from Vladimir, fall back!"

Then Stephan departed from the machine gun with his shotgun blasting away at the enemy. "Miller, Boris, I'll cover the rear."

Realizing that they were falling back, Sukhoi needed to warn the others. "Fall back!" He shouted. "Fall back!"

The delay tactic worked. The enemy was held up by the palisade and there was nothing to hold they could do to get past them. As Sukhoi waited until the last man was falling back, he watched the Rangers slowly retreat from their posts with their guns still firing. Nothing was going to get past them and he was sure of it.

The tunnel flooded with dozens of men running past the placed explosives while Bourbon calmly hurried the defenders to flee from the north as the volume of gunfire echoed louder from the rear. They had gotten past the palisade, it was only a matter of time until they would chase them towards Riga and they were not prepared for a full-scale invasion.

Sukhoi looked over his shoulder, only to see the Rangers follow after him as they occasionally shot back at their assailants. They would be denied that opportunity when he saw Petr hold a detonator in hand, waiting for the stragglers to get past them. "Sukhoi, hurry up!"

Once the station leader joined his familiar companion, he knelt beside him with his carbine out. Amongst the Rangers falling back, he saw one of the Rangers get struck in the leg on his way back. Bourbon was the last one amongst their group, but he stopped to carry the man over his shoulder. "Don't blow it up." Sukhoi ordered as he saw his men form a final stand behind another line of sandbags supported by sheets of metal and shields.

If the enemy broke through this fallback, the Metro would be at their mercy. He could order Petr to detonate the explosives, but Bourbon and the Ranger would be caught up in the danger zone. No, he would not let that happen. They had to survive.

"Cover them!" He raised his carbine and fired away at the Roman-like soldiers trying to descend upon Bourbon like a pack of wolves at a limping deer. Those that had firearms had missed their shots. It was luck that Bourbon wasn't dead, but it was short-lived when automatic gunfire was flying after them. A few more minutes and they would be dead.

As if fate had a strange sense of humor, Sukhoi saw a sight he did not expect to see. The enemy stopped firing, only to be caught by surprise of a tall dark figure standing amidst their ranks. A Dark One was here, but it paid its full attention on the invaders. It quickly sprung its hands out in a blink of an eye at the soldiers, causing them to succumb to their powers and writhe across the tracks. This was the power of a Dark One.

More Dark Ones appeared alongside their lone kin, directing their hands towards their victims and breaking their minds within seconds. Whoever confronted them was turned into a babbling mess with little remains of their warrior bravado.

When Bourbon brought the wounded Ranger back into the fold, Colonel Miller spoke of his relief. "Stephan, see to Danila's wounds." Then he stood beside the station commander with his full attention on the mutants standing on the other side of the placed explosives. "What are those things?"

Sukhoi knew better than to leave the colonel in the dark. "Those creatures are the Dark Ones. They were the reason why Hunter didn't return."

"Damn. They killed them without a blink of an eye. Why aren't they attacking us?"

"I don't know, but I hope we don't give them that chance."

The Dark Ones turned their full attention on the remaining defenders, but they did not take a step forward. Instead, they waved their hands towards the humans before walking to the north - where the enemy came from. As much as Sukhoi wanted to know why they didn't continue any further, he still had a duty to the Metro.

"Petr, do it."

The demolitions expert nodded his head and twisted the detonator. A great explosion erupted throughout the targeted zone with the tunnel succumbing to its structural weakness. The clouds of debris flew towards the men as they coughed and covered their mouths instinctively. The deed was done, the tunnel from Exhibition was now cut off from the rest of the Metro.

When the clouds disappeared and the soldiers of Exhibition made a slow trek towards Riga, Sukhoi was confronted by Colonel Miller. "What did was necessary for the safety of the Metro?" The soldier stated. "I'm sorry about what was left behind."

"No need." He replied. "Like you said, it was necessary."

"Thanks to your efforts here, I'll have to notify the Council about the external threat of the Metro. This is not something they can ignore."

Curious, Sukhoi decided to ask a question. "What can the Council do? Isn't blocking off the tunnel from Exhibition good enough?"

"While it may seem so, reports from other parts of the Metro have been received by Polis and they always mention the sighting of Roman-like soldiers. The people who attacked us just happened to be the largest external incursion into the Metro." Miller replied. "This needs to be brought to everyone's attention."

Bourbon interrupted the conversation. "Interesting, but there is one question I would like to ask."

"What would that be?"

"Just who exactly are we up against? I know that they all resemble something Roman, but no one in the Metro has any sense to take that kind of risk."

Then Sukhoi recalled a single moment when Exhibition took prisoners from the first assault on Exhibition. "Don't worry about that. I think we can extract some information from one of our prisoners that is currently in Riga."

That enough had brought Miller's attention. "A prisoner? Lead me to him, Sukhoi. We need to know what we're up against and just so we don't have to worry about making names up for our nameless enemy."

Soon, the weary remains of Exhibition's home guard walked south and began to make their way towards the nearest establishment.

Author's Note: Originally, I was supposed to have a section with Artyom and the others included, but it didn't feel like it should be there.

LanzCorporalAssWipe: The Courier only took the guns Artyom was going to sell since they spent the night improving the guns value.

Blaze1992: Didn't you read? I'm crossposting chapters on several sites. Unlike this site, Spacebattles and Sufficient Velocity actually enforce their rules and any NSFW (Not Safe For Work) content is looked down by the moderators and the arbiters. At best, I'll get an infraction. At worst, a ban from posting from my own story thread.

Besides, Artyom, Cass, and the Courier didn't have sex in that scene. I just insinuated the idea that they did.