Artyom kept his eyes forward, scanning the edges of the light the trolley could give off. As he pushed the accelerator, Cass reached into her pocket and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. "How long do you think we'll get there?" She asked before taking a quick swig at the hard liquor.

Without turning his head, the stalker was quick to answer. "According to my map, we should be reaching Polyanka."

"You seem to be taking your sweet time." The caravaneer added.

"I'd rather be cautious and run into a bandit ambush that happened earlier."

Up ahead, there was a small campfire in the distance with a single person sitting on a metal chair while the burning wood was warming a tea kettle hanging above. The stranger turned his head at their arrival, watching them while the young man decelerated the trolley. Then he waved his hand as he got closer.

"We have company."

When the trolley stopped at the stranger's campsite, he found an old man with his beard designed in a strange style Artyom had never seen before. The stranger's outfit was very modest, especially when compared to a stalker like Bourbon. This man was strange indeed, but he was friendly. Hopefully, he wasn't a bandit, but if he was there would have been bodies and a trap would have been sprung. "Hello, young man." Then he glanced over to the woman. "Young lady, what brings you two into this tunnel?"

He didn't want to put too much trust in someone he didn't know, but there had to be some degree of truth involved. "My friend an I are heading to Venice, we're taking a route through Polyanka." Artyom answered.

The stranger's demeanor changed. "You're heading through there? You must have made a mistake."

Artyom took a glance at his map. "No, it says on my map that it is a valid route."

He rose from his seat and walked over to the stalker's side of the trolley. Then his hand reached out. "May I see your map?"

Without a question, he handed him his only map to navigate through the Metro into the hands of a man who he didn't know. The old man's eyes looked through the map and shook his head. "This map is old. Looks like it hasn't been updated since the bombs fell." Then he reached into his clipboard and handed it over to him. "How about a trade? I have memorized these tunnels long enough, but you seem to be new at traveling. For your sake, I think you need my map more than this old piece of junk."

"I… I think that would help. Thank you." His eyes looked at the map he was given, only to see the man's notes on the various tunnels throughout the Metro. However, he noticed something strange about the lines between the stations. His eyes would notice a green line between on station and another, but when he was about to look it over the color changed to red. What did that mean? "What kind of map is this?" Artyom wondered while Cass looked over his map. It was almost… magical in some degree.

"Where did you get this map?" He asked.

"It's a one of its kind." The old man replied. "I don't think you'll ever find a map to match that artifact in terms of keeping you safe in your travels." Then he nodded his head to the tracks behind him. "I suggest you leave Polyanka when you have the chance."

"I have to go to Venice right now. My friend can't go into Polis without a passport."

"Look at the station and look at what you see."

Artyom listened to what the man said as his gaze fell upon the line between Polis and Polyanka. Unlike many of the other lines, this one was pitch black as the darkness throughout the Metro.

"The map is telling you it's certain death."

Cass leaned over from her seat to get a closer look. "Artyom and I have endured plenty, I think we could handle this place."

"It's not the normal kind of danger that you should be worried about."

Artyom spoke his mind, unconvinced by the old man's warnings. "Cass and I will proceed into Polyanka, no matter what." He told him. "I appreciate the advice, but what could be so dangerous for two armed people?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "If you insist on going, then allow me to accompany you. Few have been through Polyanka and I doubt few will talk about their experiences in the station."

"Why should I bring you along?"

"Young man, that station was my home. I know better than any outsider knows about the station's existence."

Then the caravaneer spoke her mind. "I don't know, pal. It's rather odd for a stranger to offer up his services to help us when he's trying to tell us to leave." She said.

He thought for a moment, but Cass was right to some degree. His time in the Mojave told him not to easily trust strangers for a moment, but this wasn't the Mojave. Yet, this old man claimed this station was his home. There must have been some degree of truth to that if he's camping close to the place he once lived in. However, he could have just left and stayed at another station if it was abandoned. Was there something about this place that he didn't want normal people to endure? Then Artyom thought about the Red officer he had met earlier, he had said something about his men going missing in that station. Did this old man know something that caused their demise? "We'll let you accompany us, but if you try anything funny Cass and I will put you down."

The stranger shook his head. "Hopefully, it will never come to that." Then he gave his hand out to the driver. "My name is Khan, I'll be your guide for your way through Polyanka." He began.

Then Artyom began to properly introduce himself to him. "I'm Artyom," Then he looked over to the woman sitting beside him. "And this is Cass."

Khan's hand began brushing his beard. "Cass… that's and odd name."

"What's wrong with it?" She asked while the stalker glanced over to her reaching over to her shotgun.

"It's not Russian." He answered. "Your name is not common around these parts, but perhaps you must be from the Arbat Confederation. Just be careful not to stumble into Nazis. They will not be kind to you." Then he looked towards the rails ahead of the trolley. "Shall we proceed?"

Artyom looked over at the various items around the campfire. "Are you going to get your stuff?"

Khan smiled. "Don't worry, young man. Few have the courage to approach the station, I doubt my belongings will be taken. Besides, I intend to come back for them after I guide you through the station." Then he climbed onto the trolley as they drove forward into Khan's home station.

When they arrived at the station's doors, the trio dismounted from their trolley as Khan walked up to the shut doors while Artyom and Cass carried their belongings with them. Looking at how tight the doors have been locked for how long. Then Cass made the most obvious comment about the doors. "It's locked, you know." She began. "How do you plan to get us in?"

Khan chuckled. "Don't let the door's appearance get to you." He countered. "These doors haven't been opened for a very long time and I'm just reminded of my time I left this station."

"So what was so special about this place?" The caravaneer wondered.

"It was one of the few stations that fell to the mutants. Most stations go empty because it's hard to grow mushrooms or there is some kind of natural hazard that threatens the people living there. Here - we abandoned it because of the mutants. The nosalises to be precise."

"So how do we get in?"

"Tell me Artyom, do you have your battery charger on you?" He asked.

Under the weight of the weapons, Artyom still had a chance to speak. "Yes." Why did Khan ask that question? It didn't make any sense.

"Do you have your lighter?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

Khan pointed his finger to the left, revealing a power station nearby. "The former to open up these doors and the later if our flashlights go out."

The stalker made his way towards the power station, connecting his battery charger up to the machine before he immediately charged the doors. He felt the lights click to life over him before the doors began to slowly awake from their slumber. After enough power was put into the station, Artyom detached his equipment away and found Khan slip through the doors. Keep your light on, we do not want to remain in the dark unless we become lost forever.

He was quick to turn on his flashlight before Cass caught his attention. "May I have your Pip-Boy?" She asked.

"Why?"

"I don't know, but this place feels odd. Far creepier than the Sierra Madre."

Artyom turned his knapsack to her as she began to dig into his inventory. "Sure, I haven't had the opportunity to use it since we arrived in this place. Have at it."

After she fished his Pip-Boy out, they were quick to follow Khan into the darkness. There was light up ahead, but it paused to have it's moment of flickering life. However, past it was a broken train. Each flicker the status of the train would have appeared to be in disrepair, but when it stopped it's state was better than before.

The old man stopped before the light and walked to his right to a set of pipes attached to the tunnels. He placed his ear close against the metal, but then he took a step back. "They know we are here."

"Who knows?" Cass wondered.

"Polyanka will show you." He answered. "Listen to the pipes, but not for too long."

Artyom was sure this man was hearing things, but rather than insult the man who gave him his updated map he took the chance to do what he said. He heard Cass follow him as they both pressed their ear against the coldness of the metal. "I don't hear anything."

"Wait for it."

Howls of wind blew through the pipes, but there was distinct sound the stalker could not forget. In the distance, he could hear the laughing of children. He smiled, what was so bad about this.

Then the laughing stopped. There was nothing, but silence.

A shrieking cry roared into his eardrum as he and Cass jumped back in surprise. Artyom immediately grabbed for his suppressed sub-machine gun, but his companion fired off all four barrels of her weapon. "What the actual fuck?!" The caravaneer screamed terrified before loading the next four shotgun shells into place.

Then Khan expressed his comments. "Some believe to be some psychic influence, but I believe it is the voice of the tunnels. I recommend that you stay close, there might be… strange phenomenons that might kill you without my advice." He walked forward and led the way while Cass turned on a light from her Pip-Boy.

The group continued through the tunnel by climbing into the broken train filled with webs all around. However, Artyom charged his flashlight to the fullest to find skeletons littered around. "The skeletons - who died here?"

"These corpses have been here before the war." He said, breaking away the spider webs while the small creatures that occupy them scattered away from their disturbance of their home. "The tunnel collapsed on them and they were all waiting for help to arrive, I doubt they even knew there was a war happening above."

"That is such a terrible way to die."

"Indeed. Keep your light on, this grave sight might be more alive than you think." Khan added.

"Thank you for making me uncomfortable, old man."

"The truth is always uncomfortable."

Artyom remained silent throughout the banter. He was just like these people here, pre-war survivors, innocents who were met with an untimely end. They suffered all because of a war they never knew. "How far?" He asked.

"Very far." Khan answered. "It will take some time to get to the other side."

Their flashlights began to flicker, including the Pip-Boy on Cass's arm as the train began to creak. Whispers echoed throughout the train cars, he looked around to find who was making the noise, only to find nobody present. When Khan entered the next train car, his flashlight was flickering rapidly before the old man disappeared in the darkness. "Khan?"

Then he heard Cass talk. "Artyom, I think were hallucinating. Never have I seen so much weird shit in one day."

Upon looking on his right, he saw a service tunnel connected to the pipes that lead off into a different path. There was a small campfire in the distance with two children standing there, staring back at him. Then they disappeared before his very eyes as he heard several people crying from that path.

He felt his friend tap him on the shoulder, catching his attention. "Somebody is up ahead."

Artyom was quick to turn his full attention towards the other half of the train, only to see a shadow of a man, but without his body running towards him. It appeared there was something coming right after him, but there was nothing. Yet, he was able to hear the man's cries as he ran towards the young man.

When the shadow ran into him, the young man began to see flashbacks. Reality beginning to flee from him as he heard ringing and people crying in the distance. He found himself standing at the very space where he stood, before gunfire caught his attention. Then he looked over his shoulder to find that Cass wasn't there with him. "Where am I?" He wondered.

A cry in the distance caught his attention. "Help me!" A woman shouted to the top of her lung, but a nosalis growl in the distance caught ended her screaming.

He saw a man on the other side of the train climb up and run towards him as a nosalis was chasing after him. His yelled in terror before the beast jumped forward and caught up with him.

His flashback ended when he heard Cass's voice. "Hey, are you okay?!" Artyom blinked his eyes until he found the reality with the skeletons littered around. This time, she stood in front of him waving her hand in front of him. "Artyom, wake up!"

The stalker shook his head at the small memory of the man's death before he proceeded forward.

"What's wrong?"

"Did you see the shadow of the man?"

"Yeah, he disappeared when he ran into you. What happened?"

"I… I saw his memory, the last memory of his death."

"We should get out of here." She suggested. "I knew there was something bad about this place."

The duo began to run forward, hoping to find their guide or get out of the train filled with this strange occurrences that they couldn't understand. However, they both looked around to find shadows of people sitting in their seats or standing and holding on to the handles. When they reached the other side of the train car and began in another, their reality was gone.

Here, they found people sitting on their train ride. No bones and spiderwebs in the way. Some were reading, others were conversing while the rest simply kept to themselves. The train was moving, but their transportation shook at a thunder above. Women and children screamed while the men and the elders tried to protect their loved ones or themselves. Soon their train shook violently as people screamed for their lives.

It all disappeared before Artyom awoke to find Khan's flashlight looking down at him while his hands were holding his collar. "Young man, wake up!"

He blinked before him as the old Russian smiled in relief.

"Stay there, I'll go check on your friend and see how's she's doing."

He sat up while he began to check on Cass's status. Meanwhile, Artyom felt a strange vibe coming throughout the air. Something was coming towards them as he brought his weapon to bear.

"Are you awake?"

"Yeah." She answered. "I can see why you didn't want us to come here. We're running around seeing weird stuff."

On the other side of the train car, there was a small blue light that slowly moved while they heard zaps of lightning. "Stand up, quick!" Khan ordered as the group stood up to face what was coming. "Whatever you do, don't move. It will come after us if you do." The blue light made its way towards the doorway, revealing itself towards the party.

"What is that thing? I've never seen it before."

When it came closer, the old strange man was quick to answer. "That thing is what we call an anomaly in these tunnels. A new phenomenon in a new world."

The anomaly slowly approached them before zapping any metal out of place and lighting the webs on fire. Then it stopped for a moment. A bestial cry echoed from afar before the strange sighting bounced up and down as it made its way towards the creature that made the noise. There were dozens of zapping noises before a loud explosions was unleashed.

"Goddamn." Cass commented. "I traveled through many strange places within the NCR, but this just tops it off."

Khan turned around. "The NCR? It's rather strange that I once knew a woman who spoke of the New California Republic."

Artyom stepped aside to see the old man taking a good look at the caravaneer. "You do? How the hell do you know that?"

His hand began combing through his beard. "I once boarded a train to help a stalker get away from death. She was a captive of these strange foreigners, but I was able to dispatch them with ease. The last time I saw her, she was with a man who went by the name of Bourbon."

Immediately, he recognized a name in that sentence. "Wait, you know Bourbon?!" Artyom exclaimed with ecstasy.

"Yes. Do you know him?"

The stalker nodded his head in confirmation. "We both traveled together before he brought me back to Exhibition. The last time we saw each other… I ended up in a place where Cass is from."

"You're from Exhibition."

"Yeah, what of it."

"I'll tell you the news after we leave this place. It's not safe to stay." He replied. "Follow me."

Upon leaving the train the trio began to leave the confines of the train to their destination as they walked through the small path in the rubble. Each each step, their boots began to grind against the rubble. The guide pulled out his Kalash from his back when he became the first to get out from the rubble-filled path.

Then Artyom began to notice something, he was tense while he held his rifle. "Is there something wrong?"

Khan pointed his finger forward ahead at a place that appeared to be a defensive barrier. "Look forward, what do you see?"

What did he meant by this? He did what was asked of him with his gaze staring past Khan as he noticed dozens of armed guards standing between them and a broken gate. Well… it was only their shadows. "Who are they?"

"I don't think who is applicable to these ghosts." The old man answered. "Follow me and stay at my back, but don't touch the silhouettes."

The caravaneer spoke her mind. "What is wrong with that?"

"Unless you want to relive their deaths, I recommend that you stay away and keep your life."

"I was simply asking."

"Yes, but I need to emphasis on this." Khan replied. "There is no shortage of idiots." Then he stepped forward, mere meters away from the ghosts. "What I am about to do should stay here in Polyanka. Promise me this that none of you will tell anybody about this."

"Okay, I promise."

"Artyom?"

The young man looked at the ghosts and then turned his back towards the doors in the distance. "I promise. I truly don't want to be reminded of this place. It's disturbing."

"That is why those doors are closed." Their guide walked forward as he placed his hands together in a prayer-like manner. "Casto noi lapide asterium manto, alaum raum om, alaum raum om."

The words he spoke was the strangest he ever said, it was unlike anything he ever heard of. Yet, their effect showed when the shadows of dead men stepped away from him while the group followed after them. Once they got past the ghosts, Artyom and Cass were quick to close the distance before they closed their formation and remained on guard.

Cass spoke her mind. "I know it's odd of me to ask you, but how were you able to do that?"

The strange man that stood before them lowered his head. "It's personal." He answered. "The men who died at their post, I knew them." Then he expressed a large sigh. "I was there when they died, only I survived."

They continued to travel past the gate while Artyom pondered at the mention of what Khan meant when he said ghosts. "Sir, may I ask you a question?"

"It depends on what that may be."

"You called those shadows ghosts? What made you say that?"

Khan shook his head. "When the bombs fell, I noticed that these shadows started appearing. I even asked scientists about this strange sighting, but they merely dismiss this as mere anomalies or hallucinations. I've tried to agree with that reasoning, but I just can't. Ever since the mutants attacked this station there is evidence that proves otherwise. There were twenty-one soldiers who fought at the great battle we have just left behind, but there are only twenty who remain. My reason why I refer to those shadows as ghosts is simple. After we destroyed our world above the Metro, we also destroyed Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory." He explained. "With the destruction of the afterlife, the souls who have died during or after the bombings, have nowhere else to go and are tied down in the very place where they last died. The moving shadows? A memory of their final moments before the reaper takes them, anybody who gets in their way or dares to touch them usually join them. It's harsh, but it is a fitting punishment for a crime humanity committed against itself. Wouldn't you agree?"

"That is a lot to take in." Cass commented. "I don't the Mojave has endured anything like that except for the ghost people of the Sierra Madre, but otherwise this is just screwed up."

"Indeed it is. Follow me, we shouldn't be too far from the exit."

After they had left the station, it was refreshing to leave the weird sightings the stalker and the caravaneer had endured. Having seen that, Artyom would intend to keep his promise about what Khan did to protect them. Hopefully, Cass will on her end of the bargain, but he'll think about it after they make their way to Venice.

They found themselves stopped by a small dock with various bodies littered around while a cache of ammo and weapons were set up beside a bell. Khan walked up to it and pulled the rope attached, ringing the bells attached to pillars above the water. "Wait here, a fisherman should be close by to reach you."

Cass was quick to thank him. "Thank you for helping us out, I didn't expect that from someone like yourself. It's just that the Mojave has been hard on me."

The old man smiled. "You're welcome, both of you. I must return to my camp, but here is some advice to get to Polis and avoid crossing Polyanka. Once you are finished with your business in Venice, head north towards the Theatr station owned by the Red Line, but don't enter it. There should be a path heading west towards the Eastern Gate of Polis."

Artyom nodded his head in acknowledgment, but when the old man was about to depart he thought about Khan's comment about his home station. "You said you had news about my home station. Is there anything you can tell me what happened?"

He paused in his tracks before turning around to confront the stalker. "What I know is hearsay, but the tunnel to Exhibition has been closed off due to some attack by a bunch of foreigners."

"What about the people? Did anybody get out?"

"From what I heard from others, yes. Miller's men arrived on time to evacuate the station as soon as possible before they had to blow the tunnel up." Khan answered. "As for where they went, I have not a single clue, but why are you concerned? Is there somebody important there?"

"Yes. My stepfather is-was the station commander." He replied. "I just want to know if he survived."

"I understand your plight. The man who raised you is in danger and you want to see if he's safe. That is understandable. Perhaps you may find some answers in Polis, maybe not, but it is worth a shot."

"Thank you." Artyom said with full honesty. This was good news about his home.

"No problem, but I do have some words that you might need to consider."

"What would that be?"

"Now that your home is gone, what shall you do? Where shall you go? You have a long road ahead of you. You may want to consider becoming a stalker, but you will need a place to find comfort and rest."

"I don't know. There were aspirations for me to leave my station and explore the rest of the Metro, but I didn't think my home would be gone forever."

Khan smiled. "I don't think you'll have a problem with that. You may find where you least expect it. Goodbye Artyom Alekseyevich Chyornyj and farewell Rose of Sharon Cassidy." Then he turned his back on them before running into the darkness with only his headlight to light the way.

Artyom took a glance at Cass at the awkward moment that had just happened, only to find the woman surprised. "Hold on a moment, I didn't even tell him my full name. How the hell did he know that?"

There was a cry in the distance before they saw two men on a 'boat' slowly making its way towards the dock. "Ahoy there, strangers! We fishermen are coming to pick you up. Hang tight!"

Author's Note: I had some extra free time on my hands to get a chapter done before I spend the rest of my weekend for finals, but I think it's worth noting something. Discounting stupid and terrible fics I've typed up, this is perhaps the longest-running chapter I've created. Man does that feel good. Too bad I'm not getting plenty of reviews on .