Ash flinched as Dusk kicked down yet another set of rust steel doors.
"What is it with you and doors?" Ash muttered to himself.
"The doors at the Citadel always got in my way." Dusk responded. Ash flinched hoping that Dusk wouldn't turn to face him because of his ill-timed comment. "This is my way at getting back at them."
"All this for something so trivial?"
"Nothing is trivial, rook." Dusk responded. "Enjoy the little things." Dusk noticed that the facility was getting older and more worn as the two traveled further down the tunnel.
"This place sure is weird. Some parts are really nice and well-maintained and the rest…"
"That means someone is maintaining it." Dusk concluded. She held her arm out to stop Ash. Ash nodded and moved to a supporting position behind her. Dusk dropped to a crouch and listened. A low growl from the end of the hallway.
"What is it?"
"Ferals." Dusk reached for her belt and grabbed a flare. She tore off the cap and lobbed the flare into the dark hallway.
"We have flashlights. Why would you use an emergency supply like that?" Ash asked.
"Watch." Dusk said quiet. Ash observed and realizes that the ferals were gathering at the flare, inspecting and studying it. They were completely oblivious to the fact that Dusk and Ash stood just yards away. "This is how a pro does it." Dusk said. She grabbed a frag grenade from Ash's vest and pulled the pin. She held it out to Ash's face. "Here, blow on it."
"What?"
"You're no fun." Dusk jested as she lobbed the frag into the group. Not a moment before it landed, the grenade exploded throwing chunks of feral meat and blood all over the walls and over Ash and Dusk. "Come on." Dusk said quietly as she dusted off her armor before standing. "Let's keep moving."
Yuri's vision faded in and out with the man clad in white being her sole focus. Often times the details of his face would elude her but his cold piercing gray eyes would always shine through.
"Stay awake. Stay with me." The man's soft voice drew Yuri back from the brink. The tone of his voice corroborated his earlier claim of sorrow over inflicting pain onto another. However, unlike the heroes of old who displayed mercy, this old soldier continued to press forward in his conquest. He slapped Yuri's face to wake her up. Her vision suddenly cleared, albeit with a stinging cheek.
"There." He said. "Now you're paying attention. Who do you work for? The Chinese? The Russians?"
"What?" Yuri managed to croak out.
"Tell me. You're a spy aren't you? One day I'm in Vault 111 and someone points a gun to my head. I black out and then here I am. Where am I? Why am I here? Where is my wife?" his voice grew from calm and collected, slowly and carefully enunciating each vowel, until it became a terrible roar of anger.
"I…" Yuri began. "What are you talking about." She whimpered. His brow raised as if in disbelief.
"You're really trying my patience here. You soldiers were clearing guarding me. Preventing me from leaving. Who do you work for?" He roared once more. In the corner of her eye, Yuri noticed a man counting a stack of Pre-War dollars meticulously. Dressed in a vest and slacks the man wore patrolman sunglasses and seemed amused in his task. He looked up and lifted the shades, revealing a pair of icy blue piercing suns. The man smiled before being enveloped in a field of blue. The man grabbed a crowbar from a place that Yuri could not see. "I guess I'm going to have to make you talk."
"No please don't." The man raised his arm high, Yuri's eyes following it as it went up with the instrument. Then he swung down.
BAM! The feral fell to the ground and slid a couple feet before slowing to a stop.
"Tango down." Ash shouted out.
"You don't need to shout, rook. We're in a hallway." Dusk commented. "But good shot. It went clean through." She stepped over the body and continued forward. Ash looked down and realized he had landed a headshot that sported an exit wound. Ash smirked to himself and ran after Dusk after realizing that she had gone far ahead of him.
"Why do you enjoy fighting so much?" Ash blurted. He stopped himself when Dusk paused in her step from the question.
"Why do you like to ask so many questions?" Dusk chuckled. "I never stopped to think about it."
"Why don't you?" They walked in silence for a bit as Dusk pondered the question. The low growls in the distance indicated the presence of ferals in the seemingly endless dark hallway.
"I guess I never slowed down enough to think about it."
"Would you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Would you ever consider stopping?"
"You know why we fight." Dusk said defensively. "It's to survive."
"I mean with the Enclave and all the military stuff."
"Maybe."
"Hold up. I think I see something." They reach a steel door. A small panel on the right of door glowed a sickly green. Dusk reached for it. Ash slapped her hand away. "What are you doing?"
"I'm opening it."
"Shouldn't we be more careful about moving through this place?" Ash asked.
"We are being careful. This has been an extremely long hallway and this is the only door besides the one we first passed through." Dusk refuted. "I'd say we're being too careful."
"Can we please just call in the other team first?" Ash asked. Dusk stared at Ash for a few seconds. She tapped the antennae on her helmet.
"Gallows, we're stuck in a strange facilitiy hidden in Fort Hagen. I'm pinging you my location." Dusk said into her microphone. "You read me, Gallows?" There was no response. Ash tapped on his own antennae.
"Yuri? Do you hear me? We're kinda lost inside Fort Hagen. We need help."
"Roger that." A strange voice said over Yuri's mike. "On my way."
"Did you hear that?" Ash asked Dusk. Dusk froze. "What is it?" Ash asked. He noticed that Dusk was staring down the dark hallway. Ash looked over and saw him. A man clad in white slowly walking towards them.
"Who's that?" Ash asked.