Epilogue

Sofia – Day 2 – 21:00

I didn't know what to do. Ilia had just lost his lifelong friend and was distraught. Having only known him for the better part of a day, I couldn't even begin to console him. Surprising him with Alex's bullet lighter didn't help as much as I'd hoped and I was at a loss for words. In the brief moment that Alex and I were alone before he swallowed the capsule, he told me to keep Ilia safe and well. I promised that I would do my very best.

Even before this, it was clear that Ilia was deeply troubled. What he had told me about his mother opened my eyes to that. It was going to take a lot of work for him to get over this, I hoped that I could be there to help him through it. When we were relatively sure that we were safe, holding his hand seemed to provide him with some comfort, his flicker of a smile showed that much.

Despite his emotional distance, I liked him. I couldn't quite explain why, and I wasn't sure if it was just because he'd rescued me from Kitay-Gorod, but I knew that I wanted to help him in any way that I could, especially since Alex would no longer be there for him. The fact that he'd even told me about his mother showed that he was capable of being fixed.

We approached Mendeleevskaya, the station joined with Novoslobodskaya, and Ilia gave the two-hundredth-metre guards a quick wave. He quickly flashed his passport and they let us through to the two further guard posts and eventually to the proper passport control at the entrance to the Hansa station.

"Ilia!" Shouted the excited door guard as we approached, his deep voice resonating through the tunnel. Initially assuming that I was Alex, he committed to a double-take when he properly noticed me. "Who's this? No Alex?"

Ilia slowly shook his head and, while trying to hold himself together, muttered, "No Alex."

The man glanced at me and I responded by shaking my head. "Oh," he simply said, realising his mistake. "You should come in and get home. She with you?"

Ilia nodded and we moved through the guard post. Finally, we were actually safe. The moment was bittersweet; the two Hansa stations were like nothing I'd ever seen with their bright lighting and surprisingly crime free areas, but the moment was tarnished by the lack of Ilia's companion. Once we got to the Novoslobodskaya hospital, I promised Ilia that I would stick by him to help him through his grief. I owed him my life, I could at least begin to try and repay him for everything he'd done for me.