The Flag with the Skull

A new chapter ready straight off the press, unfortunately this category doesn't get many views but people seem to be enjoying this story so far and it's been very well received so I shall continue it , I hope you enjoy this chapter and the story so far as always I don't own Metro but I do own my characters.

As we crawled through the black expanse that was now the entrance to Chistye Prudy, I could feel the wound on my stomach still churning from the pain even though it felt as dull as could be. I knew that it wouldn't last however so I kept thinking through my head how I could visit the hospital while I was there, as the station was technically under a trading agreement with Hanza, but I did not realise how wrong I could be.

As the dark tunnel swept onward the light from the guard post lit the end in a dull yellowish glow, as we drew in closer I could hear voices they were all male which I found strange as in Hanza the stations were sworn to equality and everyone had to pull their weight, a tough but fair system. We all continued to crawl into the light it became blinding but as we dropped out of the tunnel into the guard post we were met by the muzzles of the guardsmen's guns.

"What is your business here?" one of the guards asked Khan.

"We are heading to Biblioteka Imeni Lenina," Khan replied in an assertive voice.

As he did the main officer of the guard post stepped forward, he was dressed in a black uniform with a military cap, his lapel he had a stripe followed by three silver squares. I looked at him for a moment trying to think of what that uniform had belonged to. One of the guardsmen turned and faced the officer, "Her Obersturmfüher, these people are trying to get to the library."

The officer walked slowly over to Khan, as he walked along the concrete floor his heels clacked in an almost rhythmic sound. "Why are you requesting that we let you pass through a restricted line?" The officer asked Khan, his accent sounded strange he had an almost foreign sound to it.

"Restricted?" Khan asked sounding very puzzled.

"Don't play stupid with me!" The officer's tone changed rapidly he now sounded like he was about ready to shoot Khan, "Why are you trying to get to the Red Line?" The officer continued to probe Khan.

"The Red Line? I told you we want to get to the Library!" Khan shouted at the officer.

"Lies! You are a red spy!" The officer replied he then turned to the men of the guard post, "Take him to the second unit, we will find out who he is working for?"

"What about the children?" A guardsman asked.

"Screen them, if they are clear take them to the centre," He told the guard sternly as he followed the guard who scooped Khan up.

"And if they are fail?" The guard shouted out.

"Then take them to the dushegubka," The officer replied as a large metal door slammed ending the conversation.

The guard looked down at me and Svetlana, his black uniform and black beret absorbed all the light that passed near him. As he lower himself down to my level I could see the silver death head shine in the light, "You two are lucky you're young you may still be of some use!" He told us as he stood back up and turned to face a guard who was coming to relieve him.

"Rottenfüher, we have come to relieve you of guard," He replied the guard had a slightly different pattern to the officer before as he had only two silver squares.

"Da Hauptachafüher," The guard turned scooped us up and saluted the officer. As the guards rotated I could see the men who were replacing looked very young no more than a few years my senior but they looked ready to fight.

As we were dragged down a hallway into what must have been the guard's barracks but as we passed the rooms where the guards were resting we passed the officer's mess and as we did an older officer came out of the room. The guards held us against the wall and the guard commander saluted the officer. "Her Brigadefüher!"

"Vesti muzhchin," The officer told the guard commander as he made his way out to the guard post.

The guards carried Svetlana and I off into a back room of the barracks, as they opened the massive metal door I saw a small table which had a set of metal instruments on it, there was also a large metal door at the rear of the room. It had a yellow and black stripe pattern on it making it look a lot less inviting than every door elsewhere in the metro.

They sat me down then tied my hands and feet together. As I was sat in the chair the guards took the implements off the table and started to measure my head and forearms, one soldier then took a sample of my blood and squeezed it into a small container which had a blue powder at the bottom. I sat watching the guard scribble down something on a sheet of paper while I sat waiting on the chair and the other stood shaking the vial of blood until it changed colour, it went from red to a vivid purple colour.

The guard leader nodded at the guard standing directly over me and he picked me up and sat me in the corner, he then placed Svetlana in the chair and tied her up. As they repeated the same tests on her the guard who was shaking her blood couldn't get the colour to change. The guard commander looked over at him and shook his head, he then looked over to the guard who has standing behind her on the chair, "Take her to dushegubka," The commander said as he stood up and left the room. The guard behind the table dragged Svetlana to the yellow and black door they both then went through it leaving me alone in the room with the blood guard.

The blood guard then sat on the table still shaking the vial of Svetlana's blood wondering why hers didn't change but while he did I wriggled my hands free from the ties. I then set about untying my feet which didn't take long. I pulled out my pistol which was concealed underneath my heavily wrapped up stomach. I crept up behind the blood guard and smashed him over the head as hard as I possibly could, I felt the pistol butt break through the skull and into the brain tissue. As I plucked it back out I wiped the pistol clean and pushed on the yellow and black door. The door was jammed shut.

As I continued to shove against the door someone burst in the room behind me so I turned and aimed my Makarov but as soon as he realised it was Khan he lowered his pistol. "Khan! They took Svetlana in there!" I shouted to him as I frantically tried to open the door.

"Here, let me try!" He told me as I stepped out the way and Khan rammed his frame into the door, "Chyot, Gestapo builds a strong door, eh?" He turned to me and looked around, "Little one, up there!" He told me as he pointed out a vent. He took off his pack and pulled off his saperka which had a crowbar implement on the end, he passed it to me while he tossed his pack back over his shoulders and then took the shovel back and with a few cracks he knocked the vent off its screws, "Strong doors, not so strong screws," He laughed as he boosted me up into the vent, he then passed me two gas masks, "When you find Svetlana put one on her, put the other on now." He told me sternly. I nodded as I placed the black rubber and glass frame over my face. "Go! Now!" He shouted at me as I started to scurry down the pipe towards the room where Svetlana was.

As I approached a vent I heard talking two soldiers were standing there with their masks pulled down over their face and they had a tin of something I couldn't see what it was but it had a toxic symbol on the side. I moved around to try and spot Svetlana I could see her on a stool with her hands and feet tied. I then noticed that the soldiers had started to place pellets on the floor around her and they had started to fizz. I backed up away from the vent and kicked it out, the vent landed on the two soldiers and I quickly followed them up with shots. In the commotion Svetlana had been knocked over but I moved round and placed the extra mask over her face. I turned and spotted one of the guards had pressed a button on the wall so I walked over to him and butted him with the pistol smashing the visor on his mask, he then fell on the floor rolling and choking.

As he stopped moving the door opened and Khan came running into the room. He knelt down next to her and checked so see if she was breathing, "She's breathing very weakly though," He then pulled a small black box out of his pocket and passed it to me, "That's going to save her life, I need you to inject it as I cut off her circulation," He told me looking very concerned, he nodded to me as he squeezed her arm just above the elbow causing the veins in her lower arm to raise up, I pushed the needle into one of the raised blue veins, "inject it all," Khan told me as I slowly injected the colourless liquid into her arm, as the last of it passed into her vein Khan picked her up and passed me his saperka. "Spartak get the door open, the guards will send reinforcements soon move!" He told me as I smashed the door on the otherside of the room open, when I got through I was in a tunnel which had a lot of bodies inside.

"How many people have they done this too?" I asked Khan as he followed me into the tunnel.

"No time, I'll explain later!" He told me as we took off running down the tunnel.

"How do you know this is the right way?" I asked.

"Have faith, little one."

I hope you enjoyed the chapter as going back to uni draws closer I don't know how much I'm going to able to publish or write but I will try and get as much done as I can but anyway please feel free to review and tell me what you thought and how I can improve upon this. Until the next time… PEACE!