After going through a maze of hallways, Artyom and Winter found themselves following their new guide out of the station.

Bourbon had begun to push a crate out from being in the way of the doorway as he glanced over to the two. "The guards blocked this area off since there are rumors of weird shit going on in here. I don't believe in it, but that is why both of you are with me."

Of the many problems Winter disliked about the man, the way he worded was enough to catch him by surprise. "Is that what you think of us?" She inquired. "Are we some simple tool for you?" The specialist of Atlas stopped in her tracks as Bourbon glanced over his shoulder and chuckled. "Why are you laughing?"

"You are not from around here." He answered. "I have heard stories of entire caravans of men who went mad because of the things that go in these tunnels." Bourbon shook his head at the thoughts. "While I still never believed they were real, there are some things that say otherwise."

Bourbon and Winter heard the youngest member of their party yelp in surprise as he stomped the ground.

"Artyom, what's wrong?" He turned on his flashlight as he saw a rat scurry away from his feet. Despite the young man's size over the rodents, Bourbon noticed his expression. "What the hell? Are you afraid of rats?"

The scared man raised his head and slowly nodded his head.

"You fucking baby, you scared the shit out of me."

However, Winter was quick to step into the conversation from going any further. "If Artyom is scared of rats, what is wrong with it?"

"I don't know about you, but a man who is so easily scared of rats has been living the good life in the Metro." Bourbon told her. "In these tunnels, the presence of rats are a sign that people are present. It leads to the present danger of mutants, but that is normal. Not seeing rats every now and then is a bad sign of things to come." Then he stormed into the darkness with his flashlight on. "Now let's go, we don't have time to waste." He said, leading the duo. "And keep up, we don't want to be alone and be met by a lurker."

Winter glanced to her companion from Exhibition as she tapped his shoulder. "You heard him, we better go." She stated as the two followed their guide into the darkness of the world.

Artyom pressed his Bastard closer to his chest as the light on his head was enough to illuminate the area around. Then he stood by her side as he struggled to speak up. "You are probably laughing at me for being afraid of rats by now." He began. "I'm not much of a man if I can't have the strength to overcome that fear."

"You fear rats?" She asked. "What could these rodents do? They're harmless and more of a nuisance."

The young man shook his head. "Don't underestimate them. Those creatures were small, but when they come in swarms the rats have no mercy and will eat you alive… My mother was one of their victims when I was a boy." Artyom lowered his head at the mention of his emotionally tragic past. "Now I am just some simple orphan in the care of the administrator."

The Atlesian specialist was taken aback by Artyom's explanation of his fear. One that she saw in his eyes as he continued to follow Bourbon into the darkness. The idea of a child seeing their own mother eaten alive was not something she would want on anyone, not even the people who deserved it. The fact that this existed and the way that Bourbon disregarded his fear was enough to tell the tale of things to come.

"Hold up." Bourbon ordered as he raised his fist up in the air. "Ah shit, this was a caravan." The older man was quick to inspect the bodies as he shook his head. "Damn, this is the work of bandits. Hansa said they got rid of these guys."

Winter assessed the situation, but placed a hand over her mouth as she saw the bodies of men and women strewn about. The flesh smelled and attracted the flies, who feed themselves on the decaying carcasses of the deceased.

"From the way I see it, the bandits are going to be nearby if they're capable of doing this." Then he walked over to one of the bodies and yanked out metal rod out of the chest of a man. "Artyom, take these." He said before giving his hand out to the man.

The young man was quick to step forward as he took hold of the small metal rod in his hands. "What's this?"

"Ammunition." Bourbon replied. "If you ever come across a Helsing, you will need the ammo. Buying the ammunition at the exchange is not worth your bullets. It's not worth it."

Bourbon's knowledge piqued Winter's curiosity. "You seem to know more than you let on." She commented. "How do you know this?"

"Bah, I once 'obtained' a Helsing from a stash that once belonged to the Rangers. When I returned back from the surface, I was just about to buy stacks of arrows. It was not worth my money, I could get more for my worth out of bullets than arrows. They're more common unlike the arrows. That and also making the arrows requires plenty of effort."

"I see."

Bourbon glanced over to a hallway on their right as they heard shouting coming out from the other side. The guide and Artyom had readied their weapons as a man swung the door open and began to cry out to the newcomers.

The stranger screamed to the top of his lungs as his hands was pressed against his ears. Once he had reached the opening of the hallway, he dropped to his legs and turned his gaze to Bourbon. "I'm dead." He said.

"Of course, we're armed." He stated.

However, the party watched as the bandit meant his words in a literal sense as his body slumped to his right and slammed onto the ground.

"What the fuck?"

Winter did the sensible thing by raising her Bastard up at the door on the other side of the hallway. In that room, she heard the cries of men and the gunfire erupting from the shadows. However, the chaos was quickly silenced after the sound of a single gunshot. "What's going on?" She looked over to Bourbon, only to see him checking the pulse of the man.

He shook his head as he rose up from the body. "I do not know what the hell is going on, but we better get going unless we end up like them." Then Bourbon began to leave the hallway and continued the journey from there as Artyom followed.

She stood there for a moment as she saw a cloud of darkness pass by the door as she heard a scream cry out for help. Despite all of the creatures of Grimm and the sheer amount of training she received at the Atlas Military, she had never been afraid like a child ever since she was a little girl.

A voice cried out to her, grabbing her attention. "Winter, come on!"

The young lady looked over to see Bourbon and Artyom gesturing their hands to come over as she was quick to follow them and depart from the scene she saw. The sheer amount of fear she felt at that moment was enough to tell her that there some things worse than the physical. No, it was the feeling that she was in the presence of something psychic, something that was not part of this world.

. . .

Winter was thankful that Artyom had a watch on his wrist. Ever since she accompanied him, he seemed to have the necessities in order to survive as he glanced over to her.

"It's been three hours since we left Riga station." Artyom answered.

A chuckled escaped from their leader's lips as he continued jogging. "Three hours? That is shorter than what I expected. Hell, if we get there I will give both of you a share of three cartridges and my Kalash. What do you say?"

"I'm fine with that deal."

"Good, we're almost there. I recognize the door already."

After the conversation wrapped up, Winter found herself looking at steel wall of the door. Its gears and machinery were showing signs of wear, but was still capable of doing its duty as a door. Bourbon was quick to knock on the door before a man shouted from a small doorway on their left. It was safe to assume it was a barrier of protection as a figure came to his station. "Motherfuckers, who the hell thinks it's a good idea to piss me off." The guard demanded.

His headlight shined onto their bodies as the trio raised their hands to shield their eyes.

"Bourbon, is that you?"

A chuckle escaped from the man's lips as he waved his hands. "Yes, it's me. I've come back to do a bit of a favors and repay you after last time." He answered.

"Well then, it's good to see you. Who are the other two?" He asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Risk takers just like me. Open the gate, I got some business to attend to."

The guard nodded his head, accepting Bourbon's words. "Will do. Wait a minute."

When the guard had left his post, Bourbon turned around and began to talk to a member of their party. "Winter, put on your mask. It's for your own good."

The specialist was taken aback. "Why do I need to wear it right now?"

"If you want to keep those fuckers from getting between your legs, I would do it right now. I owe these guards money and bringing a woman with me would make them happy."

"You wouldn't dare?"

Bourbon shook his head. "I may be a cutthroat, but I have morals. Now do as I say." He demanded as the doors creaked open.

Winter was quick to snatch her face mask as her hair caused nothing, but problems to him. As her mouth was covered, she could hardly breath in it.

Then Artyom walked over to her as he adjusted her mask for him. It was almost as if he knew something about perfection and knowing the details about perfection.

"How do I look?" She asked.

Artyom did not speak a word as he looked over to the man in charge. Bourbon chuckled as he gave a quick glance at her mask. "You'll hide well under that." He said. "You look just like a boy."

The doors opened as Winter saw a bright light shine in their faces. A figure of a man began walking towards them with the light behind his back. When Winter could finally see the man, he took the cigarette out and took a moment to release the air within him. "Bourbon, it's good to see you. Pay up." He said.

Bourbon brought out two cartridges from his pocket as he handed it to the man of the gate. "Here are your cartridges." He replied. "I hope that's enough."

"You still owe me, Bourbon. However, I'm curious to know who are your two companions."

"They're travelers passing by. Turns out that they wanted to leave the station's lockdown and I provided them a way to get out."

The guard scoffed at his explanation. "Hopefully you could pay them as well as us." Then Winter felt his eyes look at him. "Welcome to Market Station. If you are passing by, spend some of your bullets here. We'd appreciate it."

Winter sighed, feeling relieved that the guard had not discovered what she was.

As the trio began to enter through the defenses of the station, the guard held up his hand and stopped her. Had he grown suspicious of her already? "You have a sword." He commented. "That's a perfect weapon against mutants. Well, have fun."

After they walked past the checkpoint, she found Artyom waiting for her. "Winter, what did the guard say?"

"He was just commenting on my sword." She replied. "He doesn't know."

"Good." Replied Bourbon, not looking back at his two companions. "That means I can get you two to your destination without a worry."

"You know where we're going?"

The man stopped in his tracks as he turned around with his back facing to the station's buzzing activity. "Of course, an old friend of mine told me." He answered. "Am I right, Khan?"

Winter and Artyom were taken aback as an old man walked into their conversation from the corner. He wore a red bandana as his facial hair resembled that of the old people living in Mistral. Yet, she sensed there was something more to him than meets the eye. "Who are you?" The woman asked.

The old man smiled as he placed his hands in his pockets. "Just an old man named Khan. As to what reasons I have to be here, let's just say that Hunter contacted me through a particular method." He answered. "However, I know what both of you are seeking, Artyom of Exhibition and Winter Schnee of the Atlas Miltiary."