Chapter Fifteen: Contact
Aleksandrovsky Sad station was bustling, though there wasn't much noise; people talked and moved about in an orderly fashion, going about their business succinctly and efficiently. There wasn't a full open market at this station, as most of it had been converted into a makeshift barracks. The Brahmins now mainly kept to Borovitskaya and the Library station, whereas the Kshatriya ruled over Arbatskaya and Aleksandrovsky Sad now that most of the Order had moved to D6. Artyom had heard once from another Spartan that all exits to the surface leading from here had been sealed off, but the informant seemed to have his doubts about the fact.
Looking around for a radio post, Artyom was somewhat discouraged by his lack of familiarity with this station. He absentmindedly offered Aleks an arm to lean on as he sorted through his memories and found his way around. He figured his best bet was to find the passage to Arbatskaya, where Melnik's old office was. With Aleks still compromised from her brush with the anomaly, he didn't want to alarm her by making her think he wasn't sure of himself. He did his best to keep a calm demeanor as she took hold of his arm; it amused him that finally he was leading her around a station and not the other way around. Slowly, he began to wind through the main vestibule, scrutinizing every signpost and banner for directions to Arbatskaya.
After finally finding the passage at the other end of the platform, Artyom could make his way to the office easily; it had been turned into a checkpoint for the Order, and was always manned by one of their own men to maintain communications with D6.
Aleks was trying to hide the fact that she was still dizzy, and Artyom thought it would be best to leave her outside the door and let her rest while he made contact. She stumbled slightly as he helped her shift to the wooden bench, and she let her head fall back against the wall. Her eyes seemed like glass, and she mumbled a few words to him. They were jumbled fragments about her father, and some kind of conversation with him, but that was all Artyom could make out. Perhaps when she recovered more, she would remember what it was and tell him about it.
"Will you be alright for a few minutes here?" He asked worriedly.
"I'm not going anywhere." She said softly, attempting a laugh as she waved him away.
Promising to be brief, he left her side and went to knock on the frame of the office door. A young man with grayish-blonde hair was sitting behind the square wooden desk that Melnik had occupied for untold amounts of hours when he wasn't on a mission of his own. The small space was warmed by several filled book shelves and a few chairs and even a potted plant in the corner. On the left side of the room was a metal-grated partition which served as a small arms room. The walls still had maps of Metro lines with notes scribbled down and pencil marks in several colors where there were transfer tunnels and other side-passages. Artyom tried to identify the markings about the passage they had just come through from the Red Line but it was too far away to make out properly. At least the Order knew something about it, and somehow he was relieved.
"Artyom? Is that you?" Spoke a familiar voice in response to his knocking.
"Grigori?" Artyom replied disbelievingly as the young man lifted his head from a book.
"So, you've made it! I'm glad. When they told me you'd be coming back I couldn't believe my ears." Grigori beamed, extending his arm towards a chair adjacent to the desk that let Artyom know he should sit in it. "Tell me where it is you've been!"
"I will, but first I need to contact Colonel Melnik. He was expecting me back yesterday and—" Artyom paused, turning his head back to the door and thinking of how best to explain Aleksandrya to his fellow Ranger. "I have someone with me that needs to speak with him in person, urgently."
"Someone?" Grigori echoed, raising an eyebrow and trying to follow Artyom's gaze out the door. "Not one of us?"
"No. She's from Avtozavodskaya." Artyom reported flatly, suddenly wanting to be done with the questioning and get on with making the call.
"She?" Grigori's expression was of shock and intrigue.
"She was a friend of Hunter." Artyom said with emphasis, knowing that dropping the name of all names would put any more questions in the other man's mind aside, at least momentarily, and force him to make the call. Any mention or news of the man was still considered serious business as Melnik had not yet given up the search for the missing Ranger.
"I see, I see." Grigori said with an intrigued nod.
The young Ranger slowly rose to his feet, having some kind of trouble, but it wasn't until he walked over to the radio box awkwardly that Artyom noticed the cast on his lower leg. Grigori must have been injured during the fight at the church, and so they stuck him on duty here where he only had to sit and keep up communications. Artyom felt a twang of guilt, and began wondering who else may have been hurt. For a moment he believed that if he had been paying attention to the spotlight, the whole incident may never have happened at all – but then, he also wouldn't have met the members of Roten Spaten.
"Igorevich here, Artyom has arrived. Yes. Tell the Colonel we have a code black." Grigori tapped his finger against the side of the box, waiting for a reply.
Artyom finally took a seat in the chair he'd been offered and let the straps of his rucksack fall from his shoulders, not even contemplating what the meaning of that code word was. The items he had stowed to hide from the Reds hadn't seemed very heavy when they left Kuznetsky Most, but the weight had taken its toll over the course of the harrowing day. His aching feet and spine took up all of his attention for the moment.
"The Colonel is just getting back from a mission; I'll have him call you when he's detoxed." The crackling voice sounded from the speaker.
Artyom couldn't help but feel annoyed, although he knew that Melnik was a busy man and was used to him not being readily available. Still, after all he had gone through, and after being expected back the day prior, he thought for just a moment that he would be able to speak to him right then. Alas, it seemed they would have to wait half an hour at least; if the word detox was mentioned it meant that a Ranger was returning from the surface and needed to be cleansed – there was an airlock system at D6 that included pressurized chambers which nullified radiation and other pathogens. Then you had to completely change your clothes and boots, too.
"Sorry, Artyom." Grigori turned back to sit down. "How about some tea while we wait? It shouldn't be too long. Have you eaten?"
Artyom hadn't eaten a proper meal since dinner the previous night, and could never turn down a cup of tea. He nodded his head, reminding himself to bring one out to Aleks when it was brewed.
"So where have you been since Oktyabrskaya? Did Senya go with you?" Grigori sat on the edge of the desk as he prepared the kettle. There was a small hotplate in a makeshift kitchen area to the right of the desk.
"Senya didn't make it." Artyom replied solemnly, thinking of the pistol he'd been given which was buried in his rucksack. "His gasmask was cracked, I didn't have a spare."
"Oh, I see." Grigori bowed his head. "So where did you go then?"
"We ran for a long ways east before we stopped and Senya couldn't keep going. He told me how to get to Novokuznetskaya. There I met a man with two friends who wanted my help getting through Hanza and past Paveletskaya. Turns out they were part of a clan, the leader of which was looking for Hunter." Artyom recounted the story in a monotone voice, trying to practice speaking it straightforwardly for when he would report it to Melnik.
"Your friend? The girl? The leader!" Grigori toppled question on question with increasingly raised eyebrows.
"Her name is Aleksandrya." Artyom paused, wondering if she was still sitting outside. He began to get up to go check on her. "I should go see if she's alright."
"Well…?" Grigori pressed.
"Right, well, she had a message from Hunter and she's taking it to Melnik." Artyom hurried to finish the story and craned his head towards the door, not wanting to be rude in cutting off the conversation but still wanting to go check on Aleks.
"I see then, and do you think the Colonel will come all the way from D6 to speak to her?" Grigori began to pour out three cups of the earthy brew, taking his time limping back behind the desk while it cooled and started digging in a drawer for something.
"I don't know." Artyom shrugged, picked up one of the cups, and turned to head out the door. "I'll be right back."
"I guess we'll find out." Grigori said as he was exiting the room.
Artyom stepped out into the ornate upper hall of Arbatskaya, looking to the bench in the corner where he had left Aleks, but she wasn't alone now. A man was crouched in front of her with both hands raised around her head as if praying to some unknown god behind her ears, and she seemed to be hypnotically gazing back at him, as if he were a magician showing her an interesting trick.
"Hello Artyom. It has been quite some time, yes?" Khan's deep and calm voice reached his ears as Artyom stepped closer to the two. "Your friend here tells me that you met with an anomaly in a passage from the Red Line. It seems to have taken a liking to her."
Artyom remained silent, always preferring to listen rather than talk when Khan was in his presence. This man always seemed to know the story behind everything; he understood the ethereal goings-on of every tunnel and station in the Metro. There was always something to be learned from his words as he spoke cryptically. Sitting down on the other side of Aleks, Artyom gently put the warm mug in her hands. She moaned softly as the liquid passed her lips, trying to thank him for the serving.
"Why are you here?" Artyom blurted, and then scolded himself because the words came out rather harshly. Luckily Khan was not the type to take offense, and understood what he meant by the question.
"I felt a disturbance nearby, and now it seems I have my answer as to what it was. I will head there to investigate further but first I wanted to speak with you." Khan turned and looked him dead in the eye and Artyom tried with difficulty to hold his gaze.
"But how did you know I would be here?" Artyom asked, knowing that whatever Khan's business was with him that it had to be serious. The mysterious traveler was always where he intended to be, and usually only appeared if something important was going on.
"I heard of what happened in Venice from a man passing through Dobrynin Station. He said he was heading back home to Avtozavod. I didn't know that there was anything there past Hole station, so I went there with him to see for myself. Your name was mentioned by the locals." Kahn's voice waned as he stood up and recounted his tale.
Artyom still wasn't sure exactly how Khan knew where he would be, or what route he could have taken to have met them in Polis in that amount of time, but the old man was never too specific. Right now he was more curious about what he wanted to speak to him about.
"Ivanovich?" Aleks mumbled, taking another sip of tea and sitting up a bit. The tepid brew seemed to be helping her recover. Artyom gathered from her interjection that the man Khan had mentioned meeting must have been Ivanovich making his way home from Venice after the fight.
"I've been hearing some rumors, Artyom. We assumed all too well that setting the missiles upon the Botanical Gardens would solve the problems with the Dark Ones. Yet, it seems that people in the North still speak of psychological attacks, nightmares, and suspicious disappearances." Khan began to pace back and forth as he explained the situation in a mournful tone.
Artyom's heart raced; it absolutely couldn't be possible for anything on the surface to have survived such a rain of hellfire. He suddenly gasped for a breath, having seen a flash of his fiery nightmare from the previous night. If what Khan was telling him was true, then it might explain the horrible dreams and strange visions that had been plaguing him. Here he had thought that his guilt - built upon the events of last month's mission at Ostankino Tower - had been fueling his mind to torment him, but perhaps it was a surviving Dark One trying to contact him telepathically. What could they still want?
"What if this is a sign that we were not meant to exterminate them? We are being given one final opportunity to find out what these beings are capable of. This could be our only chance to find out for sure what is left of our salvation." Khan's voice began to sound more excited than sad. "Do you understand?"
"I've been having… visions. Bad dreams. I dreamt that I was one of them, surrounded by fire…" Artyom said in a low voice, hoping that Aleks wasn't paying attention. She looked to be consumed with her tea.
"So, these rumors must have merit. There must be a Dark One, maybe several, who survived. They are still trying to make contact with you – with us!" Khan's hands were on Artyom's shoulders and shaking him with excitement, the strong energy in his eyes met Artyom's with force.
"I don't know if—" Artyom began, but was halted by Khan's sudden retreat as he began pacing again.
"I must go. I will search the ruins." Khan stooped to lift his rucksack which he'd placed on the floor beside the bench. "I will contact you as soon as I have found something."
"But—" Artyom started to follow after Khan as he headed quickly for the stairs. "I don't think—!"
"Take good care of your friend, Artyom, there are not many like her in the world." Khan said over his shoulder and then disappeared into the crowded platform below.
Artyom still wanted to speak further with his mysterious acquaintance, but Khan's comment about Aleks forced him to turn around and go back to her. He wondered also if there was something he saw about her that he hadn't specifically identified. Exactly what did he mean when he was saying that the anomaly took a liking to her? It seemed to be quite the opposite to Artyom as Aleks had been extremely somber and quiet since the haunted passageway.
He climbed back up the steps, and taking a seat next to Aleks, he found that his mind was now blank. There seemed to be just too many questions and possibilities to process and so his brain had just decided to shut it all off. It was somewhat welcome, but still the uneasiness of the conversation remained in the rest of his body.
Aleks had finished her tea and looked over at him. He continued to avoid her gaze, but managed to ask if she was feeling any better.
"Your friend Khan told me that I am lucky to be alive. That he had never known those things to act in such a way. I almost wish I had seen what he described it to look like, but I only saw blackness." Aleks paused, resting her head on Artyom's shoulder. For once he didn't freeze up at her touch. "He was helping me… sort out the memories. The music, it was an old song my father used to sing to me when I was little. A German lullaby."
Artyom said nothing, but nodded his head so she would know that he was listening. For a moment he felt jealousy, thinking of his own mother, or what little he could remember of her. Had she sung to him as well? Why hadn't the anomaly shown him anything so beautiful?
"I saw things, some of them I don't think I can explain. It all seemed like… it wasn't connected to our plane of time and space. I was floating around… in the stars." Aleks continued to ramble, seeming to have taken on the same mystical tone that Khan exuded, her eyes shifting back and forth across the far wall as if she was looking through it. "My father, I saw his face. I haven't seen him in twenty years, Artyom. And he's aged, so I just know it was like… I was seeing him as he is right now, and he's alive somewhere, speaking to me."
"Interesting." Artyom said softly, with no particular emotions coming through. He was still somewhat distracted by Khan's talk of the Dark Ones, although he had genuinely wanted to know about what Aleks had seen in the cursed passageway.
"I saw Hunter, too." Aleks squeaked out after a long pause, as if she couldn't believe it herself. "It was difficult, I didn't see his face, I just, saw this hooded figure and I knew it was him somehow. He was in pain. Scared… I'm scared for him. What if he's—"
"Artyom." Grigori was standing at the door to the office. "The Colonel says you are to report to him immediately at D6, take the Metro-2, I have the map here."
Artyom startled, already anxious from Aleks' and Khan's words, and now Grigori's sudden appearance and interruption. He had also transferred his shock to Aleks who jumped and was stunned into silence, either from the same interruption, or she had been frightened by her own story, still considering its possible meanings. Artyom glanced at her as if to apologize before beginning his reply to his colleague.
"What about Aleks?" Artyom stood up abruptly and closed the distance between himself and Grigori quickly, in case the answer to his question might offend her or exclude her.
"Her, too." Grigori began to hobble back to the desk for the map he mentioned.
"Both of us?" Artyom was suddenly worried. "It's allowed?"
"Yes, I told him what you said, about her knowing Hunter and the message. He said it was a personal matter, and that you're to escort her directly. Take this, if you don't know the new entrance from here." Grigori passed him a small square of cardboard with written instructions on how to get to the Metro-2 station.
All Artyom could do was stare blankly and gather his things, he hadn't even touched the tea he had been poured. He stuffed the cardboard in his vest and adjusted his bag on his back, taking a long and deep breath before leaving the room. Now he knew that her message couldn't just be about some personal effects that Hunter had left for her. There had to be something more.