The Vagabond War

by EnigmaticSerpent

Metro DLC Sam's Story Natasha is a bandit living in Vladivostok at the time when Sam is trying to get home. She enlists his help in the bloody clan war that her brother's clan is fighting with the other bandits. She has her own ideas. She is tired of losing her people and plots revenge on those who have wronged them, but she could have never predicted the consequences of her plans.

16. Welcome to fort nine

Chapter 16- Welcome to Fort Nine

"I don't think you were introduced in the earlier chaos," Aleksander said, his amiable voice a stark contrast to the thoughts of violence I'd just had of him. "This is Alina's son, Yevgeni."

Sam leaned forward, a genuine smile curling his lips. "Good to meet you, Yevgeni. I'm Sam, and this is Natasha." He threw a thumb in my direction.

The sandy-haired guy eyed him up and down before shifting them to trail over me. The corner of his brow twitched, and I frowned, catching the glint of interest in his gaze. I stifled a smirk. He was checking me out. Of course he was. Why wouldn't he? But no, he was kind of cute in a puppy sort of way and definitely wasn't my type.

He must have figured out I noticed his interest, because he nodded once to Sam and pivoted his attention to Katerina, who beamed at him.

"Take her outside," Aleksander said to him as he took the child in his arms.

"But I want to stay here!" Katerina protested.

"Listen to your papa, little sparrow," Yevgeni said, tapping her on the nose.

"I always listen." She pouted. "But I want to talk to Sam. He's nice." Her round face swiveled over Yevgeni's shoulder and she stared at Sam. "And he talks funny."

Yevgeni blinked. "You can't say that." He flashed Sam an apologetic glance.

Sam chuckled. "It's alright."

Aleksander stepped over and ran his hand over her golden brown hair, giving her a warm smile. I grimaced and snapped my gaze away as that unknown sensation gripped my chest again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sam glance in my direction, his gaze lingering, making my discomfort grow.

"Go find mama in the garden. They need rest right now," Aleksander told her.

"What happened to them?" She asked with childish enthusiasm.

Aleksander nodded to Yevgeni.

"It's time to go, little sparrow," Yevgeni said, turning toward the door. "Let's go see Horace and Baba."

"Wait!" They disappeared into the corridor, silencing Katerina's irritating voice.

Aleksander chuckled, smiling after them. "Sorry about that. She's tenacious."

"No problem," Sam said. "Cute kid."

"Yeah, she is."

I snorted, earning me two disapproving glances.

"I take it you don't like children?" Aleksander asked, folding his arms across his broad chest.

"What made you think that?" I shot back, rolling my eyes.

Sam hissed at me before shaking his head at Aleksander. "Don't worry about her. She doesn't like anyone." He shot me a glare, which I returned.

"That's fine, no one said you had to," Aleksander remarked, his eyes narrowing on me. "But maybe keep that opinion to yourself around here. And if you even consider doing anything to my daughter-"

"Whoa, no. She won't," Sam interjected, glancing at me with warning. "Right?"

Aleksander stared me down as adrenaline surged through my veins.

"Never said I would," I growled, not looking away from him.

Sam huffed, shooting me another glance. "It's alright, she just hasn't had experience with them. Can't imagine there are many children in the ruins."

"None, except for some at the port," I said, wondering what Yuri would do with a settlement of civilians to look after. I had the feeling those civilians wouldn't enjoy the recent change of leadership, as Yuri wasn't the most civic-minded. Would he make them leave?

"Aren't you from the port?" Aleksander asked, narrowing his eyes further.

I shrugged to cover my slip up, trying to sound casual. "Well, yes, but I'm not a people person, so I mostly stayed away from the civilians. I usually scouted the ruins." I watched Aleksander's expression, looking for any signs he suspected I was lying as Sam frowned in my peripherals.

Please don't say anything.

Aleksander's face was unreadable. If he thought I was lying, he didn't show it. "Right." He arched an eyebrow. "I gathered you weren't much for people." His grey eyes flicked over Sam. Would he see his frown? I needed to distract him away from this conversation.

I cast around for another topic, remembering the names Yevgeni had mentioned, strange names for people. "Ah, who are Horace and Baba?"

Aleksander looked slightly taken aback for a second, as if he didn't expect me to ask him that, while beside me, Sam gave me his what the fuck look, and I knew we would return to this.

"They're our pigs," Aleksander said, after he readjusted.

I frowned. "Why would you name something you're going to eat?" That didn't make sense.

Aleksander shook his head. "We don't eat them. They're our breeders, and they provide some of our power."

I stared at him blankly, as the image of a pig running on a treadmill powering a light bulb flashed through my mind. "What?"

"Biogas," Sam supplied.

Aleksander clicked his fingers and pointed at him. "Spot on, Sam."

I frowned between them as if they had lost their minds.

"You know about biogas?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, my dad used it on his farm back in California, but he used food waste as well as manure."

"Okay, what the hell are you talking about?" I interjected before Aleksander could reply.

"Breaking down animal and food waste creates methane, and you can use that to cook with, burn in gas lanterns and even run a gas generator for lighting." Aleksander pointed to the naked light bulb above our heads. "Of course, the gas is limited to how much manure the pigs and chickens can give us, so it's a backup for the solar panels when there isn't any sun."

"You'd risk using a generator?" Sam asked. "Won't it give away that there's someone living here?"

Aleksander shook his head. "The generator is in an underground chamber and you can only hear it if you're standing right above it."

I continued to stare between them, unable to follow this bizarre conversation. Damn, I shouldn't have asked about the stupid pigs. Well, it took Sam's mind off the lie, at least for now.

"I'd be more worried about someone smelling the pigs. They are pungent. If the wind is blowing the right way, you can catch a whiff a mile away." Aleksander chuckled. "But anyone searching would struggle to find them. We made sure to hide them well. And until you guys, no one has bothered us out here. So I'm not that worried."

"Yeah, that reminds me," Sam said, looking at Aleksander. "Thank you for giving me your blood and saving my life."

"No need to thank me, Sam." He smiled. "I'm glad you pulled through. You seem like an interesting person." He glanced between us. "If you're up to it, I could show you around and you can tell me how an American got all the way out here."

Sam glanced at me, then nodded. "Alright. A walk would probably do me good, anyway. And when I'm healed, we can help you find more medical supplies in thanks for helping us."

"Alina mentioned your offer," Aleksander said. "Thank you. I'd appreciate that. It'll give me a chance to see an American marine in action." He chuckled. "Well, now, that's something I never expected I'd say."

He led us back into the gloomy tunnel, where Maksim was heading toward us and Aleksander stopped to speak to him. As I watched them, Sam spun on me, pushing me against the wall with his arm.

"What the fuck, Sam?" I hissed.

"I could ask you the same question," he replied in a low, angry voice. "You need to watch your damned attitude. We can't afford to piss these people off, not when I'm barely back on my feet, and not with your damned clan gunning for our blood." He glanced at Aleksander and Maksim, who were still speaking, and lowered his voice further so that I could only just make out his words. "And don't think you're getting away with that lie you just told him. We are definitely coming back to that."

"No, Sam, we need to fucking leave. There is something off about these people."

"You're paranoid. They're being careful. What the hell is going on with you? They saved our lives and you're being an asshole to them."

"I'm trying to protect us."

"How is wanting to go it alone while a clan hunts us, trying to protect us?"

"You didn't hear the argument Maksim and Vadim had while you were out."

He paused, frowning at me, before shooting another glance behind him. "What are you talking about?"

"They were arguing about the chain of command, how they only follow Aleksander because of his rank and not because he's a good leader. It's obvious Vadim and Aleksander hate each another. There is an old grudge and grudges get people killed."

Sam sighed. "Every group has someone who thinks they can be a better leader, but that's got nothing to do with us."

"I don't know. I have a bad feeling about him, Sam. Vadim mentioned something about having learned from their commanding officer's mistakes, before in the van."

He sighed, relaxing his arm. "I think you're looking too hard into things that don't concern you." He arched an eyebrow. "Again. Haven't you learned anything by now?"

"No, something is going on and Vadim hates us for no reason, or we remind him of whatever happened."

"What, kind of like you hating Aleksander for no reason?"

I open and shut my mouth. No, I had a reason, it still made little sense to me, but every time I saw Aleksander, fire ignited in my chest for a whole different reason, and I just wanted to be rid of this unrelenting anger. But apparently, anger was all I had left.

"What, nothing to say?" Sam said, still standing close to me, close enough to feel his warmth on my skin. I wanted to reach out and touch him, wanted to kick myself for not kissing him earlier when I'd had the chance. Fuck. Stop with these damn emotions!

Sam watched me expectantly, and I huffed in agitation. "It's not the same. I have a reason."

"Which is?"

Shaking my head, I laced my fingers through my dark brown hair in frustration, unable to find the words. There were no fucking words for this. Everything was happening so fast I couldn't process it. "I'm not sure how to explain it, to be honest." I finally said, shutting my eyes.

Sam's hand found my shoulder again, his frown losing some of its vehemence. "Well, you'd better figure it out." He glanced over his shoulder and stepped back from me, turning to greet Maksim as he passed.

"Sorry to interrupt." Maksim grinned at us as he walked into the med bay.

Aleksander gestured for us to follow and led us through the dank, linear bowels of the fort back the way we had come. He asked Sam how he ended up in Vladivostok and I let the familiar story of his overland train journey wash over me as I trailed behind in irritated silence, glowering at them while they spoke like lifelong friends. What would happen if he didn't want to leave? I had to make him understand this gnawing sensation. I had to make him see I wasn't being paranoid, make him see how Vadim made my blood run cold.

My gaze swept over the chalk scribbles again, over the arched steel beams overhead, my nerves fraying and as we passed the bunk room, two guys strode out, giving me scrutinizing stares. The one on the left, a heavyset middle-aged man with a scruffy greying beard, ran his dull grey eyes obnoxiously down my body and I suppressed a shudder, scowling back at him. Not a fucking chance. His companion, a smaller, bald-headed guy with a nose like a hook, looked on with interest and a raised brow. They both wore drab grey camouflage, as if they were straight from a military base.

My hand edged instinctively towards my belt for my knife... that wasn't there. A spike of alarm jolted my heart. Where the hell was it? The man, still watching me, narrowed his eyes, probably knowing what I was looking for. He put his big hand on the hilt of his own knife sheathed at his ample waist and I curled my lip.

A few steps ahead, the conversation that Sam and Aleksander were having about military tactics by the sound of it, faltered, as Aleksander glanced back over his shoulder, gaze falling on us. Sam stopped, his gaze fixed on the two men.

"Vladik, Rolan, as you were," Aleksander said to them, calm but firm. "Nothing you need to worry about."

The big guy's hungry eyes traced over me again before his hand fell away from the knife and they both turned down the corridor. I watched them walk towards the common room. Both Sam and Aleksander were watching me as I turned to face them.

"Don't worry about them," Aleksander said, trying to be reassuring, but I saw the way those guys were looking at me. I'd seen it plenty of times before. Women usually attract that kind of attention. "It's not every day there are new people wandering around our base. Now there's four of you. You might get a bit of that."

"Sure, and make one of those a woman." I sneered.

Aleksander sighed, exasperated. "No one will hurt you."

"I don't believe that."

"Fine." He shrugged, walking down the corridor again.

I tugged my gaze from Aleksander, as another image of Senya overlaid itself over him.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked.

"Sure," I lied. I wanted to kill someone, starting with those two jerks. "But the knife I had on my belt is gone."

"Yeah, Alina took it while you were out," Sam said.

I glared at him. "She stole it? And you didn't stop her?"

Sam held out his arms. "What did you expect me to do? Tackle her for it when I was fresh out of abdominal surgery?"

"You were supposed to surrender your weapons, Natasha," Aleksander said over his shoulder. "Of course she took it."

I curled my lip at him. "When do I get them back?"

He met my furious eyes with an annoyingly calm gaze. "When you can prove that you won't use them on my people. Judging by that, it may take a while."

Sam shook his head at me before I could respond. "Leave it."

"You won't need them," Aleksander assured. I wasn't so sure.

He continued into the corridor we had first entered and Sam followed, forcing me to do the same. We passed the exterior door into the uninhabited section of the fort. Despite the string of dull lights running along the low ceiling, it was gloomy and dank, stinking of damp soil and decaying plant matter. A chill ran down its length.

"The farm is this way," Aleksander said. "We set it up away from where we live, because of the methane."

"It's highly flammable," Sam replied.

Aleksander nodded. "And no one wants to smell the pigs." He glanced at Sam. "So, you're a farm boy, then?"

"Not as much as my dad would have liked. I was always more interested in surfing and hanging at the beach."

Huh. I would have never guessed that. I eyed him as he spoke, seeing a whole new side to him, a carefree, easygoing side, a world away from what he was now. How much had he changed down in the metro of a hostile country? And then it occurred to me that I knew next to nothing about him.

"We didn't always see eye to eye," Sam continued. "And he gave me a choice: help him on the farm, or join the military. He wouldn't have me wasting my life chasing waves and girls on the beach. His words."

I frowned at the hot flash of jealousy as I thought about Sam chasing hot girls in bikinis. How would it feel to have him? You could, if you let yourself. Stop letting a dead man hold you back. A flash of guilt at that. Maybe I should stop thinking.

Sam stared ahead of him, deep in thought, and I brushed my hand over his arm. He glanced at me, a hard edge to his gaze that made me pause. He was mad at me for lying to Aleksander, but what choice did we have? It wasn't even my lie. I still felt a little hurt by the look he gave me and I didn't look forward to what he'd say about it when we were alone.

He continued to talk to Aleksander, turning away from me. "And well, I think he was right. Joining up with the corps straightened me out, gave me a purpose that I'd have never found on the beach, but that also meant being stationed at an embassy in a foreign country with no way to know what happened to him, to let him know I actually made something of myself, or if-" he stopped and my heart hurt for him. He didn't know if his father was even still alive.

I reached out to rest my hand on his arm again, and this time his eyes were a little softer, thankful for my sympathy. I gave him a tentative smile. "Sam, there must be a way," I said, though uncertainty clouded my thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm not sure there is," he replied. It appeared less and less likely.

"That's why you're out here, then? You're trying to find a way back." Aleksander asked as he pushed open a heavy steel door similar to the front entrance. Filtered grey sunlight streamed in and I squinted.

Sam nodded as he stepped outside. "My only way was the submarine that was destroyed at the port." Another flash of guilt. Because of me. I'd guess he was having second thoughts about his decision now, though.

"That's rough, I'm sorry," Aleksander said, leading us outside.

The first thing that hit me was the stench of pig shit, thick and choking in the air. I held my hand over my face, attempting to lessen it, but it was penetrative.

"Welcome to pig shit alley." Aleksander chuckled at the looks on our faces. "You get used to it." I wondered how that was possible.

I glanced around. We found ourselves in a wide concrete trench running the length of the fort, enclosed by eight foot high concrete walls, cloaked in tangled vines and relentless weeds that grew from the fine cracks. A thick carpet of fallen leaves and dark humus covered the floor of the trench. I peered to the left, at a long tubular structure of patchwork plastic with a rounded roof that took up the entire area of the trench with just enough room to walk between it and the wall. It stretched along its length further than I could see. A greenhouse for growing produce. To the right were narrow pens holding two pot-bellied pigs and a small array of piglets, while in another, a flock of four chickens pecked at the ground. Sheet metal boxes lined the far wall, providing shelter, while overhead, a webbing net grown through with vegetation cast a mottled light over the trench. I figured it was to hide everything from above.

"Where are we?" Sam asked, peering around.

"A part of the fort structure," Aleksander replied, scratching a pig behind an ear. "It was supposed to stop invaders on foot. Falling in here would make it difficult to get back out, and the defense could easily target them from the fort."

"Effective," Sam said, eyeing the greenhouse and the towering, unscalable walls.

"Indeed, but all it's ever been effective at is concealing our farm."

The pale sun glinted off something metallic, and I glanced up, just making out the shape of three large scrap metal tanks covered in vegetation sitting in a line on top of the fort, their design likely intended to appear as nothing more than piles of wildly overgrown bushes and vines.

Nearby in the pens, Katerina chased the small pink piglets through the mud, while Yevgeni watched her from the fence. He glanced at me as I stopped nearby, wet leaves squelching under my boots. I eyed the black gun slung over his back and wondered briefly if I could make a grab for it. Better not. He misread my interest and gave me a cheesy grin, but it soon disappeared when he saw the look on my face. He went back to staring at the child as she grabbed a piglet around the middle and dragged it backwards, struggling to pick it up as it squealed in protest.

I wrinkled my nose at the stench as I shifted my attention to a couple of men shoveling pig shit into small hand carts and piling it beside a 250 gallon plastic tank connected to an array of pipes and what appeared to be a rubber sack filled with air, where a third man was mixing the shit with water to make a slurry and pouring it into the tank. I stared at them, dumbfounded and a little nauseous.

"Okay, what the hell are they doing?" I asked without looking back.

Aleksander glanced over at the contraption. "Oh, that's the biogas digester," he said, walking towards it while Sam followed, but I stayed where I was, glowering at the round bellied pigs eating scraps of food out of a plastic trough.

"The shit and water create methane in that tank," Yevgeni said, as if I'd asked a question. I scowled at him, but he continued, pointing behind him at the pipes. "And it goes through that pipe into the collection sack and then there's another pipe that follows the outside wall of the fort until it reaches the galley, where we can use it to cook with." I didn't bother to look, glaring at the pigs. Did he think this would impress me?

He continued, unperturbed. "There are valves to stop the flames from coming back down the line and blowing everything up, of course. Methane is highly flammable. No one wants that." He chuckled nervously.

Yeah, definitely more of a farm boy.

"Oh, and there's another pipe that takes it down to the gas generator so we can have light when the solar panels don't give enough power. You can just see the vent sticking up from the ground." He pointed behind him to a metal pipe jutting from the ground where the concrete had been lifted to dig an underground chamber propped up by wooden struts. "The batteries have enough solar energy stored for now, so there's no need to run it." He took a quick step back as I glared at him.

"I didn't ask," I huffed, moving towards the greenhouse.

"She's really friendly," Sam said behind me and I rolled my eyes. "But I appreciated the information."

"He's a smart man," Aleksander replied, clapping Yevgeni on the shoulder. "He's going to take over from me one day."

I barely stifled a laugh, but Sam still somehow noticed and shot me another glare. Seething, I ignored all of them as Aleksander talked more about the mechanics of turning shit into power, Sam asking questions like an eager schoolboy.

After a few minutes, Aleksander walked to the greenhouse and ducked through a plastic flap cut in the front wall.

Sam gave me a dark look as he followed. "What the hell did I tell you?" He hissed.

"You don't get to tell me what to do," I growled back, pulling the plastic aside so it didn't hit me in the face.

"Katerina is behaving better than you are."

"So fucking what? She didn't just have her family declare her an enemy."

Sam inhaled sharply in irritation, shaking his head at me as I strode past.

Inside, a pleasant, humid warmth enveloped me, the heat from the sun held in by the plastic walls, a stark contrast to the chilling wind outside. Two neat rows of thigh high wooden garden beds ran down either side, planted with various species of vegetable crops that I had no hope of identifying as Yuri's clan never bothered to grow anything.

Alina filled a large metal watering can from a tank connected to a pipe running down from the roof. She glanced up as we approached, giving Aleksander a wide smile.

"I hope you don't mind me stealing your patients for a while," Aleksander said as he took the watering can from her to water the clumps of vibrant leafy green plants in the bed next to him

"No," she said, reaching for a basket. "It's time they were up and walking, anyway." She turned to Sam with a warm smile. "How is your pain?"

Sam stopped next to me, leaning uncomfortably on the garden bed. "I'm managing, but standing up is still a little painful."

I watched him with concern. Despite our disagreement, I still cared about him.

"Walking will help, but don't overdo it," Alina replied. "I can give you something for it, but it won't be morphine, unfortunately. I need to save what we have left for another emergency."

"All good." Sam ran his hand over the green clumps. "Potatoes?"

"Yes." Alina smiled at him, setting the basket on the edge of the bed and reaching over to pull something from the dark soil. "And here are carrots." She brushed the soil away from the long, orange roots before placing them in the basket.

"What else do you grow?" Sam asked, eyeing the long beds of plants of various shades of green.

"We have turnips, tomatoes, cabbage, garlic, onions, chives, beets, cauliflower and peas," Aleksander said, emptying the watering can. "We've put a lot of work into it."

"I can see that."

I knew nothing about farming, didn't really care, and talking about it was extremely boring, but Sam wanted me to be civilized and I didn't want him to be any more mad at me than he already was. Maybe playing nice would soften the blow that I was expecting from Danila's lie. Or not. But I would try, at least for now.

Ignoring the knot in my chest, I turned to Aleksander. I may not know much about farming, but all of this had to come from somewhere. "Where did you find all of this?" I asked, pretending to be interested.

Aleksander glanced at me, as if he just remembered I was there, and his friendly expression became shadowed by dislike. He walked back to the water tank to refill his watering can. "When we realised the new order of things, we understood the need for a sustainable source of food, so we sent an expedition back to the mainland. The city was a mess, and we wanted nothing to do with that, so we drove north-east until we found a well-established and, fortunately for us, abandoned farm." He eyed the garden beds before waving a hand towards the flap where we came in. "Everything we have came from what we found there, except the chickens. We traded a pig for those a while later."

He slipped past Alina, brushing a hand across her back and I glanced away, clenching my jaw as that strange new sensation squeezed my heart. "We almost moved there. It had everything we needed, plenty of fresh water, food, space and privacy, but it turned out that others had the same idea." He turned the valve on the pipe to the water tank to fill the watering can.

"One day, other survivors attacked us without warning, wanting what we had, reminding us of the need to find somewhere defensible, away from other people." He glanced pointedly at me then. "Because violence is the language everyone speaks these days."

"What's better than a concrete fort built to withstand bombardment?" Sam added before I could answer.

"Not much," Aleksander agreed with a grin, turning off the water.

I frowned at them. "Violence is how we get what we need, how we keep ourselves safe. You wouldn't have all this without violence. That's the fight we all face."

Aleksander turned to me with a defiant expression. "It shouldn't be like that. The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation."

I scoffed. "Cooperation gets people killed."

"Does it? Why are we talking then? Why aren't both you and Sam dead? Because without us, you would be," Aleksander replied, lips drawing into a line. "It's true. It comes with a risk, but we're more than capable of mitigating those risks. Aren't you glad that we weren't like everyone else and chose to help rather than kill you, like we so easily could have?"

"That's what I can't understand. Most would have. People don't help other people." I pressed on. True, I was glad that they hadn't killed us, but that didn't stop me from being confused and suspicious about their generosity.

"The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatsoever that it's not utterly absurd," Sam said, sitting on the edge of the garden, eyeing me.

I frowned at him. "What the hell is that?"

"Bertrand Russell," Aleksander said, impressed. "You know philosophy, Sam?"

"Some." He turned back to me as I blinked in confusion. "That's not true, Nat. We helped each other when we should have been enemies. We found cooperation to be beneficial…mostly." He added quietly.

"That was different. We both wanted something from each other, and do I have to remind you how-" I cut myself off, eyeing Aleksander and rethinking my words, "how that turned out?"

"You're better off." Sam drew his lips to a line, giving me a pointed look.

"Those who raised you must have been terrible for you to believe that violence is the only way," Aleksander interjected before I could answer, giving me an appraising look.

"They're realists, survivors." I corrected, glaring at him.

"They're assholes." Sam added.

After a moment, Aleksander asked, "so these people are still on the mainland?"

"They died in the attack on the port." The words escaped before I could filter them.

Sam slowly turned his eyes on me and I refused to look at him, but I could see his glare anyway, as plain as the sun. Shit. I would pay for that later.

Aleksander narrowed his eyes and looked like he wanted to say something, when Katerina pushed through the flap of plastic in the front of the greenhouse and cannoned into the back of his legs, making him stumble. Yevgeni ducked through the flap behind her, with a halfhearted admonishment, picking the girl up. Aleksander shifted his attention to her as Sam's gaze burned into me. I swallowed past the knot in my throat.

As the angry grey clouds threatened another downpour and cast a cold gloom over the farm, Sam and Aleksander bid farewell to Alina and her family, while I glowered at them as rain splashed on my forehead and ran down my cheek. We walked in silence back down the tunnel, Aleksander giving me suspicious glances over his shoulder, Sam clearly angry at me. He walked beside Aleksander and the two all but ignored me like the outsider no one liked.

Retracing our steps through the fort, we followed Aleksander into the corridor opposite the med bay's to reach another small room where he stopped. "You two can stay in here. I thought you might appreciate the privacy away from the men," he said to me.

With a forced smile, I nodded, appreciating the consideration, but not the chance for Sam to yell at me for lying. I clenched my jaw as I peered at him out of the corner of my eye.

"It's a storage room and we dry our laundry here, but it has a furnace, so it's warm. I would ask you to keep it going for us if you could. There's plenty of wood there."

Sam nodded. "No problem. Thank you."

"If you're hungry, we should head to the common room. Semyon is serving venison and vegetable stew tonight and it'll be a good chance for you to meet some of the others."

Great. The chance to be stared at by a bunch of suspicious men.

I lingered by the door to the storeroom unenthusiastically as they started back up the corridor. After a moment, Sam stopped and turned when he realised I wasn't following.

He sighed, irritation shadowing his features as he grabbed my hand. "Come on, you need to eat something."

Reluctantly, I let him pull me after him.

The common room was full of chattering people when we reached it, and more passed us in the corridor, nodding at or speaking to Aleksander and giving me appraising, even unfriendly stares that didn't help my mistrust. I took a few quick steps closer to Sam, brushing his shoulder and wishing that I had my guns.

The cramped room was warm, and lit by several gas lanterns set out on the tables and hanging from hooks in the ceiling, the flames casting a warm, flickering light. My mouth watered at the pleasant aroma of cooking meat and vegetables, reminding me how hungry I was. Sam was right. I couldn't keep starving myself. Even so, a fresh wave of unease had me on edge and my blood boiled with adrenaline as I scanned the unfamiliar faces, lost in conversations or the games of poker they were playing, none paying us any attention. A dart flew across one end of the room to embed itself with a dull thud into a well-used dart board attached to the wall.

Someone stood up and shoved a splinter of wood into the small, steel barrel furnace in a far corner, while others stood in line at a window cut into the wall, where a heavyset, balding man was serving stew from a gigantic pot.

My eyes found Danila and Nikita sitting in a corner as far from everyone as they could, eating the stew from metal bowls and not speaking to each other. They looked extremely uncomfortable, while the others moved around them as if they weren't there. As my gaze slowly circled the room, the back of my neck prickled and I turned around to look into the dark, hostile eyes of Vadim, who had appeared in the hallway behind me. Next to him was the blonde sentry, Arkady, looking equally hostile, his eyes narrowed while he slowly ran his finger over the blade of his knife as if testing its sharpness. My pulse spiked, and I took an involuntary step back, never taking my eyes off them.

Sam glanced over his shoulder as I backed into him and he cast me an irritated look until he noticed Vadim and Arkady in the doorway. He noted the knife in Arkady's hand, their dark expressions and he turned to face them, stepping forward so he was slightly in front of me, arms tense by his sides, readying himself to fight if he had to.

Ways to disarm someone with a knife. Go for his arm, break his elbow, make him drop it. Go for the knife, twist his wrist backwards, take the knife and turn it on him. Be quick, before he could stop me. He wouldn't expect it.

"Can I help you?" Sam asked carefully, breaking into my thoughts.

"You could help us by leaving." Vadim rested an arm casually on the doorway, the motion lifting the bottom of his grey camouflage jacket, revealing a holstered handgun and the hilt of a knife. Beside him, Arkady picked dirt from under his thumbnail with the tip of his blade.

I clenched my teeth, shuffling my feet as adrenaline tensed my muscles to fight. Vadim's gaze slid just over Sam's shoulder and the corner of his mouth twitched.

"I thought I sent you to relieve Emil and Buyan at the north battery." Aleksander's voice made me glance back, my hands trembling with tension. He slipped around Sam so that he stood between us and the two men. "Put that away!" He snapped at Arkady. "What are we, fucking barbarians?"

Vadim's face twisted into a scowl. "We were getting food first."

"No. Get rations for a week and be on your way," Aleksander ordered, that serious edge I'd witnessed before returning in force.

Vadim's jaw tightened, his eyes seething with fury.

"Don't make me tell you again." Aleksander raised his voice, and I flinched. Then I realized the chatter behind us had died down and everyone in the room was staring at us. They knew we were there now. I shuddered as their eyes burned into me. Was this how a deer felt in the sharp gaze of the wolves that hunted them?

Shuffling my feet again, I glanced across at Sam, who met my eyes. Then, unexpectedly, his finger brushed my hand and my skin flamed at his gentle touch, such a stark contrast to his previous anger that I was left confused. But I drew strength from his presence. Swallowing my fear, I turned back to glare at Vadim and Arkady.

"Come on. Let's get some stew," Aleksander said, voice returning to that friendly tone he'd used previously. He tapped Sam on the shoulder before turning into the room. He quickly peered around and walked to the centre of the space, curious eyes following him. "Now that I have your attention," he said in a loud, commanding voice. "I want all of you to treat our new guests with respect, as you would with any of us. I won't tolerate any sort of hostility. From anyone." His gaze shifted again to Vadim and Arkady, who lingered in the doorway, warning in his eyes.

Vadim's gaze found mine beside Sam, his angry eyes spearing into me. Had Aleksander just made him my enemy? I stared back at him, trying to keep the rising fear from my expression, as our gazes locked in a silent challenge. The room seemed to close in and I took a deep breath.

Sam took my arm and steered me after Aleksander. "Come on, don't worry about them." But he gave them a wary stare of his own.

Vadim gestured to Arkady, and they pushed into the room. He speared me with a final contentious glare before pushing past another man to move to the front of the line at the galley window.

Aleksander hung back a few metres from the galley line, and Sam and I stopped beside him, watching.

"Move, midshipman," Vadim spat. "Officers get served first."

"I think the cook gets final say over that," the cook challenged, sliding a bowl of stew towards the other man, waving him forward. The man gave Vadim and Arkady a disdainful expression before grabbing the bowl and retreating.

"We need rations for a week on outpost," Vadim growled.

"Well, as you can see, I'm busy right now," the cook gestured to the short line.

Aleksander sighed and said, "Semyon, give them what they need. They're needed at the north battery."

The cook heaved a sigh and headed into his galley, returning with two bundles that he set on the counter. "Off with you then."

Vadim and Arkady grabbed the bundles and stalked past us without another glance, disappearing into the corridor. I let out the breath I was holding as Aleksander turned towards the galley window.

Hushed conversations started around the room, their eyes following us, and I wasn't sure if he'd done us any favours. I felt their scrutiny as I followed Sam to the galley. The two guys in front of us, both well into their fifties, both with shaved heads to hide thinning hair, turned to look at us, prompting the cook to wave them forward with an impatient gesture. Aleksander made quick introductions, introducing them as Valeri and Vasily until the cook waved them forward again and they stepped up to get their stew before hurrying off to a table in the middle of the room.

"Well, you've caused quite a stir," the cook said as we stepped up to the window cut roughly out of the concrete. The heavyset man put a hand to his chest. "I'm Semyon and this is my galley," he said, waving a hand behind him at the immaculate kitchen.

Tins and jars of pickled vegetables sat neatly on the shelves lining two walls, while a gigantic pot bubbled over a gas stove that burned with the blue flame of methane. Another pot of water boiled on a barrel furnace in the corner, and two large buckets of water stood next to it amidst crates of potatoes and vegetables.

"I'm Sam and this is Natasha," Sam replied, leaning over to shake the big man's hand.

"Oh, I know who you are. Everyone's talking about you." Semyon's watery brown eyes stopped on me. "We don't get people on this island and everyone's wondering what made you risk the demons that live here." He winked at me and I wrinkled my nose.

"Well, everyone can keep on wondering," I said flatly. "We're just here for the stew."

His bushy eyebrows lifted in amusement. "I like a little spice."

I glared at him.

"The stew, please Semyon," Aleksander interjected, glancing across at me.

"Ah, of course!" Semyon threw his hands up enthusiastically and hurried to ladle thick stew into three metal bowls. "Enjoy," he said as he set them in front of us.

My stomach rumbled as the delicious aroma of venison, garlic, and tomato wafted over me. Sam and I took our bowls to the table where Danila and Nikita sat, while Aleksander excused himself, heading to a table in the middle of the room. Danila greeted us with relief while Nikita glowered at me. Clearly, our time apart hadn't changed his opinion of me. The feeling was definitely mutual.

We ate in silence, and despite my wariness, I took a mouthful of the warm stew, and my taste buds exploded with flavor. Following a lifetime of bland meals, this was incredible, almost too good for words. I quickly spooned in another mouthful.

Sam eyed me. "Not worried he'll poison you?"

I shot him a dark look. "Shut up."

He smirked, but even so, his eyes held an edge of anger when they found mine, and I wasn't looking forward to being alone with him.

Despite their commander's orders, no one but Maksim even came near us. At least they weren't being outwardly hostile like Vadim and Arkady, but that didn't mean I would let my guard down.

"Well, that was intense," Maksim said as he sat in the empty seat beside Sam, glancing at me. "I told you he didn't like you."

"Yeah, and I'm sure your commander's statement really helped with that." I glowered across to where Aleksander sat in conversation with four men, one of which I recognised as the driver of the van, Nikolai, if I recalled correctly. He hadn't been antagonistic towards us then, but neither was he rushing to introduce himself now. Fine, I didn't need him to. I'd be happy if they just ignored us, but I couldn't take their stares and as I glanced around there were more than a few directed at us, and two men speaking to Semyon at his window glanced back at us over their shoulders.

Maksim took a sip of his drink, seeing my line of sight. "Don't worry about them. They're just curious and Semyon loves to gossip."

"Well, that makes me feel better," I grumbled.

He chuckled. "No one will touch you. They'll listen to him. Nothing much happens around here, except lobsters, so they're a little excited."

"More like suspicious," I said after swallowing a spoonful of stew.

Maksim drained his cup and set it down before him, glancing over at me. "Yeah, like I said, not much happens here, so when it does, we're ready for things to go to shit."

"They don't know who we are," Sam added. "Of course they're going to be suspicious. Just like you're suspicious of them."

My eyes flicked to the doorway where Vadim and Arkady had stared me down, the prickle of fear chilling my skin at the look Vadim had given me as he walked away. The look of pure hatred.

I turned back to Maksim. "Your friend seems to be taking that to the extreme."

A brief flash of irritation crossed his attractive face, his brow creasing. "He's not my friend, as you may have already guessed by our-" he paused, staring off into the room while he thought, "by our exchange, earlier in the med bay. But even so, he has reason. We all do. It's nothing you've done, but your appearance has stirred up something we've been trying to bury."

I paused, spoon halfway to my lips. This, I already suspected, it's why I wanted to get the hell out of here, but hearing Maksim voice my concerns, had my pulse racing. What happened to make him hate us on sight? There was no point in asking. Maksim had already clearly stated this wasn't up for discussion, and as expected, he immediately changed the subject, assuring me Vadim wouldn't be a problem because Aleksander assigned him and Arkady to the north battery outpost for the next week. Great. A week for him to brood while his contempt grew. Not exactly comforting. I sat back in my chair, flicking my gaze across to Sam as my appetite vanished.