Thad just turned 27. I woke up to my train car and like every time I wake up, I study my photos of Pripyats beauty before the tragic war.. My father walked in and said “Artyom, come with me to meet an old friend” I got up slowly but I new who he was talking about. My father was the general of the green station down here in the metro. He was a tall man who always wore a leather trench coat with a revolver on his right side, but he always seemed cheerful. Most people liked him because he never asked much of the people. We walked through the main part of our station people begging outside the bar, a man throwing up down a platform.
Then I looked outside the grated gate and saw the burn pile burning and the smell of burning flesh, I gaged. As I walked with him I started to think about how we ended up down here. When there was a shortage of gas countries led to less friendly ways of getting there hands on it. Eventually one country but no one know exactly which one launched a nuclear missile. Starting the first and last nuclear war. So when the nukes hit the ukraine many people hid in the metro, and survived the bombs. Today was a special day. For the first time in seven years a ranger was coming to our station.
Rangers are people who go to the surface for months on end to find oil, bullets cloths and vodka for stations. My father had contacted him through a radio station saying we were low on oil, bullets. He said he could help us if he could stay at green station for a few months. We walked on through our station, people greeted us and two guards joined us as we approached the airlock. Before we did we had to go through the infirmary. And I saw just how many people we were losing. At least once a day we have a new person go’s to the infirmary for one reason. The dark ones.
The dark ones are a rare type of mutants, pure evil if you ask me. If the even touch you they are linked to your mind. They speak to you make you believe whatever they tell you. They slowly rip your mind apart, unless you are treated soon enough, but most weren’t. We arrived at the gate and waited. We waited almost half an hour and my father started to look sad. He probably thought the mutants got him. Then we heard a faint gunshot, then another and then a burst of a rifle. “Open the gate! ” my father yleld the gunshots came got closer and the gate just started to open.
We could hear at least a pack of mutants and some one saying to close the gate. My father waited a few more seconds and then said the close it. It was only 2 feet wide when a man jumped through and land on his back at my feet. The gate was only a slit open but I caught a glimpse of true fear. A tall black figure with arms as long as its body with four large fingers and burning white eyes. And they were staring right at me. The door slammed heavily and I looked down at my feet. “Hello Artyom” the ranger said we a heavy russian accent. He stood up and we let him catch his breath.
He had an suv rifle on his back and i military grade gas mask The ranger looked up at my father “It’s good to see you Volgraf,” the ranger said in between breathes. My father grinned and said “Yes it is good to see you too it’s been too long Strelok” They both shook hands and started talking about the surface and how the fascist are trying to take over cursed and bharath station. ” oh, mutant attacks are getting more frequent through the whole metro” said Strelok “Yes we have been getting our fair share of attacks i’m losing men left and right here” my father said.
Oh Artyom, i have something for you” Strelok reached into his bag and pulled out some photos “I came across a trader who was selling cards and I thought of your wall” he handed them to me” thank you Strelok” i said. Suddenly out of nowhere screams came from the infirmary. We all ran to the room to find what was causing this. But the screams weren’t of pain, no they were of terroir and fear. When we got into the room we could hear that they were talking about strange things “the white tunnel” one said dazed” please no not again not here, anything but here I don’t want to be in the dark no please! another screamed. I was horrified. Then the main alarm sounded, It was an attack. My father swiftly ran to a desk and pulled a revolver out and handed it to me. ” if its hostile you kill it” Strelok said to me.
A guard ran into the room” the mutants sir, they … they broke through the man barricade” “how did they get in!? ” my father demanded” the air vents sir” my father ran fastly to his desk again and then said into the intercom “this is general volkafh, start immediate evacuation to sector 3″ They never come this far” my father said irately” it’s the smell of blood from your wounded men” said strelok ” or they could be running from something” i said hurriedly Strelok looked at me then at my father” the dark ones” There were screams at first then they died of to silence, but that just made it more terrifying to me. Then I could here in the distance I could hear claws on mettle scampering. I looked over to my left and saw a strange shadow in the vent. Then as soon as i saw it it was too late. If it wasn’t for strelok I would be dead right now instead of telling you this story.
I saw this disturbingly mutated creature in the vent and i raised my gun to fire but it jumped out jaws ready to kill but strelok stabbed it in the neck three times with a broken broom stick” if you can’t fight stay behind me! ” he yield. I was sicken from the smell of their sour blood it smelled putrid and rotten. I saw a mutant jump for my father. Now to this day I don’t remember how this happened but all I could remember is seeing the mutant from the one side of the room and then being on the other side putting two bullets bullet in its head. It’s strange how people work when it comes to protecting family. This wasn’t just an attack they were running from something” my father said ” the dark ones like you said Artyom, it’s their greatest weapon fear… ” sir the dark ones killed our last barikad! ” we all rushed to the barikad to see our men like all the rest that made contact with the dark ones. I looked across sector two as we ran our pigs killed our grain burned, this was our strongest sector and now it’s gone I thought.
When we arrive at the barikad Two were dead and one’s mind was infected but it doesn’t matter it always ends in the same result. this threat must be eliminated” said strelok “I must go” “Artyom” strelok said “Yes” I said slowly “If I don’t return by morning you must go to polis and find a man named Max Cross and tell him what happened to me” “Oh and give him this so he knows i sent you” Strelok said He handed me this dog tag with a green skull with a knife through it and in bold print“ A STALKER OF PRIPYAT” He started walking into the distant metro, he turned his head and I heard him say” this threat must be eliminated Artyom, eliminated no matter what the coast” and he walked off into the metro till I couldn’t see him anymore. He never did returned.
