"Bitch... She's waiting for something... Can't see it from here, probably dinner," the masked stalker sighed through the muffle of his filtration mask, as he twitched his fingers ever so slightly on his SVD's scope, focusing on the Demon in his crosshairs. It was perched on the edge of an apartment buildings roof, its growl could be heard from street level, just faintly audible on the wind. One bullet is all it could take, but the hell that would ensue if he missed or merely wounded the mutant wasn't worth it. Conserving his ammunition was also a survival priority. Trying to remain unnoticed by man or beast was for the best on the surface, in the dead city that was once Moscow. Up here, life always hung by a thread. If the living horrors didn't get the unlucky stalker, it might be something that bullets couldn't deal with. Anomalies, 'the dead', crazy but real enough... Too many dangers to count in this place. He still had two hours of light, maybe one hour of air if everything stayed calm.

"Fast and quiet, Sokov - we're close now. Let's go," the stalker spoke clearly as the mask allowed, taking one hand away from his rifle to tap the girl in her late teens on the shoulder. As she reacted, he turned into the alleyway they had stopped at the entrance to and raised his rifle to continue on.

Raisa made a barely heard 'mhm' and looked over her shoulder to see the Major moving. She scanned over her sector one more time, making sure it was all clear down the ruined street before stepping back until she was in the alleyway he was leading her into. At least the aforementioned 'bitch' would have a hard time hunting them in such a tight space. But if the case was ground-based critters, there was not a chance they would survive. They hunted in packs, they could quite easily trap the two humans and rip them to shreds. Quiet, aware, mobile - the three words the Major had told Raisa Sokov were repeatedly mouthed by the young woman as she followed him. They watched everywhere, twitched their eyes at every sound emitted from the decaying city ruins and its new inhabitants.

The destination was the next station inward, on the line from their home station, Kuzminki. The mutant attacks finally got out of hand, and the two must have been some of the only ones to escape. Going by surface was safer, considering the monsters might have hounded them all the way through the tunnels without relent. Not to mention, bandits inhabited those tunnels. Bullets in the front, teeth and claws in the back - or chancing the freezing, toxic Moscow of today. It had to be this way.

"Major, you've done this before?" Raisa asked as they reached the opposite end of the alleyway, both peering around their corners after nodding for a 'go' signal. "Traveled this area, I mean?"

"This route, yes. Proved troublesome, lost a companion to something big with claws. Knowing the shortcuts is essential to staying alive," the Major replied as he passed Raisa's corner to continue moving down the relatively intact street. His companion would check behind them in the alley before catching up again. "There is an entrance to the service tunnels behind the bandits' station in one of these buildings, Sokov. Getting old here. You might have to pull me through the high window when we get there."

"Can do, Major," Raisa agreed, her attention suddenly taken away from her mentor. A pack of three watchmen darted across the street ahead, crossing from one building to another. Of course, this wasn't a playground to them - mutants had to treat the surface like a minefield too. The Demon from earlier would love to dig its talons into the unluckiest of the three watchmen and carry it back to her nest. Raisa noted this, checked their three and six o'clock, checked the sky, and went to catch up with the Major once again.

'We must be close now...'

Valery bursts through the door with the rest of his team. He drops the dshk he was carrying and falls to the ground. "Shut the door! They're right behind us!" Two men close the door catching a nosalis trying to get through. Another man shoots the nosalis in the head splattering blood all over to doorway. The men manage to fight back the nosalis' and shut the door, sealing it off with a book shelf. "Good god, we need to get back to the station. Did we lose anyone getting in here?" One of the men, presumably the leader, asks. Valery gets up shaking, certain that he was going to die.

"Romans dead. He must have bled out somewhere along the way." One of the men says hunched over a lifeless body.

"Flip him over, I need his mask. Mine got broken." Another man says as he takes the mask of his dead comrade. "We're really in for it now, first those demons! Then you lead us right into a nosalis nest! I thought you said you knew where we were going!"

The leader walks over to him and pushes the soldier over. "Don't you put this blame on me! We needed to get out of the open and this was the closest place! Which do you prefer: nosalis' or demons?" The leader walks over to the window and peeks out. He scans the horizon looking for landmarks to relate his position. "I think that we're facing west. We need to find a way back underground, if we can find an entrance in red territory then that's all the better."

Another soldier walks over to Valery and shoves the dshk into his hands "Damn it worm! You need to get it together! If you're going too slow then we'll just leave you behind!"

"I-I'm sorry. You've got me carrying so much I don't know how much longer I can run like this." Valery nervously responds "I'm no soldier, I'm supposed to be in the station."

"If it were up to me you'd never be here! If you weren't needed to recover the trucks weapons then you'd be worthless." The angered man retorts. "If you're no good in a fight, you might as well carry the gear!"

The leader returns from the window over to the group "Alright, I figured out where we are. If we go two blocks south then we'll get to a station on the green line. And that will take us back to our station. There's still five of us, more than enough to get us across the surface. We'll need to move quickly but discretely." The leader looks back out the window. "There's enough snow piled up I think we can make the drop, it's only the second story." The leader climbs out the window and sits on the edge. "I'll go out first and cover the rest of you." He hops down and lands in a large pile of snow below.

"I'll go next." The man who was talking to Valery says as he walks over to the window, hopping out the same way the leader did.

"You're next engineer." One of the others says to Valery.

"O-okay..." Valery says nervously. He walks over to the window and looks down at the two men watching the streets. Valery drops the dshk down first and follows shortly. Valery lands on his side hard. Knocking the wind out of him. He took most of the impact trying to save the cutting torch strapped to his back. The other two soldiers jump down landing just as hard as Valery.

"Let's move. Every second we wait brings us one second closer to death. And keep a lookout for the demons. I know they haven't gone far." The leader says as he takes off south down the street. Valery throws the gun over his shoulder and follows after. Scanning every window and every alley for the creatures of the darkness.

It was right there, just a little bit further up the road. But why now of all times did mutants have to start showing up? Their confidence grew as night drew closer, that much was clear... But they seemed riled up more than usual. Nosalises and watchmen growled at each other just outside the building at the end of the road, oblivious to the two humans, and what lurked above. It wasn't normal to see the groups facing off, not that Raisa knew that. The Major however knew something had drawn the nosalises out into the Moscow cold, into watchmen territory. But what? Or... who? His eyes scanned the windows around them for activity His gaze then rested upon the slit-like windows in the back of whatever that building used to be. The air vents in there would take them down into Volgogradsky Prospekt. They just had to make it there in one piece first.

"Sokov. This is it. Hear the flapping above us? More demons. Stick close to the walls, move fast, be deliberate. We have one shot only at reaching the target building, if we fuck up then that's it... Be wary of human contacts and call them out if you see any, stay with me!" The Major commanded, picking up the pace as he held his rifle up to the gathered mutants. His pace quickened, eyes darting from his scope to his feet every few moments to ensure safety. Tripping and being mauled wouldn't be his idea of a glorious death...

Raisa followed him, adrenaline pumping. She was going back underground, as long as she did exactly as the expert said. She followed him a little slower, as she had to keep their backs covered. Look out for human contacts? Where did he get that idea? No time for thinking, only time for doing.

The veteran stalker fired a single 7.62 round into the crowd, causing both the nosalises and watchmen to scarper. This in turn had the demon swoop down into the open street to pick an unfortunate watchman up and carry it away to its nest. The other mutants were getting out of the area, and sharpish!

"Move, run!" The Major took to bolting away from the wall and straight down the street, soon followed by Raisa when she'd heard him break into a sprint. Being younger and carrying less gear, she overtook him - but that was good - he said she'd have to help him up. Making that high window slit would be easy!

What they didn't expect right now was to hear a terrifying roar from above, and then in the buildings on either side of the street, and behind them...! Both their hearts sank at the cry for their blood, but they were so close now!

The group of Red Army soldiers moves down the street coming up on the first block. The leader Gestures to a metro sign on the corner "See, Volgogradsky is just up ahead. Just one more block and we've made it to safety. When we get there no one mention we're Reds." He looks at the Metro map "We'll say we're from Kuzminki. That should throw them off the trail long enough for us to pass. Pavlov move up and cover the Intersection. We're going to cross." The men move to the corner, Valery in the middle of the group clutching the Dshk over his left shoulder and his "Bastard" in his right hand. The one called "Pavlov" moves up to the corner and peeks around.

"Looks like some watchmen... and the nosalis' seem to be getting agressive with them... Looks like we pissed them off something awful. We should be able to sneak past."

The leader of the group moves up to the corner "Alright Engineer me and you will move across first and then we'll cover the others." He says to Valery as he checks out the mutant conflict down the street. Valery moves up behind him ready to move.

"Alright sir, Im ready to move." Valery takes a deep breath and tenses up. The leader takes off, staying low behind some cars and rubble. Valery takes off behind him, keeping down low. The street was only 30 or so meters but creeping along made it feel like 300. Each step seeming louder than the last. Valery tried not to think of the pack of death that was throwing distance away. Trying not to think about how any disturbance could cause the beasts to frenzy either at them or the other mu... BAM ... Valery jumps at the sound of the gunshot so close. He peeks up over the car he was standing behind to look down the street. What he saw was pure terror; the Watchmen had turned and were charging away from the gunshot, straight towards Valery and the groups leader. The leader stands up and yells "Damn! Fuck it, everyone run! The entrance to the station is only a little ways ahead!" The leader takes off, headed towards the station. Valery looks back to check on the rest of the team just in time for one of them to run into him. He drops the Dshk but scrambles to pick it up again. The other members of the team run past him, completely ignoring Valery on the ground. He looks over the car to see the mutants a few meters away. Valery ducks down and covers his head as the Watchmen leap over the car. The mutants run over to one of his team mates and start tearing the man apart. Another one of the men turns back to help him and starts shooting the mutants but its too late, the unfortunate man had already been mutilated beyond saving. More mutants jump over the car and start going for the other man who stayed behind. Valery shoots and entire clip at the mutants to kill them. He drops the bastard and picks the Dshk back up, knowing if he leaves it the rest of his team would leave him.

"Damn it engineer get the rocks out and come on!" He shouts at Valery as they start to run off. The two scramble to catch up to the others, who have nearly made it to the Metro entrance. The goal is so close, Valery's heart begins to pound harder. The weight hes carrying drags at him like a ball and chain. The blood was rushing through his head. The world disappeared, there were no mutants, theres was only the entrance to the metro. Valery was so fixated on the Metro that he didnt even hear the horrid flapping of wings. A shadow passes over Valery and closes in on the man in front of him. The demon swoops down and picks up the unsuspecting man, carrying him off over some buildings. Valery still didn't look back. As far as he's concerned he wouldnt be able to stop the demons, but he could run until his legs gave out.

As Valery closes in, he sees the two others run down into the Metro entrance "No dont leave me behind you fools! I'm nearly there" He shouts as he closes in on the station. As hes about to reach the stairs the other two run back up into the streets.

"Its caved in! Move to that building across the street!" The leader yells at Valery as he runs across the street. The three head over to another apartment building but the door is locked. "Damn it, hold them off ill get the door open!"

Valery takes the torch off his back and sparks it up. Hopefully 1500 degree flames would drive the Watchmen back. The leader begins kicking at the door as Pavlov reloads his gun. The watchmen charge in at full speed and Pavlov begins to fire all hes got at them. One of them jumps up on valery and he runs the torch across its face. Pavlov fires off his last round and the watchmen start to drag him into the street. Valery starts to run over to him to get the watchmen off, but they back off on their own. A shadow closes in on the wounded man as a demon flies down and grabs him. Pavlov takes his knife out and starts stabbing at the demon as it carries him off. Eventually the demon lets him go and drops him on top of another building. Valery watches in shock, not paying attention to the watchmen closing in. "Come on!" The leader yells as he grabs Valery by the collar and throws him into the building. He turns around and starts fending off the watchmen until he runs out of ammo. One of the Mutants runs up and bites into the Leaders stomach, tearing into the flesh. Valery hurries back up and grabs the leaders pistol, shooting the watchman tearing his guts out. The mutant loosens its grip on the leader and Velery pulls him in and slams the door. He props a chair up against the door to buy time. He drags the wounded man into another room and barricades that door too.

"Engineer... Whats your name?" The leader asks.
"Valery Roshenko, Kommisar."
"Valery, you have to get the report back to Red Line. I have no illusions of surviving this. Get these back to armory and you'll be a hero." The leader hands Valery an envelope.
"Yes Kommisar, I wont fail." Velery takes the envelope and stands up. The leader reloads his gun and props himself against the wall.
"I'll buy you some time, you have to find a way into the Metro. And don't tell anyone about the plans."

Valery just nods and walks further into the building.

Raisa hastily pulled her dark green rucksack off as she reached the window, tossing it inside before jumping up herself. Relieved at making it, she pulled herself inside with the thrill of the moment pushing her physical limits, falling forward onto something soft below. Perhaps it was the Major himself who laid old mattresses over the floor? She'd ask him when he was safe! Without checking the room or the nearby hall for contacts, she hopped back up into the window, throwing an arm down for the Major, mutants encircling him as he waited. Further up the street, a demon raced through the air, talons at the ready to peel him off the wall if he wasn't quick about his escape. Without a moment of hesitation he jumped as high as his gear would allow, and his wise choice of companion clasped her hand around his to pull him in, albeit with some difficulty on her end. The demon crashed into the window slit just after the Major fell through, its roar emitting through the whole building as it struggled for its prey.

"OOF!"

One shot from the stalker's powerful rifle, and the beast recoiled straight back outside again. They were safe. For now. What was that noise just before he fired?

"Get off me, damn it!" Raisa complained under the weight of the man and all his equipment. What she needed after that experience was space! The aged soldier chuckled as he pulled himself back to his feet and stretched, giving Raisa some time to recover and pull herself together. They were in a maintenance room, in the back of the apartment building. There was an air vent in this same room they would use to crawl into a service tunnel near Volgogradsky Prospekt, it'd been conveniently mined with machine tools and exposed in the floor by other stalkers.

"Let's move when you're ready, the sooner we're in a breathable place the better," the Major said in monotone, calming from the experience rather quickly.

Valery drags himself through the building. He walks into a room and shuts and locks the door behind him. He takes a deep breath and removes his mask, wiping the sweat and dirt from his face. Valery sits down against the wall and puts his mask back on. He looks down at the dshk lying on his lap, now his only weapon. He removes the ammo belt tied to his leg and starts counting how many billets are on it. "Nineteen shots... Better make sure to save one for myself..." Valery says taking one of the bullets out of the belt. He opens up the dshk and pulls the belt through and closes it again. He struggles to pull the bolt back but manages to after pressing on the barrel with his foot.

Valery just sits there, and stares at the wall, looking at the peeling wall paper. This place seemed so much more homely than the metro. But it couldn't be further from it. "Alright Valery, if I were an entrance to the metro where would I be." Valery says to himself. He looks down at the floor. "I'd most likely be on the ground..." Valery thought back to the apartment with the nosalis nest in it. "The nosalis would never make their home in an apartment... Not unless it had some way underground..." The way Valery saw it, that building with the nosalis would let him get underground... Unless! There might be another building with an entrance... He would start by searching this building then move onto... BAM... Another gunshot. This time it was in the same building as him. Now there's trouble... Mutants with claws are one thing, but people with guns... It was a lot easier for a person to sneak up on him. No, not this time! It's Valerys turn to sneak up on someone!

Valery slowly opens the door, trying not to make any noise. Not really succeeding as he has a torch on his back and is carrying a machine gun. Valery creeps through the halls towards the back of the building. At the end of the hall is a cracked door. He hears rustles of something alive. This was it, either he would surprise them or get surprised. Valery slowly walks down the hall, not taking his eyes off the door for even a second. As he gets closer, his heart starts beating faster and faster. Almost certain they could hear his heart it seemed so loud. Valery takes another step and feels something pull on his ankle. A couple of cans drop to the floor with the most monstrous clank he ever heard. Valery stumbles back into the closest room and waits, pointing the dshk in the general direction of the door.

Raisa nodded at the Major, finally ready to continue. The last leg of their journey would be underground, fortunately. The darkness and lack of changing environment would make her feel far safer. The stalker nodded, and stepped down into the busted-open floor, placing a foot in the vent. It wasn't a metallic ringing because of the vents being surrounded by thick concrete. But there was a sound akin to that at the same time. The hallway. He lifted the rifle to aim at an entering intruder, but whoever it was seemed smart enough to stay outside.

Raisa raised her weapon to the door, flexing her fingers on the AK's foregrip. They weren't safe yet... The old man said to call out contacts, but she figured he got the idea by now. Instinctively she moved into the corner of the room, whilst the Major took up the role of 'negotiator'. With no indication to drop her guard, Raisa's aim was rested on the door.

"Identify," the Major ordered calmly. He seemed awfully collected to say about two minutes earlier he'd more or less said 'kill anyone on sight'. "I am an independent stalker. Heading to Volgogradsky Prospekt. I have a friend in here with me. We're not looking to fuck this up now that we're so close to the metro. Are you?"

Raisa raised a brow at the old stalker's chat with.. well, whatever or whoever was in the hall. She could bail right now, but the man was right. After all that crazy on the surface, it'd be a shame to end this in bloodshed. Human blood, that is.

Valery is surprised that whoever is in the room is actually talking with words instead of bullets. Should he respond? Or just start shooting? No, talking seems the right thing to do. "W-what makes you think I even want to go back to the metro!" Damn it Valery... "Maybe I l-like it up here!" It's becoming painfully obvious that Valery isn't good under pressure. "J-just never mind! Shut up! Listen I've got enough firepower to turn that room into Swiss cheese! And turn you into hamburger in the process! How bout I fry you up and serve you to those winged sons of bitches? Maybe then they'll help me get back!" Valery is running out of things to say, realizing he hasn't actually made a request. "L-listen! You two slowly walk out the door. Either that or you could hop back out to the creatures of the surface!" Valery shifts his grip on the dshk and positions it better at the door. "Let's say I give you twen- no! Ten! Seconds before I rip the room to shreds!"

"Or I toss this here nail bomb into the hallway, you die screaming, and us two enter the metro and close the entrance behind us. If I wanted to hurt you, do you think you would still be hurling threats at me?" The Major said, struggling with his moral compass to not just do like he said and cake this muppet all over the walls. He spared a glance back at Raisa, who just shrugged and circled a finger around her ear. This guy wasn't all there, it seemed! He nodded in response, sighing quietly as this little standoff continued.

"Come to us, you play by our rules and you get in the metro, you get to live, and we go our separate ways after Volgogradsky Prospekt. Deal?" the old stalker offered, not losing his cool.

"All for the pipe bomb idea, myself," Raisa added, causing the Major to turn and shake his head at her. He had this under control... Hopefully.

"W-what?" Valery asks suprised. "Damn it Valery.. You should have just shot." He mumbles to himself. They hadn't already killed him, so maybe they weren't there to kill him. But then again it could just be some trap. But the way it was, Valery is going to die, either by mutants or these people, and a bullet is a lot quicker. He would do as they say for now. They were only a short distance from the station and apparently these people knew how to get there. All he had to do was get back to a station and boom, straight back to Red Line and an end to all this nonsense. Rail cars are much simpler to work with than humans or mutants.

"O-okay I'll do it. You seem to have me at a disadvantage. Just give me one second." Valery looks around the room and spots a wardrobe. He shuffles over to it and quietly places the dshk, torch, and the recon notes into it. He would get these back after he figured out wether or not they were going to shoot him once he walked through the door. They might take his life but they wouldn't take the Red Army's gear! "Alright I'm coming through now. You must understand the risk I'm taking here. I'm putting a lot of trust in people who could just be here to take my things!" Valery says as he nervously walks towards the end of the hall. He gently pushes open the door being greeted by a man with a rifle. Valery starts to shake, unsure of how this will go. He doesn't even notice the girl in the corner he's so nervous.

The Major didn't reply to the nervous young man, but backed away from the door as he heard the slow steps getting closer. When the door opened, the barrel of the SVD would be thrust about two inches from Valery's filtration mask, but no shot was taken. He was actually going with it. The risk went both ways - who's to say there wasn't more of them out there? Now that the Major had a captive, he wouldn't let him out of sight. "Raisa, check the hall for contacts. If it looks good, we slip into the vent here and get underground without any trouble," he addressed his companion first, "Where's your weapon, the one that turns the room into swiss cheese? You're crazy to travel the surface without one... We did hear gunshots earlier, as I recall. Lose it?" the stalker asked.

Raisa strolled past the two, checking the corner before cautiously advancing into the hall. Other than the mandatory creaks, cracks and occasional howls on the wind, there was no noise, no movement. She backed into the room again and held her rifle low, away from their already-twitchy guest. The last thing he needed was to feel captive, right? In a way, he reminded her of Sasha, hours earlier back in Kuzminki. When the mutants attacked, she decided his fate for him... This guy was definitely nervous enough to be a Sasha.

"Seems clear. Shall I do my ladies first thing?" Raisa queried, getting impatient with all this loitering on the surface. Even if they were safe, they couldn't just breathe indefinitely! Not to mention it was freezing. The Major might have his coat and armour, but all she had was her shirt, leather jacket on top of that, and the scarf dug into her collar and wrapped around her neck.

"No, I'll go first. Then he does. Then you," the Major answered, lowering his rifle. The boy had the right to carry a damned weapon, whether he came here with one or not.

Valery nervously lowers his hands now that the situation is less tense. "I have a weapon, I stashed it though. I wasn't about to just hand it over to you. Now that I see you're not just going to shoot me I might be more inclined to show you it." Valery looks over at the girl who seems a lot less hostile. "And as for the gunshots... There was others, but they died getting to the building. If you don't believe me, one of them is probably dead by now in the lobby." Valery looks down into the hole "I'm not about to leave without my things. Without them they would never let me back in armory." Valery gestures to the room he was hiding in "My things are in the wardrobe in that room, if you don't trust me you can send her to get them. Just don't go rummaging through my personal items."

The Major lowered his rifle and nodded, "Would've let you borrow my sidearm, but if you do have a shooter go and get it. I trust you," he said. It was impossible to tell whether that was sincere or not, but if there was any time to blast Valery in the face and take his stuff, that would have been it. The stalker turned his back on the boy and climbed down into the vent. He could fit in, barely, and still be able to crouch through until they had to drop down into the tunnels.

Raisa rolled her eyes as the old man left her with the nervous guy. Keeping her rifle low, she waited casually for him to find his stuff, resting on the doorframe. "Raisa Sokov, for future reference. The Major won't tell me his name, said it wasn't important. At least we can know each others', right?" she tried to make a little conversation, though the boredom was clear in her voice. It might help him settle, too, and take his mind off the fact that he was with two total strangers for the last leg of the trip.

"...Oh, and why Armory? Kuznetsky Most, right? That's still quite a ways to go after Volgogradsky Prospekt."

"I'm glad. I'm happy you're open to reason. I won't be a problem for you. But I may need to borrow that weapon anyways." Valery says to the major. He walks back to the room he was in and goes over to the wardrobe. "I'm Valery, Valery roshenko." He pulls out the envelope first and puts it down into a pocket, picking up the torch second. "Armory is my home. I've lived there since I was born. I'm a part of a Red Army recovery mission. But let me make it clear, I'm not a soldier, and I never will be." Valery picks up the dshk and rests it on his shoulder. "I'm merely here to recover the trucks. And when that failed, this was all I could get."

Valery exits the room and walks over to the hole, kneeling down beside it. He takes the torch off his back and un coils a rope tied around it. "You see, the metro is my territory. I've been in tighter spaces with this torch." He says as he tied the rope to his waist then to the torch. "If you would lower these down to me please." Valery crawls down into the hole.

Raisa seemed unamused at best, having to help Valery... But he was in front of her in the vent, he could just not budge until he got what we wanted! Just shooting him would probably piss the old man off, too. She took the torch and helped lower it into the air vent.

"You're the first Red I've ever met. I say never judge until you know who you're talking about, and I don't know a lot, just that you guys are communists." Raisa commented. When they were done, she'd crawl in after Valery.

Further ahead, the Major came to a grate in the vent he could open, the service tunnel just on the other side. He was concerned, and not just about the boy's allegiance. Anything could be waiting in this tunnel... But that was the same with every single tunnel, wasn't it? He could never get used to this part: stepping into an unfamiliar section of the vast metro. He'd wait for the others first. In the meantime, he would be listening for even the tiniest sound in the service tunnel, and make peeks from inside the vent. It was dark.

'Ah, home sweet home... I wish I had a fucking car headlight on my helmet for this.'

As Valery pushes the dshk into the vent and sets down the torch behind him he says "Thats all you need to know about us. We live a selfless life, there is no need for currency, no need for things. In the grim darkness of the metro Red Line is a beacon, calling all of man to unite together and survive the harsh reality of this is new world." Valery pushes the Dshk forward, dragging the torch behind him as he catches up to the Major. Valery was still nervous, but much less so after meeting these two people, he had known them for barely five minutes and they were already more friendly than any of the soldiers we was with.

Valery clanks and rumbles through the vents as he drags his heavy equipment. He comes up behind the Major who is looking through the vent. "Whats it looks like, we going to have smooth sailing?"

The Major remained silent, and slowly pushed the vent open for a better look both ways down the tunnels. Better to say nothing than promise this would go off without a hitch. Even the short trek to Volgogradsky Prospekt from here was dangerous. If what Raisa told him was correct, bandits could be operating around here. That, or they might be nursing their wounds if the mutant horde from Kuzminki continued onto the next station. He hoped those subhuman wretches died painfully, but a more realistic side of him hoped they were still acting as a shield against further mutant attacks along this line. Dropping down, he gave Valery a thumbs up and covered the southern tunnel.

"Seems peaceful enough. For now," he muttered, flicking on the torch wrapped around his warm hat.

Raisa would still be shuffling through the vent behind Valery, contemplating what he'd said about the Reds. That sounded pretty inviting, if anything! Of course, she realised by now that everything came with a price, or a snag, the Reds more than likely had some negatives. Not that she'd ask "what's the catch?" - that might be a little rude considering they were supposed to be friends for now.

Valery hops down out of the vent and turns on the light on his Dshk and points it down the northern tunnel. "I cant wait to get back to safety. Get some water and food. Sell this damn gun and get a ride back home." Valery looks all around, checking out the unfamiliar tunnels. "So, why are you two trying to make it to Volgolgradsky Prospekt? And why were you taking the surface? If I had a choice I would never leave the metro."

"Because mutants," Raisa answered sharply as she landed on the platform with the others. The Major pulled his filtration mask off and clipped it to his vest, prompting Raisa to do the same and stuff her mask into her bag. The Major was an aged man, perhaps in his late fifties but quite fit despite that. He'd definitely seen everything, and had the scars from many a battle. His unkept black hair was greying, his eyes were a dark brown. Raisa was an Aryan, as the Nazis would say, blonde hair and blue eyes. She might even look pretty if her face wasn't dirty, or if she wasn't strolling around with a fancy weapon!

"I grew up in Kuzminki, born the same year the bombs fell, and the threats were always a problem there... But earlier today everything just went straight to hell, it was inevitable really," Raisa explained without showing a lot of emotion on the matter. She survived for two reasons: one, the Major was a badass, and he decided she'd be worth teaming up with, and two, she let fear consume her and sacrificed others. She'd already accepted the responsibility, and the fact that Sasha probably would have done the same to her. Crush on her or not, few people in the Metro could face down a horde of mutants and not freak out, he would've left her behind in an instant. She kept telling herself this.

"I met the old man after I secured the gate behind me, and we decided to take the surface to Volgogradsky Prospekt instead of using the tunnel. Otherwise we'd be in bandit territory - and from what I hear of their kind, they wouldn't be so merciful as to just shoot me in the head and take my stuff. So, we survived the surface, met you, and now there's only what, half this tunnel to walk?" Raisa concluded as she joined Valery in covering the route to Volgogradsky Prospekt, shining her weapons flashlight into the darkness.

The Major nodded, "Sounds right. You two go first, I'll bring up the rear while we travel. Stay alert and this will be a breeze."

Valery stayed quiet as Raisa explained her situation. Valery just saw his whole team get ripped apart. But they were just some assholes he was forced to work with. He couldn't imagine if mutants broke into armory and killed all his friends he had grown up with.

He doesn't take his mask off, too used to it being on, he feels naked without it. His welding hood is even modified to be worn over it. "You keep your empty clips from that AK? I have some ammo from my bastard that I didn't get to use before I lost it. You can have it if you want." Valery says as he starts walking down the tunnel. "I guess if you're telling me about you, it's only fair I tell you about me. I was born a few years before all this nonsense, but it's not like I can remember it. I guess it just so happened my family was near where armory was because that's where I've been all my life. Grew up around the forges, so I learned metal working early on. And because there were so many shipments from armory there was a workshop set up for the rail cars. By the time I was fifteen I was already turning twisted steel into useable vehicles. As time went on the tracks started failing and my job became going into the tunnels and fixing the lines." Valery explains as he checks every hole and crack in the tunnels for signs of life. "It sucks dangling under a bridge trying to repair the supports before it collapses, but I like the work. I like doing something that will benefit the metro. Every shipment of food that reaches it's destination. Every batch of weapons that makes it to the front line. I know I've done my part." He looks back at the Major, what about you old man, what's your story? You must have all sorts of tales."