The Major remained quiet as he led the way down the service tunnel, at least until he was sure they were alone, just the three of them in a questionably peaceful place. "Stalker by trade. Thought you'd realise that just by looking at me. I'm not going to start reminiscing about my past, so don't go there," he murmured.

Raisa was unsure of how to respond to that. He'd been fine with her at his side, but add the Red into the equation and he starts getting hostile? Maybe he just didn't like them. Or, maybe he just didn't like Valery! It was hard to tell. Despite the odd company, Raisa was glad she wasn't making the trip by herself. The darkness seemed to swallow a single person whole in her experience - with others it felt as though they formed some kind of barrier against it, and not just in a way that they all had flashlights. There was no fear of such a thing as the dark with these guys backing her up.

"We're about to connect to the main tunnel. From there, it shouldn't be far to Volgogradsky Prospekt. That also means the threat level's about to rise. Be on your guard, but not so much that they gun us down at the outermost guard post," the Major spoke quickly, readying his SVD.

Valery looks back at the Major after his reluctance. "That's fair I guess. Everyone has their skeletons in the closet. Well.. I don't really have any, but that's just because I've never left Red Line.. Hell I've never even been further than one station from armory. And from what I've seen there's no reason to." Valery looks back ahead trying to stay on guard. He was used to watching his back, but never from mutants.

The tunnel they were walking through was strange to Valery. It was a cleared tunnel. A place where humans had been many times but it seemed just dead... It was strangely quiet, and Valery didn't like it. Hearing every footstep, every breath. It was as if they were the only three in the metro and that didn't sit well with him. "You know, I think this is the quietest place I've ever been." Valery says breaking the almost deafening silence. "But then again I guess it's better than hearing something coming to kill you." Valery keeps talking, trying to cover his nervousness.

"Spent a lot of time in dark, abandoned tunnels. When I was a kid it was a favourite pastime actually. Playing, exploring, scavenging. But looking back on that, a younger Raisa Sokov was a fuckin' idiot. I only found out our station faced a heavy mutant threat when I was thirteen. Didn't venture so far on my own after that..." Raisa chattered as the three walked on. At this point she was using trigger discipline, using her weapon primarily as a flashlight. Faint echoes came from the northern tunnel as the group found the main line. Just like the Major taught her - check the corners, make sure the tunnel is clear both ways, only then do you continue on. So, after doing that, she headed north, to Volgogradsky Prospekt.

The Major was quiet, walking behind Valery and not taking his eyes away from the boy. His finger traced close to the SVD's trigger, but the rifle wasn't raised. Kid was his enemy, and letting him go would be a capital offence, but... He couldn't. Raisa would question his actions, and likely begin to fear for her own life too. Right here, he could waste the kid, ensure a fresh machine gun doesn't reach the Reds whilst robbing them of a talented young man.

...He couldn't just shoot him in the back. He wasn't even a soldier. Sighing, the aging officer stepped up closer to Valery, walking with him as opposed to breathing down his neck. Besides, he'd only be around until he found other Reds, right? The Major would be patient.

Valery chuckles at the girls description of herself. "That's not a problem we deal with at armory. With all the traffic in the tunnels the mutants have learned to stay in the shadows. Plus I think all the fighting drives them away." Valerys tone gets a bit more serious. "You wouldn't believe the racket they make at that bridge. It has to be nearly a half mile away but when they got the gates open the sound of gunshots and explosions echoes all the way down the tunnels. That bridge does worry me though. We seem to keep sending troops and not many seem to come back. I just hope the nazis are losing more people than us." Valery goes back to a bit lighter tone, obviously finding the next story amusing. "One time those nazis tried to blow the bridge up and my god what a noise that was! I thought it was going to break the walls of our station!" Valery realizes he probably shouldn't be giving out so much information about the reds war, but it was nice to have some new people to talk to. And what was the worst that could happen? He was going to never see these people ever again. And it's not like they would be coming to Red Line.

The girl was alright, but there's somthing about the old man that just creeped Valery out. It wasn't that he wasn't nice. He just doesn't seem... Approachable.

"HALT! Don't fucking move!" a voice boomed from down the tunnel, followed by a bright light like a sun suddenly appearing before the three. It was a damned searchlight! In a tunnel! Why not just shoot the three survivors in the eyes, it'd be more merciful... The tone of the man who'd yelled at them was one of worry, almost. There were no gunshots, just that ridiculous light blotting out whoever and whatever was behind it.

"They're humans, you jackass! Turn that thing off!" an older man barked. "You've been waiting for an excuse to use that thing ever since they set it up!" The light was turned off quite sharpish after that, dimming the tunnel considerably again.

Raisa had been cursing the whole time the light blinded her, and that continued as she knelt down to rub her stinging eyes, the Major's volume overpowering the angry young woman. "Are we welcome or not?!"

The older man on the guard post shifted the barbed wire aside and waved the three through, "Sorry about the temporary blindness, a rare mutant attack happened about two hours ago. The kid here is freaking out."

The Major cursed and started on his way through the guard post. When Raisa recovered she'd follow along too. 'Mutant attacks...?' Had the horde from Kuzminki really come this far into the metro in such short a time? Something must have baited them if that was the case. It could be assumed the bandit station between Volgogradsky Prospekt and Kuzminki was currently in a state much like a slaughterhouse by now.

"Both of you be ready to move at a moments notice. Just a safety precaution. The experience in Kuzminki was too close, wasn't it, Sokov?" The Major chuckled as the sound of a guitar became clearer ahead, and the smells of warm metro food cooking filled the air. Perhaps this place wouldn't be so bad to take a rest at.

Raisa nodded at the old man's dark humour, though remained silent as they moved closer and closer to the safety of the station. She had a bad feeling, but what from, she couldn't tell herself.

As the light flipped on Valery naturally jerks his head down causing the welding hood to fall over his face. The light was bright, but no brighter than an arc welder four inches from his face. His heart jumped for a second but then he realized: bandits don't bother with security checks.

When the light shuts off Valery raises the visor back up and throws the dshk over his shoulder. Finally they would be able to relax for a minute. As Valery walked into the station he takes off his respirator revealing the face of a young man with unkempt hair and peculiar tan lines around where his respirator was. His face is blackened with oil and dirt. It gives a glimpse into the harsh conditions of the red army's machine shops. He furiously scratches at a spot on his face. "It feels good to get out of that thing. I've had it on for six hours now." He says as he looks around. The station was warm, not hot like armory, but a lot warmer than the outside. He took a deep breath. It was strange not smelling oil and gasses in the air. This was the first time in months that he had smelled air outside of armory and it was refreshing. "Well pals looks like we made it. I'll need to find out about the rail car situation. I think that we should all go get a drink in the mean time! Anyone that survives the surface deserves a drink!" Valery said cheerfully, but deep down he was nervous about returning to red line with only news of failure.

"I'm game for that," Raisa agreed with Valery, "I was trying to relax when the mutants hit Kuzminki, left in a hurry. I could really use a drink..." she said, tapping him on the shoulder with her knuckles as she went to find the local watering hole. Now they were safe and sound, the scavenger from Kuzminki station flicked the safety on and slung the expensive-looking rifle over her right shoulder.

"I'm sure the old man will do his own thing."