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Post by Lawnmower Joe on Sept 19, 2012 4:38:10 GMT -5
"I dunno...", said Balalaika, gazing out at the darkness that lay ahead of them. As she pondered this strange and sinister question, she could not help but feel that there was something else hiding behind all the usual explanations, something darker. Her thoughts were interrupted by a somewhat withered voice that spoke up next to them.
"Tunnel collapse in one of the side passes, over population, or maybe a new breed of Nosalis."
Balalaika turned to look at the newcomer. It was far too dark to make out any fine details, but she could see he had long hair and a filthy combat suit that may or may not have been white at one point.
“Sorry for barging into your conversation, but will you allow an old man to join you?”
Balalaika shrugged and turned back to the tunnel. After a few minutes, she remembered that she'd lost her AKS-74U in the chaos of battle.
"Anyone seen my Kalash?", she said, leaving her position at the machine-gun and switching her head-lamp on. "It's a short one, plastic magazine...ah, here it is."
She picked up the gun, which had gone skittering behind a fallen sandbag, and slung it over her shoulder before returning to the Pecheneg. As silence fell over the barricade, she let her thoughts wander. Why had she been so fucking stupid with her money? Her debts were too high and too numerous for her to ever repay them in full, and she knew what Kitai-Gorodians did to those who didn't repay their debts. Maybe she could find Adder and vanish. Nobody ever knew where Adder was. The solitary woman was always roaming some forgotten tunnel, staying out of the reach of what little was left of civilisation.
Balalaika stuck a strip of dried rat meat into her mouth and started chewing, her expression turning dark as her thoughts sunk into the realms of worry. After a prolonged silence, she glanced back over her shoulder at the three men who sat nearby.
"Does anyone know when we'll be relieved?"
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Post by bawls34 on Sept 19, 2012 21:18:07 GMT -5
"Does anyone know when we'll be relieved?" said the Stalker as she chewed a peice of meat.
"No idea here...i'm guessing until the power gets back on.." said Yuri as he flicked the butt of his cigarette to the ground. After thumbing a final round into his bakelite kalash magazine, Yuri locked it into his rifle and racked the charging handle to the rear, observing the round on top of the magazine before watching it chamber as he released the slide.
"What about you old man? you hear anything?" Said Yuri.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Oct 23, 2012 20:51:44 GMT -5
“I don’t know,” said Shade pulling off the bayonet of his automatic shotgun, “I was pulled from the reserve.”
He began to sharpen the blade, as the light of a few small fires and lanterns gleamed off the metal. His fingers edged over a worn decretive design on the flat part of the blade. The number of times the blade had been bathed in the blood of his fellow man was near uncountable. He had claimed it as his prize from the belt of a Polis ranger many years in the past, and he had carried it with him on many cavern and station raids as well into his five year exile. After cleaning it with care he replaced it back on his weapon.
“If you signed on as mercenaries don’t expect to see any rest,” explained the elder, “they’d rather burn your corpse than pay your bullets.”
The former tunnel bandit fell into a short coughing fit before pulling out a small canteen and taking a large gulp of water. He knew he should get that looked at but their where few doctors outside of Polis a place he could not walk freely. He had many a time wonder about his child who now served as a ranger, he had heard that his wife had passed on only weeks after had he had fled that station and had gone into exile.
“Damnit,” sighed Shade as he put the canteen away, then pulled out a long strip of cloth and securely wrapped it around his hand and weapon. He had had to fend off many Nosalies attacks in his life, but even he had to admit that the situation was bad. They might loss the station, if someone didn’t find some way of getting the lights back on.
“If they don’t send a team to fix the electricity soon we will loss this station,” croaked out Shade, “the officials don’t seem to want to put out that call, fearing that no one will join up on that suicide mission.”
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Post by Lawnmower Joe on Oct 28, 2012 7:59:21 GMT -5
"Hrm", was all Balalaika managed. She didn't like the thought of not getting paid, although the old man was probably right. Mercenaries in the Metro tended to not last very long these days, especially not dirty punks like her. She fell into a gloomy silence and looked back at the pitch black tunnel ahead of them.
Maybe it would be better if she died? Her debts were too great to be repaid in full, and soon the guys from Kitai-Gorod would be sending people to kill her or drag her into indentured servitude. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life as a slave.
"Fucking bullshit", she muttered under her breath, pushing her helmet back off her eyes.
There was a scuttling noise deep in the tunnel. Balalaika looked up and switched her headlamp on, the pale beam of light illuminating the rusted railtracks over a few metres before being swallowed entirely by the darkness.
"Did you guys hear that?", she said, reaching for the Pecheneg. The tunnel was now utterly silent save for the whispers of soldiers. Balalaika relaxed a little.
Another rustle, this time closer to the line.
"There's definitely something out there", hissed Balalaika.
A scream and gunshots exploded behind them. Balalaika jumped, her eyes wide with fear and surprise.
"What the fuck is this shit?!", cried someone. Balalaika was turning around to see what the hell was going on when she caught a slight shimmering before her, a brief distortion of space. She stopped and looked in front of her again, only to be greeted by a vision that seemed to have stemmed from a deep, black nightmare.
"Oh God...", she breathed, looking up at the horrendous beast before her. Its body was long and sinuous, its skin pallid and dotted with slimy-looking hairs and patches of what could have been scales. Along its flanks were a series of legs, insectoid and chitinous, all ending in a large, curved claw. The beast's head was grotesque, with large, viscous mandibles and hundreds of tiny things clicking away between them.
The thing lunged and Balalaika screamed, a claw hacked into her crude leather armour and gouged her skin. She felt the wet warmth of blood soaking into her clothes as she was knocked over backwards. The beast now towered over her, its movements so swift and deadly that nobody seemed to have been able to react to its presence. Acting on instinct alone, Balalaika snatched up her Kalash and fired one-handedly at the monster. Bullets tore into its ugly flesh, and greenish ichor came spilling out. The beast shrieked and slithered away, only to be killed by another soldier.
Panting, bleeding and stained with viscous ooze from the creature, Balalaika lay aching on the floor for a moment. Her arm throbbed from the recoil of her assault rifle, the gash on her arm burned and leaked blood, but she barely noticed those things. Finally she hoisted herself up, shaking like a leaf, and croaked:
"Did...did you see that? It...it was fucking invisible!"
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Post by CaptainNips on Oct 28, 2012 22:31:37 GMT -5
Mikhail continued to smoke his cigarette, puffing trails of smoke into the musty air. He thought silently to himself, assured that the men of Sevastopol would pay an affable Hansa guard. After all, Mikhail was not a dirty mercenary like the others, he was one of the veteran Hansa soldiers specially chosen to aid Sevastopol's struggle.
"Did you guys hear that?" Balalaika muttered urgently.
Mikhail turned and gazed into the gaping mouth of the tunnel. All was quiet. Not a sign. Nothing. Mikhail was just about to relax when a rustle was heard close to the line. Immediately after gunshots pierced the silence of the defenses. Mikhail turned and saw a horrid beast looming over Balalaika. It was a creature that seemed to come from the pit of hell.
The Hansa grunt stood motionless in shock as Balalaika was tackled by the beast. The mutant was soon shot by the stalker but only after she received a cut along her arm.
"Did... you see that? It... it was fucking invisible!"
Mikhail shook his head, to recover his senses, and spoke, "Whatever it was... it's dead now. Let's hope that's the only one we have to deal with..."
He then dug in his pack and pulled out a bottle of vodka and a roll of bandages.
"Here take these," Mikhail held them out to Balalaika, "Use the vodka to sanitize it first."
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Post by Lawnmower Joe on Nov 2, 2012 7:08:00 GMT -5
"I bloody fucking well hope so", said Balalaika through gritted teeth. Pain radiated from the gash as she pulled her sleeve back. She shone her flashlight at it and winced as she saw how deep and bloody it seemed.
"I think I'm going to need more n' a bandage and some vodka for this", she said before grudgingly taking the bottle from Mikhail. She poured some of the booze onto the cut and groaned as her injured flesh burned. With a shaking hand she bandage the wound, more blood flowing out of it as she did so.
"Fuck...", she muttered, "I bet that bug thing cut me to the fucking bon-"
She abruptly stopped talking as the world around her became blurry. Things swam and warped, Mikhail's face became a nonsensical mess. Bile burned Balalaika's throat as she felt suddenly nauseated.
"I feel like shit", she slurred, "better go back to the station and get a medic or something, y'know."
She stood, turned to go back to Sevastopolskaya and suddenly found that her legs seemed to have ceased existing. She hit the floor with a dull clunk of gear, her helmet rolling away.
"I...I can't move...", she wheezed. Her tongue felt like it had tripled in size and her mouth was filled with paste.
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Post by CaptainNips on Nov 2, 2012 9:46:32 GMT -5
Mikhail watched Balalaika's condition worsen in dismay. How could the scratch have affected her so? Mikhail hoped deep within his heart that the bite would not prove to be fatal... you never know what kind of effects you'll have with a mutant wound.
Mikhail gritted his teeth and stepped over to Balalaika, "I'll carry you, you must see a doctor now."
Not waiting for an answer, Mikhail scooped up the stalker in his arms. The guard grunted at the weight of the gear and motioned to the others, "Someone pick up her helmet. We're taking her back, you two should come as well. We'll have much to explain..."
The Hansa grunt then turned back and started for the inner defenses, taking slow and cautious steps.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Nov 3, 2012 21:48:17 GMT -5
Did the alcohol have some kind of reaction to the possible venom of the bug mutant? Tosya wonder if this beast could explain a lot of the disappearances in the tunnels over the years. But for right now, thinking and pondering would have to wait.
The young woman was in very disparate need of medical attention, but he knew there was a possibility that they might not get her to help in time. So with a nod the older man picked up the woman’s helmet and followed the Hansa fighter.
As they neared the back, one of the officers stopped them in the dark, his headlamp shining on them. Shade motioned for the other two to let him do the talking, a man of his age could get away with a lot more than those still in their twenties.
“Get back to your post soldiers let another team take the injured off your hands,” grunted out the official his voice cracked with stress and uncertainty.
“But she is my niece,” lied the older man as he motioned for the other two to keep moving, “I swore to my brother that I would look after her, until she gave up her foolish notions of adventure and return home.”
“It’s not normally allowed,” the man sighed, clearly aggravated, “but take a stretcher, you won’t be stopped, just keep going.”
“Thank you,” said the former tunnel bandit, “boy get her on that stretcher, we don’t have much time.”
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Post by CaptainNips on Nov 4, 2012 2:36:23 GMT -5
Mikhail nodded to his companion and gently layed the poisoned Balalaika onto the stretcher. The age-old stretcher was torn in certain spots and had many unwashed blood stains. Mikhail then grabbed onto one side of the stretcher, the old man taking the other. Then, walking backwards, Mikhail helped carry the wounded stalker back towards the station.
As the men walked, Mikhail remained silent, still in slight shock of the sudden mutant that had pounced on Balalaika. The Hansa veteran had never seen such a wound to have this kind of effect. Mikhail hoped that there would be a cure but deep in his heart he knew that there was most likely none that the doctors could offer. Mikhail looked down at the stalker's groggy state, filled with pity.
They eventually reached the station entrance, where the guards let them in with ease.
One guard pointed out helpfully, "You'll find the doctor right by the platform. He has many patients to attend to."
Mikhail uttered a small thanks and nodded to his companions, who carried Balalaika towards the Sevastopol clinic.
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Post by Lawnmower Joe on Nov 12, 2012 6:43:25 GMT -5
The infirmary was packed, its agonising patients spilling out onto the platform and lying on any bedding the citizens of Sevastopolskaya were willing to give up. The wounded lay on the floor, crying out for help and receiving almost none from the one doctor and three nurses that were doing their best to take care of everyone. The smell of blood was heavy in the air.
A guard, one arm wrapped in bloody bandages, kept glancing worriedly at the tunnel up ahead. "All this blood is only going to attract more monsters", he said.
A call for help had been sent to the Ring Line. The Hansa would not, could not let Sevastopolskaya fall. If she fell, the entire line would be lost, and the Hansa itself would be exposed to mutant attacks. Many stations would also be plunged in darkness without Sevastopolskaya's underground power plants.
All this was lost to Balalaika, though. The short stalker lay in a foggy state of semi-consciousness, completely unable to move. Alarmingly, her wound still bled profusely despite the bandages that had been applied to it. Blood had soaked most of her shoulder, leaving a large, wet crimson stain on the dirty fabric of her jacket.
When the doctor finally looked at her, his tired, spectacled eyes widened in horror.
"What the hell happened to her?", he asked, examining the bleeding cut. Cautiously he removed some of her red bandages, and winced at what he saw.
"This is not a normal wound", he said, "it's far too clean, and it bleeds too much. No Nosalis could have done that. I'll stitch it up and apply some disinfectant...hopefully it will stop the bleeding."
The doctor reached into a leather satchel that hung at his side and extracted a needle and thread. A nurse quickly came to his aid with a leather belt. She tied the belt around Balalaika's arm , above the wound. As they both got to work on Balalaika's wound, the sound of a metal bell echoed from somewhere down the platform.
"They're in the station! They're in the station! They came through the vents!", yelled a panicked woman as she ran from the scene. An inhuman shriek came keening over the tents lined up on the platform, and a chorus of very human screams followed. Guards and armed station residents, some barely older than 10, rushed to do battle with the unseen enemy.
And then They came. Some tents collapsed, torn down by scythe-like claws. The doctor looked up from his work and swore loudly, his hands now shaking with fear. Things began to scuttle towards the wounded, drawn to the stench of blood and the cries of pain and distress. They were crab-like, walking on six chitinous legs. Scythe-like arms extended on both sides of a horrific head adorned with a pair of vicious mandibles. Two of the creatures beset an injured guard and tore bloodily into him. The man's screams of agony were joined by others as more of the injured were devoured by the ghastly creatures.
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Post by CaptainNips on Nov 12, 2012 8:16:13 GMT -5
Mikhail stared in horror as the station turned to chaos. Multiple mutant shrieks were heard as soldiers rushed to supress the attack. The creatures killed and rampaged through the platform, only yards away from the Hansa soldier.
"Fucking hell man! What is this shit?!" exclaimed Mikhail as he unslung his kalash.
Mikhail stood protectively next to Balalaika and the doctor and spoke rapidly to his companions, "Make a circle around them! We must protect the injured!"
The Hansa fighter then turned and let out a lethal burst onto one of the crablike mutants. It screeched as one of it's legs was punctured by the bullets and made useless. The creature let out another nerve racking shriek and began to scurry towards Mikhail with it's speed stunted. The mutant limped along until it was blown across the platform from a thunderous shotgun blast. Mikhail looked over and spotted Grigori, his Hansa captain, along with three other Hansa fighters. Grigori had his helmet fastened and held his powerful pump-action shotgun.
"Mikhail! What in the devil is going on here?!" Grigori shouted over.
"Never mind that!" Mikhail replied briskly, "We have a seriously wounded comrade over here as well as some injured! We must protect them!"
Grigori nodded and darted over, the three Hansa soldiers right behind him. The Hansa fighters completed the circle around the surviving injured and stood broodingly with their weapons. Mikhail stood attentively while aiming down the sights of his AK-74, looking around at the chaos of the station. The veteran soldier sighed and prayed to whichever God was left that his companions would survive and that Sevastopolskaya would not fall to these vile vermin.
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Post by Lawnmower Joe on Nov 17, 2012 9:34:42 GMT -5
Guards rushed to protect the injured, but the enemy was now in such close proximity that many were forced to take it on in close combat. Sevastopolskayans, some armed only with crude blades, engaged the insectoid enemy with desperate determination. Smoke began to fill the station, a fire having broken out among the now tattered or collapsed tents.
The soldiers stationed in the tunnel were now coming back to defend the station. Guns chattered from the entrance of the tunnel, bullets ripping into the rear of the bug-like cohorts. Despite this, the situation remained desperate. The creatures had dug large holes in the Southern walls of the station and were pouring out of them like a million bloodthirsty demons.
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Post by CaptainNips on Dec 9, 2012 2:44:37 GMT -5
The group stood strong against the incoming mutants causing not one injured man to fall as prey. The storm of insects seemed almost endless. Several mutants were closing in on the Hansa guards. Mikhail fired at one creature, crippling it in one large burst. He then looked to the side and saw one creature jump upon a Hansa guard unawares. The bug-like mutant dug it's pincers into the man's throat as the guard let out a guttural and horrifying scream.
Mikhail, with wide eyes, kicked the creature and opened fire, point blank, onto the vile mutant. The circle of Mercenaries, and guards was rapidly shrinking. Hope was a faint candle flame flame straining against a strong, dark wind. Mikhail looked around the chaotic station in utter disbelief. It all happened so fast! How many of these things are there?!
About 6 meters away, one brave Sevastopol guard brandished a stick grenade and was preparing to throw it into the mass horde of insects. But, alas, before he could do so a shrieking mutant charged at the guard's legs. The man yelled in surprise as he tumbled down, the stick grenade flying towards a nearby, already damaged column. The grenade exploded almost as soon as it hit the pillar. The column shook as bricks and a mass of pebbles and dirt came tumbling down.
Mikhail cursed and fired at the insectoid mob but only to hear a quiet click from his Kalash. The Hansa veteran took out the magazine and began to feed more rounds into it.
"I'n reloading! Cover me!"
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Post by Lawnmower Joe on Dec 17, 2012 7:28:41 GMT -5
The horde seemed unstoppable, and soon the main platform of the station was completely overrun. Sevastopolskayans stared in horror as soldiers and residents were dragged down to the floor and torn apart, their screams rising above the now omnipresent chitinous buzz that filled the station. An ancient DShK was dragged out of the arsenal and set up to help hold the line, its loud and crude metallic clatter adding yet more noise to the horrendous cacophony.
But while battle raged, Balalaika remained in her comatose state. A medic had hastily dragged her behind a low wall of sandbags and had left her there along with several other seriously wounded guards and civilians. A thin line of drool ran down from the corner of her mouth and every so often her face would twitch.
Taking advantage of the chaos, a smaller bug-like creature dropped quietly down from the soot-stained ceiling. It observed its injured quarry for a moment before quickly closing in, its antennae twitching repulsively. First it descended on a guard too injured to drag himself away, pinning him in place before stabbing him in the belly with an ugly spike-like contraption that protruded from its mandibles. A disgustingly wet sucking noise was heard for a moment before dying out again. The insectoid creature scuttled away from its victim, leaving only a dried out corpse.
Its next prey was Balalaika.
However, just as the loathesome creature was about to sink its spike into the unconscious stalker's belly, a groggy voice said:
"Whafuckisthis?"
Balalaika's eyes opened and stared at the creature looming over her. For an instant they both stared at each other, not moving.
"HOLY SHIT!", yelled Balalaika before dragging herself into a sitting position. The small bug hopped away and emitted an alarmed buzzing noise. This left Balalaika enough time to snatch a nearby Makarov up and shoot wildly at the creature. Her two first shots missed and caused the mutant to scuttle away, but the final shot hit it with such force that it was splattered all over the floor of the station.
Balalaika looked around her in confusion and fear, her ears assaulted by the din of gunfire and the continuous buzz emitted by the insect-like attackers.
"What the fuck is going on?!", she shouted.
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Post by CaptainNips on Apr 8, 2013 4:44:07 GMT -5
Mikhail fired upon the endless swarm, but took one second to peer behind him.
Balalaika sat with a Makarov in her hand. "What the fuck is going on?!"
"You're awake! The station's being attacked! By these.... bug shits!"
Mikhail turned back and fired into the dark again, killing another insect. A Sevastopol guard in the background ran up to a burning tent, trying to put out the flames with a bucket. But three insects suddenly jumped upon the man, sticking their mandible spikes into the man. Mikhail motioned to his comrades and Balalaika in the corner. Only 3 Hansa fighters remained, including Grigori.
"Where the fuck is the leader of this hell hole?! We can't much more of this!"
The Hansa fighter paused for a moment before spotting a lone molotov on the floor.
"Shit..." Mikhail said as he grabbed the bottle. He held it out to his companions and pointed to the vents, "Someone give me a light! I'm ending this shit!"
All the while the horrifying screams continued and gunfire rattled. The Hansa support would obviously not be coming any time soon.
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