Novak
Nosalis
That Crazy Serbian
Posts: 73
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Post by Novak on Oct 18, 2012 11:49:06 GMT -5
Pechatniki, the station was terrorized by more then vermin or mutants. The small station was unaligned with anyone. They had it well and could handle threats well otherwise they would not have been independent. But they are never prepared for mad raids of the mysterious Satanists, no matter how often they triple-check their defence perimeter and conscript half the station's people it is almost guaranteed that one of those crazy Devil worshippers will pass the lines and somehow take a victim with him back to the hellhole from whence they came.
Such is live in Pechatniki, to act as a vanguard against evil. Families weeping on the streets about lost ones, hanging images of those taken away in their sleep on a great mourning wall. Several hundred faces looked down on Novak, a deep stab ripped open an old wound in his heart for he too knows how it is to lose loved ones.
Having just arrived in Pechatniki after a trip to the surface his mind was set on getting rest and trading what he had scavenged. But during the night his mind was haunted by the faces of the mourning wall and the nightmare would not end so he awoke, brushing aside the sweat on his temple he noticed a shadow in his room, a shadow that quickly scrambled from the room and vanished into the streets and as it faded into a dark corner a women's scream was heard. Someone had lost a person dear that night.
In the morning Novak investigated the events that happened during the night. A women, skinny and bleak, could not have been older then 30 moved to the mourning wall and hung the picture of a young boy on the wall, on the picture was written "Alexi". Without drawing attention Novak took the picture and hid it in his chest pouch.
Back to where he started, he followed the path the shadow took. This shadow was a messy one that left many clues of his path, a blood stain here from running too close to a sharp object and a knocked over bin or box there led Novak to a dead end, a purely grey wall between two hovels yet a blood stain awkwardly placed near an airduct. Upon closer inspection the mandatory nearby climbing rope was found and so Novak began climbing, he crawled through the stinking airduct that was filled with rodents, insects and such until he reached an open vent. Jumping down he was standing in a Metro tunnel, on one side he could see the guardsmen from Pechatniki and on the other only darkness.
A chill past him and he took a deep breath.
He set out and moved into the unknown darkness.
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Post by Lawnmower Joe on Oct 18, 2012 12:39:33 GMT -5
As she sat down in a small maintenance doorway, Nadya began to wonder if she hadn't gone a bit too far in her wanderings. She'd heard rumours of a bloodthirsty cult in the tunnels South of her position, but had dismissed them as being just that: rumours. She'd wandered into these tunnels through a side access, a long abandoned and forgotten maintenance tunnel infested with rats, cobwebs and glowing mushrooms, but as soon as she'd started travelling South, she'd become filled with dread. The stories of Devil-worshipping madmen had come back to her, slowing her steps down to the point where she'd stopped a few kilometres North of Volyaskaya.
The tunnel wasn't completely dark; a few patches of luminous mushrooms and mold grew here and there. Rats scuttled past every few minutes, eyeing Nadya with their little black eyes before darting off to wherever they wanted to be. Apart from the distant and gloomy dribbling of water and the squeak of rats, the tunnel was otherwise completely quiet.
Nadya was about to take a swig of water when she heard steps echoeing down the tunnel. Rapid steps. Someone was running towards her. Nadya slowly put her gourd away and slunk back into the shadows. As the steps drew closer, Nadya withdrew completely into the darkness of the doorway she was in. When the stranger ran past her, she felt glad she hadn't stayed out in the open. The man was scruffy and smelled like carrion, and he was carrying something big wrapped in a bag slung over his shoulder. She let the man scurry off down the tunnel, waiting for his steps to fade completely.
Nadya slunk back out of her hiding place and looked on down the tunnel. Who had that been? Nobody could run like that down a deserted and unexplored tunnel...unless...
A shiver ran down her spine.
And then came more steps. Nadya darted back into the doorway and glanced furtively out at whoever was coming towards her. Through the penumbra, she saw a man heading towards her, and heard the clanking of gear. This man was armed, it seemed, unlike the previous one. Unlike the pallid ghoul that had run past her earlier, this man actually seemed normal. Nadya waited till he'd gone slightly past the doorway before emerging and calling after him.
"Hello there", she said, maybe a little too casually. Years spent lurking in empty tunnels and stations with no human company had left Nadya a little rusty when it came to social interaction. "It's not often that I see people running through my part of the world. Are you chasing someone?"
As she spoke, Nadya stepped into the middle of the tunnel. She was mostly concealed by the obscurity, but a small clump of phosphorescent mushrooms illuminated her a little. Her eyes glowed eerily in the semi-darkness, much like a cat's.
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Novak
Nosalis
That Crazy Serbian
Posts: 73
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Post by Novak on Oct 18, 2012 13:02:27 GMT -5
A voice reached Novak "Hello there" followed by a pause and then "It's not often that I see people running through my part of the world. Are you chasing someone?"
Novak turned quickly and fell to a knee, taking aim from his modified Zastava M21. Through his scope he could see a female lit eerily green by a nearby mushroom, the scope hid no detail. Her eyes were different but what caught the attention of Novak was her frightened stance. He lowered his rifle and thought back at her words, he eventually rose and nodded. Confirming here last question.
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Post by Lawnmower Joe on Oct 18, 2012 13:17:34 GMT -5
When the stranger knelt and drew his rifle, Nadya reacted by reaching for her revolver. However, the stranger quickly lowered his weapon before she could draw her pistol and nodded. Nadya let out a faint whistle between her teeth, letting her hand hover hesitantly over her revolver before withdrawing it.
"I saw someone run past not too long ago", she said, "he was carrying something in a bag."
She stepped out of the shadows, her eyes narrowing as she observed the stranger.
"What was he carrying?", she asked.
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Novak
Nosalis
That Crazy Serbian
Posts: 73
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Post by Novak on Oct 18, 2012 13:36:24 GMT -5
"I saw someone run past not too long ago", the female said, "he was carrying something in a bag."
Novak glanced towards the direction of the shadow he had been chasing, if the Satanist past only recently there was a chance he could be caught before he made it back to his base and before the boy, Alexi, would be harmed.
Footsteps forced Novak to return his attention to the women. She stood closer now.
"What was he carrying?", she asked.
For Novak it was difficult to speak, fending for yourself for years alone with almost no human contact takes its toll on a person's speaking ability.
He thought back to how he practised this, he relaxed his muscles and stood upright and calmed his mind.
As normally as he could, he replied "A child". Then, in his mind he quickly ran simulations to see how the women would react or how she would have reacted if he said or spoke differently. It was a good thing he was wearing a helmet otherwise he would reveal the hint of agony he felt whenever he spoke.
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Post by Lawnmower Joe on Oct 18, 2012 14:11:10 GMT -5
The answer chilled Nadya to the bone. So the bag flung over the stranger's back had been a child. Nadya felt long buried pain surface again, clawing its way into her mind. Memories she'd rather forget for good, visions of a life that had ceased almost sixteen or seventeen years ago, in a dank tunnel leading away from her home station.
A child...
"You won't make it out here by yourself", she said finally, her voice somewhat strained, "it's too dark, too dangerous. I'll go with you and lead the way."
And without further ado, Nadya walked past the stranger, heading South.
A child...
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Novak
Nosalis
That Crazy Serbian
Posts: 73
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Post by Novak on Oct 18, 2012 14:23:28 GMT -5
The women then looked shocked, perhaps a bit of pain. Novak hoped he had not offended her in some way, had the world changed so much?
After a long pause she finally spoke "You won't make it out here by yourself" the duress was noticeable in her voice "it's too dark, too dangerous. I'll go with you and lead the way."
Didn't she mention knowing the tunnels? Novak wondered. As for the dark, that's what headlamps and night vision goggles are for.
Novak followed the women silently, perhaps it was best to be silent rather then risk offending her again he thought. Maybe later he could make an attempt to introduce himself.
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Post by Lawnmower Joe on Oct 18, 2012 15:26:41 GMT -5
Even though the darkness in the tunnels seemed utterly impenetrable, Nadya moved without any hesitation, missing not a single step. The stranger behind her made a lot of noise when he walked, with all his armour and gear. She feared someone might hear them, but thankfully the sound did not echoe much in the tunnels. After a long silence, Nadya spoke:
"There's a station up ahead. Volyaskaya, if I remember correctly. Afterwards there's...Lyublino."
Nadya was saying this from memory. Before the war, she'd taken the metropolitan many times to go to university or to her workplace, and she knew a lot of the stations' names and locations off by heart. Although back in the day, when all the trains were up and running, travelling between stations only took a few minutes. Now on foot it could take hours.
Thankfully, they did not take long to reach Volyaskaya. The tunnel emerged into a large and very dark station which seemed completely deserted. As they walked along the rails, Nadya ran her hand along the platform and found her palm to be covered with thick, black grime.
At the other end of the station, she saw something strange scrawled in chalk on a wall: a pentagram. Puzzled, she looked up at the occult symbol. Who could have drawn it there, and why?
The why and who were soon answered: the cult that supposedly dwelled deep within these tunnels existed. The pentagram drawn on the wall had to be some kind of sign, an indication.
"So the Devil walks these tunnels", she muttered, before her head snapped around. She'd heard voices, distant in the gloom.
"We're not alone", she hissed.
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Novak
Nosalis
That Crazy Serbian
Posts: 73
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Post by Novak on Oct 18, 2012 15:38:06 GMT -5
Novak clambered up from the rail tracks on onto the platform, amongst the rubble he kneels and places the bipod of his M21 on a conveniently placed slab of concrete that must have broken off from one of the walls or pillars. Through the lens the shadow appeared but... Not alone, two others joined him and the continued their run home.
The stench of blood next caught the attention of Novak, he turned his head to see a door leading into a hallway and in the hallway a... Sacrificed victim. His mind was suddenly flooded by the images of the mourning wall, who was the victim? What kind of person? Questions, questions without answers.
Packing up the weapons mount the pair were about to set out when the inhumanly grows filled the station. Someone had picked up the smell of blood and that someone was hungry.
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Post by Lawnmower Joe on Oct 19, 2012 13:21:25 GMT -5
"T'voyu mat", cursed Nadya when the ugly growl resonated through the empty station, "mutants always show up when you don't want them to."
She looked around her, eyes piercing the gloom, searching for any sign of the monstrosity that was now after them.
"If we leave now there's a chance the mutants will go for the corpse in that hallway", she said, "I don't think they've picked up our scent yet."
And with that, Nadya headed out onto the platform, ducking behind columns and keeping as quiet as possible. As she jumped down onto the tracks, she saw a large, deformed creature crawl out of a ventilation grille. She ducked behind the platform, the vision of the horrible creature imprinted on her vision. An ugly monster with far too many limbs and a body covered in tumorous lumps and pus-leaking wounds. Another slimy growl echoed through the station as another, probably similar, creature emerged from whatever hell they dwelled in. A disgusting stench started to fill the stale air of the station, a smell of decaying flesh and infection.
Without a sound, Nadya started to creep towards the tunnel to Lyublino.
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Novak
Nosalis
That Crazy Serbian
Posts: 73
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Post by Novak on Oct 19, 2012 13:48:05 GMT -5
Close in behind the women, Novak followed as best he could. His armor was meant for confrontation not for moving like a snake between trains, but he did what he could. Behind him he could make out the slight noise of flesh being ripped from the bone, a most disgusting sound. It made him run faster just to escape from it.
After a few minutes of running the pair slowed down, catching their breath. Before them stood a few barricades, Novak moved towards them and peered through one and could see a large pentagram painted on a steel gate, the gate looked like the doorway to hell as a terrible red light illuminate the area and the heavy machinegun emplacements also did not make the place look friendlier. An attack from the front was out of the question so the stealth approach would be required, they needed a plan. A secret passage way, sneaking in with a trolley, anything would do it.
Novak sat down on a pile of rubble wondering, he was more of a warrior then a infiltrator. If you can't attack it then he'd have no clue how to beat it.
A few moments later the gates of hell opened and out came two Satanists in their usual attire. From their belts were hung a bag. They were going out to raid another station obviously.
He motioned the women to hide and ready herself, suggesting as best he could that she take the one on the right, he himself took aim at Satanist on the left. Quickly he ran the scenario in his mind, they would pass and Novak and the unknown women would shoot them in their backs and they would die.
Made sense, Novak took a deep breath and awaited them to pass.
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Post by Lawnmower Joe on Oct 23, 2012 14:08:19 GMT -5
Gunshots would echoe through the tunnel and alert the sentries posted at the Lyublino barricade, thus Nadya decided to draw her knife. Silent as a snake, she slid behind the two raiders.
"The boss says there's going to be a great sacrifice tonight...", said one of the men in a low, scratchy voice. The stench of old tobacco seemed to hang around him like a suffocating aura of decay.
"Ah, yes. Hopefully the blood spilt will satisfy our Lord..."
The second man never finished his phrase as Nadya grabbed him by his hair, tugging his head back and sliding the blade of her knife over his exposed throat. As he chocked on his blood, she kicked him over forwards and slammed the handle of her knife into the other man's mouth, killing a cry of alarm and anger. She wrestled with him, taking a light blow to the stomach before slamming his face into the dirty concrete floor. She then finished him off by abruptly tugging and pushing his head back and forth, severing his vertebrae.
"Help yourself", she told Novak, indicating the two dead Satanists with the bloody blade of her knife.
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Post by rag43 on Oct 23, 2012 14:16:07 GMT -5
Olec ducked into a hole and let the people pass him. Because of his very trained ears he heard them coming for long enough. After that he followed them, hoping they weren't just satanists in disguise.
Olec watched the scene with quite an excitement and snook right next to Novak, giving him a sign that he was of friendly nature.
"After those cultists too, Novak??", he asked.
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Novak
Nosalis
That Crazy Serbian
Posts: 73
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Post by Novak on Oct 23, 2012 14:48:28 GMT -5
A hand waved before Novak, his subconscious was faster then his mind and he had already pulled out a pistol and turned to see a man in a long trench coat.
"After those cultists too?" the man asked.
Confusion mixed with rage, someone managed to sneak up on him and he was unable to notice it. He could have been killed and the child could have been killed, wait, what is it was already killed? Rage turned to sadness which in turn was pushed aside for a sense of duty, he did not come out here for nothing. There are many souls held captive, he would free them.
All that aside, he lowered his weapon as his instinct to survive subsided.
He looked at the stranger through his visor, his eyes grew accustomed to the lack of light and he recognized the man who stood before him.
To himself he thought it was good fortune for him to see his good friend Olec, as he prepared to enter what could be hell itself. Surely he would help?
"Good to see" Novak murmured.
Wait he said in wrong, darn!
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Post by rag43 on Oct 23, 2012 15:37:43 GMT -5
Olec was happy to see his friend again but he didn't know the woman he was with. Her eyes were... strange... But that didn't concern him, he saw tons of strange things in the metro. He waved his hand.
"Hey there. Olec's the name.", he said to the female knife dancer.
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