Post by Lawnmower Joe on Jun 11, 2011 5:15:09 GMT -5
Nadya went towards an old door in the side of the tunnel. It was old and rusted, and water from some subterranean origin was dribbling down the door's sides with sinister, echoing trickles. Unnerved, Nadya slowly opened the door and glanced into the dark corridor ahead. Despite the fact that none of the group's torches were lighting the dark maintenance tunnel up, she could see very well. The tunnel was empty save for a few ancient crates abandoned there by some pre-war technician. Wordlessly, Nadya entered the tunnel, and Balalaika and the others followed in silence.
The tunnel was small since it was only designed for use by technicians. Old rusting pipes and dead cables ran along the walls and the ceiling. There were absolutely no rats in the tunnel, and the only noise came from the trickle of water, the clunking of Balalaika's boots and the soft respiration of the group. Suddenly, Nadya stopped and chuckled, turning towards Balalaika.
"What? What is it?", said Balalaika. Even though Nadya was a good friend, the strange-eyed woman always unnerved her somewhat, mostly due to her unnatural ability to see in the darkest of tunnels and her disturbing "instinct" that seemed to warn her of dangers nobody was even aware of.
"-Look at this", said Nadya, pointing at a small side door. Balalaika approached the door and shone her own bright light inside, revealing what appeared to be a storage room filled with tools. Discovering such a room would have been considered rather useless in pre-war days, but now it seemed to Balalaika like a real goldmine. There were projectors, all neatly tucked into a corner. Some standing, some hand-held, all made in factories before the war. There were also various other tools, even power tools, a very rare commodity in the metro nowadays.
"-Well fuck me", said Balalaika with a laugh. "Looks like we won't come out of this little trip any poorer than when we started!"
She entered the room and picked up a couple of hand-held projectors. They were bulky and heavy, but would be worth a fair share of dosh. She wrapped them in rags and stuffed them into her backpack before picking up a drill and stuffing it into a side pocket. Despite Balalaika's enthusiasm, Nadya seemed perfectly indifferent to the room's content.
"-All right everyone, let's go", she said once everyone was done helping themselves to the loot. The group set out again and the silence remained unbroken until Nadya ordered everyone to stop. Ahead of them lay a short metallic catwalk suspended over a seemingly bottomless concrete shaft far too wide to be jumped over. Nadya had been over the shaft many times in the past, but now her instinct was telling her something was wrong. Here the tunnel was lit by a pale green light given off by luminescent mushrooms that grew on the walls and floor. Suddenly, Oleg spoke:
"-What was that?"
Balalaika turned around and replied gruffly:
"-What was what?"
Nadya on the other hand was only pre-occupied by the catwalk. She reached out and tugged on one of the metallic cables that kept it suspended to the walls. The catwalk creaked in protest and shook.
"-Chiort", said Nadya. "The bridge has been weakened, and God only knows how deep that shaft is..."
Nadya went on to mutter about ventilation shafts, deeper unknown tunnels and secret government facilities. Balalaika, who, at the moment, cared little for her friend's pre-war mutterings, interrupted her.
"-Stop your superstitious babbling, you old trout. How do we get across?"
"-I am not superstitious", retorted Nadya before adding: "I think we should all cross one by one. I have some rope with me, we'll use it as a safeguard in case the bridge collapses while someone's crossing."
The tunnel was small since it was only designed for use by technicians. Old rusting pipes and dead cables ran along the walls and the ceiling. There were absolutely no rats in the tunnel, and the only noise came from the trickle of water, the clunking of Balalaika's boots and the soft respiration of the group. Suddenly, Nadya stopped and chuckled, turning towards Balalaika.
"What? What is it?", said Balalaika. Even though Nadya was a good friend, the strange-eyed woman always unnerved her somewhat, mostly due to her unnatural ability to see in the darkest of tunnels and her disturbing "instinct" that seemed to warn her of dangers nobody was even aware of.
"-Look at this", said Nadya, pointing at a small side door. Balalaika approached the door and shone her own bright light inside, revealing what appeared to be a storage room filled with tools. Discovering such a room would have been considered rather useless in pre-war days, but now it seemed to Balalaika like a real goldmine. There were projectors, all neatly tucked into a corner. Some standing, some hand-held, all made in factories before the war. There were also various other tools, even power tools, a very rare commodity in the metro nowadays.
"-Well fuck me", said Balalaika with a laugh. "Looks like we won't come out of this little trip any poorer than when we started!"
She entered the room and picked up a couple of hand-held projectors. They were bulky and heavy, but would be worth a fair share of dosh. She wrapped them in rags and stuffed them into her backpack before picking up a drill and stuffing it into a side pocket. Despite Balalaika's enthusiasm, Nadya seemed perfectly indifferent to the room's content.
"-All right everyone, let's go", she said once everyone was done helping themselves to the loot. The group set out again and the silence remained unbroken until Nadya ordered everyone to stop. Ahead of them lay a short metallic catwalk suspended over a seemingly bottomless concrete shaft far too wide to be jumped over. Nadya had been over the shaft many times in the past, but now her instinct was telling her something was wrong. Here the tunnel was lit by a pale green light given off by luminescent mushrooms that grew on the walls and floor. Suddenly, Oleg spoke:
"-What was that?"
Balalaika turned around and replied gruffly:
"-What was what?"
Nadya on the other hand was only pre-occupied by the catwalk. She reached out and tugged on one of the metallic cables that kept it suspended to the walls. The catwalk creaked in protest and shook.
"-Chiort", said Nadya. "The bridge has been weakened, and God only knows how deep that shaft is..."
Nadya went on to mutter about ventilation shafts, deeper unknown tunnels and secret government facilities. Balalaika, who, at the moment, cared little for her friend's pre-war mutterings, interrupted her.
"-Stop your superstitious babbling, you old trout. How do we get across?"
"-I am not superstitious", retorted Nadya before adding: "I think we should all cross one by one. I have some rope with me, we'll use it as a safeguard in case the bridge collapses while someone's crossing."