Post by Lawnmower Joe on Jun 23, 2014 9:51:57 GMT -5
Nadya woke with a start and upon opening her eyes was immediately blinded. Her eyes watered under the intensity of the white light that seemed, during her mental absence, to have replaced everything in the world. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light, and she saw she was lying on a clean bunk in an equally clean room. All the walls were white and spotless, the paint practically shining under the glare of the light. Nadya blinked and tried to remember when was the last time she had woken up in such a clean, well-lit room.
A glance told her she still wore all her old clothes. Her dirty beige telogreika, her ancient patched up jeans and her boots were still on her. She then felt for the holster that hung from her belt, only to find it empty. In a flash she was up, her eyes staring down at her now empty holster. Her rucksack was also gone, and so was her SKS. She went around the room, looking into the corners and under the bunk, but there was no sign of her gear.
"Shit" she hissed, the mist of sleep now washed away by her growing fear.
"-There is nothing to be afraid of, Nadya" said a voice. Nadya almost jumped out of her skin. "Your equipment is no longer of use to you now that you are here."
"Who are you?" said Nadya, her eyes darting around the room. Finally she saw a small, grey object nestled above the door. A camera.
"A friend" said the voice, clearly issuing from the boxy grey security camera. Nadya stood still, her reptilian eyes riveted to the camera's lense. The voice continued: "I have sent someone to let you out of your room, Nadya, but first you must promise that you won't attempt anything violent. If you do so, we will be forced to subdue you."
Nadya's eyes narrowed, unsure if the voice was issuing a threat or not. The man (she was quite sure it was a man) seemed rather saddened at the mention of violence. After some thought, the mutant woman answered:
"I promise I won't do anything harmful" she said, "so long as you promise not to harm me in return."
The voice chuckled. "A wise decision, Nadya. I knew you would be sensible. You may now leave your room."
There was a sharp snap, and the heavy door beneath the camera swung open. Nadya approached the opening slowly, ready to fight back or bolt should anyone (or anything) attack her. But as she stepped out of the door, there was no surprise attack. Instead, she was met by a short man in a ludicrously clean green uniform. His buzzed hair was silvery grey, and his face bore the marks of age. Nadya guessed he was a few years older than her, perhaps in his mid-forties.
"Miss Nadya Orumov?" said the man, "follow me please."
The man turned on his heels and strutted off, his boots rustling softly on the gleaming floor. Nadya followed without a moment's hesitation, her eyes taking in the surrounding area. They were walking down a long white corridor lit by what appeared to be flat, square lights set in the ceiling. The floor was covered in clean grey tiles, with only the occasional crack or scuff to show their age. They passed other doors like those of Nadya's room, although she was beginning to think her room was actually a cell. She noticed the strange weapon the guard carried over his shoulder; it looked a lot like some of the more futuristic rifles she had seen before the war, except its barrel was thick and flat and ended in a fork shape. A part of her thought it looked vaguely like the cattle prods of old.
"Where..." began Nadya before catching herself. In her experience certain factions did not take kindly to questions. "Can I ask you a few questions?"
"-I am allowed to answer some of your questions" said the man without turning around.
"Where am I?" said Nadya, fully expecting a vague answer or a blunt dismissal. The answer, however, took her by surprise.
"You're in Eden" said the guard without a hint of irony. Nadya almost stopped in her tracks.
"Eden?" she said, her confusion apparent in her voice. The corridor ended in a white room with, on one side, a small cubicle with television screens and computers. Nadya stared at them, marveling at how intact they looked. There were televisions in the Metro, but they were usually very old Soviet models fished out of warehouses and cellars by stalkers. There were also computers, but they were all utterly useless and always got cannibalised for materials. There was a short fat man seated in the cubicle and keeping an eye on the monitors. He and the guard nodded at each other in greeting. The guard then headed towards a door, which opened with the same clean snap of metal and plastic before opening. Nadya looked up and noticed a small hydraulic arm pushing the door open with a soft whirr.
Either I'm dead or I've been abducted by aliens, she thought. The door opened onto another room, wider this time with walls of white and a tiled grey floor.
"The Eden Self-Contained Regenerative Shelter" said the guard. The pair went past what appeared to be posters set in glass and plastic cases on the wall. One showed a teddy bear held in the hands of a smiling child, with the ominous radiation sign hanging in the background. A caption printed in Russian said : "Beware of objects brought back from the surface! All salvaged materials must be examined for contaminants and treated."
But what caught Nadya's eyes next were the other versions of the poster. One poster had a caption in German, another in English, another in French...Nadya counted several European languages, languages that she hadn't heard anyone speak in 20 years or so.
"Why have I never heard of this shelter before?" she asked, "are we even still in the Metro?"
The guard shook his head. "You won't find this shelter on any maps or any documents, Miss Orumov. It was Moscow's best kept secret before the war, and it is only connected to the Metro through secret tunnels and an abandoned station."
"Which one?"
"The boss will tell you that" said the guard, rounding a corner. When Nadya followed, she stopped in her tracks and stared at the scene before her. They stood at the edge of a large rotunda in the center of which was a pond. The water was green, but not the lifeless, poisonous colour Nadya had come to know and hate on the surface. It was green with algae and lilly pads. Delicate pink and purple flowers floated lazily on the surface while dragonflies and other insects buzzed around them. Nadya approached the circular pond, hypnotized by the abundance of life it held. In the center of the pond was a large clump of rock covered in moss and ferns. Water bubbled from the top of it and trickled down the sides and into the pond.
Something croaked and swam away from her, and Nadya caught a glimpse of a tiny green frog disappearing beneath a lilly pad. Another one watched her from behind a flower, its black and yellow eyes glistening in the soft light. Only then did Nadya notice the wetness on her face, and the tears that were running freely from her eyes like water from a cracked pipe. Slowly she turned back towards the guard.
"I-I'm dead, aren't I?" she said, "I'm dead and this is heaven."
"No Miss Orumov, you're alive."
Nadya heard hushed whispers around her, and looked up. Around them stood others, dressed in white, green or grey. There were women, men and children. All looked healthy, like people from a pre-war photograph or postcard. They were eyeing her with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. One woman, her deep brown hair tied into a ponytail, told her son and daughter: "She's from the Metro."
Nadya shook her head. What was this place? Who were these people? What was she doing here? The questions spun furiously in her mind but found no answer. She felt a soft but firm tug on her arm.
"Miss Orumov, the boss is waiting for you."
"-O...okay" said Nadya, standing with trembling legs. The guard lead her away from the fountain, and Nadya couldn't help but glance back at the amazing sight of preserved life.
A glance told her she still wore all her old clothes. Her dirty beige telogreika, her ancient patched up jeans and her boots were still on her. She then felt for the holster that hung from her belt, only to find it empty. In a flash she was up, her eyes staring down at her now empty holster. Her rucksack was also gone, and so was her SKS. She went around the room, looking into the corners and under the bunk, but there was no sign of her gear.
"Shit" she hissed, the mist of sleep now washed away by her growing fear.
"-There is nothing to be afraid of, Nadya" said a voice. Nadya almost jumped out of her skin. "Your equipment is no longer of use to you now that you are here."
"Who are you?" said Nadya, her eyes darting around the room. Finally she saw a small, grey object nestled above the door. A camera.
"A friend" said the voice, clearly issuing from the boxy grey security camera. Nadya stood still, her reptilian eyes riveted to the camera's lense. The voice continued: "I have sent someone to let you out of your room, Nadya, but first you must promise that you won't attempt anything violent. If you do so, we will be forced to subdue you."
Nadya's eyes narrowed, unsure if the voice was issuing a threat or not. The man (she was quite sure it was a man) seemed rather saddened at the mention of violence. After some thought, the mutant woman answered:
"I promise I won't do anything harmful" she said, "so long as you promise not to harm me in return."
The voice chuckled. "A wise decision, Nadya. I knew you would be sensible. You may now leave your room."
There was a sharp snap, and the heavy door beneath the camera swung open. Nadya approached the opening slowly, ready to fight back or bolt should anyone (or anything) attack her. But as she stepped out of the door, there was no surprise attack. Instead, she was met by a short man in a ludicrously clean green uniform. His buzzed hair was silvery grey, and his face bore the marks of age. Nadya guessed he was a few years older than her, perhaps in his mid-forties.
"Miss Nadya Orumov?" said the man, "follow me please."
The man turned on his heels and strutted off, his boots rustling softly on the gleaming floor. Nadya followed without a moment's hesitation, her eyes taking in the surrounding area. They were walking down a long white corridor lit by what appeared to be flat, square lights set in the ceiling. The floor was covered in clean grey tiles, with only the occasional crack or scuff to show their age. They passed other doors like those of Nadya's room, although she was beginning to think her room was actually a cell. She noticed the strange weapon the guard carried over his shoulder; it looked a lot like some of the more futuristic rifles she had seen before the war, except its barrel was thick and flat and ended in a fork shape. A part of her thought it looked vaguely like the cattle prods of old.
"Where..." began Nadya before catching herself. In her experience certain factions did not take kindly to questions. "Can I ask you a few questions?"
"-I am allowed to answer some of your questions" said the man without turning around.
"Where am I?" said Nadya, fully expecting a vague answer or a blunt dismissal. The answer, however, took her by surprise.
"You're in Eden" said the guard without a hint of irony. Nadya almost stopped in her tracks.
"Eden?" she said, her confusion apparent in her voice. The corridor ended in a white room with, on one side, a small cubicle with television screens and computers. Nadya stared at them, marveling at how intact they looked. There were televisions in the Metro, but they were usually very old Soviet models fished out of warehouses and cellars by stalkers. There were also computers, but they were all utterly useless and always got cannibalised for materials. There was a short fat man seated in the cubicle and keeping an eye on the monitors. He and the guard nodded at each other in greeting. The guard then headed towards a door, which opened with the same clean snap of metal and plastic before opening. Nadya looked up and noticed a small hydraulic arm pushing the door open with a soft whirr.
Either I'm dead or I've been abducted by aliens, she thought. The door opened onto another room, wider this time with walls of white and a tiled grey floor.
"The Eden Self-Contained Regenerative Shelter" said the guard. The pair went past what appeared to be posters set in glass and plastic cases on the wall. One showed a teddy bear held in the hands of a smiling child, with the ominous radiation sign hanging in the background. A caption printed in Russian said : "Beware of objects brought back from the surface! All salvaged materials must be examined for contaminants and treated."
But what caught Nadya's eyes next were the other versions of the poster. One poster had a caption in German, another in English, another in French...Nadya counted several European languages, languages that she hadn't heard anyone speak in 20 years or so.
"Why have I never heard of this shelter before?" she asked, "are we even still in the Metro?"
The guard shook his head. "You won't find this shelter on any maps or any documents, Miss Orumov. It was Moscow's best kept secret before the war, and it is only connected to the Metro through secret tunnels and an abandoned station."
"Which one?"
"The boss will tell you that" said the guard, rounding a corner. When Nadya followed, she stopped in her tracks and stared at the scene before her. They stood at the edge of a large rotunda in the center of which was a pond. The water was green, but not the lifeless, poisonous colour Nadya had come to know and hate on the surface. It was green with algae and lilly pads. Delicate pink and purple flowers floated lazily on the surface while dragonflies and other insects buzzed around them. Nadya approached the circular pond, hypnotized by the abundance of life it held. In the center of the pond was a large clump of rock covered in moss and ferns. Water bubbled from the top of it and trickled down the sides and into the pond.
Something croaked and swam away from her, and Nadya caught a glimpse of a tiny green frog disappearing beneath a lilly pad. Another one watched her from behind a flower, its black and yellow eyes glistening in the soft light. Only then did Nadya notice the wetness on her face, and the tears that were running freely from her eyes like water from a cracked pipe. Slowly she turned back towards the guard.
"I-I'm dead, aren't I?" she said, "I'm dead and this is heaven."
"No Miss Orumov, you're alive."
Nadya heard hushed whispers around her, and looked up. Around them stood others, dressed in white, green or grey. There were women, men and children. All looked healthy, like people from a pre-war photograph or postcard. They were eyeing her with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. One woman, her deep brown hair tied into a ponytail, told her son and daughter: "She's from the Metro."
Nadya shook her head. What was this place? Who were these people? What was she doing here? The questions spun furiously in her mind but found no answer. She felt a soft but firm tug on her arm.
"Miss Orumov, the boss is waiting for you."
"-O...okay" said Nadya, standing with trembling legs. The guard lead her away from the fountain, and Nadya couldn't help but glance back at the amazing sight of preserved life.