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Post by spartacus on Sept 11, 2011 9:42:18 GMT -5
Vitaly slung his rifle over his shoulder, testing the weight of all his equipment. His pistol sat in it's holster at his waist, his pack full of supplies and bits and peices clung to his back. With a sigh, he dropped the rifle and pack down onto the bed of his tent for it was far too heavy to carry around for his entire trip. As he rummaged through the pack, looking for things to leave behind, Vitaly came across his fathers old clock. He had valued it highly and reminded Artyom of the importance of keeping track of time. Time-keeping wasn't so important at Kitai-Gorod as other stations, like VDNKh, but it was still held in high regard. Still, the clock was far too weighty and heavy, and with a sigh, Vitaly realised he may have to sell it along with his tent. If he left it, he felt sure it would be robbed within a few days knowing residents here.
After repacking and lightening up his pack, Vitaly stepped out towards the bustling market of the station. He approached a vendor he knew, Mikhail Pinksy, who was allways after such old items. He would surely jump on the next caravan to Polis with the item and sell it for a good price.
"VITALY!" Mikhail bellowed with a grin from behind his rigid stall. "What brings you here? If you're selling that rifle, i'll give you 40 bullets right here and now!"
"Not tonight, Mikhail," Vitaly replied sternly. "However this old clock might interest you." He layed the clock on the stall and Mikhail greedily grabbed it and began poking around it. A few minutes went by during this and Mikhail spent a good few seconds checking the old clock matched up to the stations'.
With a grunt of what appeared to be disatisfaction or feigned disinterest, Mikhail resoundly marked his price. "Twenty bullets." Vitaly shook his head, mainly from disgust that something of such sentimental value might be worth far less than he felt. "Make it thirty-five." Vitaly replied, slightly frustrated. "Twenty-five and that's my final offer."
Vitaly sighed and nodded in acceptance. With a grin, Mikhail handed over the catridges and vitaly left, making a bee-line towards the tunnel to Tretyakovskaya. On his way there, three burly armed men stopped him dead in his tracks. "What have we here?" Said the largest of the trio with one hand laying on his holster where a Makraov sat comfortably. "Another fucking Dark One come to scavenge of the scraps of the Russian people?" 'Just great' Vitaly thought with raising alarm, 'Neo-Nazis.' "HEY! Look at me when i'm talking to you you inhuman fuck!" By this point a small crowd was gathering to watch the display. The verocious residents here loved a good fight but Vitaly could hardly face 3 men off on his own, especially with a bulky pack and rifle. "Look," Vitaly said in what he hoped was the diplomatic tone of his father. "I just want to pass through. How does five Catridges sound?"
The burly man and his two pets laughed harshly in a tone that made Vitaly wince. "Five catridges? How about ALL of them. you probably stole them form hard working Russians anyway!" Vitaly could smell the feeling in the crowd was generally supporting of the fascists. Most of them were either watching with a smile, or glaring at Vitaly with a hateful fixation.
Vitaly looked around him, looking for any way out or anyone to help him.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Sept 12, 2011 11:18:03 GMT -5
Oh how he wished that he had not come with his father to that Hansa station, he wished that he had stayed in Belorusskaya with his mother. But he had so badly wanted to make Dmitry and Grigori stop their teasing and mocking, so he begged and pleaded with his parents until he had worn them down and they had said yes. However it would seem that the bullies where right, as all the young Alexei wanted right now was to hide behind his father. Yet his papa was not with him, he was on the surface scavenging for what the employer wanted. He had made Alexei promise not to leave the rented tent, but alas he did not heed his father's words. He had left the tent and went to explore the market on his own; sadly he met some very unsavory characters.
He had accidently bumped into a man and had caused him to drop and brake some expensive bauble. The man and his fellows explained to the boy that he had to pay for the broken item, to which the boy disclosed he had no money. They had given him a grim smirk, before a chemical soaked rag was pressed to his face. The fumes over took the child before he was able to struggle, when he came too he was no longer on the ring line but rather in Kitai Gorod.
The kidnappers had greatly underestimated the scavenger's son, and Alexei was able to escape from his captors with little effort. Fortunately the thugs had not gone through his coat and he still had his papers and the small Makraov his father had given him. However the boy was well aware that he could not outwit his pursuers forever, he needed to find a way to get out of the station. He was hiding in one of the darker alcoves watching the station and its inhabitance, he had seen the tall darker skin man be accosted by the three fascist. He wanted to help but, what could a child do. Just then he noticed an unattended fire, and a plot began to form in his head. He took a small bit of the lite wood, and took the small flame over to an empty canvas covered stand. The small flame slowly began to eat away at the tarp, and he quickly left the area so not to in incriminate himself.
“Fire, fire,” yelled the boy running, by this time the flame had turned into a small fire. The people who were watching the altercation turned to the fire, and soon focus was shift from the dark skinned man to putting out the small blaze. Meanwhile Alexei took advantage of the chaos to find a safe place to hide.
“Hey mister,” called the boy to Vitaly from behind some crates, maybe the man would find it in his heart to help him find a way home.
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Post by spartacus on Sept 12, 2011 15:16:38 GMT -5
Vitaly took a step back, mumbling incoherently trying to boil up something to appease the burly men approaching with masochistic grins and clenched fists, so he could make his escape. Just as Vitaly found his back to a crowd who violently shoved him forward again, a shout came across the station.
"Fire! Fire!" The high-pitched voice yelled, and instantly the crown turned about inquisitvely, their expressions betraying their doubt and frustration at having their fun interupted. Their expressions changed quickly however into one of sheer panic, and Vitaly thought he could see the light dancing in odd paterns not too far from here.
They had all heard the stories of stations burned to the ground by fire, and it was then that Vitaly reaised all attention was focused on stopping or fleeing the fire. He bolted under the arm of the skinhead to his left and skipped ahead quickly.
A small whisper met his ears, and Vitaly gasped, dropping his hand to his holster in a panic. But what he was no nazi or monster. No, they never spoke with such a delicate, inocent tone. What he saw was an odd sight at Kitai-Gorod. A small child that looked around 8 or 9, wearing a Ushanka on top of his head. Children were not such an unusual sight, but a lone child was on any station with some semblance of authority.
Vitaly lowered his hand from his holster and with a cautious glance behind him to ensure he was not being pursued, lowered himself into his knee to face the boy with an inquisitive expressive.
"H-hello...? Are you ok?" he said embarisingly timidly to the child who was clearly more afraid and cowering behind a set of crates.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Sept 12, 2011 20:22:00 GMT -5
The boy shook his head 'no'; talking to strangers had gotten him into this situation, he only hoped that it would not land him deeper. However the towering man had knelt down to his own level and had spoken to him in a kind yet concerned tone. He seemed to be giving off a good vibe so, Alexei felt that he had made the right decision to call the stranger over and that he could trust the man.
“My name is Alexei,” the boy said softly just mustering the courage to whisper, “I was taken by some very bad peoples, I miss my mama and papa and I want to go home.”
The boy was on the verge of crying but he staved off the sobbing, after all only girls and babies cried. He did not want the man to think he was a cowered or a crybaby, with a sniffle he continued; “I saw the mean peoples surround you, so I started the fire, will you help me get back to my papa; he's a stalker, he told me to wait in the tent in Tretyakovskaya wail he was on the surface. I don't know where I am or how long I have been here; I just want to get back to my papa. Will you help me, I don't know what to do and the bad peoples will be looking for me soon.”
Perhaps it was not wise to have told the man that he had started the fire, such an act in many of the metro's stations was a crime punishable by exile or more commonly death. But the child felt that the man should know, maybe it would persuade him to help get him back to his father or at least back to the station he was taken from.
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Post by spartacus on Sept 13, 2011 17:12:28 GMT -5
Vitaly squinted from slight disbelief and shock at the boys story. Kidnapping a child was just something that wasn't done, even in the near lawless Kitai-Gorod. Killing, maiming, torturing and beating an adult was a regular occurence but...Vitaly suddenly realised perhaps it wasn't so strange afterall. This boy had to leave.
"You say your father is a Stalker?" He could help but ask. A Stalker! Someone with knowledge of the old world, possibly even the Dark Ones. The sort of life filled him with both intense fascination and fear.
"Right" Vitaly muttered. He began thinking about the fire, worrying slightly. He knew how badly they could spread, but as he dared a look over the crates, he saw the crowd calmer and the Burly Man scanning through the crowd with a scowl. Vitaly darted back down with a nervous smile. He supposed the boys act could be forgiven seeing as it had just saved his life.
"Well i'm heading to Tretyakovskaya, you can come with me if you like? This is Kitai-Gorod, it's not too far but we might have to do a bit of running from those Nazi-boys." Vitaly said before raising himself, looking at Alexei with a smile. Hastily he added, "My name is Vitaly, by the way. And thank you for saving me back there, now it's my turn to repay the favour, no?"
Certainly without knowing it, the boy had envoked the ancient right of Nana Watai on Vitaly. He had requested aid and shelter, and Vitaly knew he was obliged to provide it. In this case however, he did so gladly as a repayment of what he viewed as a life debt. With a glance around again though, he realised it might take a scuffle to get out of the station, and who knews what monster were lurking in the dark tunnels?
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Post by blackpapermoon on Sept 14, 2011 11:11:29 GMT -5
Alexei smiled up at Vitaly, all of the boys apprehension had dissipated. Oh if his tormenters in Belorusskaya could see him now, they would never mock him again. After learning that he was so close to the station he had been taken from; he wondered if he had been missing for all that long, perhaps he might be able to return before his father could come back from the surface. Alexei had never been concerned about station time until now. For the children of the metro, time was not of much importance; unlike the adults who constantly looked up at the station's clock as if it would suddenly grow legs and walk away, children would play and live according to their own time that was only briefly interrupted by their parents for meals and bed. For the very young time was meaningless.
At the mention of the Nazis the boy paused, his father and mother had talked about them when they thought the boy to be a sleep or not listening. He had once asked his father about the Reich, and was told that they were a hateful people that believed that all none Russians should be killed or cast out of the metro. Alexei knew little else about them besides that they were fighting Hansa and the Reds. The boy remembered that his father had once returned from the surface wounded and caring a small notebook, he said something about Nazis before he sent the young boy over to their neighbor's home.
The boy wondered if the men who had abducted him where also Nazis, however it was not Nazis that he was fearful of it was the tunnels that the child feared the most. The tunnels where full of dark ones and other brain eating mutants. Like all kids in the metro Alexei had heard and believed the camp fire tails, but those stories had always been about children who had ventured out of their stations without a grown up. Certainly he would be safe he was with Vitaly, and he would keep the mutants away right?
“My papa gave me a gun,” said the boy pulling the small pistol from his coat and showing it to the tall man, “See. Papa said that I should only use it in an emergency. The bad peoples did not find it and I'm good at hunting rats.” “Come on,” said the boy putting the gun back into his coat, as he got up and took hold of Vitaly's hand, “ let's good before the bad peoples find us.”
However the child only took a few steps out before running back to cover. He pointed to a group that consisted of a man with a half shaven head and ragged leather coat, a long blonde haired man with a hockey mask and a short brown haired man clad in a Kevlar vest and military fatigues. They like their skinhead counterparts were looking for their lost quarry.
“Those are the ones that took me,” said the kid “and the other bad peoples are behind us… what do we do?”
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Post by spartacus on Sept 14, 2011 13:15:21 GMT -5
Vitaly stared at the gun with slight surprise when the boy showed him it. He'd never encountered a child who was armed, usually they had to wait until their early to mid teens like Vitaly himself did.
He ducked back as Alexei did mimicking the boy, it seemed this one had good eyesight and instincts. Carefully surveying the group over the crates, the slight darkness hiding his glare, Vitaly noted each of the men and clicked his tongue as he thought deeply about what to do next.
It was clear he could not leave without being noticed, and seeing as they were looking for the boy and not many children were around he was sure to be spotted, especially since the majority of the crowd had fled once the fire started. Still, his own pursuers seemed to have moved on. With a quick glance around him, he realised there wasn't anywhere else to go but past that group to get to the tunnel and knowing Kitai-Gorod, they would likely be armed.
Unshouldering his rifle, Vitaly ducked back into the darkness against the crates, laying the muzzle between two crates which barely stuck out. "Alexei, listen carefully." he said as a plan forumated in his head. "When I fire, run as fast as you can to that pile of junk over there." Vitaly nodded and briefly pointed to a small pile of suitcases piled near the entrance to the platform. "Once you get there, stay down and wait for me. Keep your pistol out and if anyone comes near you, shoot. Don't think, ok? Just act." He knew the most recent people to take over Kitai-Gorod didn't have anything near a competent security force, and besides he knew the leader of them. An easily intimidated man named Chenya who only joined that family to avoid the bullys.
"Ready...?" he asked quietly. "Run" he whispered and nearly immediately after fired a single shot towards the approaching trio which smashed a mercury lamp 2 metres to their left. The shot made the trio jump and they dived behind cover. One of them was shouting, "Shit! That'll start a fire put it out!" He was quickly rebutted but he apparent leader, "Shut up, fires don't start from those things!"
This internal bickering was good, but now he had to find away across. while he was thinking a shot rang out a smashed into a nearby crate. "Bugger".
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Post by blackpapermoon on Sept 16, 2011 9:35:17 GMT -5
Alexei ran, the sound of gunfire behind him, he dared not look back until he was safe behind the suit cases. His pursuers had not seen him but had where now shooting at the crates Vitaly used for cover. What was more the fascist had returned, attracted by the sounds of the shooting. The child had never seen a fire fight before, the sounds of many fire arms going off was disorienting and freighting. He could hear the shouts of people as they ran around. Somewhere off in the background he could hear a woman scream.
The boy pulled the small pistol out of his coat, and just held it like it was a security blanket. The chaos of the surrounding station over whelmed his senses. The world seem to spin in violent and unpredictable motions, when clarity had finally returned he found that he had the gun point at the dark skinned Vitaly. With shaking hands he lowered the weapon.
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Post by spartacus on Sept 17, 2011 11:46:41 GMT -5
Vitaly saw the child bolt and get behind the suitcases out of the corner of his cover, but now he had lost sight of him as gunfire tore through his position. A shot tore clean through a part of the crate, scraping his overalls and leaving a nasty, bleeding cut along the side of his upper right forearm.
He was pinned down by 3 child-kidnapping goons whom he now recognised as his fathers old compeition. The Vyalov family. Vitaly knew it would be far worse to be caught alive by those deranged bastards who had allways supported the utter anniahlation of the opposite side of Kitai-Gorod. As shots rang out, he kept behind the crate and reached down to his Tokarev TT-30 with his fathers name inscribed on the handle and stuck it's barrel over the top of the crate. He pulled the trigger a few times, firing blindly before lowering his hands. He had hoped this would give him some time to get in a good shot, but within 2 seconds he was pinned down by a volley again.
There was a crunch and Vitaly snapped his neck to his left. A station security guard from the ruling family held a Kalashnikov towards him and only then did Vitaly realise the shooting had stopped.
"Get up Vitaly you fucking moron." the guard muttered, and Vitaly recognised him as an old associate. "Well..I don't suppose you'll help me get off easily will you?" he said with a slight chuckle as he slid his pistol away. He could hear more guards apprahending the other 3 men and so raised himself slowly.
"Not even I can get you out of this one, I think." the guard muttered darkly and Vitaly swalled nervously. He glanced to the suitcases where Alexei ran and he saw the boy poking his head out as he himself was led to the far wall by gunpoint. He slowly flattened out his hand and patted it down silently, hoping Alexei would see it as the 'Keep down' it was meant to be.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Sept 22, 2011 22:50:52 GMT -5
Despair once again retuned Alexei, as he watched as his only friend and ally in the crime-ridden station of Kitai-Gorod was lead a way. The boy had some clue to what was to become of Vitaly, as back home in Belorusskaya a drunken man had once fired a shotgun in the station. The station guard’s took him away into the tunnels and the man was never seen again. The boy huddle in his hiding place behind the suitcases, hot tears formed in the corners of his eyes. How was he to return home now; certainly his poor skills could not help his friend or could they? He was good at killing rats and shooting at empty bottles and cans, he had yet to kill a person. However, he would not need to kill the guard so long as he would not try to follow them.
Slowly he took aim at the guard, the boy could hear the blood pounding in his ears. All he needed was one shoot; boy sadly had not seen Vitaly’s gesture and so was acting on his own. And with that he fired the bullet ripped into the back of guard’s knee cap. “come on Vitaly let’s get out of here,” the boy yelled.
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Post by spartacus on Sept 24, 2011 8:23:46 GMT -5
Vitaly's eyes widened with horror as blood splattered across the side of his face. He hadn't been looking directly at the man, but he saw in his periphal vision that the guard had now slumped to floor in a puddle of sickly red blood, a dull screaming echoing from his mouth. Everything seemed to happen slowly to him and he raised his eyes and saw a strange boy screaming something to him, but his ears couldn't quite decipher what and his mind seemed to be blank. He glanced to his right and saw the the rest of the security team begining to raise their weapons towards him and the boy. He suddenly felt as if that boy should be protected..as if it was his only goal.
'NanaWatai', where the only words that popped into his head and suddenly everything came rushing back, with time returning to normal. "Run Alexei!" he yelled furiously as he bolted towards the boy. His rifle had been left behind the crates during the firefight and as he reached the boy he didn't hesitate to grip his wrist and yank the child along.
Bullets where tearing up the path behind them as the guards tried to enact their bloody revenge. But he managed to reach the tracks with himself and the child, as far as he could tell, unhurt. He quickly made for the tunnel to Tretyakovskaya, still trying to pull the boy along at an unfair pace.
"Keep going, Alexei! Don't look back!" where the only words he could think of. As he ran he became faintly aware of the reality of the situation. All the old contacts he thought he had through his father where long gone or had changed alleigances. He was now a wanted man at that station. His home station saw him as a criminal and a danger. He could never return to Kita-Gorod. He could never return home...
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Post by theshadow on Oct 1, 2011 8:52:28 GMT -5
Arth'Dimekisiky was watching several groups of guards shooting in an unorganized fashion, he raised one eyebrow as he saw them run to the tunnel entrance, literally falling over each other to reach the tunnels, Arth'Dimesiky slowly walked over to the guards, who were going rather slow because of their tumbling over each other. "Ay! What are you doing? You'll never catch a criminal at that pace! I'll get em' for you. All I ask is a free caravan ride back to Polis afterwards, I've had enough shit to deal with if you don't count this thing. Whatever's going on." He said as his walk broke into a run for the tunnel entrance.
Arth'Dimekisiky pulled out his Mosin Nagant as he left Kita-Gorod, he switched on his helmet light, he felt and heard the squeaking and cracking of the tunnel entrance closing to keep out Mutants. "Now where are you..." He said as he walked down the tunnel waving his helmet light around, he broke into a run as soon as he spotted a kid and a man running, the man was pulling the child at a pace the child probably couldn't run. "Ay! Stop!" he yelled as he pulled out his Mosin Nagant.
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Post by spartacus on Oct 1, 2011 18:34:12 GMT -5
Vitaly glanced behind him seeing the man he presumed was a courageous guard trying to make a name for himself hunting them. He shook his head, leaning down as he ran, picking up the child and chucking him far to his left behind a bit of rubble that barely covered him. Then he turned about, diving to the floor as he tore out his pistol and aimed it up.
By now he felt the standoff, he was on his knee's pointing a gun towards a man who had a rifle aimed squarly for his heart. "Listen..." Vitaly wheezed, taking great effort to make himself heard thanks to the fatigue of running. "there's a kid here, man. Those fuckers started on us first...we just want to go, we'll never come back."
He hoped the hunter would talk to him rather than simply shooting first and asking quesitons later like most idiotic residents of that barbaric, but homely, station. His honour was on the line though...whether he died or not wasn't important. The child had asked for shelter and protection, he was bound to offer it or die trying.
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Post by theshadow on Oct 2, 2011 10:19:47 GMT -5
"Ay, I'm not going to shoot you, just make sure they think you're dead or I'll get hunted down, too. I'm getting a free ride back to Polis for this." Arth'Dimekisiky said as he lowered his and took out a bottle of Vodka. He took a swig. "You don't have to aim that gun at me anymore." he said as he put the bottle away. "My name's Arth'Dimekisiky, I run the armory at Polis." Arth'Dimekisiky walked over to where he could see the kid, who had been chucked behind some rubble. "What's his name? I expect I'll be seeing you soon." Arth'Dimkesiky said, as he took out his Universal Charger, he began charging his already almost dead light. He put away the Universal Charger.
Arth'Dimekisiky handed Vitaly a Bastard. "You're going to need more than a pistol if you're going to go through this tunnel." he said.
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Post by spartacus on Oct 2, 2011 14:53:33 GMT -5
Vitaly blinked a couple of times, somewhat confused by the turn of events. It seemed Allah may be looking out for him. He took the Bastard gun with only minimal hesitation but still eyed the stranger carefully. Still, he felt guilty for being suspicious when this odd man had just freely handed him a damned gun.
His eyes widened suddenly and he rushed over towards the boy. "Hey, Alexei, are you allright?" he asked quickly, lowering the gun and sliding his pistol away. He glanced back towards Arth'Dimekisiky and spoke calmly. "My name is Vitaly Barabanshikov. This boy was kidnapped by that group and i'm taking him back to his father at Tretyakovskaya. You're welcome to join us, if you wish."
He ran the armoury at Polis, he said....the center of the Metro, the place he had dreamed of visiting to inquire and learn about the surface world. And this man held a high-ranking position there! Today was turning out to be a monumentally odd one to say the least.
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