The Novosibirsk metro fell a long time ago. The nuclear apocalypse wiped out the world, filling it with radiation and mutants; and stopped dead the dreams of thousands of souls. The Russian city suffered one of the worst blows: a cobalt bomb. And yet, humans managed to survive in the stations of the nation’s proud subway. Hope died, but we took the war underground. There, compatriots, friends and family killed each other for the old ideals.
I have arrived at my destination: the Satellite Communications Center. The radiation maps produced after the bombs fell should be stored somewhere. They are our only chance to leave the city. The radioactive levels in the bunker are alarming, worse than usual, but an injection of “the green stuff” should be enough to make it out alive.
The last bastion of hope in Novosibirsk
Before leaving the SUV in the driveway, I send one last message before radio silence. For some reason, I feel like someone is following my footsteps… but I don’t see anyone around. The storm hits hard. I go down the stairs to the front door. It is heavy, designed to protect the entrance to an important place. I close it as I pass.
The entrance to the bunker is littered with corpses and the lights are flickering. I take out my flamethrower and light the spark to get some light. The public address system continues to announce the immediate evacuation of the building due to radiation due to a leak in the base’s reactor.
The place is frozen in time. No one has walked its hallways for years, at least apparently. Activating the electricity system takes me a long time: a pack of Watchers and Marauders attack. I use small bursts of fire to burn them, although they are fast and manage to land a couple of hits with their claws. I barely survived.
I continue advancing through the corridors of the base. The public address system repeats the same warning over and over again, while my footsteps and the gas from the flamethrower break the sound loop that existed until my arrival. I get a large fuel can and use a nearby table to attach it to. Something tells me that trouble is coming.
My intuition does not fail. A rectangular room, divided by a huge open metal door, becomes a combat arena. Dozens of Watchers launch themselves at me, but my flares manage to keep them at a distance. The pressure in the gun drops and I need a break to pump the crank. They don’t even give me a break…
What I thought was a moment of peace turns into a nightmare: a Blind It falls from the ceiling and destroys all the Watchers at the same time as I pump the flamethrower’s pressure system. When all my enemies die, the blind creature fixes its ear on me. I unleash a firestorm on him. I can hear him screaming in pain, but he doesn’t die. He catches up with me several times. There is no medicine left.
Khlebnikov’s final sacrifice
The battle is over. I fell down an elevator shaft and the explosion of the flamethrower’s fuel canister killed the beast. The situation is critical: the geiger counter is through the roof, I am badly injured and the protections of my suit have passed away. Everything is dark, although I can still make out the desks and checkpoints where officials spent their days.
After advancing through a ventilation shaft, I fall into a room full of bones. Some still show where they died, from scientists to brave adventurers who came for the same loot as me. I search the shelves for the metal roll that contains the maps. They are all empty. Curse!
Just as I’m about to give up and inject myself with “the green stuff” to try to escape, I fix my attention on a skeleton clinging to one of the metal tubes. I rip it out of his arms. It’s what I’m looking for! And it seems that it contains good news to escape from this dead city.
I advance crouching through the offices in search of an exit. The effects of the wounds and radiation are becoming more and more accentuated on my body. I have trouble breathing and feel confused. I begin to suffer spasms just as I find the metal gate that leads to the exit. The flashes don’t help. My lungs can’t take it anymore.
I barely throw the metal tube under the door and then crawl into the next room. I can not wait more. I only have one dose of “the green stuff” to combat the radiation and I must use it now to make it out alive. Suddenly, the arm of another Blind Person appears through the gap in the door and tries to drag me away. I resist with all my strength, while I pull the closing mechanism. The door comes crashing down, severing the beast’s arm and freeing me.
The dose of “the green stuff” has been broken. There’s no hope. I once again notice the strange feeling that someone is following my steps… but there is no one here. I crawl to the metal tube, grab it, and stand up to go to a nearby chair. The radiation spasms are getting worse. They make me fall. The geiger counter pecks at my ears. My breathing labored. Exhausted.
I sit on the chair. I put the metal tube on my legs. “I just need to rest a little. I’m… very tired,” I say out loud, as I look at the watch that little Kirill Khlebnikov gave me. He falls to the ground. I try to take a breath. Everything goes dark. Someone follows my steps. I shield my last heartbeat… I am Colonel Khlebnikov and this is my victory.
One month after…
The metal gate opened once again. The light re-entered the room after a month of being sealed. The figure advanced towards Khlebnikov’s seated corpse. “There you are, brother! I see you found the maps and took a break,” said Colonel Miller, who followed in the former’s footsteps to that point… 30 days apart.
Colonel Miller sat next to Khlebnikov’s body. He rambled on about his daughter, Anna, and a certain Artyom. “Decent people want normal things, a thick broth, a warm place to call home and healthy children, but he wanted the truth.”
Colonel Miller placed his hand on the dead Colonel’s shoulder and said, “Thank you for the maps. Don’t think it was in vain. You have saved us all.” And he himself would follow in Khlebnikov’s footsteps towards death after handing the maps to Artyom. Two Colonels whose only victory in Novosibirsk was pushing the key piece of victory one square ahead on this post-apocalyptic board.
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