Metro 2036

by Electric thunder

-Surface

I wish I could have lifted my mask and take in a breath of the surface air, but alas to do something as foolish as that, would be fatal.

The harsh winds from the storm caused me a great deal of discomfort, fueling the urge to finish this as soon as I possibly could. I jumped the few steps of the station onto the snow covered pavement and took my normal path from the station. I would walk to right of the station and follow the road until it ended at a large blockade of a fallen building and make a left.

After the second turn it was fair hike to an old square were many pre-war stores and homes were built, it was a gold mind for the metros scavengers and there was only a few groups who knew of this place.

The only problem was it was at minimum a half-hour to get there, another to get back. All though, five minutes down there was a split in the road, and another area I had not bothered to look yet and for good reason. I took a glance at the storm, I could return with nothing, risk freezing to death, or risk the chance of running into any roaming savages or worse.

I being who I am decided to pick the ladder and make the detour down the less beaten path, so I kept my gun close. I quickened my pace as I trotted down the road with the building looming down at me and every window holding a gun-pony with his rifle locked onto my head.

In my traveling I would stop and take a peek into any of the burned, frozen husks of the carriages and rotten caravan carts. I managed to pull maybe a few tattered sheets of fabric or the skeletal remains of a soul long forgotten.

This time around I was approaching what looked like a more finite looking carriage tipped onto its side with its belly facing my direction with bits of wood scattered about. I took the bastard gun into an aggressive position and approached gingerly. I took a 720 around the wreckage, scanning it as well as the surrounding area.

Hoof prints, fresh that came from farther up the road and were all over the place when they came closer to the carriage, and then continued into the building directly to my right, the left side of the road I came up on. At the same time, there were tracks from something far, far different than any pony I’ve ever heard of. I looked back up the small flight of stairs to the busted down door of the ruins. There were no tracks of normal pony kind leading out of the building. Only blood.

I dug around in the snow and to confirm my suspicions, bullet casings could be found rather easily. I collected as many as I deemed necessary before putting my thoughts to the overturned carriage.

I set down the submachine gun, and clambered my way on top of the wreck. I sat down for a moment and looked up at the building, all the windows were broken and black, no living thing made itself present, but I kept my guard up.

I could start feeling a tight feeling in my lungs as my breath condensed onto the mask. I whipped out my revolver and a new filter, I unraveled the old one and tucked it away as I screwed in the fresh one before tooking in a deep, slow inhale. As I was doing this I craned my neck to see what lay inside of the carriage with my revolver aiming into the wreckage as well.

In the poor lit interior, I could see what looked like a mummified family of ponies, there skins only coated in snow and skin like tanned leather. There was nothing of interest only more signs to give me a deep sinking feeling in my stomach. What looked to be the son of the three corpses was very recently dined upon.

I was about to jump back down to the road, but I was halted when a howl of some beast pierced the cold winds, I stopped dead cold. Through my mask, I could see the black deformed nosalis running along the roof tops, at least 6 were barreling to him.

“Oh fuck…fuck, fuck, fuck” I heaved of carriage and scoped up the bastard before making my charge into the open building.

The only light came from the rapidly dispersing sunlight that shone into the darken hall over his body. I reached into my coat and flicked on my flashlight from my belt, and stormed up the stairwell. In the few moments I had to observe the walls, bullet holes and blood stains were everywhere I looked.

My thought was that I was going to die like a fucking animal in here, scratching the walls as I try to claw away from the nosalis ripping my limbs apart.

“Fuck this shit!” I shouted as I clamored over the last few steps to the third floor and saw one of the doors were open.

I knew before hoof, the scavengers had done the same before me and died in there but I had little to no options in this situation. I tool a leap into room and pushed myself onto the wall, left of the door way, and held the bastard with my one hoof being used as a stand.

I could hear the snarling and grotesque noises the beast made from outside the shattered window, but my focus was the stairwell. My heart was beating fiercely my throat; my breaths were deep and ferocious; my fight response was flaring in my veins.

I had my hoof wrapped tightly to the weapons grip as the mutants came closer and closer. Dust, snow, and ash came drifting down over his mask, but I dare not move to wipe it away. They made it to my building, searching for a scent, my scent.

To this day I never knew what it was, the storm, other ponies, or something far greater than the mutants, one of the creatures made a high pitched whine and to a great relief they scattered and there screeching died in the wind.

The snow piled through the window as I remained still, locked in fear. I finally let myself exhale and lower my weapon, my legs still shaking. No matter who you are, when something comes and crosses over you like that, it’s damn terrifying.

In my peace I was just finally given the chance to sit down and examine the room and when I did, wish I hadn't. The bloody and mauled bits of the scavengers stained the walls, and there limbs scattered about, there is times were I’m thankfully for the mask.

“Oh sweet mother…” I did not move at first, the mere thought on how close I was to becoming that was not a new feeling, but it still made me nauseated. Using the bastard gun as a crutch, I pulled sorry flank from the floor and with a twitch, scavenged for any useful items.

I used my gun to poke around and only then and there would I reach into the mess to gather the scraps and junk. I managed to remove the mask of one of the two, gather a half-a-dozen filters, more spent casings, some military cartages. Something that struck me as odd was that there weapons were nowhere to be found, nor ammunition.

In my continued searching, a thought came thundering into my head and that was what time it was. I stopped and pulled up my hoof to look at the watch on my wrist.

6:17

“Вот дерьмо” I muttered, I left whatever was not already packed into my bags and coat and took my leave but as I turned to the doorway, my reality paused for a moment.

Not all of the mutants had left, one still remained and it was already lunging out from the hallway with its jaws open wide. In the moment were time was at a standstill, I had the moment to think and react. I let my weight force my body to drop underneath the creature as it flew over my head.

I flipped around on my haunches and blasted the damned thing with the machine gun, but my rapid movement and unsteady grip made the spray near ineffective. I made the move to grip the gun with my free for-hoof only to pounce upon.

I heaved as hard as I could, trying more or less, to keep its teeth from tearing open my neck. Its spit covered my mask making the situation worse. My adrenaline was flowing through my blood like electricity, giving my muscles the extra boost and with one great feat of will, I used my hind-legs to thrust the nosali of my body and through the window.

I wasted no time and bolted to the opening and fired down at the creature from the vantage point until the gun jammed in near the end of the clip. From the amount of blood that stained the falling snow, It was safe to conclude it was dead.

Through my panting, I chuckled in relief. “That’s what you facking get you sorry piece of ass!” I yelled to its corps. I was flopped to the window still and chuckled once more.

I dragged my body away from the window and rather slowly made my way to the door frame were I took another pause, and from the corner of my eye saw a broken AK down the hall. Still out of breath I ran a hand along the wall as I walked to go and collect the find only to stop at the sight of yet another pony curled up against the wall.

I scooped up the rifle and looked down to the blood stained body.

“Better you than me, eh?” I said gaining the control over my breathing.

I made sure my haul was together and secure, and then continued down the stairwell back to the outside waste. The nosalis was still sprawled out in the snow, its flesh dotted with bullet holes. The gust of wind that terribly burned my skin forced my legs to move and sludge back to the metro.

The snow came flying in sideways, with pieces of ice and debris pelting my body. As I turned and made the final stretch, the snow was piled past my knees making my muscles and skin burn. Even when the traveling was horrible, the silence of the snow coming in and the wind blowing past me as I walked through the ruins of this great city, I found it calmed my nerves.

The way it looked, how what little nature was around, carved itself into the roads, carriages, or anything for that matter all being buried under the white powdered snow. It made me feel like the world was burying the dead city, the dead ponies, and itself.

The how entirety of this place being set to rest, but in the catacombs of the metro, there will be no rest and no burials. Just a constant kill and be killed survival and even though we had nearly ended ourselves, we still turn and fight each other. I guess it’s in are nature, the urge to survive at the cost of anything that gets in the way.

The storm was in full force narrowing my visibility to a near white-out, but this I have been down this road countless times, and off a gut feeling I turned to my left and I luckily stumbled over the stairway of the metro station.

I scampered my way up the steps and with relief, through the entrance. I paused for a just a moment to let the burning in my thighs quell to a comforting ache.

I fumbled through the main hall, and quickly thundered my way down the escalator to find the door of Riga station open to me as I ran in. No pony spoke to me until the door was shut and sealed up behind me, due to the fact I would not hear them through the grinding metal, wind, and masks.

With a loud slam, the great iron door shut and the guards removed there gas masks, as well as I.

“Right on time!” The watch captain patted my shoulder with a shallow grin “You are every time!” he scoffed.

“Shut up” I responded as I pulled my watch up to my face.

6:29