*TR-TR-TR!*
The dimly lit tunnel echoed with bursts of automatic fire. Bullets screeched as they tore into the metal plating, sending sparks flying and punching through rusted sheets. The spread was too wide many rounds missed their mark.
Ceasing fire, I squinted, assessing the results. The accuracy left much to be desired, but at least it was something.
"Not the best, but it'll do," Fyodorovich muttered, studying the target.
"For rats and small mutants, it'll be enough," I replied, lowering the weapon.
"And what if something worse comes along?" he smirked.
"There are creatures far worse," I said thoughtfully.
Once, I saw something beyond comprehension. It hovered in the air, moving with lightning speed so fast it was almost impossible to track. A full-auto burst did nothing to it. By sheer luck, we managed to drive the thing away, but if it had truly decided to attack us, we wouldn't have stood a chance.
"Then I don't envy you stalkers," Maxim muttered, nervously fingering his remaining bullets.
"You thought this was easy?" I chuckled, shaking my head.
"So, are we making more of these or what?"
"We are. But we need at least five more two for backup. And ammo. We're running low on bullets, so we'll have to start manufacturing them. This is just the beginning. We have a long road ahead, but at least we have a chance to make things safer."
A sharp cough cut my words short. I doubled over, clutching my mouth. When it finally passed, I looked down at my palm blood.
"Vadim, what the hell?!" Maxim shouted in alarm, rushing to my side.
"I don't know..." I mumbled. But of course, I did.
I knew exactly what this was radiation sickness. I had noticed the symptoms earlier but convinced myself there was still time. Looks like my time was up. At least I had been useful before the end…
"It's fine, just overworked myself. I'll rest for a bit," I lied.
"Well… alright. Get some rest," Maxim said hesitantly, clearly unsure how to react.
"I'll be going," I whispered and slowly walked away.
Leaving the old tunnel where we had been testing the weapon, I headed deeper into the station, watching life unfold around me.
It was nice to know that my work hadn't been in vain. That I had helped someone, that the risks I took weren't for nothing. I wasn't killed by a mutant illness was finishing me off instead.
"Khek… heh…" Another violent coughing fit bent me double.
I collapsed to my knees. My head throbbed, my hands trembled, my body refused to obey. My breathing turned ragged, as if something were crushing my chest. I tried to take in air, but it wouldn't come.
"Vadim?! What's wrong?!" Katya's voice rang out.
I couldn't answer. My consciousness was slipping. I crumpled to the floor, my gaze locking onto a flickering light above.
The last thing I saw was its dim, pulsing glow.
"Vadim!" she shouted again, but her voice was already fading into the distance.
*****************
"Vadim, wake up! It's time to get up!"
My mother's voice pulled me out of deep sleep. I inhaled sharply and opened my eyes.
Rubbing my face, I sat up in bed. Sunlight streamed through the window, warm and golden. The soft mattress held me in place, unwilling to let me go. With effort, I rose and walked to the window.
Moscow. Familiar, bright, bathed in sunlight.
But… was it really like this now?
I squinted, trying to focus on the details. No. This wasn't right. Either I was hallucinating, or I was already dead.
Maybe this was heaven? Hopefully. Though no one really knows what lies beyond...
Well, I worked hard. Time to rest. I had run enough.
I closed my eyes, letting myself relax for just a moment. The warm sunlight kissed my skin, and I nearly surrendered to the peace.
A sharp slap across my cheek jolted me back.
"Vadim, come on! Wake up!" a familiar voice cried.
I struggled to focus, but the sounds reached me as if through cotton.
"Don't stop! Keep going with the chest compressions!" another, more urgent voice commanded.
Just let me go… I'm so tired… Just let me rest.
"Vadim, fight! Don't leave us!" Katya's desperate voice finally broke through the haze.
The darkness before my eyes began to recede. Slowly, like looking through frosted glass, I saw light.
Worried faces hovered above me. Pyotr Nikolaevich, our doctor, and a little further away Katya.
"He's back! Thank God," Pyotr murmured, exhausted. "You scared the hell out of us we barely pulled you back from the other side."
Shouldn't have.
A deep melancholy settled over me. I didn't want to move, didn't want to do anything.
Just lie there.
"Why is he silent? Is he alright?" Katya asked anxiously.
"Yeah, seems fine. Vadim, can you hear me?" came Lev Konstantinovich's voice.
He leaned over me, pried my eyelids open with his fingers, checking my pupils' reaction. The light stabbed into my eyes, making them burn unpleasantly.
"Get your hands off me and just let me lie here," I muttered in a weary voice.
"Well, if he's talking, he must be alright. What's gonna happen to him? Tough guy," Pyotr chuckled, though it was clear he was reassuring himself more than anyone else.
"Someone needs to stay with him and keep an eye on things. There shouldn't be any more episodes, but you never know," Lev Konstantinovich said.
"I'll watch over him," Katya immediately volunteered.
"Alright, then. Keep an eye on him," Pyotr nodded, stroking his graying beard.
He looked old though he always insisted the beard suited him, made him look wiser. To me, it just made him look older.
[image]
They left the room, leaving just the two of us.
I simply lay there, staring at the ceiling. But then, unexpectedly, Katya took my hand and pressed it against her chest.
"I was so scared when I found you," her voice trembled.
I turned my head to look at her.
"You were lying on the floor, covered in blood. I thought I'd lost you," she whispered.
Strange… Had she really grown so attached to me in just a month?
I'd never noticed her looking at me in any special way before. She was just another fighter, nothing more.
"Why do you even care so much?" I asked, puzzled.
Katya looked at me as if I had just said something utterly ridiculous.
"Who hasn't heard of you? You're a light in the darkness. You're the reason we're still alive," she said warmly.
I couldn't help but smirk.
"We're alive not because of me. Everyone plays their part. I just gathered supplies," I replied.
"Without your risks, we'd have nothing!" she shot back. "Don't downplay your role. Without you, many wouldn't have made it including me."
There was genuine gratitude in her voice.
"You would've survived," I insisted. "You'd have just ended up somewhere else, found a job, a place to stay, food to eat..."
Katya shook her head.
"So you don't remember?" she asked quietly. "I don't blame you. No one cared about me back then. But you… You were the only one who stopped. The only one who helped me up. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead."
She hesitated, as if gathering courage.
"Since then, I've wanted to follow you. And I want to become a stalker."
I frowned.
So it was her?
I barely remembered her face, but I definitely remembered the explosion. Everything else had faded away, that day was a nightmare I wanted to erase from my mind.
"Honestly? My head was a complete mess back then," I admitted.
Katya gave me a sad smile.
"I get it. Hard to remember some idiot in fancy clothes and heels. What a stupid way to die, right?"
She sighed, and for a moment, a shadow of sorrow flickered in her eyes.
"Well, you're strong now," I noted.
Katya had changed a lot. She could handle tough conditions, sense danger better than most. Then again, women often had an uncanny intuition for trouble. Maybe that's why fortune tellers were so popular among them?
"You've been an inspiration to me," she continued. "I don't want to just exist down here while the world moves on without me. I want to be useful."
"Well, thanks, I guess," I chuckled.
But I had more pressing concerns like my health.
"So… what happened to me?"
Katya's expression grew serious.
"Lev Konstantinovich said your body is weakened from radiation exposure. You needed rest, but instead, you pushed yourself all day training us, working in the workshop. You overworked yourself. Your body just gave out. It's extreme exhaustion."
She hesitated for a moment before adding:
"Pyotr said you and Maxim had just finished working on the rifle. It looks like you finally let yourself relax, and then this happened."
Damn.
I survived the monsters on the surface, only to nearly die from my own stupidity?
I thought it was something serious. But lately, I hadn't been sleeping well insomnia had worn me down and then I piled on even more work. No wonder my body couldn't take it.
This won't happen again. Rest means rest.
I exhaled deeply.
"The important thing is, the rifle is finished. Now you have a way to go topside. You'd manage without me that's what really matters."
Katya wanted to say something, but her voice started fading into the haze of exhaustion.
The last thing I heard was:
"No… things would've been worse… especially for me."
But sleep was already pulling me under, and her words barely reached me.
Looks like I really was spent.