Part 8

It took a moment to translate what Merily saw on the cctv screen, but then she jumped up for that thought.
"Oh my god, there are people up there!" She picked up a radio and called: " Guard Post 2, this is Center, come in Guard Post 2."
"This is Guard Post 2."
"Can you confirm what is going on outside. I see a lot of people walk kinda strange."
"I'm on it. Over."
She watched from the screens as the guard walk towards the blast door while others stand in guard. He opened the door and one of the "people" who walked behind it almost bit him to the neck. A pistol shot to the neck saved him. They pulled the door shut again as others started to walk towards it.
"God damn it, I almost got bit by that damned zombie."
"Did it do any damage?"
"Negative. Quarantine is not needed for now."
He stepped back and called in Grigori, a large man with a flamethrower.
"Burn it."
"With pleasure." He answered with low rumbling voice.
Grigori stepped closer to the corpse that started to move again and lift it's head that had missing half the upper part. He set the creature ablaze, it screamed hissingly as it burned to dust. He spit into the embers and walked back for the showel, hanging still hot flamethrower on his back next to the gas tank. He scooped still glowing ashes and threw it down the drain.
"Nobody opens the door without my permission. Double the guards, I go check to the center what the hell is going on. Good job, Grigori."
He stepped in to the security center where she already looked through the cameras that were operational throughout the city.
"As far as I can see, the whole city is littered with these things."
"Well I be damned. Alright, I relay it to the commander, he wont be happy about it. What about survivors?"
"There was some activity in old town area. They were armed."
"Keep me informed of any new activity."
"Will do."

"Good evening, gentlemen." Oliver steps in to the bar and sits in front of  Sebastian and Carsten.
"Good evening to you too. So what's the plan?"
"We had a slight change in plans. Commander just got a word from tech department and assigned us a new task. He waits us in an hour."
"Okay, sounds interesting."
They eat their meal from the aluminium plates and drink water from plastic cups. After taking the dishes to the back for cleaning and reuse, they walk casually to the commanders office.
"You are probably aware why I called you back. Please, sit down and listen."
They sit on the chairs put ready in front of the table.
"I got a positive confirmation from the tech department for the cell phone station prototype. Your mission is to secure the sites suitable for install and holding the sites clear until permanent establishment is completed on site. Your reward is double the pay and food. It will not be easy, soldiers. I cannot guarantee your safety, but I expect you to be extra vigilant. There are walkers in the city. Take extra ammo, if needed, ask armory, I already gave my permission. Get ready in 15."
They went to pack for a long mission, took extra ammo from their stash, made sure that the rooms are safely locked and walked to the access point. The cable tunnels felt quite long this time.
"Isn't it beautiful."
Said Oliver, when they stepped up out onto the streets. The setting sun painted the ruins orange, it felt like they walked straight into some giant beast mouth with jaggered teeth. One of the high rises collapsed in the distance, throwing dust up into the air. They took direction towards Mustamäe, where a 50 story apartment buildings stood, less damaged from the war, it was most suitable for the cell phone station.
"Shh. Listen." Said Oliver when they made it to the area where roads were completely blocked and they had to go through the apartment buildings. There was footsteps dragging across glass shards covered floor, they hear slow crunching coming from one of the ground floor apartments. They sneak against the wall and bypass the walker from around the apartment, but they had to climb up to second floor from the floor panel that had fallen to form a ramp. Pieces of concrete crumble between the rusty rebar, as they climb up slowly, then they walk through living room in precurious angle. The pieces of furniture litter the floor, wire dangles down from the ceiling where a light used to be, there is an empty carcass of a TV in a middle of the floor. On a way out of the narrow hallway, Carsten stumbled on the mangled rusty remains of the crib.
"Damn garbage."
"Keep it quiet, Carsten."
"Alright, alright, Sebastian. I try my best."
The staircase at the other side has collapsed, they had to climb up onto the rubble to get down. As they slide down from the concrete panel, one of the floor panels from down from somewhere on the upper floor and starts crashing towards them, Oliver grabs Carsten and pulls him down as the concrete rubble comes crashing down. Slam echoes from the maze of buildings and breaks the dead silence.
"Holy fuck!"
"Let's get going, this shit can collapse any minute."
They took off and ran until they made it to the other side of the maze of ruins. Wall of highrises stood in front of them.
"So which one we are going to pick?"
"Nearest one that looks fine."
"Alrighty then, lets get going."
They follow Sebastian as he leaded them to one of the apartment towers. Oliver went down the stairs into the basement and with Carsten's helping hand they broke down the door to the generator room. 6 large soviet era nuclear fusion reactors stand, he switches the light switch and walks to the control panel, after turning on some knobs he grabs a lever and starts cranking one of the generators. One of the sudden it starts up, lights flicker on the panel, then one by one other five generators kick in, large relay slams shut and cold fluorescent lights flicker on from the ceiling with a buzz. Sebastian looks at the LED lights turn on in the hallway and in front of the building, shining light onto the large plants. One of the light poles is croocked and the lamp hangs on the wires flickering. Others come back up and barricade the door to the generator room.
"Are you sure it works now."
"Yes, I'm sure. It was an earthquake caused by the blasts that caused it to shut down."
"We have a light! Isn't that beautiful?"
"It is kinda strangely beautiful. Let's go then."
They start to walk up the stairs.
"Why we can't use the elevator?"
"It's probably busted, or too dangerous to use."
The building wasn't in the best shape, there was cracks everywhere, the more they walked up, the more croocked the walls became and more the damage was seen. Glass crunch under their boots as they walk, dodging light fixtures hanging down from the drop ceiling. Some lights are broken or flicker slightly.

Part 7

As Oliver made it back to his homebase, a search team was already dispatched to search them. He was escorted to the office, where their commander, experienced marine, sits on the chair back towards the door. The room was dimly lit by 4W LED bulb in the ceiling light with a green cracked lamp shade, not because of lack of power, but because he wanted it that way. Shelves were full of books, a radio, a cd-player and rows of cd cases. On top of the cupboard stands an old tv with a dusty cathode ray tube, a cow skull on top of it. When Oliver stepped into the room, the commander asked without turning around.
"Where the hell were you people?"
"I'm sorry for getting late at comeback, but we established a trade opportunity with nearby station built into train station. We got some food."
He turned around and looked at me with his single eye, other eye has covered by eyepatch.
"So where are the other two?"
"They met their pre-war friends and they are coming shortly after."
"They met their friends. What makes you think I believe you?"
His voice is stern and cold.
"Because it was like he said." Said Sebastian behind Oliver's back and they drop their bags of merchandise on the floor.
"Good score, now take it to the storage. After that we need to talk."
"Yes, sir."
They took their merchandise to storage center and came back with their own share of the loot.
"So here's the plan. I'm going to assemble two teams who is going to be actively trading merchandise with that base. You are going to search the city for more survivors, as it is already familiar to you."
"So when we are going to start?"
"Whenever you are ready for a long trip. Rest well."
"Okay we have a deal."
"Next time inform me before you plan doing anything like this again. This isn't a gulag, we are all like one family now."
"We understand that."
"Alright, then close the door when you leave."

After a good sleep Marcel stepped out of his bedroom to step out onto the balcony to stretch out. He immediately saw humanoid figures walk strangely outside. He walked to the guard post to ask about it.
"We know already. Take a close look, they are not humans."
"So what the fuck are these then."
"Fucking walking dead. They started to appear out of nowhere."
"Ah shit in a basket. That was what we needed now. Double the guards, don't let these things in, I go check how much armory guy has in stock."
"Will do. Aleksei, get the looters team up here! Stay focused everyone, if these walkers get in, everyone are in danger."
They watch as the walkers wander towards the north of the city, but more came from the south and east districts. Things started to escalate as the walkers clash with skinless dogs and nosaleses, resulting mess of limbs and a stentch that threatened to drown them.
"Oh fuck, get the gasmasks."
"Damn that reeks." They pull on the masks and continue watching, it made breathing little bit harder, but the stench wasn't wiped out completely.
"That is years of rot. How the hell are they even walking?"
"Who the fuck gives a damn? Point is, better not risk of letting them get in here. Lock and load."
They check their weapons and ammo. Meanwhile Marcel came back from the armory and tried to contact anyone via the radio transmitter, when suddenly power went out.
"Dima, get up! Generator is down!" He knocked on the electricians door, Dima pulled the door open and looked at him with his flashlight turned on.
"Come, hurry. We need to get it fixed, I need to contact the other stations."
"Right away. I go get my tools."
They run to the other side of the bunker where he entered the code and followed Marcel down into the cable tunnels.
"The generators are worn out. We may get few years out of it but we need other means of power."
"I have the engineer work this out."
The tunnels are dark, floor is covered by water and dirt. One side the tunnel ends with a collapsed section, other side goes to the generator room door, blast door with ramp leading to surface and junction with sewer tunnels below. The sewer tunnels are filled with water since the pumps at the water treatment plant are out of order for a long time. Corpses float in the water mixed with debries. Dima enters the code to the blast door leading to the generator room and opens the door, enters and starts working. About half an hour later machines start to work again, lights flicker on and he walks out of the room.
"Rat had been climbed into main breaker box and electrocuted itself. Bloody freaks."
He throws the rats corpse into the sevage.
"It should work now for a while, I sealed the hole. Those damned rats climb and chew everything."
"That's what they do. I need to go back, hurry up."
"I'm right after you."
He closes the door and locks it and follows Marcel back to the base. Marcel runs up the stairs back to the radio room, where Kalmer already contacted someone.
"I got three stations on line, train station including. They are ready." He said while swiping his long red hair off his eyes.
"Thank god. You can continue, I going to help others get ready to evac at first notice."

Part 6

Oliver walks carefully through the maze of narrow old town streets when he spotted sky go brighter.
"Damn it, night is ending."
Dreading the things that come out to bath in sunlight he fastens his pace to train station.
"Open the door, hurry."
Fierce howling starts from behind the park.
"You made it just in time, open the door!"
The doors are unlocked and he enters the establishment quickly. They lock the doors behind him.
"Looks like you're staying for the day right?"
"Yeah. Is there anyhting I can do to help?"
"We got everything covered here, but you can take a rest at the bench and then ask supervisor after noon, he's sleeping now."
"Okay. Thanks for letting in."
"No problem."
Oliver could sleep only for an hour when alarm started. There's loud banging on the doors, people running, some to the gate with guns, some scatter their merchandise to the inside the station building.
"Wake up, son, we have an emergency."
"They are breaking in!" Yells the guard at the railroad gate.
"I'm coming. Do you have ammo?"
"Plenty. Now let's get going."
"Of course, right away." Oliver jumps up and loads his weapon. He follows the commander, tall muscular man with grey hair and beard carrying M249 machine gun.
They climb up to the railing that wobbles little bit from the people getting ready. There is hundreds of skinless dogs mixed with occasional nosaleses trying to crawl in.
"Nosaleses and skindogs together. I don't like this shit."
"Everyone ready! Open fire!"
Shouted the commander and thunder of gunfire rocks the air. Hundreds of beast fall down and another ones climb on top of it. They take turns with reloading and attacking, some unarmed started to help to reload, replacing empty magazines with new ones every time someone came to reload. As fast as it started, the slaughter was over, some surviving ones ran away, air is thick from gun powder smoke and ringing in the ears covered the silence, the railing is covered with empty cartridges.
"We won! Hurray!"
They cheer and greet each other.  Some walk back down but some stay for guard duty. Oliver follows others, takes greetings from people he never met before, people walk out of the hideout in the station building and greet them.
"Free pint of homemade beer to everyone!"
Bar was crowded, Oliver barely fit himself through the crowd. Then came the hardest part - removing corpses from the railroad. They bring out a small home made rail car that carries a larger flatbed cart. Some armed guards surround the people who started to carry the corpses onto the cart. Few long hours later the site was cleaned from corpses that started to rot and the smelly cargo was taken away. Cartridges are collected from the catwalk and carried in the bag back to the armory where it is refitted.
"You're good with your gun, son. What is your name?"
"Oliver."
"Kalash right? Very reliable gun."
"1953 vintage. I had it for years before the war started."
"Good that you hide it well."
"Yeah. Somehow I knew that it's going to happen, all the signs were clear for months before."
"That's interesting, I had the same gut feeling. How about I give you 100 euros for helping us out."
"Sounds good."
He recieves 2 worn 50 euro bills from him, puts it into his inner pocket and closes his jacket tight.
"So you leave at sunset?"
"I have to report to my commander. There's even possible to establish long term business if everyhing goes as planned."
"That alright. We would be happy to trade."
Commander left the bar early and Oliver saw him giving tasks to people. When the sunset turned the sky red, Oliver got ready to leave.
"Take this with you." He got a bag of food and an extra magazine, both very needed and scarce commodity.

Part 5

They follow their friends through the small park into dusty old town, ancient buildings partly damaged by the neglect and overgrown by large plants. There's nosaleses howling somewhere in the maze of narrow streets and wind whispers in the broken windows. Marcel stops at every corner to check, his ARX-160 ready as he checks. They run across several crossroads, one had a well in the middle, complicating running. They made it to the other side of the old town and came across very wide street. Two busses lay on it's side in a middle of the road, several cars surround it, some burnt. As they pass, Sebastian saw a skeleton in one of the cars, sitting behind the wheel with head leaning against it. He stumbles on a crater, hidden inside the large bush of weeds.
"Everything alright, Sebastian?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Okay, then we got to move, the club is only 50 meters away."
He jumps up again and follows them, watching his front. There's death everywhere and they walk in a middle of it.
"God I hate to walk outside between those dead, gives me creeps."
For Sebastian's luck they made it to the large building with windows boarded up. Old neon sign lights the front parking lot.
"Open the door, it's me."
"Password?"
"Sturmfeuer."
Makeshift door is unlocked and pulled open, light floods out from the open doorway, lighting the park across the walkway. They walk in and the doors are closed again behind them.
"Good to see you back, Marcel."
"As always, Janno."
Guard behind the makeshift machine gun pit stretches his hands and yawns, the pit used to be the box office to the night club, now it is a gate to small trade area lit by colorful LED floodlights, neon lights around pillars and at the edge of the ceiling and dim yellow light bulbs hanging from the walls built by someone who has some electrical skills, soft mellow music comes from the speakers mounted high on the outer walls.
"This is our trade center, Romeo helped to build it. There goes stairs to our living quarters."
"Nice place, you had settled in quite nicely."
"Awesome, thanks. We don't have much room left though."
"That's alright, we have our own place."
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure we can fit you a room somewhere. We can always make storage somewhere else, the place isn't finished yet."
"That is great, so we can stay here. Hey Oliver, are you comfortable to go back alone and tell the boss."
"Tell him this is your safe hideout to expand the search area."
"Yeah, I can do that."
"Okay. I go talk to the guards and get you a pass code."
"Cool."
"Okay then, you can go when you want, I'm not forcing you go. But the boss may get worried."
"I know, right? Anyway, I get going, it's quite nice place here, Shin."
"Thanks, see ya soon."
Oliver walks back to the front doors and guards let him out, one of them tells him the code:
"It's "sturmfeuer", don't forget and don't tell anyone who doesn't need to know okay. You know?"
"Yeah. Of course."
"Okay, open the gates!"
Guard takes his position as the large doors are opened again and Oliver steppes into the night.

Part 4

Marcel sit down behind the table in the bar and waked up Romeo.
"Hey. Everything alright?"
"Yeah."
"Don't worry. I'm with you no matter what."
"I know, I know. It's just."
"We don't have to live just to survive, we can find new love, build a new home from the ashes. You know. I got your back."
"Thanks, buddy. I got your back too."
"I go to sleep, it's been a long night."
"Or day. I wonder about the others."
Marcel smiles.
"Don't worry about them, Sebastian is much stronger than he looks, I'm sure they are OK. Carsten is also a fighter, so is Hannes. I'm sure they will survive this one way or other, Sebastian specially."
"I hope it too. It's quite late, I come with you, hold on."
"Okay. I wait for you."
Romeo took a last sips of home brew tea that had cooled down, gave bar tender the money for it and followed Marcel to the maze of hallways to their room in a fallout bunker under the night club "Metroo", where they worked for as artists that night. It was Romeo who saw the first bombs fall down and directed most of the people inside.

Oliver sneaked out of his bedroom at midnight and stepped in to the water pump room, where many large motors pump water to the old plumbing constantly, holding part of the underground city alive. He takes out a large containers from his secret stash behind the last filter and fills it with water, then smuggles the water canisters out into one of the dilapidated apartment buildings. Broken glass crunch under his feet as he slowly walks in darkness to one of the unlocked apartment and hides the backpacks with water canisters into the bathtub and covers it with curtain that had fallen down from the holder. He stops as the wind howls through the broken windows was too similar with the howl of the nosaleses, holding breath.
"Oh god damn wind. That scared me."
They met next evening at the meeting place away from most of activity and climbed up the ladder into smaller tunnel high enough only to crawl through. Oliver is first to enter the basement, his AK-47 with the flashlight taped onto the handle, ready to attack any mutant that dared to lurk inside the moist dark room. Only fluorescent tubes glitter on the ceiling. One of the lights hang on the cable and they walk around it.
"Shit brakes down after so many years of neglect. Be careful not to fall."
"Okay. I keep it in mind." Sebastian smiles and looks up. Dim moonlight shines through the cracks in the wall.
"Clear." Said Oliver after checking the hallways. They walk up the stairs and in from the apartment he used as hideout earlier.
"Okay, here's a deal. We only went to scout the area and found some food we gathered all. That is the official story, learn it. Also be careful, this may be a trap so be ready to run or fight with far more people than us."
"Okay, we are ready." Said Carsten with confidence even Sebastian is surprised of.
"Alrighty then. Grab your bag and let's go then."
They walk out of the apartment and back down the stairs, out of the front door and down the street to the railway. Rails are rusted, but semaphores still glow blue and red, shining creepy light in the decay and darkness. Suddenly a spotlight shines into their faces.
"Stop. Show me your hands."
"Enough, Dmitri, mutants don't stop walking. Turn that light off German, they are humans. You three, come forward."
Massive door opens and they walk into room lit by few LED retrofit light bulbs dangling on wires. Five armed guards stand with their guns down, there's a machine gun pit at the other side of the room. They enter and the door is closed behind them again.
"This is a free market station. Mind the rules and we can get along fine. Are you here to pass by or to trade?"
"Trade."
"Market is open until 0600. Ask the supervisor for any more aid. Now go on."
There is three orange-white trains inside the marketplace outer walls, two of it has been rebuilt into stores and third is a diner. Many market stalls surround the trains and living quarters against the main building wall, the original fluorescent lights on the awning lighting the "street" between. There's more living quarters inside the building.
"Hey! You made it!"
"Hey-howdy! So do we have a deal?"
"Yeah, sure, come follow me."
They walk in from what once was a large store, now it is turned into a storage. Narrow passages go between rows of shelves, crates and sacks. Accountant manages the store with his dusty laptop behind the table in the corner.
"So what we have here?"
"Water, filtered. From 400 meter drill well."
"Oh, that's good, let's test it then."
He brings out two apparatus from the shelf, first he measures radiation that wasn't higher than background, then measures the pH level. Then pours a small sample into his cup and tastes it.
"Good. You can get a pack per liter. Jaanus. Jaanus!"
"Yes?"
"15 packs."
"Right away."
A tall strong guy goes to the back of the room and brings back boxes of pasta, dried mushrooms and packs of tea. They pull out the canisters with water and put the stuff into their backpacks as much as possible. Some packs of tea didn't fit in and accountant gives them a plastic bag to carry it.
"Come back soon and have a nice day."
"Good day to you too."
On a way out Carsten runs into Marcel.
"Dude! You're alive!"
"You too! Where have you been?"
"Below the night club."
"Hey, Sebastian, look who's here."
"Hey you're alive. Awesome."
"Romeo is also with me. We came to here with others to buy some stuff. So where have you guys been?"
"We have a place on Tulika street. Quite large place to be honest."
"Yeah. I think there is like five basements and a base connected with tunnels."
"Has anyone seen Hannes yet?"
"I haven't seen him since the show."
"Damn. Me neither."
"Hey Oliver, wanna join with us to see their place?"
"Of course."
"Okay, so let's go then. Romeo is already waiting."
They walk to the other exit also lit by LED bulbs, passing another machine gun pit and armed guards let them out of the massive door. Wide street is littered with debris, rusting and burnt car and bus wrecks. Plants grow between the large cracks in the tarmac, overgrown park now resembles forest with some street lights still left behind.

Part 3

"Watch out!"
Nosales jumps through the window and throws Carsten off his feet, trying to bit him to the neck with only his gun separating the beast, it starts to vigorously bit the gun he holds with both hands in it's mouth. Aleksei shoots the brains out of the mutant, but another one attacks him from the side. He stabs it to the throat, Sebastian and Oliver opens fire into the hallway, where whole pack of theses things start to run towards them. Aleksei kicks in the door to the service room.
"Get inside, hurry."
They follow him and push the door shut, then block it with the shelves. Next moment it is scraped by dozens of beast who try to get in.
"We got to go now!"
They run up the stairs and into the ventilation control room, sun shines through the vent grille.
"It's too late to go back, we have to stay here until dark."
They watch through the grille how the parking lot is starting to get crowded by ungodly creatures. There is shell-less snails as large as a minivan, skinless dogs running in packs looking for easy pray, there's also several different creature that doesn't resemble anything known to man, all of it is clouded by large bats with 5 meter wingspan.
"We are in a new kind of shitstorm now." Mumbles Oliver.
One of the bats grabs a snail that kicks it with the spiral shaped body and gets dropped onto wreckage of a bus with the foot upside down, it quickly jumps up again. Next moment they spot three people run towards the mall, trying to fend off the dogs and nosaleses with a flame trhower.
"Hey! Get inside! Hurry!"
"I go get them, Oliver, watch the hall."
Aleksei leads them to the safe room and locks the sturdy door again.
"You must be gone completely mad to go outside at daytime."
"We had no choice, our hideout was compromised and we had to escape."
"At least we are alive and that matters. So what's the plan?"
"We wait for the night time and then go. So where did you came from?"
"We have a base in central railway station. We have a market set up there and rooms for rent. And what about you?"
"Tulika 149 basement and a fallout shelter. We have water supply there."
"That is something to trade with. Let's make a deal. You bring water and we bring food for exchange."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Okay, meet us at our market."
"We have a deal. Let's take turns on watching and rest, it's going to be a long day."
"I'm first."  Proposed Aleksei.
"Alrighty then."
Later at night the activity turned down and most of the creatures left the parking lot to crawl somewhere. Aleksei unlocked the door as the others were ready to leave and they went separate ways.
"So how we going to get water, Oliver?"
"Don't worry about it, I have a plan."
"Oh you have a plan?"
"Yes, I have a plan, let's move now, it's not safe here."
They grabbed some stuff that they came after and started to walk back to the base.
"Can we trust these guys?" Asked Sebastian
"We have to. There's not many of us but lot of these...things." Answered Carsten back.
Oliver entered the code to the keypad and large rusty blast door starts to unlock with a growl of the buzzer. They pull it open and enter, closing and locking it behind. The room lit by cold fluorescent lights is used as a storage, armed guards watch them as they walk past the large wooden crates.
"There sure is a lot of stuff here."
"A lot of people too. We need allies now more than ever in this darkest of times."
"Yeah, of course. How much people are here anyway."
"274. Not much considering that the whole city population was 570 000 before it."
They walk to the cable tunnels to the left, this part of the tunnels is dimly lit by old pill shaped lights with thick glass domes and old LED bulb. Large pipes cover the ceiling, cables hang on the walls. There's ladders going up occasionally. Scraping scream comes from one of the crawl ways.
"Mutants are in that building, they welded the door shut to prevent it get through."
They stop at the ramp.
"So what next?"
"I'm going to smuggle some water out, you wait until tomorrow and meet me at my place."
"Okay."
"But keep it secret. Okay."
"Yeah, sure."

Part 2

Two days later.
The blast door unlocks with the long growl of the buzzer and ends with metallic thump. Two guards push the door open as the others stand in guard behind sand bag wall with their weapons drawn. Not to push them out, but to prevent those mutants coming in just in case. Sebastian checks his gas mask, Carsten loads his MP5 and they walk out behind Oliver and Aleksei.
"Hey, Carsten. When you left your home that day, did you ever think we'd end up in a place like this. Not knowing that we ever going to survive or burn to death."
"I try not to, Sebastian."
"I still think about it though, when I left my wife and daughter to go to work only to see them die, when the mortar hit the apartment complex minutes after I left that building." Says Aleksei through the comms.
"That's fucked up. I can't think how bad was it for you to see it."
"A lot of people lost someone that day. Stay focused, we don't want another surprise to land on us." Said Oliver.
They walked into the night lit by cold moon light. The city looks like alien world, ruins covered with large plants, ice and snow of nuclear winter. Silence is breaked by quiet squeaks and loud howls of nosaleses nearby. Ruins stand like jagged teeth, streets are torn up and littered with rusty skeletons of the cars, some with human remains inside. Walking is difficult, a lot of time they needed to jump over cracks and climbed over obstacles.
"Look out!"
Part of the wall from old apartment building collapses onto the street, tearing a large gap onto the sidewalk.
"We have to go around, there's no way to get over here." Said Oliver, looking around.
"There! Through that building we can get to the Tulika street and go to the shopping center from there." Said Andrey, pointing at the large apartment building across the street.
"Are you sure, Aleksei?"
"Yes of course. Just keep an eye on any lone nosaleses."
"Let's go then." Said Sebastian who grips his MP-5.
They crossed the street and entered the dark building, Oliver and Aleksei turned on their flashlights to light the way as they walked on broken glass and debris. Wind howls through the hallway. Street at the other side of the apartment complex is as scattered as before. There's a large green bus with half of it crushed by a wall. Half crushed airplane turbine engine stands among the rubble, a large nosales standing on top of it.
"Stop. Nosales on top of the engine to the right."
"Take a shot?"
"Use silencer. Noise attracts them."
Aleksei takes aim with his Sig SG 552 and shoots the creature, who falls off the engine and runs away.
"Fuck. He didn't die. Damn those persistent mutants."
"Let's move, hurry. Sebastian, Carsten, don't fall behind."
They start to run and soon made it to the mall. Most of the windows are covered with security curtains and the front door safety glass windows are partly cracked. Automatic doors open and they walk in fast. The mall, partly lit by night lights, stands quiet. Most of the stores are looted empty but the main shopping area are still partially filled with goods. Box offices stand empty, mold and decay has reached the building, some lights hang from the ceiling, one has fallen onto one of the box office conveyor belt. Their steps echo in the darkness.

Part 1

"Holy shit." Mumbled Carsten quietly when two of the stalkers carried third in from the surface with his left leg tangling only by skin and muscle tissue over the edge of the stretcher. One of the guards by the blast door lift it back while other two closed the rusty blast door with hurry.
"What the hell happened?!" Asked the supervisor loudly.
"We were ambushed by the pack of nosaleses near the high school. Igor is dead."
"Damn. Take him to the hospital immediately. Lock the door."
Loud buzzer sounds and large beams slide from the door into the walls with a thump.
"Door locked."
Carsten followed the guards, listening any clues what happened exactly, his curiosity god best of him and he asked.
"Hey, what happened?"
"One of the nosaleses got him by the leg and almost dragged him to their cave, other one who died was bitten into the neck. He didn't suffer long. Help us carry."
"Yeah, sure."
They made it to the dark part of the cable tunnels, dodging under some cables until making it to the passage to the old tram repair station. The passage is lit by cold fluorescent lights that slightly flicker. One of the guards open the large blast door and let them in.
The room is brightly lit by current standard, there's several beds separated by makeshift wood and plastic film walls lit by short fluorescent lights dangling on the walls. Doctor walks quickly to them and leads the injured to the operation room.
"We can handle the rest, thanks for help, Carsten."
"No problem."
He turned back and walked out of the hospital into the administration and from there into old workshop that is now a survivors camp with roughly built rooms, a diner and merchandise stalls, where people offer their goods like food, ammo, weapons and gas mask filters. Filters are used to go to the surface as the some places are still so radioactive that it boils water.
"Good morning. So you're finally awake, Sebastian." Sebastian turns around.
"Good morning to you too, Carsten. You're awaken early today."
"I couldn't sleep properly for some reason tonight. I haven't smoked for a year now."
"Good reason to give up smoking."
"Yeah."
They walk into the diner and pick up their breakfast. It's not the best but they got used to it.
"Rat meat and mushrooms. Ever wondered that we going to eat that stuff back then." Said Carsten thoughtfully.
"Of course not." Sebastian took a large bite of the well cooked soup with his spoon. "I would have starved before I would go near it."
"Yeah. War changes everything."
"Tell me about it. It has been two years before I had new boots."
" I told you to get those workboots from the last month loot."
"There wasn't my size ones."
"Oh well. Can't help about it. I had mine and these are great. They told that it will last for years."
"Good morning."
"Good morning, Oliver." Sebastian looks at Oliver who sit next to them onto the long stool and Carsten starts to eat.
"Our trip to surface has been postponed. There was too high activity on the surface during last night, they fear that something is going on and need to investigate it. So how the soup tastes."
"Needs more salt. Otherwise it's not that bad actually." Carsten says after swallowing.
"We got a new cook from north district with five other survivors last week and this is his first day job."
"Cool. He did well compared to the last one."
Oliver laughs. "Yeah. That guy was a plumber."
Children run past and start to chase each other between the tables, laughing and giggling. Andrey is drunk again and vomits into the garbage bin.
"For fuck sake, go home to sleep Andrey. I told you two hours ago that." Japanese barkeeper yells at the drunken guy, who babbles something in russian and totters behind the maze of the walls.
Sebastian finishes his meal and watches Carsten eat his. He looked at him and asked.
"What?"
"Nothing. Just staring."
"Then don't stare please."
Sebastian turns around, yawns and takes his stainless steel bowl and spoon to the "dirty dishes" stand.