Metro 2033 - Into the shadows | A Metro short story collection

Part 4 - Friend or enemy?

Elias heart rate increased rapidly as he looked into the eyes of his best friend, who was aiming his Kalashnikov straight at his head.

He saw disgust and disappointment in Markus' face. He was unrecognizable. It seemed he wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger should one of the two in front jump at him.

Elias examined the plastic slot in the machine gun's magazine and saw that it was only half full. That would help him in case of escalation.

"Go. To the. Side." his friend hissed at him. His hand spasmed on the butt of his gun. His whole arm started to tremble slightly.

Again he hissed, "Go. To the. Side" This time he added in a slightly calmer tone: "Elias. I don't want to shoot you. This being controls your thoughts. You are not yourself!"

Then suddenly his eyes widened.

Markus was frozen in place. As if a magician had hypnotized him.

The lenses of his breathing mask stopped fogging up. Was he still breathing?!

Elias wanted to run towards him, but was stopped by the mutant's hand.

He slowly turned his head.

"Let me see him. He's not breathing anymore."

"But. He's in a kind of hibernation" replied the black man.

"Was I the same? When you showed me my mother?" Eias asked.

"Yes"

Elias noticed that the mutant was actually talking to him this time. His jet black mouth had moved.

What did he just show his best friend? What was he enduring?

As if on cue, Markus collapsed in front of him and began to cry. Softly, he whimpered a woman's name. Michelle.

Elijah remembered. Michelle was Markus' first love. On her wedding night, she was kidnapped by underground people. Her whole company had been looking for the missing person. The next morning, the bodies of the kidnappers and Michelle were found, who had been cut up into tiny pieces by a mutant.

Markus hadn't spoken a word for a whole month. Ate only a little.

Elias ran to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," he whispered softly. "Everything will be fine."

Suddenly the crying one in front of him jumped up, ripped his Walter out of the holster and kicked him in the pit of the stomach.

Elias stumbled back and ducked behind a rotten dresser. The black had fled to the nearest apartment.

As quietly as possible he drew his survey knife from his pocket.

It was quiet behind the cupboard. Or not?

He thought he heard very soft footsteps. And then this thought was confirmed.

The butt of the pistol slammed down on his head from above, so hard it felt like his skull was about to burst.

Elias went black for a moment.

Then he came to a few seconds later with vomit on the floor beside him.

The knife had fallen out of his hand and landed on the first floor.

Where was Mark?

He tried to get up. But when he tried to lift his body, he immediately felt sick again. Still, he struggled up.

Finally, standing on his feet, albeit a little unsteadily, he vomited again. His whole head was pounding. In his ears he could hear the blood rushing through his veins.

Trembling, he dragged himself across the threshold of the apartment into which the black man had run.

Suddenly three shots rang out. Was he late already?

Large pieces of glass stuck in the wall, probably thrown into the wall by the blast 30 years ago. Maybe they could help him. He picked up one of the shards. The pointed glass cut straight into his hand, but Elias didn't stop pulling on it. Eventually the shard popped out of the wall, already covered in blood but still a weapon.

Elias slowly crept along the narrow passage, trying not to step on any of the books and splinters lying around.

Screams suddenly rang out from the living room and shortly afterwards Elias heard the mutant scream for help.

Lightning struck, he snapped out of his rigid state and sprinted into the apartment, but fell in the middle of the room due to his dizziness and the debris. On impact, he felt his nose snap and his left index finger stretched dangerously far. Elias ignored the pain as much as possible and slowly lifted his head. Just in time to see Markus fall off the balcony railing and grab the black guy with one arm.

Shocked, he sat up and staggered towards the window. His old friend's pistol lay on the threshold. Elias picked her up and ran out of the apartment into the hallway of the apartment building, where he grabbed the Kalashnikov and then dived down to the street.

In the middle of the snow lay the black man with a strangely twisted arm that only made it look longer. In front of the creature stood his friend, in one hand a machete and in the other a syringe containing a clear liquid.

Markus knelt in front of the mutants and raised the machete for the final thrust. Elias immediately aimed his assault rifle at his old friend and put his eye to the self-made eyepiece.

The man kneeling over the black man slowly turned his head and looked at him with a startled look. But then, suddenly, he turned back to the beast and swung his weapon again.

Elias pulled the trigger.

As if in slow motion, the 5.45mm cartridge erupted from the barrel and the case was slowly pressed out of the breech.

The bullet followed its straight trajectory and penetrated the flesh of its target.

The sound of the shot bounced off the house facades and was repeated in the ears of those present.

The pod landed on the floor. The shooter squeezed the air out of his lungs. Silence.