The End

Salvation

A bright spotlight lit up in front of me and I was blinded, but I froze as I heard multiple clicking of gun locks and a heavier clacking of a machinegun lock.

I had walked through the tunnel from the collapsed station to this one, still followed by the unseen eyes and constant darkness. I had lowered my gun from my shoulder and down across my chest as I .moved closer to this station, to remain friendly. But the guards were thinking differently.

"hey you man!" a slightly nasal voice called "put your hands up if you dont want any extra ventilation!" I complied and shouldering my gun I raised my hands slowly above my head. "Now move SLOWLY forwards towards the light" the voice commanded and still blinded I stumbled forward towards the bright light that burned my eyes.

"Stop!" said the voice and I almost tripped when I stopped. After a few moments I could hear some quiet heated discussion going on behind the bright light and I stood patiently shielding my eyes waiting for their decision.

It seemed the discussion was over and a new more flat voice called out "you have been granted access to the settlement, behave yourself and we won't have a problem." the voice paused for effect "welcome to salvation station!".

I sighed with relief as the spotlight was swung away from my face leaving white and yellow bloches in my vision. I staggered towards where the voices had come from, rubbing my eyes painfully."Haha powerful isn't it?" said the same nasal voice that had called out to me. "Shutup" I muttered as I staggered away from the voice which was now laughing.

I felt around looking for a flat surface to lean on and to regain my eyesight, as suddenly my hand landed on something warm and squishy at chest height. A loud sqeal from a woman emenated from right in front of me, now I was blinded AND deafened.A loud shout of "Oi Mate!" from a deep grunt of a voice sounded from beside me and suddenly, WHAAM. I felt White hot pain across the side of my face as my knees buckled and i felt the ground hit my back.

I lay on the ground for a couple of seconds as the blotches started to recede, but the voice wasnt done with me. "Prick!" he yelled from above me "What the fuck are you doin' to my girl!" and just as the largest blotches disappeared from my vision I looked up just in time to see a square jawed, tall, muscular man lift his heavy boot over my face ready to stomp.

CLICK, Once again i heard the meanacing click of a cocking handle for a gun. "Come on Boris" said a new calm hipnotic voice "you don't want to do that". Boris's Boot froze in mid-fall , his face looking up at where the voice was coming from.

"Stay outta it Myles!" said Boris but I could feel the fear in his voice "he was bein' rude to my missus 'ere!". "Come on Boris" replied Myles "You could tell he was blinded from the spotlight" I heard Myles walk towards me as Boris backed off, walking backwards, keeping Myles in his vision.

My vision had fully returned now and I looked around to see a average sized man of an athletic build toting a worn looking AK-47 that looked very capable of murder, and had murdered before. "Can you stand?" myles asked kindly. "Yes i can" I replied before standing up next to myles pulling out my own submachine gun, hatred filling me as I looked at Boris the side of my face still hurting.

"I don't think you need to be here anymore" said Myles with about as much worry that someone has when tying their shoelaces, but with the authority and menace of a executioner. I lined up Boris's head in my sights in case of any objections, for a second Boris seemed to be considering a fight but upon seeing me line up my sights he shrugged pathetically and grunted at the young girl he was with and the pair wondered off.

Myles and I watched them disappear into the crowd before lowering our guns and turning to each other. "Are you alright my friend?" he asked concernedly. "Yeah thanks myles" I replied sighing in relief as I relaxed. "Sorry I havent introduced myself, my name is Jason" I shook hands with myles who smiled warmly and asked "so where are you going from here Jason?"

"Well" I replied but I hesitated; did I really want to tell this stranger, even if he saved my life, about my mission which was so important that jonas gave his life for it? Seemingly reading my mind myles said "you don't need to tell me WHAT youre doing but I'd like to know WHERE your going, I may have a proposition that might interest you".

I thought for a second, I might as well hear Myles's proposition. "The gehrkin" I said a bit embarrassed by the strange location, myles looked puzzled but didn't question me. He looked thoughtfully into my face, apparently thinking something over.

"Well" Myles said finally "I'm headed to hope and I was hoping for a companion to come with me" I looked at Myles and said "where is hope?" "In the suburbs of London to the north west" he replied. My heart sank, I was also hoping for company on my journey. "I'm sorry Myles" I sighed "but that's in the opposite direction from the gehrkin and I'm just going to walk down the main streets directly to it".

Myles eyes had widened with surprise at this scentence, "you can't do that!" he barked "don't you know anything about the surface?". I timidly shook my head in admission. "Well I thought you looked new to the outdoors but I didn't think you were THAT clueless!" said Myles incredulously "you would've died out there Jason!"

"Why whats wrong with the route?" I asked taken aback by the reaction of Myles. "Well first you have to deal with the bandits who have settled on the outer part of the centre of London" started Myles looking very serious "you have everything from your wannabe bandits that are all mouth and are usually too shit scared to do much except taunt you, to your hardcore shitheads who will hunt you down and torture you before killing you slowly for the fun of it."

As myles stopped for a breath I looked in to take in our surroundings. We had been walking during our conversation and I had been too absorbed to take in salvation station. I stood amazed at the view, we stood at the end of a large crowded passageway which had been converted into a street with stalls on either side against the Walls selling everything from food and drinks to weapons and ammunition.

The street, as I decided to call it, was filled with more people than I had ever seen. People dressed in rags and cloths, helmeted or camouflage clad men, finely dressed and respectable looking businessmen. All jammed into the street, yelling, laughing, arguing and crying, the station felt alive.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned back around to myles. "Sorry myles" I apologised "just taking in the sights." "Yes" said myles wistfully "really amazing isn't it? It feels so alive every time I come here" I nodded in agreement to his statement looking fondly at the street. "Well Jason, shall we continue our discussion over some food?" asked myles shaking himself from the reverie he was in "I know an excellent resturaunt just up the street."

"A restaurant?" I asked in amazement "they have resturaunts here? I've never been to one!" I said "Really??" asked myles incredulously but smiling a bright friendly smile "well I'll treat you to your first experience of fine food, my friend, and then you will know the meaning of contentedness!"