The Dark Ones were gone.
Artyom felt it was for the best; Humanity wasn't ready yet. He honestly didn't know if they ever would be ready. But with his connection to the Dark Ones, he felt that they were never truly gone; they were only waiting. Waiting for the humans to grow and change, in order to accept them.
"Artyom, come on! Miller won't wait for your ass forever." Speaking of humans not ready to accept the Dark Ones... Both Miller and his daughter Anna were prime examples of why the Dark Ones couldn't stay. Their minds weren't ready, weren't able to handle the idea of cooperation. "Quit daydreaming and come on!" Anna shoved his shoulder playfully, and Artyom rolled his eyes and continued walking with her.
She had warmed up to him since the battle for D6. They only saw each other again after the fight was over, and she sat by his infirmary bed while he recovered. Artyom was grateful to have her there, as Ulman was in the room over and therefore unable to communicate with the silent Artyom. She explained to him what happened when he got captured, and how she tried to rescue him but failed. She even ended up apologizing to him, a remorseful look in those pretty blue eyes.
He couldn't stay mad at her.
Now they were on their way to report to Miller about some of the other findings in the almost ransacked base. D6 had been saved from the Red Line seige, but with great cost to the Spartans defending it. Many doors had been blasted open in the assault; it was up to Anna, Artyom, and a few select others to work on the cleanup. "Dad isn't gonna be happy..." She trailed off as they walked, voice betraying how nervous she was.
Many of the rooms held even more dangerous weapons and biological nightmares. Most would have to be destroyed, as those kinds of weapons of destruction were just too deadly to be held in the hands of men. Said destruction would have to be performed carefully and cleanly, as most of said weapons were too dangerous to be dealt with by normal means. Artyom couldn't help but agree with her sentiment; Miller could end up being furious by what they found. The walk to his office ended too soon, and they looked at each other to brace themselves before opening the door and going in.
~*~
It wasn't as much of a disaster as it could've been. Miller was displeased, definitely, but not surprised with what they found. He had a suspicion for a long time now that D6 wasn't what had been promised, and now this was confirmation. The base wasn't a salvation.
It was a weapon.
Anna and Artyom exited the office relatively unscathed from Miller's wrath, taking a quick trek to the infirmary to visit Ulman. His wounds had been much more severe than any had anticipated, and it was lucky the man was still alive even now. As soon as they entered where he rested his face lit up with joy.
"Tyoma! And Anya! So good to see you two again!" Ulman immediately perked up from his resting position, wincing in pain when he strained his back.
"Easy, Ulman," Anna said, sitting down at his bedside. "We don't need to call the doctors on you again, now do we?" Artyom laughed a little under his breath, pulling up a chair across from Anna.
"Ah, no need to mother me! I remember you when you were just a malen'kiy rebenok!" Ulman was smiling widely, happy to have visitors. It was good to distract him from the broken state of his body. Luckily they didn't have to amputate any limbs, but he sustained some major damage to his legs and back. "If anything I should be mothering you!"
"Ha, I'd like to see you try," Anna snorted, shaking her head. Artyom still couldn't believe that this was the same woman who berated him and teased him when they first met. Now she seemed so... Different. Cheery. Anna looked from left to right before leaning in close to the older man and whispering conspiratorially, "Make sure you get some rest, I heard the doctors might be letting you try walking soon."
Ulman's eyes widened at that statement; it had been about a month since the battle and things were still going slow for both his healing and the cleanup teams.
"Anya, don't go getting my hopes up!" He whined, bringing up a hand to ruffle her hair. He turned to Artyom and did the same to him as well, "You better not encourage her, you bastard." Artyom pursed his lips and cocked a brow playfully, leaning back in order to spare his hair from Ulman's wandering hand. It was good that Ulman seemed to be feeling better, as Artyom remembered all too clearly how he was while they were quarantined.
He never wanted Ulman to end up like that again.
They stayed for a little longer, listening to Ulman tell his jokes and updating him on matters important to a high-ranking member such as himself. Eventually a doctor came by to tell them that they had to leave, as he had to administer some treatment and physical therapy to Ulman's slowly healing body. They bid each other farewell with smiles all around.
Things might finally be looking up.
~*~
"I still can hardly believe that we're still alive, Artyom," Anna told him later, at a table in the corner of the bar. "It just seems so impossible, doesn't it?" She looked out at the other soldiers, blue eyes shining in the dim lighting. Artyom shrugged and took a sip of his drink, coughing when it was stronger than anticipated. Anna laughed at him and downed her own much more successfully, silently bragging that she could handle her alcohol better.
"I wanted to ask you something," she said, scooting her chair closer to his. "There's been something I've been thinking about. With you." Her bangs fell over her right eye as she leaned forward. Artyom sat there, a little bit confused as to her antics. Her voice got lower as she continued, "You have always been so quiet and respectful, even getting on other men when they make passes at me. But I still get the feeling that there's something about you. You aren't the best at hiding your feelings, Artyom," she murmured, sliding a hand up his wrist to his arm and finally to his shoulder.
Artyom felt his mind go blank. She couldn't be-- Could she? Anna was a pretty girl, a very pretty one at that. Other men had noticed too, and were less than subtle in their attraction to her. Artyom found himself defending her on more than one occasion, not tolerating any sort of disrespect to a woman he held in good regard. And while Artyom could admire her curves and sweet smile from a respectable distance, he never thought that she felt any sort of attraction to him.
How perceptive of me.
Anna moved closer and her gaze flicked down to his lips. She bit her own bottom lip and ran a hand through his hair, twirling the strands through her fingers. "Artyom." She whispered, moving up and out of her chair to nearly sit in his lap. "Talk to me."
That broke Artyom from his stupor. He grabbed her shoulders before she could kiss him, holding her at a safe distance. Anna was beautiful, there was no denying that. And Artyom could appreciate a beautiful woman. But Miller would castrate then murder him if he ever tried anything with his daughter. There just wasn't any option with her.
Artyom moved her away and did a motion with his hands, a half-salute mixed with a hand across his jaw. Miller.
"My father? Artyom, he respects you!" Anna was understandably confused at his rejection of her, but not angry. Not yet. "Did I... Did I read you wrong?" Now it was her turn to be embarrassed, cheeks reddening at her misconception of him. "I thought that... Well--"
Artyom felt awful. He got her attention again and tried to reaffirm her beauty in his eyes; a few vague hand movements and facial expressions got the point across. Anna laughed a little at his panicking, mood lightening.
"Alright, I get it. No need to look so scared," she got up from his lap and moved back to her seat across from him. "I shouldn't even be surprised. You don't seem like the type to just jump after any woman who asks." She almost sounded, respectful? Anna tucked her hair behind her ear and clicked her teeth. "I hope this didn't make things strange between us. Maybe you're right, too. It would be better to stay as friends, huh?" Anna took another sip of her drink and cleared her throat. "Too many other things to focus on now, right?"
Artyom nodded at that, agreeing with her wholeheartedly.
Too many other things...
YOU ARE READING
Lost Count
أدب الهواةThe Metro is a harsh and unforgiving place. People must kill to survive, and atrocities are committed on the daily by the strong against the weak. The surface is dead and ruined, killed by the previous generation. Humans are no longer welcome; they'...