April 19
Odessa
The snow has finally melted and the first rain has appeared over the city of Odessa. The noise of cars and curious tourists intensifies day by day as the temperature of the air gradually increases. The Black Sea is now littered with fishing boats and the number of cargo ships entering and leaving Odessa's port has increased. The beaches of the Black Sea are now flooded with people and the waves are ridden by the occasional surfer. But, that was all a luxury Danila and the men of the 2. Battalion couldn't enjoy.
Danila checked the time. It was 15:49. His session with Anna would be over in exactly 11 minutes and then she will be going back to her dormitory at the State University. Anna has been tutoring Danila almost everyday since late March and he already has the basics of German under his belt. He can ask for the time and directions and can formulate basic sentences such as "Ich war in Rzhev geboren" or "Mein Name ist Danila", although with a slight accent. Anna was surprised by his progress and determination to learn a new language which made the sessions more enjoyable for both of them.
"Ich habe in Odessa seit November lebt."
Anna tried to give Danila a serious look. He wasn't impressed by it, but he got the message.
"You chose the correct words, but the last three aren't in the correct order. It's, 'Ich habe in Odessa lebt seit November.' Do you see why?"
Anna was tracing a sentence with a pencil in the textbook as she tried to explain the principle to Danila. After a few seconds of thinking, he understood why and how.
"Do you get it now?"
Danila nodded affirmatively.
"Well, it's time for me to go, Danila. I'll see you tomorrow."
Anna said that with a smile. As Danila was about to escort her outside of the barracks a bright and dense blue light blinded him. He collapsed afterwards and struck the wooden bed with his head knocking him unconscious.
A sphere of blue light moved away from Danila as he woke up. He wasn't in Moldavanka anymore; he was now in the Moscow Metro, lying on the empty platform. The grand chandeliers hanging from the roof extinguished and the only source of light came from the strange blue sphere which was now slowly moving away from the station and into the tunnel. As he gathered his thoughts and began to slowly get up from the cold, granite floor a strange sound, reminiscent to a hiss startled him. As a result of the fear and anxiety that have consumed him, Danila's body started to shake. His once soft and dry palms were now quickly covered in sweat. His heartbeat accelerated with each passing second and with the absence of the blue sphere came the absence of whatever light there was in the station. His pupils have expanded in a vain attempt to absorb as much light as possible to such an extent, it would be safe to say that no iris was present whatsoever. His breathing was now characterized by short and uncontrolled breaths which minimized the amount of oxygen entering his lungs and then his bloodstream. Danila had wasted almost all of his strength (which was largely diminished by ever consuming fear) into standing upright. The deafening silence was soon shattered by an un-human voice. Danila couldn't determine whether the voice came from his head or from some other being that was supposedly in the station with him. The intonation of the voice alone was enough to slip a mentally stable man into painful insanity, but with all the fear and anxiety encircling him, Danila didn't know whether he was sane or insane. "Why do you reject us?" Those five words circled around in the air as if they were being played on a recorder on loop or said by millions of other voices. Danila covered his ears in vain as the question just echoed around the station, penetrating his head. Soon, he himself was asking the same question, but in the first person. As he presumably closed his eyes for the last time in his life, a bright white flash which was enough to cause permanent damage to a retina blinded him.
As the flash dissipated, Danila found himself standing near the ruined Cathedral of the Dormition in Kiev. There was no darkness but light from the sun's rays which beautifully illuminated the earth around him. The fear was now largely gone and replaced by a fragile sense of security. He moved closer, towards the ruined cathedral and stood upon the pile of rubble. He stared at the gold cross and then looked at the horizon. There was nothing there, but a once great city standing in ruins. As he looked at the ruined Kiev in awe, the fear once again engulfed him as whispers erupted from the rubble below him. Danila's first instinct was to run, but the same voice heard in the Moscow Metro spoke to him, heightening the level of fear. "Why do you run?" Acknowledging the fact that he couldn't escape, Danila just stood there, on top of the rubble while the whispers intensified in loudness. He was then pulled towards the ground by presumably the hands of the souls of the damned.
But he didn't die. He was sent back to the Moscow Metro again where he was standing on the edge of the platform. The fragile sense of security which briefly accompanied him in Kiev didn't return. Like before, Danila was engulfed by a fear which he wouldn't wish on an enemy. The terrifying voice continued its dialogue with Danila, or perhaps monologue. "Why can't you see? Can't you understand?" Danila was then plunged at lightning speed into a derailed subway train where he stood before something he had already seen in the past. An un-human entity; a ghost of rather small size. He opened up for the first time.
"Who are you?"
"I'm you."
I've added two pictures that correspond with the above from a different game (well.. two different games) to induce (or at least try to induce) a feeling of fear and claustrophobia within the reader. That aside, I hoped you enjoyed it!
About the "nightmare": It's not really a nightmare, as Danila wasn't asleep, but I guess that's up to the reader to speculate.
Odessa
The snow has finally melted and the first rain has appeared over the city of Odessa. The noise of cars and curious tourists intensifies day by day as the temperature of the air gradually increases. The Black Sea is now littered with fishing boats and the number of cargo ships entering and leaving Odessa's port has increased. The beaches of the Black Sea are now flooded with people and the waves are ridden by the occasional surfer. But, that was all a luxury Danila and the men of the 2. Battalion couldn't enjoy.
Danila checked the time. It was 15:49. His session with Anna would be over in exactly 11 minutes and then she will be going back to her dormitory at the State University. Anna has been tutoring Danila almost everyday since late March and he already has the basics of German under his belt. He can ask for the time and directions and can formulate basic sentences such as "Ich war in Rzhev geboren" or "Mein Name ist Danila", although with a slight accent. Anna was surprised by his progress and determination to learn a new language which made the sessions more enjoyable for both of them.
"Ich habe in Odessa seit November lebt."
Anna tried to give Danila a serious look. He wasn't impressed by it, but he got the message.
"You chose the correct words, but the last three aren't in the correct order. It's, 'Ich habe in Odessa lebt seit November.' Do you see why?"
Anna was tracing a sentence with a pencil in the textbook as she tried to explain the principle to Danila. After a few seconds of thinking, he understood why and how.
"Do you get it now?"
Danila nodded affirmatively.
"Well, it's time for me to go, Danila. I'll see you tomorrow."
Anna said that with a smile. As Danila was about to escort her outside of the barracks a bright and dense blue light blinded him. He collapsed afterwards and struck the wooden bed with his head knocking him unconscious.
A sphere of blue light moved away from Danila as he woke up. He wasn't in Moldavanka anymore; he was now in the Moscow Metro, lying on the empty platform. The grand chandeliers hanging from the roof extinguished and the only source of light came from the strange blue sphere which was now slowly moving away from the station and into the tunnel. As he gathered his thoughts and began to slowly get up from the cold, granite floor a strange sound, reminiscent to a hiss startled him. As a result of the fear and anxiety that have consumed him, Danila's body started to shake. His once soft and dry palms were now quickly covered in sweat. His heartbeat accelerated with each passing second and with the absence of the blue sphere came the absence of whatever light there was in the station. His pupils have expanded in a vain attempt to absorb as much light as possible to such an extent, it would be safe to say that no iris was present whatsoever. His breathing was now characterized by short and uncontrolled breaths which minimized the amount of oxygen entering his lungs and then his bloodstream. Danila had wasted almost all of his strength (which was largely diminished by ever consuming fear) into standing upright. The deafening silence was soon shattered by an un-human voice. Danila couldn't determine whether the voice came from his head or from some other being that was supposedly in the station with him. The intonation of the voice alone was enough to slip a mentally stable man into painful insanity, but with all the fear and anxiety encircling him, Danila didn't know whether he was sane or insane. "Why do you reject us?" Those five words circled around in the air as if they were being played on a recorder on loop or said by millions of other voices. Danila covered his ears in vain as the question just echoed around the station, penetrating his head. Soon, he himself was asking the same question, but in the first person. As he presumably closed his eyes for the last time in his life, a bright white flash which was enough to cause permanent damage to a retina blinded him.
As the flash dissipated, Danila found himself standing near the ruined Cathedral of the Dormition in Kiev. There was no darkness but light from the sun's rays which beautifully illuminated the earth around him. The fear was now largely gone and replaced by a fragile sense of security. He moved closer, towards the ruined cathedral and stood upon the pile of rubble. He stared at the gold cross and then looked at the horizon. There was nothing there, but a once great city standing in ruins. As he looked at the ruined Kiev in awe, the fear once again engulfed him as whispers erupted from the rubble below him. Danila's first instinct was to run, but the same voice heard in the Moscow Metro spoke to him, heightening the level of fear. "Why do you run?" Acknowledging the fact that he couldn't escape, Danila just stood there, on top of the rubble while the whispers intensified in loudness. He was then pulled towards the ground by presumably the hands of the souls of the damned.
But he didn't die. He was sent back to the Moscow Metro again where he was standing on the edge of the platform. The fragile sense of security which briefly accompanied him in Kiev didn't return. Like before, Danila was engulfed by a fear which he wouldn't wish on an enemy. The terrifying voice continued its dialogue with Danila, or perhaps monologue. "Why can't you see? Can't you understand?" Danila was then plunged at lightning speed into a derailed subway train where he stood before something he had already seen in the past. An un-human entity; a ghost of rather small size. He opened up for the first time.
"Who are you?"
"I'm you."
I've added two pictures that correspond with the above from a different game (well.. two different games) to induce (or at least try to induce) a feeling of fear and claustrophobia within the reader. That aside, I hoped you enjoyed it!
About the "nightmare": It's not really a nightmare, as Danila wasn't asleep, but I guess that's up to the reader to speculate.
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