Chapter 1: The end of the Earth

（窸窸窣窣，在一处幽暗的火堆周围，响起了不同于木棍因燃烧而爆裂开的声音。燃烧着的火焰也似乎因为这异样的声响，黯淡了一些。）

“什么人？阿尔乔姆，去看看！”

阿尔乔姆小心地从火堆旁站起身，迅速将身后的机关枪顺着背带滑到胸前，径直向黑暗处走去。他停在了火光再也照射不到的边缘处，警告般地大声拉动着手中的枪栓，尽可能粗吼道：“站住！暗号！”

‘Who’s there? Artyom - go have a look!’

Artyom rose reluctantly from his seat by the fire and, shifting the machine gun from his back to his chest, headed towards the darkness. He stood right at the edge of the lighter area and then, as loudly and threateningly as he could, he clicked the slide on his gun and shouted gruffly, ‘Stop! Password!’

（飒飒……飒飒飒...咕咕咯咯咯咯，一阵异响之后传来愈行愈远的啪嗒声，似乎有什么诡谲的生物跑开了。）

回应阿尔乔姆的只有一阵怪异的沙沙声和空洞沉闷的咕哝声，他从黑暗中听见了快速而又杂乱的脚步，那东西似乎被他自认为粗犷的嗓音和咯吱作响的机关枪吓到了，正往隧道深处逃跑。阿尔乔姆见状飞快地回到了火堆旁，心安理得地搪塞着彼得·安德列维奇：“不知道是谁，没人过来。我问了对方，也没有回应，就听见它跑了。”

He could hear quick, staccato footsteps in the darkness where moments ago he’d heard a strange rustle and hollow-sounding murmurings. Someone was retreating into the depths of the tunnel, frightened away by Artyom’s gruff voice and the rattling of his weapon. Artyom hurriedly return to the fire and flung an answer at Pyotr Andreevich: ‘Nope, no one came forward. No response, they just ran off.’

“你个蠢猪！早就跟你说过，如果对方没有回应，就马上开枪！你怎么知道对方是谁？说不定刚刚靠近的是暗魇！”

‘You idiot! You were clearly told. If they don’t respond, then shoot immediately! How do you know who that was? Maybe the dark ones are getting closer!’

“屁！我一开始就没觉得他们是人类。那声音听起来很怪，也不像人的脚步声。咋的？你还觉得我分不清人类的脚步嘛！再说了，什么时候暗魇是像那样子跑的？你也知道的，彼得，暗魇会毫不犹豫地向前冲锋。最近他们还赤手空拳袭击了一支巡逻队，竟然能在机关枪的火力之下正面突入。但是刚刚我所接触的东西，是直接逃走了的，应该只是某个胆小的动物。”

（阿尔乔姆如同连珠炮般、看似振振有词的回答，掩饰着他内心的慌张与焦虑。此时作为岗哨的他心里或许明白，一时的胆小会为将来的危机埋下隐患。）

‘No...I don’t think they were people...The sounds were really strange...And the footsteps weren’t human either. What? You think I don’t know what human footsteps like? And anyway, when have the dark ones ever run off like that? You know it yourself, Pyotr Andreevich. Lately they’ve been lunging forward without hesitation. They attacked a patrol with nothing but their bare hands, marching straight into machine-gun fire. But this thing, it ran off straight away...Like some kind of scared animal.’

“行了行了，阿尔乔姆！太聪明可不是什么好事，你得明白这是你的职责——要跟踪他们，不许犹豫。万一刚刚的是个探子，那现在他们就已经知道了我们这里有多少人手，对付我们又需要多少弹药。他们可能会赶走我们占领这里，然后在这儿庆祝取乐。他们也可能当场给我们一个个割喉，屠杀整个站台，就像波列扎耶夫车站所发生的那样。而这一切都归因于你没有解决掉刚刚那个不明来历的小贼。所以长点记性吧，下次我要你跟着他们进隧道！”

‘All right, Artyom! You’re too smart for your own good. But you’ve got instructions - so follow them, don’t think about it. Maybe it was a scout. And now it knows how few of us are here, and how much ammunition they’d need...They might just wipe us out here and now for fun. Put a knife to our throat, and butcher the entire station, just like at Polezhaevskaya - and all just because you didn’t get rid of that rat...Watch it! Next time I’ll make you run after them into the tunnel!’

（阿尔乔姆不再辩驳，眼神迷离于远处的隧道口和舞动的篝火，双手紧紧地抓着自己的枪。）

想象着这深埋在七百米以下的隧道，阿尔乔姆害怕得直哆嗦。光是想想就很可怕，没有人有这胆子穿过这深渊去往北方。曾有军队去到上层五百米处，在那儿用地铁的车灯做了边界标记便匆匆返回，自认为依靠那几盏破灯就能够震慑住那些恶徒的进犯。甚至那些经验老到的前海军陆战队的侦察兵，据说也在六百八十米处停下了脚步。每每谈起，他们便用凹陷如碗的手掌掐灭叼着的烟，紧紧抓着挂在胸口的夜视仪沉默不语，站在一边。若再追问，他们便一言不发，头也不回地走开，看都不会再看那隧道出口一眼。

It made Artyom shudder to imagine the tunnel beyond the seven-hundredth metre. It was horrifying just to think about it. No one had the guts to go beyond the seven-hundredth metre to the north. Patrols had made it to the five-hundredth, and having illuminated the boundary post with the spotlight on the trolley and convinced themselves that no scum had crossed it, they hastily returned. Even the scouts - big guys, former marines - would stop at the six hundred and eightieth metre. They’d turn their burning cigarettes into their cupped palms and stand stock-still, clinging to their night-vision instruments. And then, they’d slowly, quietly head back, without taking their eyes off the tunnel, and never turning their backs to it.