METRO 2033 : In Seoul

Chapter 1. Surface of Seoul (2)

And next to it was a skyscraper stopped while construction. The Lotte Tower which stands tall in the black sky, had broken windows and exposed frames as if rats had eaten it. It looked no different from other ruins. Rebars were bent seems that some creatures did. The top of the tower had been destroyed by the bombing. In short, it looks like a radish with a cut end. Doyun was impressed. He never imagined it to be this high. The fact that this height is not a completed height made him more suffocating.

In the past, when everything was working normally, the building almost had the highest record in Seoul. But it became an old saying in the wake of the war. Now the building is became to age and destined fell with radioactivity.

Walking along the road, he finally arrived at the parking lot under the tower. The parking lot was no different. The gruesome parking lot was full of cars and trucks that abandoned and had been  broken for 20 years. Several rusty bumpers were rolling around. He thought about whether the door would open if he started the car, but he reminded a story from a search party at the alliance station that there are something inside the car that didn't come out. In fact, usable oil had already been washed away. Some cars even contained human's skeletons who died on Doomsday. Most of them would have been taken away by new owners here, but...

Passing by the security office, he tried not to look inside. Inside, a man in uniform was leaning out of the window with only bones left, and horribly without a head. Everyone could see at a glance that the dark blue uniform was quite a luxury item, but no one tried to peel it off.

Then came the sound of something rustling behind him. He looked back instinctively quickly, but there was nothing. At least in his eyes. When listening again, he couldn't hear anything more.

There were also many mutants around here. You should always know how to save yourself. Embracing desire to dominate this burned-out world could be said to be far superior creatures than humans. In fact, he wondered if he could even call them 'creature'. No one, not even those who started this war, could have imagined that radiation and biochemical bombs had performed scissor on the DNA of living things against the Creator's law.

He stepped carefully again. Then he entered into the entrance where somebody had ripped the door open. Only faded red signbords were giving the old name of the building : LOTTE DUTY FREE. The last word was about to drop. He went into the building. There was only silence. Fragments and iron trashses were scattered here and there, and the bones of unknowns were rolling around. The bone had deep tooth marks. He wished in heart that he would not run into the owner of the tooth.

Inside the old store on his right, there was a dusty display case of bags that had been preserved for 20 years. Suddenly curious Doyun thought he could sell a bag at a high price if he took it to metro, but he was remembering that someone advised him not to touch anything on the ground. Moving on, he felt bitter at the sight of the huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling and the wall glistening golden, as he recalled metro's desolate reverse landscape. It was indeed a splendid figure.

He shifted his foot to the emergency exit stairs.

The tower was planned to be built with 123 floors. Of course it was not completed. So there were countless dangerous floors and always had to move with caution. You should never be a sprained foot or lying around here. The radiation is also a radiation, but it ends when the beasts of surface that born by nuclear found you. Nothing in the world can help you. It would be better to have a final prayer at the time of your request for help like 'Please let me die without pain'.

Doyun began to climb the stairs.

Second floor... third floor... Fifth floor... tenth floor... twentieth floor...