Underground Terror

Moscow, Russia
7 years before the end of The Dragons' War

A few years after the first outbreak of the dragons. The center of the war was Russia, because since St. Petersburg was the zero point, we all knew that was where we had to go to kill the dragons. To get there, the UN set up a plan that consisted of setting up an underground base in Moscow, from which they would build one of the longest tunnels in the world, connecting the Moscow metro with the St. Petersburg metro, and be able to use the different exits to launch an offensive and maintain a safe route for necessary supplies. The base was commanded by Rose Raven, who, having survived the first outbreak, was the person with the most experience with these beasts. My position in the army during this time was to be her bodyguard, but from time to time I had free time during this time to train as a pilot on her recommendation.

For a few years, the construction of the tunnel went smoothly, and with the defenses set up throughout the city, it was not difficult to keep the dragons at bay. The underground base, called the White Base, was of enormous dimensions, for in an emergency it could cover almost the entire city of Moscow. It was like a cave with a large number of buildings hanging from the ceiling, while the military base was on the floor of the cave, it was done this way because the military personnel had priority over the civilians, but also in case of an attack, the army could quickly see what was happening above them and react.

But it turned out to be a total failure, because exactly on February 14th at noon, everyone in the base noticed that it started to rain, it was strange without a doubt, because we were in a cave with a city of civilians above our heads. But when we raised our heads, we were horrified to see that what was raining was blood, as the city was being attacked by a huge number of dragons, but strangely enough, there was not the slightest sound of the massacre that was literally taking place above us. We immediately launched a counterattack, but after seeing how quickly and powerfully the dragons outnumbered us, we realized that it was a lost cause. Rose decided that it would be best to evacuate the place and go to the tunnel under construction, as there were more military personnel and supplies there, so we began to carry out her orders.

Rose insisted on staying to lead the defense as best she could and would leave on the last evacuation train. I, Rose's bodyguard, decided to stay with her so that I could at least buy time for her to get out. After all, what could a mere human with a rifle do against a monster of 10 meters? Most of us soldiers were dead men to begin with, and we knew the only thing we could do was sacrifice ourselves to save our future.

This is where one of my adventures began, because when the last train was preparing to leave, it was only for necessary military personnel, but there were still several people left, including a family. It was a mother and her two daughters, the eldest was about eight years old I think, no doubt something unpleasant to see. Rose was almost ready to stop the train and try to drop something to make room for them, but the dragons were right on top of us. We couldn't risk losing them and seeing the girls crying in fear of what was happening. I offered to give her family my space. I got off the wagon and quickly got on them, seeing through the window the mother and her daughters smiling at them, trying to calm them down before the train started moving, I thought that was my end, but I was happy with it because at least three more people had managed to save themselves thanks to me. I stayed with a few soldiers and tried to defend the escape tunnel as best I could for those left behind, but it wasn't long before the dragons killed most of them. I think I was the last to retreat when I saw that none of my companions were alive. I got out as fast as I could through the tunnel, as far away from that place as I could. Fearing for my life, I entered the Moscow metro, one of the largest in the world, although I could not even speak its language.

It didn't take long to realize what a bad idea it was. The next day I was tired from no sleep, no ammunition, no food rations, and it was starting to snow outside, and although I thought it was normal according to what the Russian troops told me, I realized much later that it was nothing more than another attack by the dragons. I only had a few biscuits that I got a little before the attack and a flashlight with a few batteries that I used to guide me through the darkness of the tunnel, the light from this flashlight was my survival, if I ran out of batteries without it would be my end for sure and yet I only had 2 days at best.

My biggest surprise was when I arrived at what looked like a subway station, the light from my flashlight revealed the head of a dragon small enough to pass through a door only two meters wide, which, when it turned to see the fountain of light, noticed my presence and rushed to attack me. Without hesitation, I attacked with my rifle, but I only managed to scare it away. But with the noise of the weapon I heard several roars coming from the tunnels, they were more dragons now heading towards my position. I started running for my life, I didn't care where I was going, I just wanted to get out of there. I knew those dragons were lurking nearby, in the dark, following my flashlight, which I couldn't turn off because I needed to see where I was running.

Thinking of a way to lose my pursuers, I turned off the flashlight at one of the intersections between several tunnels, for a moment I ran blindly so as not to lose my advantage, but suddenly I could feel how one of my steps never finished and I began to fall. I thought that this would be my end, that I would die falling into the void in the dark, but I was relieved when I could feel that hitting several pipes slowed my speed and I stopped only a few meters below. But even though I desperately wanted to turn on the flashlight to see where I was, I decided to wait until I was sure the dragons were no longer following me. I don't know how long that lasted, I think it was maybe only minutes, but it was the most terrifying minutes I've spent in my life.

When I realized that I was safe, I stood up and turned on the flashlight, only to be even more frightened to see that there were eggs where I was standing, they were large enough that they were even empty. I had no doubt, these were dragon eggs, I had to get out of there as soon as possible, because if this was a nest, those beasts would return sooner or later. Despite the pain from my fall, I walked carefully so as not to make the slightest sound.

But just as it was about to leave the nest, one of the eggs hatched and a dragon emerged, it had four legs and a tail, although it had no wings. I raised my weapon with my last bullet, I don't want to use it against a newborn because I might need it later. But the dragon did not attack me, on the contrary, it approached me and tried to crawl between my legs. I thought the dragon mistook me for its mother, as some animals do when raised by humans. Contrary to what all logic dictated, I thought that since I was not attacking, I could keep it, because with the help of the baby I might be able to warn the dragons where they lurk, in the worst case I would at least get a free meal. So I took him in my arms and left the nest behind.

Not long after that, I managed to find a large store in another subway station, so I tried to grab all the supplies I might need. From food for me and dog food for the dragon to various battery packs for the flashlight. But I couldn't stay, because the ground was full of claw marks, so those monsters had to pass by regularly.

For a while I tried to get to the surface, but I realized that during the day the dragons came to the surface and flew over the city in search of food, so it was dangerous to go out. But during the night, the winter cold increased, so the dragons themselves took refuge in the subway to sleep. Taking advantage of this, I had no choice but to forget the sunlight and resign myself to living in the dark. During the day I would try to explore the tunnels or rest, and at night I would surface to get more food in the city without the dragons, but I would return before dawn. So I lived 24 hours without seeing the sunlight.

With the baby dragon, I tried to study the behavior of the beasts to my advantage. With him I realized what I had suspected, dragons could see in the dark. After feeding him some contaminated meat, I could see that it did not affect him in the least, although he ate it with disgust. I also thought that they might be able to communicate, but remembering that this dragon was separated from others of its kind, I thought that if I taught it to speak, I might be able to tell if it was capable or not. But perhaps over time I began to see it more as a form of entertainment, so I began to treat it like a dog and talk to it about whatever it was. The little dragon couldn't do anything but growl, so I thought maybe the dragons didn't have vocal chords or anything to communicate with.

Knowing that I was completely lost in a strange city where I did not even know the language to read the signs, I started working on a solution. I knew that somewhere in the subway I must find a tunnel that was newer than the others, it must be the tunnel that connected to the city of Saint Petersburg, my way out of this infernal place. So I started to make a map of the subway, where each tunnel I visited led to and what stations they connected to. I knew that the exit should be north of the city, but I had nothing to indicate it, and my fear of being discovered by the dragons was such that I did not surface while the sun was rising. This map was my guide and my survival, as I began to write down all the valuable information I found, from smaller and safer corridors, to the places the dragons most frequented or their nests, to which areas of the city were more likely to find food, and where others were more likely to find clothing or tools. I kept it with me at all times, along with a pencil to write down any new discoveries.

As for the passage of time, I was also beginning to worry, for it was already the middle of June, but winter showed no signs of leaving. It was impossible for a season to last that long, but the snow on the surface wasn't lying. I was truly convinced that the dragons had to be to blame for the strange weather. But I had no way of knowing if the whole world was suffering from the same thing, or if it was just the city, because I had no way of knowing.

As for the dragon, the passage of time was also noticeable, as it had grown considerably, but not to the level of the others. It still looked like the size of one of those big dogs. Until a certain day came when a great change took place. Well, one day when I got up before sunset to go back to the surface for food, when I opened my eyes I noticed that the dragon that was sleeping next to me was nowhere to be found. In her place was a girl with horns and a tail who hugged me and when she woke up she called me Daddy.