[i]This story assumes that the USSR never fell apart in 1991 and that the Cold War is still going on.[/i] [i]Major Andrei Yegorov, Comittee for State Security (First Chief Directorate), 15th of September 2021[/i] The bright headlights of Major Andrei Yegorov’s 1970 Dodge Challenger Trans-Am illuminated the abandoned road in front of him. He was supposed to be on his way home now, but instead he was driving to some god-forgotten hellhole in the middle of Georgia, US. Springfield, the insignificant town was called. When Andrei had asked for the undoubtedly extremely important reason for this surprise visit, his superior officer had stated that he had no idea whatsoever. Normally, Major Yegorov wouldn’t believe anything the KGB told him, but this time his commander sounded genuine. Strange, because the KGB was supposed to know everything. Andrei decided to stop at a small, worn down gas station to make sure his car had enough fuel to reach Savannah. He didn’t expect there to be an opportunity to do this in Springfield, neither did he expect to stay there for longer than an hour. It should be a run-of-the-mill routine check. Then again, his direct commanding officer acted really weird. With a bit of luck though he might be able catch the next international flight headed for Japan, from where he would travel to Russia, the motherland. Entering the station’s shop to pay for his probably overpriced fuel, Andrei noticed that the place, which smelled of old cigarettes, was abandoned. He left a twenty dollar bill on the filthy counter and exited the small building, whose paint had eroded away long ago. The digital clock on the wall told him the time. 23:11PM. Major Yegorov yawned and was about to enter the car again when he heard the distinct sound of glass breaking on his right, across the highway. Years of service with the KGB had taught him one skill above all: insatiable curiosity. Andrei crossed the highway, past a rusty sign that welcomed travelers to Shawnee, before reaching a cluster of white wooden houses, typical to the area. Carefully watching his surroundings, he walked around the house, which seemed devoid of life. He now stood in front of the sizeable structure, with another empty street behind him. Under a lamp post, a large object laid still in the flickering light. It was probably just a forgotten bag of trash, and Andrei didn’t think much of it. Instead, he turned towards the door of the house, which seemed, upon closer inspection, teared apart by an inhuman force. Still, Yegorov entered the deserted Victorian mansion, after slowly pushing open the wrecked door with his foot. Cautiously clearing each room, Andrei walked into the living room. Here, on the couch, was a woman, probably in her thirties, whose throat had been cut open. No, ‘ripped out’ was a better description of the gruesome wound. Blood had colored her blue dress deep red. The large Samsung flatscreen television was still playing some stupid late-night show. At first glance it seemed to be about a quiz to earn a crap load of money. Of course. It was always about money in these ‘glorious’ United States. Capitalist pigs. ‘Home of the free’, those imperialists called it. Suddenly, he heard heavy footsteps above him, along with a weird scratching sound, almost like a squirrel scurrying about on the next floor. It definitely came from upstairs, and after drawing his trusty silenced Makarov PB sidearm, Andrei started climbing the stairs, each step creaking as he touched it. He almost slipped, and noticed that there was blood covering the ancient wooden stairs. The scratching had also stopped. Whatever was up there might already be aware that he was coming. Yet, he continued his advance upwards, gripping his pistol tight. Calmly rounding a corner, he used his foot to push open the door to what he assumed was the main bedroom of the mansion. There, he noticed a hunched over figure, facing the other way within the dark room. Yegorov could’ve sworn that he heard faint munching sounds. Fighting the urge to take a step back, Andrei tried to get a better look at the figure, without result. However, while moving around, he noticed that the man (was it even a man?) slowly turned around, waited a bit before unleashing a hellish shriek and leaping towards the weathered Russian spy. Major Yegorov had however been a KGB officer long enough to have developed insanely quick reflexes. He emptied the 8-round magazine of his Makarov within a few seconds, hitting his reckless attacker several times in the head. The enemy continued his wild charge past Andrei until he reached a wall, which he colliding with at full speed. Groaning, the man fell face down, seemingly dead. After reloading his weapon, Andrei turned on his flashlight and pushed over the corpse. He could never have expected what he saw. The body of the ‘man’ was half naked and his greyish skin was littered with black, pus-filled wounds, source of a deep rotten smell, which had already filled the entire room. The creature’s mutilated face was the worst of all. Hair, nose and the left jaw were missing, which allowed Andrei to see the yellow, broken teeth within. Turning the beam of his flashlight towards the original position of this monster, intent on finding out whatever it had been eating from, he saw another corpse. It appeared to be the bloody remains of a man, possibly the husband of the dead woman downstairs. In the end, it was impossible to make a definitive conclusion, as not much was left of the poor victim. Two gunshots crackled through the night sky, originating from across the street. Andrei bolted towards the large window in the opposite wall, which faced the previously empty streets. Now, like a frightened deer fleeing from a starving pack of wolves, a single man, holding what looked like a double-barreled hunting rifle, was running away from a house, in Yegorov’s direction. Behind him, three creatures, similar to the one Andrei had neutralized a few minutes ago, were rapidly closing in. The man was able to avoid his chasers by making a sharp turn to the left, now running past the bag of trash Zhukov had noticed earlier. However, the supposed bag came to life and started to move, revealing its true nature: another one of these beasts. This monster tackled the man, using his bony hands to drag his prey down. Soon, the others caught up as well, grabbing the American. Driven by supernatural hunger, they started to feast off the still alive man, and horrifying cries of agony, mixed with the nauseating sound of breaking bones, echoed through the Georgian night. One of the beasts stood up, blood spilling from its mouth, roaring to celebrate its latest catch. This seemed to attract the attention of its ‘friends’, as more and more monsters started to climb out of windows, doors and even sewers. Behind Andrei, the creature, which was supposed to be dead after taking 9mm rounds to the head, awakened at the call of its brethren. It growled viciously while trying to get up again and Yegorov decided that if the enemy didn’t care about bullets, it was time for him to leave. He quickly took a few pictures with his phone, immediately saved in a private hidden file, before running off. Exiting by one of the windows in the side, he found himself in front of another creature, which immediately uttered a nightmarish howl. Others quickly responded to this cry for aid, their shrieks and growls already way too close behind Andrei. “[i]Blyat[/i]”, the Russian spy cursed, realizing there was only one way out now. He fired a single round into the forehead of the beast in front of him, which caused its head to tilt backwards, breaking its neck with it. However, the thing was already recovering when Andrei slipped past him. He jumped over a fence and ran towards his car, crossing the abandoned highway. Diving into the Challenger, he didn’t close the door but instead grabbed an AK-47 Kalashnikov with retractable shoulder stock from a hidden storage case. Firing into the fierce horde of charging monsters, he managed to drive them back far enough to be able to floor the gas pedal and speed away from the mob. He shot the final rounds out of his sturdy AK before tossing it on the passenger seat, grabbing the steering wheel with both hands. The door automatically closed due to the Challenger’s speed. Quickly leaving Shawnee behind him, Andrei drove towards Springfield, leaving behind the feral creatures. “Nothing like a bunch of 7.62’s to put an enemy down”, Yegorov muttered to himself. Unfortunately, a couple of Kalashnikov clips wouldn’t be enough to put an end to this threat, he knew that good enough. Major Andrei Yegorov would have to find a way to contact the Motherland safely. Lubyanka had to know… no, Moscow had to know what in Lenin’s name was going on. TO BE CONTINUED [spoiler]Main page: https://www.bungie.net/nl/Forums/Post/245402812?page=0&sort=0&showBanned=0&path=0[/spoiler]