阿爾喬姆和彼得·安德列維奇現(xiàn)在正在距離那個所謂的“安全邊界”五十米——四百五十米標(biāo)識處巡邏，是最遠(yuǎn)的一所崗哨。那些車燈每天檢查一次，而今天的檢查在幾小時前已經(jīng)完成了。自從軍隊離開后，那些被趕走的變異野獸，就在醞釀著下一次的襲擊，可能是因為那誘人的搖曳火光，也可能是他們那難以控制的嗜血本性，瞄準(zhǔn)著地下手無寸鐵的幸存者們......

They were now on patrol at the four hundred and fifth metre, fifty metres from the boundary post. The boundary was checked once a day and today’s inspection had been completed several hours ago. Now their post was the outermost and, since the last check, the beasts that the last patrol might have scared off would have certainly begun to crawl closer once again. They were drawn to the flame, to people...

阿爾喬姆回到了自己的座位，問道：“所以在波列扎耶夫車站究竟發(fā)生了什么？”盡管他已經(jīng)從站臺中的販子那兒聽說了這令人膽寒的故事，他依然想再多了解一些相關(guān)的小道消息，他的樣子像極了那些小孩，迫不及待地追問無頭變異怪和暗魘是如何綁架人類孩子的故事。

Artyom settled back down into his seat and asked, ‘So what actually happened at Polezhaevskaya?’

Although he already knew this blood-curdling story (from the traders at the station), he had an urge to hear it again, like a child who feels an irrepressible urge to hear scary stories about headless mutants and dark ones who kidnap young children.

“波列扎耶夫？什么？你沒聽說過？這是個很詭異的事件，不僅僅是詭異，還有恐怖。一切都得從他們消失的哨兵開始說起。一個個走出隧道口執(zhí)勤后再也沒有回來。哼，說來也是，他們的哨兵和我們不一樣，全都是些新兵蛋子，也正因為這樣，那兒的營地越來越小，人口也隨之不斷減少。反正不管怎樣，那兒的哨兵開始不斷消失。出去一隊，失聯(lián)一隊。起初他們懷疑是被什么東西劫持了，就在這崎嶇復(fù)雜的隧道里也算情有可原...”阿爾喬姆聽著這些話感到脊背一涼。“然而不管是他們的搜尋隊，還是站內(nèi)的人，用探照燈照遍了所有可能的地方，也沒有看見任何東西。半小時，一小時，兩小時，花再多時間也只是徒勞。他們想知道那些失蹤的哨兵究竟去了哪里，畢竟那些哨兵一般不會走出一公里的范圍，他們按規(guī)定無論如何不能走得太遠(yuǎn)，而且他們也不是傻子......咱長話短說，那兒的人迫不及待地想要找出那些失蹤人員，于是請求增援部隊一遍又一遍地搜尋，喊著失蹤人員的名字，只可惜一切枉然。最后搜救隊放棄了，哨兵的失蹤已成定局。連人影都未曾看見，甚至沒有聽見一丁點兒聲音，仿佛從來沒有存在過一樣?？傊詈笠稽c線索都沒有?！?/p>

‘At Polezhaevskaya? What, you didn’t hear about it? It was a strange story. Strange and frightening. First their scouts began disappearing. Went off into the tunnels and didn’t come back. Granted, their scouts are completed green, nothing like ours, but then again, their station’s smaller, a lot less people live there...well, used to live there. So anyway, their scouts start disappearing. One detachment leaves - and vanishes. At first they thought something was holding them up - up there the tunnel twists and turns just like it does here... ’ Artyom felt ill at ease when he heard these words. ‘And neither the patrols, nor those at the station could see anything, no matter how much light they threw at it. No one appeared - for half one hour, then for an hour, then two. They wondered where the scouts could have gone - they were only going one kilometre in. They weren’t allowed to go any further and anyway, they aren’t total idiots... Long story short, they couldn’t wait to find out. They sent reinforcements who searched and searched, and shouted and shouted - but it was all in vain. The patrol was gone. The scouts had vanished. And it wasn’t just that no one had seen what had sound... not a sound. There was no trace of them whatsoever.'

阿爾喬姆已經(jīng)開始后悔讓彼得·安德列維奇復(fù)述波列扎耶夫車站的故事了。彼得相比其他人更加見多識廣，所以對那件事的細(xì)節(jié)描述得更加到位；不管怎樣，他對那件事情所了解的細(xì)節(jié)是車站里的商販做夢也想不到的。阿爾喬姆渾身都起雞皮疙瘩，盡管他就坐在火堆旁，也依然感覺到明顯得不適。此時從隧道中傳來的任何細(xì)微的響聲，即使放在平時是多么地司空見慣，現(xiàn)在也開始刺激著阿爾喬姆的神經(jīng)。

Artyom was already beginning to regret that he had asked Pyotr Andreevich to recount the story of Polezhaevskaya. Pytro Andreevich was either beter informed, or was embellishing the story somewhat; but in any case, he was telling details of the sort that the traders couldn't have dreamed, despite being sent a chill over Artyom's skin, and he became uncomfortable even sitting next to the fire. Any rustlings from the tunnel, even the most innocent, were now exciting his imagination.

（彼得·安德列維奇看著被嚇得一驚一乍的阿爾喬姆，搖了搖頭獨自暗笑，繼續(xù)補充著故事余下的內(nèi)容。）

“這下，你了解了吧。他們因為沒有聽見任何槍響，所以推測一開始的那批哨兵是自行離開的——他們可能對營地中的某些方面心懷不滿，早就想跑了。如果是這樣的話，就讓這幫該死的見鬼去吧。如果他們想要活得安逸，如果他們想和形形色色的流氓地痞打交道，那就讓他們四處流浪去吧，直到滿意為止。這種小事在別處也屢見不鮮，也算容易推測?？稍谝恢芎?，仍有一隊哨兵消失了。他們本不該跑出車站半公里外距離的，然而，這一切又再次發(fā)生了。附近依然沒有任何痕跡，就好像他們?nèi)碎g蒸發(fā)了一般。于是車站里剩下的人開始擔(dān)憂起來。此時他們內(nèi)外交困，首當(dāng)其沖的便是在僅僅一周內(nèi)就損失了兩個中隊。他們必須要為此做些什么來應(yīng)對這種局面。我認(rèn)為，他們不是覺得自己應(yīng)該做，而是不得不去做。他們根據(jù)以往建造碉堡的經(jīng)驗，在站點外三百米處設(shè)置了隔離網(wǎng)，拖拽著一袋袋沙袋充當(dāng)戰(zhàn)壕，在沙袋上架起了機關(guān)槍和探照燈，枕戈待戰(zhàn)。同時他們還派遣了一名信使前往貝戈瓦亞車站，因為現(xiàn)在貝戈瓦亞、1950大道和波列扎耶夫這三處車站正處結(jié)盟的關(guān)系。起初，十月之地也是在聯(lián)盟之中的，但不知道是什么緣故，發(fā)生了一些意外，導(dǎo)致那里的環(huán)境變得不再適合人類居住，幸存者全都逃走了。“

'So, there you have it. They hadn't heard any gunfire so they decided that the scouts had simply left them - maybe they were dissatisfied with something, and had decided to run. So, to hell with them. If it's an easy life they want, if they want to run around with all kinds of riff-raff, then let them run around to their heart's content. It was simpler to see it that way. Easier. But a week later, yet another scout team disappeared. And they weren't supposed to go any further than half a kilomere from the station. And again, the same old story. Not around, not a trace. Like they'd vanished into thin air. So then they started getting worried back at the station. Now they had a real mess on their hands - two squadrons had disappeared within a week. They'd have to do something about it. Meaning, they'd have to take measures. Well, they set up a cordon at the three-hundredth metre. They dragged sandbags to the cordon, set up machine guns and a spotlight - according to the rules of fortification. They sent a runner to Begovaya - they'd established a confederation with Begovaya and 1950 Street. Initially, October Field had also been included, but then something had happened, no one knows exactly what - some kind of accident. Conditions there had become unliveable, and everyone had fled.'

“總之，波列扎耶夫派了一個信使去貝戈瓦亞車站發(fā)出警告，告知他們自己有麻煩了，需要支援，否則可能會發(fā)生不可挽回的事情。第一個信使剛抵達(dá)貝戈瓦亞，那兒的人只是思考著該如何回應(yīng)波方的支援請求；而當(dāng)?shù)诙€信使精疲力盡地抵達(dá)后，就被告知波方所搭建的防守?fù)?jù)點已經(jīng)被攻陷，甚至一槍未響。整個據(jù)點遭受到了慘絕人寰的屠殺。而且死狀詭異，似乎都是在睡夢之中受害，那才是其可怕的地方！然而奇怪的是，他們那時候都神經(jīng)緊繃，不可能睡著，不單單因為恐懼，他們都還接到了上級命令，睡覺是明令禁止的。聽到這些消息后，貝戈瓦亞的人才意識到如果他們不再做點什么的話，同樣的事情也會發(fā)生在他們這個地區(qū)。貝戈瓦亞立刻組織了一批老兵作為軍事力量，大約有一百來號人，配備著機關(guān)槍和榴彈炮。當(dāng)然，這些肯定花費了一些時間，大約一天半吧，然而盡管如此，他們還是調(diào)遣了一隊人前往支援波列扎耶夫。當(dāng)支援部隊進(jìn)入波方車站，此時那里能留下來的恐怕只有孤魂野鬼了。甚至連一具尸體都沒看見，只有隨處可見的血跡。這下你懂了吧，他媽的根本沒人能知道這一切是誰干的。我作為一個人，難以相信人類能做出這種事情。”

'Anyway, then they sent a runner to Begovaya, to warn them that, as they said, trouble was afoot, and to ask for help, should anything happen. The first runner had only just made it to Begovaya - and the people there were still considering their answer - when a second runner arrived at Begovaya, lathered in sweat, and said that their reinforced cordon had perished to a man, without firing a single shot. Every last one of them had been slaughtered. And it was as if they'd been butchered in their sleep - that's what was scary! But they wouldn't have fallen asleep, not after the scare they'd had, not to mention the orders and insturctions. At this point, the people at Begovaya understood that if they did nothing, the same story would begin in their neck of the woods as well. They equipped a strike force of veterans, about a hundred men, machine guns, and grenade launchers. Of course, that all took a bit of time, about a day and a half, but all the same, they dispatched the group to go and help. And when the group entered Polezhaevskaya, there wasn't a living soul to be seen. There weren't even bodies - just blood everywhere. There you go. And who knows who the hell did it. I, for one, don't believe that humans are capable of such thing.'