The cold air that greeted them brought a smile to Darren's face; the open sweatshirt he wore allowed it to sneak into his clothing, and he found himself releasing a slow, rattling sigh of relief as he climbed slowly up the concrete steps behind the others. It was most refreshing.<br/><br/>A couple members of the group turned back to get items they'd left behind, and there was a momentary exchange with a guard who was eyeing Viktor's pistol, but it was handled in an effective fashion by the Stalker leader and the group reached the surface without any real incident.<br/><br/>It was strange, being out under the sky once again with no rooftop above or walls around, blocking out the wind and the sights of the world. The sky was dark, and a gloom hung over everything as was the norm, but it was nice to know that it was open, at least. He inhaled deeply, still grinning, as Rock Hammer was carried into a nearby building that looked like the remnant of an old apartment complex.<br/><br/>While some of the others worked to clear out the interior of the building's ground floor, Darren slung the quarterstaff over a shoulder, before removing the crossbow from his back and readying a bolt. He'd missed the surface, but it was still extremely dangerous, being in what remained of Moscow's surface world without any proper insight into what the area contained. Still, he'd spent a long time alone in the wilderness, and more important than walls were people - they<span style="font-style: italic">were</span>a big group, and there was safety in numbers.<br/><br/>He did a quick circuit around the area, as quick as his mobility would allow, anyway, scanning the shadows for anything unsavory. It was impossible, though - too many ruins, too many hiding places and not enough light. If there was anything hidden in the darkness, they simply had to hope that it wasn't hostile. Or that it wouldn't make a move until daylight. With pursed lips he concluded his rounds and returned to the others, finding them grouped around a fire that had been set up at the center of the room.<br/><br/>A woman he didn't know laughed, and responded to Viktor's comment; Darren smiled, as he limped inside, headed towards the prone form of the sleeping giant.<span style="font-weight: bold"> "Good point, that,"</span>he rasped as he reached the side of the one called Rock Hammer. The grin faded as he stared down, worried by the behemoth's continued slumber. He was certain the mutant would've done some serious damage to himself - and others - if he hadn't intervened, but that didn't stop Darren from feeling somewhat guilty. He put a hand on a shoulder that was larger than his chest, hoping to incite some kind of reaction.<span style="font-weight: bold">"The bad is outweighed by the fact that we're still breathing. Almost got ugly, back there."</span><br/><br/>The fire wasn't unpleasantly hot, but he didn't like being inside again so soon after being freed of the oppression of the Underbelly; he moved close to the entrance and sat down cross-legged, facing a large hole in the wall that was nearly the size of a door. He put the crossbow back onto his back, laid his pack on the ground beside him and put the quarterstaff down across his lap.<br/><br/>After a moment Darren clasped his hands on it and put his head down on them, as if praying.