Nagornaya Station is one of the many stations that make up the Moscow metro system. Whilst there is nothing strange about the station in reality, in the Metro series, particularly the novel Metro 2034, the station is one of many "cursed stations," where seemingly supernatural events occur for reasons unexplained. In the case of Nagornaya, this is referred to as the Nagornaya Phantoms - spectral entities that emit a mysterious fog to confuse and disorient those travelling through the station, before snatching away the youngest person, supposedly to devour their life force. Despite the name, it is unknown if the Nagornaya Phantoms are actually ghosts or some species of mutant that has developed the ability to release a sort of fog to disorient prey.
In the novel Metro 2034, the former ranger Hunter, accompanied by the novel's primary protagonist Homer and a soldier name Ahmed, enters the station whilst checking on the mysterious events surrounding Tula Station on behalf of the commandant of Sevastopol Station. As they near the station, Ahmed tells Homer about the last time he passed through, saying that if the phantoms attack them, he will die this time, since he survived the last encounter. As if to prove his point, the ghostly fog envelops the station. Ahmed starts seeing the phantoms, shooting in their direction, though every shot fails to hit a target. Meanwhile, Hunter disappears into the fog, leaving the old man and the soldier alone. After a protracted firefight with shadows, Homer and Ahmed attempt to escape, getting lost in one of the reversing tunnels and ending up returning to the station. When this happens, Ahmed loses all hope, telling Homer to escape without him and that he's the one the phantoms want. Mid-sentence, he is cut off by something dragging him towards the ceiling, killing him before he can even scream. Homer then starts firing wildly at whatever he can find, only to be knocked out by Hunter, who proceeds to drag him out whilst he is unconscious. When asked by Homer on why the phantoms didn't kill him, Hunter replies, "They couldn't stomach me,"[1] though whether this implies that the phantoms are indeed living creatures is up for debate. Whatever the case, the phantoms are able to recognise the threat Hunter poses to their continued existence, as when the pair is forced to pass through Nagornaya on their return to Sevastopol, the phantoms allow them to pass through unmolested.
- ↑ Metro 2034: Chapter 5 - "Memory"