Currency Exchange Booth Survivor

Currency Exchange Booth Survivor
Physical Information
Gender:	Female
Biographical Information
Born:	1990s (probably)
Died:	2013
Quotes
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In the novel, while Artyom is waiting for Ulman to pick him up to deliver the final blow to the dark ones, he ascends to the surface from Exhibition, and has some time to kill while Ulman arrives.

Upon taking a look around, he notices a kiosk with the title "currency exchange" and uses it as shelter from an attacking demon. Inside he finds the corpse of a lady, with a marker in hand, and the walls covered with her accounts of her last days alive. While waiting for Ulman to arrive, Artyom reads these accounts.

Transcript

Intro: "I am writing this because I am bored, and because I'm going insane. I've been in this kiosk for three days now - I'm afraid to go outside. From the window I can see about 10 people who didn't make it to the Metro, who suffocated and are still lying there. It's good that I had time to close the holes of the kiosk. I'll try to wait until the wind takes the cloud away. They wrote that in a day or two, the danger would disappear."

July 9: "Tried to get into the Metro. There's a wall at the end of the escalator that wasn't there before. I knocked and knocked, but no one opened. After 10 minutes, I started feeling really bad, and came back here. There are a lot of corpses here, they all smell. I broke the window of a store, took some water and chocolate - at least now I won't starve. I feel very weak. There's a full safe of Dollars and Rubles, and I can't do anything with them. Turns out they're just papers."

July 10: "They kept on bombing. To my right, near Prospekt Mira there were explosions heard the entire day. It's strange - I thought that there was no one left, but yesterday a tank drove by. I tried to run outside, but didn't make it. I miss you, Mom and Lyov. I felt sick the whole day, threw up a few times. Then I fell asleep."

July 11: "A strangely burned man passed by my kiosk. Where was he hiding all this time? He kept on sobbing and coughing. It was very scary. He went down the escalator, and I heard loud thuds. He was probably banging on the same door I saw. Then everything went quiet. I'll see tomorrow, whether they opened the door for him."

July 12: " I can't leave. Rain was falling the whole day, and I couldn't tell whether I was sleeping or not. I spoke with Lyov today for a whole hour. He promised he would marry me. Then mom came - her eyes poured out of her head. Then I was alone again. I'm so lonely. When is this all going to end, when will someone rescue us? Some dogs came, and ate the corpses. Finally, thanks. Felt sick and threw up."

July 13: "I've still got some food left - canned food, chocolate, and water,but I don't want anymore. At least a year will pass before everything returns to normal. The Great Patriotic War went on for five years - nothing could be longer than that. Everything will be okay. Someone will find me."

July 14: "I don't want this anymore. I don't want this anymore. Bury me with dignity, and not in this infernal kiosk. I'm suffocating. Thanks, Phenazepam. Good night."

The account continues in illegible writing.

Trivia

• Phenazepam is a Soviet/Russian drug used to treat neurological diseases such as insomnia, alcohol withdrawal, and epilepsy. Sudden discontinuation after prolonged use can cause restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, seizures, convulsions, and death.
  • The currency exchange booth survivor likely took Phenazepam for one of the above conditions. After being trapped in the booth for over a week, she would be suffering the withdrawal symptoms. Combined with the radiation poisoning, she probably died soon after her final July 14 entry.