Chapter 5: Big Zoney Life
Chapter 5
Big Zoney Life
The next day, I woke up slowly to the morning’s first sun rays peeking through the broken windows. A slight breeze was blowing outside. I smiled and let out a content sigh.
Today is going to be a good day.
Celestia was still curled up in a ball, snuggled against me. She stirred before she opened her sleepy eyes and raised her head, observing her surroundings.
I lowered my gaze to her. “Slept well?” I asked.
“Yes,” she answered, “Thanks to you. Thank you for yesterday, I... needed it.”
I nodded negatively. "No. If anything, I should thank you instead. I feel more... human now," I countered. “And you, how do you feel?”
She smiled. “At peace... finally.” She slowly stood up and walked up to the window, stretching her wings, obscuring the light from outside.
Warm golden sun rays went through her fur and her cyan mane, defining a mesmerizing bright white outline aura around her and bathing the room in a strange emerald hue... it was truly an amazing sight.
Beautiful...
The alicorn smiled to the sight of the morning dawn. “It’s a strange feeling, knowing I’m not raising this Sun... and somehow, this dawn is even more beautiful than mine. It’s really humbling.”
She turned towards me and chuckled, bringing a hoof to her muzzle. “Shut your mouth, you look silly!” She said, amused.
I hadn’t realized I was staring at her slack jawed. I hastily closed my mouth. “Sorry, I was lost... thinking,” I said sheepishly.
She gave me a dubious look. “Thinking, absolutely,” she mused. “I think you were staring at my ass.”
I laughed. "Actually, I was admiring the effects of the Sun on your... body," I said, rather awkwardly.
The alicorn chuckled. "Aww... It's adorabl-"
BANG
A shotgun blast coming from the main tunnel interrupted her.
What the fuck is going on down there?
I woke up, lazily stretching my arms. Snag was laying on the ground next to me, snoring peacefully. Careful not to wake him up, I sat up and scratched my beard, I looked around... everybody was still asleep.
I giggled mischievously.
Absolutely perfect.
I grabbed my shotgun, stood up, pointed it to the ceiling and...
BANG
Grizzly, Mitay, Barin , Snag and Torba instantly jolted awake.
“ARGH MY EARS!” yelled Grizzly, clutching his head in his hands.
Mitay frantically looked around, confused. “Huh? What? We’re under attack?”
Barin covered his head with his arms. “AHH YOU GOD DAMNED FUCKING FUCK CUNT MOTHERFUCK-!”
“Shut up, shut up shutupshutup SHUT THE FUCK UP!” yelled Torba as he shot up, pointing his weapon at Barin.
“FOR FUCK’S SAKE, VANO, I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP!” shouted an angry Snag, giving me a disapproving glare before sitting up and searching in his backpack.
I pouted. “Awww, look who’s mad! You're cute when angry you know that?”
Snag blushed. "Shut it."
I let out a laugh.
Strider and I hurriedly made our way back downstairs. I drew my weapon, ready for anything. Anything, except what I saw. Vano was rolling on the floor laughing while the others were glaring at him.
The giant stood up. “BWAHAHAHAHA you should have seen the looks on your faces! Priceless!” he said, wiping a tear of laughter.
Strider walked up to Vano and raised a fist. I thought he was going to punch him, but Vano did the same and they bumped each other’s fist.
Strange customs humans have.
“My friend, that was completely stupid. But I have to admit, it was amusing,” said the bald stalker with a grin. He paused and looked around. “Now, I believe it is time we part ways. We all have our business to do after all.”
Grizzly rolled his eyes.. "Whatever. We gotta go now, shit to do. You know, scavenging, trespassing, adventuring and such. Been nice meeting you guys," he added, before waving his right arm around. "Mitay, Torba, let’s roll!”
With that, the three stalkers headed outside and went their separate ways, leaving Snag, Barin, Vano, Strider and I together.
“Oh well, I’ gonna fly off too,” declared Barin. “I’ve got stuff to do.”
Strider turned towards Snag. “Wait... You are not going with your friend?” He asked.
Snag snorted. “Friend? I barely know him, we randomly met yesterday. He was tailed by a pack of wild boars and ran up to me, forcing me to follow unless I wanted to be stomped on by the mutants. He’s a pretentious and rude, and a coward. I mean, who the fuck sports an exoskeleton and can’t fight a few mutants?”
“Heh, this guy seems fishy if you want my opinion,” said Vano, munching on some sort of cylindrical, pink food.
Is that meat? Ugh.
“Something was off about him," added the giant.
Strider shrugged. “At least he is gone now,” he replied, before heading back upstairs. "Are you coming Celestia?"
I followed him as He began packing up his equipment. I decided to do the same when my stomach emitted a loud growl. I realized I hadn't eaten anything since the day before.
Strider looked at me. ”Hungry?” He asked.
I smiled sheepishly. “Well, yes. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday... and I don’t have any food on me.”
“Well, I only have this,” He replied, handing me a bread loaf and a can of food.
“Thanks.”
The can contained short, flat beans in a suspicious looking red sauce.
“What are these?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Baked beans, tomato sauce.This is good stuff.”
I looked back at the contents of the tin can.
Beans and tomatoes? Sounds... strange.
I hesitantly took a mouthful of these beans... It was surprising.
Who knew beans would go well with tomato sauce?
I observed Celestia as she ate her beans; I found her reaction very amusing: she was unsure about trying, then at the first bite her eyes widened and she smiled like an idiot, chewing through the rest of the beans with a speed unmatched even by Vano.
I laughed. “Hey, do not eat everything! I need some you know.”
“Aww, what’s the matter bald boy? Afraid that the mean alicorn is going to famish you?” said Celestia, chuckling.
I rolled my eyes as she resumed eating.
While the alabaster alicorn ate, Vano and Snag entered the room. They were animatedly speaking but Vano had a frown on his face.
“You are still worried about that Barin, are you not?” I asked him.
The bearded stalker removed his hand from his chin. “Yes. I have a bad feeling about this guy,” he said, checking the action on his machine gun.
Snag shrugged. “Meh, he’s gone now, let’s worry about moving out.”
“Fair enough,” I said, turning to Celestia. “You ready?”
“Whenever you are,” she replied, smiling through a mouthful of bread.
I chuckled. “Then let's go.”
Snag spoke up. “I’m coming with you guys. That is, if you’ve got nothing against it.”
Vano smiled. “Fine by me!”
We headed out of the tunnel. The sun was now high up in the sky, a fresh breeze was ruffling the vegetation, and no mutants could either be seen or heard. It was the start of a beautiful day in the Zone, a welcome change from the continuous drizzle and the occasional rainstorm. Vano and Snag were walking ahead, side by side and I was closing the formation with Celestia.
The alicorn looked at me. “Where are we going?”
“The anomaly by the parking lot,” answered Vano, turning around. "Deadly radiation and electrical anomalies, you’re gonna love it!”
“We figured it would be the best place to start,” I added. “While you are most certainly under-equipped for anomaly exploring, this anomalous zone is the least dangerous in the area and Vano is a great teacher.”
Celestia nodded. "Makes sense. Besides, radiation seems to strengthen my magic. Should be easy enough."
Vano raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? That's interesting. The scientists at the Bunker would be interested."
The alicorn smiled. "Yeah, I found that out when I was exposed to your artifacts. They all seem to leak raw magic."
"Well rejoice, we're going artifact hunting!" Vano said. “More magics for you!” he added, taking a dramatic pose.
Celestia and I chuckled at his antics.
We made our way to the hill overlooking the old parking lot, nearby the bandit checkpoint. In the distance, there was a derelict car surrounded by two limping bipedal figures.
“Stop,” I ordered. “If we get closer, they will shoot us.”
“Who are they?” asked Celestia.
Snag snorted. “Who were they would be a more appropriate question,” he said.
“Yep. Celly, meet the zombies,” added Vano.
“As I said before, they will attack if we get any closer. Let us dispatch them already.” I raised my rifle and looked through the scope. Surprisingly enough, Celestia did the same. “On the count to three. One, two...”
"YOLOOOOOOOO!!!”
Sigh. Not again.
I facepalmed.
Vano was running down the hill, screaming at the top of his lungs and spraying bullets from his machine gun in the zombies’ general direction. Of course this got their attention.
I sighed, adjusted my scope and aligned it with the first zombie’s head. I pulled the trigger.
BANG
Boom, headshot. One down, two to go.
I aimed at the second zombie, only to see it already lying on the ground, dead. I looked around, wondering who could have killed the last zombie, only to see Snag, holding his scoped SIG-550, smoke pouring from the barrel.
I gave him an appreciative nod. “Nicely done. Now let us get down there,” I said.
We climbed down the hill and walked up to the wrecked car. Vano was waiting for us, visibly annoyed.
“Dude. Not cool,” he began. “Why can’t I have my fun?”
“You had your fun last night,” scowled Snag, making the giant smile awkwardly. “This, right there, was just irresponsible.”
Did Vano just blush?
“Whatever,” he grumbled.
I walked up to the dead zombies. Mine had a small entry hole in the middle of his forehead and half of his occiput was missing from the sheer power of the sniper round while Snag’s had three bloody holes in his chest.
“Nice shooting. Right on the heart.”
I turned towards Celestia. She was trembling, staring wide eyed at the corpses of the zombified stalkers. “T-they’re dead... they’re fucking dead! You killed them!”
I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Hey, remember what I told you?” I asked. “They were lbarely shadows of their former selves, lost in mind and body to the Zone,” I softly said.
She seemed to slightly calm down. Her posture relaxed and her breathing slowed down.
“Yeah,” added Vano, “Zombified stalkers are merely driven by their instincts; some even starve to death. Killing them is not murder, it’s mercy... now loot them, so we can finally advance the plot.”
Dumbfounded, Snag looked at Vano then at me. I shrugged dismissively, as if to say 'He is like that. Do not try to understand.'
I went to 'my' zombie and looked through its things. He was clad in a heavily damaged exoskeleton, had a broken down AK rifle and a strange pistol, which looked like a heavily modified Beretta 92.
This pistol looks in good shape. I should bring it to Cardan so he can give me his thoughts on it, maybe he will be interested.
I stood up and walked to Snag.
"What did you find?" I asked.
“Some stuff. Ammo, supplies and whatnot,” replied the stalker. "And also this nasty piece," he added, showing me a SPAS-12. "I always wanted such a shotgun but simply have never been able to afford one. This one will need repairs though."
I looked at him, surprised. "Never been able to afford one? How is it possible? Your gear looks pretty decent."
Snag smiled slightly. "A guy I tried to scam saved me from... long story short, he got me out of trouble and gave me this rifle,” he explained. “And I worked my ass off for this armor.”
“Scam?”
“It’s a long story.”
I looked at the stalker with suspicion but said nothing.
Strider and the others had gone looting the dead zombies, leaving Vano and I alone.
“Well,” he said, turning towards me. “Time to teach you the basics! You ready?”
I rubbed my forelegs hesitantly and nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be...”
“Okay. If you want to survive in the Zone, you have to become a real stalker. And that means a few things. First: be aware of your surroundings. You must know what’s happening around you. Second: when shit hits the fan, pull the trigger AND run. In a ‘fight or flight’ situation, there’s no time to waste; don’t think, act: fight AND flight. Third: LOOT EVERYTHING.”
The bearded giant paused, taking his breath.
“Now, artifact hunting. You know already that artifact are anomalous formations spawned by anomalies. Retrieving them implies actually navigating through anomalies and a detector is absolutely indispensable for that,” he said, showing me a small handheld grey contraption.
It looked just like mine, except the screen was slightly different, and it had several buttons mine was missing.
“Some, like mine, display the location of anomalies in real time on a screen. Yours, despite being very advanced... doesn’t. This brings me to the first rule of anomaly exploring: don’t chase after moving artifacts and THROW BOLTS. These small metal objects may seem useless, but they trigger a reaction from any anomaly they pass through, instantly spotting them. Cheap, reliable and life saving. Some anomalies will even act as if you actually walked through it, then they then take some time to recharge, allowing you to pass through it in the meantime. Look.”
Vano raised a hand holding a metal bolt and threw it at an anomaly seemingly made of electricity. It seemed to explode in an intense electric discharge with a zap before seemingly disappearing. The bearded stalker immediately ran through where the anomaly had been.
I winced, bracing for the worst, but nothing happened. He had escaped the anomaly unscathed and was now standing on the other side of it.
“See? Your turn now,” he said, looking at me. The anomaly he had run through was still there buzzing as if nothing happened.
I magically raised a bolt above my head. “Are you sure this is safe?” I asked, unsure.
The bearded stalker smiled. “As sure as Bloodsuckers aren’t vegetarian. Come on, go for it!”
Here goes nothing...
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and threw a bolt at the anomaly before running forward. Next thing I knew I was next to Vano, unharmed.
“See?” he said. “Perfectly safe. Now, for proper artifact hunting. You must asbsol-”
“Hey Vano! Snag and I are going to Yanov," interrupted Strider. "We’ve got loot to sell. Meet you both there around noon!”
“No problem, I'll make sure to be on time,” he replied.
I turned towards Snag. “Come on, let us go.”
As we walked off, Vano resumed his lesson. “As I said: your detector is the most important part: only with it equipped and turned on you’ll be able to detect artifacts, or should I say the ideal conditions for an artifact to form...”
His voice faded as Snag and I walked away side by side. I looked at the sky... not a cloud in sight. This persistent weather was quite unusual for the Zone.
“You weren’t very talkative, yesterday,” observed Snag. “Why?”
I grunted. “I am not comfortable around groups of people, especially people I do not know.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why is that?”
“You do not want to know,” I grumbled.
The Clear Sky ranger wannabe raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I see. We all have our secrets. I wouldn’t be proud of my past to be honest.” He shrugged. “Shit happens,” he added awkwardly.
“Speaking of which... what was this ‘scam’ thing you were going on about earlier?” I asked, narrowing my gaze.
Snag sighed. “It’s a long story. I was forced to work for Sultan, the bandit leader in Zaton, to pay my gambling debts. Curiously, the ‘interests’ never stopped climbing and I ended up setting up stalkers for him, just to survive. When I simply couldn’t pay anymore, I stole some shit in a lockbox at Yanov station,” he narrated.
I huffed. “Good idea genius.”
Snag shrugged. “I had only two possibilities: either give the bandits all the stuff I had stolen in hopes it would be enough to cover my debts, or disappear with it. I mean, there was some pretty neat stuff in this box. Weapons, armor, supplies, artifacts... I thought I had a chance. Then Sultan sent me one of his goons. Fucker found me and put two rounds in my gut. I was sprawled on the ground, bleeding out, thinking that I was finished. Sultan’s henchman was about to put another one in my head, then the guy I had robbed showed up. He appeared out of nowhere and blasted Sultan's attack dog into oblivion with his rifle.”
“He?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah. Some stalker. Around your height, brown hair, brown eyes, pretty boy face. Never knew his name though. Anyway, he killed Sultan’s goon, patched me up, gave me his rifle and some supplies after I told him where I stashed his stuff. To say I was surprised would be a big understatement. I set up the guy, stole his shit, and after that, he comes back, saves my ass and gives me his rifle. I still don’t get it. Why did he help me? I dunno. I do like the rifle though,” said the stalker, patting his SIG-550.
The weapon seemed familiar.
“After that I looted the dead bandit, took his pistol and legged it,” he finished, patting the Desert Eagle on his hip. “I've sworn to myself to never ever deal with this bandit scum again. Been clean ever since.”
“I see.”
“Why the fuck did I tell you all that anyway?”
I chuckled. “Because I asked nicely. May I?” I asked, pointing at Snag’s rifle.
“Fuck no. Not unless you tell me your story too.”
I groaned. “Fine. Just promise me you will not do anything... drastic.”
Snag raised an eyebrow. “Why would I?” he asked.
“Just do it.”
“Okay, fine! Jeez. I promise I won’t attack you,” said the stalker, exasperated.
“I used to be a Monolith fighter,” I announced, preparing myself for Snag’s reaction.
His response surprised me. He did not jump in fright. He did not freak out and run away. He did not try to kill me. He just kept walking, a look of understanding on his face.
“I knew I heard your name somewhere before,” he said on a deadpan tone. “Ex-Monolith, heh? That must suck.”
I took a deep breath. “Well, except for amnesia and general lack of trust from most people, it is not so bad,” I explained. “At least I am efficient at what I do.”
"Lack of trust, heh? I can understand that. How did you even got close to Yanov? I mean, if you'd been wearing Monolith armor, you would've been fucking shot on sight."
"Well, my squad and I were lucky enough to meet the previous owner of your rifle," I said, smiling.
Snag’s rifle was actually Strelok’s old SIG-550, passed to the Major and then to him when Snag got saved by him. The guy was almost a living legend among Loners. He had helped so many, almost all of us were in his debt. Not that he actually wanted us to repay us.
We kept talking along the way to Yanov. Snag was actually a rather nice person. A bit foul mouthed at times but I enjoyed his company.
Beats walking alone.
Eventually, the big one story building of Yanov station came into view. I entered the main hall after Snag. The technicians occupy most of the northern wing, while the medic is in the southern one. Everything a stalker needs is there, even peace. It is the only real safe area around Jupiter: even Duty and Freedom have a truce there; not that any of these factions are relevant nowadays.
Upon entering the disaffected train station, we were greeted by the local trader. “Aloooohaa!”
Snag walked up to him. “Hey, Hawaiian, how have you been?”
I went my separate way, as I needed to see the technicians, Cardan and Nitro. I have to admit, their workshop is quite the achievement. They have become associates and now have opened a full service repair shop, offering repairs and modification on anything: weapons, suits, electronics... there was a curtain blocking the view of half of the workshop though. Cardan was sitting down, working on what looked like an 7.62 rifle, while Nitro was fiddling with some sort of radio.
Nitro perked up. “Stalker. What brings you here?”
“I was wondering if Cardan could have a look at these,” I said, producing the pistol I had found on the Zombie corpse.
Cardan raised his gaze from his work and examined the guns. “Hmm, nice looking gun. can I?” he asked.
“Yes, of course,” I said, handing him the pistols. “What were you working on?”
“Oh this?” he asked, picking up the AK. “She started her life as a standard heavy barrel 7.62 NATO FAL 50.41 machine gun, but now she’s more of an accurized battle rifle. She had a milled receiver, which is a good basis for an accurate rifle. Heavier, but hey. Can't have everything! She’s got a chrome lined, heavy barrel with polygonal rifling, NATO-spec rails, batter trigger group... she can still go full auto, but that's not her intended purpose. Polished bolt with custom locking lugs, a revised gas system, custom muzzle brake... the whole shabang, tuned for tight groupings and poratbility. I was giving this piece of art the final touches, she’s an old project of mine: the ultimate Zone-proof battle rifle.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is it not an order?”
The technician waved his hand dismissively. “Nah, I’ve been working on her in my free time, it’s my hobby. I’ve done this kind of thing quite a lot actually. I make unique weapons and from time to time, somebody buys them.”
“So it is for sale?” I asked. While I initially intended to let the technician look over the SVD I had found to give it to Celestia, that rifle gave me question my initial intent.
After all, she deserves something special.
“Yes, if you have the money... very expensive, I'm warning you.” His attention shifted back to the handguns. “But I digress. Concerning your pistol here...”
He checked the action on the handgun, before field stripping it and examining its internals and looking down the sights on the slide.
"...someone got a hard on for the M93R," he commented with a laugh,
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Look at the frame here.”
I moved closer. On the frame, just above the grip, there was a series of small scrapes in the metal, as if it had been slightly cut to accommodate a moving part.
I looked up from the disassembled pistol. “And?” I asked.
Cardan smiled. “And this appears to be traces of machining. Not an original Beretta 93R, that's for sure. I bet its previous owner wanted a replica.”
“And?”
“No difference from the user's standpoint,” said the technician, smirking. “Same caliber as the original, same selective-fire functions, same external appearance, and basically the same mechanical parts... but it's not the original. These mods are illegal, but hey, who cares?” he commented, looking over the gun. "The guy who commissioned that piece really was a connoisseur. Where did you find it?"
“I ran into an exoskeleton wearing zombie at the parking lot anomaly. He had a few supplies, a broken rifle and this pistol on him,” I explained.
“Huh, I see. You got lucky though,” said the technician. “The internals are intact, there’s just a bit of rust going through the finish. The magazines seem usable but you'd be better off using high-cap or even standard M92 mags.”
"I suppose an automatic handgun could be useful for CQB combat. I'll take it. Make it as new! I alos need a few mods to be made on my other pistol," I added, unholstering my M1911 and clearing it.
After explaining what I wanted to the technician, I headed back to the trader. After all, I too had some loot to sell, not to mention equipment to buy for Celestia.
Seeing me approaching, Hawaiian spoke up. “Come on over man. I got all the shit you're ever gonna need.”
I smiled. “I need a few things,” I replied, handing him a list of all the equipment I needed.
The trader looked at the list. “A sleeping bag, a flashlight, a geiger counter, a box of matches, binoculars, a military knife... you’re equipping a rookie or what?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You could say that,” I replied. “Keep going.”
“A toothbrush, a set of flatware... a hairbrush?... veggiefood? Who is that guy?” the trader asked, a confused expression on his face.
I chuckled. “You will know soon enough. Suffice to say... not an ordinary stalker.”
My interlocutor gave me a strange look.
I ignored him and kept talking. “I am also here to sell: I have this SVD rifle I found, and also these,” I said, putting Celestia’s jewelry on the counter.
At the mere sight of the pieces of jewelry, Hawaiian's eyes widened. “These are made out of solid gold! Where in the Zone did you... and these gems! I’ve never heard of let alone seen gemstones that big! They look so pure... clear as water, deep color, flawless cut... I will get them appraised, but you can be sure these gems will be worth a lot!” He exclaimed, before suddenly calming down. “Or maybe not, if these are amethysts. How did you get these pieces again?”
“That is a secret,” I replied. ”How much?”
The trader scratched the back of his head. “Well, it’s a good five kilos... gold pricing is around 15 000 per kilo. That plus the rifle, minus what you’re buying... 65 000 roubles. I’ll get the gems appraised and give you the rest later.”
“Alright, but I will hold on to thi”, I said, picking up the tiara, “I’ll also buy some 9 mil Luger ammo, two high-cap Beretta 92 mags and a sniper scope, with picatinny mount of course. I have also got these to sell,” I added, showing him the two weird stones that resulted from defibrillating Celestia with artifacts.
Hawaiian looked at them and recoiled. “Cobblestone... this is surprising. I wouldn’t dare touching these things, but the scientists will give you a great deal for them. Counting the stuff you’re selling, minus what you’re buying... all I can give you is 57 000,” he announced.
“Alright then.”
With my newly acquired money and equipment, I headed back to the technician’s workshop.
“Ah, stalker, I finished working on the first pistol,” said Cardan, showing me my M1911.
I whistled appreciatively. “You sure work fast. Show me.”
“Every internal part has been cleaned and lubricated, didn’t even need to replace any. The barrel was already threaded, I didn't need to replace it. Longer recoil rod, undercut trigger guard... the grips are as ergonomic as they can get. I added 1911-type night sights on it, I was very glad to learn that these parts fit the gun.”
“Wonderful. How much?”
“9 500 for the 1911, suppressor included, and 6000 for the Beretta, unless you want a custom compensator to go with it.”
"I will take the compensator."
"If I may ask though... why does your 1911 have Monolith markings on it?" asked the technician.
"It's a long story," I began, sighing.
As I summed up my story, I payed up, eyeing the ‘special’ rifle Cardan mentioned before.
“Now, about that special rifle from earlier...”
He looked at me, surprised. “Why would you buy it? The SVU on your back says you're not in need of long eyes.”
I smiled. “Well, it is not for me... Do you have anything to engrave wood... some kind of engraving equipment?” I asked, holding up Celestia’s tiara.
Cardan eyed the piece of jewelry for a moment, gave me a weird look and shrugged, scratching his hair. “Sorry, no can do stalker, we're into practical mods here. What do you need that kind of stuff for, may I ask?”
“I just want to do a bit of cosmetic customization to that rifle, it is for a gift.”
They had nearly killed me. They had taken all of my equipment. But worst of all, they had her. I couldn’t let her at their hands. But I couldn’t do anything.
I was walking. Slowly, but surely, I was making my way to Yanov Station.
I had been working for a while. I looked at my PDA. Two in the afternoon.
Vano and Celestia should have come back now. They must be late. I seriously hope nothing bad happened.
I shrugged off these thoughts and smiled as I examined my engraving work. It was beautiful; a rugged design married to perfection with a flawless ornamentation.
With nothing but my knife, I had carved the buttstock and the handguard of the FN FAL with the same pattern as Celestia's tiara. The curved lines followed the straights of the gun, the fresh wood below uncovered and making them clearer than the rest of the furniture.
It had taken hours, but the end result was well worth it.
I did not know I was this talented. Celly will love it!
I gave the rifle back to the technicians for safe keeping and headed to the hall of the former train station, determined to try out my new pistol. Before I went outside, I bought a few bottles of vodka from Hawaiian for target practice. I wanted to try out my pistols.
My breath was difficult and ragged. It hurt. I was walking. I was wounded heavily. My entire body was aching. My right arm was broken. I felt blood pouring out of the gunshot wounds on my chest. My machine gun was missing. My shotgun was missing. My artifacts were missing. My backpack was missing. My suit was destroyed.
I limped on two legs with difficulty, my head inched forwards, only one goal in mind: warn Strider.
Warn Strider. I have to... warn him... before it’s too late.
As it turned out, the pistol was accurate enough, but had more firepower than my old 1911. Thanks to its folding foregrip, the recoil was manageable, resulting in good groupings at twenty meters, which was well beyond this pistol's intended range.
I was about to turn around and go back to Yanov station when I spotted something in the distance. A limping bipedal figure was approaching.
What in the Zone is a zombie doing here?
Usually, zombies stay away from groups of people. They were rarely sighted anywhere near Yanov station. I frowned, before I took my sniper rifle and aimed at the figure. When I saw who it was through the scope, my heart nearly stopped.
Vano?
He did not look well: all of his equipment was missing and his ruined armor was bloodied. I let my rifle fall to the ground and ran towards my wounded friend.
As I catched up to him he fell to the ground, unconscious. Without thinking, I picked him up and ran to the station.
I slammed the doors open, Vano’s unconscious form in my arms. Everyone’s gaze turned towards me and the stalkers in the station started gathering around.
“MOVE!” I yelled, pushing aside the onlookers
“VANO!” yelled a voice.
Snag appeared among the crowd. “What happened?” he asked in a trembling voice.
“I don’t know,” I replied calmly. “MOVE!” I shouted again at the crowd.
I made my way to the infirmary of the station and laid down Vano on the couch. I checked his pulse... there was none. I put an ear to his bloodied chest. I could hear a beat, insanely fast and way too weak. Without thinking, I got him out of his armor tearing out chunks of the ruined SEVA suit and put my hands on his torso, performing emergency CPR, all the while Snag was observing, teary eyed and breathing heavily.
The medic hurriedly came to Vano’s side. “What’s his status?” he asked.
“Pulseless ventricular tachycardia,” I replied. “He must have lost a lot of blood, likely due to the multiple bullet wounds to the abdomen... no exit wounds,” I observed, moving Vano’s massive form around for examination. “Take my artifacts and close these wounds.”
The medic executed himself, sanitizing and healing Vano’s wounds with my artifacts.
“All external wounds sealed and sanitized. I’ll grab a defibrillator.” With that, the medic left to his infirmary. I kept compressing Vano’s chest.
Again.
And again.
And again.
After what seemed like an eternity, the medic came back with the defibrillator, an old paddle electrodes model.
*wwweeeeeEEEEE*
The medic charged the defibrillator, rubbed the paddles together and pressed them firmly on his chest while I kept on performing CPR, alternating between cardiac massage and artificial respiration.
“CLEAR!” he yelled.
I let go of Vano.
*KACHUNK*
His entire body tensed under the massive discharge of electric current. I checked his heartbeat once again. “Nothing!” I resumed CPR while the medic charged the defibrillator once again.
*wwweeeeeEEEEE*
The medic held he paddles against Vano’s chest once again. “CLEAR!”
*KACHUNK*
“Still no response. Back to CPR,” I said.
*wwweeeeeEEEEE*
“CLEAR!”
*KACHUNK*
“Nothing. DAMMIT!”
“Charging to 300!”
*wwweeeeeEEEEE*
“CLEAR!”
*KACHUNK*
…
Everyone in the room was silent as the medic slowly checked Vano’s pulse.
“Asystole,” he said. “Heart restarting. Condition: stable,” he added after a few seconds.
The stalkers gathered around loudly cheered. Relieved, I sat down on the ground and took a deep breath. My hands were covered in blood. I could taste Vano’s bile in my mouth. I felt like throwing up. But my friend was saved. And for that, I felt relieved more than anything else.
Snag wrapped his arms around me in a bear hug. “Thank you thank you thank you,” he said, crying.
“Errr, you are welcome, I suppose,” I awkwardly replied.
I looked at the medic. “Thanks,” I said, wiping my hands.
“Glad to be of assistance. Your friend will be fine, though he’ll need an extensive antirad treatment; he’s literally emitting gamma waves,” he said with a stern expression on his face.
“Would this help?” I said, taking my Bubble from my backpack.
The medic’s eyes lit up. “Yes, most definitely yes... I could also use your healing artifacts too. Your friends will need them to make a faster full recovery,” he said, attending to Vano’s minor wounds.
I took a deep breath. “Anything you need, I will provide,” I replied, handing him the rest of my artifacts. “Now, if you excuse me, I must discover what happened. Where is Cel-”
I turned around and was about to leave the infirmary when I felt a hand grabbing my arm. I looked down, only to see Vano staring at me, eyes wide open and breathing heavily, a look of strain and pain on his face.
“Bandits. They have her. They attacked us. They came from the Checkpoint. Didn’t *cough* didn’t stand a chance against their numbers. They have her. They *cough* they have her,” he stuttered, before falling unconscious again, his hand letting go of my arm and falling limp at his side.
What?... No... This cannot be happening...
The entire world seemed to fade away, the people around turning into indistinct colored blurs, their voices making an incoherent background noise. I leaned against the wall and slided down to the ground.
I have been so careless, I was not there. I let her, I let them both Vano and her down. What good am I if I cannot protect the rare people considering me as a friend?
I felt a tear form at the corner of my eye and make its way down my cheek.
So this is over huh? She’s been kidnapped and will be sent to some lab for some scientists to experiment on... I will not see her ever again... why do I even care?
I let out a sob.
Then I took a deep breath.
I stood up. I narrowed my eyes. I gritted my teeth. I clenched my fists.
I will not let this stand. Whoever did this is a dead man. Whoever thought it was a good idea to fuck with my friends will die. I shall obliterate him... and all his ‘friends’ with him.
I turned around and left the infirmary, heading for Hawaiian’s store.
“Trader, I need ammo,” I said coldly. “Lots of it.”
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9 mil at 1100 rounds/minute!
Oh, and if you see any mistakes/typos, point them out please. I was very tired as I proofread this.
One thing RRR, I think you mean appraised not expertized. Still good chapter so next one... damn...
2303522
Shit's going down.
I'm thinking of a blowtorch instead of pliers this time.
2303591
the fecal matter is about to hit the oscillating air circulation device.
flaming goddess of death?
Didn't know Vano was gay or Snag for that matter but then again there are no women in the zone for some reason
!
Great chapter really enjoyed reading it also i see that in your story Major Degtyarev is portraid as the fairy-godmother witch i have nothing against it's just the moment i heard the name Snag and how good the Major was to him even giving him the gun made me remember how pissed i was when he stole from my stash i had 150 kg worth of loot in there now try to imagine having to go 5 time back and forth to return it all where it belonged
Sooo to went my anger i simply shot Snag in the head 50 times with a Desert Eagle for good measure... What? He deserved worse! Nobody steals my loot and get's away with it
-Striding, weapons at his sides.
-There will be dashing rain of steel.
-From his fury they can't hide.
-Blood will overflow the wheel.
-But no need Discord here.
-Nothing won't stop this cyclone.
-The last thing is their eyes shall be fear.
-An another day in the Zone.
PS: First, i was thinking about the colts to be the two legendary Silverballer of 47..false hope..
I think that I've used Strelok's SIG-550 more than any other weapon in CoP.
It just kicks so much ass!
2303811
I had thought about it actually. Bald headed badass dual wielding agent 47's guns? fuck yeah.
BUT, and that's a big but... the Silverballers are nothing more than a pair of AMT Hardballers, which are known for being generally shit.
Plus, 10mm is way more badass than .45ACP. A smaller, lighter round, going much faster. More damage. More armor piercing. More accuracy. More to carry.
2303627
You bet.
2303701
At first, my impression of the guy was negative. I mean, he's rude and works with the bandits. But I pity him for some reason. Plus, he's got a solid enough background to make a character. Will he become more important to the story? Who knows...
Also I should have been more subtle on the whole gay thing. Way to go, I blew it.
2303895
Break out the body bags this is going to get messy.
2303895 Dude, why did you made VANO Gay?
WHY!?
This is what I thought of when Vano was sprinting down the hill.
cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/496/496604.jpg
Although, he survived.
3374477 lol nice
2312936 It makes him unique.
Trying to teach Celestia to be a Stalker and yet you split the party during her first lesson? Well done.
I have some issues with your firearms writing so far. These are just the ones off the top of my head.
1. You cannot keep straight whether Celestia has a shotgun or a rifle. You explicitly depicted her receiving a shotgun, but you keep on changing between saying that she has a shotgun or a rifle. It's one or the other, and rifle has never been a catchall term for shoulder arms.
2. You seem to have no idea about how to use MG's like the PKM. You write their use as being like TF2's Heavy holding down the trigger and bum rushing headlong at the enemy. An MG is actually used by setting up a position, ideally prone, and then delivering short bursts of fire at the enemy position. The PKM is also an open bolt weapon, so once the first cartridge is seated, you just pull the charging handle to the rear and let it sit. It's a Kalashnikov design; you don't really need to worry about it getting hurt unless it gets caught in something really nasty.
3. The "marksman" rifle you describe would suck and be physically impossible. You've imagined a frankengun. Firstly, you want a fixed stock for a precision weapon. Secondly, the Saiga (which is what I think you are talking about) is a poor choice for a precision rifle, having the standard AK 16.3" barrel in all variants, including the 7.62x51 one. Thirdly, Saiga guns all have stamped receivers. Fourthly, any Saiga would require significant reworking to use AK mags, or it would need to be fed only from proprietary mags. Fifthly, all the internal modifications are silly and make no sense, such as fucking with the gas system, bolt, locking lugs, and the like. Sixthly, making a weapon select fire fully automatic takes a bit more work than just changing the trigger. Seventhly, a select fire trigger is an awful choice for a marksman weapon. Eighthly, a full auto 308 AK would be a nightmare to control; no amount of tech wizardly will change that. Ninthly, the ability to use a suppressor really is almost a necessity for a sniper weapon, if only to make you harder to find. Tenthly, there is no such thing as "AK-74 style furniture". You're probably thinking of polymer furniture and a stock with the groove in it.
4. It takes a lot of shooting to make any assault rifle, such as a Sig 550, smoke, and the smoke comes from the handguards; it doesn't pour from the barrel.
5. 10MM auto is not the beast you think it is. More powerful loadings were found to give almost everyone issues with controlling the damn thing, and the FBI load made to make it controllable resulted in performance achieved by the 40 S&W, which isn't that dissimilar in performance to 45 ACP. Yes, the stronger loadings are mighty for a handgun, but you must realize that, compared to everything else, handguns suck. An AKS-74U has performance better than almost any handgun, and it's far more useful. Handguns are hard to use in fights.
6. I am perplexed by the lack of 9x19 and 9x18 handguns, the latter especially in Ukraine. Makarov pistols are very common in Ukraine in real life and in the games. 9x19 is common, but behind 9x18 in the East.
7. Didn't your guy have a 338 Lapua AR of some sort in the prologue? Where the hell did it go? Anyway, seeing as nothing like this is in any of the games, I'll base my criticisms on factual bases rather than on the games.
8. PKM and SVU both use 7.62x54R ammunition.
9. Strider seems to be relying far too much on his handgun. He ought to have some sort of non-emergency weapon there in case if he ends up in a pitched fight at close range or in tight quarters, as he finds himself in with alarming frequency. An SMG such as a PP-19 Bizon, MP-5a2, M3, PPSh-43, or an automatic carbine, such as an AKS-74, AMD-65, HK33a2, or an REC-7. Alternatively, you could give Strider a weapon which can be used to precision at range, but also can hold its own in a firefight, like a FAL or a G3.
10. You seem to be fixated on using weird weapons with uncommon magazines and ammunition, which would be extremely difficult to supply in the zone. 10MM auto and 338 Lapua are the worst offenders. Neither round is particularly common, but the Lapua is more common in limited service around the world. 10MM auto is pretty much almost exclusively confined to America, except for some Danes who are issued it for defense against bears.
"The medic executed himself"
I spotted a couple of errors, but this was my favourite
You have problems with the past and present tense of words.
Considering this guy appears to be elite even among soldiers whom fighting even one-on-one against is suicide...they're screwed. Like sticking your head in a Tyranid's mouth screwed.
4061700 I was rereading the fic and looking at comments. I looked at yours and had an idea.
Medic.exe. X)))
6148297
Is it as screwed as going up against a entire team of thorns in destiny?
or
as screwed as doing emerald or ruby weapons with shit gear and stats screwed?
7418620
Both, I guess. Why choose when you can have it all?
Wwait, wait, this is limited to Stalkers only? Fuck, all this time...
Him?
I'm an ass...