//------------------------------// // Chapter 7: Such is Life in the Zone // Story: See the Zone and Survive // by RoadRunneR //------------------------------// Chapter 7 Such is life in the Zone I woke up with a start. I was laying on my back. The ground was shaking. A rotten smell was in the air. I could hear an engine. Rain. Thunder. Where am I? I opened my eyes. Darkness. Wooden floor. A metal structure was above me covered with a dirty fabric soaked with water. I realized I was in an old military truck. I tried to move. ARRRGH, THE PAIN! I gasped silently. I managed to lift my head and take a look at my surroundings. At least half a dozen stalkers were there, laying around immobile. All of them were heavily wounded. One was laying against the back door of the truck. As lightning struck outside, I saw that half of his face was missing, the other half was bloodied beyond recognition. Is he even alive? What is going on? I could hear a buzzing sound as my vision started to fade. A dark form hovered above me, muttering something. There was a flash of lightning. “GUUUUUUUUUUUHH” I woke up with a gasp and coughed violently. I felt the ferrous taste of blood in my mouth. My whole body was numb. I opened my eyes. Through the cracked visor of my helmet, I could see the crescent moon high up in the sky, partially obscured by dark blue clouds. I sat up with difficulty, removed my helmet and got a bearing of my surroundings. I was not in that truck anymore. I was back at the container warehouse the bandits occupied. Fuck, I hate these dreams. The rain had stopped. My brow was bleeding, probably broken, I was soaked to the bone and covered in mud and ash. The main building of the container depot was reduced to a smoking, charred wreck. The walls had crumbled on themselves and the roof seemed to have simply evaporated. I slowly stood up and walked to the smoldering ruins. There was nothing in there except rubble and molten metal... and I knew Celestia was in there when it happened. Is she... dead? She was nowhere to be found. Not a body, not even a pile of ash. She... she is dead. I felt a wave of a feeling I didn’t know overcome me. I felt naked, powerless, but worst of all, I felt lonely, abandoned. I sat down on a pile of rubble, letting the news sink in. I pulled her tiara out a pouch of my vest. I did not know why I kept it, it seemed like a thing I had to do. I silently observed the golden crown, my head void of any thought. It was damaged but really beautiful: the perfectly cut gem in the center seemed to absorb the light of the full moon, reverberating it along the engraved lines ornamenting the tiara. My hands tensed around the golden crown. No, No. She cannot be dead. I shook my head and gazed around me. I could see nothing but rubble, ash and dead bodies. I stood up and angrily kicked a rock sending it flying a few meters away before it hit the ground with a thud. I said I would help her damn it!... And now... she is gone. I haggardly walked around, trying to wrap my mind around what happened. The air was filled with the scent of smoke, gunpowder and the sickening stench of blood and burning flesh. Corpses were littered everywhere. I could identify some as bandits, but most were too crippled to be recognized. Some were burnt to a crisp, their charred remains unidentifiable. Others were cut wide open, their internal organs sprouting from their body as if a maniac had begun to gut them but never finished his job. One had his arms torn off from his torso, the missing appendages laying a few meters away, clutched around a metal pole in the ground. One was pinned to the wall by his own weapon, his face crisped in an expression of sheer terror. Another was sitting against a metal container, headless; everything above his shoulders plastered on the wall in a mush of blood, brain matter and broken pieces of bone. I shivered. What could have done that? I suddenly felt light headed... weak. Everything around me was spinning. I felt my legs give up and I fell to my knees, breathing heavily. What is happening to me? Something sticky stained my hands when I put them on my thighs. A familiar ferrous taste came to my mouth. I spat blood. I looked at my hands... both of them were bloodied and the red liquid was making its way inside of the fingerless gloves. My thighs were covered in blood too. I patted myself and felt something stuck in my side. Shit. I am going to bleed out... I spat blood again and sat down, already resigned to my fate. So this is it. I failed to protect everyone I managed to befriend and now I am going to slowly die alone... …what am I saying? The shack! Everything the bandits have is there. If I am lucky Vano’s artifacts will be there too. My mind solely focused on this new goal, I stood back up with difficulty and limped to the bandits’ armory. Centimeter by centimeter, I was advancing. My breath was ragged, my step was unsteady, my vision was blurred, my whole body was trembling and my head was spinning, but I advanced. I struggled to walk, fighting against unconsciousness like an exhausted swimmer fights against the water. I had to if I wanted to live. If I fell unconscious I would never wake up again. I do not have for long... I arrived at the shack. I entered it and hastily searched through Vano’s gear. I took my friend’s Kolobok and felt around for whatever was impaling me. I got a good grasp on it and yanked it out in one motion. I gagged in disgust, nearly passing out. I may not feel pain because of my Monolith... heritage, but the sensation of having a foreign object being pulled off from my guts was far from pleasant. I sat there, immobile, fighting against the urge to throw up, only to empty the contents of my stomach on the ground half a minute later. I pressed the healing artifact against my chest, not bothering to clean myself. After a short while, my wounds began healing and my vision started to clear up. I sighed in relief and wiped most of the blood and vomit off me before examining the object I had pulled out of my side. A metal pipe? Wait...it looks like th- I apprehensively grabbed my sniper rifle slung across my back. It was there... or at least, what was left of it. Only half of the barrel was still in place, the other half was on the ground in a puddle of blood. The gas system of the rifle was torn in half, receiver was torn open and the lens of the scope was cracked. I sat there, staring at the destroyed gun. First Celestia, now my rifle, my weapon, my loyal companion who helped me out of so many close calls... taken away from me. Taking deep breaths, I examined the inside of the armory, trying to focus on something. There was a lot of AK-pattern rifles, handguns and ammo on the shelves and even a few soviet WW2 guns. I could even see a Duty Radiation suit and a sort of military-grade battle dress in a corner. Smuggled by Barin, no doubt about it. I took everything I could including the suits of armor, leaving only a few handguns and soviet rifles. These should help me make some money back. I took Vano’s belongings and stood up. I eyed Celestia’s... I decided to take them too and make her a nice grave somewhere sunny to bury her things there. Yet another anonymous tomb among so many. After casting one last glance around me, I equipped myself with an AKS-74u that was laying on a shelf. Rare thing. I put a few magazines in the pouches of my vest now stained with puke and blood before taking a few bottles of vodka and smashing them on the ground. I ignited a couple of road flares and threw them in the puddle of alcohol. I observed the flames as they began to eat up the wooden floor of the small shack, leaving black trails on the walls, before turning around, exiting the building and and leaving the compound, heading to whatever was coming to me. I walked, looking to the ground, my head occupied with thoughts I wanted to banish. She is dead. I failed. And now what? Go back to the ‘normal’ life of a stalker?... I let out a long sigh, both angered and saddened at losing her. ...maybe. Why am I so affected by that anyway? It is not the first time someone I know dies. A distant mutant scream shook me out of my thoughts. I internally sighed and looked up. I could see a million stars shining in the sky and the moon was half hidden by a deep blue cloud. I would have found the sight beautiful in other circumstances. I sighed and lowered my gaze to the road in front of me before resuming my mournful walk. When I raised my head again, I noticed that there was something ahead, a small speck of white and contrasting against the rotten green of the grass in the distance. It cannot be... My heart raced as I hurried to the spot of color. It looked like a quadruped creature lying on its side. No, it is... It is her, it is really her! Celestia was there, lying on her side, weakly trying to kick away a lone blind dog curiously sniffing her. I killed the dog with a burst from my rifle and threw its corpse away before and kneeling beside the alicorn. She was covered in blood, the tip of her horn seemed to have burned but she was physically unharmed: no fever, her heartbeat was strong and her breathing was steady. I gently put a hand to her cheek. She weakly opened her eyes, raised her head and looked at me. “S-Strider? Is that you?” she asked in a raspy voice. I sighed in relief and smiled. “Yes, it is me. You can rest now, You are not alone," I reassured her. I cleaned the grime covering Celestia, gently wrapped her in my blanket and picked her up in my arms. I stood up and walked off to Yanov station. I lowered my gaze to her, only to discover that she had fallen asleep. I thought you dead... how did you end up here, covered in blood? Another wave of a strange feelings overcame me, but this time, it was not cold and dreadful. It felt warm, peaceful... and relieving. I felt happy. Why is there a tear making rolling down my cheek then? A twinge in my shoulder pulled me from my thoughts: a Blowout was incoming. I turned around and ran to the nearest cover, a small underground structure at the feet of the hill near the train tracks leading to Yanov. I hurried my pace and the building came into view soon enough. The characteristic rumble of a brewing Blowout could already be heard in the distance. Celestia still curled up in my arms, I entered the building and gently laid her down on the ground and covered her with a blanket. I let her rest there and pulled out my pistols to check them. Their metal frame and slide were littered with scratches and the finish was very worn out, but they were still in one piece at least. I decided to take them apart completely. As it turned out, no parts were missing or damaged, and once reassembled, they seemed to function just fine. Surprising. These pistols are a lot tougher than I thought. I could hear a few zombies in the adjacent room. I quickly dispatched them and piled their bodies in a corner, before going back to where I had left Celestia. Outside, the blowout was just about to hit. I decided to move the alicorn to a safer place deeper into the structure. I sat next to her, waiting for the Blowout to pass. It seemed like an eternity before I could finally go outside again. The Zone seemed peaceful on this night. The night sky was partially obscured by white clouds. I shivered and readjusted my scarf. The night was exceptionally cold. I did not like this weather. I sighed and rubbed my temples, thinking about what happened back at the bandit warehouse. What in the Zone happened back there? How did this building explode? How did Celestia end up on the road? I had so many questions. Hopefully she could answer them. I went back inside. Concerned, I observed the alabaster alicorn. She moved, thrashed and kicked a lot in her sleep. “No... leave me alone... don’t...” she mumbled, still asleep. I sighed and readjusted the blanket covering her, before sitting beside her and putting a hand on forehead. She had a slight fever, nothing worrying though. Suddenly, she burst her eyes open and she shot up. “NO!” she yelled. I recoiled at her outburst, surprised. She frantically looked around before she buried her head in my chest. “Why?” she asked, sobbing. “Why-y-y...?” I said nothing and gently wrapped my arms around her. She stayed still and did not make a sound except for her quiet weeping. I did not say a thing stroking her mane. When I lowered my gaze to her she had fallen asleep, tears caking her alabaster fur. What happened to you? I wished I knew... if only I had been there. I remained still for a while, Celestia cradled in my arms before deciding to get some rest before sunrise. I laid the alicorn down on the ground and covered her with a blanket before sitting down next to her. I draped myself with my coat and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes and slowly drifted to sleep. Grunting in pain, I slowly stirred and sat up. My whole body was stiff and aching. I shook my head and scratched my beard. I was instantly tackled in a hug by Snag. “I was so worried! Are you okay?” I chuckled. “I’m in one piece,” I said, returning the hug, giving him a peck on the forehead. Bonesetter turned around and looked at me. “You look better,” he said. Snag sat down next to me. “How do you feel?” he asked meekly. “I hardly feel any better,” I deadpanned, standing up. “Ugh. Fuck this, I’m gonna see what Hawaiian’s got in stock.” Bonesetter frowned. “You shouldn't leave yet, but... I can't keep you here forever,” he said. “Stay out of trouble.” “Yeah, yeah,” I replied, heading for the exit of the infirmary.. “You coming, dear?” I asked Snag. “Of course handsome.” We both left the medic’s and headed for Hawaiian’s hop. He greeted us with his usual catchphrase and we began to do business. “Watcha got for me?” I asked. The trader smirked. “I dunno, what do you want?” he asked. “ I got a whole new stock, take a look at this,” he added, showing me the backroom of his shop. I gazed upon the stockpile of ordnance in the room. I felt like Ali Baba when he first entered the forty thieves’ cavern. Everything a stalker ever dreamed of was there. My eyes stopped upon a shotgun and a very nice set of armor. I giggled like a schoolgirl. Oh man, I’ve always wanted one of these! I woke up to the sound of automatic gunfire in the distance. Finally the Zone seemed to be normal again. Celestia was sitting in a corner, distractedly chewing on an old bread loaf. “How do you feel?” I asked crouching down next to her. She did not even acknowledge me and kept on eating absent mindedly. I tried to gain her attention, once again to no effect. After a few more tries, I gave up. I sighed and went outside. I looked at the sky. As far as I could see, it was entirely obscured by white clouds. They were not their usual grey color announcing rain but a pristine, almost blinding shade of white; forming a woolly, surreal moving ceiling. Strange. Never saw that kind of weather before. It was very cold as well. Shivering, I readjusted my scarf. My stomach growled. Fuck. I should have eaten something after using that healing artifact. Ignoring my hunger, I went back inside. Celestia was sitting in the same corner, only this time she was cleaning her shotgun. The weapon laid disassembled before her and she was in the process of polishing its wooden parts. There was something... off to her. Her movements were mechanical and her gaze was unfocused, as if she was trying not to think. I did not know what happened to her, but I knew she was not well. I had seen rookies being literally broken down by the Zone. I did not want this to happen to her. I approached her. “Are you alright?” I asked. “I’m fine,” she replied, not bothering to look up. I sighed. I am not going to help that way. I stood back up and sat down in the other corner of the room. After reassembling her rifle, Celestia raised her head and walked up to me. She looked very tired. Her blue mane was a mess, her ears were folded on her head and her eyes had bags under them. Without a word, she laid down next to me and put her head on my lap. “Are you alright?” I asked again. “M’fine,” she replied, snuggling against my side. She did not look fine though... which was understandable considering what she had been through. We stood still for an eternity, the silence disturbed only by the occasional distant gunshot outside. Staggering under the weight of the supplies I had bought from Hawaiian, I entered the technicians’ workshop, Snag following me suit. I dropped everything on the table Cardan was working at. The gunsmith looked at me, dumbfounded, before examining what I had bought. His gaze switched back to me, an interrogative expression on his face. I nodded, smirking. “You sure you want me to modify these Vano?” asked the technician. I shrugged. “Well, yeah. You’re supposed to be the expert with this kind of stuff.” The technician sighed. “I suppose I am, but I’ve never worked on this generation of exoskeleton before. And this shotgun! How much did you even pay for it?” Snag laughed. “Artifact hunting pays well it seems. Hawaiian got new stock recently, and Vano here had a metric fuckton of money to spend.” “Now are you going to get to work or what?” I asked. Cardan rubbed his hands together. “Right away!” Celestia had finished packing her things. She looked left and right repeatedly, pacing back and forth nervously, a concerned look on her face. I hoped she was just making sure she did not forget anything and not observing her surroundings out of paranoia. “Are you ready?” I asked. “Where are your weapons?” I sighed. “I lost my sniper rifle,” I half-lied, waving dismissively. “I have this now,” I added, showing her the AKS-74u I had grabbed from the bandit’s armory. “Nowhere near as useful at longer ranges, but it will have to do for the moment.” “Oh.” I gave her a weak smile. “Hey, at least I still have you.” The alicorn smiled, a light blush on her face, before her sheepish expression changed into a horrified look. “You still- Did Vano... ?” I held up a hand. “He will be fine,” I assured her. “He managed to make it to Yanov and warn me. He was badly wounded but now he is fine. When I said ‘I still have you’ I meant... nevermind.” I sighed and shook my head. “I suppose you can have this to complete your arsenal. We are on our own and I cannot allow you to be underarmed," I added, handing her an old SMG I had found in the bandit's armory. "This is an Agram 2000, a Croatian SMG. Very easy to use, shoots fast and extremely reliable. Perfect for stalkers and bandits alike." “Thanks,” said Celestia, grabbing the gun in her telekinesis. As much as I hate to admit it... I really need more firepower.” I gave her a small smile. “Indeed you do. Now, can we go?” I asked, doing my best to ignore the growls from my stomach. Should have scavenged some food from these dead bandits... “Wait!” “Is there something the matter?” I asked with a sigh. “I can feel a disturbance in the magic field around here,” said the alicorn, oblivious to my slight frustration. “What do you mean?” “You know, an unicorn horn is merely a channel for magical energies. Alicorn horns are a bit more complicated but the basic idea is the same: I can feel every fluctuation in the magic field around me,” she explained. I raised an eyebrow. “Like an antenna?” “It’s simplifying it to the extreme, but... that is the global concept.” I nodded. “So you want to investigate this disturbance.” Celestia’s head shot up. She smiled for the first time in a while. “Yes!” she exclaimed before awkwardly rubbing her forelegs, ashamed at her outburst. “That is, if you want to...” I smiled. “If you want to, so do I.” I was not in the mood to explore, but antagonizing her could have disastrous results. I was just glad to see she was over the initial shock. Her behavior seemed to indicate she was on the way to remission... but healing mental scars take time. So many rookies become paranoiac, schizophrenic or depressive after a traumatic event. Some get better after a short time, some... never do. I hope she will get better. I pulled my pistols out of their holsters and followed her as she guided me deeper inside the concrete structure. We were underground by now, under the hill... in the next room, the zombies I had killed the day before were still lying on the ground. Celestia’s gaze anxiously alternated between them and me. “Did you...?” The sight of the corpses clearly distressed her. I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Zombies,” I explained. “Just like at the parking lot anomaly yesterday.” The alicorn gulped nervously and resumed walking, heading deeper underground. It was dark, very dark, and the stench of humidity was overwhelming. I turned on my flashlight. Celestia did the same. We were in a small room with big rusty pipes coming out of the walls. Must have been some sewers. Or a ventilation complex. A few meters farther, we attained the bottom of a dark staircase. I signaled Celestia to stop. “I will take point. Cover my six.” The alicorn nodded. I gestured forward with my hand. “Moving,” I announced, raising both my pistols. We slowly climbed the stairs. Every five meters, a door to the left lead to another tunnel. We decided to explore them later and kept on climbing. Unfortunately, the top of the staircase was obstructed by concrete rubble and metal debris, preventing us to go farther. That was when a pack of rodents showed up. When I heard the characteristic high pitched screams of Tushkanos, my blood froze. “Uh-oh," I muttered through my nervously clenched teeth. Celestia looked at me, a worried expression on her face. “What’s going on?” she asked. “Mutants?” The rodents swarmed out of the doorways. I squeezed the triggers of my pistols. “Open fire! Open fire!” Celestia opted for her PPSh, which proved much more efficient than the pistols I was using. While she dispatched all the mutants importuning her with ease, I was quickly overrun by them despite using both of them at the same time. Should have used the AK... I backed off, trying to get away from their sharp claws, stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. Shit. Shit shit shit shitshitshit SHIT! I opened fire with my new weapon. It roared to life and made short work of the critters attacking me, obliterating them dozens at a time. Soon enough, all of them were... dead. I gulped. I can’t do it anymore... I was pulled out of my thoughts by Strider. “Fuck fuck fuck get them off me getthemoffme!” he yelled. He was sprawled on the ground, thrashing and kicking away the little creatures attacking him. Without thinking, I grabbed all the small critters in my magic, closed my eyes, lifted them in the air and threw them away. I winced at the sound of their bones crushing under the sheer force of the impact. I opened my eyes again. The mutants had hit with tremendous force the nearest wall, which was splattered with blood and gore. The mangled corpses of the mutants had slipped down the wall and were now piled up on the ground. I felt my legs give up under me. What have I done? [ I sat up and incredulously patted myself. The rodents are gone. I am still alive... What happened? The wall behind me was splattered with blood and the Tushkanos were piled up under the bloody smear. It looked like they had been forcefully slammed against it. I looked around. Celestia was sitting on her haunches, her discarded weapon laying next to her. I approached her, only to discover that she was crying silently. I crouched next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, are you alright?” I asked with concern. The alicorn backed away from my hand. “GET AWAY FROM ME!” she yelled. She was trembling and her eyes were widened, darting to every corner of the room. “I-I don’t want to hurt you." I was dumbstruck. “W-what? You just saved me!” Celestia curled up in a ball, holding her hind legs together with her forelegs. “I’m a monster. I’m a monster. I’m a monster,” she hammered, tears flowing from her eyes. “Get away from me. I don’t want to hurt you. Go away.” “Celestia.” “I’m a monster.” “Celestia.” “I’m a monster.” “Celestia.” “I’m a m-.” “SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME!” I roared. The alicorn jumped at my outburst and looked at me, her face showing confusion and fear. "Sorry," I apologized, sighing. “I do not know why you say you are a monster, but one thing is sure: I will NOT abandon you here,” I said firmly, locking my gaze with hers, before I knelt down and gently wiped off her tears. “Now... tell me everything,” I said. Celestia's weeping slowly quieted and she looked at me, a look of infinite sadness and pain on her face. “Promise me you won’t hate me.” I nodded. “I promise.” The alicorn looked away from me. “I... I killed them.” It can’t be... “What do you mean?” She shivered. “T-the bandits. They held me prisoner. B-Barin t-tried to... I'm didn't witness what happened but I saw the aftermath. I know I snapped, Strider. I went feral. I k-killed them. I’m-I’m a monster!” she stuttered. Strider looked at me. “Am I a monster?” he asked. His question took me off guard. What does he mean? “N-no. You helped me... you gave me everything I needed to survive in this wretched place, you taught me, you listened to me when I was sad,” I hesitantly replied. “You’re my life buoy,” I added under my breath. The bald stalker held me by the shoulders and locked his gaze with mine. “Right. Well then know this: I have killed before, and I do not regret it. I will kill again, and I do not fear it. I have done gruesome things to survive and prevail. This is how this place work,” he said. “You are not a monster,” he affirmed. “Just because you killed someone them does not make you a cruel per-pony. These bandits captured you, held you prisoner... I do not know what they did to you but they were the monsters. You did what you had to do. It was not the right thing, but it was needed. You just listened to your survival instinct. You should not feel bad for it, because you could have been killed, or worse...” he trailed off, looking away from me. I looked at the ground. “I... have been told,” I said. We stayed silent for a moment. “I am just glad you made it out alive,” finally said Strider, pulling me into a hug. “I thought you were dead!” Something broke inside of me. The dam holding repressed feelings had cracked. All the emotions I held back until then... I let it all loose. I needed to. I returned the hug and burst out crying in his arms. I let it all go, tears washing away the tension I had repressed so far. I felt good in his arms. I felt secure, peaceful. I was alive, and I was with him... nothing else mattered. After a while, I broke the hug and looked away. “Does it get any easier?” I asked. Strider sighed. “I will not lie to you. I have seen rookies break down after a traumatic event, be it killing someone, being injured or the losing a friend... it never happens with experienced stalkers. The everyday life in this place breaks people, it changes them. The weak die, the strong become stronger. Such is life in the Zone, as we say,” he explained. “I know that you are strong, deep inside,” he said, holding my muzzle. “You will become more resilient to the ‘horrors’ of this place until they do not bother you anymore. I do not think it is a bad thing. Being numb is not a mark of cruelty, it merely shows that you are capable to adapt. Killing is a day to day activity here, it is just a way to prevail. If you do not adapt, you die. You are not a monster, you are simply... adapting.” He made a pause. “I do not know what happened exactly back there, but if you want to talk about it, I will listen,” he added. “I’m not sure if I'm ready to talk about it yet...” I rubbed my forelegs hesitantly. “... but after that, I know I went feral.” seeing Strider's interrogative expression, I continued. “It’s a defense mechanism alicorns have. After a prolonged period of physical or mental stress, we just... snap. It results in a dramatic increase of magical power and... loss of control.” “Oh.” “Did you see... the results?” I nervously asked. Strider silently nodded. “Imagine what could have happened if I were at full power,” I said with a shudder. “What could have happened?” he asked. “I... could have gone supernova.” I shuddered. I entered the workshop, followed closely by Snag. “Hey Cardan, you done yet?” I asked. The technician smiled. “Haha yeah, check this out!” He showed me the armor... it was beautiful. It looked like it had nothing to envy to a tank, really. It seemed to be able to take a RPG to the torso and still protect its wearer. With Cardan’s help, I put on my power armor. The jumpsuit was the first to come on, followed by the hardened bulletproof vest, the ballistic plates and the proper exoskeleton. I looked down and examined myself. “I did my best,” began the technician. “I reinforced the jumpsuit: it’s got asbestos yarn inserts and I coated it with my secret beryllium-based mixture so anomalies and radiation shouldn’t pose a problem. The suit's exoskeleton is mostly made of hardened steel but a lot of weight has been dished out thanks to the use of titanium and carbon fiber. The ballistic vest already had a good level of bulletproof protection... I added several hardened steel/Kevlar sandwich plates for good measure. Each of these bad boys is thirty-seven millimeters thick: anything short of an  armor piercing rifle round at point blank range won't do so much as scratch the paint. The limbs are protected by the same type of material, only the plates are thinner and smaller in order to avoid chafing: this allow for better for mobility at the cost of overall protection. The joints and servomotors are protected by thick-ass rubber sheaths and each critical hardpoint is covered in solid titanium plates; no need to worry about a mutant clawing off critical components. Main power source is a Flash artifact, backed up by a Sparkler artifact. Both will last forever and are relatively cheap. And the icing on the cake: the fourth generation servomotors. They increase the wearer’s strength without sacrificing his mobility. Meaning? They negate the forty kilograms of the armour and still be able to run all day long waving heavy weapons around like a madman. Perfect for a reckless mutant hunter like you.” I took a deep breath. “I missed everything you just said,” I told the technician. “Hey, how do I look? Pretty cool, huh?” I asked, turning towards Snag. Cardan sighed “Any questions?” I made sure everything was in place and working then powered up the suit, starting its systems from the wrist mounted computer. Immediately the armor felt weightless , sign of the servomotors working as intended. Cardan examined me. “Alright. Let’s see if this thing works. Move around a bit.” I stood up and walked around, surprised at the complete silence of the power armor. “Aren’t servomotors supposed to be noisy?” The technician shook his head. “Nah, not these ones. Unless they are cold, damaged or you exceed the maximum weight limit they should stay silent. Any noise is a sign of a malfunction.” “Oh ok,” I said, waving my arms around. “The mobility is better than I expected.” Cardan shrugged. “As far as I can tell the, it’s a true fourth gen, not a ‘3.5’ like most people have: a lot of design flaws have been resolved. It's got better ergonomics so movements aren't as restricted as before and it should be easier to put on and off alone, too. Here’s your weapons,” he added, handing me my new shotgun and revolver. I grinned and grabbed the weapons. “Thanks. I’ll be on my way now.” “I’m coming with you,” said Snag. Supernova... that would have been ‘rather’ bad. Is she really capable of such a thing? Damn. Celestia stood up. “Let’s find the source of the disturbance,” she said, pulling me out of my thoughts. Before I followed her, I quickly examined my armor. The explosions and fire at the bandit warehouse certainly did not do any good to it but the mutants finished the work: the jumpsuit was riddled with holes and many armor plates threatened to fall off. I sighed. I liked my armor. It did not hinder movement, offered balanced protection while having a couple of artifact containers. I hope Cardan will be able to fix this. We arrived in a dead end. Apparently, the blocked stairs were the only way to proceed further. The alabaster alicorn frowned. “I really want to know what’s causing this anomaly... perhaps there is another route,” thought out loud. I crouched down next to one of the pipes coming out of the wall. “Maybe through those big pipes in the wall there, there is a ladder in one of them. I do not know how to get you to climb it though.” The alicorn walked up to the pipe and examined the ladder. “Hmmm... maybe if you climb first, you’ll be able to pull me up.” I shrugged. “Alright, let us try that... tell me, would you happen to have any kind of food on you at the moment? I am starving.” “No, sorry,” she said with an apologetic expression. I sighed. “Thanks anyway.” I walked up to the pipe and climbed the ladder. Once up top, I reached down and grabbed Celestia’s forelegs, helping her up. She felt heavier than usual, sign I was beginning to tire out. Already? I need sustenance, fast. “Thanks.” “Anytime,” I replied with a small nod. We were now in a concrete corridor. The walls were stained by humidity, the floor was covered with rubble and a lone creaking beacon light was struggling to illuminate the area. Celestia strode forward. “Follow me.” We arrived in a large room with multiple rows of concrete pillars. The stench of humidity and mold was overwhelming. The floor was uneven, a puddle of stagnant water here and there and various rusty metal scraps were scattered around. I followed Celestia as she went between the first row of pillars and the wall on the right. On the other side of the room, there was a doorway leading to a corridor not unlike the previous one. After the corridor, we ended up in the same room. Not a room very similar to the one we left behind, no, the exact. Same. room. Every puddle of water, pile of rubble and rusty metal part was at the exact. Same. Place. We did not change direction and somehow ended up in the same room we just left... through the door we entered it in the first place. I froze in surprise. “Wait, what?” Celestia frowned and brought a hoof to her muzzle. “Looks like we found the first disturbance.” I scratched the back of my head. “The first? What do you mean? What is this ‘disturbance’?” “Shh. Look.” There was a loud, strange sound. It sounded like... a parody of what a gust of wind would sound like. With some sort of sparkly sound in the background. Between the first row of pillars and the wall, a... curtain of dancing stars appeared, just like that. Oookay... no THAT is strange. “Err, Cel? Mind telling me what is going on?” “It seems like there is something teleporting us back at the end of this tunnel... as if something didn’t want us to go any further.” I raised an eyebrow dubiously. “Right.” “I’m not lying! Between these pillars, I can sense... something. Maybe it’s the key to get past this... anomaly. Just follow me, we’ll see what happens.” We headed to the exit of the room again, this time walking between the first and second rows of pillars. We ended up in the same tunnel, leading to the same room once again. This time, two ‘curtains of light’ appeared. Celestia lead us through the room between the third row of pillars and the left wall. When we arrived to the room, a fourth sparkly curtain appeared. Deep in thought, brought a hoof to my muzzle. A strange feeling was tugging at my horn, urging me to walk through the magical passageways between the pillars. I signaled Strider to follow as I headed to the first starry arch. Strider froze, a wary expression on his face. “Are you sure about this? Usually, walking into an anomaly does not end well.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “It will be okay, I assure you. Follow me.” I walked through the first sparkly curtain and sure enough, nothing happened. It just felt like if I passed through a fountain of cold water. I suppressed a shiver and kept on walking. After walking through each light arch, we reached the exit of the room. The corridor had a strange feeling of déjà-vu yet seemed different. Strider in tow, I walked to the end of the dark tunnel. This time, we were greeted by a new sight. There were broken parts of rusty machinery and rubble scattered everywhere, but the room itself was different. It was circular, a ladder was descending from a metal platform a few meters under the ceiling, and there was a strange looking tree in the middle with a puddle of pristine water at its feet. Strider took off his helmet and stared at the tree wide eyed. He crouched next to the puddle of clean water and brought his artifact detector a few centimeters above the surface. After a full minute, he turned towards me, wide eyed. “Do you know what this is?” he asked. I raised an eyebrow, shrugging. “You just found the mythical Oasis.” I raised my other eyebrow, wondering what he meant. “The what now?” “A place I have heard of in stories. Some people say mutants do not attack there, some claim it is a place with artifacts everywhere. Others believe this place heals all your wounds,” He explained, removing his glove from his left hand. I cringed at the sight of the burns and deep cuts across his appendage. “You had this the whole time? Why didn’t you use your artifacts?” “I am starving. In this state, healing artifacts do more bad than good,” he deadpanned. "Doesn't it hurt?" "No. Perks of having been a Monolithian, I suppose." Strider then immersed his hand in the puddle of water. After a few seconds, he pulled it out only to reveal a fully healed hand. Only a few faint scars testified of his previous injuries. He examined his newly healed hand. “Where does this power come from?” he wondered aloud. The bald stalker looked up to the tree. Only then I noticed the strange fruit attached to it. its skin was translucent and I could see a moving green... core inside of it. He seemed to notice it too, as he stared at it for a while, wonder and curiosity showing on his weathered face. “Of course. Hang on...” My hands were shaking slightly and my stomach was burning. Fuck. I need to eat right now. Maybe this ‘Oasis’ has more in common to normal regenerative artifacts than I thought after all. I stood up, grunting at the effort, before picking up the strange artifact from the tree. It was strange, almost alien. Its surface was translucent and it looked like there was an egg shaped goo-like turquoise nucleus floating inside. All artifacts have a resemblance to the original material they come from but this one was way too strange for me to identify what it could have been before transmuting. Noticing the huge amount of radiation it was emitting, I put it in a lead lined pouch of my backpack. I wonder what other properties this artifact has. Maybe the scientists will want to study it. I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of barking coming from the tunnel we came from. Pseudodogs. I am in no condition to fight and Celestia cannot fly in this tight space... the ladder. “Celestia!” I called. The alicorn turned towards me, a surprised expression on her face. Without a word, I snatched her up, earning a startled yelp from her and ran for the ladder. Thankfully I managed to reach it before the mutants could get to us. I quickly climbed it and set foot on the metal platform before letting go of Celestia. I took a deep breath and laid down on the cold metallic surface, panting. The alicorn looked down towards me. “What the hay was that for?” she shouted, blushing. “Still bothered by that whole ‘Stallion's habit’ thing?” I asked, catching my breath. “Look down,” I added, not bothering to move. I stayed there, laying on my back, staring at the concrete ceiling. I heard Celestia walk to the edge of the platform. A few seconds later, she came back staring at me, a dumbfounded look on her face. “How did you know these mutants were coming?” she asked, impressed. “I heard them, that is all," I explained, sitting up. “You heard them? That’s impossible! And why didn’t you fight them off? It’s not your style to just... flee.” I sighed. “I am starving and overall in no condition to fight,” I said, showing her my ruined and bloodied armor. “There is no point in entering an unneeded combat,” I explained, sighing. “When I woke up, I was heavily wounded. I had to treat myself with Vano’s artifacts the bandits had stolen and thankfully stored in their armory, then I discovered I had nothing to eat. You already know how healing artifacts work.” Celestia stayed silent, a look of understanding and sympathy on her face. I stood up. “Let us go, there is a long way to Yanov," I said, stirring. "The faster we go the faster we will be there. Besides, we should bring that artifact we found to the scientists. I am sure they would appreciate the gesture.” “Let’s go then.” I smiled. “We still have a ladder to climb, and it is way too cramped in here for you to fly up.” The alicorn sighed in defeat. I picked her up and set her comfortably on my back. “You ready?” I asked. She nodded. I climbed the ladder. Once on top of the concrete structure, I set her down on the floor. Once again, she was blushing furiously and avoided eye contact. I chuckled and observed our surroundings. We were on top of the ventilation complex, near the bandit checkpoint. I felt blood rushing to my cheeks as Strider gave me yet another piggyback ride. Not from embarrassment though... I actually liked it. Why am I okay with that? Strider looked around and approached the edge of the platform. I followed him, only to discover there was a big drop to the ground. After looking down, the stalker just jumped. He landed on his feet unscathed, not even losing his balance. WHAT? How? He looked up. “Are you coming or what? We do not have much time until nightfall.” I backed off from the ledge. “Are you crazy? It’s a good five meters from here to the ground!” The stalker raised an eyebrow. “And?” “And I’m going to break all of my legs!” I yelled. Strider laughed. “Just use these wings of yours and glide down already.” I facehoofed. Sigh. I’m an idiot. I spread my wings and jumped off, gliding down and landing gracefully next to the bald stalker. “No comment,” I mumbled. “I said nothing," he replied defensively. I smiled. “Good. Now can we-” Suddenly, Strider perked up and glanced around, an apprehensive expression on his face. I looked at him worriedly. “What? What’s going on?” “Get to a high point. Now,” he commanded. I was about to do so when a dog jumped in front of me. Without hesitation, Strider spun around and obliterated the mutant with a round from his carbine. Immediately, at least two dozens more appeared from the bushes, growling menacingly. “NOW!” he yelled. “I’m not leaving you alone,” I firmly said. No time to think. Act fast. Not like last time. I armed my A2000, aimed at the dogs and opened fire. Strider switched to his rifle and did the same. One after another, the mutants fell to the ground... dead, but they kept on coming. For each one we killed, three took their place. It was hopeless. Strider turned towards me. “Run-” He was interrupted when a massive, hairy mutant charging into him, throwing him a few meters away. He didn’t get back up. “Strider!” I retaliated and emptied my SMG into the beast, effectively killing it. The dogs retreated. They didn’t seem to want to leave but stayed a few meters away, giving me some respite. I ran up to Strider’s side. His breathing was erratic and heavy. Blood was pouring out of his mouth and nose. “Fucking Boars... *cough* always there when you d-do not need them.” He spat some blood. “*cough* I think I broke something,” he added, sitting up. Keeping an eye on the nearby dogs, I examined the stalker. His armor was torn up in multiple places, letting the armored plates and even his skin appear underneath. I winced as I saw how badly his torso was hit. It seemed like none of his ribs wasn’t broken. I readied one of his artifacts to heal him but he grabbed my foreleg. “No! It will *cough* do more damage than good I need food first.” He coughed violently and spat blood again. “If you try to use that on me in my current state, it will kill me.” I turned away from Strider as another of these Boars jumped out of the bushes behind me. I instantly grabbed my SMG in my magic, took aim and squeezed the trigger. *click* The weapon was empty. I had forgotten to reload it. The mutant charged. No no no- It hit me with tremendous force, knocking the wind out of me and sending me tumbling to the ground next to Strider. I tried to stand back up, only to hit the ground again, my right foreleg broken. Then the pain hit me, barely contained by the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I screamed. The beast turned around and prepared to charge again. I shakily raised my double barrel shotgun with my magic and aimed it at the beast. It charged. I squeezed both triggers at the same time, dropping the creature. I hopped back up on three legs with difficulty. Through my blurred vision I saw the pack of dogs from earlier come out of the bushes, accompanied by a few horribly deformed humanoid mutants I had never seen before, walking on all fours, their spine exposed... and they were wearing gas masks. Panting, I reloaded both my weapons and opened fire at the crown of mutants all guns blazing. It seemed to be useless. There were so many I couldn’t count them. One of the gas mask wearing mutants tackled me to the ground and clawed at me. It easily went through my leather jacket and would have eviscerated me if it wasn’t for Strider. He kicked the beast off of me and then proceeded to stomp it to death, before throwing me Vano’s shotgun without a word. I did not lose an instant. I was bleeding heavily, one of my legs was broken and my whole body was aching, but I was still alive. And I wasn’t going to let these beasts kill me. I reloaded my weapons and pumped Vano’s shotgun. “GO AHEAD AND TRY!” I yelled, firing all my three weapons at the same time in the general direction of the mutants. “YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME? COME AND GET IT!” The A2000 decimated the smallest critters while the shotguns put in place an effective wall of lead, preventing the beasts from advancing further. My SMG clicked empty. I searched for another magazine but didn’t have any more. I discarded it and kept firing my shotguns in the direction of the mutants, which were now retreating. I thought we were going to win when a gigantic, four legged, two headed mutant appeared out of the bushes. It snarled at me jumped at me, pinnning me to the ground, only to be hit by a volley of bullets from Strider’s rifle. “HEY UGLY!” The mutant let go of me and jumped at Strider, who clenched his teeth and opened fire on it with his rifle. The creature tanked all the bullets without so much as flinching and jumped at Strider, pinning him to the ground this time. He let out a yelp as he fell to the ground under the weight of the massive beast, which opened its maw and- Another masked mutant came out of the bushes. It jumped on me and tilted its head, as if examining me. I tried to reach for my weapons with my magic but couldn’t lift any of them. They felt so heavy. The creature on top of me raised a paw, most likely preparing to behead me. I closed my eyes, took a deep, ragged breath and braced for the end. I only heard the loud roars of two automatic weapons going off. I opened my eyes. All the mutants were dead. The mutant on top of me was gone and the two headed beast was laying on the ground next to Strider, dead. Through my hazed vision, I could see the shape of a man wearing a black and red mechanical armor was standing between Strider and I. I felt a tear of despair roll down my cheek. No. No. No. No. It can’t be. He’s dead! I killed him! The stalker rested his weapon on his shoulder. I saw another man come up behind him. “How the fuck did they attract so many mutants? Jeez,” he said. “My guess? They were already injured and they smelled their blood,” replied the first stalker, resting his weapon on his shoulder. "Looks like we arrived just in time." Wait. I know this voice... Vano?