//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Remnant Shadows // by Merchent343 //------------------------------// The cold winds swept across the country side, scatters patches of grass swaying in the breeze. Dead trees dotted the landscape, reminding all who passed them of what had happened to this once pristine environment. The fields were vacant of all but the rusting hulks of cars and the occasional anomaly: Features as much a part of the Zone as the creatures that inhabited it. That was how it was: The Zone was a dreary, sad place. The years since the original expansion had not been kind on it. Wildlife still inhabited some fields, if you could call it that. Horrible aberrations of nature were only one hallmark of life in this desolate land. A lone figure stood on a small hill, looking out over the expanses. The figure was encased in a suit that covered him entirely, sheltering him from the horrors outside, be they natural or otherwise. In the Zone, not much qualified as ‘natural’. The man inside the suit, for it was a man, breathed onto the cold glass just inches from his face. The only sound he could hear, aside from the muted roar of the wind, was the whirr of the closed-cycle breathing system. He looked out of his transparent visor, scanning for any threats. Finding none, he began to walk forward. Valera, for that was the name of the man, turned his head, scanning the desolate landscape for the one thing all STALKERs both loathed and loved in equal measure: Anomalies. Anomalies were one of the first creations by the Zone. After the first Psi-emission, when the Zone truly came into being, ‘Anomalies’ were one of its first creations. Manifesting themselves as something outside of nature, there were several types. ‘Electro’ anomalies were one of the first, and remained to this day. They were small patches of ground that could build up immense electric force, enough to kill an unarmored STALKER. Whirligigs and Vortexes were also in extreme abundance. They were both gravity-based. If an object disturbed them by going near, they would draw it in with an immense gravitational force. Whirligigs were hardly powerful, and at the most would cause broken bones – a minor effect in the Zone. Vortexes, however, were almost impossible to escape. Once drawn in, there was only one: Death. There were several others, such as Burners, which spewed highly volatile gasses that would erupt in flame at the slightest provocation, and the rare ‘Fruit Punch’, which took the form of the most acidic compound known to man, one even more powerful than the industrial-strength stuff that many scientists used. The only way of containing it so far had been found to be simple concrete or rock, and wearing slabs of either wasn’t much of an option. The reason Anomalies were so hated was because of the dangers they posed: No matter how experienced you were, not spotting the distinct distortion in the air of a Vortex could lead to a quick and painful death. Falling into a pool of ‘Fruit Punch’ could leave you permanently disfigured, or worse. In the long run, the more the Zone expanded from the Chernobyl NPP, the more Anomalies that would show up. On the other hand, Anomalies were the lifeblood of the Zone. At seemingly random times, or from interaction with the environment, Anomalies would spawn what STALKERS called Artifacts, the bastard creations of the Zone. The reason why every STALKER continued to remain in the Zone was because of them. Artifacts ranged from fairly common to extremely rare, depending on the type. Each of them did something, usually while having a negative effect, but were extremely useful. One of them, for example, called the ‘Flash’, was very useful in almost any situation. It had several uses, depending on how the STALKER activated it. The main purpose was a massive increase in endurance, due to a surge of electricity to key muscles. However, like this, it caused the wearer to become hideously vulnerable to any sort of electrical damage, due to heightened sensitivity of the muscles to electric emissions. Artifacts could sell for prices ranging from small to large. The weakest ones alone were worth sums in the thousand ruble range, while the rarest could sell for tens of thousands of rubles. Several of them could make a poor man rich within days, and in the Zone, that counted quite a bit. Because of this, the Zone attracted both the best and worst of people: Criminals and normal people alike chose their own path. Small groups of bandits roamed the areas around the beginning of the Zone, waiting to prey on passing Loners; the official name for many of the independent STALKERS. Two opposing factions, named Duty and Freedom, were constantly engaged in a small-scale war against one another, the battles subvert if anything else. The usual groups of Mercenaries, hated by all of the factions and groups, wandered all of the areas, killing indiscriminately in the course of their ‘jobs’. Last of all, the Military often patrolled the entrances to the Zone, fired on by every faction almost continuously. Valera spotted the area he was looking for, just to the north: The Military Warehouses. Halfway between then edge and the center of the Zone, it was an area where most of the factions collided. The main Freedom base was located here, as well as the path to the Red Forest. Before this point, some device located in the Zone that many called the ‘Brain Scorcher’ would literally destroy the minds of anyone who dared wander up that path. Now, with its deactivation just days before by an unknown STALKER, patrols from every faction were just beginning to venture there. Moving out of his thoughts, he found the road he was looking for. Moving along it, he pondered his reasons for coming here. He currently had over five hundred thousand rubles, so he most certainly did not need the money. If you asked most STALKERS, one of the reasons they stayed here was to get away from the outside world. The reason he was here was rather base: He didn’t have anywhere else to go. After his military discharge, he found himself with a unique skillset, and no jobs to apply it in except scattered police forces. So, he figured, when in doubt, go into the Zone. His confidence in his abilities, however, lowered significantly when the first ambush by Bandits he face almost lead to his death. That had also been the first time he had been forces to kill. For anyone else, it would have made for a potent combination, but Valera managed to shrug it off long enough to bring his loot to the legendary bar in Rostok. There, at least, enough STALKERS knew medical aid to save his life. Over the four months since then, he had wandered much of the accessible Zone, and seen most of what could be seen. He had been in firefights against the military, managed to kill a pair of bloodsuckers outside of Agroprom Institute, and participated in Duty patrols. Not many survive their first ten days in the Zone, much less one hundred and twenty eight. Suddenly, Valera’s PDA beeped. He brought it up to his faceplate, looking for the source. It appeared he had a message, and from the Barkeep, no less. No man knew his real name, but once the man had set up his shop, in an old bunker in Rostok, he had become instantly popular. Duty protected the area, so he was safe from anything save an unexpected Super-Emission. However, that had not happened in a very, very long time. The SEVA suit that he wore was bulky, but would protect him almost fully from every Anomaly, and had a fair amount of resistance to firearms. In the Zone, that counted for quite a bit, when the threat of a group of Bandits was always there. In addition, he was not on the best terms with Freedom, so he would rather not have taken any risks in encountering them. However, it had to be done, hence the suit. It was almost brand new, completely undamaged, given to him by a well-meaning Ecologist after he had rescued their team from a group of Snorks in the garbage heaps south of Rostok. So far, he had not gotten a chance to test it, and he hoped that it would prove as good as he had been told. He moved his gloved hand to his PDA and clicked the ‘Play’ button on the message. The Barman’s image appeared on his screen as the clip played. “Valera, come back to the Bar. We have some Duty people here who are interested in your work, and want you for something, what it is, they will not tell me.” Valera sighed, his breath fogging up the glass visor somewhat. Thank god it provided around a 120-degree view in all directions. “I guess I’d better get going.” He said to nobody in particular, turning around and beginning his walk back. Suddenly, he froze as he heard the distinct sound of a Kalashnikov being fired from in the direction of Rostok. Since he had to head that way in any case, he started running towards it, his TRs-301 at the ready. The road turned ahead, passing between dozens of trees. He took the corner and immediately dived behind a rusty car just as a lone STALKER fired a burst of bullets at him, the rounds soaring through the air where he was. Valera leaned over the rusting wreck and pulled the trigger three times, each one sending two rounds downrange. The bullets impacted the weakly-armored STALKER, causing him to drop. Taking another look, he could see that the ‘STALKER’ was clad in the weak, black armor that most Bandits used. Taking a deep breath, Valera moved from behind his cover and walked forward, rifle at the ready. Suddenly, he heard slow breathing to his left. He turned and saw a STALKER, a Loner this time, leaning up against a tree, wounded. It was obvious he had been ambushed by the Bandit. The STALKER wore the standard Stalker suit that most wore, making him out to be just one of the many. The STALKER looked up at him with blue eyes. “Hey, do you think you could give me some aid?” He asked in Ukrainian. Thankfully, that was one of the three languages that he did understand, the others being Russian and English. Valera took off one of his packs and started digging around, coming up with a small box around six inches square. He walked towards the STALKER and leaned down, opening the lid of the box. “Two bullets in the center of my chest, about one inch in because of my armor. Slowed the round down enough, but hurts like hell.” The STALKER said. “What is your name?” Valera asked as he lifted the man’s arm and began to apply disinfectant. “Kasimir.” He said. Valeria raised an eyebrow as he started to apply a bandage. “Polish?” “Tak [Yes].” A few moments later, Valera stood up as the bandaging was done. Kasimir stood up as well, on unsteady feet, before bending down and picking up a SGI 5K. Dusting it off, he slung it over his back before turning to Valera and offering a hand. Valera hesitated for only a moment before shaking it, the STALKER looking at him with kind eyes. “Thank you very much, stranger. What is your name?” Kasimir asked. “Valera.” He replied. “This is where we part, but I am eternally thankful to you. Any time you need help, feel free to contact my PDA.” The Polish STALKER replied. “Thank you.” Valeria replied. “See you in the future, and good luck.” Valera turned and walked away as the other STALKER did the same. He might not be the best man, but he did try to do good wherever he could. His time in the military had drilled that into him. He walked along the road, his eyes moving left and right. The rest of the trip to Rostok, thankfully, passed without incident. As he approached the Duty outpost, the man at the entrance waved him inside. “Did you have good hunting, Valera?” The guard asked. “No. Got a call from the Barkeep, he wants me for an assignment. Speaking of which, I ran into a Bandit on the road ambushing a Polish STALKER.” The guard cursed for a moment, before speaking into a radio. That being done, he turned back to Valera. “Thanks for the info. I just informed the Colonel, and he’s going to boost patrols along the road. Damn.” The guard added, looking at the ground as Valera passed into the base. Dozens of STALKERs stood around various fires in the buildings inside the Duty camp. No matter who you were, Rostok was a good place to go to relax. He passed through a small building, past the supposed ‘STALKER’ that was there. In reality, he was really just a ruse, a hidden Duty guard, which explained why he was there almost continuously. He entered the staircase to the underground bunker that housed the Bar. The bouncer at the entrance just gestured him to go further on, never in the mood for talking. After several twists and turns, he finally emerged into the dim bar. Several dozen STALKERs stood around, either nursing drinks or talking. Two obvious Duty members stood in full Exoskeletons in front of the Barkeeper, talking to him. Valera walked up to the three men. “I am here, Barkeep.” “Ah, Valera.” The Barkeep said. “I want you to meet two friends of mine. They are from Duty, and Duty wants you for some assignment.” One of the Exoskeletons nodded. “Follow me, Valera. We will discuss this at that table.” He said, pointing to one in the corner of the room by the fenced-off area. They walked over there, the two Duty men standing up while Valera pulled up a stood. “So,” The STALKER said. “I suppose you have some assignment for me.” One of them nodded. “We do. Have you heard anything about the Anomaly just south of the Army Warehouses that has everyone in a worry? About two hundred meters off the main path?” “No.” Valera replied. “Should I?” The other Duty member nodded. “At 1820 hours yesterday, a Duty patrol was there to witness a rival Freedom patrol swallowed up by a Vortex. Not just any, but a massive one, twenty-four meters across. And it’s expanding.” Valera’s jaw dropped. “That’s… Not possible.” “It is. At the center gravitational forces are immense. The Freedom patrol was not crushed. At the center, they simply disappeared. There is an area two meters across at the center of it where the distortion is so immense, ti is literally impossible to see through.” “What do you want me to do?” Valera asked after a moment’s hesitation. “Simple.” The other one said, holding out a small bag. “We need you to get as close to it as you can. We have a special series of bolts going into production. Rather than the iron ones that are mass-produced and then sold to STALKERS, these are Titanium, and are fitted with transmitters. They will let us know everything that goes on in whatever Anomaly they are thrown into. We need you to use several of these and throw them into the Anomaly. Can you do this?” Valera took out a bottle of Vodka and took a small sip. Looking up at them, he asked the most important question: “How much are you paying? I don’t want to get that close to a terrible death without some sort of reward.” The second member nodded to the other, and then turned to him. “We are offering 120,000 Rubles to whoever can do this, as well as the privilege of calling upon any nearby Duty team at any time.” Seeing Valera’s jaw drop yet again, he added. “Many have turned this down, and we are getting desperate. We must find out what it is before Freedom does, and we need to do it quickly. A Duty team will escort you there.” With that, Valera nodded, taking the bag of special bolts. “It is agreed. I shall be on the lookout for any danger, so I shall be going armed. Give me a minute.” Valera stood and walked over to the Barkeep. Because he came here so much, he had paid the Barkeep 20,000 Rubles to reserve him a locked room in the back, where he could store his things without worry. “I need access to my room.” He said. The Barkeep nodded, and gestured towards the guarded door. The guard at the entrance, normally unmovable, stood aside to let him through. He wandered through the back before coming upon his room, with a massive metal door leading to it. Putting his PDA up to the hidden electrical lock, the light on the door went from red to green, and it opened outward as he stepped inside. The room was fairly nice. Perfectly white walls and a powerful light bulb in the ceiling made it virtually the epitome of luxury in the Zone, and the bed on the right wall marked him as a man who had been here for quite some time. Most STALKERs made do with a sleeping bag, and some not even that. On the left wall, his weapons stood line up on a metal rack he had built out of spare parts, and hundreds of small boxes of ammo dotted the shelves. He sat down on his bed, quickly emptying his backpack of all its items, staring at the shelves and racks, figuring out what to take. He quickly wrote down a list of what he would grab: -=-=- 1x TRs-301, M203 and SOSAT scope attached. 5.56x45mm SS109 Ammunition = 262 Rounds 1x Vintar BC suppressed sniper rifle. 9x39mm SP-6 Rounds = 120 Rounds 1x Chaser 13 shotgun. 12x70 Shot Rounds = 60 Shells 1x Black Kite .45 Pistol .45ACP Hydro-Shock Rounds = 60 Rounds One of his three SEVA suits, near perfect condition. 8x Regular First Aid Kit 8x Army First Aid Kit 4x Scientific First Aid Kit 16x Rolls of bandages 12x Tourist's Delight (brand of canned meat) A water canteen 4x Energy Drinks 4x F1 grenades 6x M203 grenades Artifacts 1x Flash 1x Goldfish 1x Crystal 1x Night Star 1x Kolobok 1x Pellicle 1x Battery (Electro) 1x Spring -=-=- Valera frowned at the list he came up with. It was around fifty-four kilos of weight overall, a bit beyond his normal carrying capacity. He would be slowed down by it, but that did not matter. If the Anomaly grabbed him, he could not simply sprint out like he could with a normal Vortex. If he got caught in it, he was done for in any case. He quickly grabbed the supplies he wrote down, keeping his current SEVA suit on. The items all fit nicely; from the Vintar and Chaser on his back to the items he had packed into his backpack. He loaded all of the weapons with what he had out, and grabbed his TRs-301 to carry with him, as well as keeping his Black Kite on his waist, where he could grab it. Feeling well-armed, he walked out, closing the door with his PDA. He walked out into the bar, where he met up with the two Duty members, who pointed towards the exit. He followed them until they left the north gate, where a group of eight Duty members was standing around at the intersection between Rostok, the Wild Territory, and the Army Warehouses. One of the Exoskeleton soldiers with him turned towards him and gave a nod. “We escorted you here, and now you must stay with the team.” With that, the two left, and the Duty STALKERs, wasting no time, started to head north, with Valera following behind them.