Remnant Shadows

by Merchent343

Chapter 11

"Ready?" Valera asked his companion, Stepa, as both stood outside of the entrance to the cave.

"Ready." Stepa confirmed, nodding.

With that, Valera took the first step out onto the barren landscape.

It had been only a day since the small battle in the tunnels, and in the time since, both he and Stepa had poured over the PDA's files. It was a treasure trove of information, and the supplies inside of the stashes could prove very valuable.

And it was quickly decided that they needed them.

Each had taking only one weapon: Valera had grabbed his trademark TRs-301, with the attachments removed, while Stepa had opted for his GP-37. Both of them carried four rolls of gauze and two regular medical kits each, and with no heavy artifacts to bog them down, they could easily haul a large amount of items.

The only problem would be getting to them. The nearest stash marked on the PDA was four and a half kilometers to the west, buried in a satchel under a rock, at the edge of the desert.

With a sigh, Valera steeled himself for the walk ahead.

---

Boring.

That was the only word that Valera could use to describe the trip mentally, even as he used his covered hands to dig for the satchel. There was literally nothing to distract him during the trip. At least in the Zone, you had to avoid anomalies, and fight off packs of Blind Dogs. However annoying they may have been, they at least kept a man on edge.

As he continued to dig, he felt his hand grasp something. With a quick pull, Valera brought it up, revealing a dark grey pack.

"What's in it?" Stepa asked from above it as Valera opened it.

"Good shit." The STALKER replied, pulling out eight packets of Vinca, a common anti-coagulation drug used in small quantities by the Military and those STALKERs who could afford it. Needless to say, those who could were very rare, and most simply choose to rely on artifacts and bandages.

Valera quickly pulled out the rest of the contents, coming out with four military medical kits, a PSO-1 scope, and a disassembled VLA Special Assault Rifle inside of a case. Also known as the SA Avalanche in some circles, it was quite like the Vintar BC that Valera used, although with less accuracy and a faster rate of fire.

"Do you want the VLA?" Valera asked. "Two boxes of ammunition inside of the case, along with a telescopic sight."

"Sure. You can have the military kits. Let's split the Vinca." The Merc replied, grabbing the case for the rifle and strapping it to his pack.

"Okay." Valera replied, standing up and dusting himself off after he finished packing his gear. "On to the next one?"

"Let's go."

---

Valera lay down on the top of a dune of sand, lining up the iron sights of his TRs-301 on the distant figure of the Bandit.

"Two o' clock, five hundred meters distant, forty meters down." Valera heard Stepa whisper.

"There are five of them. Take one and let them scatter, or kill them all?" Valera asked.

"Take them down." Stepa replied coldly. "I don't like those bottom feeders. The world would be better off without them."

"Ready yourself." Valera said, preparing to take the shot.

Several seconds later, a loud crack sounded, swiftly followed by the body of the Bandit collapsing onto the ground.

Valera swung his aim towards the next target and fired another round, killing the half-alert man just as Stepa burst-fired his GP-37, killing two more. The final bandit fell moments later, costing the STALKER one more round.

"No more around. Let's check them out." Valera said, standing up and running across the sand towards the downed bandits.

As Valera arrived at the scene of the slaughter, two minutes later, he quickly spotted a good prize: A Striker shotgun, often nicknamed 'The Eliminator' by Zone veterans. It held a hell of a lot of shells, and although it was often considered 'weak' by some, it was definitely something to hold on to.

Within a few minutes, he had scavenged a TOZ-34 shotgun, along with sixty 'shot' shells for it, while Stepa examined a Viper 5 SMG. While based off of the MP5, the Viper 5 was build outside of the Zone to trader's specifications, and then smuggled in, making it quite useful for new STALKERs.

A short time later, the two set off again, heading for the second stash.

---

A full hour later, and they were headed back, content with what they had found. The second stash had been empty, and the third that they had checked had been raided recently, but the group of bandits and the first stash had yielded enough.

Valera, though, was wondering where he was going to store his two brand new shotguns. Both of them already had enough firearms and ammunition to equip a small team, and it was stored - haphazardly - in their 'rooms'.

In any case, tomorrow or the next day was likely to yield an assignment. Hopefully, it would reduce the amount of time he spent on his bed, stripping his weapons apart and putting them back together.

Another part of him wonder if there ever would be a way to traverse back to the Zone. He had no desire to, at least not at the moment, but he had to retire eventually. He could not live our his entire life in the caves, moving from mission to mission. And the amount of gold he had just in coins would have been enough to supply him for well over a year.

Sighing, Valera focused on putting on foot in front of the other, willing himself to walk faster, if only to reach his makeshift 'home' sooner...

Author's Note:

Well, it's been two months of procrastination. Here you go.

Comments

[Ketvirtas]

It is nice to see an update, great chapter.

[Jack Kellar]

Stalker Zero, The Zone and now this one. Did all the writers of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. crossovers band together to release new chapters in the same week or something?
Not that I'm complaining!

[damnaion]

12# cool

[RoadRunneR]

4261007
no

[Jack Kellar]

4261979 Aw

[Merchent343]

4265037

Sorry. It's been... Chaotic, recently.

[Fanskapet]

always makes me sad reading a stalker fic knowing there will never be a stalker 2