Chapter 9: On the Road Again
Chapter 9
On the Road Again
I woke up the next morning to a most wonderful sight: my sunshine, my princess; my newfound soulmate, Celestia, was huddled against me, her head resting on my naked chest. Her breath was slow and steady and tickled my exposed skin; her multicolored mane was behaving as strange as always and a content smile was adorning her beautiful features. I shuffled around, covering us both better with the blanket and kissed her forehead, caressing her long neck. The cuddly alicorn slowly woke up, stirring and moaning sleepily.
I gave her a smile. “Good morning, solnitchka.”
Celestia fluttered her eyelids and raised her gaze to me. “Morning, you,” she replied, planting a kiss on my lips. “Slept well?”
“Best night I ever had,” I answered, running my fingers through her mane.
The radiant alicorn said nothing and hugged me tighter, a slight blush adorning her facial features. We stayed there, laying in the decrepit bed, sharing warmth and comfort.
Celestia traced the blemished outline of an old wound on my chest. “All these scars... how did you get them?” she asked, breaking the silence.
“To be honest I do not remember. Bullets, claws, burns, cuts... Life is hazardous here, and healing artifacts are far from perfect. They always leave scars,” I replied. “You already have experienced it yourself,” I added, scratching her head behind her damaged left ear.
The Zone had already taken a great toll on her. The tip of her left ear was missing and my hand could feel beneath her coat the scars of nearly every past injury she suffered since her arrival here as I stroked her body; even the bloodsucker’s bite marks on her neck. Yet she was still standing and mentally sane, willing to carry on forwards, something I admired in her.
My PDA next to the bed bleeped. I picked up the device and unlocked it. The last message received was from Hawaiian. It read ‘Stalker, I got your gem back and... come over by the shop. It’s interesting, to say the least.’ Another one was from Snag: ‘I know you didn’t exactly sleep last night but could you please get your ass and your fuckbuddy’s in the main hall? Look at the fucking time!’
‘Fuckbuddy’?
I raised an eyebrow then looked at the time. The clock in the upper right corner of the PDA’s screen displayed ‘11:50’.
Oh.
I discarded the device and kissed Celestia on the forehead. “We have to move, dear,” I whispered before I sat up.
She raised her head, a pleading expression on her face. “Why?” she whined.
“It is ten to noon, and we have to go to Zaton. A long walk, and it is not advised to travel by night,” I explained with a smile. “Besides, we cannot stay all day long in this bed, as much as I want to,” I added, bringing a hand to her cheek.
The alicorn sighed. “Alright,” she said, gracefully sitting up. “Why do we even have to go there?”
“I need a new sniper rifle and Snag talked about an affordable retailer specialized in high-end equipment established at the Loner base there,” I explained. “You cannot imagine how naked I feel without my SVU.”
Celestia nodded. “Yeah... weapons really are important here, even I can’t imagine how I would do without one now,” she said before she paused and looked at her gear. “Could you help me dress up? I’m afraid I’m not all that familiar with my armor yet.”
“Of course.”
I picked up the bottom layer of her garments, a bodysuit made of a black, stretchy material that was definitely not part of my old armor. I shrugged and helped my soulmate put it on. I stared in awe as she paced around, making sure she was comfortable.
Damn. That thing looks fiiiiine on her.
I shook my head and grabbed her jumpsuit, camouflaged with the familiar pattern I had been wearing as a Monolith trooper. I helped her put it on, limb after limb. First the forelegs, then the hind legs and the body. After making sure her wings fit correctly through the holes in the fabric, I did the two zippers on her back, careful not to damage the black layer of clothing underneath. Once that was done, I took her ballistic vest and helped her put it on. It was slightly lighter than mine yet seemed as strong and fit her like a glove.
“Thanks,” she said , nuzzling the side of my face.
I replied with a smile and began to dress up, leaving Celestia check her gear.
I put on my green battledress, my boots and my bulletproof vest. After I made sure each pouch was in place and every buckle was secure, I sat down on the bed and put on my knee pads. Once I was done I searched around for my elbow pads, only to find Celestia levitating them over.
I turned around and held up my arms, letting the kind alicorn put the protective joints on. Their straps, surrounded by the familiar golden aura of her telekinesis gently wrapped themselves around my arms and attached themselves. I then stood up, letting Celestia secure the various hardened plates around my limbs and my pistol holsters in the same fashion.
I looked at her over my shoulder as she worked. “Hawaiian has something that belongs to you, I have to retrieve it,” I said, looking over my shoulder to the radiant alicorn.
She raised an eyebrow. “Something belonging to me?”
“Yes, remember your jewelry? I sold it and gave you the money already,” I replied. “But I kept your tiara,” I added with a smile, producing the golden ornament from my backpack and putting it gently on her head. “There was something strange with the gemstones though, and Hawaiian insisted to have one of them appraised.”
Celestia levitated the tiara to her eye level. “Y-you kept it?” she asked, giving it a puzzled look. Suddenly, her face lit up. “Thanks! I felt like I made a mistake giving it away. I wanted something to remind me of Equestria,” she added, pulling me into a kiss.
I broke the kiss and smiled. “You are most welcome. Shall we go then?”
“Yes.”
I checked my weapons and followed Celestia as she stood up and left the room, heading for the main hall of Yanov station. The omnipresent smells of cigarette smoke and cooking food were lingering in the air and I could hear the usual sound of stalkers talking, laughing and playing the guitar. Most tables were occupied and Vano and Snag were already waiting for us by the door leading outside.
“Finally! What took you guys so long?” asked Snag, impatiently tapping his foot on the floor.
Vano put a hand on his shoulder. “You perfectly know,” he whispered with a grin, looking at us. “Anyway, are you ready?”
“Not quite,” I replied, feigning I didn’t hear his previous remark. “I have to see Hawaiian first.”
My bearded friend sighed. “Again?”
I shrugged and went to see the trader, who was leaning on his counter as always.
I sighed contentedly as I watched Strider walk up to the local trader's counter. He had become my pillar, my light in the darkness... my first love in centuries. It seemed so surreal, having someone to look up to, someone to support, someone to care about after all this time. At this point I wasn’t sure of what I was doing, but for the first time in a very, very long while... I didn’t care.
I was pulled out of my reverie by Vano as he turned towards me.
“So, what did you two do last night?” he asked with a grin.
Snag slapped him on the back of the head. “That’s not the kind of thing you fucking ask a lady,” he said with a scowl. “You better damn well behave in the future.”
“To be honest nothing. We cuddled and talked, not much more,” I replied in a neutral tone, doing my best to hide the blood rushing to my cheeks.
Last thing I wanted was someone invading my private life with Strider.
The giant pouted and crossed his arms, a look of disbelief on his face. He was about to say something when Strider came back from Hawaiian’s.
“You have it?” I asked, turning towards him.
He only nodded and opened his hand, revealing the amethyst inside of it. “There you go,” he said, handing me the gem.
I shook my head. “No, keep it,” I replied, closing his hand on the stone with a hoof. “You’ll have something from me that way,” I added with a smile.
Strider stared at me, then raised the gemstone to eye level before looking back at me. He gave me a smile, knelt and without a word, hugged me tightly.
Vano let out a squeal. “Awww, you two are adorable!”
*slap*
A palm met an occiput. Again.
“Way to ruin a moment,” scowled Snag. “Why am I with you again? Ah right, giant, cuddly teddy bear.”
His tall coltfriend-
‘Coltfriend?’ Stallionfr- manfriend?
Vano laughed.
“We should go,” Strider interrupted, giving the pair a deadpan look.
I followed him as he headed to the doors leading outside and opened them. Immediately, I felt the rush of the cold air from the outside assaulting my face. I closed my eyes in discomfort, only to reopen them to a surreal sight. Everything was white. The bushes, the trees and the buildings were frozen in time by the ice and covered in a thick layer of snow, reverberating the early afternoon sun rays peeking through the clouds above in the sky.
It was mesmerizingly beautiful.
I took a hesitant step on the snowy carpet. My hoof dug into the snow as it gave way under my weight with a series of little cracking sounds. I let out a giggle and took another step.
Another.
I stopped.
Vano scratched his beard.
I raised an eyebrow.
Snag cocked his hooded head.
We silently observed Celestia in bewilderment as she joyously bounced around in the snow, giggling and smiling blissfully, seemingly overjoyed at the weather. After a while, she stopped and let out a content breath, looking at us. “You coming, g-”
*poof*
She was interrupted by a snowball hitting her square in the face. I stopped in shock and turned around. Vano was whistling innocently, looking at the sky with his arms crossed behind his back and Snag was giving him a disapproving glare.
Celestia just wiped the snow off her face with a hoof, smiled wickedly and lit up her horn. All the snow in a three meter radius around her hovered in the air to form a single, enormous snowball. With a flick of telekinesis, the ball flew towards a wide eyed Vano who was sent tumbling to the ground under the force of the impact.
Snag burst out laughing and myself couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight. My friend's entire upper body was buried the snow and he had an arm raised in the air, comically piercing the layer of snow covering him.
"Didn't hurt."
Celestia let out a laugh. “So, which direction is ‘Zaton’?” she asked.
“North East,” replied Vano, shaking off the snow. “Follow me, I’ll be your guide.” he added, putting on the helmet of his exosuit.
I walked behind my friend as he and his boyfriend opened the way. Celestia lost no time catching up with us and stayed at my side as we left Yanov station behind us. Despite my insulated suit, I could feel the freezing air and the slight breeze that had picked up certainly did not help.
I looked at Celestia. The poor thing was shivering from the cold. I shook my head and undid my scarf.
“Hey,” I said, catching her attention. “Take this, you will catch a nasty cold otherwise,” I added, handing her the piece of clothing. I tied the scarf around her neck and arranged the collar of her suit to expose as little of her coat as possible. “There you go,” I said, giving my soulmate a quick kiss.
The alicorn looked at me. “What about you?” she asked, a concerned expression on her face.
“I will be fine, worry not,” I assured her, before arranging the hood of my suit around my neck and putting on my helmet.
I pressed a button on the side of the helmet. Instantly, its head up display lit up, indicating the count of heat signatures in the vicinity and the status of the onboard systems. Everything was in the green, the only heat signatures were ours and the visor was clear of any cracks.
Nitro sure did a great job. Hopefully this new sapphire visor will be more durable than the plexiglass one.
“Hey! You two lovebirds are coming or what?” asked Vano in the com, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah, hang on.”
I was extremely thankful for Strider and his scarf. At least I could bear the cold, though my naked head was still exposed. We had been walking silently through the snow for nearly an hour and a half. So far we had passed a little train stop and crossed the train tracks. In the distance I could see a derelict, tall structure seemingly made out of metal and a cold grey stone. Every five minutes or so, we would make a turn seemingly at random.
I looked at Strider. “Why do we keep walking making turns?” I asked. “Why can’t we go in a straight line?”
“To minimize the risk of hostile encounters. That way, we cover our flanks, and taking us by surprise would be much more difficult,” he explained. “The area around Yanov station may be relatively secure, but we are pretty far away from it. Besides, we are heading to an uncharted territory. Very few stalkers travel between Yanov and Zaton on their own, most pay the services of a guide..”
I nodded pensively. “I see. Why don’t we use a guide then?”
Vano laughed. “Well... I’m broke, Snag is too and Strider here is going to spend nearly twenty grand on a rifle, not including accessories and ammo,” he explained. “Besides, I’m a pretty good guide,” added the giant, patting his chest.
I pursed my lips, unconvinced.
I could have paid for a guide.
“What about the building in the distance?”
“An old cement factory,” replied Vano, looking over his shoulder.
“Actually, it was a cement factory but was converted at one point to a factory producing electrical appliances, electronics and shit,” corrected Snag. “Stalkers use it as a camp now, it’s right on the border of the explored area around Yanov.”
Vano raised an eyebrow. “You seem to know a lot about the place,” he observed.
Snag gave him a smile. “My aunt worked there. I had family living in Pripyat when I was a child, used to visit them all the time,” said his hooded companion.
“Anyway. We will take a break at this factory. Celestia and I have not eaten anything this morning,” Strider began. “You must be starving dear,” he added, turning towards me.
My stomach grumbled loudly, making me remember that I hadn’t eaten anything since the day before.
“Yeah,” I replied. “Late lunch sounds great.”
We were sitting on the platform on top of the silos at the cement factory. The stairs leading there were rusted but handled Vano’s weight without problem so he deemed them secure. The bearded stalker was playing a guitar he had again pulled out of nowhere and Snag was resting his head on his shoulder, singing along with him. I was distractedly munching on a sandwich, listening to their music and staring off into the distance, pensive.
So we go to Zaton, I purchase a new rifle... and then what?
I looked at Celestia. She had taken a can of food and a bread loaf and was eating distractedly, looking at the two others and imperceptibly bobbing her head in rhythm with their music.
How do we get her back home? How? … I suppose the best way would be to find the right space bubble... even then how do we find it? We cannot ask around at random... maybe we will have to work with the scientists after all.
I sighed. I did not want to be separated from her, but I had to... maybe I could follow her to her home. After all, I had very little to live for in te Zone. Sure, Vano was a good friend, but I knew he could cope without me. I would not be missed by anyone else, really.
I shook my head and took a bite of my sandwich. At least the cold had not frozen it during my pensive pause.
Celestia sat down next to me. “What’s next?” she asked.
Vano stopped playing the guitar. “Next we follow the road,” he said, looking at the old road that passed near the cement factory. “We’ll have to cross the swamps for that, the bridge crossing the canal is broken. Once we pass the bridge, we are officially out of Yanov,” he explained. “After that, we got a more or less uncharted territory, home of mutants, anomalies and radiation so intense that it boils water in some places!”
Snag snorted. “Sure sounds like fun.”
Vano grinned. “Don’t worry sweetie, the big man is here to protect you,” he replied with a chuckle.
“South side, ten o’clock,” announced Strider, looking through his binoculars. “See that bloodsucker in the swamps?”
We were laying prone next to each other on the edge of the platform, silently scanning the swamps North of us. Strider was spotting for me, as he had decided to teach me the basics of marksmanship.
“Give me a second,” I replied, looking for it with my own binoculars. “...there. Got him. Near the big rock, right?”
“Yep. All yours.”
I set the buttstock of my rifle against my shoulder, flipped off the safety and looked through the scope after popping its protective caps open. The beast was idling, crouched next to a rock, seemingly unaffected by the greenish toxic fumes of the swamps. Occasionally it would raise its head and look around, only to stand up and move a few meters. I had a clear shot, all I had to do was to kill it.
There goes nothing.
I lined up my sights with the mutant’s chest, let out a breath and squeezed the trigger.
*BANG*
“Short by a few meters, and two meters too much left,” announced Strider, not looking from behind his binoculars. “Check your windage, two knots should be enough. Remember what I told you about range finding and zeroing.”
I grunted and looked once more at the bloodsucker through the scope.
“Give me an estimation of the range.”
Okay... standing up, this mutant is four mil dots tall... that does, assuming it’s one point eight meters tall... one thousand eight hundred, divided by four...
“Four hundred and fifty meters?” I asked, uncertain.
“Very good.”
I turned the knob on top of my rifle scope until it was set right between four and five, gave the right knob two clicks and looked through the scope again. I once again lined up my shot with the mutant’s chest, let out my breath and squeezed the trigger.
*BANG*
The bloodsucker fell backwards, only to stand back up immediately, an arm hanging limp at its side.
“Nice shot, a bit off-center though,” said Strider. “Look at that, the beast is moving now. You will have to lead your shot to hit.”
I sighed.
Great. As if it wasn’t complicated enough already.
I followed the mutant with my scope, waiting for it to move in a straight line. For a moment, its movements were too erratic, impossible to predict... until I noticed a pattern.
Run, turn, stop, turn, run, walk, run, turn, stop, turn, run, walk, run...
I waited until the mutant walked. As soon as it took off running, I fired.
*BANG*
The bloodsucker collapsed, everything above its shoulders reduced to a mist of blood and chunks of gore.
“Niiiiice. No more head for you, sucker,” said Strider with a grin. “Very well done, Celestia.”
“Did I do good?” I asked.
“Good? That was amazing! Three shots and you nailed it!”
I looked at the sky. I felt conflicted. One less dangerous mutant was on the loose and I was proud of that. I was even proud of what I had achieved, but that went against my principles. In a way, that was one life I had just ended.
“How’s it going?” asked Snag, sitting down next to us.
Strider looked up towards the hooded stalker. “She is already a better marksman than Vano,” he said, comfortingly running his fingers through my mane.
Snag let out a whistle. “Nice. Oh, and Big Guy said we gotta move if we want to be in Zaton by sundown.”
Strider sat up. “Well, I suppose we better be going then,” said my newfound love, looking at the white sky before he turned towards me. “And Celestia... congratulations, you are now our designated marksman,” he added, ruffling my mane. “I can’t wait until I have a decent rifle. We will be able to compete against each other.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Compete?”
“Indeed. Recreational shooting makes the day less boring when you have nothing to do.”
Shooting weapons for sport? Strange.
“Fuck me sideways with a rake and broken glass, I fucking HATE this swamp!”
I rolled my eyes.
Snag, as polite as ever.
“I don’t like it either,” I replied with a sigh. “Just hold on, dear, we’re almost out of here.”
I had to admit though, these swamps were beginning to get on my nerves. It was humid, we were in the mud thigh high and the temperature in there was abnormally elevated. I was even sweating bullets inside my exosuit despite its cooling system... at least it was waterproof, I didn’t have to worry about the water frying any circuits.
Strider was walking ahead, seemingly unaffected by the high temperatures, and Celestia had opted to hover next to him instead of walking, her huge wings flapping at a metronome’s pace. Smart move, at least she didn’t have to walk in the mud. I was impressed that she managed to fly at all, let alone with all the equipment she was carrying.
*splash*
“FUCK! Damn these fucking swamps!”
I turned around. Snag was sprawled face first in the mud.
I ran up to his side and helped him up. “There, there,” I said, gently wiping his face clean. “You okay?”
“I will be as soon as we’re out of these swamps,” retorted Snag, spitting out some mud. “Thanks,” he added with a small smile. “I’d kiss you but I have mud everywhere... yuk.”
“It’s alright,” I replied with a chuckle. “Let’s go, we’re almost out of there,” I added, letting Snag walk in front of me, making sure he wouldn’t fall again.
We had only a few hundred meters until we were out of the swamps and back on the road. I didn’t like these swamps but they were nothing compared to what was waiting for us during this trip, I knew it.
Snag was grumpy. He was covered in dried mud and hadn’t stopped swearing while walking through the swamps. At least we were out of there and advancing somewhat faster.
The air was as cold as ever and the snow seemed to hold up, even under the afternoon sun rays. While it was pretty to look at, the snow was hindering our march, as there was much more there than around Yanov. I was sinking in the white carpet shoulder deep. My wings were useless too, they were aching from all the hovering I did in the swamps. I really needed some exercise.
It was already half past five in the afternoon according to my Vano.
I gave Strider a concerned look. “Have you seen the time?” I asked.
The bald man nodded. “We should be in Zaton in three or four hours, depending on how fast we advance. The night will then begin to fall... I do not like it. We should hurry.”
“You’re right,” said Vano. “I will open the way.”
With that, the giant pulled out his artifact detector and looked at Strider then Snag, giving each of them a nod. Without a word, they all broke into a jog, following the road. Vano took the lead, effortlessly carving a path in the thick layer of snow on the ground despite being in it thigh deep. Snag followed closely, occasionally looking left and right. Strider closed the march, watching their backs. It took me a few seconds to realize what they were doing. I shook my head and followed them, trotting to catch up to Strider.
Walking was pretty boring. Nobody said a word and nothing was happening. At least with the three stalkers walking in front of me I didn’t have to worry about carving my own path through the snow. After nearly an hour at this rhythm, the entrance to a sort of cave came into view.
Vano let out a breath. “So there we are.”
“A tunnel,” I deadpanned.
The bearded stalker shrugged. “Beats jogging in the snow. Besides, it’s the fastest way to Zaton.
We had arrived at the entrance of a tunnel. The road we had been following up to that point seemed to disappear into the darkness inside of the decrepit concrete structure, hiding what awaited us. I did not like it one bit, but I disliked even more the idea of making a detour and being stuck outside in the Zaton swamps by nighttime.
“Alright,” I conceded with a sigh. “We will go through there.
Once again, Vano took the lead, his anomaly detector in one hand, his shotgun sweeping the area ahead in the other.
The inside of the tunnel was pure darkness: we could not see anything five meters ahead and even my helmet’s nightvision barely helped. Occasionally, we came over a pile of rubble and broken junk, some of which nearly obstructing the tunnel, or a wrecked, rusted vehicle, old vestige of the Soviet era. Every two hundred meters there was a big, metallic door on the right, maybe an emergency exit in case something went wrong with the traffic in the tunnel.
We had been in this dark tunnel for nearly half an hour and still couldn’t see the end. I suppressed a shudder. I never liked enclosed spaces.
We stopped. Vano was holding his anomaly detector in the air, waving it around as if looking for something. Strider and Snag had stopped and were scanning the area with their rifles.
I noticed that strange things seemed to happen to the air a few meters ahead: what little light there was in the tunnel seemed to warp. The air was shimmering, as if what was behind it was beneath a rippled water surface. I raised an eyebrow and approached one of these strange phenomenons. I was only a meter away from it when I was interrupted by a voice.
“Whoa there, don’t approach it!”
I turned around, only to see the others staring at me, a tense look on their faces.
“What?” I asked.
Strider crouched in front of the group. “Don’t move. Take a step back and come to me,” he said.
I took a step back. Then another. Another one. I turned around and walked into Strider’s outstretched arms. The buzzed man hugged me tightly, as if he hadn’t seen me in a long time.
“Do not do that ever again, understood?” he asked, voice almost cracking.
“I don’t get it,” I stated, dumbfounded, looking at the others over Strider’s shoulder.
Vano scratched his beard, took a piece of scrap metal lying on the ground and threw it at the shimmer floating in the air. The air seemed to explode,sending a tremendous pressure wave outwards and blowing my mane off my face.
“Very few people who walked into an anomaly walked out of it to tell the tale,” he said.
Snag nodded. “Yeah. That was a gravitational anomaly. While walking into a thermal or electrical one will give you third degree burns, gravitational anomalies will... destroy you, be it by compressing you into a bloody mush or shredding you to pieces. Literally.”
I shuddered at what the hooded stalker had said. If he was right, I had just escaped a gruesome and painful death. I suddenly understood Strider’s reaction and returned his hug.
“Never do that again,” he repeated.
“I’m sorry, I thought it looked strange and-”
“Shh.”
“I found a way,” announced Vano.
I broke the hug and gave Strider a reassuring kiss before turning around and following the giant as he guided us through the field of shimmering anomalies. We turned right, then left and again right, and ended up next to the wall of the tunnel. From there, we walked over a pile of rubble to the center of the tunnel.
We had passed the anomaly field for over half an hour and were almost at the end of the tunnel, I could see a light in the distance. I knew I may have overreacted when Celestia approached the anomaly but I could not have helped it. I did not want her to get hurt, I could not bear to lose her... not anymore.
I was shaken off my thoughts by the sounds of mutant shrieks resonating against the walls of the tunnel, sounding like Tushkanos. There was not just one mutant, it seemed like there were many. Dozens, hundreds of them. I stopped and activated the nightvision goggles attached to my helmet. It barely helped unfortunately: I could not see anything outside of the beam of my flashlight.
Then the thermal signature count on my HUD increased.
Five. Twelve. Thirty. Seventy. One hundred and twenty.
My blood froze at the count. I hit the side of my helmeted head, hoping for a bug from the thermal scanner, but nothing changed.
“What’s wrong?” asked Celestia, sounding concerned.
One hundred and thirty-five thermal signatures, all heading towards us.
“Get to a high point!” I yelled. “NOW!”
With that, I scooped up Celestia and broke into a sprint. I jumped on the roof of a nearby derelict car and sat down there. Celestia looked at me, anxiety all over her features. Vano and Snag opted for a wrecked truck sitting sideways across the tunnel They climbed on the bed of the truck and waited there, crouched low.
Then the Tushkanos arrived. We made ourselves as small as possible as the swarm of hamster-like mutants rushed by. There were hundreds of them, my thermal scanner now displayed ‘ERR’. They were running in a tight pack, forming a moving, living carpet over the clear asphalt of the ground and completely obscuring it; bumping into obstacles and each other alike. The unbearable cacophony of their shrieks and the rumble of their claws hitting the ground completely overwhelmed my eardrums and made me cringe.
I felt Celestia huddle herself against me. I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, trying to keep her calm as much as myself. We had to stay perfectly still if we wanted to remain undetected and stay alive.
After what felt like hours, the swarm of mutants ended. Their shrieks slowly faded off into the distance and the headcount on my thermal scanner came back to four.
Snag let out a relieved sigh. “Whoa. I can’t believe we evaded them,” he began, climbing down the truck.
Vano shook his head. “We didn’t ‘evade’ them, they were fleeing. But from what?”
“I do not know,” I replied. “But whatever it was, I do not want to meet it.”
*thump thump*
*thump thump*
*thump thump*
I froze I heard some sounds of loud thumping echoing in the tunnel, coming from the opposite direction the Tushkanos had run to. My thermal scanner now indicated seven heat signatures.
I recognized the sound.
I felt my heart skip a beat in my chest.
We were dead.
Strider froze. He was deathly pale and had his eyes trained on the direction the pack of little mutants had come from. His breathing intensified. I began to worry, a drop of sweat made its way down my forehead as I tried to understand what was making him panic.
Suddenly, I heard a sound coming from the direction Strider was staring at.
*thump thump*
*thump thump*
*thump thump*
Slowly, the bald stalker turned towards Vano, gave him an eloquent look. “Pseudogiants?” he asked.
Vano nodded slowly. “T-three of them, judging by the sound.”
“W-what do we do?” I asked.
“We can’t run,” said Vano. “Not from three of these beasts... but we can hide.”
“But how!?” exclaimed Snag. “We can’t just fucking turn invisible!”
Strider looked around, examining our surroundings. There were a lot of derelict, rusted vehicles and a lot of rubble on the ground, nothing that could hide us however.
I gulped. The sound was growing closer.
“The bus,” finally said the bald stalker, looking at a rusted down vehicle with a lot of openings. “It is our only chance.”
“You heard the man, let’s go!” yelled Vano.
The thumping sounds were a lot closer now. We ran to the derelict vehicle and rushed inside of it. Strider brought a finger to his lips, gesturing us to stay silent.
The Pseudogiants were approaching.
The floor began to shake.
The sound of their step grew from loud to deafening.
The shaking increased into an earthquake, making chunks of concrete fall from the ceiling and rattling the frame of the derelict bus we were hiding in against the hard asphalt of the ground.
Then the hulking beasts came into view. There were three of them, each over two meters tall, occasionally emitting a loud growl. Their enormous legs propelled their deformed, raindrop shaped torsos faster than any stalker could sprint, cracking the hard asphalt under their weight as they hit it with each heavy step.
*THUMP THUMP*
*THUMP THUMP*
*THUMP THUMP*
Whenever a vehicle or a pile of junk came into the two ton beasts’ path, they just plowed right through the obstacle, headbutting it and sending it flying or tearing it apart as if it was made of wet cardboard. I prayed that they did not do that to our bus, as it would be our end.
The mutants were very close now. I gestured everyone to get down and laid prone on the rotten floor of the bus.
I felt Celestia tremble at my side. She was rolled in a ball and her ears were flopped down on her head. She looked terrified. I reassuringly wrapped my arms around her, hugged her tightly and waited.
The first two the Pseudogiants passed by without even looking at the bus we were in. The third one however slowed down and approached our hiding place, seemingly taking great interest in it. The beast looked through the broken windows just above Celestia and I. I felt her body tense up as the mutated creature passed its deformed, quasi non-existent head through the broken window above us. The alicorn in my arms let out a squeak of fear. I said nothing and began to slowly stroke her neck, trying to calm her down.
The Pseudogiant froze and sniffed the air, waiting for something to happen. We all held our breath, for any sound we made would be our end. After what seemed like hours, the beast snarled and slowly pulled its head back from the window. It turned around and began to walk away, following its two brethren. We stayed immobile for two more minutes, listening to the fading sound of the mutants’ step echoing in the tunnel as they followed their path, destroying anything hindering their progression.
Without letting go of Celestia, I risked an eye in the direction the mutants had disappeared to. Nothing could be heard, nothing could be seen except the aftermath of their rampage: most of the wrecked vehicles were overturned, some even torn in half and the piles of rubble of the ground were scattered around or smashed into fine debris.
I let out a slow, relieved sigh.
Celestia buried her face in my chest and broke down crying, ears flopped down on her head, her sobs shaking her entire body.
“Shhh, shhh, it is alright, it is over now,” I softly said, gently stroking my soulmate’s mane.
“I know *sob* I know, I can’t help it-t-t-t,” she replied between sobs.
Poor soul has to relieve the stress one way or another.
I said nothing and kept her hugged against me until her sobs quieted out. I let go of her and looked at her in the eyes.
“There. Feeling better?” I asked, gently wiping out her tears.
“Yeah,” the alicorn replied with a weak smile. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Do not be. I understand,” I assured her, before giving her a quick kiss on the lips.
Celestia didn’t reply. Instead, she shuffled a bit, making herself more comfortable in my arms.
I chuckled. “You know, we still have a long way to go,” I announced, half amused.
“I know, I know.”
I stood up and gently helped her up. She looked shaken but I was sure she would be able to hold up. After all, she had been through worse already; and even then, I would be there for her.
It had been an hour since the incident with the giant mutants. I took a deep breath. The pressure had the time to settle down I thanks to Strider I had been able to vent the stress caused by the close encounter.
Nothing noteworthy had happened in a while and honestly I was getting bored. We were walking, only this time we were out of the tunnel and back outside, though there was less snow in this area, just enough for my hoof to disappear in the white carpet on the ground.
I let out a breath and ruffled my wings before I fully extended them and took off. I liked my new suit of armor, but it really needed some sort of protection against the cold for my wings. I was more or less forced to hover in place and fly around just to keep them from freezing.
I could see a building profile itself in the distance. It didn’t seem to have any windows and there were some sort of metal superstructures behind it. We followed the road, coming up to a barrier right next to the building. While the others crouched under it, I simply flew over and we continued our way.
We arrived at the feet of the metal superstructures. All of them were very tall with pointed ends and disposed in a regular fashion every few meters. It was like a forest, only this one was made of metal... an iron forest.
On our left was a field of anomalies I recognized as electric ones, and in the distance to our left I could see a crashed vehicle very similar to the one Strider had found me on my second day in the Zone.
“Where are we?” I asked, looking around.
Snag raised his head. “Iron Forest anomaly, South West of the Skadovsk. We shouldn’t be too far from it now, a few kilometers at most,” he announced. “We still got a lot of swamps to cross,” he added with a sigh.
Vano kissed the hood of the stalker. “Don’t be so grumpy. I bet they’ll be completely frozen with this weather.”
“Oh great. Instead of wading around in mud we’ll slip and break all our limbs on it.”
Vano opened his mouth and was about to reply when something bumped his head, making him stumble forwards. He turned away from his hooded companion, clutching his bruised occiput and looked around, confused.
We were in the middle of this ‘Iron Forest’, near a little red brick building with a door and a bolt of lightning drawn on a yellow sign. There was nothing except the anomaly field a few meters away on our right. I watched in awe a few rocks floated in the air.
“Errr, guys?” I called.
“Is that you Celly?” asked Vano.
“N-no. Is that bad?”
“Don’t. Move. We may have a Poltergeist in the area. Maybe Burer.”
Strider crouched down and began walking slowly, looking around. Vano and Snag crouched and put their backs to the wall of the brick building.
I lowered my head and regrouped with them.
“What’s a Poltergeist?” I murmured.
“A strange mutant to be honest,” replied Snag. “They kinda look like Tesla anomalies, big balls of electricity floating in the air, moving randomly. They appear here, disappear there... when you kill one, it just disappears, like a ghost. They’re blind as a mole and deaf as Beethoven, but for some reason they can detect movements nearby. Once they have detected an intruder, they lift every fucking item lying around in the air and hurl it towards whoever was unfortunate enough to enter their territory at butt naked speeds.”
“Evading them is actually simple,” added Vano. “Ducking and moving slowly is enough to lose their attention. They are quite weak and a few bullets will suffice to take one down. But if you run around-”
“POLTERGEIST!”
The giant was interrupted by Strider’s yelling, followed by a loud crashing sound. Turning around, I could only watch, powerless, as my love was thrown off his feet and into a wall a few meters farther by an unknown telekinetic force.
“Strider! NO!” I yelled in despair.
Vano stood up. “Motherfucker!”
Shit.
I set my shotgun on full auto and looked around, trying to find the Poltergeist. I was angry at Strider for wandering alone when a dangerous mutant is around, but I was even angrier at myself for letting him
I looked around. The anomaly field to our right was devoid of any perturbation safe for the occasional electro anomaly discharging with a zap, sign that there were some artifacts in there.
But that wasn’t my goal at the moment. I had solely focus on killing this Poltergeist before it reduced Strider to a pile of bloody mush with its telekinetic abilities.
Suddenly I spotted it. There was what looked like a ball of electricity hiding behind the crashed helicopter on the far left. I gestured Snag and Celestia to stay where they were before I slowly got out of cover.
I creeped up on the immobile Poltergeist, silently moving from pillar to pillar, careful as to not attract its attention. That said, it was already focused on pounding Strider with various objects and sneaking up on the mutant proved quite easy. When I was about to come around the chopper I broke into a sprint and dropped to my back, sliding on the ground and popping up just in front of the beast. I then squeezed the trigger on my USAS shotgun.
The buckshot rounds traversed the Poltergeist as if it wasn’t even there but after a few rounds, it disappeared into nothingness with a ghastly scream. Every object floating in the air fell to the ground.
I smirked.
Gotcha.
*BLONG*
The metal barrel floating menacingly over Strider dropped harmlessly to the ground, missing him by mere centimeters. Without a word, my friend stood up and retrieved his carbine, looking around with a surprised expression.
I stood up and stick out my tongue to him, to which he replied with a deadpan look and an outstretched middle finger.
I turned around, facing Snag and Celestia. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Zaton. The temperature outside is freezing, there is snow everywhere and the weather is globally shit,” I said with a grin. “We would like to remind you that there are buttloads of mutants out there to kill us,” I added, giving Strider an amused glance, “so stay on your guard and keep your gun at the ready. We appreciate that you chose Vano tours and wish you an agreeable day.”
Snag rolled his eyes and Celestia let out a chuckle. We regrouped and headed towards the exit of the compound.
‘Only’ an hour and a half of walking.
*CLAC*
*weeee*
*CLAC*
“EVERYBODY, DOWN!” I yelled.
I instantly grabbed Celestia by the collar and forced her to the ground. The alicorn yelped as her head hit the muddy ice of the frozen swamps with a thud.
Sorry.
I dragged her behind a nearby rock, slipping on the cold ice and cursing internally as the bullets whizzed and clacked past us. We had been walking peacefully through the frozen scenery for half an hour, I had let my guard down and because of me we were under attack.
*CLAC*
*CLAC*
“GOD DAMN IT! WHERE THE FUCK DOES IT COME FROM?” asked Snag, crawling behind the same rocks as us.
“I don’t know but they seem to know what they are doing,” added Vano under the hail of bullets flying over us.
We stayed behind cover, making ourselves as little as possible as to not get hit. After a while, the firing seemed to stop. I cast a quick glance at our surroundings over the rock we were hiding behind. Seconds after I had perked up, a hail of bullets hit our rock. I instantly dropped back behind cover.
“North-West, two hundred meters,” I began. “Five tangos in the bushes outside the swamp. High-end gear and suppressed automatic weapons, small caliber.”
Vano raised an eyebrow. “Small caliber?” he asked, before he put his helmet on. “Oh well,” he added, standing up and readying his machine gun. “Let’s get to it, shall we?”
“What the fuck are you doing?” yelled Snag.
As soon as my friend stood out of cover he became the target of our enemies. The bullets aiming to kill him just bounced off the solid metal plating of his exosuit, leaving only paint scratches, letting the power armoured stalker retaliate by squeezing the trigger of his machine gun, sending a wall of lead towards our enemies while slowly walking towards them.
I shook my head. Even if Vano’s armor could stop most of the bullets from harming him, it was only a matter of time before one of them got through or found an unprotected spot in the plating.
My instincts kicked in.
“Snag, suppressing fire. Celestia, with me,” I ordered.
Snag readied his rifle, peaked over the rock and opened fire at our enemies, supporting Vano’s slow advance.
I gestured Celestia to follow and crouch walked for a good hundred meters through the rotten vegetation of the frozen swamp. The alicorn in tow, I slowly made my way to a rock to the far right of the group attacking us, our progression hindered by the thick brush and the muddy ice of the swamp on the ground.
From there I got a good view of our attackers. They all were wearing the colors of the Mercenary and were lying prone behind a rock, their hands over their heads as automatic gunfire from Vano and Snag forced them to stop firing and hunker down.
I looked at Celestia over my shoulder. “We are taking them down. You stay here, I will take position fifty meters away,” I instructed her. “Wait for my signal.”
The alicorn nervously nodded, readied her rifle and looked through the scope.
“Moving,” I announced.
I once again moved through the brush and silently exited the swamp. I could see our attackers from behind now, the incessant fire from Vano and Snag were effectively pinning them in place. I stopped behind the trunk of a fallen tree and took aim. I reached at a button on my radio and pressed it.
“Fire.”
Sorry.
I let out a breath and telekinetically squeezed the trigger of my rifle. It emitted a loud crack and jerked backwards into my shoulder. One of the men hiding behind the rocks became limp and his grip on his gun loosened. With a final spasm, the man died.
I took a deep, shaky breath and switched my aim to a man who was standing up.
*BANG*
*BANG*
I heard two gunshots under the constant rattle of Vano’s machine gun, coming from the direction he and Snag were. I could only look through my scope as the man I was observing through my scope brought a hand to his bloody chest, looked at it incredulously before he swayed from side to side, fell to his knees and hit the ground face first.
I felt a lump form in my throat.
Two men tried to stand up, only to be mowed down by a hail of bullets from Vano. They fell to the ground, dead. The last man looked around frantically and took off running, only to be promptly shot down by Strider. He silently fell the the ground, his momentum making his corpse skid forwards several meters.
I stood up.
It was over.
Only the whistle of the wind disturbed the deathly silence that followed. It hadn’t been a fight, it had been a massacre... and I had been a part of it. Every single one of these men... I never knew them, none of us did. But they had attacked us, and for that, they were dead. Strider’s tactics had gotten us out of their merciless attack, showing as little mercy in return... and I had been a part of it.
I stood up from behind my rock and made my way to the corpses of the dead stalkers, rifle at the ready. All the stalkers were dead and lying on the ground, a few meters apart from each other.
I crouched down and examined one of them. He was clad in fairly common combat fatigues and tactical vest sporting the dark blue colors of the Mercenaries and had only one 5.45mm hole in the neck right under the jaw, despite me unloading half my magazine at the man.
ugh. I like having a compact assault rifle but the accuracy is way off.
I crouched and began looting the corpse.
Apart from his suit, the dead Merc’s arsenal was far from standard: a customized Browning Hi-Power and a suppressed M16-type rifle with a foregrip and a scope. While I could salvage the scope and the suppressor, the rifle itself was torn open and had several 7.62mm sized holes in the receiver.
Vano, you imbecile.
I detached the accessories and discarded the weapon, deciding to sell the attachments later. Instead, I interested myself in the contents of the Merc’s pockets: Ammo, medical supplies, some food... and a photo. It depicted a woman in her late twenties smiling at the camera, sitting under a tree by a sunny day and holding a young child in her arms. The child seemed no older than a few months. On the back of the photo, something was written.
“Come back soon my love, I don’t want you to miss our baby’s birthday! I miss you so much. Love, Oleksandra,“ I read aloud.
Damn.
I sighed and looked at the dead Mercenary laying at my feet. I put the photo back into his pocket, closed his eyes and laid his arms on his chest. I unpinned an incendiary grenade and put it in one of the Merc’s pocket.
I heard the grass ruffle behind me. Celestia was there, mixed emotions conflicting on her features. I stood up and walked to the beautiful alicorn, stopping a meter away from her. I knelt down and let her come to me. She took a step forwards and rested her head on my shoulder. Without a word, I wrapped my arms around her and closed my eyes.
*FWOOSH*
The incendiary grenade went off, producing flames of intense heat and quickly consuming the body of the dead Merc. Celestia sighed and broke the hug, before she turned away and headed towards the rock we had been hiding behind in the first place.
I then stood up and turned around, leaving the body of the man to burn, walking to another corpse laying on the ground. This one was clad in a sort of lightened armour with a hood and had more custom equipment: a shortened FN FAL with folding butt stock and some kind of revolver. He had one neat hole in the helmet, undoubtedly Celestia’s work.
Might keep the FAL for replacement parts for Celestia's rifle.
Like before, I searched through his equipment. I salvaged some of his medical supplies and his ammo for Celestia’s rifle... it was not match-grade but would suffice for standard range firefights.
Out of curiosity, I took his PDA and searched through the message logs. Maybe it would contain valuable information I could sell.
I felt my heart skip a beat.
We were dead.
Man, was I glad for my exosuit! I had stood under direct fire and the worst damage I had sustained was paint scratches and a couple of dents on a few armored plates. I checked my machine gun and walked out of the frozen swamp, approaching the stalkers that had the bad idea of attacking us. All of the ones I had killed were dead for good, riddled with bullet holes.
I examined one of them, clad in a cheaply made exoskeleton. I put him onto his back with a foot.
“You’d think being a Merc makes good money,” I said with a sigh.
Snag came up at my side. “Merc?”
“Yep. See this?” I asked, showing Snag the badge with black background and a blue eagle head. “Symbol of the biggest Merc faction around.”
I was about to add something when I spotted Celestia coming up to us. She looked conflicted and confused.
“Something’s bothering you?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I understand we had to kill these men, we had no other choice... I’m over it, mostly... but I feel terrible for it,” she said, awkwardly rubbing a foreleg
Snag nodded. “Trust me, it’s normal,” he replied. “I’d be fucking worried otherwise. It’s just a question of habit. After a while, you learn to block it out. You become numb.”
The alicorn sighed. “Yeah... that’s what Strider told me too. That I would feel nothing eventually.”
“It’s not so hard,” I reassured her. “You’ll just become more resilient in time, you’ll see,” I added with a small smile.
“Yeah. In time... I just hope I can last that long.”
Celestia turned around and sat down, staring blankly in the distance.
I turned around and walked away only to sit down, staring blankly in the distance. I could see the endless swamp, obvious vestige of a river, frozen by the cold wind ruffling the reeds and the brush. There was also what looked like a stranded boat.
Strider came up at my side. I gave him a weak smile that instantly changed to a look of concern as I noticed the expression on his face. The bald stalker was deathly pale and was clutching in his right hand a small device that looked like my PDA.
“Is everything alright?” I asked him, worried.
“I... no.”
I apprehensively followed Strider as he walked up to Vano and Snag. Without a word, he handed them the device he was holding.
Vano gave his friend an interrogative glance, only to change into an expression of worry and fear as he looked at the PDA he was holding. Snag’s expression too changed to one of horror as he glanced at the device.
“That’s for real?” he asked, nervously scratching his chin.
Strider nodded.
“What’s going on?” I asked, my gaze darting between the stalkers.
Strider took a deep breath.
“There is a price on our heads.”
“WHAT?”
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Yay you updated, for that I shall make STALKER Celestia the group icon for the day. Ok the lovey-dovey stuff was starting to get annoying, but the action makes up for it. So the everything is going to hell in an handbasket, and they are still no closer to Celestia getting home (with strider of course). Great chapter Roadrunner.
Awww that sucks.... now people are gonna get paid to kill them..
2694957
aaaw, that's sweet!
Thanks for being so forgiving.
2695058
Well. Not 'everyone'. It'll be explained in later chapters. What did our heroes get into?
So there is now a price on their heads, *considers if it's worth the money* Hmmm... Naa... I wont hunt them, (or how much are we talking about?)
I'll bet an half decent AK-74 that it's Sultan's idea.
2698372
Sultan? Oh no. We're talking about much bigger fish here.
so much win
3.bp.blogspot.com/-Es5fdqszk78/Tx744PAawLI/AAAAAAAAB5o/XCwQn-PMM7Y/s1600/this%2BPleases%2BMe.jpg
2698746 Wow, that`s cool. Waiting for the next chapter. Keep it up dude. Don`t make us wait too long.
Sounds like they need a bigger team...
Granted, if the source of the bounty happens to be a government... well, good luck. There's only so much a wall of lead can do for you before you're overwhelmed.
I thought it was a good chapter.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fic!
2735645
Don't be so hasty, friend. I'd rather have a deserved thumbs up than a hyped one.
That said, I do thank you for feeding my ego
2750667
maby
As always, great chapter!
And i really liked the atmosphere of the tunnel! I always saw the pseudogiants as something best being avoided and not just "shoot with pistol and kill it".
and that number of tuscano reminds me of a bug in the spawn system of a mod i dont remember the name of, it spawned a shitload of blind dogs in the x10 lab... I ran....alot...
Damn site's been fiddling with my favorites. This is the third story I have to re-sub to.
Good chapter, but I read this and I laugh. You don't know the meaning of the word heat! It's 1AM, and it's at least 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and during the day it routinely approaches 120.
I love Arizona!
2831115
Some anomalous zones go well beyond the point where water boils, thought you should know. Stalkers who go there, mostly experts, only survive such conditions thanks to their suits.
2831549
Arizona...
At first glance, it doesn't look nearly as bad as Australia; its desert areas have an abundance of vegetation (as opposed to the stereotype of deserts being barren) while its forested areas look outright inviting. Not bad at all right?
Wrong.
Let's start with the desert. Okay, you can easily die of sunstroke or frostbite (you heard right), as the desert is either really hot or really cold depending on the season. However, that's just for starters. Beside the climate, the desert is home to an abundance of species that could keep with Australian types; the obvious ones are the rattlesnakes, coyotes (which can travel in packs of dozens by the way), cougars, jaguars (yes, really), and spiders (anything from tarantulas to black widows to brown recluses and their infamous flesh-eating venom), but there's also the likes of the peccary (think the Sonoran's take on a wild boar), tarantula hawk wasp (talk about Names to Run Away From Really Fast, this sucker is what the Cazadores in Fallout: New Vegas are based on) and Gila monster (one of two known venomous lizards, so named for their violent temperament and strength) to name a few.
Alongside the fauna, the combination of abundant vegetation and dry air can easily cause massive wild fires that are near impossible to put out (no thanks to the limited water supply); even a blown out match is enough to ignite one (which has happened more than once). And that's not discounting the vegetation itself; while the plants - which range from the stereotypical cacti to prickly pears and other types with large abundances of thorns - aren't venomous like in Australia, they're lethal in their own myriad of ways. First, they can easily catch hold of loose clothing and effectively trap anyone against them (which means if you don't have a knife or easy-to-rip-or-takeoff clothing, then you're stuck, period); even a slight brush can often lead to ensnarement. Alongside that, said plants may or may not be home to one of the local animals listed above, as snakes, spiders and insects like to use them for shelter.
Large patches of a devious little cactus called the teddy-bear cholla litter the Sonoran Desert. From a distance they, they look as cute and fuzzy as the name implies, but get too near and you'll find that those fuzzy looking spines mean business. Entire segments of the plant will break away so it can cling to your leg like a gigantic cocklebur, making large areas completely impassable.
And then there's the forest areas in northern Arizona, which takes the danger Up to Eleven. You read about the climate above, right? Well, it can be just as hot or cold in the north, and water is just as limited; unless you're near a (man-made) lake, death by dehydration is just as likely to occur as in the Sonoran. And just like the aforementioned, the air tends to be very dry, which can easily cause forest fires (from so much as an excessively hot day). And finally, there's always the local wildlife, which pretty much includes everything listed above, only now with addition of bears alongside additional types of wildcats and arthropods. In short, if you want to go on a nature hike, best pack heavy firepower (preferably something in the rifle range) and lots and lots and lots of water.
Oh, and did I mention that this is around the altitude where little things like hypoxia can start becoming a hazard if you don't take the time to acclimate yourself?
The Mojave Wasteland would look like a vacation compared to the Sonoran Wasteland.
2832533
The Zone of Alienation...
At first glance, it looks like an average eastern-European countryside; the area is populated by a lot of people, the local wildlife is frolicking and it has an abundance of vegetation. Not bad at all, right?
Wrong.
Let's start with the weather. Okay, you can easily die of sunstroke or frostbite, as the eastern-European climate is either really hot or really cold depending on the season, and even then the weather is imprevisible; thunderstorms can strike at any moment. However, that's just for starters. Besides the climate, the Zone is home to an abundance of mutants that could keep with artificially augmented lab experiments; the obvious ones are Fleshes (mutated, aggressive pigs), Burers (mutated humans with telekinetic abilities), Bloodsuckers, zombies (yes, really) and dogs (anything from the standard blind dog to the Pseudodogs that can easily jump half a dozen meters in height and Psy dogs and their infamous ability to multiply themselves), but there's also countless boars (the smallest ones weigh half a ton), Chimeras (talk about Names to Run Away From Really Fast, these suckers can tear an exosuit-wearing stalker IN HALF with its two heads), Pseudogiants (two meters tall, two ton hulking beasts that can outrun an Olympic athlete) and Controllers (they can mentally control their victims and turn them into zombies) to name a few.
Alongside the fauna, the combination of abundant vegetation and unpredictable weather can easily cause the most experienced group of stalkers to get lost and stumble upon a group of mutants or Bandits (which has happened more than once). And it's not discounting the vegetation itself; while the plants - which range from the stereotypical bushes and pine trees to other mutated plants such as Thorns - aren't venimous for the most part, they're lethal in their own miriad of ways. First, they can trap radiation in them (which means if you don't have antirads, artifacts or a protective suit, then you're dead, period); even a slight bush can hide anomalies (strange phenomenons known for their lethality and physics-breaking abilities) and lead to death. Alongside that, said plants may or may not be home to one of the local mutants listed above, as dogs, Snorks and Tushkanos (mutated hamsters with razor-sharp claws that hunt in large packs) like to use them for shelter.
Large irradiated areas. From a distance, they look harmless and nothing seems out of place, but get too near and you'll find that the Zone means business. Dizziness, nausea, headaches are the first symptoms of acute irradiation. They can cause death within seconds and the radiation is so intense in some places it causes water to boil, making large areas completely impassable.
And then there's the anomalous areas, which take the danger Up to Eleven. You read about the radiation above, right? Well it can be even dangerous in these places. Some areas are so contaminated even Hazmat suits aren't enough to safely wander in them, others are so hot they can make metal melt; unless you're equipped with a good anomaly detector, death by anomaly is very likely to occur, shredding you to pieces or burning you to a crisp. And just like aforementioned, the wildlife is abundant, which can easily lead to fight for your life INSIDE an anomalous area.
And finally, there's always the local residents, which pretty much include all the scum of the Earth, only now with addition of factions at war (Duty and Freedom - or Dolg and Svoboda) alongside Monolith troops and Bandits that shoot on just about everyone. In short, if you want to go on a nature hike, best pack heavy firepower (preferably a shotgun accompanied with an automatic rifle and a pistol), good protective gear and lots and lots of supplies (drugs, food, drinks, ammo...).
Oh, and did I mention that in the Zone, Blowouts, Fallouts and Psy Storms regularly occur, meaning that you'll die right where you're standing if you don't have the time to find cover?
The Mojave Wasteland would look like a vacation compared to the Zone.
2833396
Relax, dude, I wasn't trying to say Arizona is worse than the Zone, just make a point on how harsh the natural conditions are compered to most places on Earth IRL.
2833675
I'm chill as ever, mate, just making a parody of your long tirade. Consider it a tribute.
*BLONG*, as a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. player I love the way that you perfectly captured the sound of those barrels.
2891373
I'm French.
Also Strider. Not Strelok. ATTENTION: SPOILERS
2891740 i only played the first game, so i was confused. O thought it was "call of chernoybl" not"shadow of chernoybl"
And that stuck out because i plagerized that quote myself with my assassin. Its his first line when he makes his appearance.
2916682
THANK YOU I've been looking for the proper adjective since the very beginning.
You need to add a romance tag to this story.
Солнышко/solnishko - (lit.) little sun. kinda liek that.
Doesn't make much sense unless he payed in dollars. Russians don't use word "grand" to mark a thousand. I highly doubt anyrussian would say grand in connection to dollars, too.
2833396
*Sonoran
5266256
yeeaaah....well........the moon seems pretty nice....but im gonna go to the sierra madre....ive heard they got Sirrea madre MARTINIS