Dark Skies
Dmitri slouched into the stock of his Dragnov SVDm-2 Sniper Rifle and sucked air into his mouth through the filters that protected his lungs from the radioactive air. He stared through the scope at the mutated dog that had been sniffing the air and let his breath go as he pulled the trigger. BLAM!
Two days ago, Dmitri had entered Chernobyl with four other Stalkers. Now, he was the only one. Mutants, Bloodsuckers, and anomolies had taken his comrades, and the only thing he could do was take any useful gear from their bodies, and live on with the thought that what he was doing was 'right'. He knew he had no right to survive, those stalkers who ventured with him knew the risks, yet... He felt guilt about their demise. Like he could have prevented it. He dismissed the thought as he approached the mutated dog, writhing in a pool of it's own blood. Drawing his knife, he muttered a few words and jabbed the beast in the stomach and tugged the knife up to the throat and yanked it loose, letting all of the blood and guts spill out so that he could take the meat for later use. After all, a lot was useful in the Zone. He left his sniper hang by its sling and removed his gloves to check for any exposed skin or cuts.
Seeing none, he reached into the clump of innards and organs and pulled them, moving the dead body in the process. When most of the intestines were exposed, he began to cut the organs out and take peices of meat from the ribs and store them in tiny containers he had taken from one of the deceased Stalkers in his group. Content with his work, he huffed and got out his canteen to pour water over his hands to was the blood away.
When all blood was gone, he inspected the other weapon he had taken from his former Stalker, a GP-37 assult rifle. One of the rarest in the Zone, aside from the highly seeked FT-200M, which he never had the pleasure of finding.
"It came from over here!" Dmitri heard a voice shout. Sliding his gloves back into place, he then sprinted behind a near peice of cover and peeked around the corner to see multiple members of the Monolith group examining the carcass. "Who the fuck did this? One of our members?" One said to another, glancing at the many empty buildings and cover spots.
"Maybe it was a mutant? How the hell do you expect me to know?" The other answered.
"That's right, it was a mutant." Dmitri thought to himself as the Monoliths continued to banter about the possibilities. He began to sneak away towards one of the nearby hangers to search for any escape route. Behind him, he heard a hiss, ad when he turned around, he was face-to-face with a Bloodsucker.
"Shit!" He shouted on instinct to alert his comrades, which were dead and gone.
"What was that?!" One of the Monoliths rounded the corner as Dmitri drew his UDP and fired into the mutants skull. "Stalker!"
Dmitri cursed himself and grabbed the dead Bloodsucker body as a shield. Bullets from the enemy Akm47/2 tore into the corpse, shielding Dmitri from any harm. When the Monolith stopped to reload, he pushed the corpse away and fired multiple shots into his head. Multiple more rounded the corner, and by that time, Dmitri had his GP-37 trained on them. He let volley after volley of lead punch into exposed skin and visors. The remaining Monoliths retreated to find any avalable cover, giving Dmitri enough time to escape.
He had never run so fast. It practically defied all reason for the speed he was going. He didn't know whether it was the artifacts he had, or raw adrenaline. By the time he had cleared the Monolith's he huffed, seeing air rise about his visor. Looking around, he realized he was in a familiar place. Memories from his military days flashed in his mind.
Chernobyl NPP, 9 years ago during attempt to occupy Zone
Dmitri yawned as his bunk mate pushed his shoulder rapidly. "Get up Lieutenant! Colonel Arseni wants you!" Efreitor Briacheslav said is a rushed matter. "Or the man will have my жопа(ass)!"
Dmitri pushed Briachslav away and yawned. "Ладно(okay), I'll head to him, just make sure that all of the men get up." He walked out as he younger soldier saluted him, his AKs-74u2 clicking against his vest and magazines.
In the command room, Dmitri was taken by surprise by the figure of Lieutenant General Efim Zavid.
"General!" Dmitri went straight to a salute pose, and was given at ease.
"Lieutenant," Lieutenant General Zavid walked up to Dmitri, who shifted his gaze anywhere but his superiors eyes. "I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me something."
"Sir?" Dmitri was flabbergasted, what did he want to know?
"If need be, how quick could we evacuate this base of operations? The Ukrainians are getting edgy with their commands and want us out on the first sign of danger." Zavid gazed into Dmirti's eyes. "I'm not kidding. How long would it take?"
"Well, with our numbers at about 172... and our vehicles only capable of transporting 8 at most... It would take hours to get most off of the base." Dmitri said, lowering his head to hide his face.
"Thank you, because we must-" Zavid was cut short by screams and gunshots. "What?! No!!! They can't be here yet, it's not possible!" Zavid stuttered out, fear driving his words into the heads of the others.
"What? What is it?!" Captain Viktor Pavol asked, grabbing his rifle. "Is it soldiers?!"
"Much worse, a legion of monsters are coming as we speak," He turned to Dmitri and walked up to him. "We must begin evacuating, please, to the transports!" He ushered Dmitri towards the door, but was thrown back when the door exploded into splinters as a soldiers body landed on Captain Pavol. The beast behind the frame howled into the air and rushed into the room, straight towards Dmitri. The beast tackled him to the ground and tried to attach some type of tentacle to his head. He grunted and shouted, hoping to get some help. He reached for his knife and stabbed into it's stomach repeatedly. The creature slumped forward, only for a sizable hole to replace its head. Captain Pavol reached his hand down to help him up. "We must go!Спешите (Hurry)!"
Present day, 2011
Dmitri entered the old control room used by the military and walked over to the destroyed door frame. Both bodies were still present after all of these years. He wiped the fog from the lens and pressed onward, towards the hangers. Halfway across the room, he turned back to the equipment and walked to it. He took a peice of paper from one of the old rolls and a pencil. On the paper he wrote:
"On this base lie the brave soldiers in the governments attempt to stableize the Zone. Their spirits live on throughout this base and deserve peace. If you find this letter, please leave my comrades to rest.
Dmitri Tverdislav, former military.
The message would remain until someone found it, or the Monoliths search the area for him. Turned to exit, he muttered "Спокойны, товарищей(Calm, comrades.)." and prayed as he left the room.
Outside, the base remained silent to his words, as if listening with all of their minds, the minds of his friends and comrades. He shivered at the memories of the dying soldiers, being ripped apart by the beasts of the Zone. The hangers loomed in front of him, open and barren, save one. He walked up to the door and pushed to the side. The door stood still, prompting Dmitri to curse himself. He looked around for any way into the locked hanger, seeing a keypad, he approached and tapped a number. To his surpirse, the pad lit up and Dmitri smiled. He tapped in a set of numbers and grinned as a familiar green light appeared and the doors began to open. Dmitri readied his GP-37, ready for anyone or thing that would try to stop his escape.
When the door was opening, he slipped inside and approached the Russian Hind's, examining their condition. Most had been damaged after the first emission, but Dmitri knew of a secret helicopter. An EMP hardened attack chopper, and that was his ticket out of Chernobyl.
The Hind stood out, considering it was the only one covered by a tarp and was a Navy Blue meant for clear days. Upon his inspection, he say it was in the same condition as it was 10 years ago, when it was created. He climbed into the cockpit, only for Monoliths to enter the hanger and shout. "Come out, Stalker! We'll make your death quick for our masters!" They had no sense that he knew the base like the back of his hand, and Dmitri used that to his advantage to flank the unaware Monoliths. They were scanning every wrecked helicopter, shouting to their other squad mates.
Dmitri slid his knife from it's sheath and grabbed a monolith by his jaw, jabbing the knife into the back if his neck, severing the spinal cord and dragged him into one of the destroyed helicopters. "Arcev, where are you brother?" A Monolith whispered when he noticed his comrade was gone.
"You'll join him soon enough." Dmitri jumped from behind some crates and dragged the monolith behind them, only to slit his throat and stab the knife into the back of his neck, like the other. The blood stained his SEVA suit a crimson red. He noticed a silencer portruding from his AK, and quickly unscrewed it to attach it to his pistol. He left the body and stepped out, prepared to kill the other Monoliths in the hanger.
"Why the hell aren't Arcev and Limny back?" The group leader asked another fighter, looking into the hangers shadows.
"I killed them." Dmitri said before shooting them point blank in the heads with his pistol. Their bodies hit the concrete with a thump and all was silent. Dmitri exhaled and sniffed. He felt the presence of his former comrades and turned to the entrance of the hanger.
Standing in a row, shadows of his former soldiers stood, staring at him and muttering in ghostly voices, "Major, what happens now?
"I don't know..." He replied to the silhouette.
"Sir, you should go. You need to survive... Carry our memory with you!" The shadow of Briacheslav said, pointing to the Hind. "Now. Please!"
I'm sorry I couldn't save you." Dmitri croaked out. Tears were beginning to well in his eyes and he was chocking.
"Don't worry Dmitri, just go." Pavol's shadow said.
Dmitri began to walk towards the helicopter, sniffling. "I wish I could go back and save you!" He turned and shouted. The shadows faded as he shouted that. Opening the driver side door, he sat himself in the seat and activated the motor. Unlike most helicopters, this one could move with it's wheels. He moved the chopper between the other damaged prototypes and engaged the rotors outside. The engine roared as he began to ascend.
When he was in the sky, he glanced back down to Chernobyl and said "I thank you, great and merciful god for allowing me to tell their story." He turned his attention back to the sky and laughed hysterically. He didn't know why he was laughing, he had just seen the ghosts of his former comrades. He guessed he was laughing because he had escaped Chernobyl a second time.
Suddenly, the sky turned a bright and violent red. Dmitri's eyes shrunk to the size of pin's. He was in the sky during an emission. The last thing he heard were his own screams.
When he regained consciousness, the only feeling he felt was sickness. His senses told him to open his eyes, but he ignored them. He was glad that his mask was still intact, even though he felt little clean air filtering into his lungs.
"Fucking emissions," He coughed, opening his eyes to see trees. "what the hell?" The trees were unlike anything he had seen, even in the Red Forest. "Were the hell am I?" For a moment he thought he had left the zone. He stumbled from the smoking wreckage and tore the mask from his face, taking deep breaths into his weary and wanting lungs. He looked towards the sky, blinking and raising his hand to cover the beaming sunlight from entering his sensitive eyes. The smoke wafted into his nose and wrinkled in response to the 9 year old fuel and oil.
Dmitri lowered his vision and looked around, hearing a roaring to his left. He pulled his UDP out and raised it loosely towards the noise as he approached the source. The source was a river. Dmitri approached the river and didn't hear his Geiger counter, prompting him to drop to his knees and stick his face into the river. he gulped the clean water down as fast as he could. Clean water was rare in the Zone, unless the water was imported from the Ukraine or other sources willing to ship water and food into the Zone.
When his lungs demanded air, he took one last long gulp and brought his head up, gasping for air and coughing. Water dripped from his hair and face back into the river. Reaching to his belt, he unstrapped the canteen and dumped the contents in a nearby bush. He then stuck the now empty container into the crystal clear river and watched as air bubbles burst from the hole. He lifted the canteen and sipped the excess water from the top before screwing the cap back in place.
He heard rustling and shot up, raising his pistol to see an animal that hadn't been seen since the Zone was fabricated. He saw a deer. A living deer. Dmitri stood up and holstered his pistol to reach for his assault rifle, but the deer noticed him and ran off.
"Damn, missed some meat." He reached down and gripped his canteen to put it away and felt as if he was being watched. He scanned the area around him and saw no one.
Past the river, he found himself at a rickety old rope bridge. he had two choices, look for shelter, or try to find a way out of the forest. Once again, his gut told him to turn around and never turn back. But he pressed onward, ignoring his gut.
Above the bridge, a shadowy figure stared down onto him, smiling, fangs glinting off of the setting sun.
Across the bridge, Dmitri saw what he described as a rundown castle. Cobble was strewn about, and walls were gone, like a battle had been fought there. Pressing on, he turned on his under barrel flashlight on his GP-37. The hallways were poorly lit, and the setting sun and rising darkness didn't help his vision. Once again, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. He glanced behind him and only saw shadows. The hallways winded around, and led Dmitri to believe he would never find his way out if he needed to. Most of the rooms he entered were wrecked or dusty from age. He moved a cloth to cover his mouth from the flying dust. On the other side of the room, a dusty frame stood. He walked over to it and wiped some dust from it. The picture was of a castle, which he assumed to be the one he was in, only years ago.
Pressing onwards, he found himself at the doorway into what he could conclude was an old library. Old candles were strewn around the room, along with a few couches and tables. There was a hole in the wall which led to another section that gave his gut a practical seizure.
He finally listened to his shuddering gut and turned around to leave, only for the door to shut in his face. "Who the hell is here!?" He shouted, hearing no response to his question. Shaking his head, he went through the hole and patted his stomach, saying "I'm sorry, but we have to go here now. There's no other choice."
He found himself in a long hallway with a large door at the end and in the other direction was complete darkness that his light couldn't penetrate. He glared down the hallway into the darkness and squinted his eyes to try and make out anything aside from nothing. He heard a crack behind him and whirled around to see the large door now ajar, as if inviting him in.
Seeing no other options, Dmitri entered the room only for the door to slam shut behind him. He cursed himself for ever entering the castle and slammed his back against the door. "дрисня(Shit)!"
His breathing sped up and he found it hard to concentrate on the matter at hand, which was escaping. His eyes darted around, examining the room for any escape route.
"There's no way out through here, unless you can fly." A female voice said. "I can read you like an open book."
Dmitri stood at full height and raised his rifle, "Who's there?!"
"That's exactly what I was thinking. Can you read my mind?" He heard a snicker and flicked on his night vision to see nothing in the shadows. "Looking for someone?" He heard the voice directly behind him. He stepped forward and turned behind him for nothing to be there, even the door was gone.
"Where are you!? Show yourself!" He extended his arms in a gesture as if saying come get me.
"Show myself? I've been here the entire time." This time he heard the voice above him. He looked up and shouted in surprise. Floating above him was a shadowy figure staring at him with light blue cat like eyes. "Welcome to my castle, stranger." She said to Dmitri, who had stepped back and raised his rifle at the strange woman.
"What the hell are you!?" Dmitri shouted with his rifle trained on it.
"That's what I was thinking. It's almost like you can read my mind. So tell me, creature... What am I thinking right now?" Te woman asked him.
"Where am I?" Dmitri shifted his stance, leaning into the stock of the rifle.
"So close," she pinched her fingers together. "I was thinking who would trespass on my castle grounds? Are you with the elements?"
None of this made sense to the stalker, and the confusion was present on his face and his eyes.
"Oh, you're not." Her eyes widened and then moved to their normal state. "So you really aren't from around here." She lowered herself to stand on the ground, prompting Dmitri to step back and aim his gun at her head. "Where are my manners?" She exclaimed, grinning. "My name is Nightmare Moon," Nightmare Moon stared at Dmitri. "What do you go by?"
Dmitri shuffled again, remaining silent. "Well, do you not have common courtesy in your home, especially for royalty?"
"Royalty? Don't make me laugh, the only ones with royalty are the British. Unless..." Dmitri realized what had been nagging his head ever since he woke up. He wasn't home. He somehow was sent somewhere else.
"Aww, is the little creature lost? I can assure you, this is the safest place for anything that isn't from our world. So tell me, creature," Nightmare Moon approached Dmitri, who kept his rifle on her, "What is your name." She demanded.
"..." Dmitri looked away from her, ignoring the question.
"Tell me what your name is. Now!" She grabbed his collar and lifted him up.
"Dmitri!" He shouted, dropping his rifle. He reached for his knife and was released. He fell to the ground and landed on his back.
"Well Dmitri, I'm feeling nice today, so I'll give you a choice; you can stay here, or you can try your luck with the other towns and hope they don't chase you out." She pointed to the exit, which led to the bridge. "How?" Dmitri stared, never noticing the door when he entered.
"Make your choice before I start to feel worse." She said. Dmitri scrambled up and retrieved his GP-37 to run out the door and across the old bridge. On the other side, he turned around and saw the same fog that had been there earlier. He sighed and began to treck back to the crashed helicopter.
Inside, he scrounged through the many storage areas, hoping to find anything that could help him find his location. Remembering his PDA, he pulled the small device out and grumbled at its blank screen. "Damn! Well, maybe there's something here..." Dmitri opened the medical box in the cockpit and laughed. It was filled with first aid, anti-radiation drugs, and 3 flares. He quickly emptied the contents into his pack and closed the box.
Patting his stomach, he looked for a suitable spot to start a firepit. He pulled a hood over his head and began to gather any small sticks he could. He placed the sticks in a small pile and lit a match, tossing it into the fire. The wood crackled and lit, earning a smile from his pale lips. Dmitri took a seat near the fire and took out a can of Beans and his survival knife.
After his meal, he sighed and set out a bedroll he found in a compartment onboard the helicopter. The bedroll was nice, considering he had spent the past week sleeping on the ground. He felt oddly safe, even though the chance of unknown monsters trying to kill him was ever present. He rolled himself onto his side and sighed, drifting off into sleep.