I walk right behind Stone, avoiding bushes and small mud puddles. Not much is left until the hill where the bloodsucker is hiding. And I'm a little worried about how long we've been dawdling with what happened at the watchtower. Because of our delay, the bloodsucker could have woken up long ago and be hiding somewhere in the nearby bushes or have escaped altogether. I grip my rifle, loaded with Hunter rounds, tighter and scan the vegetation.
After a while, Stone stops, raises his fist, and signals that we need to be alert. Then he kneels on his right knee, drops his backpack, and takes out binoculars, leaving the load on the ground. I raise my rifle, preparing to shoot. A couple of minutes pass before the stalker quietly calls me over.
"Didn't see a damn thing," he whispers, spitting and putting the binoculars back. "It's unclear if he's there or not, we'll have to split up."
I shift my gaze from the Clear Sky soldier to the wide, gentle hill dotted with various greenish shrubs. It's quiet, only crows cawing somewhere in the distance.
"What do you suggest?" I ask him just as quietly.
"We'll have to split up," he straightens up. "That way, there's a better chance he'll show himself. And if we get caught, we'll cover each other."
"That's a crazy plan," I sigh. "But there's nothing else to do, let's go. I'll take the right side."
I cover the last ten meters to the gentle hill and climb onto it. Stone has already disappeared into his half of the bushes. I try to walk as quietly as possible, avoiding twigs that catch on my clothes and small puddles. I cautiously emerge from behind another bush and stumble upon a bloodsucker.
The creature looked at me with its pale eyes, clearly not expecting anyone to get so close to its lair. Apparently, it had only recently woken up and didn't fully understand what was happening. I raise my rifle and fire two quick shots.
But they go wide; the mutant manages to dodge, jumping aside and going invisible. I toss aside my now useless rifle, I won't have time to reload it, and draw my pistol. From the left, I hear Stone's voice and the sound of the stalker crashing through the bushes, but then someone steps into a puddle behind me. I quickly turn and fire several bullets into the void.
The creature roars in pain, but the bullets only hit its left arm. The bloodsucker lunges and crashes into me, the pistol falls from my hands, and the creature and I roll down the slope of the hill. My back and legs explode with pain from the embedded stones, and the mutant looms over me, holding me firmly in place with its impressive weight. It's already reaching for me with its tentacles when I try to hold it back with my left hand, and with my right, I draw my hunting blade from its sheath and forcefully plunge it into the creature's belly up to the hilt.
The bloodsucker literally roars in pain, but continues to try to suck me dry. I start to move the knife upwards, cutting open the mutant's abdomen. I'm doused with warm blood and some of its spilled entrails, and I somehow manage to push the weakened, but still alive, creature off me. It barely resists, lying on the ground and whimpering, trying to crawl away from me. But the mutant won't get that satisfaction from me.
I get up from the ground, pick up the fallen blade, and take a wide step towards the mutant. I grab it by its bald head, tilt it back, and make a wide, deep cut across its throat, from which dark blood gushes out, drenching the grass.
Congratulations, user! Your Melee Weapon skill has reached the Experienced rank.
You now use melee weapons even better than before and are capable of throwing them with pinpoint accuracy.
Congratulations, user! Your rank has increased to Novice.
You have seen the Zone and survived some dangers on your path, but you still have a long way to go.
I snort briefly, wiping my knife on a clean part of my jacket, which I'll have to throw away now, it won't come out. And, would you look at that, no longer a lockpick, but a full-fledged novice. How much more will I have to endure before I'm promoted to at least experienced?
"Executioner!" At that moment, Stone appears from the bushes on the hill, looking for me. As soon as his gaze lands on me, his eyes widen in surprise. "Are you alright?"
"Perfectly, unlike my jacket," I sigh. "I dropped my weapon on the hill, can you help me?"
While Stone searches for my weapon, I kneel before the bloodsucker and try to cut off its jaw. It was a bit difficult and unfamiliar, but I managed, and the bandaged tentacles were placed in my backpack. I need to buy some plastic bags for such things later, I can't always find rags or use bandages.
A couple of minutes later, the stalker descends from the hill, holding my rifle and pistol. Taking my weapons from him, I notice how dirty the pistol is. I threw the rifle in the grass, so it's more or less clean, but the pistol fell right into a puddle. I'd better not rely on it anytime soon, until I clean it.
"You're something else, Executioner," Stone whistles, examining the battle site. "Gutting a bloodsucker, if I told anyone, they wouldn't believe me. And I doubted that you cut off the head of its unfortunate brother."
"He doubted," I chuckle. "Give me the money and let's go back to your guys, I still need to pick up the radio parts."
"Don't grumble, stalker," Stone smiles good-naturedly and claps me on the shoulder, pulling out folded bills from his chest pocket. "Here, three thousand, as agreed."
"Thanks for that," I nod, putting the money away. "Let's go. Do you have an extra jacket for a fellow stalker?"
"We'll see, kid."
The journey to the Clear Sky camp was uneventful. Only the white clouds turned into gray ones, and if I don't want to get soaked to the bone, I need to get out of the swamps quickly, maybe I'll make it. When we reached the fishing hut, a well-armed detachment of five Clear Sky soldiers met us at the bridge. I adjust my grip on my loaded TOZ, which doesn't escape the attention of the leader.
"Don't worry, stalker," says a burly man in a hooded cloak. "He agreed, Stone?"
"He refused," his partner replied, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Are you sure you don't want to join the glorious ranks of Clear Sky, stalker? You performed well," he says to me again. "Loyal comrades, a decent enough ration, equipment."
"Absolutely."
"Then get lost," the group leader says, crossing his arms. "You're not welcome here anymore."
"But..." Stone, clenching his fists, started to object, but was stopped.
"No buts," the Clear Sky soldier cuts him off and spits, almost hitting my boot. "Our clan is on the verge of war with the renegades, and therefore the fishing hut is going into lockdown, he has to leave."
"Just give me the radio parts for Sidorovich, they're in the house," I reply, shrugging. "And I'll leave immediately."
"Stepan," the group leader says, turning his head, addressing one of the Clear Sky soldiers. "Go get it."
The soldier turns and sprints towards the hut. A minute later, a bag with radio parts is in my hands, and my legs carry me away from these swamps. The farewell with Stone was awkward; it was clear how uncomfortable he felt towards me because of the group's decision, but there was nothing to be done about it. I didn't want to get involved in Clear Sky's problems, risking death in a suicidal raid on the CNPP in a few months or being known as a deserter who abandoned his comrades in difficult times. So, I left them with a clear conscience, understanding that this might be my last meeting with the guys from this clan.
I didn't bother getting into a fight with the renegades with a pistol covered in mud. I just bypassed their camp in a wide arc. As I passed by a power line support, a wild thought struck me: why not go check for artifacts in that cluster of electrics, since I've gained the ability to see anomalies? But I didn't risk it; I can see them, but they can still hurt me if I walk carelessly along the edge. I'll leave the electrics until I get better gear.
The rain started pouring just as I reached the tunnel to the Cordon. I quickly pull on my gas mask and hide from the drops under the concrete arches. I sit on the ground, leaning against the wall, watching the rain. The light rain had already started forming puddles in the remnants of cracked concrete at the very beginning of the tunnel. Lost in thought, I don't notice a few minutes pass, and the rain shows no sign of stopping. I realize that I could sit here until tomorrow morning like this.
I open the bag of radio parts for Sidorovich and see that all the parts are packed in bubble wrap, meaning they definitely won't get wet if I go out now. I climb into my backpack, tucking the PDA close to my back so it definitely won't get wet. And I head out of the tunnel. I habitually lie on my stomach and crawl
past a wide tree covering the tunnel, a metal danger sign, and barbed wire. Crawling through wet grass isn't the most pleasant experience, but on the other hand, it will provide some natural camouflage for the green stripes on my pants, ha. After thirty meters of crawling, I jump up and run at a light jog straight towards Sidorovich, driven by the intensifying rain.
"Heavy rain?" Stas asks, locking my weapons in the locker.
"Not too much yet," I reply and walk over to the merchant.
"Hello, kid," Sidorovich says, looking up from his monitor. "I've been waiting for you. I thought I'd have to send someone for you. Where did you get so filthy?"
"I was settling debts, had to delay," I hand the bag of parts to the merchant, who takes it from me and wipes the table of drops. "Got dirty there."
"Settling debts is good," Sidorovich replies quietly. "Well, tell me first, how did it go?"
"It went fine," I shrug. "Gave him the flash drive, talked to the locals, hunted a bit, but now there's a big conflict brewing on the swamps between Clear Sky and the renegades..."
"Okay, now tell me more about that," the merchant says, tensing up and leaning forward. As I tell my story, Sidorovich's face darkens, and he starts tapping his fingers loudly on the table. "Yeah, we can't lose such a good sales channel... Alright, now about the reward. You wanted a better PDA than yours, right?"
"Yes."
"Here, take it, and a couple of batteries on top," he says, handing me a worn PDA, slightly larger than mine. At my expressive look, the merchant explains, "Don't worry, kid, it's a working PDA. Yes, it was used by an experienced stalker, nothing wrong with that. I've erased all the info from it, you can use it with confidence. Just rename the device to your nickname in the settings."
"Thank you, Sidorovich," I thank the scoundrel, then remember my trophy and hastily pull out the blood-stained bandage from my backpack. "By the way, I have another tentacle for sale."
"And where do you get them, stalker," Sidorovich says, scratching his beard. "I'll take this specimen for four, it was a whole head, you understand. Deal?"
"Deal," I agree with Sidorovich and head out of the merchant's bunker.
Finally, I can breathe easy and rest, now I definitely don't need to rush anywhere. I can chat with stalkers, get the latest news, visit Wolf, see how Hunter is doing, and for now...
"System window," I whisper softly, barely moving my lips.
Status Window
Name:
Nickname: Executioner
Rank: Novice
Faction: Lone Wolf
Reputation: Neutral-Positive.
Condition: Fully healthy, a few abrasions.
Skills:
Firearms (Rank: Experienced)
Medicine (Rank: Experienced)
Lockpicking (Rank: Novice)
Science (Rank: Novice)
Repair (Rank: Novice)
Hunting (Rank: Experienced)
Stealth (Rank: Experienced)
Persuasion (Rank: Novice)
Melee Weapons (Rank: Experienced)
Unarmed Combat (Rank: Novice)
Time: 05/25/2011, 16:58.
Notes: None.
Achievements: Partial unity with the Zone.