See the Zone and Survive

by RoadRunneR

Chapters

Prologue: By the Bar
Chapter 1: Just Another Day in the Zone
Chapter 2: Playing the Babysitter
Chapter 3: Breaking the Ice
Chapter 4: The Friendly Zone
Chapter 5: Big Zoney Life
Chapter 6: Mad World
Chapter 7: Such is Life in the Zone
Chapter 8: Standing Back Up
Chapter 9: On the Road Again
Chapter 10: Life Under the Sword of Damocles
Chapter 10 1/2: Big Fucking Gun
Chapter 11: Angel of Death
Chapter 12: We All Are Monsters
Interlude: Back to the Present
Chapter 13: Fuck You, Murphy
Chapter 14: That Was Going to Be Boring
Epilogue: We Leave Tomorrow At Dawn
Disclaimer A.K.A. readme.txt

Prologue: By the Bar

Prologue: Random Encounter

Prologue

Random encounter

I was running, alone, leaving the Freedom controlled Army Warehouses behind me.

My name? Runner. I’ll let you guess why.

A gentle breeze was sweeping the land, ruffling the brownish grass and refreshing my face. As useful as it is, a gas mask is very uncomfortable. Most stalkers wear theirs all the time, I never understood why. You only put it on when you need it right?

I coughed. My geiger counter bleeped. Sighing, I pulled out a flask of vodka from my vest and took a big gulp from it.

Radiation, the stalker’s excuse for alcoholism.

Chuckling at the thought, I screwed the cap back on and decided to check my gear. My SMG was still in attached on my thigh and my rifle was slung across my back, its bipod and scope attached at their place. Nothing was missing from my pouches, my armor and overcoat seemed in good shape. Satisfied, I picked up my carbine and resumed running.

My destination was Rostok... a nice place, guarded by Duty stalkers; used to be an industrial area. Freedom stalkers are generally nicer to be around, but Dutiers are much more professional and disciplined, even more than the few Mercs and PMCs I’ve encountered during my time in the Zone. That and the sheer number of Duty soldiers stationed in Rostok makes it one of the very few secure places in the Zone.

I actually like this place. It doesn’t look clean for sure. After all, it is an old, abandoned factory complex. Decrepit hangars and derelict buildings compose the place, ornamented here and there by rusted catwalks, big pipes running along the walls, the occasional pile of rubble on the ground and broken pieces of machinery. Everything had been fixed with Chatterton and make believe but the area is peaceful and safe, well, as much as the Zone will ever get. Most stalkers are polite and welcoming, except for that guy patrolling on the catwalk near the South entrance... I never knew why the guy was so openly hostile.

I came here for the same reasons as any other stalker: to sell the gear and artifacts I had found. The amount of loot one can amass is impressive if he searches well. And I have two qualities: an urge to explore and a keen eye for detail. I’m no master stalker but hey, I can do well enough on my own.

So there I was, heading for the 100 Rads Bar, to sell my stuff. I don’t know what I’m going to do after that... a bit of R&R can’t hurt for sure. Meh. Surely somebody will have a job to offer.

That’s what is great in the Zone: the outside world may know economic downturns, war can rage... and nobody cares. The Zone is a world of its own. It has its own economy, its own way of life. Feels like another planet, another world.

I always liked it.

I entered the 100 Rads. It’s a peculiar place, arranged in an old underground bunker. Almost a cozy place. Most stalkers come here to have a drink, share stories or find some work. Exactly what I needed. A bit of friendly human contact before going back to the active life of a stalker. And an opportunity to make some money.

I passed the guy at the entry who greeted me with his usual “Come in! Don’t stand there!” and made my way to the bar.

It was quite crowded. No table was unoccupied. The voices of the stalkers discussing overlapped, creating an indistinct background noise. Smoke from whatever some stalkers smoked was accumulating under the ceiling.

I sighed contentedly and walked to the bar. I always liked this kind of atmosphere. Animated, anonymous yet friendly.

“Greetings stalker,” greeted Barkeep. “What brings you to my humble establishment?”

“Affairs,” I replied. “I’m also looking for a job, but that can wait.”

Barkeep raised an eyebrow. “Affairs, heh? I like the sound of that,” he said, rubbing his hands together. “What have you got?”

“Two AK-74s, two Sunrise armors. Both in mint condition,” I said, pulling the loot from my backpack. “A few common artifacts, and this nasty piece,” I added, producing a FN F2000 with grenade launcher.

Barkeep’s eyes widened at the sight of the rifle. “Whoa. You sure you want to sell that?” he asked.

I smiled. “I prefer mine,” I replied. “Accurized HK G3SG/1. Perfect for sniping over five hundred meters. And for full auto frenzy, I still have my carbine, so I don’t need this assault rifle,” I explained.

“Where did you get these anyway?”

I shrugged. “Picked them up from the corpses of some German mercenaries. Makes one hell of a replacement for my old AK and shotgun,” I said.

“You are one lucky son of a gun, stalker. Such things don’t happen every day. Now, about that loot...”

After half an hour of harsh negotiations, we finally agreed for a price of 100000 Roubles. Not bad, but I’d rather have more.

I turned away from the counter, leaving Barkeep to his occupations and took a look around. Most stalkers had left the bar, going on about their business. Only a couple remained, sprawled on their tables, probably drunk. I was about to leave the bar when I noticed a small group sitting around a table in a corner. Among the group, one was very tall and was sporting a well kept beard while the other was a bald and had two nasty scars on his face.

But what struck me was the... strange creature sitting around the table with them. I had never seen such a thing before. It looked equine in global shape, but comparing it to a horse would have been like comparing a human to a chimpanzee. Its... mane and tail seemed to wave slowly, it had a long horn protruding from its forehead and... wings. But the strangest thing was that it was wearing what looked like a custom made Monolith suit. The only words coming to my mind to describe it were ‘flying unicorn’... sort of like in the legends.

What the actual fuck?

I weighed my options. I didn’t really want to leave yet, I had nothing to do at the moment, and I really wanted to know more about this creature. My curiosity naturally won and I walked up to their table.

I walked by Snitch, the ‘information dealer’, always standing near the bar and clad in its black leather longcoat.

“My information could very well be of us-”

“Shut up Snitch.”

Damn creep. It’s like he only knows two phrases.

Once I was next to the small group, I cleared my throat. “*Ahem* Howdy, stalkers.”

The bald man looked at me, a tense expression on his face. The flying unicorn was peacefully resting its head on his shoulder, eyes closed, as if sleeping. As I leaned closer to it to get a better view, the bald stalker put a protective hand on its shoulder and pulled it closer to him.

The bearded stalker laughed at his friend and gazed at me, a smile on his face.

“Ah, Strider... always overprotective towards her,” he explained. “What brings you here, stalker?”

Huh. English? Good thing I’m fluent in this language too.

I scratched the back of my head, unsure of what to say. “Well, I’ve never seen such a creature as... her,” began. “What is she? Is she really a she? Where does she come from? Can she fly? I’ve seen her wings. They’re really pretty. What’s her name?”

The bald stalker gave me a wary look.

His friend laughed once more. “Whoa, calm down man, have a seat. What’s your name?” he asked.

“Nivek Runnov, but my friends just call me Runner. Those who are still alive, anyway.”

“Nice to meet you Runner. Name’s Vano,” the tall man began. “Do you have any idea who I am?” he asked in a smug tone.

“Ugh, not again,” said a female voice.

I gazed at the unicorn creature.

“He always does that. The first time it’s surprising, then it’s amusing, but after a while it just gets old,” she explained. “This is Strider,” she added, pointing at the scarred stalker next to her, “and my name is Celestia.”

I smiled. “Nice to meet you Cel-”

...wait.

I stared at the equine creature. “You talk.” I turned towards the Vano. “She. Fucking. Talks.” I shook my head. “Slap me, I want to be sure I’m not hallucinating.”

SLAP!

The bearded stalker slapped me across the face, sending me tumbling to the floor.

“Vano!” called the creature, outraged. “What was that for?”

The big man shrugged. “What?” he asked. “He asked for it.”

I held my jaw in my hand. “It’s okay, I’m okay, I did ask for it after all,” I said, laughing. “Man, you slap hard. And she’s still here. Guess she’s real.”

The bald stalker stood up. “I had a similar reaction when I first encountered her,” he told me. “As Celestia said, my name is Strider.”

As he helped me up, I noticed the tattoo on his arm. I had heard stories about a man wearing such a tattoo. Some viewed him as a hero, others looked actively to kill him... the man was well known.

I jumped back in surprise. “Are you the infamous ‘Marked One’?” I asked.

Strider looked at me, a look of incomprehension on his face. The he looked at his arm. “No,” he simply said. “Though I did meet him.”

“What’s your story anyway?” I asked to the group.

“Oh, it’s a long story,” began Strider. “Nothing very exciting actually... you sure you want to hear it?” he asked.

“You bet,” I replied, taking a seat around the table.

“Then grab something to eat, open a bottle, because we are going to be here for a while.”

Chapter 1: Just Another Day in the Zone

Chapter 1

Just Another Day in the Zone

It was just another day in the Zone. Vano and I were searching for artifacts at the quarry; that anomalous swamp near Yanov station. The area is quite popular among stalkers for its abundance of artifacts and its lack of dangerous mutants and bandits. It was logical to start our hunt there.

I was watching the area through my binoculars, sitting on the cabin of the digger/crane overlooking the anomalous swamp, my sniper rifle next to me. Needless to say I was growing concerned. The last couple of hours should have been much more fruitful.

I sighed. “Have you found anything yet?” I asked Vano over the radio.

“Nothing. Just nothing,” he replied. “RAH! It’s frustrating! I told you we should have waited until the next Blowout!”

Artifacts tend to appear in anomalous fields after a Blowout, it is just like that. Blowouts -or emissions- are periodic episodes that just happen: one minute everything is fine, the sun shines and birds fly, the next one a massive storm of radiation and psi-emissions sweep the land.

So there I was, on overwatch duty as my friend was risking his life just so we could earn money. The Zone is not a safe place, but I like it that way. I just cannot imagine life out of the Zone. I was pulled out of my thoughts by an outburst from my bearded friend.

“WHOA!” He yelled.

I moved my hand to the radio on my shoulder. “What happened?” I asked, slightly bored.

“Uh, nothing?... alright, I almost stepped in a Fruit Punch,” he admitted.

“Why do you not throw bolts? Anomalies do not reveal themselves!” I yelled. Not in the radio.

I sighed. Vano is one of the best pathfinders I have ever met, but sometimes he can be really absent-minded. But he was my friend, so I have to accept his flaws and deal with it. Beats being alone; it is boring AND dangerous.

I met Vano thanks to a common friend, Degtyarev. The man was mounting an expedition to Pripyat and we all ended up in the same team. Degtyarev and Vano were the only ones to ever befriend me... probably because of my background.

I sighed at the memory. Who am I? A question still left unanswered. Even Pripyat held no answers. Only more danger.

Once again, Vano pulled me from my thoughts.

“It’s a damn Svarog detector I got here!” he shouted, waving the small device around. “Displays the position of all anomalies nearby in real time! I don’t need no fucking bolts!”

Apparently it was not enough. That or he seriously needed rest. I stood up and climbed down the crane.

“Lets us go. We will try again tomorrow,” I said, approaching the anomalous swamp.

Vano did not react. His eyes were fixed on his artifact detector. “Wait, I got something here,” he began, cautiously walking towards something I did not see. “Almost... almost... THERE! Haha!” he shouted, brandishing a spiked brownish artifact. “Hell yeah, it’s a Kolobok!”

Well, that was unexpected. First time such an artifact is found here.

I facepalmed at what happened next. Right in the middle of the anomalous field, Vano was improvising some sort of victory dance.

“WOOOHOOO!” he shouted. “This baby will make me rich!”

This cannot end well... he will end up walking right into an anomaly.

“Ahem, I mean us,” he said, noticing the disapproving glare I was giving him. “Yeah. This baby will make US ric- OUCH! that hurts!”

Called it.

He did step into a Fruit Punch this time.

His exhilarated personality will kill him someday.

“FUCK!” he yelled. “I hate chemical anomalies!”

I sighed. “You are lucky that your suit protected you! The next time, do not dance in the middle of an anomaly field.”

I do not like to lecture people but sometimes, Vano really needed it.

“Yeah, whatever,” replied my bearded friend. “Let’s get this to our stash and celebrate! I know a lot of people in Yanov station that will be more than happy to chug down a few bottles!”

And so we went. We walked silently through the land, the silence of the moment only disturbed by two blind dogs foolish enough to attack us.

Sometimes I really wonder what happens in the head of these stupid beasts.

Our stash was actually a sort of base camp established in a room at the last floor of the office building right next to the Jupiter plant. There, we had enough supplies and gear to last a few months: weapons, ammo, artifacts, food, medical supplies, repair kits... you name it. We had even a couple of old couches and a decrepit mattress, salvaged from buildings of the soviet era; five starts comfort by the Zone’s standard. It took time and money to gather all that loot, but I always thought it was worth it. Privacy is such a foreign concept in the Zone.

Then we headed to Yanov. The trip once again was relatively uneventful, something I found strange. Usually mutants would jump out of the bushes and attack unaware stalkers... it happened to us a few times.

But at the moment, the Zone seemed peaceful.

I did not like it.

My vision was flooded by an intense white light. I felt like I was falling. I tried to flap my wings to stabilize myself but landed heavily on my right side. I heard a sickening crack followed by intense pain pulsating through my right wing. I was cold... so cold. I suppressed a shiver and tried to stand up, ignoring the pain in my wing. I shakily rose on all fours, trying to get a view of my surroundings.

Where am I?

I was lost. I felt... so weak. I couldn’t even sense my magic. I began to hyperventilate, only to be taken by a fit of coughing.

The wind... it’s so cold.

I shivered and began to shakily walk in a random direction, when I heard a monstrous, predatory, blood-freezing scream, followed by heavy breathing.

I did the first thing my instincts told me: flee. Ignoring the pain, I took off in a random direction, away from the horrible screams.

We had arrived to Yanov station, the haven of peace in Jupiter. Even Duty and Freedom stopped jumping at each other’s throat there.

Surely enough, many stalkers were happy to improvise a party of sorts. Of course, Vano was the leading one. Unlike me, he is like a fish in water around people.

I do not feel at ease with big groups of people. I prefer to sit down and enjoy a moment of solitary peace whenever I can... of course, that was not an option there, so I sat down at a table with my bottle and just discussed a bit with random people.

The party went on, until Vano decided to provoke a couple of Freedom experts in combat... unsurprisingly, he beat the shit out of them. Who in their right mind would attack a hundred kg giant?

The two Freedom stalkers were sprawled on the ground and Vano was standing over their unconscious bodies.

“That’ll learn yer!” he shouted, his voice slurred by the amount of alcohol in his bloodstream.

I gave my friend a disapproving glare. “Vano, let us leave, you have had enough,” I said firmly.

“Ahm ferpectly fine, a swear!” replied my drunk friend. “Look,” he began, holding up a finger. “I cun toush mah nose wizou- OW MY EYE!”

Sigh. Definitely wasted.

“Come on, let’s go!” I insisted. “You are only embarrassing yoursel-”

“GET OUT OF HERE STALKERS!”

I turned around and saw Loki -the local Freedom leader- standing behind me, pointing at the door.

Great. Both factions are at it now.

Vano looked at Loki. “Aw, you’s not fun,” he said, before passing out.

I sighed. Awesome. I am going to have to carry him all the way back to the plant.

“Very well, we are leaving,” I said to Loki with a wary grin.

I did not want to be on bad terms with any faction. Having a force of hundreds of military stalkers as my enemy is definitely not a good asset for one’s survival. They already distrusted me for being ex-Duty... among other things. Agreeing to their terms was the only sensible course of action.

With the help of a couple stalkers, I picked up Vano’s drunk carcass and set him on my shoulder. I grunted under the weight. The son of a gun is heavy. with all his gear, he must weigh well over a hundred and fifty kilograms.

Without a word, I walked out the door and headed to the Jupiter factory.

The night had fallen already. I checked my PDA: 2AM; It was more than time to hit the sack, and there was a good hour of walking to get to get to our hideout.

And so I walked. The night was dark and silent. Thank the Great Crystal my helmet had a night vision module. Wandering randomly in the dark only to stumble upon a Chimera or a Bloodsucker is never pleasant.

I followed the road south, then, right before the bandit checkpoint, I turned left towards the Jupiter plant. The walk was uneventful, and it would have been relaxing if it wasn’t for Vano and his 50 kg of equipment on my right shoulder. Everything was calm. Too calm. Usually mutants go out hunting at night...

The breathing sound was coming closer and closer. I looked behind me, only to see two pairs of floating yellow dots closing on me.

I ran faster, desperately searching for a place where I could get away from whatever was pursuing me.

My lungs were burning. My vision was blurred from the effort and the pain. Through the indistinct haze of colors that was the world around me, I saw the shape of a building in the distance. I ran to it and climbed the stairs, only to come to a dead end.

I turned around, only to see two bipedal monsters standing behind me. Their face was rotten and deformed, bloody tentacles sprouted out of their maw and their eyes shined with a malevolent yellow gleam.

They began to advance, their heavy breathing drowning the silence in the room. I backed off, only to hit a wall. I was cornered. I curled up in a ball, tears flowing freely flowing down my cheeks.

One of the monsters pounced at me, pinning me to the floor. It seemed to examine me with its predatory eyes then raised a paw and slashed at me. I screamed in pain as its sharp claws dug deep in my flesh, sending a hot, burning pulse course through my body. The other one approached me and wrapped its jagged tentacles around my neck.

I screamed. Everything went black.

I was almost at the camp when I heard it. A scream. A long, high pitched, blood-freezing scream of pain and desperation. I stopped and decided to set Vano down in a room on the ground floor of the building we had installed our crib in, before taking off, chasing after the source of the scream.

Nobody dies on my watch.

It sounded like the scream had come from the administrative section of the Jupiter complex.

I pumped my legs as fast as I could, doing my best to ignore the exhausted state I was in. Carrying Vano and his equipment had taken its toll.

The administrative section of the Jupiter factory - more what is left of it- is a small two stories high building. I entered it, my trusty M1911 in one hand, my knife in the other, carefully watching every corner.

Everything inside was weathered by time and abandon. The walls were stained by humidity, the wallpapers long gone. In a room, a toppled desk had been crushed in half. The door to the next room was blown off its hinges... it seemed recent. I could hear two creatures breathing heavily upstairs.

Bloodsuckers. should not be too difficult.

I tightened my grip around my pistol and began to slowly climb the stairs, careful to not make any noise.

I checked the rooms on the first floor one by one: more torn up furniture, broken doors and the occasional Burnt Fuzz anomaly hanging from the ceiling... nothing unusual. the last room however was void of debris, but there were there.

Two Bloodsuckers, their backs turned away from the entrance, were bent over their victim and were feeding off him.

I crouched, crept up on them silently. Once I was at arm’s length from the first mutant, I raised my knife in the air and brought it down swiftly on its skull-less head, killing it instantly.

Its companion snapped towards me, cloaked and stood up, roaring in fury. It swept its paw at me, throwing me to the floor. Not bothering to stand up, I aimed my pistol between the two bright yellow dots betraying the eyes of the invisible mutant and fired.

BANG

The two .45 ACP hollow point rounds left the muzzle of my gun, impacted the Bloodsucker’s face, penetrated and then expanded, causing a massive cavity as they exited from the back of the mutant’s head; splattering blood, cerebrospinal fluid and brain matter all over the wall behind it.

The beast decloaked and dropped dead instantly.

I turned to get a look at the victim of the Bloodsuckers.

My brain jammed at the sight.

This creature is not from this world.

Black. Everything was black. I could not move. I felt a presence next to me... not like the monsters from before, no. This presence seemed... peaceful.

I don’t want to die. Help me.

I saw a little light grow closer to me. I approached it.

It was not human. But it was not an animal either, and it lacked the rotten, mutated aspect of the beasts roaming the Zone. I am not a zoologist, but the... thing at my feet definitely looked equine in build. It’s white coat was smeared with blood and gore, letting its flesh appear underneath in some places. It had no mane or tail.

I could see two big bite marks on its neck and side, evidence of the bloodsuckers’ tentacles, and a sort of branding on its flank. One of its legs was broken, the bone sticking out of the skin. Its facial structure was strange, as if someone had the sick idea of humanizing a horse. But what struck me the most were its eyes. They were huge.

Its brain cannot be bigger than a peanut.

The left side of the creature's face was adorned by a large gash, a big chunk of its left ear was missing and the eye seemed to be injured. It had a single, broken horn protruding from its forehead, and, more surprising, wings, though its right one was bent to a strange angle.

Yes, mobile, feathered wings, like a bird’s, only much bigger, bringing the total of its functional limbs to six.

Darwin must have been turning in its grave the moment this animal was born.

I noticed that the animal was still breathing and realized the extent of its wounds. A pool of blood was forming underneath it. Knowing the anticoagulant properties of the Bloodsucker saliva, I knew it did not have for long.

I decided to end its suffering. I raised my pistol to its head and cocked the hammer.

It is over, little one. Rest in peace.

I was about to squeeze the trigger when the creature suddenly opened its eyes and took a deep, ragged breath.

It weakly raised its head, looked at me and reached to my leg.

“Help-p m-mee...” it begged in a faint voice before passing out.

… What?

Just another day in the Zone, really.

Chapter 2: Playing the Babysitter

Chapter 2

Playing the Babysitter

'Help me. Help. Me.'

It talked. It. Just. Talked. In perfect English. It is intelligent. It asked for help. It is sapient.

While my brain struggled to assimilate the onslaught of illogical information, my body acted on instinct. I quickly bandaged the creature’s bleeding wounds -apparently it’s a female- picked her up and ran for the hideout.

Why do I always leave my artifacts there?

I knew that moving an injured individual is dangerous and outright stupid but a life was at stake here. A sapient, intelligent life. I had to hurry if I wanted to save her, blood was still pouring out of her numerous open wounds. I did not know how much of it the Bloodsuckers had drained already, I did not even know how much she was supposed to have in the first place!

I felt her heartbeat becoming weaker as I ran. I had to hurry. Fortunately, she was quite light.

After a couple minutes of running, I arrived at the office building of the Jupiter factory complex. I entered the tall, derelict building and climbed the stairs literally four steps at a time. Once on the last floor I ran to the far door on the right of the hallway. Upon entering the camp, I noticed that Vano was already there, sleeping on one of the couches.

At least I won’t have to carry him up the stairs.

I set the still bleeding equine on the mattress on the floor and frantically searched among my artifacts.

My Firefly and Flame, come one, that is all I need!

I finally found the healing artifacts and began with the Flame first, passing it all over her body, stopping the blood loss and sanitizing her wounds. I then picked up the Firefly and attended to her worst injuries.

I started with her foreleg, resetting the open fracture with a crack, then applying the artifact. The bone mended back into one piece; torn down blood vessels, nerves, muscles, tendons and skin simply grew back and a pristine looking leg was all what was left.

The Zone’s magic never gets old.

I moved on to the twisted wing. I had next to no knowledge about wings and birds in general, but I managed to get it back into what looked like an acceptable position. Once again, I used the artifact, healing the wing almost instantly

There. Nobody can tell it have ever been injured.

After that, I treated her numerous cuts, bruises and other non lethal wounds, each of them leaving nothing but a faint scar after I had used the Firefly. Strangely, her horn took longer to reform, seemingly absorbing the effects of the artifact like a sponge.

Yet another strange thing to add to today’s list.

All that was left was her right ear and eye. While the eye healed perfectly, the ear did not heal fully, and a bit of it was still missing after treatment.

I then used the Flame on her entire body, preventing any infection and finally sat down, sighing.

Something felt wrong however. So wrong. A horrible doubt overcame me as I noticed that her chest was not moving: she was not breathing anymore. I pressed an ear to her chest. I heard nothing good. Her heartbeat was way too fast and too weak.

Oh no. No. No no no no no!

I had irresponsibly saved this unknown being from the claws of two bloodsuckers, carried her all the way to my camp, healed all of her wounds... all of this to fail in the end...

...wait.

An insane idea germinated in my mind. Putting two and two together, I remembered what I had heard about artifact interactions. I grabbed my Flash and Vano’s Battery, held them in my hands and brought them down together on the chest of the creature. It resulted in nothing but a small electric spark, not enough to stabilize a heart.

Looking back and forth between the two artifacts, I tried to think of another way.

It should work. One of these artifacts is acts like a cathode, the other is an anode... both are charged. What am I missing?

Then it clicked. I rubbed the artifacts against each other, causing a fountain of electrical sparks and held them in the air.

“YOU ARE NOT DYING ON MY WATCH!” I shouted, before I pressed the artifacts against her chest once more.

BZRT

There was a big flash of electricity accompanied by a short buzzing sound. Every muscle in the creature’s body tensed under the massive discharge of electricity. Including the most important one: her heart.

I listened to her chest again and heard the reassuring, regular thumping of a healthy heart. I sighed in relief.

Thank you Noah.

But now my makeshift defibrillator had turned into two heavy, ivory stones.

What in the Zone...?

So there I was, having saved an unknown, possibly dangerous creature from the claws of two deadly mutants. On my own. Destroying two valuable artifacts in the process. So far I had acknowledged that the creature was an intelligent, sapient, equine-ish being, no doubt about that. If I was one to make analogies, I would have called her a mare.

A mare?

I laughed. The ridiculousness of that statement actually made me laugh. I wiped off a tear of laughter before taking a deep breath and relieve myself of the tension I had endured.

This is ridiculous. But then again, it’s not every time you come across a sapient being from another world.

Deep in thought, I observed the sleeping creature. Curiously, she had a mane now. And a tail. Both looked translucent, immaterial and were waving as if there was wind in the room.

Definitely not from this world. This is insane.

I examined her a last time. She was breathing steadily, her heart rate seemed normal for her size and she was not bleeding anymore, all her wounds had been healed. Blood and gore still caked her fur though: mostly from her, but also from the Bloosuckers too. Some kind of cleaning was in order but that would have to wait. She was unconscious still, its was nighttime and I was exhausted. This episode really had taken its toll on me: carrying Vano all the way from Yanov, then her appearance... I really needed some rest.

I draped the sleeping creature with a blanket and produced a Bubble from my artifact belt before putting it next to her. That way all the residual radiation from the healing artifacts would be absorbed overnight.

Before I went to sleep, I decided to make a note for Vano so he did not freak out at the sight of the creature when he would wake up. I tore a sheet of paper off my notebook and wrote the message, before putting it in his pack of smokes. I put everything back in place and walked back to the sleeping creature.

I made sure she was comfortably installed, then laid down on the second couch and instantly fell into a deep, dreamless slumber, finally succombing to exhaustion.

I woke up and stretched my legs, before slowly unfolding my wings.

No pain... what a relief! That was a horrible dream.

I noticed the coldness of the air. I opened my eyes. All I saw was a grey, dirty ceiling over me, and sun rays coming from the window, their warm light announcing a beautiful day.

Wait... sun rays? Grey ceiling? I’m not in my chambers!

I shot up and looked around me. There was a broken desk in a corner, an overturned cardboard box in the middle of the room and a lot of equipment which purpose was lost to me.

Where am I?

I looked around again. On each side of the mattress to the dirty mattress I had been laying on, there was a couch. I froze at what I saw on each of them. Bipedal beings, very similar to the beasts in my dream.

I gulped.

It wasn’t a dream. Better get out of here fast.

I slowly backed off towards the door, my eyes locked with the two sleeping creatures, careful not to make any noise.

One of the creatures grunted and slowly sat up.

I froze.

It produced a little cardboard box and a small metal contraption from one of its pockets. It opened the cardboard box and pulled a cylindrical thing from it, before noticing a piece of paper in the box. The creature took the paper and unfolded it, before examining it, as if it was reading.

Then it looked at me.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH”

I woke up, startled by loud screams and instantly pulled out my pistol, whipping it around. The equine creature was staring at a wide eyed, slack jawed Vano. And she was screaming.

I sat up, pinching my nose and looked at the screaming creature.

“Please, would you calm down?!” I asked in English.

The creature stopped screaming, turned around and took off, running out the front door.

Should have seen that one coming.

I sighed. “I think you frightened her Vano,” I said.

My bearded friend looked at me with a scowl. “No shit. You’ve got some explaining to do.”

“That will wait. Follow me,” I said, grabbing my sniper rifle and my spare shotgun, walking out the door. “Let’s catch up to her before she gets into trouble again.”

Vano stood up, stirred and picked up his machine gun and shotgun before following me. I was already climbing down the stairs when he catched up.

“Why would you bring some kind of evolved mutant in here?” he asked.

“She’s not a mutant... she actually spoke to me in English,” I explained.

“So what? Some mutants are known to ‘talk’, like Snorks or Controllers,” replied my friend, shrugging.

I stopped in my tracks and looked at Vano. “That was not unintelligible garble, but real, understandable English,” I said, making wide gestures for emphasis. “My best guess? We may have just made First Contact,” I added, climbing down the stairs again.

Vano followed me, wide eyed. “What? First Contact? Aliens are here to destroy us? As in Mars Attack? Independence Day? The War of the Worlds? The Day the Earth Stood Still?”

I chuckled. “No. She just seems lost. When I first found her she was almost dead, half eaten by Bloodsuckers,” I said, cringing as I said it.

“So more like E.T. then,” said my friend, smiling.

“Yeah. Flying Unicorn phone home.”

I ran as fast as I could.

I’m not letting myself captured and tortured again by these foul creatures!

I ran past a few dogs. They followed me, barking madly. Not even bothering to stop, I tried to cast a sleep spell on them.

It didn’t work.

What’s going on? Why can’t I use my magic?

I kept running. I had to outrun the dogs if I wanted to live.

I looked around. We were on the decrepit road between the two main buildings of the Jupiter factory. The creature was nowhere to be seen.

I could hear multiple dogs barking madly in the distance however. I gestured Vano to follow me as I walked off to investigate what had startled the dogs. The noise seemed to come from the inside of the main factory building. I entered it, Vano watching my back.

Inside, everything was in ruins: rubble, parts of machinery and broken pipes were scattered everywhere. Old, rusted machines were still at their original place and there was a catwalk leading to the next room above our heads.

We took the catwalk and entered the adjacent room. The scenery was similar to the previous room, except there was a crashed military MI-24 in the middle, sitting in a pile of rubble.

The winged creature was on top of the derelict helicopter, desperately trying to get away from what looked like a very large pack of Pseudodogs. The mutated beasts were jumping at her, barking madly at their prey out of reach.

I raised my shotgun and fired a round in the air.

BANG

That got the attention of the equine creature. Unfortunately, the dogs were looking at me too.

“Uh Vano?” I asked, not looking away from the horde of mutants.

“Yes?”

“Fire at will.”

Vano smirked and squeezed the trigger. His machine gun came to life, its monstrous roaring overpowering the screams of the pack of mutants. I sprayed my shotgun into the fray, reloading every two shots, dropping some dogs, but Vano proved much more efficient than me. Some Pseudodogs seemed to just disappear as they were hit by the bullets.

“Psy Dogs!” called Vano. “The three in the back!”

“Got it,” I replied.

I jumped into the melee, ignoring the illusionary mutants created by the Psy Dogs. One of the real dogs jumped at me and bit my arm. I headbutted the beast, my Kevlar helmet easily shattering its skull. It fell to the ground, dead.

Without losing time, I rushed at the helicopter and glided under its tail. Three dogs were there, between the chopper and the wall. Their ragged fur was clearer than one of a normal Pseudodog.

Yep. Psy Dogs indeed.

One of them leapt at me. I sidestepped it and let it fly past me. It hit the body of the downed helicopter and slid down to the ground. Not letting the beast time to recover, I turned around and obliterated it with a volley of lead from my shotgun.

The second one bit my leg. I ignored it and aimed at the third Psy Dog, which was preparing to pounce.

BANG

One more down.

I stomped on the dog that had bitten my leg, breaking its neck and killing it instantly. Taking a deep breath, I emerged from behind the helicopter and looked how Vano was doing.

He was sitting down, smoking a cigarette while curiously observing the creature perched on the helicopter. Upon noticing me, he smiled.

“Glad to see you’re still alive,” he said.

I chuckled. “Yeah, you too my friend,” I replied, sitting down next to him.

They had slaughtered the dogs with their loud weapons, and now they were observing me. They were tall, taller than I was. Both of them seemed to be clad in garments I didn’t know the utility. I didn’t know what they were, what they were going to do with me …

… I gulped.

Oh, dear sister, where am I?

The silence was interrupted by the creatures talking to each other in a language I didn’t understand. The shortest stood up and walked towards me, then put its weapon down on the ground.

I felt a part of my magic coming back. Out of instinct, I tried to defend myself.

We stayed there, silently observing the creature perched on the helicopter.

“So, what do we do?” Vano asked me.

“I do not know,” I admitted, thinking.

She does speak English though... establishing contact should be easy enough.

“I will speak to her,” I finally said, standing up.

Vano chuckled. “Good luck with that pal.”

I approached the helicopter and stopped a few meters away, before laying my weapon down on the ground.

Let’s hope she sees it as a sign of peace.

The winged equine was still on top of it, staring at me... Only this time, her horn was alight. A few fist sized rocks floated in the air, surrounded by a glow similar to that coming from the creature’s horn. I stopped in my tracks in wonder.

Fascinating... some sort of innate telekinesis power. Truly this creature is amazin-

bunk

Something hit my armored head.

Did she just thr-

bunk

Yes. Yes she did.

She was throwing rocks at me, as if trying to drive me away from her. I took my helmet off, unfazed.

“Would you cut it out, please?” I asked in English.

That seemed to break the creature’s concentration. she opened her eyes and all of the rocks fell down to the ground. At this point, she was staring wide eyed. Not in fear, but in total surprise and bewilderment.

“Come over here, we have to talk,” I added, gesturing her to approach.

The creature looked like she was going to faint.

…

Vano grunted. “Do we really have to keep it?” he asked.

I looked at him with a scowl. “We can’t let her get by herself in the Zone!”

“Ugh. I hate playing the babysitter.”

Chapter 3: Breaking the Ice

Chapter 3

Breaking the Ice

I stood there, on top of the strange, destroyed machine. I couldn’t believe what I just heard. It was illogical. Impossible.

It talked. It just talked. In perfect Equestrian. It’s intelligent. It’s sapient.

I tried to understand the implications of what it had done and said. I gulped and tried to calm down, forcing myself to think.

With the help of its companion, it just killed these dogs without mercy... and now it just wants to talk with me? Can I trust this creatures? At least they haven't been aggressive towards me... yet.

I was going to panic again. I needed to do something else, something rational to calm down.

I examined the creature’s features. It was bipedal, had no tail and its face was flat, with two ears on each side. Its had two tiny grey eyes and a thin nose in the center of its face... but what struck me the most was its baldness. It didn’t have a mane. Its deep, slow and monochord voice definitely sounded male. I had never seen such a creature before.

What is this place?

I nearly jumped in the air as the bipedal creature talked again.

The equine creature was staring at me, immobile, her eyes wide as saucers. Literally.

These eyes are huge. How is this even possible? And this color... amethyst? How is that possible? How?

I shook of these thoughts and sat down, waiting for the creature to make a move, and I waited. The silence was deafening, only disturbed by noises from the outside: distant mutant howls, human screams and gunshots. being a trained sniper, I am very patient, so I waited, all senses in full alert. After a good fifteen minutes, the creature moved, uncomfortable.

“What are these beasts?” she asked in a trembling voice, her gaze locked with the corpses of the dogs.

English again.

I took a deep breath. “Psy Dogs,” I answered calmly. “They can create illusionary copy of themselves and use them to overwhelm their prey... in this case, you. Do not worry though, they are dead now, they cannot hurt you anymore.”

That did seem to calm her a bit, but I needed something else to break the ice. I looked at the chopper. I actually wondered how she got up there in the first place. Then I facepalmed.

Of course. Wings.

“Do you need help getting down?” I asked anyway.

The creature’s face lit up with a mixture of relief and surprise and she visibly relaxed, as if this little phrase I said broke whatever doubts she had while throwing out the window her opinion of me.

“I can handle myself,” she replied, unfolding her wings.

Whoa. Her wingspan is huge.

She jumped off the helicopter and gracefully glided down... only to stumble and faceplant as she hit the ground, her wings sprawled at her sides.

Ouch.

I ran towards her immobile form.

“Are you alright?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” she replied, shakily standing up, before falling again.

“Apparently not,” I said, sighing, before opening my backpack. “Let me see... there. Have some bread.”

I turned back towards the winged equine, who had managed to stand up. Only then I noticed how small she was. Her horn barely reached my forehead, and I am not especially tall. Then I noticed how tensed she was. Not out of fear though. It seemed to take a great toll on her just to keep her posture.

“Sit down,” I asked. “You are only hurting yourself, trying to appear stronger than you are.”

At these words, the creature seemed to deflate. Her facial features drooped and she slowly sat down, sighing.

Damn. How can she be so expressive?

“It is normal to feel weak, you are severely malnourished,” I explained. “I had to use multiple healing artifacts to bring you back to life after I pulled you out of the claws of these two Bloodsuckers yesterday. These things do not magically close every wound you know: they actually accelerate the metabolism, so quick sustenance is required after using one. Right now you need rest and food,” I said, handing her the loaf of bread.

She picked up the bread in her telekinesis and hungrily took a bite out of it.

Fascinating... this TK ability is simply astonishing. And she knows what bread is. How Interesting.

“What is your name?” I asked.

“Pr- Celestia,” she replied, taking another mouthful of bread.

Now what is the standard phrase when you meet someone... ‘nice to-’ right.

“Nice to meet you Celestia. My name is Strider. Where do you come from?” I asked. “I’ve never seen a being such as you.”

“A land called Equestria,” she replied, a hint of sadness in her voice.

Equestria? There is no land called like that... not on Earth anyway.

“I do not know if that means something to you, but we are in Ukraine, a country on the planet Earth,” I said, holding my chin pensively.

At these words, her ears drooped and she looked at the ground.

“I’m really lost now, huh?”

Vano had cleared the room of corpses and piled them up in the far corner of the hangar. He approached us and started to make a fire.

“Hey cheer up, at least you’re not alone,” he said, before sitting down next to the fire he had created and pulling a guitar out of nowhere.

Celestia sighed. “Yeah. That’s one way of seeing things,” she deadpanned, before wincing. “Ouch.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, concerned.

“I think I sprained my fetlock,” she said, holding up her right foreleg.

I approached her. “Let me see that.”

She presented her leg hesitantly, letting me examine it. Her ‘fetlock’ -as she described it- was slightly swollen and she winced as I poked it.

“That does not look too bad,” I said as pulled out my Firefly out of my artifact belt.

Celestia backed off, staring at the artifact. “What’s this?” she asked.

“A Firefly, it is a healing artifact. Relax, this is only going to help,” I assured. “Keep eating, you will feel better.”

I applied the artifact to her leg and she instantly relaxed. Her fetlock looked completely normal again -well, like the rest of her leg: without any irregularity, not even a visible hoof.

“That was strange,” she said. “This... artifact seems to be emitting traces of raw magical energy, yet it heals better than any medical spell I know of.”

I chuckled. “You could call it magic, I suppose. But this is just an anomalous formation spawned by the Zone, like many others,” I explained, attaching the artifact to my belt.

“Anomalous? The zone?” asked Celestia, finishing her bread.

“Yeah,” said Vano. “The Chernobyl exclusion Zone, or Zone of Alienation... I’m sure Strider here will be more than happy to explain you everything in great detail.”

I hushed him. “Explanations will wait. Now, we must return to base.”

Vano nodded, pensive. “That would be a good idea. You never know when a mutant is going to show up and tear you in half,” he said, standing up.

“Come, Celestia, let’s go.”

She shakily stood up and took a step. Then another. She did not look steady but could walk apparently.

“I’m right behind you,” she said.

My whole body felt sore, but I could walk. This artifact was a wonder. Not only it did heal my leg but it also leaked raw magic, giving me a source to replenish my energy.

At least now I can use basic telekinesis now. Why is the magic field so weak in this place?

I was following the two ‘stalkers’ as they called themselves, and they were speaking animatedly in a language I didn’t understand. I was about to ask them what they were talking about when I fell to the ground head first, my legs giving up under me.

The stalkers turned around.

“Are you alright?” asked Strider.

I grunted. “I’m fine, I assure you,” I replied, struggling to get back on my hooves.

Vano snorted. “She doesn’t look fine to me.”

Strider knelt next to me. “Let me help you,” he said, before putting his arms around me.

I thrashed, trying to escape his grasp. “Wait! What are you doing?”

“Well obviously You cannot walk on your own, so I am going to carry you,” he replied. “Would you prefer to be left alone, outside?”

I nodded negatively.

“Good.”

He lifted me off the ground and installed me on his back. I felt blood rushing to my cheeks as I tried to understand why he was doing such a thing.

“W-why would you carry me like that?” I asked, embarrassed.

“Because I doubt that you would find my shoulder very comfortable,” he stated. “Why do you ask?”

“Nothing,” I replied. “Nothing at all.”

Vano gave me an amused look, as if he knew what was going on in my head. “Is it some kind of innuendo or practice from your world?” he asked.

“No.” I felt my face become even redder. “Yes,” I admitted in a faint voice.

Strider smiled. “That was an interesting development,” he said with a laugh.

I bit my lip. “It’s not funny,” I said, my face buried in Strider’s back.

“I think it is,” replied Vano. “What does it mean anyway?” he asked curiously.

“Well,” I began. “It’s an habit stallions have... they carry their mates like that before... you know.”

I looked at Strider. Strider looked at Vano. Vano looked at me. Both stalkers burst out laughing.

“pfffft HAHAHAHAHAHA this is hilarious! Damn Strider, you’re fast at picking up girls!” said Vano, wiping off a tear.

Strider almost dropped me to the ground, his laughter interrupted by a fit of coughing. He set me down on the ground and looked at me.

“Oh, thank you. I needed that my friend,” he said, laughing and ruffling my mane.

Friend? Why would he consider me as a friend? We barely met.

I curled up in a ball and he lifted me off the ground again, this time picking me up in his arms. I looked around, still slightly embarrassed.

“There. Do you prefer it that way? No sexual innuendos?” he asked.

I nodded, blood coming to my face again.

Vano laughed. “Let’s go then,” he said, before looking at the sky. “It’s going to rain.”

And so we walked. The road was crumbled, its grey surface letting grass pass through. The buildings around us were all ruined. A cold breeze picked up, rustling the leaves of the rotten trees.

I shivered.

Strider looked at me. “Feeling cold?”

“Yes,” I admitted.

“Let’s hurry then. I have a blanket at the camp.”

We entered a tall, decrepit building and made our way up some stairs. Once on the top floor, Strider walked down the hallway and entered a room on the right.

Everything was as I remembered: the cardboard box, the couches, the dirty mattress, everything was at its place.

Is that blood on the mattress?

Strider set me down on one of the couches and wrapped me in a blanket before giving me a strange looking metallic can. There was a picture of vegetables on it, but I didn’t know what it was. I had never seen such a contraption before.

“What is this?” I asked.

My two newfound friends gave me a strange look.

Vano shrugged. “Well duh, it’s a can of food,” he said as if it was obvious.

Strider sat down next to me. “Let me help you.”

He opened the can and handed it to me, along with a set of flatware.

“Thanks,” I said with a smile.

I examined the contents of the can. It looked like lentils, but the reason why they would be conserved in a metallic can eluded me. I shrugged and picked up the flatware. Every piece had a strange symbol stamped on it. It looked like a wing under a sun, with a strange caption underneath it, reading ‘монолит’.

“What does this symbol mean?” I asked.

Strider’s eyes widened. “Ah shit, wrong set. Let me-”

“That?” interrupted Vano. “It’s the logo of his old faction, the combat division of the Monolith.”

“The monolith?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“A religious cult composed of brainwashed stalkers, hostile to all but their own. Very nasty fighters... engaging one of them alone in combat, let alone an entire group is suicide,” said the bearded stalker casually.

I gulped and slowly moved away from Strider, who was giving his friend a murderous glare.

Vano brought a hand over his mouth. “Aw shit. I dun goofed, didn’t I? ... I’m sorry Strider,” he apologized, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. “Just so you know, Celly, he’s over that now,” he added.

I gave Strider a wary glance. “Over that?”

The bald stalker sighed. “Yes. Somehow I broke free from the whole brainwashing thing, and I found myself with a set of skills completely alien to me,” he said, his face taking a somber expression.

“What do you mean?” I asked, concerned.

“I just woke up one day, this tattoo on my arm,” he began, revealing a strange mark on his arm, “among other people who, like me, were clad in Monolith armor and had no idea who they were.”

I nodded, pensive. “Oh. I see.”

“No you do not. The first thing I do whenever I enter a room is catching the sight lines and looking for an exit. I can tell the serial number on a gun I see only once, pick it up and use it as if I had been doing that my whole life; I can sneak up on a Bloodsucker and then punch it to death in one strike. I know on instinct where to aim to hit my target, whatever the conditions, whatever the range; and that with all my gear, I can run flat out for a little over half a kilometer before my hands start shaking. Now why would I know that? How can I know that and not know who I am? I went back to Pripyat once, hoping to find answers to my questions... there were none. Only brainwashed soldiers." The bald man sighed. "I thought of starting my own faction with my former squadmates, but they liked it in the Duty faction and did not want to quit. So there I was, alone and lost. Not unlike you actually,” he added.

I said nothing. Strider stayed silent, a depressed expression on his face.

Vano sighed. “Jeez, cheer up dude. I was there, and the Major too!”

“I suppose you are right, my friend,” said the bald stalker, laying down on the couch. “At least you guys were there. Having you two helped.”

“And you? What’s your story? Who are you?” I asked to Vano.

"Who am I?" The bearded stalker laughed. “Me? Basically, kind of a big deal.”

What?

“You listening?” he continued. “Okay. Grass grows, birds fly, sun shines,” he said, counting on his fingers, “and brother, I hurt people. I’m a force of nature!” claimed the tall stalker.

He then picked up his big weapon and put it on the cardboard box we used as a table, collapsing it.

“I am heavy weapons expert and this, is my weapon. She weighs ten point five kilograms unloaded and fires six thousand roubles standard 7.62x54 mmR two hundred rounds belts at eight hundred rounds per minute. It costs five thousand five hundred roubles to fire this weapon, for twelve seconds. The theory goes like this: You pull the trigger on a machine gun until the whole world turns into blood, and it's awesome. You can't argue with that; that's science. I have yet to meet someone who can outsmart a wall of bullets.”

I rolled my eyes, slightly amused. “We get it, big guy,” I said with a laugh. “You’re the muscle here.”

Vano looked at me, offended. “Hey! I’m also the brains too! I’d pay to see Strider navigate inside an anomaly field,” he added, laughing.

Celestia was eating silently, curiously observing Vano who had field stripped his machine gun. The weapon was open: the bolt, his carrier, rod and recoil spring lying next to it. The bearded stalker checked the barrel and the trigger group, replaced the bolt in his carrier, put it back in place, followed by the rod and recoil spring. He then put the feeding tray back into place and loaded the weapon. After closing it, he pulled the bolt back, producing a series of clicks and released it. It came back into place with a metallic clunk, indicating that the weapon was ready to fire. Satisfied, he flicked on the safety and put the weapon on the ground next to him, barrel pointing upwards.

He looked towards me. “So, what do we do now?” he asked in a low voice. “With her, I mean,” he added, gesturing towards Celestia.

“I do not know,” I answered. “Maybe we should look for a way to send her back to her world... also get to know her. She may be going to stay for a while,” I added.

“That’s right,” Vano approved. “Why wouldn’t you tell us more about you?” he asked aloud, turning towards Celestia.

“As you already know, my name is Celestia. I’m a pony, subspecies alicorn. Back home, I’m one of the princess and diarch of the country known as Equestria.”

Vano snorted. “Whoa really?” he asked, dubious. “I call bullshit.”

“She must be telling the truth you know,” I replied. “Her jewelry seems to be made out of solid gold after all,” I added, examining the dirty and damaged set the alicorn was wearing. “Tell me more.”

And so she did: she told us everything about her world: weather control, magic, history, customs and traditions of her country, its inhabitants, government system, folklore... by noon we were experts about her homeworld.

It all sounded like a fairy tale... but she seemed so convinced when she talked about it. She was really believing what she was saying.

“And how did you end up here?” I finally asked.

“I don’t really know,” she began. “It all began with strange occurrences coming from a town called Ponyville.”

Ponyville? Seriously?

The alicorn continued. “Ponies had been disappearing in the nearby forest. There were reports of new strange, deadly creatures roaming the forest and a few corpses had been found. These creatures weren’t like anything ponykind had encountered before.”

“So what happened next?” asked Vano, grabbing his shotgun before starting to disassemble it.

“I mounted an expedition to explore, rescue and study. A group consisting of a dozen scientists, no less than a platoon of Royal Guards and myself went in the forest to investigate. Once in the forest we noticed that something was amiss: the wildlife, usually vibrant and obnoxious, was quiet, as if hiding from something. After a while, we arrived in a clearing and made our base of operations there. While the guards were establishing the camp, I decided to take a stroll and visit the old castle ruins, maybe out of nostalgia. There was a disturbance in the magical field of the area though, and a big, shimmering sphere was floating inside of the old throne room. I didn’t what it was, so I casted a probe spell on it. There was a blinding flash of light and found myself lying on the ground... I was so cold, so weak. I thought I was going to die there.”

Vano looked up from his shotgun. “Space Bubble. That was an anomaly was a Space Bubble, known for its rarity and randomness. Sometimes they stay in place for ages, sometimes they change place several times between Blowouts... sometimes they trap you in a pocket dimension, sometimes they just teleport you, though one Teleport Bubble will always lead to the same place.”

Celestia let out a sigh and turned towards me. “You know the rest: the monsters, everything.”

I nodded. “When I found you, two Bloodsuckers were... well, to put it quite frankly, they were feeding off of you. You were nearly dead,” I said. “Thankfully, I managed to bring you back to the living. You know the rest,” I added.

The alicorn smiled. “I will be eternally thankful for that. My kingdom would not fare very well without... me.”

Her ears drooped she looked at her hooves. A lone tear made her way down her cheek, tracing a wet line on her fur, before falling to the ground, breaking apart and staining the already dirty floor.

I put a hand on her shoulder. That startled her but she didn’t back away from my hand.

“I’m sure she will be able to cope. Besides she is not alone. I’m sure everything will be alright on their side,” I assured her.

“You should worry more about yourself,” added Vano. “The Zone is a dangerous place.”

I decided to cut short this conversation and looked at my PDA. It was half past noon.

“Okay people, we should move out if we want to do something today,” I announced.

Vano raised an eyebrow. “And we’re going to let her come with us like that? Barefoo-hoofed and without even a weapon?”

“I was going to get to that,” I replied. “did you keep that leather coat you had?”

My friend’s face lit up in realization. “Ohh, I see what you wanna do. It’s gonna be ready in a jiffy,” he said.

“Good. Celestia, come with me,” I added, turning towards her.

I opened my supply chest and pulled out various supplies from it.

“First off: guns,” I began.

Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Guns?”

“Yes, guns. Shooters. Firearms. Weapons,” I said. “This is my sniper rifle,” I explained, patting my SVU. “It is very accurate and great for killing targets at long range.”

“But why always killing?”

I shrugged. “For survival. Mutants and bandits alike don’t hesitate to kill stalkers on sight. This is how the Zone works.” I grabbed my shotgun. “This was my shotgun.”

“Was?”

“Yes. It is yours now,” I said, handing her the weapon. “This particular one is a TOZ-34, a double barrel hunting shotgun. Very accurate, just the way I like my guns. Of course, it is limited by its two-round capacity but it is very easy to use, and it will never jam” I explained. “Ideal for a rookie like you.”

Celestia gave me an odd look and telekinetically picked up the rifle, examining it with a mixture of curiosity and disgust.

I turned around and grabbed some supplies and two messenger bags and put them in front of me. When I raised my gaze back at the alicorn, my blood froze. She was holding her rifle in her telekinesis and looking right down the barrels.

Oh crap.

I swiftly yanked the gun out of her grasp and pointed it at the ceiling.

“Are you crazy?!” I yelled. “Do you want to kill yourself?!”

Celestia’s ears flattened against her head and she cowered from my outburst.

I took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I did not even explain you how a gun works.” Another breath. “So. This is a gun. All guns are kinetic based weapons, meaning that they launch a traumatic, high velocity projectile from this end,” I explained, pointing at the muzzle of the shotgun before I showed her a buckshot round. “Never, EVER point a gun at something you do not intend to destroy, got it? Damn."

The alicorn nodded shyly.

“Good. Now, onto these supplies,” I said, showing her everything I had produced from the chest. “Medical supplies, ammo, food, drinks... most of this stuff is pretty basic.”

As much as I despised my weapon, I could not help but feel a certain appeal to it. It seemed so simple yet so complicated... a beautiful and deadly amalgam of wood and metal. Though I felt comfortable with it, as it would protect me, the mere thought that it was such a death machine made me shiver.

Shortly after Strider had explained me how guns and all these supplies worked, Vano came up.

“I’ve finished the coat,” he announced, “Added a few Kevlar plates for physical protection, should be able to stop a pistol round. I hope.”

I grabbed the jacket, put it on and moved around.

“It’s heavy, but comfortable at least. I don’t feel the cold anymore,” I announced. “I don’t like the idea of wearing leather though. Animal skin... ugh.”

Vano waved dismissively. “Eh, don’t worry, it’s Chimera hide... a mutant.”

Strider gave him a dubious look. “Chimera? Really?”

The bearded stalker shrugged. “Hey who’s the mutant hunter here? Me. You’re just a sniper.”

Strider chuckled. “Exactly. Long range is my territory. People take big detours to avoid me. Bushmen rule,” he said with a smirk.

“Blah blah blah pffffft.”

"Excuse me but what's a Chimera?" I asked.

"A very dangerous mutant. Four legged, two headed, can smell you a mile off, even when they're sleeping! They hunt mostly at night, stalking silently their prey then pouncing and pinning it to the ground," Vano explained. "After that, their two heads do the rest. Trust me, two sets of jaws make short work of any prey very fast."

I grabbed the two messenger bags and started to fill them with supplies, distractedly listening to Vano's speech about mutants and the best ways to hunt them.

I put the bags down before Celestia. “Twenty-five twelve gauge slugs, seventy buckshot rounds, three grenades, Five medkits, three army medkits and two scientific ones; ten bandages, three antirads and radioprotectant drugs, three antidotes, Psy-blockers and ah, one anabiotic pill. This one will allow you to survive a Blowout, even out of a shelter,” I enounced. “three loaves of bread, five energy drinks, two food cans and a bottle of Vodka... You are ready,” I said. “Oh, and I almost forgot: my anomaly detector. Veles model, second to best; and some artifacts: a Flame, a Firefly and a Bubble.” I added, handing her the device. “The Flame and Firefly are healing artifacts while the Bubble absorbs radiation.”

The white alicorn was immobile, staring at the bags before her. I snapped my fingers a couple of times in front of her face, gaining her attention.

Her gaze switched hesitantly between me and the bags. “I don’t know what to say... I can’t accept all of this, I haven’t done anything to deserve it.”

Vano laughed. “Girl, get used to it,” said the tall stalker. “Strider here has this nasty habit to give his supplies away to people in need.”

I rolled my eyes. “This kind of supplies are the bare minimum to survive in the Zone, I could not let her wander around barefoot-hoofed. It is a fate worse than death,” I grumbled.

“Zombies do it.”

“My point exactly.”

“Bleh.”

“Zomb-b-bies?” asked Celestia, visibly frightened.

I sighed. “Stalkers who were unfortunate enough to run into a Controller, a high intensity psy-field or to get hit by a blowout,” I explained. “They are still alive, but become little more than empty husks, driven by their instinct. Some remember how to use weapons... killing them is more an act of mercy than anything else. They are not the most dangerous enemy in the Zone, by very far, even in large groups.”

“Fuck yeah!” exclaimed Vano. “I just mow them down with my PKM and they all drop like flies!” he added, mimicking firing his machine gun. “YA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA POW HA-HA!”

I shook my head at Vano’s antics. “They do not bite or anything like in urban legends. They just attack on sight,” I assured Celestia.

“O-okay.”

“You’ll encounter some soon enough, they are not exactly rare,” added Vano.

I looked at my PDA. Three in the afternoon.

Plenty of time ahead of us.

“We should go to the canal,” I said.

“Good idea,” Vano approved. “Celly needs a bath. She begins to smell like a rotten corpse and she needs some kind of field training anyway.”

Celestia nodded in approbation. “I could really go for a bath now,” she said, examining her stained coat.

“Then let us move,” I concluded.

Chapter 4: The Friendly Zone

Chapter 4

The Friendly Zone

I stood up, signaling the others to move. Vano was already prepared and went outside while Celestia put on her bags. I have to admit: she’s a clever one. She had tied the straps together and formed some kind of saddlebags. They seemed to hold in place pretty well and did not hinder her wings.

“Nicely done Cel,” I said, nodding in approbation.

The alicorn froze. “Beg your pardon?” she asked, raising her gaze towards me.

“I was appreciating the way you put on your bags. Very clever.”

“Huh, okay... thanks,” she replied, dumbfounded, before proceeding to check her rifle.

What? Not my style to make compliments?

“I wanted to ask you,” I began, sitting back down. “Are you going to do anything with your jewelry?”

“No,” deadpanned the winged unicorn. “Take it if you want, it’s only a dead weight... I never really liked wearing all that stuff,” she said, sighing. “It’s worthless, just to glint and catch the eye.”

We will see about that.

Once Celestia was done checking her weapon, we headed outside, climbing down the stairs and exited the building. Vano was waiting for us there, sitting on an old decrepit bench. Upon seeing us, he stood up, moved the bolt back, producing a series of clicks before moving it forward. A loud clunk could be heard. Satisfied, the bearded stalker rested his gun on his shoulder, pointing the muzzle in the air.

I chuckled. “Are you done showing off Vano?”

The bearded stalker grinned. “Let’s go.”

Clouds had darkened the sky and the wind had picked up, blowing across the land, whistling through the vegetation and ruffling my feathers. I was thankful for my jacket: it did a good job at stopping the wind and keeping me warm. The two stalkers were walking silently by my side, Strider on my right, Vano next to him.

“Say Strider,” I began, “you teached me how my gun works and how to maintain it properly, but... I still haven’t learned to shoot it. It’s not that I want to use it anytime soon, but I’d like to be prepared, you see?”

The bald stalker stopped in his tracks. “I had thought of it,” he said, producing a few cans and bottles from his backpack. “I think we can stop anyway, we have been walking for a good hour and we should almost be at the canal.”

“What do you want to do with these?” asked Vano, looking at the bottles.

“Target practice,” replied Strider. “Come over here, Celestia. “Let us make a sharpshooter out of you.”

I walked up to him, my shotgun drawn and loaded two shotshells in it, one in each barrel.

Strider scratched his head. “I have never taught how to shoot to someone like you... let’s see how well you can handle the recoil first. Point the weapon at this three there and shoot it. You got buckshot in it, right?”

“Yeah,” I replied, taking aim.

I oriented the gun in the general direction of the tree and fired, both barrels at the same time.

B-BANG

I was not prepared for this. I should have held it with more force. When I pressed the triggers, the gun almost flew off of my magical grasp and sent a volley of pellets flying wildly in the air, completely missing the tree.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” I apologized, standing still, my gun smoking, staring at where I had shot.

Strider put a hand on my shoulder. “No harm done,” he said. “How bad was it?”

“Not that bad. I could have controlled it... I should have,” I replied. “FUCK!” I brought a hoof to my mouth, ashamed by my outburst. “Sorry,” I said weakly.

Vano laughed. “Don’t worry, it’s normal to be angry at that kind of thing. Just remember to hold it tightly: this kind of shotgun kicks like a mule!”

“Close range is quite easy actually: just line up the sights with your target and squeeze the trigger,” said Strider, smiling. “Let me show you.”

He then showed me the correct way to use my shotgun. While I understood quickly the aiming mechanics, It took me a while to remember all the safety procedures. It went like this for at least half an hour, then he decided it was time to practice. The stalkers placed a few metallic cans on a fallen tree trunk a few dozen meters away.

Following Strider’s advice, I rested the buttstock of the shotgun against my shoulder, holding it in my magic, breathed out and lowered my head to see the sights. I aimed at the first can.

I observed Celestia as she breathed out like I told her and aimed at the first can, the rifle held in her telekinesis.

BANG

The first can fell, obliterated by a volley of buckshot lead. She instantly switched to the second can.

BANG

Like its predecessor, it fell off the tree trunk, destroyed. I let out an admirative whistle. Celestia reloaded and took aim again.

BANG

Once again, her aim was true. Two cans flew in the air and hit the ground. She reloaded, smiling.

“Nice,” said Vano. “Let’s try something else. Pull!” he shouted, throwing an empty bottle of vodka in the air.

Celestia instantly spun around and took aim, before squeezing the trigger, effectively breaking the bottle in a multitude of sharp glass bits.

She smiled. “Hey, I’m good at this!... You guys want to challenge me?” she asked.

Vano waved dismissively. “No way, Strider is gonna win again!”

“I can only agree with Vano on this one, not wanting to brag,” I said.

“Aw come on! Please?” asked the alicorn, battling her eyelashes, a small smile on her face.

I stood up, sighing. “Fine.”

Vano laughed. “Beware, dude, she’s got you!”

“Yeah, yeah. THINK FAST!” I yelled, throwing two bottles in the air.

Vano’s eyes widened. Instantly, he grabbed his shotgun, took aim and squeezed the trigger. He hit the first bottle but missed the second one.

“Aw shit,” he said, picking up the intact bottle. “I missed one.”

“That I saw. Good thing you can spray as much as you want with that machine gun of yours,” joked Celestia.

“Blah blah blah pffft.”

I turned towards Strider, raising an eyebrow. “And what about you, Strider? How good is your aim?” I asked, an eyebrow arched.

Vano turned around. “Hah! wait ‘till you see this,” he said, before picking up the last empty bottles before giving them to me. “You throw them in the air when you feel like it, all at once, and without warning, I’d rather not go easy on him if I were you,” he explained with a grin, gesturing towards Strider and winking.

I gave him a hesitant look before glancing at Strider. He was sitting down on the ground, looking at us, his usual deadpan look on his face.

I threw all the bottles in the air. All at once. Without warning.

Instantly, Strider shot up and pulled a L shaped contraption out of a holster on his right thigh.

BANG

I looked incredulously as all the seven bottles exploded in the air in rapid succession, their debris scattering and landing on the ground. I turned around only to see Strider reloading his still smoking weapon.

“W-what was that?” I stuttered.

“I shot the bottles,” Explained Strider, sitting down.

“B-but how?”

“I wished I know,” replied the bald stalker.

I walked up to the him and sat down. “What is that weapon anyway?” I asked, curious.

Strider pulled out his weapon again. “My custom Model 1911 pistol. .45 ACP caliber. A design over a century old,” he explained, showing me the pistol. “Single action. Standard magazine holds seven rounds, extended magazine holds ten. Robust, ergonomic, reliable, and very accurate. Most experienced stalkers shun these pistols because of their low magazine capacity, but I prefer it for its accuracy and durability.”

I examined the weapon. It was ‘L’ shaped, and a box was protruding from the bottom of the grip. It had a multitude of external lever which purpose was lost to me. It looked much more complicated than my shotgun, but curiously, I wanted to learn more about the way it worked.

“Over a hundred years old? Whoa,” I simply said.

Vano laughed. “What can I say? Us humans know how to kill our brethren,” he joked.

Strider grunted. “Not very funny,” he replied, looking at the sky. “We should move.”

As we moved out, Celestia asked me how my pistol worked. I explained her nearly everything: the single action mechanism, how it feeds from the magazine, the various safeties, the magazine release... She seemed very interested by all technology behind the gun.

The alicorn eyed me. “And what are you wearing anyway?” she asked. “your garments look much more complex than my jacket.”

“Custom lightened SKAT-9M bulletproof armor. Just as protective as the original model, but lighter thanks to the use of carbon fiber and many other technological innovations I do not even know about.”

“And you?” she asked, turning towards Vano.

“Upgraded SEVA suit. Not as much physical protection than Strider’s but second to none when it comes to anomaly protection. I could swim in a pool of acid and not give a shit thanks to the closed cycle respiration system,” he explained, showing Celestia his the inside of his helmet.

“I’m not a fan of this sort of suits,” I said. “Too fragile in my opinion... that is one of the reasons why I did not get any utility upgrade on my armor. These systems tend to break easily.”

“Yeah. That and I don’t like the idea of my armor pumping me full of antibiotics and shits like that,” added my bearded friend. “Mens sana in corpore sano.”

Celestia looked at him. “What?”

“It’s Latin, a dead language. It means ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body’... and if you’re artificially pumped full of weird drugs, your body is far from healthy, and so is your mind.”

Seeing Celestia’s expression, the tall stalker laughed. “Heheh. I studied, young lady. I have several degrees in history, literature and linguistics; I studied at the Kharkiv National University... ‘Cognoscere, Docere, Erudire’. I taught English to Strider you know.”

It was Celestia looked at him in disbelief. “I never took you for a scholar... oh and by the way, I am well over two thousand years old so I’m far from a ‘young lady’”

Vano pouted. “Yeah, yeah. Blah, blah pfffft.”

I smiled. Despite being well educated, Vano he is barely more mature than a teenager.

The rest of our walk to the canal was uneventful. Not even a single mutant bothered us. We were almost arrived to the canal there when I spotted something in the distance. I signaled to the group to stop and get down.

Celestia looked at me, her ears flattened and a look of worry on her face.

“What’s going on?” she whispered.

“Renegades, 2 o’clock, eight hundred meters away away. Group of three,” I said as I watched through my binoculars.

Vano snorted and spat on the ground.

Celestia looked at him. “What’s so bad about them?” She asked.

I looked at her. “They are bandits: rude at best, steal loot, gear, and take lives; just for profit. The last two years, they killed more stalkers than mutants did. Back then they had no organization, wandering in small groups, but now... now they are unified, allied in a big syndicate the Russian Mob would find strangely familiar. They are a major threat to stalkers, rookies, and experienced alike... and people who are gullible enough to believe them.”

Vano rolled his eyes. “Tell me about it. What are they doing?”

“Nothing. Walking. See for yourself.”

I handed him my binoculars and he watched the group, which was slowly advancing towards us.

“Bullshit!” he exclaimed.

Celestia and I looked at him. “What?”

“It’s Jack!”

“Who?”

“The resident ‘boss’ of the assholes,” he spat. “He took over the bandits in Yanov a while ago. I had been stupid enough to believe him; that got me involved into large interest-laden debt with him, just for my suit! Then Degtyarev showed up... he was kind enough to pay my debts and scare him off, but apparently he’s back.”

I laid down on the ground, extended the bipod of my SVU, removed the artifact fragment and put the suppressor on.

“What are you doing?” asked Celestia.

“Preparing my weapon. This is a piece of a Gravi artifact. It decreases the weight of everything in a small radius,” I explained, holding the artifact fragment. “My rifle has been modified so the effects only apply to the bullet in the chamber, enabling a much higher muzzle velocity and better accuracy, without sacrificing reliability neither increasing recoil.”

Her face lit up with wonder. “I see... why are you removing it then?”

“It reduces the velocity of the bullet, allowing the use of a suppressor, custom made.” I explained.

Vano interrupted us. “Enough chit-chat! They’re coming.”

I set the rifle on the ground, loaded it and looked through the scope. “I got them in my sights. Seven hundred and fifty meters, wind: north east at fourteen knots,” I said, adjusting my aim. I flicked the safety off. “I have a shot. Your call, V.”

“Terminate,” he said in a cold voice.

“Very well.”

I lined up my scope with the first bandit’s chest, put my finger on the trigger and-

“WAIT!”

Argh.

“What now, Celestia?” I asked, mildly irritated.

She looked at me with a pleading expression on her face. “Don’t. Let them go.”

I raised an eyebrow in annoyance. “Why? It would be over in a matter of seconds.”

“I know bandits are bad pon-people,” said the alicorn, “but that doesn’t mean you have to kill them.”

Vano frowned. “Oh, they deserve it, trust me,” he muttered.

“That wouldn’t make you any better than them!” Shouted Celestia.

My gaze switched alternatively between Vano and Celestia.

She looked at me with her big, pleading eyes. “Please?”

Oh hhhnnnggg.

I stared at her, trying to keep my composure. “Rah! Fine.”

I put the safety back on and let go of my weapon. Nobody should be exposed to such levels of... of what? Adorableness? If even I could not resist her powers, who could?

“Thank you,” she said with a warm smile.

Vano was displeased. “Whatever, let them go; but don’t be surprised if that outburst of mercy comes biting us in the ass later.”

I rolled my eyes. “You are overreacting Vano, as always. Let us move, and avoid them. We are not far from the canal anyway.”

After walking down the hill, we arrived at the railway near the canal. A lonely train car was sitting there, overlooking the stretch of water.

“Alright, here we are. Vano, you go down to the canal with Celestia. I will keep watch from the top of that train car, there.”

Vano walked off with Celestia to the canal. I headed towards the abandoned train car. I climbed on the roof of the wagon and sat there, pensive.

What do we do next? I suppose we could look for a way to send Celestia back to her world... we will need the help of the scientists. And besides, they could make her a nice suit... maybe.

I shook off these thoughts and took my binoculars to scout the surroundings. There was nothing around except a group of Loners walking towards us in the distance. Vano was listening to his music and Celestia seemed happy to finally have a bath. Needless to say it was about time she got rid of the grime covering her.

Nothing seemed out of place, when a metallic flash caught my eye. Something was there, in a vent on the roof of that train car, something that was reflecting the sun rays. I moved to it, to discover it was a SVD. Yes, as in Dragunov SVD. Someone had left a sniper rifle on top of this train car. I pulled it out of the hole, examining it closely. The receiver and barrel had a few scrapes, and the wooden parts were weathered, indicating the old age of the rifle.

I raised my head... the Loners from before were passing by. I greeted them with a nod.

“Howdy ho,” said their leader, before the group walked off.

I turned my attention back to the SVD but before I could examine the weapon any further, I felt a twinge in my right shoulder. I knew too well what was coming.

“Emission, incoming!” I yelled at the group of Loners walking off. “Head for the tunnel!”

Before they could say anything, I jumped off the train car and ran down the hill.

My stars, I would never have imagined that bathing in dirty water would feel so good!

The water wasn’t cold at all surprisingly. Oh yes, that was nice! I could finally refresh myself and relax somewhat. I let out a long, content sigh, when Strider came running down the hill.

“Celestia! Vano! We have to move, quick!" He yelled.

Vano gazed down towards me, removed his earbuds, then gazed at the sky. “Right. Celly?”

“Yes?” I asked.

“We gotta go,” he said, still scrutinizing the sky.

I was worried. A second ago Vano was sitting down calmly, eyes closed, slowly bobbing his head while holding his strange device, and now he looked nervous, fearful even.

I scanned the skies as well. “What’s going on?”

Vano opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by alow, distant rumble.

I looked towards the sky, only to freeze in awe at the sight. A massive, threatening, unnatural column of grey clouds was slowly advancing from the North, completely obscuring the sky. We stood still, listening.

A crack of thunder interrupted the silence, and the skies lit up, followed by a continuous loud rumble.

A siren went off in the distance.

Strider looked at me. “Blowout,” he simply said. “Pack your things. We have less than a minute before it hits.”

I managed to gather all of my equipment and looked anxiously at the sky.

It was frighteningly beautiful. The pillar of clouds was still there, except that a bright red glow seemed to shine from behind, while streaks of bright yellow light extended from it like an Aurora Borealis, as if trying to escape.

“What the hell are you doing? Come on, hurry! To the tunnel!” called Vano, waving his arm towards me. I shook my head and realized I had been standing still the whole time, and ran after my two friends, to the tunnel.

I could feel the ground shaking as the rumble intensified; I desperately fought to maintain my balance as I ran behind Strider. My rifle fell on the ground; I picked it up and ran for my life, looking helplessly at my two friends ahead of me.

Vano was already at the entrance of the tunnel, waving his arms like a madman. Strider stopped and looked behind. I turned around, looked at the sky and stopped in fright. It wasn’t beautiful anymore. It was lit by a ferocious, threatening fire. The red glow from before had spread to the entire sky, and I could see an avalanche of orange clouds buzzing with energy speeding towards us, causing an earthquake and rumbling like a the beating of a million drums.

“What are you doing? Run!” Yelled Vano.

I stumbled forward, hopelessly trying to stay on my hooves. I looked backwards again... the wall of clouds was approaching at an alarming speed. I came to an abrupt realization: I wasn’t going to make it.

I saw Celestia struggling to maintain her balance as she stumbled forwards. She wasn’t going to make it. Not on her own. Seeing this, Strider discarded his sniper rifle and backpack before turning around and running back to the alicorn. He swiftly picked her up and tucked her under his arm before dashing to the entrance of the tunnel without looking behind. I picked up his discarded gear and quickly followed.

The tunnel was actually an old underground railway station, built to house the trains serving the Jupiter factory during the Soviet Era. It was closed by two massive, unmovable steel doors, but thankfully a service entrance existed right next to it, and we made it inside just before the blowout hit. I rushed inside first, followed suit by Strider carrying Celly firmly tucked under his arm.

Okay, that is an awkward way to carry a nearly immortal being.

Strider gently put the alicorn back on her hooves.

She looked at him and smiled. “You should really stop saving me sometime,” she said playfully.

Strider smirked. “When you stop putting yourself in danger, I’ll stop running to your rescue.”

We climbed the stairs to the second floor, leading to the catwalks overlooking the indoor railyard. A group of stalkers was already down there. They were discussing around a bonfire and one of them was playing the guitar.

I took a deep breath, smiled and let escape a content sigh. “This is why I love the Zone so much.”

Strider smiled. “Home sweet home, heh?”

“Seems like a friendly atmosphere indeed,” noted Celestia.

“Let’s go meet them then,” I suggested.

“Let’s.”

We climbed down the stairs and headed towards the group of stalkers. Upon noticing Celestia, they froze, stood up and aimed aimed their weapons at her. I facepalmed.

Shit. Three against three, they’re in formation, while we’re unarmed and lined up like fucking retards. Great.

I had dealt with worse odds before, but with an inexperienced rookie at our side to protect, everything would get from bad to worse if the situation was to head South.

The Blowout was roaring outside. The stalkers’ guns were still trained at us. Celestia recoiled, moving closer to me; her eyes wide as saucers, her ears flattened against her head. Vano held his nose and sighed. Everyone was silent, no one dared to make a move, frozen in fear, expectation or, in my case, calculations. Our odds were not bright in case the situation was to degenerate.

That’s when Vano advanced towards the group of stalkers.

“Wow whoa wait there,” began the bearded stalker. “Calm down and holster your weapons. We just want to avoid the Emission, do you think we’re here for fun? Can’t you see we’re all friends here? Me and my friends have been through a lot, trust me on that. We came here weapons holstered, seeking shelter from the Blowout outside, only to be greeted by the muzzles of your guns? And there I thought it was going to be a friendly meeting.”

The stalkers lowered their weapons but kept them at hand. Vano opened a bottle of vodka and handed it to them. The stalker in the middle holstered his shotgun and took the bottle.

Vano continued. “Have a sip. Now listen here: the Zone is ever changing. It is our home and our battlefield; we never go to sleep without wondering whether we wake up or not. We never take a step without thinking it is our last, but it is our home, and we will accept it however it is. I can understand your nervousness and uncertainty in the face of the unknown, but do you rationally think that our companion here represents any kind of threat to you?”

The stalker one the right lifted his brow. “I thought it was a tamed mutant or something... Noah has a pseudodog after all. Who knows if his ‘pet’ will stay loyal, the guy’s batshit insane. I say someday we’ll find his corpse, devoured by one of his dogs.”

“Seeing its equipment I had my doubts,” said the stalker in the middle.

He was wearing a radiation suit and his helmet hid his face. He put the bottle Vano gave him on the floor and took off his helmet before offering his right hand to Celestia. “Name’s Grizzly, pleased to meet you.”

Celestia looked hesitantly at his hand and then at me. I nodded towards the stalker, inviting her to accept his greeting. She lifted her right foreleg and awkwardly shook his hand.

“My name’s Celestia, and it’s ‘she’, not ‘it’, thank you very much.”

I frowned; Celestia seemed to notice that.

Grizzly raised an eyebrow. “So you talk English. How interesting.”

The stalker on the right grunted in annoyance. “Whatever. You shouldn’t trust people so fast Grizzly.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Torba. Last time I trusted a stalker, he got us Mitay back,” Grizzly objected, gesturing to the last stalker.

“Yeah,” approved the said Loner, “Who knows what these bandits would have done to me?”

He was wearing a hooded Sunrise suit, and a nice-looking rifle was slung across his back.

Vano raised his brow. “What happened?”

Mitay made us a sign to approach. “Come on over, make yourselves comfortable, I’ll tell you.”

The blowout had passed outside, only to be replaced thesound of the wind, rain falling and cracks of thunder. We sat down around the fire. Torba picked up the guitar andbegan playing.

Mitay took a gulp of vodka. “My friends and I had found a rare artifact. That’s when a group of bandits came to us and threatened to kill us if we didn’t give it to them.. We had been harassed by bandits before, and we drove them off as usual. But this time, they meant business. They attacked me when I was alone, and kidnapped me.”

Grizzly continued. “Torba and I were desperate; I wanted to free Mitay by force. Turned out we had no other choice but to comply with their conditions, except we couldn’t do it ourselves-they said they’d kill us if they were to see us again. That’s when that guy comes up to us, asks us what happened and spontaneously offers his help. He didn’t even ask for the artifact, he just said: ‘Okay, wait here, I’ll sort this out’ and took off. Next thing we know, we got Mitay back at our side thanking his unknown savior.”

“How did he do that?” I asked curiously.

“He negotiated. Gave the bandits a lot of money and they let me go. That guy was quiet, but a damn good bargainer. He even gave me his weapon, saying he didn’t need it. I love this shooter,” Mitay said, patting his AN-94.

The storm was still roaring outside, and we all agreed on staying there for the night. Grizzly was eating, while Mitay proceeded to clean his rifle. Vano had pulled a guitar out of seemingly nowhere and was playing along Torba. They were talking, sharing their adventures and laughing, enjoying each other’s company.

I leaned on a far wall and began to relax, when two stalkers burst into the room. One was wearing a blue and green set of Clear Sky armor while the other one was sporting a Duty exoskeleton out of all things.

“HOLY SHIT! We made it!” said the exosuit guy.

“Not thanks to you,” replied the other one dryly.

Vano and Torba stopped playing the guitar as the newcomers noticed our presence, staring at our group. An awkward silence followed, interrupted by Vano.

“Come in, don’t stand there! We’ve got enough space for everybody!”

The two stalkers removed their helmets and smiled as Grizzly stood up to greet them.

“Name’s Grizzly. Who are you guys?”

“Barin,” said the exoskeleton-wearing man, smiling slightly and mimicking a salute.

”Snag,” muttered the second stalker.

“We’ve been chased by a large pack of boars for a while, but we managed to lose them. We’re just here for the night. Care to present us to your friends?” asked the first stalker.

Grizzly shrugged. “Fine by me. Make yourselves comfortable. The guys playing the guitar are Vano - the bearded one - and Torba; here is Mitay, the bald one in the corner is Strider and this is Celestia,” he said, gesturing towards us.

Snag gazed at the alicorn, surprised. “What is it?”

Barin slapped him the back of the head. “OW! What was that for?” asked Snag, clenching his occiput.

“Buddy, that was just rude.”

Barin seemed very interested by Celestia and spent most of the time talking politely with her. He looked very interested as to how she had ended up in the Zone. I observed the alicorn. She seemed happy to talk about her home but something was off. She seemed to gradually become less enthralled.

Strider had sat down apart from our group and was leaning against the far wall, reading a book. I knew of his social awkwardness so that didn’t bother me.

On the other hand, Snag concerned me. He too was far from us, cleaning his gun.

He looks suspicious... and kind of cute. I’m definitely keeping an eye on him.

Celestia, Vano and the others were sitting around the fire, singing and animatedly talking. They were really loud and distracted me from my book, also I decided to leave the room. I stood up, climbed the stairs and entered the small room on the second floor we first came from. There I sat down and reopened my book.

It was not long before Celestia moved away from the group to join me. Her magical features had disappeared, her ears were flattened and she held her head down, as if she was exhausted.

“I’ve been looking for you,” she said.

“You seem troubled,” I stated, putting my book down.

“I have... quite a lot of things on my mind,” she replied.

She shuffled around before laying next to me and resting her head on my shoulder. The sudden contact surprised me. She seemed so depressed and in need of comfort to a point it was heartbreaking, even for me.

“Hey, are you alright?” I asked the alicorn with concern.

She gave me a bitter look. “Why would I be? Plenty of ponies count on me back home, and I’m stuck here.”

“I am sure they are doing fine,” I reassured her. “Your sister -Luna, right?- can take care of your responsibilities. From what you told me, she has a strong personality, she can deal with you missing,” I said, gently stroking her head.

Her coat was surprisingly soft, even softer than the fur ushankas are usually made of.

“Are you sure?” She asked with tearful eyes.

I nodded. “I know it. For your own sake, worry about yourself for once.”

“Maybe I should,” she deadpanned, sighing sadly.

I tilted my head. “I cannot help but feel that you have something else on your mind... When you were talking about your homeworld, your attitude changed from cheerful to sad, depressed even. I felt there was something more to it... what was on your mind?”

She sighed and looked at the floor. “Something hit me, something that now haunts my mind.”

“Go on, I am listening,” I said softly.

“At first when I talked to the others about Equestria, I thought naturally about the responsibilities I had left, my sister...” She sighed and her ears flattened. “... and then I thought about the others. My niece, my faithful student... and her friends. Hers. I realized I never really have any friends... the curse of being timeless, I suppose.” She paused. “Ponies often see alicorns as immortal, but that’s not true. We just don’t die of old age and happen to be more resilient than normal ponies, that’s all. In result, we are treated with respect, fear even, sometimes, hatred. Nopony never, ever befriends us, let alone truly loves us. My niece has been extremely lucky to find a loving husband... my sister had a mental breakdown once, and I had to banish her for Equestria’s safety, leaving me in charge of the country for a thousand years... I’ve never felt so alone.”

The alabaster alicorn began sobbing quietly, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Oh boy. I’m not good at comforting people. Here goes nothing.

“Hey, you have us now. We will not let you down,” I said softly.

She chuckled bitterly and looked up to me with her big, tearful eyes. “Do you mean it?”

I looked at her in the eyes. “Yes. Vano and I will be at your side no matter what, I promise,” I affirmed, gently wiping off her tears.

She moved closer to me, huddling herself against my side. I smiled and extended an arm over her shoulder.

It must look strange from the outside to say the least: a mythical winged unicorn snuggling the bald headed, ex-Monolithian stalker.

I chuckled at the thought, petting Celestia’s side. We stayed immobile like that for what seemed like hours, before she slowly closed her eyes peacefully, finally relaxing.

I felt the need to talk about something else. I had told him a lot about me, surely he could open up to me too? “You keep staying apart from groups of people,” she said, “Why?”

Strider sighed, a grim expression on his face. “As you know already, I used to be a Monolith fighter. An empty, emotionless, brainwashed husk.” he sighed. “Most people learn this quickly and stay away from me. So in I stay away from them, it avoids ‘complications’. Nobody would trust an ex-Monolithian... except Shulga, maybe.”

I locked my gaze with his. “I trust you.”

“I... you really do?”

“Yes.”

He pulled me in a hug. “Thank you. Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me,” he said, gently caressing my neck.

Hmm... I could stay like that all day...I leaned forward, making myself more comfortable.

“How was it?” I asked.

“The nicest feeling I have ever felt,” replied the bald stalker. “A warm feeling in my chest, I felt... worthy.”

“That’s not what I meant... how did it feel, when you... ‘woke up’?” I asked.

“Ah, that... physically, it felt like waking up every normal morning, except I had no idea how I ended up there. I was lost and without identity. Everytime I try to remember what happened before, there is just nothing,” he explained, sighing. “I have read that some amnesiacs compare their pathology to a white wall blocking all access to their memories, but I do not feel like that. There is nothing but an empty void here,” he said, pointing at his temple.

It must have been terrible... the poor dear. I don’t know how I would cope without knowing who I really am...

I nuzzled his arm gently. “You’re a good person. You’ve been a great friend. Despite everything you say, you’ve been one of the most empathic being I’ve met, and that’s all that matters.”

He smiled weakly. “You are too kind. But I have to admit, human contact helped. Who knows how my squad and I would have ended if we never encountered the Major?” He sighed. “No need to alienate myself with the past. What is done is done. Now let’s speak about the future. Your future.”

“My future?” I asked.

“Yes. Vano and I think that there may be a way back to your world, but we will need the scientist's help to find it; space bubbles are quite rare, not to mention random as well.” He paused, eying me and holding his chin. “Hmm... I think they could also be able to craft you a decent suit of armor, providing we have the materials.”

My ears perked up at the news. “Really? You’d do that? That’s very nice of you.”

“It is the least I can do. I think the scientists would be very interested in studying your ‘magic’.”

I shivered. “Studying? I don’t I like the sound of that.”

“Nothing harmful, worry not: a couple of scans and a sample of skin will be enough I am sure,” He assured.

“If you say so... are you sure they can send me back home?” I asked worriedly.

He chuckled. “Hey, these technicians can make a gun out of tin cans and and Chatterton, with ammo to boot... I am sure they will come up with something,” he added, twiddling absent mindedly with my mane.

We stood motionless, enjoying each other’s company. Noises of laughter and discussions could be heard coming from downstairs.

It had been a long time since anyone treated me without distant respect or fear even,a long time since anyone treated me as an equal, as a living, breathing being, with emotions, hopes and aspirations. It was... relieving. Finally I could count on someone else... it felt good, heartwarming. Strider and I stayed huddled against each other, and it was not long before I fell into a deep, peaceful slumber.

Celestia shifted, probably to make herself more comfortable and closed her eyes, a slight smile adorning her features. Her breathing slowed down as she fell asleep on my shoulder. There was something undeniably cute emanating from her, something pure, innocent. She was yet to be tainted by this world, and I swore to myself to keep it that way.

Even though I might fail... The Zone is dangerous, she has no place here...

I shook off the thoughts and looked at my PDA. 0130 hours.

Might as well hit the sack.

I took a blanket from my backpack and covered both Celestia and I with it. I gave her a last glance before moving a bit, closing my eyes and slowly drifting to sleep.

Chapter 5: Big Zoney Life

Chapter 5

Big Zoney Life

The next day, I woke up slowly to the morning’s first sun rays peeking through the broken windows. A slight breeze was blowing outside. I smiled and let out a content sigh.

Today is going to be a good day.

Celestia was still curled up in a ball, snuggled against me. She stirred before she opened her sleepy eyes and raised her head, observing her surroundings.

I lowered my gaze to her. “Slept well?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered, “Thanks to you. Thank you for yesterday, I... needed it.”

I nodded negatively. "No. If anything, I should thank you instead. I feel more human now," I countered. “And you, how do you feel?”

She smiled. “At peace... finally.” She slowly stood up and walked up to the window, stretching her wings, obscuring the light from outside.

Her magical features were back, except they were completely colored in a light turquoise tint, like a tropical lagoon. Warm golden sun rays went through her fur and her mane, defining a mesmerizing bright white outline aura around her and bathing the room in a strange emerald hue... it was truly an amazing sight.

Beautiful...

The alicorn smiled to the sight of the morning dawn. “It’s a strange feeling, knowing I’m not raising this Sun... and somehow, this dawn is even more beautiful than mine. It’s really humbling.”

She turned towards me and chuckled, bringing a hoof to her muzzle. “Shut your mouth, you look silly!” She said, amused.

I hadn’t realized I was staring at her slack jawed. I hastily closed my mouth. “Sorry, I was lost... thinking,” I said sheepishly.

She gave me a dubious look. “Thinking, absolutely,” she mused. “I think you were staring at my ass.”

I laughed. "Actually, I was admiring the effects of the Sun on your... body," I said, rather awkwardly.

The alicorn chuckled. "Aww... It's adorabl-"

BANG

A shotgun blast coming from the main tunnel interrupted her.

What the fuck is going on down there?

I woke up, lazily stretching my arms. Snag was laying on the ground next to me, snoring peacefully. Careful not to wake him up, I sat up and scratched my beard, I looked around... everybody was still asleep.

I giggled mischievously.

Absolutely perfect.

I grabbed my shotgun, stood up, pointed it to the ceiling and...

BANG

Grizzly, Mitay, Barin , Snag and Torba instantly jolted awake.

“ARGH MY EARS!” yelled Grizzly, clutching his head in his hands.

Mitay frantically looked around, confused. “Huh? What? We’re under attack?”

Barin covered his head with his arms. “AHH YOU GOD DAMNED FUCKING FUCK CUNT MOTHERFUCK-!”

“Shut up, shut up shutupshutup!” yelled Torba as he shot up, pointing his weapon at Barin.

“FOR FUCK’S SAKE, VANO, I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP!” shouted an angry Snag, giving me a disapproving glare before sitting up and searching in his backpack.

I pouted. “Awww, look who’s mad! You're cute when angry you know that?”

Snag blushed. "Shut it."

"Mprffff..."

Strider and I hurriedly made our way back downstairs. I drew my weapon, ready for anything. Anything, except what I saw. Vano was rolling on the floor laughing while the others were glaring at him.

The giant stood up. “BWAHAHAHAHA you should have seen the looks on your faces! Priceless!” he said, wiping a tear of laughter.

Strider walked up to Vano and raised a fist. I thought he was going to punch him, but Vano did the same and they bumped each other’s fist.

Strange customs humans have.

“My friend, that was completely stupid. But I have to admit, it was amusing,” said the bald stalker with a grin. He paused and looked around. “Now, I believe it is time we part ways. We all have our business to do after all.”

Grizzly rolled his eyes.. "Whatever. We gotta go now, shit to do. You know, scavenging, trespassing, adventuring and such. Been nice meeting you guys," he added, before waving his right arm around. "Mitay, Torba, let’s roll!”

With that, the three stalkers headed outside and went their separate ways, leaving Snag, Barin, Vano, Strider and I together.

“Oh well, I’ gonna fly off too,” declared Barin. “I’ve got stuff to do.”

Strider turned towards Snag. “Wait... You are not going with your friend?” He asked.

Snag snorted. “Friend? I barely know him, we randomly met yesterday. He was tailed by a pack of wild boars and ran up to me, forcing me to follow unless I wanted to be stomped on by the mutants. He’s a pretentious and rude coward. I mean, who the fuck sports an exoskeleton and can’t fight a few mutants?”

“Heh, this guy seems fishy if you want my opinion,” said Vano, munching on some sort of cylindrical, pink food.

Is that meat? Urgh.

“Something was off about him," added the giant.

Strider shrugged. “At least he is gone now,” he replied, before heading back upstairs. "Are you coming Celestia?"

I followed him as He began packing up his equipment. I decided to do the same when my stomach emitted a loud growl. I realized I hadn't eaten anything since the day before.

Strider looked at me. ”Hungry?” He asked.

I smiled sheepishly. “Well, yes. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday... and I don’t have any food on me.”

“Well, I only have this,” He replied, handing me a bread loaf and a can of food.

“Thanks.”

The can contained short, flat beans in a suspicious looking red sauce.

“What are these?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Baked beans, tomato sauce.This is good stuff.”

I looked back at the contents of the tin can.

Beans and tomatoes? Sounds... strange.

I hesitantly took a mouthful of these beans... It was surprising.

Who knew beans would go well with tomato sauce?

I observed Celestia as she ate her beans; I found her reaction very amusing: she was unsure about trying, then at the first bite her eyes widened and she smiled like an idiot, chewing through the rest of the beans with a speed unmatched even by Vano.

I laughed. “Hey, do not eat everything! I need some you know.”

“Aww, what’s the matter bald boy? Afraid that the mean alicorn is going to famish you?” said Celestia, chuckling.

I rolled my eyes as she resumed eating.

While the alabaster alicorn ate, Vano and Snag entered the room. They were animatedly speaking but Vano had a frown on his face.

“You are still worried about that Barin, are you not?” I asked him.

The bearded stalker removed his hand from his chin. “Yes. I have a bad feeling about this guy,” he said, checking the action on his machine gun.

Snag shrugged. “Meh, he’s gone now, let’s worry about moving out.”

“Fair enough,” I said, turning to Celestia. “You ready?”

“Whenever you are,” she replied, smiling through a mouthful of bread.

I chuckled. “Then let's go.”

Snag spoke up. “I’m coming with you guys. That is, if you’ve got nothing against it.”

Vano smiled. “Fine by me!”

We headed out of the tunnel. The sun was now high up in the sky, a fresh breeze was ruffling the vegetation, and no mutants could either be seen or heard. It was the start of a beautiful day in the Zone, a welcome change from the continuous drizzle and the occasional rainstorm. Vano and Snag were walking ahead, side by side and I was closing the formation with Celestia.

The alicorn looked at me. “Where are we going?”

“The anomaly by the parking lot,” answered Vano, turning around. "Deadly radiation and electrical anomalies, you’re gonna love it!”

“We figured it would be the best place to start,” I added. “While you are most certainly under-equipped for anomaly exploring, this anomalous zone is the least dangerous in the area and Vano is a great teacher.”

Celestia nodded. "Makes sense. Besides, radiation seems to strengthen my magic. Should be easy enough."

Vano raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? That's interesting. The scientists at the Bunker would be interested."

The alicorn smiled. "Yeah, I found that out when I was exposed to your artifacts. They all seem to leak raw magic."

"Well rejoice, we're going artifact hunting!" Vano said. “More magics for you!” he added, taking a dramatic pose.

Celestia and I chuckled at his antics.

We made our way to the hill overlooking the old parking lot, nearby the bandit checkpoint. In the distance, there was a derelict car surrounded by two limping bipedal figures.

“Stop,” I ordered. “If we get closer, they will shoot us.”

“Who are they?” asked Celestia.

Snag snorted. “Who were they would be a more appropriate question,” he said.

“Yep. Celly, meet the zombies,” added Vano.

“As I said before, they will attack if we get any closer. Let us dispatch them already.” I raised my rifle and looked through the scope. Surprisingly enough, Celestia did the same. “On the count to three. One, two...”

"YOLOOOOOOOO!!!”

Sigh. Not again.

I facepalmed.

Vano was running down the hill, screaming at the top of his lungs and spraying bullets from his machine gun in the zombies’ general direction. Of course this got their attention.

I sighed, adjusted my scope and aligned it with the first zombie’s head. I pulled the trigger.

BANG

Boom, headshot. One down, two to go.

I aimed at the second zombie, only to see it already lying on the ground, dead. I looked around, wondering who could have killed the last zombie, only to see Snag, holding his scoped SIG-550, smoke pouring from the barrel.

I gave him an appreciative nod. “Nicely done. Now let us get down there,” I said.

We climbed down the hill and walked up to the wrecked car. Vano was waiting for us, visibly annoyed.

“Dude. Not cool,” he began. “Why can’t I have my fun?”

“You had your fun last night,” scowled Snag, making the giant smile awkwardly. “This, right there, was just irresponsible.”

Did Vano just blush?

“Whatever,” he grumbled.

I walked up to the dead zombies. Mine had a small entry hole in the middle of his forehead and half of his occiput was missing from the sheer power of the sniper round while Snag’s had three bloody holes in his chest.

“Nice shooting. Right on the heart.”

I turned towards Celestia. She was trembling, staring wide eyed at the corpses of the zombified stalkers. “T-they’re dead... they’re fucking dead! You killed them!”

I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Hey, remember what I told you?” I asked. “They were not human anymore,” I softly said.

She seemed to slightly calm down. Her posture relaxed and her breathing slowed down.

“Yeah,” added Vano, “Zombified stalkers are merely driven by their instincts; some even starve to death. Killing them is not murder, it’s mercy... now loot them, so we can finally advance the plot.”

Dumbfounded, Snag looked at Vano then at me. I shrugged dismissively, as if to say 'He is like that. Do not try to understand.'

I went to 'my' zombie and looked through its things. He was clad in a heavily damaged exoskeleton, had a broken down AK rifle and two strange looking 1911-type pistols with big compensators.

These pistols look in good shape. I should bring them to Cardan so he can give me his thoughts on them, maybe he will be interested.

I stood up and walked to Snag.

"What did you find?" I asked.

“Some stuff. Ammo, supplies and whatnot,” replied the stalker. "And also this nasty piece," he added, showing me a SPAS-12. "I always wanted such a shotgun but simply have never been able to afford one. This one will need repairs though."

I looked at him, surprised. "Never been able to afford one? How is it possible? Your gear looks pretty decent."

Snag smiled slightly. "A guy I tried to scam saved me from... long story short, he got me out of trouble and gave me this rifle,” he explained. “And I worked my ass off for this armor.”

“Scam?”

“It’s a long story.”

I looked at the stalker with suspicion but said nothing.

Strider and the others had gone looting the dead zombies, leaving Vano and I alone.

“Well,” he said, turning towards me. “Time to teach you the basics! You ready?”

I rubbed my forelegs hesitantly and nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be...”

“Okay. If you want to survive in the Zone, you have to become a real stalker. And that means a few things. First: be aware of your surroundings. You must know what’s happening around you. Second: when shit hits the fan, pull the trigger AND run. In a ‘fight or flight’ situation, there’s no time to waste; don’t think, act: fight AND flight. Third: LOOT EVERYTHING.”

The bearded giant paused, taking his breath.

“Now, artifact hunting. You know already that artifact are anomalous formations spawned by anomalies. Retrieving them implies actually navigating through anomalies and a detector is absolutely indispensable for that,” he said, showing me a small handheld grey contraption.

It looked just like mine, except the screen was slightly different, and it had several buttons mine was missing.

“Some, like mine, display the location of anomalies in real time on a screen. Yours, despite being very advanced... doesn’t. This brings me to the first rule of anomaly exploring: don’t chase after moving artifacts andTHROW BOLTS . These small metal objects may seem useless, but they trigger a reaction from any anomaly they pass through, instantly spotting them. Cheap, reliable and life saving. Some anomalies will even act as if you actually walked through it, then they then take some time to recharge, allowing you to pass through it in the meantime. Look.”

Vano raised a hand holding a metal bolt and threw it at an anomaly seemingly made of electricity. It seemed to explode in an intense electric discharge with a zap before seemingly disappearing. The bearded stalker immediately ran through where the anomaly had been.

I winced, bracing for the worst, but nothing happened. He had escaped the anomaly unscathed and was now standing on the other side of it.

“See? Your turn now,” he said, looking at me. The anomaly he had run through was still there buzzing as if nothing happened.

I magically raised a bolt above my head. “Are you sure this is safe?” I asked, unsure.

The bearded stalker smiled. “As sure as Bloodsuckers aren’t vegetarian. Come on, go for it!”

Here goes nothing...

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and threw a bolt at the anomaly before running forward. Next thing I knew I was next to Vano, unharmed.

“See?” he said. “Perfectly safe. Now, for proper artifact hunting. You must asbsol-”

“Hey Vano! Snag and I are going to Yanov," interrupted Strider. "We’ve got loot to sell. Meet you both there around noon!”

“No problem, I'll make sure to be on time,” he replied.

I turned towards Snag. “Come on, let us go.”

As we walked off, Vano resumed his lesson. “As I said: your detector is the most important part: only with it equipped and turned on you’ll be able to detect artifacts, or should I say the ideal conditions for an artifact to form...”

His voice faded as Snag and I walked away side by side. I looked at the sky... not a cloud in sight. This persistent weather was quite unusual for the Zone.

“You weren’t very talkative, yesterday,” observed Snag. “Why?”

I grunted. “I am not comfortable around groups of people, especially people I do not know.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

“You do not want to know,” I grumbled.

The Clear Sky ranger wannabe raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I see. We all have our secrets. I wouldn’t be proud of my past to be honest.” He shrugged. “Shit happens,” he added awkwardly.

“Speaking of which... what was this ‘scam’ thing you were going on about earlier?” I asked, narrowing my gaze.

Snag sighed. “It’s a long story. I was forced to work for Sultan, the bandit leader in Zaton, to pay my gambling debts. Curiously, the ‘interests’ never stopped climbing and I ended up setting up stalkers for him, just to survive. When I simply couldn’t pay anymore, I stole some stuff in a lockbox at Yanov station,” he narrated.

I nodded. “Go on...”

“I had only two possibilities: either give the bandits all the stuff I had stolen in hopes it would be enough to cover my debts, or disappear with it. I mean, there was some pretty neat stuff in this box. Weapons, armor, supplies, artifacts... I thought I had a chance. Then Sultan sent me one of his goons. Fucker found me and put two rounds in my gut. I was sprawled on the ground, bleeding out, thinking that I was finished. Sultan’s henchman was about to put another one in my head, then the guy I had robbed showed up. He appeared out of nowhere and blasted Sultan's attack dog into oblivion with his rifle.”

“He?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Some stalker. Around your height, brown hair, brown eyes, pretty boy face. Never knew his name though. Anyway, he killed Sultan’s goon, patched me up, gave me his rifle and some supplies after I told him where I stashed his stuff. To say I was surprised would be a big understatement. I set up the guy, stole his shit, and after that, he comes back, saves my ass and gives me his rifle. I still don’t get it. Why did he help me? I dunno. I do love the rifle though,” said the stalker, patting his SIG-550.

The weapon seemed familiar.

“After that I looted the dead bandit, took his pistol and legged it,” he finished, patting the Desert Eagle on his hip. “I've sworn to myself to never ever deal with this bandit scum again. Been clean ever since.”

“I see.”

“Why the fuck did I tell you all that anyway?”

I chuckled. “Because I asked nicely. May I?” I asked, pointing at Snag’s rifle.

“Fuck no. Not unless you tell me your story too.”

I groaned. “Fine. Just promise me you won’t shoot me.”

Snag raised an eyebrow. “Why would I?” he asked.

“Just do it.”

“Okay, fine! Jeez. I promise I won’t attack you,” said the stalker, exasperated.

“I used to be a Monolith fighter,” I announced, preparing myself for Snag’s reaction.

His response surprised me. He did not jump in fright. He did not freak out and run away. He did not try to kill me. He just kept walking, a look of understanding on his face.

“I knew I heard your name somewhere before,” he said on a deadpan tone. “Ex-Monolith, heh? That must suck.”

I took a deep breath. “Well, except for amnesia and general lack of trust from most people, it is not so bad,” I explained. “At least I am efficient at what I do.”

"Lack of trust, heh? I can understand that. How did you even got close to Yanov? I mean, if you'd been wearing Monolith armor, you would've been fucking shot on sight."

"Well, my squad and I were lucky enough to meet the previous owner of your rifle," I said, smiling.

Snag’s rifle was actually Strelok’s old SIG-550, passed to the Major and then to him when Snag got saved by him. The guy was almost a living legend among Loners. He had helped so many, almost all of us were in his debt. Not that he actually wanted us to repay us.

We kept talking along the way to Yanov. Snag was actually a rather nice person. A bit foul mouthed at times but I enjoyed his company.

Beats walking alone.

Eventually, the big one story building of Yanov station came into view. I entered the main hall after Snag. The technicians occupy most of the northern wing, while the medic is in the southern one. Everything a stalker needs is there, even peace. It is the only real safe area around Jupiter: even Duty and Freedom have a truce there; not that any of these factions are relevant nowadays.

Upon entering the disaffected train station, we were greeted by the local trader. “Aloooohaa!”

Snag walked up to him. “Hey, Hawaiian, how have you been?”

I went my separate way, as I needed to see the technicians, Cardan and Nitro. I have to admit, their workshop is quite the achievement. They have become associates and now have opened a full service repair shop, offering repairs and modification on anything: weapons, suits, electronics... there was a curtain blocking the view of half of the workshop though. Cardan was sitting down, working on what looked like an AK-74, while Nitro was fiddling with some sort of radio.

Nitro perked up. “Stalker. What brings you here?”

“I was wondering if Cardan could have a look at these,” I said, producing the pistols I had found on the Zombie’s corpse.

Cardan raised his gaze from his work and examined the guns. “Hmm, nice looking guns. can I?” he asked.

“Yes, of course,” I said, handing him the pistols. “What were you working on?”

“Oh this?” he asked, picking up the AK. “She started her life as a standard 7.62 NATO semi-automatic hunting rifle, but now she’s more of an accurized battle rifle. She had a milled receiver, which is a good basis for an accurate rifle. Heavier, but hey. Can't have everything! She’s got a chrome lined, heavy barrel with polygonal rifling, new AK-74 type furniture with side folding stock, picatinny rails adapted on her Soviet dovetail mount, new trigger group... she can go full auto now too. Polished bolt with custom locking lugs, an all-new gas system, custom muzzle break... the whole shabang, tuned for maximum accuracy. I was giving this piece of art the final touches, she’s an old project of mine: the ultimate Zone-proof full auto battle rifle and DMR.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Is it not an order?”

The technician waved his hand dismissively. “Nah, I’ve been working on her in my free time, it’s my hobby. I’ve done this kind of thing quite a lot actually. I make unique weapons and from time to time, somebody buys them.”

“So it is for sale?” I asked.

“Yes, if you have the money... very expensive, I'm warning you.” His attention shifted back to the handguns. “Concerning your pistols here...”

He checked the action on both pistols, before field stripping them and examining their internals and looking down the sights on each slide.

“...seem in good shape, if a bit forsaken,” he announced. “The internals are intact, there’s just a bit of rust going through the finish on both guns. The magazines seem usable. These seem like fine example of- wow. These are not your standard 1911 pistols.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Look at the frame here.”

I moved closer. On the frame, just above the grip, there was a half erased inscription, reading ‘DAN WESS …REARMS NO...CH, N.Y. USA’ On the other side, an inscription said ‘RZ-10’.

I looked up from the disassembled pistols. “And?” I asked.

Cardan smiled. “And these appear to be custom pistols chambered in 10mm auto, with ‘match’ barrels.”

“And?”

“And these things pack a punch,” said the technician, smirking. “Somewhat above most .357 Magnum revolvers. How did you even get your hands on these?” he asked, eyes wide.

“I ran into an exoskeleton wearing zombie at the parking lot anomaly. He had a few supplies, a broken down rifle and these pistols on him,” I explained.

“Whoa. You got really lucky stalker,” said the technician. “These are very rare, I believe they are not even produced anymore. I should be able to repair them without any problems though. With those huge compensators, the recoil should be easy to handle, even one handed.”

One handed, heh?

“Great,” I replied. “I would like also a few customs parts, if you do not mind...”

After explaining what I wanted to the technician, I headed back to the trader. After all, I too had some loot to sell, not to mention equipment to buy for Celestia.

Seeing me approaching, Hawaiian spoke up. “Come on over man. I got all the shit you're ever gonna need.”

I smiled. “I need a few things,” I replied, handing him a list of all the equipment I needed.

The trader looked at the list. “A sleeping bag, a flashlight, a geiger counter, a box of matches, binoculars, a military knife... you’re equipping a rookie or what?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You could say that,” I replied. “Keep going.”

“A toothbrush, a set of flatware... a hairbrush?... vegetarian food? Who is this guy?” the trader asked, a confused expression on his face.

I chuckled. “You will know soon enough. Suffice to say... not an ordinary stalker.”

My interlocutor gave me a strange look.

I ignored him and kept talking. “I am also here to sell: I have this SVD rifle I found, and also these,” I said, putting Celestia’s jewelry on the counter.

At the mere sight of the pieces of jewelry, Hawaiian's eyes widened. “These are made out of solid gold! Where in the Zone did you... and these gems! Look like amethysts, but I’ve never heard of let alone seen gemstones that big! They look so pure... clear as water, deep color, flawless cut... I will get them expertized, but you can be sure these gems will be worth a lot!” He exclaimed. “How?...”

“This is a secret,” I replied. ”How much?”

The trader scratched the back of his head. “Well, it’s a good five kilos... gold pricing is around 15 000 per kilo. That plus the rifle, minus what you’re buying... 65 000 roubles. I’ll get the gems expertised and give you the rest later.”

“Alright, but I will hold on to these”, I said, picking up the tiara and one golden shoe, “I’ll also buy some 10mm handgun ammo, a PK-AS sight and a sniper scope, with mount and dovetail adapter of course. I’ve also got these to sell,” I added, showing him the two weird stones that resulted from defibrillating Celestia with artifacts.

Hawaiian looked at them and recoiled. “Cobblestone... this is surprising. I wouldn’t dare touching these things, but the scientists will give you a great deal for them. Counting the stuff you’re selling, minus what you’re buying... all I can give you is 57 000,” he announced.

“Alright then.”

With my newly acquired money and equipment, I headed back to the technician’s workshop.

“Ah, stalker,” said Cardan. “I finished working on the first pistol.”

I whistled appreciatively. “You sure work fast. Show me.”

“Every internal part has been cleaned and lubricated, didn’t even need to replace any. The barrel was already threaded, so making a suppressor should be easy enough. Longer recoil rod, undercut trigger guard... the grips are as ergonomic as they can get. I added 1911-type night sights on it, I was very glad to learn that these parts fit the gun.”

“Wonderful. How much?”

“7 500 per pistol, renovating of the compensators included. 8500 if you want suppressors.”

I payed up and eyed the ‘special’ rifle Cardan mentioned before. “Now, about that special rifle from earlier...”

He looked at me, surprised. “Why would you buy it? I just made a weapon for you and I’m working on another one.”

I smiled. “Well, it is not for me... Do you have anything to laminate metal, and some kind of engraving equipment?” I asked, holding up one of Celestia’s old gold shoes.

“Sure, what for?”

“Oh nothing... I just want to do a bit of external customization to this rifle, it is for a gift.”

They had nearly killed me. They had taken all of my equipment. But worst of all, they had her. I couldn’t let her at their hands. But I couldn’t do anything. So I was walking. Slowly, but surely, I was making my way to Yanov Station.

I had been working for a while. I looked at my PDA. Two in the afternoon.

Vano and Celestia should have come back now. They must be late. I seriously hope nothing bad happened.

I shrugged off these thoughts and smiled as I examined my engraving work. It was beautiful; a rugged design married to perfection with a flawless ornamentation.

I did not know I was this talented. Celly will love it!

I gave the rifle back to the technicians for safe keeping and headed to the hall of the former train station, determined to try out my new pistol. Before I went outside, I bought a few bottles of vodka from Hawaiian for target practice. I wanted to try out this new pistol and what it was capable of.

My breath was difficult and ragged. It hurt. I was walking. I was wounded heavily. My entire body was aching. My right arm was broken. I felt blood pouring out of the gunshot wounds on my chest. My machine gun was missing. My shotgun was missing. My artifacts were missing. My backpack was missing. My suit was destroyed.

I limped on two legs with difficulty, my head inched forwards, only one goal in mind: warn Strider.

Warn Strider. I have to... warn him... before it’s too late.

As it turned out, these pistols were more accurate and had much more range than my old 1911. If it was not for its heavier recoil, it would be perfect... though I did use it without the compensator.

I was about to turn around and go back to Yanov station when I spotted something in the distance. A limping bipedal figure was approaching.

What in the Zone is a zombie doing here?

Usually, zombies stay away from groups of people. They were rarely sighted anywhere near Yanov station. I frowned, before I took my sniper rifle and aimed at the figure. When I saw who it was through the scope, my heart nearly stopped.

Vano?

He did not look well: all of his equipment was missing and his ruined armor was bloodied. I let my rifle fall to the ground and ran towards the wounded stalker.

As I catched up to him he fell to the ground, unconscious. Without thinking, I picked him up and ran to the station.

I slammed the doors open, Vano’s unconscious form in my arms. Everyone’s gaze turned towards me and the stalkers in the station started gathering around.

“MOVE!” I yelled, pushing aside the onlookers

“VANO!” yelled a voice.

Snag appeared among the crowd. “What happened?” he asked in a trembling voice.

“I don’t know,” I replied calmly. “MOVE!” I shouted again at the crowd.

I made my way to the infirmary of the station and laid down Vano on the couch. I checked his pulse... there was none. I put an ear to his bloodied chest. I could hear a beat, insanely fast and way too weak. Without thinking, I got him out of his armor tearing out chunks of the ruined SEVA suit and put my hands on his torso, performing emergency CPR, all the while Snag was observing, teary eyed and breathing heavily.

The medic hurriedly came to Vano’s side. “What’s his status?” he asked.

“Pulseless ventricular tachycardia,” I replied. “He must have lost a lot of blood, likely due to the multiple bullet wounds to the abdomen... no exit wounds,” I observed, moving Vano’s massive form around for examination. “Take my artifacts and close these wounds.”

The medic executed himself, sanitizing and healing Vano’s wounds with my artifacts.

“All wounds sealed and sanitized. I’ll grab a defibrillator.” With that, the medic left to his infirmary. I kept compressing Vano’s chest.

Again.

And again.

After what seemed like an eternity, the medic came back with the defibrillator, an old paddle electrodes model.

*wwweeeeeEEEEE*

The medic charged the defibrillator, rubbed the paddles together and pressed them firmly on his chest while I kept on performing CPR, alternating between cardiac massage and artificial respiration.

“CLEAR!” he yelled.

I let go of Vano.

*KACHUNK*

His entire body tensed under the massive discharge of electric current. I checked his heartbeat once again. “Nothing!” I resumed CPR while the medic charged the defibrillator once again.

*wwweeeeeEEEEE*

The medic held he paddles against Vano’s chest once again. “CLEAR!”

*KACHUNK*

“Still no response. Back to CPR,” I said.

*wwweeeeeEEEEE*

“CLEAR!”

*KACHUNK*

“Nothing. DAMMIT!”

“Charging to 300!”

*wwweeeeeEEEEE*

“CLEAR!”

*KACHUNK*

…

Everyone in the room was silent as the medic slowly checked Vano’s pulse.

“Asystole,” he said. “Heart restarting. Condition: stable,” he added after a few seconds.

The stalkers gathered around loudly cheered. Relieved, I sat down on the ground and took a deep breath. My hands were covered in blood. I could taste Vano’s bile in my mouth. I felt like throwing up. But my friend was saved. And for that, I felt relieved more than anything else.

Snag wrapped his arms around me in a bear hug. “Thank you thank you thank you,” he said, crying.

“Errr, you’re welcome, I suppose,” I awkwardly replied.

I looked at the medic. “Thanks,” I said, wiping my hands.

“Glad to be of assistance. Your friend will be fine, though he’ll need an extensive antirad treatment; he’s literally emitting gamma waves,” he said with a stern expression on his face.

“Would this help?” I said, taking my Bubble from my backpack.

The medic’s eyes lit up. “Yes, most definitely yes... I could also use your healing artifacts too. Your friends will need them to make a faster full recovery,” he said, attending to Vano’s minor wounds.

I took a deep breath. “Anything you need, I will provide,” I replied, handing him the rest of my artifacts. “Now, if you excuse me, I must discover what happened. Where is Cel-”

I turned around and was about to leave the infirmary when I felt a hand grabbing my arm. I looked down, only to see Vano staring at me, eyes wide open and breathing heavily, a pained look on his face.

“Bandits. They have her. They attacked us. They came from the Checkpoint. Didn’t *cough* didn’t stand a chance against their numbers. They have her. They *cough* they have her,” he stuttered, before falling unconscious again, his hand letting go of my arm and falling limp at his side.

What?... No... This cannot be happening...

The entire world seemed to fade away, the people around turning into indistinct colored blurs, their voices making an incoherent background noise. I leaned against the wall and slided down to the ground.

I have been so careless, I was not there. I let her, I let them both Vano and her down. What good am I if I cannot protect the rare people considering me as a friend?

I felt a tear form at the corner of my eye and make its way down my cheek.

So this is over huh? She’s been kidnapped and will be sent to some lab for some scientists to experiment on... I will not see her ever again.

I let out a sob.

Then I took a deep breath.

No.

I stood up. I narrowed my eyes. I gritted my teeth. I clenched my fists.

I will not let this stand. Whoever did this is a dead man. Whoever thought it was a good idea to fuck with my friends will die. I shall obliterate him... and all his ‘friends’ with him.

I turned around and left the infirmary, heading for Hawaiian’s store.

“Trader, I need ammo,” I said coldly. “Lots of it.”

Chapter 6: Mad World

Chapter 7

Mad World

WARNING: dark. And edgy.

“Hawaiian, I need ammo,” I said coldly. “Lots of it.”

The trader raised his gaze to me and backed off, wide eyed. “A-anything you want. It’s on t-the house.”

I snatched a few boxes of 10mm auto and a few magazines for my SVU without a word, turned around and headed to the technician’s.

“Cardan. Have you finished yet?” I asked.

“Wait a minute, I’m almost done,” he mumbled.

I grunted.

He raised his gaze at me. “I mean, Y-yes, of course. I was just tuning it,” he stuttered, handing me the guns.

“The suppressors?” I asked.

“Ah, yes. T-there,” he replied meekly, pointing at the table. “Everything’s in order.”

I seized the two black cylinders and put them in their pouches, then I attached the compensators to the 10mm pistols and loaded them. After checking them for any malfunction, put them in their holsters on my thighs. I grabbed my SVU, loaded it, checked its action and slung it over my shoulder. I put as much ammo and magazines as I could in the pouches of my vest. My firearms ready, I checked my knife: its long polymer blade engraved with the words 'Воин Монолита' was as sharp as ever. I put it in its sheath and counted my supplies.

More than enough.

I was ready to kill. I slowly stood up, donned my helmet and walked through the exit, slamming both doors open.

There were voices. I could hear Hawaiian talking.

Am I in Yanov Station?

I opened my eyes, only to close them immediately as the light from the ceiling blinded me. After a while, I slowly reopened them and slowly sat up, scratching my beard. I looked around and winced as a dull pain spread all along my back. I was indeed on the couch in the infirmary of Yanov Station.

Damn I feel like shit.

The medic seemed to notice I was awake.

His eyes widened. “You shouldn’t be awake yet! How is this possible?” he asked.

“Not the first time I’ve been told that,” I deadpanned. “Who are you and how long was I out?”

“Ah, where are my manners? Name’s Bonesetter, I’m the medic here. You’ve been brought here unconscious about an hour ago. I managed to save you with the help of a friend of yours. What’s your name?”

“Vano,” I said, offering a hand.

The medic smiled and shook my hand. “Nice to meet you, although I wished it was in other circumstances.”

I groaned and rubbed my temples. “Why? What happened exactly? I can’t remember.”

“Well, you told the guy who brought you here -Strider if I remember right- that ‘the Bandits have her’, as if they had kidnapped one of your friends.”

I shot up. “They have her? Where is Strider? We have to-”

“Calm down now. You’re not in condition to go anywhere,” firmly said the medic, forcing me back on the couch. “Besides, your friend immediately left after learning the news. At first he had a bit of a mental breakdown. He-”

“Wait. Strider? Mental breakdown?” I asked, dubious.

“Well he did look like he was going to faint... after that, he changed. I’ve never seen such a radical change in one’s behaviour. At first he was leaning against the wall, almost crying... then something snapped in him. I felt it. The man was literally emitting such an aura of anger and hatred I instantly felt in danger around him, even if it wasn’t directed towards me,” said the medic, suppressing a shiver.

I scratched my beard. “Strange. That's not the Strider I know. Mental breakdown?... weird.”

The medic sighed. “I don’t know. How is it so unlike him?" he asked.

"Emotional balance," I began. "The sniper must be able to calmly and deliberately kill targets that may not pose an immediate threat to him. It is much easier to kill in self-defense or in the defense of others than it is to kill without apparent provocation. The sniper must not be susceptible to emotions such as anger, anxiety or remorse," I explained.

"Sounds like something out of a field training manual," said Bonesetter, raising an eyebrow.

"That's because it is," I replied. "And Strider is a trained sniper and ex-Mon -forget I said that."

The medic shrugged. "You know him better than I do. I’m just glad he’s gone now,” he replied, suppressing another shiver. “Concerning your equipment... you only had your armor and a few things on you when you've been brought here,” he added, pointing to a table behind him.

“If they hurt Natascha... they’ll wish they’d never been born,” I muttered.

“Who’s Natascha? The one the bandits kidnapped?”

“My gun.”

Without adding anything, I went to the table. My PDA was there and in one piece, meaning I still had all my money: I never liked using cash. My SEVA suit was completely destroyed however, and all the rest of my gear was missing.

I shrugged. “Oh well. Now I know what to do with all my money.”

The medic looked at me, shocked. “You’re not worried about your friends?”

I smirked. “Nah. You said Strider went after the bandits, right? I would be more worried for them if I were you.”

I kept walking, slowly but surely. My destination? The old checkpoint: according to Snag, a lot of bandits like to hang out by this vestige of the soviet era; it is a strategic position or something like that.

So, what is the plan? ... I need information. As much as this checkpoint is well placed, it is not an easily defendable place. Too many points of entry, not a good place to keep a prisoner... guess I’ll ‘ask’ questions.

I was pulled from my thoughts by a beeping, courtesy of the thermal scanner in my helmet. It detected a lot of activity ahead, about thirty thermal signatures. I stopped, assessing the situation.

If I walk in, they might attack me. A lone stalker is an easy prey... what am I thinking? Me? An easy prey?

I smirked under my helmet and chuckled darkly.

Guess I am walking in.

I unslung my SVU from my back and I casually approached the checkpoint. A lot of bandits were patrolling around on the ground or on catwalks. There was three buildings: two on the left a big one on the right, guarded by a bandit.

Their leader must be in there.

Soon enough, the sentinels noticed me. Surprisingly, none of the bandits opened fire. I shrugged and proceeded. The guard at the entrance of the small building blocked me.

“Stop! Where do you think you’re going?” he asked.

Time to bluff.

I took off my helmet and locked my gaze with his. “Let me through, I have got business to discuss with Jack,” I deadpanned.

“Come on in then. To your right, then on the far left,” he said, stepping aside. "And holster that shooter."

I nodded.

What a moron.

I holstered my sniper rifle, entered the building and took a right turn to a corridor. At the end of it on the left, a door was opened. I walked to it and entered the room. A few pieces of furniture were disposed along the walls, various tools scattered on them and an armed bandit was standing on the far side of the room. Jack was on the other side, to my left, sitting on a chair behind a desk, wearing a long leather jacket.

The bandit leader raised his gaze to me. “Well, well, well... what do we have here?” he asked, a smirk on his face. “Who are you and why are you here?” he asked, presenting me a chair in front of his desk.

I put my hands on his desk. “Names are for friends, so I don’t need one,” I replied. “I am here to... negotiate.”

Jack looked at me curiously. “Negociate, heh? About what exactly?” he asked.

“I know for a fact that you and your men have captured a friend of mine. I want her back,” I firmly said.

My interlocutor seemed to be confused for a moment but his expression changed for half a second.

He knows.

“Doesn’t ring any bells. Now piss off, else I’ll blow your head off," he threatened.

Without a word I slowly turned around. I heard Jack stifle a laugh. I froze and snorted.

That’s it.

I suddenly pulled out one of my 10mm pistols and shot the guard behind me twice in the chest before he could do anything. He instantly dropped his LR-300 and fell to the ground, dead. Seeing this Jack stood up and tried to raise his shotgun, only to be met by the muzzle of my pistol.

“I do not think so,” I calmly said. “Sit down,” I added, before disarming the bandit and tying him to his chair.

He laughed. “You think you have a chance? Look at you, only two pistols. I have thirty five men out there, waiting for you!”

“Thanks for the headcount,” I said, reloading my pistols.

Then the guard from the entrance ran into the room. “What’s going on in ther-” Upon noticing the bodies on the floor, his eyes widened. “ALERT-”

BANG

I interrupted him with a 10mm bullet between the eyes, splitting his head in half and sending a good chunk of his brain on the wall behind him.

“Thirty-four,” I said, looking at the results of the gunshot.

I heard shouts coming from outside; reinforcements were coming, not for me... fortunately. I really felt like blowing off some steam at the moment.

I picked up Jack’s discarded shotgun: an old and rusty Armsel Striker... not a good tool for the task at hand.

Big, cumbersome, heavy and nowhere near reliable. Guess I am sticking with the pistols.

I snorted and threw the weapon away. I went to Jack, held his chin and looked at him in the eyes.

“You are going to stay down and shut up until I am finished with your pathetic friends out there,” I said dryly.

“W-who are you?” he asked, panicked.

I put my helmet on. “Good question,” I replied, before knocking him out.

I unholstered my other pistol.

This is going to be interesting. I never used two handguns at once.

The second bandit to burst into the room was greeted by a wall of lead to the gut. The hollowpoint 10mm bullets proved much more effective than 45ACP ones. They tore through the front of the man’s poor quality ballistic vest, penetrated his body and expanded before exiting from his back, scattering bits of his intestines all over the far wall as well as on myself.

Impressive. I really like these guns. Using them both at the same time feels so natural.

I went to the corridor. Two bandits were there, aiming hesitantly at me.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

The compensated pistols splattered them on the far wall before they could react.

Thirty-one.

I peaked outside. I could see two dozens of bandits from where I was.This time, they didn’t think and opened fire. I rushed out of the building and jumped behind a concrete wall.

Time slowed to a crawl as the as every sound around me faded away. I could sense every bullet hitting the wall I was hiding behind, where all the bandits were, their every movement, even their erratic breathing and the metallic clanking of their weapons' mechanisms... I could feel everything around me. I was not afraid... I felt confidence, peace even.

I stayed behind cover, waiting for an opportunity. After a while, the shooting stopped and I heard the telltale sound of weapons reloading. I shook my head.

Big mistake. Do they even know what ‘strategy’ and ‘suppressing fire’ mean?

I popped up from my cover and fired back, firing one pistol at a time: steady, accurate... deadly. The three closest bandits fell to the ground, their heads split in half by one well placed bullet each. The next three on my right tried to switch to their pistols, only to be interrupted by a wall of 10mm hollow points. I spotted two bandits with shotguns on my left, aiming at me. Two bullets later, both hit the ground, clutching their destroyed throat as their life essence left their bodies in the form of crimson, pulsating geysers.

I popped back behind cover and reloaded. One bandit managed to approach from behind, knife drawn.

Oh no you do not.

He raised his knife, preparing to stab me in the back. Without letting go of my guns I spun around, blocked his jab with my left arm and promptly thrust my knee in his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. I followed by a hard right hook to the face, sending him stumbling backwards. Before he hit the ground, I recovered and shot him in the temple.

BANG

His head exploded in a shower of blood, brain matter and broken bone pieces, finishing to cover me from head to toe of grime. I grunted and wiped most of it off the visor of my helmet.

I felt a bullet whizz past me. I swiftly spun around and shot the responsible right in the chest. He dropped his AK to the ground, a hand over his heart and fell to his knees.

Fuck. That was sloppy.

I kept on shooting and hit target after target. One after another they fell to the ground, dead... until only one remained. As I walked out of cover, he frantically looked around panicked, and turned away, trying to escape. He tripped on a rock and hit the ground with a thud, dropping his gun. I removed my helmet and walked up to him, still trying to get away from me.

“P-please don’t kill me,” he begged. I grabbed him by the collar and lifted him to eye level. “Please,” he began. “I’ve got a family, oh God please no!...”

“Nice coat,” I growled, eyeing him from head to toe. I dropped him to the ground and took his coat. “Very nice,” I added, adjusting the black leather cloak over my armor.

I let the unconscious bandit there went back to Jack. The bandit was where I left him, strapped on his chair and unconscious. I proceeded to awaken him, slapping him across the face a few times.

“Wakey wakey,” I gently said as he opened his eyes.

The bandit slowly opened his eyes and looked around, a confused look on his face. Upon spotting me, his expression changed to a mixture of terror and defiance.

“I cannot say that your minions outside put up a real fight,” I taunted. “Now that you are awake, we will play a game. If you answer my questions, you will get out of this room alive.” I narrowed my gaze. “You do not, and... well. It is just a matter of how much you want it to hurt,” I added coldly. “Are we on the same page?”

He nodded, trying to speak through his gag.

“Now,” I added, standing up. “First things first. Your name is Jack, Right?”

Once again, he nodded frantically.

“Good, good. Now where do you keep the... alien prisoner?”

I removed his gag, allowing him to speak. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he firmly said.

I sighed and punched him in the face. His head jerked violently to the left and blood splattered the wall. I punched him again. And again. And again. And again. And again, each impact of my clenched fist against his head resonating in the empty room.

I raised the bandit to eye level. His nose was broken, blood was trickling from his mouth, the whole left side of his face was bruised and battered and a few of his teeth were missing.

“Where is she?” I asked again.

The bandit said nothing and spat in my face, splattering a mixture of blood and saliva on my cheek.

“Oh well,” I said. “time to move on to something else.”

I replaced his gag and silently examined the furniture in the room. A few tools were lying around... I decided to crank things up a bit.

I snapped back towards Jack. “I see you have quite the workshop in here... very good,” I said, picking up a pair of pliers. “These are pliers. Very useful to work on extremities, such as fingers, toes, ears, nose... among others.” I pulled a chair and sat down in front of Jack.

“Stay back!” he yelled, wide eyed.

“Hands,” I began. “Oh so convenient hands. Very useful, they allow humans to grab things in a way no other animal can, enabling fine controls over tools expertly crafted... like these,” I said, twiddling with the pliers. “I will ask again,” I growled, approaching the metallic tool to his thumb. “Where. Is. She?” I slowly asked. “Do not try to be clever with me, even your pawn at the entrance knew of her existence,” I spat. “Tell me everything you know, else I will tear you apart,” I said nonchalantly. “Literally,” I added, yanking out the nail off of his thumb.

Jack’s eyes widened. His body tensed but he did not scream.

Well, that was anticlimactic.

The bandit panted. “I won’t tell you anything!” He shouted, glaring at me.

I sighed. “I’m sorry... I don’t like. The way. You are. LOOKING AT ME!” I yelled, throwing the pliers away. “Do you think I am bullshiting you, do you think I am lying?” I asked, firmly grabbing his index finger in my hand. “FUCK YOU!” I shouted, twisting the finger backwards, cracking the bones.“Okay? Fuck you.” I sighed and stood up. “The thing is: your goons have her captive somewhere. And it is not like I am going to let her down,” I stated. “Guess we are going to use something else,” I said, picking up a blowtorch and a metal rod laying on a piece of furniture.

I ignited the blowtorch and used it to heat up the rod. Once its extremity was red hot, I killed the torch and approached the rod from Jack’s panicked face so he could feel the heat emanating from it, before bringing it closer to his intact hand.

“See that?” I asked mischievously. “Red hot. Now where is she?”

“S-STOP! Please, st-top-p,” he stuttered, trembling. “I’ll talk.”

I tilted my head, faking surprise. “What? Already?”

“T-the old container depot, South West from here! That’s where I told them to keep the horse thing!”

“See, that was not so hard,” I said, lowering the metal rod. “How many men are guarding the place?”

“A-a few d-dozens or so, I don’t know...”

“You do not know?” I asked innocently, playing with the reddened metal piece.

“Fifty-four! Fifty-four men, with automatic weapons and shotguns.”

I said nothing and brought a hand to my chin before searching through the bandit’s pockets. After a while, I had found what I was looking for: his PDA. It looked more like one of these fancy touch screen phones.

Where in the Zone did he get that? Looks nice though, I'll keep it.

I unlocked the device and browsed through Jack’s mailbox. The last conversation caught my attention. The first message read: ‘Jack, it’s Barin. There’s an alien in the Zone, and you’ll never guess what it is: A fucking winged unicorn pony! Her, yes ‘her’ name is Celestia, and apparently she can do magic. She’s white and colorful, impossible to miss out. She hangs out with two stalkers named Vano and Strider. Get some of your boys and go retrieve her, she’ll be worth the damn jackpot for my clients! Be aware, Vano is a giant armed to the teeth and as rumors say, that Strider is ex-Monolith. Don’t fuck this up. Share goes 40/40 and 20 for your boys, as usual.’

To which Jack had answered: ‘Shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll send my best fighters and it will be over before they even know it. Besides, that Vano still owes me money. The requested package will be delivered in time. A pleasure doing business with you.’

The last message was a reply from Barin. “A pleasure, yeah, I’ll have some when I’ll get my hands on that fine piece of meat hahaha! I’ll be sure to break her before delivery. Jackal will be pleased with his latest acquisition.”

I took a deep breath.

Fine piece of meat? Break her? Barin... a dead man as of now.

“Who is this Jackal?” I asked, glaring at Jack.

“I-I don’t know! Some high-ranking Merc! That’s all I know I swear!”

“That is all I wanted to know anyway,” I said, freeing the bandit.

He fell to his knees and hugged my legs “Thank you, thank-”

“Oh, shut up,” I ordered, kicking him in the stomach. “What do you thank me for?”

I put my helmet back on, grabbed him by the collar and dragged him outside. There, I forced him to kneel and raised a pistol to his head.

He looked at me desperately. “B-but you said-”

“I said that you would get out of this room alive. You did, did you not?” I calmly asked.

“IF YOU KILL ME YOU’RE DEAD YOU HEAR ME! YOU’RE DEAD! YOU’LL HAVE ALL MY DAMN FACTION AFTER YOUR BACK, YOU FUCKING MOR-”

BANG

“See if I care.”

The gunshot echoed in the distance. Jack’s body hit the floor, his brain splattered on the ground. A few ravens took flight. A gust of wind swept the land. I shivered.

The weather is getting colder.

A light rain began to wash out the blood on my garments. I turned around and walked away, to the container depot.

Hold on, Celestia. I am coming.

I jolted awake and groaned in pain. My head was throbbing and my right wing was killing me again. I was taken by a fit of coughing. My whole body felt numb. It was cold and the floor was wet. The scent of... cooking meat came to my nostrils. I gagged in disgust and tried to move. Something was keeping my mouth shut, my legs were tied up and... a leash was attaching me to the wall. There were voices around me...

Where am I?

I observed the room I was in. A few people clad in long black coats were speaking while sitting at a table and playing a card game. I heard voices from the outside... someone was coming.

The door slammed open and five dark figures entered the room. The one clad in mechanical armor ordered the others to go outside, leaving both of us alone.

He approached me. “Hmmm yes... Thanks to you I’ll be rich!” He lowly growled, removing his helmet. “But first...”

I instantly recognized him: it was the man I spoke to the day before, Barin. He moved his hand to touch my muzzle, and began to stroke my neck and my chest, down to my stomach... descending lower and lower... I desperately twisted my whole body, trying to escape from his dreadful touch.

I don’t want this, no no please, I don’t wanna be here, somepony get me out of here!

“Don’t you fucking move, bitch! I own you now!” he shouted.

He punched me in the face and my vision faded for a second, obscured by dancing lights. He punched me again, and everything went black.

I woke up with a gasp, only to hear Barin talking. I was still in the same place but this time, I was strapped to a table, my back forcefully pressed against the cold metal of the piece of furniture. My forelegs were attached together, my wings were restrained, and... my hind legs were forced spread out.

I began to hyperventilate.

I heard my captor chuckle. “You know, when I first saw you, I thought I was crazy, but I quickly realized I could make a profit out of it,” he said. “You are a very valuable item to my clients: you’ve got fucking MAGIC out of all things!” He laughed.

His joyful laugh filled me with fear and dread. This madman seemed to really enjoy what he was doing.

“W-why?...” I asked weakly, a tear of despair rolling down my cheek.

Barin entered my field of view. “But for money of course! Why else?” he asked casually. “You’ll be sold to some scientists and they’ll be very happy to cut you apart, for science of course,” he explained. “But first... I’m gonna have my fun,” he added, grinning maniacally.

I began trembling uncontrollably. “W-what are you doing? get away from me!”I yelled, trying to cast a defensive spell.

The throbbing in my head intensified, forcing me to fall limp.

Barin punched me again and grabbed my horn, almost breaking it in half. “Don’t try anything funny, or I’ll break that horn of yours, then I’ll break every bone in your body,” he growled. “It will reduce your value, and I’d like to keep your worth a maximum, so don’t... just don’t,” he said, stroking my stomach.

I shuddered in disgust, my vision blurred by the insufferable throbbing in my horn.

Please... someone help... me..

“Look at you, whimpering and trembling. You’re pathetic,” he spat. He punched me one more time. “And so fragile...” he added, before punching me again. “Taking advantage of someone else have never been easier.”

I felt everything spin around me and my vision faded to red.

I don’t want to... no.

I felt myself say one word before I lost consciousness. One word, carried by a powerful voice I didn't know was mine.

“NO.”

I ran through the wasteland. A storm was brewing. The rain had intensified the night was beginning to fall. I ignored it, thankful for my newly acquired coat and kept on running.

Celestia’s safety was at stake, I did not want to lose a single second. Thankfully, the old container depot was not very far from the checkpoint. I stopped on a hill a few hundred meters away and crouched behind a bush to observe the bandit base through my binoculars. I counted the bandits and examined their patterns and equipment. I could see forty nine of them, all standing still or patrolling around. The sentinels, mobile or not, were never alone and seem to be moving in constant circuits.

Clever... but predictable.

I stayed on my vantage point, looking for a point of entry. The left side of the compound seemed like a good option: only two guards near the entrance, a dozen or so past them but a manageable way to the rooftops with the possibility to avoid them all; while the container area seemed heavily guarded.

A lone exosuit-wearing stalker approached the compound. Curiously, the bandits let him through.

I snorted. “Must be Barin.”

He made his way through the container storage and entered the main building in the back, two bandits clad in long brown coats following him inside.

Surely where they keep Celestia.

A couple of minutes later, all the bandits got out of the building.

My cue to go in.

I grabbed my SVU and checked it checked before climbing down the hill.

Hold on, I am coming.

I silently crouch walked among the bushes, taking a large detour to the left. After a couple minutes, I saw the two bandits a hundred meters away guarding the left entrance. They were sitting around a campfire and I could hear their conversation over the noise of the rain.

“Fucking rain,” said the first bandit. “I’m soaked to the bone now. Just great.”

“Stop complaining,” retorted the second one.

“Pfft, whatever. You know what the boss is up to?”

“Last thing I heard, he was going inside to check up on the package.”

“Package?”

The second bandit shrugged. “Yeah, the horse thingy. Apparently, it’s worth a lot... rare animal, or something like that.”

“So now the boss is into animal trafficking now. What’s next, slave market?”

The two bandits laughed.

I have the information I need.

I raised my SVU, removed the artifact fragment, made sure the suppressor was in place and looked through the scope.

TSHP

The first bandit fell to the ground. His friend made a move to grab his AK.

I don’t think so.

TSHP

He fell backwards, a hole in the windpipe. I approached the campfire and hid the corpses in a shack nearby, which appeared to be an armory of sorts. A multitude of weapons and armors were aligned on the shelves on the walls along with a lot of ammo. I was about to leave when I spotted two piles neatly arranged next to each other: Vano’s guns and Celesta’s equipment. Their stuff seemed in good condition, even Vano’s machine gun was there. I decided to leave all the gear there and headed out.

Two bandits patrolling passed by. I waited until they were out of earshot and exited the armory. The night had fallen. I activated my helmet’s night vision but I could still not see or hear anybody.

Better take the high ground.

I climbed on the containers. From there I could see all the compound: most bandits were patrolling around, a few were sitting around a campfire and two of them were guarding the door to the far building, weapon in hand. I stealthily hopped from container to container, making my way to the building in the back. Nobody seemed to notice me as I positioned myself above the two guards. I pulled out one of my 10mm pistols, unscrewed the compensator and replaced it with a suppressor.

Hope this thing works.

I dropped on the first bandit, knife drawn, and drove it into his skull. His friend, seing this, raised his shotgun...

TSHK

...only to be interrupted by a 10mm round through the skull.

I heard screams inside the building. I slammed the door open, not bothering to hide the bodies.

BOOM

I got blown several meters away by a massive explosion and landed hard against the harsh metallic surface of a container. I tried to get up but couldn’t move. My vision was a blur of colors and my ears were ringing from the blast, I couldn’t hear a thing. When my hearing came back, I was greeted by the sound of gunfire and screams of pain. There was another explosion. I felt something hit my head. Everything faded to black.

Chapter 7: Such is Life in the Zone

Chapter 7

Such is life in the Zone

I woke up with a start. I was laying on my back. The ground was shaking. A rotten smell was in the air. I could hear an engine. Rain. Thunder.

Where am I?

I opened my eyes. Darkness. Wooden floor. A metal structure was above me covered with a dirty fabric soaked with water. I realized I was in an old military truck. I tried to move.

ARRRGH, THE PAIN!

I gasped silently. I managed to lift my head and take a look at my surroundings. At least half a dozen stalkers were there, laying around immobile. All of them were heavily wounded. One was laying against the back door of the truck. As lightning struck outside, I saw that half of his face was missing, the other half was bloodied beyond recognition.

Is he even alive? What is going on?

I could hear a buzzing sound as my vision started to fade. A dark form hovered above me, muttering something. There was a flash of lightning.

“GUUUUUUUUUUUHH”

I woke up with a gasp and coughed violently. I felt the ferrous taste of blood in my mouth. My whole body was numb. I opened my eyes. Through the cracked visor of my helmet, I could see the crescent moon high up in the sky, partially obscured by dark blue clouds.

I sat up with difficulty, removed my helmet and got a bearing of my surroundings. I was not in that truck anymore. I was back at the container warehouse the bandits occupied.

Fuck, I hate these dreams.

The rain had stopped. My brow was bleeding, probably broken, I was soaked to the bone and covered in mud and ash. The main building of the container depot was reduced to a smoking, charred wreck. The walls had crumbled on themselves and the roof seemed to have simply evaporated. I slowly stood up and walked to the smoldering ruins. There was nothing in there except rubble and molten metal... and I knew Celestia was in there when it happened.

Is she... dead?

She was nowhere to be found. Not a body, not even a pile of ash.

She... she is dead.

I felt a wave of a feeling I didn’t know overcome me. I felt naked, powerless, but worst of all, I felt lonely, abandoned.

I sat down on a pile of rubble, letting the news sink in. I pulled her tiara out a pouch of my vest. I did not know why I kept it, it seemed like a thing I had to do. I silently observed the golden crown, my head void of any thought. It was damaged but really beautiful: the perfectly cut gem in the center seemed to absorb the light of the full moon, reverberating it along the engraved lines ornamenting the tiara.

My hands tensed around the golden crown.

No, No. She cannot be dead.

I shook my head and gazed around me. I could see nothing but rubble, ash and dead bodies. I stood up and angrily kicked a rock sending it flying a few meters away before it hit the ground with a thud.

I said I would help her damn it!... And now... she is gone.

I haggardly walked around, trying to wrap my mind around what happened. The air was filled with the scent of smoke, gunpowder and the sickening stench of blood and burning flesh. Corpses were littered everywhere. I could identify some as bandits, but most were too crippled to be recognized. Some were burnt to a crisp, their charred remains unidentifiable. Others were cut wide open, their internal organs sprouting from their body as if a maniac had begun to gut them but never finished his job. One had his arms torn off from his torso, the missing appendages laying a few meters away, clutched around a metal pole in the ground. One was pinned to the wall by his own weapon, his face crisped in an expression of sheer terror. Another was sitting against a metal container, headless; everything above his shoulders plastered on the wall in a mush of blood, brain matter and broken pieces of bone.

I shivered.

What could have done that?

I suddenly felt light headed... weak. Everything around me was spinning. I felt my legs give up and I fell to my knees, breathing heavily.

What is happening to me?

Something sticky stained my hands when I put them on my thighs. A familiar ferrous taste came to my mouth. I spat blood. I looked at my hands... both of them were bloodied and the red liquid was making its way inside of the fingerless gloves. My thighs were covered in blood too. I patted myself and felt something stuck in my side.

Shit. I am going to bleed out...

I spat blood again and sat down, already resigned to my fate.

So this is it. I failed to protect everyone I managed to befriend and now I am going to slowly die alone...

… what am I saying? The shack! Everything the bandits have is there. If I am lucky Vano’s artifacts will be there too.

My mind solely focused on this new goal, I stood back up with difficulty and limped to the bandits’ armory.

Centimeter by centimeter, I was advancing. My breath was ragged, my step was unsteady, my vision was blurred, my whole body was trembling and my head was spinning. I struggled to walk, fighting against unconsciousness like an exhausted swimmer fights against the water. I had to if I wanted to live. If I fell unconscious I would never wake up again.

I do not have for long...

I arrived at the shack. I entered it and hastily searched through Vano’s gear. I took my friend’s Kolobok and felt around for whatever was impaling me. I got a good grasp on it and yanked it out in one motion. I gagged in disgust, nearly passing out. I may not feel pain because of my Monolith past, but the sensation of having a foreign object being pulled off from my guts was far from pleasant. I fought against the urge to throw up, only to empty the contents of my stomach on the ground. I pressed the healing artifact against my chest, not bothering to clean myself.

After a short while, my wounds began healing and my vision started to clear up. I sighed in relief and wiped most of the blood and vomit off me before examining the object I had pulled out of my side.

A metal pipe? Wait...it looks like th-

I apprehensively grabbed my sniper rifle slung across my back. It was there... or at least, what was left of it. Only half of the barrel was still in place, the other half was on the ground in a puddle of blood. The gas system of the rifle was torn in half, receiver was broken open and the lens of the scope was cracked.

I sat there, staring at the destroyed gun.

First Celestia, now my rifle, my weapon, my loyal companion who helped me out of so many close calls... taken away from me.

Taking deep breaths, I examined the inside of the armory, trying to focus on something. There was a lot of AK rifles, handguns and ammo on the shelves and even a few WW2 guns. I could even see a Duty Radiation suit and a sort of military-grade battle dress in a corner.

Smuggled by Barin, no doubt about it.

I took everything I could including the suits of armor, leaving only a few handguns and soviet rifles.

These should help me make some money back.

I took Vano’s belongings and stood up. I eyed Celestia’s... I decided to take them too and make her a nice grave somewhere sunny to bury her things there.

Yet another anonymous tomb among so many.

After casting one last glance around me, I equipped myself with a LR-300 that was laying on a shelf and put a few STANAG magazines in the pouches of my vest now stained with puke and blood before taking a few bottles of vodka and smashing them on the ground. I ignited a couple of road flares and threw them in the puddle of alcohol.

I observed the flames as they began to eat up the wooden floor of the small shack, leaving black trails on the walls, before turning around, exiting the building and and leaving the compound, heading to whatever was coming to me. I walked, looking to the ground, my head occupied with thoughts I wanted to banish.

She is dead. I failed. And now what? Go back to the ‘normal’ life of a stalker?...

I let out a long sigh, both angered and saddened at losing her.

...maybe. Why am I so affected by that anyway? It is not the first time someone I know dies.

A distant mutant scream shook me out of my thoughts. I internally sighed and looked up. I could see a million stars shining in the sky and the moon was half hidden by a deep blue cloud. I would have found the sight beautiful in other circumstances. I sighed and lowered my gaze to the road in front of me before resuming my mournful walk.

When I raised my head again, I noticed that there was something ahead, a small speck of white and contrasting against the rotten green of the grass in the distance.

It cannot be...

My heart raced as I hurried to the spot of color. It looked like a quadruped creature lying on its side.

No, it is... It is her, it is really her!

Celestia was there, lying on her side, weakly trying to kick away a lone blind dog curiously sniffing her. I killed the dog with a burst from my rifle and threw its corpse away before and kneeling beside the alicorn. She was covered in blood, the tip of her horn seemed to have burned but she was physically unharmed: no fever, her heartbeat was strong and her breathing was steady. I gently put a hand to her cheek.

She weakly opened her eyes, raised her head and looked at me. “S-Strider? Is that you?” she asked in a raspy voice.

I sighed in relief and smiled. “Yes, it is me. You can rest now, You are not alone," I reassured her.

I cleaned the grime covering Celestia, gently wrapped her in my blanket and picked her up in my arms. I stood up and walked off to Yanov station. I lowered my gaze to her, only to discover that she had fallen asleep.

I thought you dead... how did you end up here, covered in blood?

Another wave of a strange feelings overcame me, but this time, it was not cold and dreadful. It felt warm, peaceful... and relieving. I felt happy.

Why is there a tear making rolling down my cheek then?

A twinge in my shoulder pulled me from my thoughts: a Blowout was incoming. I turned around and ran to the nearest cover, a small underground structure at the feet of the hill near the train tracks leading to Yanov. I hurried my pace and the building came into view soon enough. The characteristic rumble of a brewing Blowout could already be heard in the distance.

Celestia still curled up in my arms, I entered the building and gently laid her down on the ground and covered her with a blanket. I let her rest there and pulled out my pistols to check them. Their metal frame and slide were littered with scratches and the finish was very worn out, but they were still in one piece at least. I decided to take them apart completely. As it turned out, no parts were missing or damaged, and once reassembled, they seemed to function just fine.

Surprising. These pistols are a lot tougher than I thought.

I could hear a few zombies in the adjacent room. I quickly dispatched them and piled their bodies in a corner, before going back to where I had left Celestia. Outside, the blowout was just about to hit. I decided to move the alicorn to a safer place deeper into the structure. I sat next to her, waiting for the Blowout to pass. It seemed like an eternity before I could finally go outside again.

The Zone seemed peaceful on this night. The night sky was partially obscured by white clouds. I shivered and readjusted my scarf. The night was exceptionally cold. I did not like this weather. I sighed and rubbed my temples, thinking about what happened back at the bandit warehouse.

What in the Zone happened back there? How did this building explode? How did Celestia end up on the road?

I had so many questions. Hopefully she could answer them. I went back inside. Concerned, I observed the alabaster alicorn. She moved, thrashed and kicked a lot in her sleep.

“No... leave me alone... don’t...” she mumbled, still asleep.

I sighed and readjusted the blanket covering her, before sitting beside her and putting a hand on forehead. She had a slight fever, nothing worrying though.

Suddenly, she burst her eyes open and she shot up.

“NO!” she yelled.

I recoiled at her outburst, surprised. She frantically looked around before she buried her head in my chest.

“Why?” she asked, sobbing. “Why-y-y...?”

I said nothing and gently wrapped my arms around her. She stayed still and did not make a sound except for her quiet weeping. I did not say a thing stroking her mane. When I lowered my gaze to her she had fallen asleep, tears caking her alabaster fur.

What happened to you? I wished I knew... if only I had been there.

I remained still for a while, Celestia cradled in my arms before deciding to get some rest before sunrise. I laid the alicorn down on the ground and covered her with a blanket before sitting down next to her. I draped myself with my coat and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.

I slowly stirred and sat up, grunting in pain. My whole body was stiff and aching. I shook my head and scratched my beard.

I was instantly tackled in a hug by Snag. “I was so worried! Are you okay?”

I chuckled. “I’m in one piece,” I said, returning the hug, giving him a peck on the forehead.

Bonesetter turned around and looked at me. “You look better,” he said.

Snag sat down next to me. “How do you feel?” he asked meekly.

“I hardly feel any better,” I deadpanned, standing up. “Ugh. Fuck this, I’m gonna see what Hawaiian’s got in stock.”

Bonesetter frowned. “You shouldn't leave yet, but... I can't keep you here forever,” he said. “Try not to die.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I replied, heading for the exit of the infirmary.. “You coming, dear?” I asked Snag.

“Of course handsome.”

We both left the medic’s and headed for Hawaiian’s hop. He greeted us with his usual catchphrase and we began to do business.

“Watcha got for me?” I asked.

The trader smirked. “I dunno, what do you want?” he asked. “ I got a whole new stock, take a look at this,” he added, showing me the backroom of his shop.

I gazed upon the stockpile of ordnance in the room. I felt like Ali Baba when he first entered the forty thieves’ cavern. Everything a stalker ever dreamed of was there. My eyes stopped upon a shotgun and a very nice set of armor. I giggled like a schoolgirl.

Oh man, I’ve always wanted one of these!

I woke up to the sound of automatic gunfire in the distance. Finally the Zone seemed to be normal again. Celestia was sitting in a corner, distractedly chewing on an old bread loaf.

“How do you feel?” I asked crouching down next to her.

She did not even acknowledge me and kept on eating absent mindedly. I tried to gain her attention, once again to no effect. After a few more tries, I gave up. I sighed and went outside.

I looked at the sky. As far as I could see, it was entirely obscured by white clouds. They were not their usual grey color announcing rain but a pristine, almost blinding shade of white; forming a woolly, surreal moving ceiling.

Strange. Never saw that kind of weather before.

It was very cold as well. Shivering, I readjusted my scarf. My stomach growled.

Fuck. I should have eaten something after using that healing artifact.

Ignoring my hunger, I went back inside. Celestia was sitting in the same corner, only this time she was cleaning her shotgun. The weapon laid disassembled before her and she was in the process of polishing its wooden parts. There was something... off to her. Her movements were mechanical and her gaze was unfocused, as if she was trying not to think. I did not know what happened to her, but I knew she was not well. I had seen rookies being literally broken down by the Zone. I did not want this to happen to her.

I approached her. “Are you alright?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” she replied, not bothering to look up.

I sighed.I am not going to help that way. I stood back up and sat down in the other corner of the room.

After reassembling her rifle, Celestia raised her head and walked up to me. She looked very tired. Her mane seemed solid, opposed to its usual immaterial state; and her eyes had bags under them. Without a word, she laid down next to me and put her head on my lap.

“Are you alright?” I asked again.

“M’fine,” she replied, snuggling against my side.

She did not look fine though... which was understandable considering what she had been through. We stood still for an eternity, the silence disturbed only by the occasional distant gunshot outside.

Staggering under the weight of the supplies I had bought from Hawaiian, I entered the technicians’ workshop, Snag following me suit. I dropped everything on the table Cardan was working at.

The gunsmith looked at me, dumbfounded, before examining what I had bought. His gaze switched back to me, an interrogative expression on his face. I nodded, smirking.

“You sure you want me to modify these Vano?” asked the technician.

I shrugged. “Well, yeah. You’re supposed to be the expert with this kind of stuff.”

The technician sighed. “I suppose I am, but I’ve never worked on this generation of exoskeleton before. And this shotgun! Where did you get it?”

Snag laughed. “Hawaiian got new stock recently, and Vano here had a metric fuckton of money to spend.”

“Now are you going to get to work or what?” I asked.

Cardan rubbed his hands together. “Right away!”

Celestia had finished packing her things. She looked left and right repeatedly, pacing back and forth nervously, a concerned look on her face. I hoped she was just making sure she did not forget anything and not observing her surroundings out of paranoia.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

“Where are your weapons?”

I sighed. “I lost my sniper rifle,” I half-lied, waving dismissively. “I have this now,” I added, showing her the LR-300 I had grabbed from the bandit’s armory. “Nowhere near as useful at longer ranges, but it will do for the moment.”

“Oh.”

I gave her a weak smile. “Hey, at least I still have you.”

The alicorn smiled, a light blush on her face, before her sheepish expression changed into a horrified look.

“You still- Did Vano... ?”

I held up a hand. “He will be fine,” I assured her. “He managed to make it to Yanov and warn me. He was badly wounded but now he is fine. When I said ‘I still have you’ I meant... nevermind.” I sighed and shook my head. “I suppose you can have this to complete your arsenal. We are on our own and I cannot allow you to be underarmed," I added, handing her an old SMG I had found in the bandit's armory. "This is a PPSh-41. Very easy to use, shoots fast and extremely reliable. Perfect for the Zone."

“Thanks,” said Celestia, grabbing the gun in her telekinesis. As much as I hate to admit it... I really need more firepower.”

I gave her a small smile. “Indeed you do. Now, can we go?” I asked, doing my best to ignore the growls from my stomach.

Should have scavenged some food from these dead bandits...

“Wait!”

“Is there something the matter?” I asked with a sigh.

“I can feel a disturbance in the magic field around here,” said the alicorn, oblivious to my slight frustration.

“What do you mean?”

“You know, an unicorn horn is merely a channel for magical energies. Alicorn horns are a bit more complicated but the basic idea is the same: I can feel every fluctuation in the magic field around me,” she explained.

I raised an eyebrow. “Like an antenna?”

“It’s simplifying it to the extreme, but... that is the global concept.”

I nodded. “So you want to investigate this disturbance.”

Celestia’s head shot up. She smiled for the first time in a while.

“Yes!” she exclaimed before awkwardly rubbing her forelegs, ashamed at her outburst. “That is, if you want to...”

I smiled. “If you want to, so do I.”

I was not in the mood to explore, but antagonizing her could have disastrous results. I was just glad to see she was over the initial shock. Her behavior seemed to indicate she was on the way to remission... but healing mental scars take time. So many rookies become paranoiac, schizophrenic or depressive after a traumatic event. Some get better after a short time, some... never do.

I hope she will get better.

I pulled my pistols out of their holsters and followed her as she guided me deeper inside the concrete structure. We were underground by now, under the hill... in the next room, the zombies I had killed the day before were still lying on the ground.

Celestia’s gaze anxiously alternated between them and me. “Did you...?”

The sight of the corpses clearly distressed her. I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Zombies,” I explained. “Just like at the parking lot anomaly yesterday.”

The alicorn gulped nervously and resumed walking, heading deeper underground. It was dark, very dark, and the stench of humidity was overwhelming. I turned on my flashlight. Celestia did the same. We were in a small room with big rusty pipes coming out of the walls.

Must have been some sewers. Or a ventilation complex.

A few meters farther, we attained the bottom of a dark staircase. I signaled Celestia to stop.

“I will take point. Cover my six.”

The alicorn nodded.

I gestured forward with my hand. “Moving,” I announced, raising both my pistols.

We slowly climbed the stairs. Every five meters, a door to the left lead to another tunnel. We decided to explore them later and kept on climbing. Unfortunately, the top of the staircase was obstructed by concrete rubble and metal debris, preventing us to go farther.

That was when a pack of rodents showed up. When I heard the characteristic high pitched screams of Tushkanos, my blood froze.

“Uh-oh," I muttered through my nervously clenched teeth.

Celestia looked at me, a worried expression on her face. “What’s going on?” she asked. “Mutants?”

The rodents swarmed out of the doorways. I squeezed the triggers of my pistols. “Open fire! Open fire!”

Celestia opted for her PPSh, which proved much more efficient than the pistols I was using. While she dispatched all the mutants importuning her with ease, I was quickly overrun by them despite using both of them at the same time. I backed off, trying to get away from their sharp claws, stumbled backwards and fell to the ground.

Shit. Shit shit shit shitshitshit SHIT!

I opened fire with my new weapon. It roared to life and made short work of the critters attacking me, obliterating them dozens at a time. Soon enough, all of them were... dead. I gulped.

I can’t do it anymore...

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Strider. “Fuck fuck fuck get them off me getthemoffme!” he yelled.

He was sprawled on the ground, thrashing and kicking away the little creatures attacking him. Without thinking, I grabbed all the small critters in my magic, closed my eyes, lifted them in the air and threw them away.

I winced at the sound of their bones crushing under the sheer force of the impact. I opened my eyes again. The mutants had hit with tremendous force the nearest wall, which was splattered with blood and gore. The mangled corpses of the mutants had slipped down the wall and were now piled up on the ground. I felt my legs give up under me.

What have I done?

[

I sat up and incredulously patted myself.

The rodents are gone. I am still alive... What happened?

The wall behind me was splattered with blood and the Tushkanos were piled up under the bloody smear. It looked like they had been forcefully slammed against it.

I looked around. Celestia was sitting on her haunches, her discarded weapon laying next to her. I approached her, only to discover that she was crying silently. I crouched next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, are you alright?” I asked with concern.

The alicorn backed away from my hand. “GET AWAY FROM ME!” she yelled. She was trembling and her eyes were widened, darting to every corner of the room. “I-I don’t want to hurt you."

I was dumbstruck. “W-what? You just saved me!”

Celestia curled up in a ball, holding her hind legs together with her forelegs. “I’m a monster. I’m a monster. I’m a monster,” she hammered, tears flowing from her eyes. “Get away from me. I don’t want to hurt you. Go away.”

“Celestia.”

“I’m a monster.”

“Celestia.”

“I’m a monster.”

“Celestia.”

“I’m a m-.”

“SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME!” I roared.

The alicorn jumped at my outburst and looked at me, her face showing confusion and fear.

"Sorry," I apologized, sighing. “I do not know why you say you are a monster, but one thing is sure: I will NOT abandon you here,” I said firmly, locking my gaze with hers and gently wiping off her tears. “Now... tell me everything,” I said.

Celestia's weeping slowly quieted and she looked at me, a look of infinite sadness and pain on her face.

“Promise me you won’t hate me.”

I nodded. “I promise.”

The alicorn looked away from me. “I... I killed them.”

It can’t be...

“What do you mean?”

She shivered. “T-the bandits. They held me prisoner. B-Barin t-tried to... I'm didn't witness what happened but I saw the aftermath. I know I snapped, Strider. I went feral. I k-killed them. I’m-I’m a monster!” she stuttered.

Strider looked at me. “Am I a monster?” he asked.

His question took me off guard.

What does he mean?

“N-no. You helped me... you gave me everything I needed to survive in this wretched place, you taught me, you listened to me when I was sad,” I hesitantly replied. “You’re my life buoy,” I added under my breath.

The bald stalker held me by the shoulders and locked his gaze with mine. “Right. Well then know this: I have killed before. I will kill again. I have done gruesome things to survive and prevail. This is how this place work,” he said. “You are not a monster,” he affirmed. “Just because you killed someone them does not make you a cruel per-pony, it depends on the circumstances. These bandits captured you, held you prisoner... I do not know what they did to you but they were the monsters. You did what you had to do. It was not the right thing, but it was needed. You just listened to your survival instinct. You should not feel bad for it, because you could have been killed, or worse...” he trailed off, looking away from me.

I looked at the ground. “I... have been told,” I said.

We stayed silent for a moment.

“I am just glad you made it out alive,” finally said Strider, pulling me into a hug. “I thought you were dead!”

Something broke inside of me. The dam holding repressed feelings had cracked. All the emotions I held back until then... I let it all loose. I needed to. I returned the hug and burst out crying in his arms. I let it all go, tears washing away the tension I had repressed so far. I felt good in his arms. I felt secure, peaceful. I was alive, and I was with him... nothing else mattered. After a while, I broke the hug and looked away.

“Does it get any easier?” I asked.

Strider sighed. “I will not lie to you. I have seen rookies break down after a traumatic event, be it killing someone, being injured or the losing a friend... it never happens with experienced stalkers. The everyday life in this place breaks people, it changes them. The weak die, the strong become stronger. Such is life in the Zone, as we say,” he explained. “I know that you are strong, deep inside,” he said, holding my chin. “You will become more resilient to the ‘horrors’ of this place until they do not bother you anymore. I do not think it is a bad thing. Being numb is not a mark of cruelty, it merely shows that you are capable to adapt. Killing is a day to day activity here, it is just a way to prevail. If you do not adapt, you die. You are not a monster, you are simply... adapting.” He made a pause. “I do not know what happened exactly back there, but if you want to talk about it, I will listen,” he added.

“I’m not sure if I'm ready to talk about it yet...” I rubbed my forelegs hesitantly. “... but after that, I know I went feral.” seeing Strider's interrogative expression, I continued. “It’s a defense mechanism alicorns have. After a prolonged period of physical or mental stress, we just... snap. It results in a dramatic increase of magical power and... loss of control.”

“Oh.”

“Did you see... the results?” I nervously asked.

Strider silently nodded.

“Imagine what could have happened if I were at full power,” I said with a shudder.

“What could have happened?” he asked.

“I... could have gone supernova.”

Supernova... that would have been ‘rather’ bad. Is she really capable of such a thing? Damn.

I shuddered.

I entered the workshop, followed closely by Snag.

“Hey Cardan, you done yet?” I asked.

The technician smiled. “Haha yeah, check this out!”

He showed me the armor... it was beautiful. It looked like it had nothing to envy to a tank, really. It seemed to be able to take a RPG to the torso and still protect its wearer.

With Cardan’s help, I put on my power armor. The jumpsuit was the first to come on, followed by the hardened bulletproof vest, the ballistic plates and the proper exoskeleton. I looked down and examined myself.

“I did my best,” began the technician. “I reinforced the jumpsuit: it’s got asbestos yarn inserts and I coated it with my secret beryllium-based mixture so anomalies and radiation shouldn’t pose a problem. The suit's exoskeleton is mostly made of hardened steel but a lot of weight has been dished out thanks to the use of titanium and carbon fiber. The ballistic vest already had a good level of bulletproof protection... I added several hardened steel/Kevlar sandwich plates for good measure. Each of these bad boys is thirty-seven millimeters thick: anything short of an armor piercing rifle round at point blank range won't do so much as scratch the paint. The limbs are protected by the same type of material, only the plates are thinner and smaller in order to avoid chafing: this allow for better for mobility at the cost of overall protection. The joints and servomotors are protected by thick-ass rubber sheaths and each critical hardpoint is covered in solid titanium plates; no need to worry about a mutant clawing off critical components. Main power source is a Flash artifact, backed up by a Sparkler artifact. Both will last forever and are relatively cheap. And the icing on the cake: the fourth generation servomotors. They increase the wearer’s strength without sacrificing his mobility. Meaning? They negate the forty kilograms of the armour and still be able to run all day long waving heavy weapons around like a madman. Perfect for a reckless mutant hunter like you.”

I took a deep breath. “I missed everything you just said,” I told the technician. “Hey, how do I look? Pretty cool, huh?” I asked, turning towards Snag.

Cardan sighed “Any questions?”

I made sure everything was in place and working then powered up the suit, starting its systems from the wrist mounted computer. Immediately the armor felt weightless , sign of the servomotors working as intended.

Cardan examined me. “Alright. Let’s see if this thing works. Move around a bit.”

I stood up and walked around, surprised at the complete silence of the power armor.

“Aren’t servomotors supposed to be noisy?”

The technician shook his head. “Nah, not these ones. Unless they are damaged or you exceed the maximum weight limit they should stay silent. Any noise is a sign of a malfunction.”

“Oh ok,” I said, waving my arms around. “The mobility is better than I expected.”

Cardan shrugged. “As far as i can tell the, it’s a fourth gen, not a ‘3.5’ like most people have: a lot of design flaws have been resolved. It's got better ergonomics so movements aren't as restricted as before and it should be easier to put on and off alone, too. Here’s your weapons,” he added, handing me my new shotgun and revolver.

I grinned and grabbed the weapons. “Thanks. I’ll be on my way now.”

“I’m coming with you,” said Snag.

Celestia stood up. “Let’s find the source of the disturbance,” she said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

Before I followed her, I quickly examined my armor. The explosions and fire at the bandit warehouse certainly did not do any good to it but the mutants finished the work: the jumpsuit was riddled with holes and many armor plates threatened to fall off. I sighed. I liked my armor. It did not hinder movement, offered balanced protection while having a couple of artifact containers.

I hope Cardan will be able to fix this.

We arrived in a dead end. Apparently, the blocked stairs were the only way to proceed further.

The alabaster alicorn frowned. “I really want to know what’s causing this anomaly... perhaps there is another route,” thought out loud.

I crouched down next to one of the pipes coming out of the wall. “Maybe through those big pipes in the wall there, there is a ladder in one of them. I do not know how to get you to climb it though.”

The alicorn walked up to the pipe and examined the ladder. “Hmmm... maybe if you climb first, you’ll be able to pull me up.”

I shrugged. “Alright, let us try that... tell me, would you happen to have any kind of food on you at the moment? I am starving.”

“No, sorry,” she said with an apologetic expression.

I sighed. “Thanks anyway.”

I walked up to the pipe and climbed the ladder. Once up top, I reached down and grabbed Celestia’s forelegs, helping her up. She felt heavier than usual, sign I was beginning to tire out.

Already? I need sustenance, fast.

“Thanks.”

“Anytime,” I replied with a small nod.

We were now in a concrete corridor. The walls were stained by humidity, the floor was covered with rubble and a lone creaking beacon light was struggling to illuminate the area.

Celestia strode forward. “Follow me.”

We arrived in a large room with multiple rows of concrete pillars. The stench of humidity and mold was overwhelming. The floor was uneven, a puddle of stagnant water here and there and various rusty metal scraps were scattered around. I followed Celestia as she went between the first row of pillars and the wall on the right. On the other side of the room, there was a doorway leading to a corridor not unlike the previous one.

After the corridor, we ended up in the same room. Not a room very similar to the one we left behind, no, the exact. Same. room. Every puddle of water, pile of rubble and rusty metal part was at the exact. Same. Place. We did not change direction and somehow ended up in the same room we just left... through the door we entered it in the first place.

I froze in surprise. “Wait, what?”

Celestia frowned and brought a hoof to her muzzle. “Looks like we found the first disturbance.”

I scratched the back of my head. “The first? What do you mean? What is this ‘disturbance’?”

“Shh. Look.”

There was a loud, strange sound. It sounded like... a parody of what a gust of wind would sound like. With some sort of sparkly sound in the background. Between the first row of pillars and the wall, a... curtain of dancing stars appeared, just like that.

Oookay... no THAT is strange.

“Err, Cel? Mind telling me what is going on?”

“It seems like there is something teleporting us back at the end of this tunnel... as if something didn’t want us to go any further.”

I raised an eyebrow dubiously. “Right.”

“I’m not lying! Between these pillars, I can sense... something. Maybe it’s the key to get past this... anomaly.”

I looked at her. “I have a hard time believing you.”

The white alicorn rolled her eyes. “Just follow me, we’ll see what happens.”

We headed to the exit of the room again, this time walking between the first and second rows of pillars. We ended up in the same tunnel, leading to the same room once again. This time, two ‘curtains of light’ appeared. Celestia lead us through the room between the third row of pillars and the left wall. When we arrived to the room, a fourth sparkly curtain appeared.

I brought a hoof to my chin, thinking. A strange feeling was tugging at my horn, urging me to walk through the magical passageways between the pillars. I signaled Strider to follow as I headed to the first starry arch.

Strider froze, a wary expression on his face. “Are you sure about this? Usually, walking into an anomaly does not end well.”

I gave him a reassuring smile. “It will be okay, I assure you. Follow me.”

I walked through the first sparkly curtain and sure enough, nothing happened. It just felt like if I passed through a fountain of cold water. I suppressed a shiver and kept on walking. After walking through each light arch, we reached the exit of the room. The corridor had a strange feeling of déjà-vu yet seemed different. Strider in tow, I walked to the end of the dark tunnel.

This time, we were greeted by a new sight. There were broken parts of rusty machinery and rubble scattered everywhere, but the room itself was different. It was circular, a ladder was descending from a metal platform a few meters under the ceiling, and there was a strange looking tree in the middle with a puddle of pristine water at its feet.

Strider took off his helmet and stared at the tree wide eyed. He crouched next to the puddle of clean water and brought his artifact detector a few centimeters above the surface.

After a full minute, he turned towards me, wide eyed. “Do you know what this is?” he asked.

I raised an eyebrow, shrugging.

“You just found the mythical Oasis.”

I raised my other eyebrow, wondering what he meant. “The what now?”

“A place I have heard of in stories. Some people say mutants do not attack there, some claim it is a place with artifacts everywhere. Others believe this place heals all your wounds,” He explained, removing his glove from his left hand.

I cringed at the sight of the burns and deep cuts across his appendage. “You had this the whole time? Why didn’t you use your artifacts?”

“I am starving. In this state, healing artifacts do more bad than good,” he deadpanned.

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"No. Perks of having been a Monolithian, I suppose."

Strider then immersed his hand in the puddle of water. After a few seconds, he pulled it out only to reveal a fully healed hand. Only a few faint scars testified of his previous injuries. He examined his newly healed hand.

“Where does this power come from?” he wondered aloud.

The bald stalker looked up to the tree. Only then I noticed the strange fruit attached to it. its skin was translucent and I could see a moving green... core inside of it. He seemed to notice it too.

“Of course. Hang on...”

My hands were shaking slightly and my stomach was burning.

Fuck. I need to eat right now. Maybe this ‘Oasis’ has more in common to normal regenerative artifacts than I thought after all.

I stood up, grunting at the effort, before picking up the strange artifact from the tree. It was strange, almost alien. Its surface was translucent and it looked like there was an egg shaped goo-like turquoise nucleus floating inside. All artifacts have a resemblance to the original material they come from but this one was way too strange for me to identify what it could have been before transmuting. Noticing the huge amount of radiation it was emitting, I put it in a lead lined pouch of my backpack.

I wonder what other properties this artifact has. Maybe the scientists will want to study it.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of barking coming from the tunnel we came from.

Pseudodogs. I am in no condition to fight and Celestia cannot fly in this tight space... the ladder.

“Celestia!” I called.

The alicorn turned towards me, a surprised expression on her face. Without a word, I snatched her up, earning a startled yelp from her and ran for the ladder. Thankfully I managed to reach it before the mutants could get to us. I quickly climbed it and set foot on the metal platform before letting go of Celestia. I took a deep breath and laid down on the cold metallic surface, panting.

The alicorn looked down towards me. “What the hay was that for?” she shouted, blushing.

“Still bothered by that whole ‘Stallion's habit’ thing?” I asked, catching my breath. “Look down,” I added, not bothering to move.

I stayed there, laying on my back, staring at the concrete ceiling. I heard Celestia walk to the edge of the platform. A few seconds later, she came back staring at me, a dumbfounded look on her face.

“How did you know these mutants were coming?” she asked, impressed.

“I heard them, that is all," I explained, sitting up.

“You heard them? That’s impossible! And why didn’t you fight them off? It’s not your style to just... flee.”

I sighed. “I am starving and overall in no condition to fight,” I said, showing her my ruined and bloodied armor. “Escaping was just common sense. Besides, there is no point in entering an unneeded combat,” I explained, sighing. “When I woke up, I was heavily wounded. I had to treat myself with Vano’s artifacts the bandits had stolen and thankfully stored in their armory, then I discovered I had nothing to eat. You already know how healing artifacts work.”

Celestia stayed silent, a look of understanding and sympathy on her face.

I stood up. “Let us go, there is a long way to Yanov," I said, stirring. "The faster we go the faster we will be there. Besides, we should bring that artifact we found to the scientists. I am sure they would appreciate the gesture.”

“Let’s go then.”

I smiled. “We still have a ladder to climb, and it is way too cramped in here for you to fly up.”

The alicorn sighed in defeat. I picked her up and set her comfortably on my back. “You ready?” I asked.

She nodded.

I climbed the ladder. Once on top of the concrete structure, I set her down on the floor. Once again, she was blushing furiously and avoided eye contact. I chuckled and observed our surroundings. We were on top of the ventilation complex, near the bandit checkpoint.

I felt blood rushing to my cheeks as Strider gave me yet another piggyback ride. Not from embarrassment though... I actually liked it.

Why am I okay with that?

Strider looked around and approached the edge of the platform. I followed him, only to discover there was a big drop to the ground. After looking down, the stalker just jumped. He landed on his feet unscathed, not even losing his balance.

WHAT? How?

He looked up. “Are you coming or what? We do not have much time until nightfall.”

I backed off from the ledge. “Are you crazy? It’s a good five meters from here to the ground!”

The stalker raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“And I’m going to break all of my legs!” I yelled.

Strider laughed. “Just use these wings of yours and glide down already.”

I facehoofed.

Sigh. I’m an idiot.

I spread my wings and jumped off, gliding down and landing gracefully next to the bald stalker.

“No comment,” I mumbled.

“I said nothing," he replied defensively.

I smiled. “Good. Now can we-”

Suddenly, Strider perked up and glanced around, an apprehensive expression on his face.

I looked at him worriedly. “What? What’s going on?”

“Get to a high point. Now,” he commanded.

I was about to do so when a dog jumped in front of me. Without hesitation, Strider spun around and obliterated the mutant with a round from his pistol. Immediately, at least two dozens more appeared from the bushes, growling menacingly.

“NOW!” he yelled.

“I’m not leaving you alone,” I firmly said.

No time to think. Act fast. Not like last time.

I armed my PPSh, aimed at the dogs and opened fire. Strider switched to his rifle and did the same. One after another, the mutants fell to the ground... dead, but they kept on coming. For each one we killed, three took their place. It was hopeless.

Strider turned towards me. “Run-”

He was interrupted when a massive, hairy mutant charging into him, throwing him a few meters away. He didn’t get back up.

“Strider!”

I retaliated and emptied my SMG into the beast, effectively killing it. The dogs retreated. They didn’t seem to want to leave but stayed a few meters away, giving me some respite. I ran up to Strider’s side. His breathing was erratic and heavy. Blood was pouring out of his mouth and nose.

“Fucking Boars... *cough* always there when you d-do not need them.” He spat some blood. “*cough* I think I broke something,” he added, sitting up.

Keeping an eye on the nearby dogs, I examined the stalker. His armor was torn up in multiple places, letting the armored plates and even his skin appear underneath. I winced as I saw how badly his torso was hit. It seemed like none of his ribs wasn’t broken. I readied one of his artifacts to heal him but he grabbed my foreleg.

“No! It will *cough* do more damage than good I need food first.” He coughed violently and spat blood again. “If you try to use that on me in my current state, it will kill me.”

I turned away from Strider as another of these Boars jumped out of the bushes behind me. I instantly grabbed my SMG in my magic, took aim and squeezed the trigger.

*click*

The weapon was empty. I had forgotten to reload it. The mutant charged.

No no no-

It hit me with tremendous force, knocking the wind out of me and sending me tumbling to the ground next to Strider. I tried to stand back up, only to hit the ground again, my right foreleg broken. Then the pain hit me, barely contained by the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I screamed.

The beast turned around and prepared to charge again. I shakily raised my shotgun with my magic and aimed it at the beast. It charged. I squeezed both triggers at the same time, dropping the creature. I hopped back up on three legs with difficulty. Through my blurred vision I saw the pack of dogs from earlier come out of the bushes, accompanied by a few horribly deformed humanoid mutants I had never seen before. Their spine seemed to be exposed and they were wearing gas masks.

Panting, I reloaded both my weapons and opened fire at the crown of mutants all guns blazing. It seemed to be useless. There were so many I couldn’t count them. One of the gas mask wearing mutants tackled me to the ground and clawed at me. It easily went through my leather jacket and would have eviscerated me if it wasn’t for Strider. He kicked the beast off of me and then proceeded to stomp it to death, before throwing me Vano’s shotgun without a word.

I did not lose an instant. I was bleeding heavily, one of my legs was broken and my whole body was aching, but I was still alive. And I wasn’t going to let these beasts kill me. I reloaded my weapons and pumped Vano’s shotgun.

“GO AHEAD AND TRY!” I yelled, firing all my three weapons at the same time in the general direction of the mutants. “YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME? COME AND GET IT!”

The PPSh-41 decimated the smallest critters while the shotguns put in place an effective wall of lead, preventing the beasts from advancing further.

My SMG clicked empty. I searched for another magazine but didn’t have any more. I discarded it and kept firing my shotguns in the direction of the mutants, which were now retreating. I thought we were going to win when a gigantic, four legged, two headed mutant appeared out of the bushes. It of them jumped at me and pinned me to the ground, only to be hit by a volley of bullets from Strider’s rifle.

“Over here you ugly error of nature!” taunted the stalker.

The mutant let go of me and jumped at Strider, who clenched his teeth and opened fire on it with his rifle. The creature tanked all the bullets without so much as flinching and jumped at Strider, pinning him to the ground this time. He let out a yelp as he fell to the ground under the weight of the massive beast.

Another masked mutant came out of the bushes. It jumped on me and tilted its head, as if examining me. I tried to reach for my weapons with my magic but couldn’t lift any of them. They felt so heavy.

The creature on top of me raised a paw preparing to behead me. I closed my eyes, took a deep, ragged breath and braced for the end.

The end never came. I only heard the loud roars of two automatic weapons going off.

I opened my eyes. All the mutants were dead. The mutant on top of me was gone and the two headed beast was laying on the ground next to Strider, dead. Through my hazed vision, I could see the shape of a man wearing a black and red mechanical armor was standing between Strider and I.

I felt a tear of despair roll down my cheek.

No. No. No. No. It can’t be. He’s dead! I killed him!

The stalker rested his weapon on his shoulder. I saw another man come up behind him.

“How the fuck did they attract so many mutants? Jeez,” he said.

“My guess? They were already injured and they smelled their blood,” replied the first stalker, resting his weapon on his shoulder. "Looks like we arrived just in time."

Wait. I know this voice... Vano?

Chapter 8: Standing Back Up

Chapter 8

Standing Back Up

The cold breeze had died out and the air was still. Everything was calm and even the vegetation seemed to have relaxed, though I could hear what sounded like firearms discharging and mutants screaming in the distance.

This place never knows peace, does it?

Vano and Snag had arrived just on time to save us from dying at the claws of the mutants. After that, Snag had taken the high ground on the concrete structure behind us and was watching our surroundings, occasionally looking through the scope of his rifle.

Strider wasn’t laying on the ground anymore, Vano had helped him sit up against a nearby rock. It seemed like none of the bones in his body wasn't broken and he was covered in blood. He was still conscious though, his alert eyes gazing around attentively.

How can he be so calm and stay silent like that when he’s-

*crack*

I screamed in pain when Vano reset my wing in place. It hurt for a bit but the pain quickly numbed as Vano pressed his healing artifact against the wing.

And I thought the leg was painful...

“Are you OK?” asked the giant.

“Yes. Thanks for the help,” I replied, flexing my wing a few times. “How come Strider is so calm?” I asked, giving the bald stalker a worried glance.

“Perk of having been Monolith, I suppose,” Vano replied with a shrug.

Strider coughed violently. “I do not feel pain at all, both a blessing and a curse,” he explained in a raspy voice. “How many times have I almost died because I did not feel that something was wrong with me...”

“That’s... disturbing.”

I felt a lump of worry form in my throat as I examined the bald stalker closer. He had several bloody gashes running along his cheek and across his brow, a bloody bone was sticking out of his right leg and his left arm was bent at an awkward angle, seemingly dislocated. His armor was completely destroyed; some armored plates were missing or cracked in half, his vest was torn to shreds and was stained with blood and what looked like dried puke.

“Are you going to be alright?” I asked apprehensively.

Strider coughed a few times. “I do not *cough* I do not know. Given proper care, yes... maybe,” he croaked. “That *cough* that is... If I do not *cough* bleed out before,” he added grimly.

Vano stood up and silently examined the injured stalker, nodding a few times. I already knew what was going on in his mind.

“You can’t use a artifacts on him in his state,” I despaired. “That would kill him!”

The bearded stalker grunted. “Lady, who’s the expert here?”

“Not really,” I admitted.

“I thought so,” he added. “Using a healing artifact won’t kill him, just make him feel extremely tired, though his wounds need to be reduced before... and that I can’t do. I’m no medical expert,” he concluded. “We do something, fast. He’ll bleed out otherwise.”

“Can’t Snag-”

“No. He’s even worse than me at playing the doctor,” he replied, nervously pacing back and forth.

I closed my eyes and quickly assessed the situation: Strider was heavily wounded and would die if nothing was done and neither Vano or Snag could help him. Transporting a wounded is dangerous and he wouldn’t last long enough, considering the rate at which he was bleeding. That left... only me.

I took a deep breath. “I’ll do it,” I said. “You said I can use healing artifacts; my magic will make the task easier,” I affirmed.

The giant eyed me dubiously. “Really? You have learned in two days how to be a field surgeon or what?”

“I. Will. Do. It. We are losing precious time arguing. Just let me help him, okay?”

I wasn’t looking forward to play the doctor but it was necessary. I didn’t want to lose Strider, and Vano’s indecision was beginning to be unnerving.

“I will *cough* I will help her,” interrupted Strider. “With my help, I am sure she will be more than able to do it,” he affirmed, occasionally coughing, small blood streaks coming out of his nose. “I do not have until we get to Yanov between the blood loss, infection and embolism risks, you know it.”

Vano shook his head. “Go ahead. I’m no use here... so do your best. I’m going to see how Snag is doing,” he grumbled, standing up and walking off.

“So... what now?” I shakily asked, turning towards Strider. “I know it’s hard, but you’ll have to help me, I’m lost here.”

“Before we do anything you will need *cough* need to reduce my *cough* wounds, bandage them and completely treat the ones with the highest risk of infection. Then I will need food to before I will able to heal completely,” Strider explained. “Look in my bag. There should be *cough* food and some medical supplies.”

I sat down next to the bald stalker and opened his bag, quickly finding the needed supplies. I took half a dozen of bandages and sat down next to the bald staker, looking at the open fracture. The leg was caked in half-dried blood and mud, the bone was sticking out of the skin and blood was leaking out of the gaping wound. Shuddering in disgust, I approached my forehooves from the horrendous injury.

I looked at Strider hesitantly.

He gave me a small nod. "Go ahead. *cough* You have to put it back into place," he said, a calm look on his face, before unsheathing his knife with his valid hand. "Take *cough* take this. You will need to dissect the tissue to reset it."

My ears flopped down on my head. “T-tissue?”

Strider gave me a weak nod. “Skin, muscle, bone... anything *cough* anything that looks too damaged to heal properly must be removed. I will guide you if you need.”

I grabbed the knife and gulped both out of apprehension and revulsion before I poked the naked bone. I shuddered in disgust at the contact. Fighting an urge to throw up, I cut the torn jumpsuit of the armor and got his leg out of the clothing layer. Taking long, deep breaths I incised the already infected skin, drawing thin lines of blood. I took a clean bandage and wiped the excessive blood before slowly sliding the knife around the damaged skin, progressively separating it from the muscle and the injured calf.

It was not a pretty sight to behold. The muscle, instead of a normal red color, had become black and purple in the areas damaged by the broken bone; and what looked like pus was beginning to form in some places. Severed blood vessels were cut, freely dripping blood and mud had gotten in the wound.

“Irrigate it,” croaked Strider, snapping me out of my horrified trance.

I looked around and noticed a canteen lying on the ground. I opened it and slowly poured water over the skinned appendage, washing away the blood and dirt off the exposed muscle and hopefully preventing any serious infection.

“Mama’s Beads,” croaked the bald stalker.

I froze, staring at him. “What do you mean?” I asked, looking at him interrogatively.

“Artifact. *cough* Mama’s Beads. Sanitizes wounds.”

I gasped in comprehension and searched through Strider’s backpack. The only artifact I found looked like a double-helix of red, glassy pearls. I held it in the air and Strider nodded weakly. I then took the artifact and pressed it against his leg in my magic.

“Good. That should *cough* that should prevent any infection,” he weakly said. “Now take the *cough* the knife and remove any damaged muscle tissue,” he added. “It will grow back as you use the healing artifac- *cough* artifact.”

I paused, looking hesitantly at Strider. He gave me a small nod and closed his eyes, taking a deep, ragged breath. I carefully examined the naked flesh, deciding which part to remove and which part to keep. I took a deep breath and swallowed hard before I began to work. Slowly, I cut off parts of the muscle that were already necrotic, carefully making my way to the bone, trying not to do more damage.

It was revulsing. From time to time I would have to remove entire chunks of damaged or infected flesh, splattering more blood against my already stained coat. Some of it even got in my eye. I jerked my head back with a yelp, utterly disgusted by the offending liquid.

Strider took a deep breath and looked at me. “What happened?”

I flopped to the ground. “I can’t... I can’t do it,” I shakily said.

“Yes you can. You are doing wonderfully,” he assured. “Just hang on for a *cough* a little more, the most difficult part is almost done.”

“I-I... I can’t.”

Strider coughed. “You *cough* you can. I need you right now,” he said. “You can do it. Breathe. *cough* Slowly. Calmly.”

I took a deep, shaky breath and looked back at the leg with a shudder. I had removed almost half of the muscle mass and was almost at the bone.

I closed my eyes and sighed.

I can do it.

I lowered my head closer to the wound, grabbed the knife again and got back to work. Regularly, I stopped to take a breath, wipe the sweat off my forehead, irrigate the wound and remove some bone splinters damaging intact muscle tissue.

Once that was done, I tried to reset the bone it to reset it with magic but I realized I couldn’t manipulate the bandages, the canteen, the artifact, and the bone at the same time, even if I let go of the knife. I gulped and looked at my forehooves.

There goes nothing...

I gently picked up the broken bone fragment and examined the wound for any bone splinters. I removed the few there were and carefully reset the bone pieces into place, making sure they all were in what looked like their correct place.

Strider smiled weakly. "Excellent. Leave it *cough* leave it as it is, you can use the artifact now. This wound cannot wait. I am starting to feel... *cough* dizzy.”

I hastily took the Kolobok and examined it, remembering what I knew about the healing artifact.

Kolobok. Not as powerful as a Firefly but still an invaluable help to wounded stalkers. The scientists spread some rumors about it but nobody really knew why.

I gulped and pressed the healing artifact against the bald stalker’s calf. The bone started to mend, it was visible to the naked eye. Then, the muscles and tendons grew back, only to be covered by newly grown skin. The leg was bloodied and looked like it had recovered from a severe burn, but nothing showed that it had ever been cut wide open for emergency surgery.

"Very *cough* good. Now you will need to bandage the other wounds, they should be much easier to deal with," said Strider, giving me a small smile.

I took a few bandages and searched for any more wounds and thankfully most of them were superficial. One by one, I bandaged the cuts, gashes and lacerations, undressing Strider as I needed, until he was almost completely out of his armor. In some places, chunks of skin had been ripped off by the mutants’ claws, revealing the naked muscle or the bone underneath.

“Good. You will have to fix my shoulder now.”

I then gently took his dislocated shoulder in my bloodied forehooves.

“Now *cough* twist it clockwise and push,” he ordered.

Following his advice, I twisted the shoulder clockwise and pushed it into its normal place. At first it didn’t budge, so I applied more force.

*crack*

The shoulder suddenly reset into place with a sickening crunch. I felt a slight nausea overcome me as I let go of Strider’s shoulder. I ignored it and opened his bag again to take his canteen. I brought it to my lips and took a gulp from it, hoping to wash the disgusting taste of bile lingering in my mouth. I then gave it to Strider. He took it with his valid arm, gave me a nod and washed his mouth with it, spitting out a red tainted water almost instantly.

“Thanks,” said the stalker. “Could you *cough* hand me an energy drink?”

I searched through the bag again and popped open the one of the cylindrical, metallic cans, before giving it to him. Once again he grasped it with his only valid limb, avidly downing it in seconds. I eyed the rest of the supplies in the bag. There was quite a lot of food and a few more of these ‘energy drinks’ in it.

I opened one of the cans before taking a gulp from it, eyes closed. Almost instantly, a surge of energy coursed through my body. I felt fresher and most importantly, I had a better taste in my mouth. I needed it: playing the role of a surgeon was very tiring, both mentally and physically.

I let out a relieved sigh, the nausea I felt receding slowly.

I reopened my eyes and took a deep breath before I produced a can of food and a set of flatware wrapped in a piece of cloth from Strider's bag. I opened the can and held it in the air in my magic, unwrapped the flatware and took the fork.

Unfortunately, Strider couldn’t move his newly readjusted shoulder just yet since the edema and the inflammation had yet to be treated. I needed to use the Kolobok for that, which was inadvisable at the moment. He needed to eat first, but couldn't feed himself.

I sat down and let out a nervous chuckle before I stabbed the fork into the can's contents and approached it to his lips. Understanding my intent, the bald stalker meekly opened his mouth and hungrily took a bite out of it. With my help, he progressively emptied the can, mouthful after mouthful. I then gave him some bread and another energy drink.

I gave him a warm smile, which he returned.

“Thank *cough* thank you.”

Once we were done I grabbed the Kolobok again, examining the Strider’s bandaged wounds. Most of them were still bleeding and the cloths covering them were tainted red. Not losing time, pressed the healing artifact against the stalker’s chest and waited for it to do its thing.

I heard his ribs emit nasty crunches as they mended back together and healed. The cuts and lacerations all over his body started to close, each one leaving a gruesome scar as it healed. I repeated the operation in several areas of his body, slowly getting him back to a healthy condition.

The healing process was nearly done and I was about to move on to Strider’s face when the artifact suddenly exploded in a multitude of sharp splinters.

I yelped and let go of it as a few of the flying debris flew in all directions, a few of them embedding themselves in Strider's side.

What in name of Tartarus was that?

I used my magic to pull out the artifact fragments from the stalker's arm, wincing as more blood leaked out of the small injuries. Once I made sure I didn’t leave any, I examined the artifact. It had split in two parts and some of its jagged spikes had been blown off the core.

Strider took a deep breath and slowly turned his head towards me. “What was that?” he asked in a tired voice.

“I-I-I don’t know,” I stuttered. “It just exploded, just like...”

I stopped talking as I noticed something impossible: the cuts on Strider’s face were healing themselves! I looked at the Kolobok, lying out of range in several pieces, then back at the stalker. The gashes on his face had closed and now two nasty scars were running along his left cheek, accompanied by one more across his brow. I froze as I let the news sink in. The wounds had closed by themselves.

I shook my head in disbelief. “Wh-wh-wh-wha?”

“What happened?” he asked tiredly.

“You’re healing... by yourself!”

Strider sighed. “Too tired to care.”

I frowned and gathered the bits of the destroyed artifact before putting it in a pouch of the now scarred stalker’s backpack.

Is it dangerous? Oh dear, I hope not.

Strider was fully healed and his breathing wasn’t labored anymore yet he hadn’t moved. He was sitting down, leaning against a rock and looking at me, his face showing relief and gratitude. He was still miserable to look at though: his armor was filthy and completely torn up, his face was smeared with half-clotted blood and, despite being completely healed, the rest of his body wasn’t pleasant to look at either.

An idea came to my mind. I took a fresh bandage, opened it and soaked it with water. I then carefully used it to carefully clean the stalker’s face of grime. I then got him out of his ruined armor and moved on to his injured appendages; slowly repeating the process, washing away the blood on his body. Once I was done, I took a blanket from his backpack -the same he had used to keep me warm- and gently covered him with it.

“Thank you,” he weakly said.

“You’re welcome,” I replied, nuzzling his good shoulder.

I arranged the used supplies on the ground and stowed away the rest in the bald stalker’s backpack before I laid down of the ground next to him. I took a relieved breath and casted a glance in his direction. He was looking at the sky, a blank expression on his face. He seemed physically fine, but very tired... and I could see he was thinking about something. I felt his hand slowly run down the back of my neck. I sighed contentedly and relaxed.

Hmmm... it never gets old.

I leaned against the rusted rail of the platform, which creaked in protest under my weight. I immediately took a step back, not wanting to fall head first to my death.

I’m stupid. I’m well over a hundred kilos, my exoskeleton weighs more than forty and the rest of my equipment is nearly sixty kilograms. Of course an an old, rusted Soviet-era rail can’t handle my weight.

I shook my head and sat down next to Snag, observing Celestia as she was patching up Strider. So far she had done a great job at it, better than anything I would have been able to do. A few minutes later, she was done. She had even cleaned him of most the blood Both of them were resting, nested against each other. I chuckled.

How cute. Dangerous and irresponsible, but cute.

“Hey Snag,” I called, giving him a nudge. “Look at them.”

He looked out of the scope of his rifle and in direction of the group tenderly cuddling and let out a hearty chuckle.

“Aww, they're adorable!”

I smiled. “Yeah.” I added, extending an arm behind his back.

Snag rolled his eyes. “You’re the big guy and you want to snuggle,” he said, smiling. “And you know what? That’s why I love you, you overgrown teddy bear,” he added. “But now is not the time. Get your gear, we’re taking off,” he ordered, standing up. “There are a few Bandits and Mercs passing by Southern side. Let's get the fuck out of here, shit’s gonna go down.”

I stared at him for a moment, taken aback at his sudden change of attitude but quickly shrugged it off and followed him down the ladder, which creaked and protested under my weight. Once I reached the ground, I approached Strider and Celestia. They were laying next to each other: Strider was covered in a blanket, looking up in the air and Celestia had laid down on the ground, snuggled against him.

“You OK?” I asked them.

“Mentally tired. This whole ordeal has taken a lot out of me,” replied the white alicorn. “But yes. I’m fine.”

Strider turned his head towards me. “Exhausted and slightly nauseous,” he announced.

Snag snorted. “Considering what you’ve been through, it’s not a surprise,” he replied. “I’m surprised you’re not in a coma right now.”

Strider gave him a weak smile. “I can only thank Celestia. She did a wonderful job at patching me up,” he said, affectionately stroking her mane.

Celestia’s expression suddenly darkened. “Something strange happened,” she began in a serious tone. “When used the Kolobok on Strider, it worked perfectly at first, but then... it exploded,” she explained, facing me.

“Exploded?”

“It’s in one of the pouches in Strider’s backpack, check it if you don’t believe me.”

Intrigued, I crouched next to my friend’s backpack and opened one of the side pouches. Of course, it wasn’t the good one, so I opened the other and discovered the what looked like long shards of blackened glass and what looked like the remnants of a Kolobok as if it had been curb-stomped by a pseudogiant.

“Well that’s new,” said Snag. “Maybe the scientists will learn something from that. They would also be very interested in studying you, Celly.”

Celestia shook her head. “No.”

“Beg pardon?” Snag asked, eyebrow raised.

“I don’t want to be studied like a lab rat,” affirmed the alicorn. “I just want to be treated like anybody, for once,” she added with a sigh.

“Fair enough,” said the hooded stalker with a nod. “I guess we’re going to Yanov station then-”

*BANG*

*BRATATATATATATATA*

We all perked up as the sounds of automatic gunfire could be heard.

“We need to move,” I announced. “Snag has located possible hostiles nearby, we don’t want to stay in the vicinity.”

“Yeah, I could recognize the sound of an AEK-919K anywhere,” said Snag. “A gun bandits affectionate,” he clarified, shrugging. “Means we should hurry the fuck up if we want to get out of here safely. I don’t know about you, but I for one fucking hate being caught in the crossfire between two heavily armed factions.”

I nodded. “Yeah. We should move out but I doubt Strider will be able to walk on his own.”

“I can, thank you very much,” grumbled Strider, shakily standing up.

He tried to take a step forwards but stumbled and fell face first to the ground with a heavy thud.

The now scarred stalker rolled on his back. “Shit. It appears that I cannot,” he said, panting. “I feel so tired...”

“Well. How are we going to do that?” asked Snag.

“I can carry him,” Celestia said after a beat, imperceptibly rocking left and right. “If you want me to, that is,” she added, her gaze alternating between Strider and me.

I cocked an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t let anyone else do it, would you?” I asked with a smirk.

She let out a grunt and blushed slightly, gazing way.

“I'd rather be carried around by her than you to be honest,” peeped in the bald stalker.

“Oh, you too? I have to admit, you two look cute together,” I said with a grin. “Don’t worry, nobody’s gonna steal her from you,” I added with a wink, much to the annoyance of my boyfriend.

“Stop being a fucking jerk and do something useful for once,” scowled Snag, giving me a slap behind the head.

“How do move Strider out of here?” Celestia asked, looking at me.

“Simple. I take his stuff and Snag takes yours while you carry him around,” he explained, picking up Strider’s gear.

So there I was, walking along two stalkers I knew for barely more than a couple of days, headed for a destination I did not know, Strider literally riding on my back. I cared a lot about him, more than Vano or Snag... strangely. I found the idea... disturbing. Back home, I never really had a relationship with anypony, even friendly, which earned me a godlike reputation of ‘purity’.

I stifled a bitter laugh.

‘Forever alone’ would be a better suited expression.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by none other than Strider.

“Celestia?” he started.

“Mmmh?”

“You're comfy.”

I chuckled and looked towards him. He was laying face down down on my back and his eyes were closed, though he wasn’t sleeping. His armor had been removed and he was wrapped in the same blanket I covered him with earlier. His face was buried in my mane, his arms were wrapped around me and his legs were secured by my saddlebags. He was fairly heavy, nothing I couldn’t handle though.

“Are you feeling alright?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he replied. “Thanks to you. I am so tired though... thanks for carrying me around. Thanks for saving my life,” he added, machinally running his fingers through my fur.

“I... you’re welcome,” I replied with a smile.

“Does it not trouble you anymore?”

“Trouble?” I asked.

“The first time I carried you, you acted all ashamed and embarrassed,” he scarred stalker explained. “And now look at us, in the opposite situation,” he added with a light chuckle.

“I got over that,” I replied with a laugh. “I have more serious problems now, like surviving... and going back home,” I added, sighing.

“We will find a way,” he assured, hugging my neck tighter.

I looked back forwards and sighed contentedly. A light, freezing breeze had picked up and was ruffling my mane; steam was coming out of my nostrils as I breathed... I was thankful for the blanket covering both Strider, doing a good job at keeping the both of us warm.

The sky was completely covered in white wooly clouds too.

Looks like it’s going to snow.

We had been walking for a while now. I had given most of my things to Snag except for my PPSh-41 and my shotgun I kept along with some ammo so I could carry Strider. Vano had taken his weapons back and was leading the way. His machine gun was now hanging from a sling on his left shoulder and his Predator shotgun was slung across his back.

I noticed he had two weapons I hadn’t seen yet. He was currently holding a weapon that looked like an assault rifle, only it had a completely round magazine letting shotgun shells appear. On his thigh was what looked like a handgun but seemed too big to be one. The grip of the weapon was slightly curved, its body had a cylinder seemingly storing ammunition but most surprisingly, there was a scope atop of it. Upon closer examination, I noticed the inscription reading ‘460 S&W Magnum’ on the barrel of the weapon.

“Is that a handgun?” I asked, walking up to the giant’s side.

“This one?” he asked, patting the weapon on his thigh.

“Yes.”

“Yep. A big-ass revolver, useful for accurate shooting at medium ranges and very effective against mutants. I still kept my old Beretta though,” added the bearded stalker, showing the smaller handgun pistol holstered on his other thigh. “Trust me when I say that you wouldn’t want to use this huge revolver in close combat. Besides, you always need a backup,” he explained. “I also got this bad boy,” he said holding up the weapon he was holding in his hands. “Vepr 12... basically a Saiga 12 with revised ergonomics and more ‘tactical’ features. Twenty rounds of twelve gauge destruction in a rugged package modified for selective-fire. Kicks harder than an enraged mule, but nothing in the Zone has that much stopping power!” he added with a grin.

“Why do you keep your other shotgun then?” I asked innocently.

“Predator you mean?” he asked, looking at the pump action shotgun. “Don’t need him anymore,” he added, a hint of sadness in his voice. “Such a shame. He’s been a good companion, but alas I must separate myself from him.”

Strider groaned. “Just give it to her already,” he said, staying immobile.

Vano recoiled as if his friend had insulted him. “Are you crazy? No! I’ll sell him; I’m in debt again, buying all this equipment. Besides, with her reputation, he ought to be worth a lot.”

“Reputation?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

The giant smirked. “Yeah. This shotgun, young lady, has been given to me by Trapper to thank me for killing dangerous mutants in the area. This is ultimate pump-action shotgun in the Zone,” he explained with a smug expression. “Of course, now I have this bad boy,” he added, patting his ‘Vepr 12’. “Still, Predator here is a highly-valued item among mutant hunters, I should be able to get a substantial amount of money out of him... such a shame.”

Strider sighed. “Fine, I’ll buy it from you,” he grunted. “Take whatever you want from my loot and hand it over,” he added, rolling his eyes.

Vano’s eyes lit up. “Take care of him, and he’ll take care of you,” he said, handing me the weapon. With that he turned around and walked off, looking through Strider’s backpack.

The bald stalker shook his head. “I swear, that guy does not know the meaning of ‘generosity’,” he said with a sigh. “At least he’s a good friend.”

I looked at him, flabbergasted. “I-I-I did you just...”

“Yes I did,” he replied with a chuckle. “You direly needed a better shotgun anyway,” he added, slowly getting off my back.

I stirred. My whole body felt sore and numb, but at least I could stand upright now. I took a hesitant step, then another. It looked like I could walk now too. Satisfied, I draped the blanket around me like a cape and turned around.

I felt something on my side. When I lowered my gaze I noticed Celestia was there, nuzzling me.

“Thank you,” she said, a wide smile adorning her face.

“It is just a weapon you know,” I replied, affectionately scratching her behind the ear.

“I don’t care,” she whispered. “I’m happy.”

The alicorn broke away and began to examine her new weapon, turning it around and scrutinizing it under all angles.

“Celestia,” I called, switching my gaze to her.

“Hmm?”

“Let’s go. We should not let them take too much of an advance,” I said, gesturing towards Snag and Vano.

The alicorn shook her head and looked at me. “Yes, you’re quite right,” she admitted, standing on all fours. “Are you sure you can walk?”

“Yeah, I feel better now. I have got my boots and this blanket; give me a weapon and I will be good for now,” I replied. “Yanov station should not to be very far anyway.”

Without a word, Celestia took one of her messenger bags in her telekinesis and gave it to me. Intrigued, I opened it. Inside were my two 10mm pistols along with my old pistol and all my ammo for them.

“That’s very considerate of you. Thanks,” I said, smiling.

I equipped both 1911’s and loaded them. Both of them chambered a 10mm bullet with a satisfying click. I let out a content sigh. Celestia was fine, I was fine, I had my guns... I felt happy.

Strider and I were walking side by side through the forest behind Snag and Vano. The wind was as freezing as ever but the bald stalker didn’t seem to mind despite his lack of protection. He was only wearing the blanket from before as a cape draped over a muscle shirt riddled with holes; his old, dirty boots and the half torn, stained lower part of his old armor. Despite having a slight limp, he kept a steady, energetic pace as we walked through the small woods.

I sighed contentedly. Strider was fine, I was fine... I felt happy.

Finally I’ll have a decent suit, finally I’ll be able to rest and temporarily forget about my worries... maybe have some alone time with Strider.

For some reason the thought made me blush. The bald stalker had become my confident, I had opened myself to him more than I could have imagined, not that didn’t want it. I cared a lot about him, but... a romantic relationship would complicate things. By then he had gotten me out of many life-or-death situations, taken care of me, stayed at my side when I needed him... to me he was more than a friend already, but I didn’t want to attach myself too much to anyone here. After all, I had a kingdom to return to.

I don’t know if Strider feels about me the same way I feel about him... even then, I barely know how relationships work for ponies, so humans... I don’t know.

I sighed and shook my head, trying to sort out the thoughts in my head, and brought my attention back to my surroundings. I was still walking with my friends, Vano and Snag were opening the way, talking animatedly and occasionally giving each other a playful nudge while Strider and I were side by side, closing the march. The bald stalker seemed deep in thought, too.

Soon enough, the trees made themselves rarer and, after a few minutes the brush opened up on a plain, starkly contrasting with the previous scenery. In the distance, I could see a what looked like train tracks, and a bridge going over them. A few stalkers were walking along the tracks, slowly making their way to their destination, unknown to me.

Vano looked around. “So, where to?” he asked.

“Up North, to Yanov station,” said Strider, peaking up. “We should go see the scientists but I need to re-equip and to sell the loot I got from the Bandits first. I also have a surprise for you Celestia,” he added, giving me a small smile.

My ears perked up. “A surprise? What is it?”

Strider smiled. “You will like it.”

We resumed walking, following the train tracks leading North. These train tracks seemed fairly conventional, except they were noticeably wider than in Equestria. Something was strange though: on the sides of the tracks, tall posts were regularly placed; each of them seemingly supporting a horizontal structure maintaining a cable suspended high above the train tracks.

“What are these?” I asked out loud, looking at the cables.

“Overhead lines, or catenaries,” answered Snag before anyone could muster a word. “Nearly all trains in Europe are electric. These lines over our heads -hence the name- used to power up train engines,” he explained. “But now, they bring electricity to Yanov Station. The leaders there struck a deal so we could have some power from the solar panels of the scientists’ bunker. The guys back at the station made lot renovations a few months ago. Now there’s even showers there! With warm water of course,” he added with a smile.

Vano tilted his head. “Whaaaat?”

Strider raised an eyebrow. “Showers? Really?”

“Fuck yeah! I used them a few times,” replied Snag. “Of course, it’s not free, but I’ll be damned if that’s not convenient. At least most Stalkers smell better now,” he added with a laugh.

“So these train tracks lead to Yanov station?” I asked.

“Yeah. Yanov station was the last stop which serviced Pripyat for passenger trains. When the CNPP exploded, most of the population from Pripyat were evacuated from here,” he explained. “After that, they closed the lines and abandoned all the hardware here. You can’t believe how many times my uncle told me the story of the evacuation of Pripyat, it must have been something.”

Strider nodded. “Moving tens of thousands of people in a few days must have been hectic.”

We had been walking for a while now, and we had arrived at this famed ‘Yanov station’. Supposedly it was a base of operations where many stalkers stopped by to rest and re-equip. It looked like a big decrepit house built on the side of the train tracks with barricaded windows and big metal doors, which let the sound of discussions and laughter be heard from the inside. I followed Vano as he opened the rusted double doors and walked in.

The giant cleared his throat. “*Ahem*! Gentlemen? Can I have your attention please?”

Strider opened his mouth and raised a hand. “I don’t think that’s the-”

Instantly, all the conversations died out and all the heads turned towards him, then towards me.

“Yeah. That’s what I wanted to talk about. Her name’s Celestia and she won’t attack you or anything, she’s actually very friendly,” Vano announced out loud. “Come on, say something,” he added, leaning towards me.

“Uh, hi?” I hesitantly said, rubbing my fetlocks awkwardly.

The stalkers present stared at the me for a moment before they shrugged and went back to what they were doing before, whether it was talking, playing the guitar or fiddling with their equipment.

Vano scratched his beard, eyebrows raised. “That went better than expected.”

Strider blinked a few times. “I... how? How come none of them flipped out and pulled a gun or something?”

Snag shrugged. “We were grossly outnumbered here. That and she’s not the most strange thing most of us have ever seen,” he said gesturing towards me. “Even I didn’t feel much aside from surprise when I first saw her.”

Strider sighed and scratched the back of his head. “Whatever. At last we have arrived at destination without problems,” he said, scratching the back of his head.

“Yeah, what a fucking relief,” Snag added, stirring.

“Vano, could you please retrieve the supplies I bought for Celestia?” asked Strider.

I raised an eyebrow. “Wait. Supplies?”

The giant shrugged. “Some stuff he bought before your... kidnapping,” he explained. “I’ll do it. Gotta sell some loot anyway,” he turning around.

Looking around warily, I examined the main hall of the train station. On the left, there was a man sitting behind a counter with the words ‘KACCA’ written above it. Tables were placed along the walls with stalkers sitting around them, talking, laughing and drinking a clear liquid out of glass bottles. I could also hear the sound of music instruments coming from another room. The air was filled with the constant jabber of the present people and was saturated with an acrid smoke coming from little tubes some stalkers were occasionally taking puffs from.

Smells like if they were smoking pipes.

I followed Strider and Snag as they headed for a table in a corner while Vano walked off to a man behind the counter. After a short talk, he gave the man some items from Strider’s bag and the man gave the bearded stalker a large duffel bag filled to the brim. Vano saluted the man and walked back towards us.

“There you go,” he said.

Strider gave his friend a nod before turning towards me. “Everything a stalker needs apart from weapons and armor,” he added, patting the bag and giving me what looked like a few paper tickets. “Oh, and also, have this. This money is rightfully yours, I got it from selling your jewelry. 75000 roubles... not so worthless, as you can see.”

“I... don’t know what to say,” I stammered, staring at the bag. “You helped me, you gave me all my starting equipment... and now all of this? It’s too much! I can accept-”

“Rah shut up. You actually need this stuff,” affirmed Snag.

I glanced at Strider.

“He is right you know,” he said with a nod. “In the Zone, all of this is a part of any stalker’s survival. All you need now is decent armor.”

Vano smirked. “Speaking of which... look at what I got there!” he announced, producing something from his backpack. “Strider’s old SEVA suit!”

The scarred stalker frowned. “This is not a good idea. If anyone sees her wearing that, she will be shot in sight.”

Vano grunted. “Come on, we’ll tear off the Monolith symbols! It’s just splinter urban camouflage, I bet it would look good on her! Besides, it’s not like we have anything else to make a suit.”

“Well there are the two armors I looted,” Strider suggested.

“I already sold one of them to Hawaiian,” the giant replied sheepishly. “You know, you said I could take anything in your loot to compensate for Predator,” he added, seeing his friend’s interrogative glance. “It was a radiation suit anyway, very protective but heavy and impractical; totally not your style. Only stalkers that can’t afford an exoskeleton buy these things.”

Strider sighed. “Fine, you win. I will not wear Monolith armor, that is for sure... not again. I suppose Celestia can have it then,” he said, defeated. “But if anyone harms her because of it, I will hold you for responsible,” he berated.

“It will be alright,” assured Vano, rolling his eyes.

Strider sighed, defeated. “Where is the other suit I had then?”

Vano's eyes lit up and he handed him his backpack. “Oh, yeah. There. All your stuff is in it... well, minus what I sold. The other suit you looted should be in it.”

“Thanks for not selling this one,” Strider replied sarcastically.

“I think he's grumpy,” Vano whispered to Snag.

Snag snorted. “No shit Sherlock.”

Vano clapped his hands. “Anyway! Let's get you to the technician's,” he said. “I'm sure this suit will fit you perfectly once the tech heads get their hands on it.”

Strider stood up. “No. You guys stay here, I will go with her.” he affirmed. “Come with me Celestia, let’s get you some decent gear.”

The scarred stalker walked through an archway to the left, leaving the bar and the hall of the train station. I followed him as he entered a room with a lot of technical equipment. The air in the room smelled like oil, metal, sweat and gunpowder. There were two workbenches on the far side of the room with disassembled weapons lying around and full sets of tools hanging from the walls. Boxes filled to the brim with mechanical parts were sitting neatly arranged on shelves on the walls and a lot of weapons and pieces of equipment were sitting around on racks here and there.

Two men were sitting at a table in the middle of the room, playing what looked like a card game. One of them was fairly bulky and had long hair while the and was much thinner with very short hair and was sporting an earring. The first one was holding many more cars than the second, who was also grinning.

“Attack,” grumbled the long haired man.

“Okay... six of diamonds,” replied the other, putting a card on the table.

“Eight,” said the long-haired one, covering the ‘six of diamonds’ with a card of his own, ornamented with more similar symbols.

“Ten then.”

“Queen!”

The short man grinned. “And two Kings! Booyah!” he laughed, dropping his last two cards on the table.

“Damn it!” exclaimed the long haired man, throwing the rest of his cards in the air. “You win again! I knew I should have dropped the Aces!”

“You just can’t play, durak,” the other replied with a chuckle.

The long haired man shook his head and sighed. “Whatever, I believe we have a customer,” he said, turning towards us. “Strider? You look like shit dude, no offense. What brings you here- ohhh is this who I think it is?” he asked, suddenly noticing my presence.

“Celestia, this is Cardan and Nitro. Cardan, Nitro, this is Celestia.”

“Pleased to meet you,” I said with a nod.

“The pleasure is mine,” replied the technician. “So you are the famed alien who broke out of the Jack's camp.”

What? How does he know?

I backed off eyeing Nitro warily. “Alien? Famed? How do you know?” I asked.

Cardan shrugged. “Rumors spread like wildfire here,” he explained. “Nearly everybody knows that an unusual creature broke out of his HQ, killing every-.”

Strider cleared his throat, interrupting the technician. “To keep it short, she is not from this world and she is lost,” he added.

“Poor thing. Well at least if she’s with a guy like you she’ll be safe,” said Nitro.

“I wished,” muttered Strider. “She has been through a lot already,” he added, stroking my shoulder.

The short haired technician nodded. “Yeah, being held captive by bandits can’t be pleasant. I’ve heard how you went on a rampage after you learned she had been kidnapped. Did you really have to torture-” he said, only to be interrupted by a death glare from Strider.

The scarred stalker sat down on a chair. “Anyway, I am here for several things: These suit,” he began, producing a neatly folded suit of the armor and his old Monolith armor from his backpack, “and the rifle, the custom one.”

Cardan’s nodded. “The rifle... gimme a sec,” he said, turning around. “I had just finished the lightweight bolt assembly, you arrive just on time,” he mumbled.

“Show me these suits,” asked Nitro.

“I need your opinion on the green one and the Monolith one is for Celestia,” Strider explained, handing the technician the two armors. “Can you modify it?”

“Of course,” the technician replied with a nod, eyeing the green armor. “Looks like a heavily modified Wind of Freedom suit merged with a Bulat armor... high-end gear.”

Cardan suddenly stood up from his workbench. “And there we go!” he finished, giving the bald stalker a package wrapped in brown paper.

Strider took the package and gave the technician a nod. “Thanks,” he said before whispering a few words and handing Cardan what looked like paper coupons. The bald stalker then crouched in front of me. “I am going to leave now, Cardan and Nitro will take care of your suit,” he explained, bringing a hand to my chin.

I pouted. “Aw, you’re going to leave me alone here?”

“I have got business to do. If you need me, I will be at the bar,” he replied with a small smile. “I will not be far away.”

“Okay,” I replied. “See you later then.”

I slammed my fists down on the counter. “HOW MUCH?” I yelled.

Hawaiian gave me an annoyed glance. “I already told you, 36000.”

“But I sold it to you for barely 16000!”

“And how am I supposed to make a profit? 36000.”

“Go fuck yourself then,” I calmly replied before turning around and walking towards the table Vano and Snag were occupying.

“What happened?” asked Vano. “You look frustrated.”

“Hawaiian wants 36000 roubles for a SVD rifle I sold him 16000,” I grumbled.

Snag snorted. “What a bitch. Lemme try,” he said, standing up.

The hooded stalker walked up to the trader’s counter and began talking to him. After a while he turned around and came back, shaking his head.

“So?” I asked.

Snag snorted. “26000.”

“Why didn’t you buy it then?” Vano asked.

Snag shrugged. “Well because I don’t have the money and Nimble sells better gear for cheaper anyway,” he explained.

“Nimble?” I asked, casting him an interrogative glance.

“A trader specialized in high-end equipment who lives aboard the Skadovsk.”

“Oh. Guess we’re going to Zaton then,” Vano concluded.

This idea seemed better, but I was still without a sniper rifle for the travel.

“I need a shower,” I said with a grunt.

Strider had left for a while now, and I was in the workshop of the station, alone with the Cardan and Nitro. After the technicians had taken my measurements and studied how my anatomy worked, both of them had begun to adapt Strider’s old Monolith armor to me, leaving me to wait for it to be ready.

From time to time, one of the technicians would come up to me and make me try a piece of the armor, a sleeve here, an armor plate there... but I was bored.

I sat down on the floor and emptied the the duffel bag in front of me. There was a lot ammo, consumables and items, which use were lost to me. I counted five red first-aid kits, two blue ones and a yellow one, a around ten bandages, a few antirads, a little box with different drugs I didn’t know the effect; two cans of food and three loaves of bread, five energy drinks... there was also a bottle containing a clear liquid with several inscriptions and ‘водка’ written in big letters on it.

‘водка’? What is this?

The liquid seemed similar to water but seemed troubled, as there was something in it. Not knowing what it was, I put the bottle back with the rest of the consumables.

The most interesting part were the items I had. I had a toothbrush, toothpaste and all the hygiene supplies, even a hairbrush. I smiled.

Oh Strider... what a nice gesture.

One of the items looked like a bulky pair of goggles but I couldn’t see anything through them. I discarded them and picked up a rectangular object with rounded corners and a black rectangle on one face. It had a few buttons on the face and on the side, which I didn’t know the purpose. The next few items were basic: the anomaly detector Strider already gave me, a device producing light, a set of flatware, a knife, a blanket; everything I would ever need in this place.

I stuffed the medical items and the food in one of my saddlebags, the ammo and equipment in the other. All I had to do was to wait for the technicians to do their job. I laid down on the floor, resting my head on my forelegs, only one thought in my head.

Do I or don’t I?

I liked Strider, scratch that, I loved him. Just when I was around him I felt complete, happy...at peace. I just wanted him to feel the same way too but I didn’t want to have strong ties here, Equestria was my home. I just didn’t know what to do.

I stood still and relaxed, letting the warm water flow over me, washing away the frustration, tiredness and stress I had been through recently. I felt mentally exhausted, and I knew why... nearly dying twice in less than two days would do that even to the strongest man.

I sighed, scrubbing myself off the dirt and sweat, my mind assaulted by a train of thoughts foreign to me.

Despite having known Celestia for only a few days, I cared a lot for her; no, I was concerned about her. Everything she had been put through, from her sister's downfall to her... 'misadventures' with the bandits would have been enough to break any man. She was strong, and she was the nicest being I ever had the luck to know. That was something I really liked about her.

Whoa there, it almost sounds like you have a crush on her stalker!

I stepped out of the shower, chuckling at the thought. Of course, it was impossible. As long as I remembered, I had never felt remotely attracted to anyone even once, leading me to believe I was emotionally dead. Even my circle of friends was very restricted: Vano, the Major... and that was all. I did not consider Snag as a friend, merely an acquaintance. After all, I had met him only two days ago.

The same is true for Celestia, yet she is already much more than that to you.

I froze at the thought, almost dropping my towel. I had known her for a very short amount of time, that was true... yet I had flown to her rescue when she got kidnapped, without a second thought... and that was definitely not like me.

Hotheaded and reckless... not so ‘emotionally dead’, are we?

I sighed and scratched the back of my head, trying to make sense of my thoughts. I liked being around her. I liked her delicateness yet she was one of the strongest and most people I had ever met. We had been through so much already. I liked her... but not as a friend.

If not as friend, then what? Family? No.

I sighed. It was a strange feeling, really. I shook my head and grabbed my new armor before I put it on.

What is this feeling called? I will have to ask.

After a while, I had grown bored so I picked up a handgun lying around and examined it. the weapon was mostly made of a charcoal grey metal, shaped in a simple design and was fairly small. The slide had a lot of scratches on it and had a few inscriptions on the side: a few numbers and CHINA’... probably the place of manufacture.

I pressed a button on the side, which dropped the magazine. I pulled back the slide and let it go with a click. I pulled it back again and let it go again. And again. And again. Dear Goddess I was bored. I kept playing with the slide for a while and managed to disassemble the weapon in three main parts after fumbling with the trigger guard. The pistol was fairly simple, but very dirty; it looked like somebody had put grease and ash inside of it. I grunted and used a brush lying around to clean the weapon. Some parts were rusty but scrubbing them revealed sufficient at giving them a pristine appearance.

I was about to reassemble the firearm when Cardan turned away from his workbench, a smile on his face. He was holding in his hands a suit, folded in a neat pile.

Nitro leaned back in his chair. “That was a challenge, but we did it! A four-legged, Zone-ready protective suit!” he announced proudly.

My ears perked up at the news. I tore my gaze away from my work, nearly jumped of excitement.

“Gimme gimme!” I impatiently asked.

Nitro handed me the suit. “Go ahead, try it!”

First, I put on what looked like an undergarment bodysuit. It was made of a black, stretchy material, hard to put on but somehow very comfy to wear. Then came the jumpsuit. It looked just like before, except it had been adapted to my anatomy and apparently reinforced with inserts of a hard material at each on my joints. Its camouflage composed of grey, light brown and black triangles and pointy geometric shapes on a white background, just as before. Instead of boots like any stalker, I had some sort of metallic shoes similar to the golden ones I had when I was a princess.

I stifled a bitter chuckle. I was already speaking of Equestria in the past tense, yet it had been only three days I had been in the Zone.

This place really makes you forget your past, it seems.

Once I was done putting on the jumpsuit and made sure every pouch, strap and armored plate was in place, I grabbed the ballistic vest in my magic. It had been extensively modified too: the pouches had been moved around and it covered most of my lower neck down to my upper stomach and even my sides. The whole suit was fairly heavy but didn’t hinder movement.

“So? How do you like it?” asked Cardan.

Did I like it? Yes! It was perfect. I was about to express my gratitude to the technician when I realized all this work could not be for free.

“How much?” I asked.

Cardan waved dismissively. “Heh, don’t worry, Strider already took care of that,” he explained.

Nitro clapped his hands. “Need anything else?”

“Yes, actually. I fumbled with this little pistol,” I began, showing them the handgun I had taken apart. “I quite like it. What is it?”

Cardan raised an eyebrow. “That?” he asked, picking up the slide of the gun. “It’s a just a Chinese made Makarov PMm, and improved version of the PM. So reliable you could fill it with sand and it would still fire, so cheap most rookie Stalkers get their first one for free; courtesy of traders or other stalkers,” he explained. “This one is broken, though. I can’t be arsed to repair it. If you repair it, it’s yours. Good luck with that,” he added with a laugh.

“Strider, you are an imbecile,” Vano said, holding his nose bridge.

“I... I do not understand,” I replied, scratching one of the new scars on my cheek.

Snag sighed. “So you met her like, three fucking days ago and you’re -I quote- not sure about the way you feel about her... I swear, it’s like I’m talking to a teenager.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, ignoring his jab.

Vano grinned. “That means you looove herrr!” he sang.

“You think? What should I do then?”

Snag frowned. “Kid, this is the Zone.”

“I am aware. And?”

“And you could be fucking dead by tomorrow!” shouted the hooded stalker, throwing his arms in the air. “Hell, even today you almost got stomped to death by mutants! Jeez, take every opportunity you get!”

“Snag is right,” added Vano. “Life is short, you should totally go for it! Sure, it’s weird, given that you’re not the same species, but hey, it’s the Zone, everything is weird here,” he finished with a shrug.

I scratched my head. “So what do I do?”

“Well... you could wait and end up feeling sad and miserable, or you could tell her about your feelings,” Snag replied, shrugging.

Vano laughed. “OR you could french kiss her next time you see her.”

“French kiss her?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

The hooded stalker let out an exasperated sigh. “Let me show you.”

What followed next made me freeze in shock. Snag pulled Vano into a kiss.

The romantic kind. On the lips.

Despite what Cardan had said, I had managed to repair the pistol. It only needed cleaning and a few parts to be replaced, but there was a lot of spare parts in the workshop, making the job a piece of cake. In theory the weapon was fine now, all I had to do was to test fire it to make sure it worked as intended. The barrel had been replaced, I had converted it to 9x19mm using parts from other pistols and I had replaced the villainous black grips by much better looking wood panels.

I holstered the pistol, thanked the two technicians and walked out of their workshop before making my way back to the bar where the others were. There was less people than before at the bar and the sound of discussions had mostly died out. Only a guitar could be heard in the background until I heard two people laugh heartily.

What is going on?

I made my way to my friend’s table, only to discover that Strider was sporting a new suit with green camouflage and a hood. He was facing away from me and Vano and Snag were laughing at him. I approached him from behind and cleared my throat, making my presence known.

“What is so funny?” I asked.

Snag wiped a tear of laughter. “Let’s say that that our friend here is surprised to learn that Vano and I are together,” he said.

I raised an eyebrow. “Together? You mean you two are an item? I didn’t know... how did it happen?” I asked.

Vano shrugged. “Just a one-night stand that evolved towards something less casual,” he explained.

I nodded in understanding. Their situation was something new to me but I gained valuable information out of it. It seemed humans were more casual than ponies when it came to relationships, something I found relieving. I looked at Strider. His face was frozen in an expression of shock and surprise and he wasn’t moving... he wasn’t even blinking or breathing.

“Strider?” I asked, waving a hoof in front of him.

The bald stalker snapped out of his trance and shook his head, before taking a gulp from the bottle in front of him and turning towards me.

“Follow me,” he said, standing up.

Strider led me to a quite small room apart from the rest of the station and sat down on one of the bunk beds disposed along the walls. I sat next to him and he produced the package Cardan had given him before.

“For me?” I asked.

The scarred stalker nodded, a slight smile on his lips. I hastily ripped the paper wrap, revealing a peculiar looking weapon. It looked similar to other rifles I had seen before, but what set it apart was its ornamentation: fine golden lines tracing floral patterns were carved all along the sleek curves of the rifle, even on the barrel, giving the impression that golden vines had grown all around the weapon. It was frighteningly beautiful, I couldn't help but be transfixed by it. It was unique; a perverse yet exquisite mix between flawless craftsmanship and war engineering, thrown together to create this firearm.

“Cardan did the mechanical job and I did the engraving,” said Strider, pulling me out of my contemplative trance. “This is a fine rifle,” he added. “Take good care of it and it will take good care of you. I do tried to keep the artwork discrete, so it can be used in the field without revealing your position hundreds of meters away. Do you like it?”

“Do I... like it? I-I... You shouldn’t- I don’t deserve-”

“Shush. Stop saying you do not deserve what is given to you,” he replied, running his fingers through my mane, before bringing a hand to my cheek. “Of course you deserve it... you are amazing,” he added, slowly wrapping his arms around me before pulling me in a passionate kiss.

I instantly melted in his tight embrace and closed my eyes, abandoning myself to the warm touch of his lips against mine, to the wet embrace of his tongue and mine. There was something about this kiss, something that made me shiver in delight... he was pent up with energy but composed at the same time, almost commanding. His lips tingled, his movements were slow, serene, romantic. His breath was warm, yet had a cold, tingling aftertaste to it. One of his arms was caressing the back of my neck while his other hand was slowly tracing the contour of my face... it had been so long I didn't experience anything like this I couldn't even remember how the embrace of a lover felt like.

Suddenly, I realized what was going on and I opened my eyes, abruptly breaking the kiss.

“Wh-what are you doing?” I stuttered.

Strider brought a hand to my cheek. “I followed the advice of a friend, I am making the most of my life, for it is short,” he said with a smile, before he made a pause and looked away. “That was strange.”

I rubbed my forelegs, not unsure of what to do next.

Oh, scratch that.

I wasn't in Equestria. I had enough of having to restrain myself, I didn't have to maintain an image, it didn't matter.

I locked my gaze with his. “No it wasn't,” I replied, pulling him in another kiss.

This time I wasn't going to let him stay in control.

Chapter 9: On the Road Again