The First Raid

[chaosshade]

Slowly, Chaos sat up, looking for his boots before crawling from his thin sleeping bag. Something in his left boot made it shake. He pulled his gun, a Makarov PM, and cautiously upended the piece of footwear. A rat flopped out and he fired, killing it. Several other loners in the area rushed into the room, looking around frantically.

"Are you okay?" one of them asked, holstering his pistol.
"Yeah, I'm fine," the loner responded, pulling on his hiking boots. "There was just a rat in my boot," he added, standing and picking up his sleeping bag and rolling it up. The other loners laughed and walked out. Looking around quickly, he knelt and picked up the dead animal. It didn't look rabid or poisonous. Holding it by its tail, he walked outside and picked up a discarded stick.

After spearing the creature on it, he walked to the abandoned house at the far end of the village and, after checking the building for stability and Blind Dogs, stepped inside and stirred up the camp fire. He held the rat over the flames with a smile. They didn't taste good, but they were useful to stave off hunger.

[Διμι]

Victor couldn't sleep. Even in the attic of the abandoned house, quiet and secluded from the rest of the teeming village, he could only reach a condition of half-insomnia, drifting in and out. At least he was free now, free to do as he pleased, without having to obey orders from those he couldn't give a rat's ass about.

The sound of the door creaking open tore him from his semiconscious state. Quietly as his light frame would allow, he snaked out of his sleeping bag, picking it up and stuffing it into a corner. Without putting on his boots, he tiptoed over to the corner of the room, where his latest acquisitions lay. He slipped into the gray armored vest he had bought earlier from the trader and grabbed the still shiny silenced pistol from its holster, promising himself to be more frugal in his future spendings. (CHECK). Slowly, he crawled to the crack in the floor, taking a look at the intruder.

He was in his twenties, from his looks, perhaps slightly older than Victor himself, and more powerfully built. The fire set up in the middle of the room was burning once more, with a rat roasting on top of it. The smoke ventilated through the large hole in one wall. Thinking that it was safe to come down, and that the intruder was not of hostile intentions, Victor quietly made his way down the staircase. Holstering his gun, he watched from behind as the loner took a bite of the dead animal.

"You know," Victor broke the silence as the loner whipped around. "There's enough radioactive isotopes in those things to give you one hell of a night without an antirad. You'll spend your night in the can if you can't afford one from the trader, bastard as he is."

[chaosshade]

Chaos jumped when he heard a voice behind him. Thinking better of swallowing, he spat the half-chewed rat into the fire along with the rest of its corpse. Pausing for a moment, the loner wondered what had compelled him to eat a RAT of all things in the first place. He had tins of food in his backpack. Taking it off, he set it down with a thump and retrieved a tin of anchovies in tomato juice. The tin looked okay, no dents, no punctures, no leaks.

He grabbed the pull on it and peeled the top off. It smelled okay, so Chaos pulled out a tarnished fork and jabbed one of the salty fish. Taking a bite, he smiled, it was still as fresh, more or less anyway, as the day it had been canned. "You want some?" he asked, offering the tin to the other loner. It was a dog-eat-dog world in The Zone and a little comradeship was never a thing pass up.

"So, what's your name?" he asked casually. It was a question Chaos had asked over and over during his trip to The Zone. He knew the names of many people throughout Poland and Kiev, and even a few in The Zone, granted there was a very good chance they were dead by now. "My name's Chaos," he said after a few more bites of the tinned anchovies.

[Διμι]

Victor smiled. Taking the tin, he pulled his knife from its sheath. He pulled a bandage from his belt, pouring a small amount of vodka onto it from a canteen around his belt. After wiping off the knife, he speared the small fish onto the tool.

"Priyatno poznakomytsa ((pleased to meet you)), name's Victor," He finally answered. "Victor Yurievich, to be exact, although that hardly matters around here. Although give me a couple of more weeks in the Big Land, and there would have only been a last name with a 'Private' in front of it. I'd much rather kick it in this place and kill some of those fuckers around here, than slave for them in some division back in the motherland. Was going to be a respectable medic by profession, but looks like I'll have to apply that in more unorthodox ways..."

He paused after this garrulous outburst, giving Chaos some time to respond. Taking another jab at the anchovies, he pulled off his vest, dropping it by his side.

[chaosshade]

"Pri-yat-no po... poznak-o-mytsa," Chaos sounded out, his lack of knowledge of the Big Land's language obvious. "I'm sorry, but I don't normally speak Russian," he clarified, taking out a tin cup from his pack and pouring half the tomato juice from the tin into it before handing the tin to Victor. "I originally hail from Warsaw, the capital of Poland. I just couldn't take my dull life there anymore, so I decided to come here," he explained.

For two strangers, they were certainly hitting it off well. Some rustling in a nearby bush caused Chaos to become alert. He drew his Makarov and held it level with the plant. A bunny, or rather, what used to be a bunny, hopped from hiding and hopped across the floor, its mutations obvious. Its once vegetation-eating teeth had been adapted to be omnivorous and it sniffed out the charred rat in the fire, using a paw to pluck the creature from the embrace of the flames before running off with the dead rat clutched in its mouth.

"I heard rumors of mutations like that, but I didn't think they were actually true..." Chaos clarified, sipping the tomato juice. He'd seen the blind dogs, but they were so common, he'd quickly grown accustomed to them. "Say, Victor, how long have you been in The Zone?" the loner asked, casting a sideways glance at the seemingly normal draft-dodger.

[Διμι]

Victor sheathed his knife and took a gulp of the juice remaining in the tin. "Not too long," He started. "I've only been in the village for about a week or so. Already plenty of work for me to do. From mutant tushkano bites to arms getting ripped off in anomalies. The medkits run out like fresh water in a desert, and good old Sid isn't willing to spare too many on a discount. As for the mutations, they're not too entirely common around here, save for the small mammals, although the radiation is still way above normal. It spares me the need to buy scientific equipment to treat this kind of anomalous shit, at least."

He took a long look around. Most of the interactions between him and loners tended to stop at this point. The rookies typically had little concern for his motives, and were accustomed to their own local activities and skirmishes. He fell silent for a few seconds. Finally, he lifted his head, turning to the loner.

"Listen, Chaos." He began. "The numbers of stalkers here are rising. More and more people have been pouring into this place ever since the Brain Scorcher was deactivated. More and more rookies are infesting this place, and the artifact yield is running low. That means less stuff to sell, and more wounds to treat. Naturally, the Zone ain't giving jack shit back around here, you see?" He paused, letting the words sink in.

[chaosshade]

Chaos understood, if a little vaguely. "So basically what you're saying is that too many inexperienced loners are getting killed in The Zone?" he asked, standing up slowly. The thumping of helicopter blades could be heard and several of the loners were already heading for cover.

"Hey! Boys! Get you asses together! The damn military is raiding us again!" Fanatic shouted, cocking his rifle. "If you want to live, get your ass in one of the holes like a coward or you can fight to protect the village!" the stalker yelled, ducking behind a fence to set up an ambush.
"I don't know about you, Victor, but I'm going to help out," he said, drawing his Makarov and taking cover behind a piece of fallen masonry.

"Remember boys teach those loners that they don't get away with stealing from the military!" one of the grunts said, holding his AK-74/U to his shoulder and beginning to search the village. Chaos hid in silence, he'd only get one shot, if he was lucky, he HAD to make it count. If he was lucky, he'd get a suit of Bernelli-5 body armor, maybe even a Skat-9, an AK-74/U, and maybe a Beretta M9.

A grunt stepped around the corner, looking the other way and Chaos fired, the single 9x18mm slug catching the soldier just under his cheek bone between his jaws, killing him instantly. Gunfire suddenly erupted inside the village. The loner grabbed the soldier's AK-74/U and peered around the corner, holding his new rifle left-handed.

[Διμι]

Victor put on his suit and whipped out the silenced PB1 holstered on his waist. Dashing to the window, he took a cautious peek outside. Before he could make out anything, the sound of the helicopter's blades intensified. Then, the firing erupted.

The 12.7mm rounds from the Hind's gatling gun shredded the attic of the house, many of them piercing straight through into the ground level. Victor dropped to the floor as the rotten remains of the furniture around him exploded. He dimly heard the sound of a missile being fired, and then an explosion that shook the house to its foundations.

Finally, as the sound of the blades subsided, he propped himself up, checking for any injuries. Finding none, he took another look outside. Thick grey smoke was blowing across the village, and several figures in Berill-5M combat armor advanced across the camp, occassionally firing off shots.

Figuring that his peashooter would be useless against soldiers in Sphere helmets and heavy body armor, Victor sprinted up the wrecked staircase up to the attic, where his AK lay. Just as he reached the top floor, the front door flew open.

[chaosshade]

When the thumping of chopper blades grew deafening, Chaos took a run and dove into the basement of a nearby house, covering his unprotected head when gunfire and a deafening explosion filled the air. MY GOD! he thought, standing up, his ears ringing. Cautiously, he peered out of the basement, holding his rifle up.

Several grunts were searching the area for survivors. "Hey, anyone alive down there?" he asked, dumping his mag into the basement. Chaos felt the slugs collide with his jacket and forced himself not to grunt in pain. "Well, I guess no one's down there, so tossing this down there won't m-" The loner fired, aiming once more for the head and upper body.

Another deafening explosion the polish man he'd either missed and was going to die, or he'd hit his mark and the grunt had dropped his grenade. Chaos prayed it was the latter. Slowly, he stood, checking his chest and legs. He wasn't bleeding, although he'd have some nasty bruises. Upstairs there was more shooting some of it close by, some of it a little further away. Silently, he hoped his new companion was okay.

[Διμι]

Victor stiffened, growing absolutely still. He could hear two sets of footsteps downstairs. Heavy, army-issue boots, from the sound of it. He looked around and saw his AK lying on the floor, where it had fallen from the destroyed shelf he had laid it on earlier.

Silently, he crawled over to it, picking it up. Through the crack in the floor he had watched Chaos earlier, he could see one of the army pokes walking around downstairs. Then he heard the weakened stairs creak as the second grunt slowly ascended to the second floor. He had a split second to make up his mind. Deciding to take the chances with facing the second grunt without the advantage of surprise, he aimed his rifle at the landing.

He let out a short three round burst just as the soldier's head and shoulders appeared. The first and third rounds went off, but the second entered the soldier's temple, painting the wall behind him red and pink. The recoil nearly caused Victor to lose his grip on the gun, leaving a momentary resolution to get a less powerful piece of equipment.

"Oh SHIT!" Victor heard from downstairs. A second later, he heard a pin being pulled from a hand grenade. He had already decided - he had only one way out now.

With a powerful heave, Victor smashed the window's rotten and weakened frame with the butt of his gun. The frame gave in easily, and he found himself carried forward just as the grenade flew in from downstairs.

[chaosshade]

Climbing out of hiding, Chaos watched as Victor leaped from a second floor window, the roof and upper floor of the building exploding. The grunt on the first floor laughed. "That got him," she smirked before taking a bullet to the neck, dying immediately. The loner, checking first to make sure it was safe, rushed from hiding, to check on his companion. "Victor, you okay?" he asked, shaking the other man gently.

The shooting had finally died out and his PDA chirped. "Hey, is there anyone alive still?" Sidorovich asked, obviously aware of what had happened.
"I'm okay, I think. I don't know if Victor's hurt or not, he's unconscious, I think," Chaos responded. As he listened to the other loners check in, he was relieved that most of them were okay, even Fanatic had made it through okay.

What was left of the village was a mess; six dead grunts and a blast crater in the middle of road. Slowly, Chaos checked Victor again. He was breathing, probably just stunned from the fall. His parents had taught him never to move anyone that had fallen from a high place, so he left him alone to go examine the bodies of the grunts. There was a veritable treasure-trove loot in what remained of the wrecked house. He wondered how much Sid would pay for the gear that wasn't shared out amongst the loners.

[Διμι]

Victor opened his eyes. His head still rang from the explosion he had literally been thrown from only a few minutes ago. His entire body felt like it had been thrown into a grinder, although it was probably no more than a few bruises. He moved his head, examining the remains of the house. Luckily enough, he had fallen onto the sloped terrace roof first, and then rolled down to fall one more floor.

At last, he managed to painfully get up. His legs and sides felt battered, but he could place pressure on them with no ill effect, so no broken bones, he concluded. His suit was covered in scorch marks from flying pieces of ignited rubble, and he had a few burns on his arms as well, not protected by the kevlar suit. All in all, he decided, it could have been a whole lot worse.

Most of the rookies seemed to have gotten through with only minor injuries. Victor was relieved to see Chaos a small way off, checking the bodies of the soldiers on the road, which now featured a massive crater, no doubt due to the helicopter's rocket.

Finally, he went inside the house. The second grunt had been shot in the neck, and lay near the entrance, his AK still in his hands, and his suit intact. Victor was surprised he did not kill himself with his own grenade, as the blast had made a number of considerable holes in the ceiling of the first floor. The second grunt had been thrown down the stairs by the blast and lay underneath a layer of smoking rubble. His suit was pockmarked with shrapnel holes in many places, and his helmet was destroyed completely, the head covered in dried blood.

Victor painfully ascended the stairs. The floor underneath him nearly gave out as he stepped onto it. The room was virtually destroyed. His sleeping bag was shredded and burned, as was most of his medical equipment and food. Hopefully, he would be able to get new stuff without much expense once he sold his share of the loot.

Finally, he turned and walked outside. Closer inspection of the remaining rookies assured him that he'd have plenty of work in the coming days. Chaos was still checking the bodies of the grunts for any valuables. Victor limped up to the loner, who seemed to have gotten off with remarkably minor injuries.

"Quite the day, hasn't it been?" He spoke up, crouching down next to Chaos.

[chaosshade]

Chaos was in the middle of checking a corpse when Victor walked up. "Glad to see you're okay," he said, taking the soldier's bulletproof vest and pulling it on over his over shirt. The new weight was going to be something that needed some getting used to, but a bulletproof vest, a helmet, and a set of NV goggles was a welcome addition to his gear along with an AK-74/u and some grenades. [CHECK]

The loner looked around and watched other rookies looking the corpses too. He was happy he'd grabbed what he could from the trio of corpses near himself and Victor. "Hey, Victor, how much do you think we can get if we split the look from these corpses?" he asked, picking up the solider's PDA and flipping through some of the files on it, nothing of interest came up so he shrugged and pocketed it. He could sell it if nothing else.