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Post by blackpapermoon on Mar 28, 2013 13:25:57 GMT -5
“-Might as well give her a try,” the taller Freedomer said always the voice of optimism, “Mind getting me up to speed?”
Just then the small kid came up. Ferret had gotten to know Giovanni better and now wished he’d never give out that invite. He’d never be able to do anything other than cook still that was a skill sorely lacking in the zone.
“We also a have a new recruit that want to join up,”
____________________________________________________ “Don’t you want to know who,” Lisbet asked as the man began to walk out of the door he stopped and turned to face her once more.
“I think you know him well,” she continued pulling out a vial of clear liquid and rolled it around her fingers, “the bandit with the long hair and SEVE suit… tell me how much would a sample of this go for, surely you have connections.”
((had a lot more but I blue screen and now I'm going to rage/ cry in a corner))
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Post by milch on Mar 29, 2013 1:18:38 GMT -5
"Radio me if you need any help, and I'll do likewise" Karc said as he departed with a pat on the shoulder for his apprentice. "As you say, sir" Ibrahim felt slight disappointment as he watched his boss and mentor depart. He felt that he could have been of greater use for Karc, rather than for these strangers, but his instructions were clear "Follow every order". So when Karc disappeared behind some lifeless shrubs and an old yellow building with peeling paint the Merc went over to the rest of the men. Sejanus, his man and the other Merc from Yantar with an SVD. They seemed worn out and lost. Especially Sejanus' man. So far from home, most of his comrades dead and close to death himself. That would get to anyone. Sejanus himself didn't show any feeling about the current situation, much to Ibrahim's dislike. He preferred knowing how the men surrounding him felt, so as to know what to expect from them. The last Merc from the original group was cleaning his rifle. His face showed only tiredness and perhaps hunger. And Ibrahim himself, well, he was glad he was still alive and more or less well after the, long haul from Yantar. His natural immense stamina and the Moonlight artifact kept him going, but even those had a limit. They all needed rest.
"Guys," he said approaching the group "Karc's gone off on his own for some time and that leaves me in command now. Grab some rest and with dawn we'll go and find some clues about that Oasis of yours". Sejanus nodded in approval, clearly happy at the notion of sleep and finally searching for the Heart of the Oasis. Ibrahim himself went downsatirs to the underground level and found a few dirty sleeping mats in the corner by a fire in a torn up metal barrel. The Merc placed himself down on one of the mats and searched for a tin of meat in his bag. The fire in the barrel burned dimly, yet it seemed to be the hottest thing in the world to Ibrahim after the cold unwelcoming outside world. The shadows on the wall played strange tricks with Ibrahim's mind. He could've sworn he was seeing the chimera fight in the Red Forrest all over again. Then a dark trench-coated silhouette of Shade. The fangs of the monster closing in towards his face.
All that faded away when Ibrahim's memories were interrupted by the sound of sizzling meat. He overcooked it and it was now roasting in the tin. The Merc hurried to grab it forgetting how hot the tin was. When he grabbed the tin and pulled it from the fire his fingers began to burn on the red-hot metal. The man's instincts got the better of him and he momentarily flinched his fingers away from the tin causing it to drop to the floor. Ibrahim's dreams of dinner were now broken and lying on the concrete. Now the Merc was definitely broken. Hungry, tired and not knowing what lay ahead of him in the morning as he was going to lead his men into the unknown. He kicked the tin away from himself in a surge of rage and then curled up on the sleeping mat and closed his eyes, knowing full well that his sleep was going to be a miracle the night.
But nevertheless he slept. That night he dreamt of the chimera again. The beast haunted him ever since he was so close to death in the Red Forrest. He would see it prowling in the shadows as they walked, hear it growling in the night, dream of it in his sleep, always waking up breathing heavily with fear and sweating like he's just had s shower. Sometimes he even felt the urge to come back to the Forest and see once again the dead body of the beast and put a bullet in it's head himself. The nightmares were there for him that night as well.
Pain shot through Ibrahim's back while he was still asleep. It traveled along his back and into his head. The Merc awoke and let out a short sentence full of curses and half-screams. The emission was coming, he knew that all too good now, but all he could do was lie and twitch in horrible pain. And then he heard the sirens outside and the message on his PDA warning him of the coming horror. A million knives was scraping away Ibrahim's scalp, trying to get to his skull and to the brain. Pain was drilling through his spine as if to make a hole straight through him. He was in such agony until the emission passed, leaving Ibrahim on the floor of the underground level of the station. Breathing heavily, sweat trickling down Ibrahim's back and face, he pulled himself up to his knees and remained in such stance till Sejanus came down to find him. It was dawn.
Ibrahim and Sejanus came up the stairs and were greeted by a group of Freedomers making an announcement about some Balalaïka bandit. "This is getting better and better" Ibrahim muttered quietly so as no one had heard him. He had heard many a story of this bandit's work while he was traversing the Zone and the news of her arrival in Jupiter had clearly stirred up the locals. Ibrahim turned to his men and said "As I'm not acquainted with this particular bandit and do not know her looks, then just to be more careful and make sure we're more or less safe - shoot any bandits on sight." Ibrahim was beginning to like the feeling of giving orders for once. It made him feel as if he was in charge of his own little gang or group, which he had always dreamt of. To be in charge of a squad. Being the man who gives commands. "Consider this your test run" Ibrahim thought to himself.
The group exited the station and faced some trains rotting away on the tracks, the red light of the post-emission sky and the rising sun making them even more dark than usual, giving the whole place an even grimmer atmosphere. Ibrahim had most of the important locations uploaded to his PDA, but then again he'd never been to more than half of them. "Follow my lead, spread out about five meters between each other, diamond formation. Sejanus, you and your man take the sides, I'll take the front" the Merc said to his companions, he then turned to his own man "You take the back". Giving orders sure made him feel good.
Ibrahim was taking his men to the scientist bunker, the eggheads would sure know something about the Oasis. Ibrahim headed down the hill. The dead grass and cracked ground crunching beneath their feet. The clouds were beginning to cover the sky once again, making Jupiter fall into it's normal state of darkness, making every stalker feel forgotten and alone in this barren, God-forsaken land. In the swamp to their right Ibrahim heard the howling of dogs and some commotion from the other mutants, but didn't pay them much mind, when suddenly the sniper covering the back shouted, his voice trembling with fear "D-d-dogs! And boars! Snorks!". Ibrahim unslung his gun and turned to face the swamp, so did the other men. A large group of monsters was gathering on the edge of the swamp, some already making their way fast towards the Mercs. "Fire!" Ibrahim shouted, thinking afterwards that they all would've probably had the sense to fire without him telling them to do so, making the command seem childish and unnecessary. The guns rattled as the ground next to the monsters was dug up by bullets. Some dogs went down, their heads bursting and bits of skull and brains flying away. Ibrahim's heart skipped as a pseudo-dig leapt forward baring it's fangs and claws, but it's life was cut short by a sniper bullet penetrating the dog's skull. The dead body still had it's momentum and flew straight into Ibrahim, knocking him down and causing him to drop his Galil. As he pulled the body off of him and grabbed his gun he heard curses and the roaring of monsters all around him. The Merc got up and saw that he was now in the middle of the mayhem. The sniper was lying on the bloody ground, clutching his leg and shooting at the dogs with his pistol. Sejanus and his man were standing back to back trying to keep the boars at a distance and a snork was heading right towards Ibrahim. The Chechen raised his gun and pulled the trigger, but only a clicking sound followed. The gun jammed. He dropped it to the ground as he tried to reach for one of his PMs only to get knocked down to the ground once again. The Chechen and the beast were rolling down the slope in a deadly embrace, hands around each others necks. When they reached the bottom Ibrahim got the advantage and pinned the monster beneath him. With one hand keeping the snork down by the neck, it's ugly fingers trying to get to his face and occasionally deeply scratching it, with the other hand he reached out for a nearby rock and put the weight of it down on the gas-mask that covered the white flesh of the once human face. A few smacks did the job and Ibrahim was now again free to move. The moment he got to his feet he remembered the words of his commander "Radio me if you need any help". Instantly after the though Ibrahim pulled out his PDA and sent a distress signal to Karc, hoping he would reach them in time and that he would be enough help to fight off the onslaught of the beast, which were now pouring from the areas nearby, not only from the swamp.
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Post by Karcentric on Mar 30, 2013 14:06:51 GMT -5
“Don’t you want to know who,” Lisbet asked as the man began to walk out of the door he stopped and turned to face her once more.
“I think you know him well,” she continued pulling out a vial of clear liquid and rolled it around her fingers, “the bandit with the long hair and SEVA suit… tell me how much would a sample of this go for, surely you have connections.”
Spinning around he had to mentally stop himself from saying something abusive, "You are aware that telling me that only confirms that YOU," pointing at her and stepping forward as he spoke, "admit to giving the vial to some bandit, if you think anyone is interested in vials of mutant attracting pheromone, you're out of your damn mind."
Just as he said that he got a distress signal from Ibrahim.
"And now your handiwork has struck again, I hope working for a corrupt fool like Yorick ends terribly for you. I hope you come to the worst end possible." Karc ground out, malice lined his word. Leaving he started tracking the signal, it wasn't far away. Shots, raised voices and mutant sounds could be heard from the bunker's door.
Flicking his shoulder the assault slide on it's strap into his waiting hand, and he took off, sprinting toward the group, as he came over the ridge and into view he instantly saw an almost biblical amount of mutants bounding around, biting, clawing and pouncing at the besieged group.
Firing a burst at a group of dogs, they yelped as bullets slammed into and around them, a couple slumped down dead. Moving closer to the group he saw the sniper that had come along was grounded but still fighting, Ibrahim was up and firing and the other mercs were working as a team on a pack of boars. Ignoring common sense he sprinted towards the group only shooting what was directly in front of him, the sniper was getting swamped by mutants as Karc neared, using the momentum of his speed he kicked at the mutant, clearing them away from his chest and face.
Firing at anything that neared the injured an, Karc yelled frantically to Ibrahim, "Make for the station! Just run, GO!" A nod confirmed the order. Sejanus' men looked around wildly as Ibrahim, sprinted past them heading for the station. "Follow him! Head for the station!" Karc shouted, as he changed mags as quickly as he could while avoiding getting attacked, lacking the pheromone on him or his gear, the mutants were partially less interested in him. Firing at another charging boar several body shot peppered the mutant, before a shot through the eye dropped the beast.
"Come on!" Karc exclaimed pulling the injured merc up and helping him move, still firing on beasts as they snapped at them, the sniper struck at one dog as it lunged for him, throwing himself off balance, making Karc stumble, but held them up. As they moved they gained a rhythm and were able to move a little faster, finally the station was in sight, as was the group they'd slowed a little to help Karc and the sniper, one of Sejanus' men ran down and helped, running for the station, Karc knew they'd never let them in with this many mutants in pursuit.
"Head for the tower!" Karc shouted, as he said that a boar crashed into Karc's legs making him stumble and falter, dropping to his knees painfully, he had time to look up and see a boar charge right into him, colliding head to head, things went dark very quickly after that and he blacked out.
Coming to Karc sat up, hands on his forehead a splitting headache crashed through his head, the sound of firearms and mutants again greeted him, but he was staring at a wooden roof. Looking around he saw the sniper propped by the window, leg bandaged picking off mutants as they came into his field of view.
He spied his bag and weapons on a small table, looking around more as his head spun less and less, we saw a small female crouched in a dark corner. Stirring he pushed himself up to a groggy standing.
((Edgy post is edgy))
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Post by Lysander on Mar 30, 2013 15:38:11 GMT -5
Sejanus had been impressed with the Yanov station, he hadn't expected so much organisation from a group of non-professionals, vagabonds and thieves like the stalkers; but the information he had been given had been inaccurate in almost every way so he'd come to rely more on what his senses told him.
What they told him now, was that seemingly endless horde of foul smelling mutants had taken the group unawares and left them with no option but to defend themselves. One of their number - the sniper that his praetorian had been forming a bond with had already fallen to the claws and hooves of the stunted horde; Ibrahim, their apparent leader had fallen to the ground with a snork atop him as his gun jammed. Sejanus however, was unhurt - relying on the techniques taught to him by his militaristic father to carry him through this fight. Taking single shots at the fast movers, either crippling them or shooting them in the head. Despite this technique, the horde were too many and his ACR had run dry, leaving him with only his pistol, gauntlet and longsword which he had not drawn thus far. The Praetorian fired his pistol into the bloated cranium of a charging boar, sending pieces of skull and grey brain matter everywhere and causing the corpse to fall, tripping several other mutants as they failed to see its weighty mass falling to the ground as they charged headlong towards the group. His beleaguered legionnaire had also run out of bullets, but was using his small sword to cut his way through the mutants, sidestepping them and stabbing them as they ran past.
Just as the mutants threatened to overwhelm them, gunshots sounded from over the ridge accompanied by Karc. He fired wildly into the crowds as he ran down to Ibrahim and the overwhelmed mercenary. "Cover him." Sejanus shouted as he shot another boar. His pistol clicked as it ran dry and the mercenary drew his sword before charging at a snork coming towards him and beheading it. He turned to see Karc kicking mutants and Ibrahim running away up the slope.
"Follow him! Head for the station!" Karc shouted as he helped the injured sniper to his feet. Sejanus, realising that there was no way that the pair were going to make it without help, refused to move. His legionnaire had obviously gotten the same idea as he was running back to the sniper already. Sejanus flanked the three mercs as they made their way towards the station, hacking at anything that came to close to them with his sword.
Despite their efforts, the mutant horde were faster and greater in number than they were, even as Ibrahim joined them Sejanus was ready to sacrifice himself to buy them some more time. "Head for the tower!" Karc screamed, pointing to a squat and inoffensive red brick tower just outside the Yanov perimeter. At that moment, an errant boar, far ahead of the pack crashed into the mercenary's legs and he buckled - falling to the ground and passing out. Sejanus quickly dispatched the monster, standing over the prone Karc to protect him.
"Ibrahim!" He called. "Drag him to the tower, I'll cover you as we go." Sejanus picked up Karc's rifle, and started to fire at the mutants taking a few steps backwards and then firing again as the others ran to safety. The group continued in this fashion until they were at the base of the tower, as they reached its door, Ibrahim kicked it in with a heavy boot and dragged the Karc inside, Sejanus and the others followed and soon the cacophony outside was muffled as they slammed and barred the door. "Take the door, don't let anything get in." He said to his legionnaire as he laid Karc's weapon on the floor next to him. "Use this if you have to." He then turned to Ibrahim, who was slumped against the wall, breathing heavily and wiping the grime of battle from his sunglasses. "That was close brother. We need to get your friend here so we can see to him, I'll take point." He helped the sniper up and bandaged his wounds as best he could and turned to lead the way up the stairs.
When they reached the top, Sejanus cautiously opened the door to the only room - it creaked as it swung open revealing an unexpected sight. A small, dirty woman wearing a poncho sat in a dusty corner of the peeling room, she raised her head to look at them but did nothing else, the sniper went immediately to the window so he could take potshots at the mutants seething at the base of the tower, Ibrahim removed Karc's gear and started to administer a strange substance to the man's skin. Meanwhile, the woman was still staring at Sejanus. There was something unnerving about that stare, something that spoke of a half forgotten nightmare that flashes before your eyes as you move through the day, something that spoke of insanity of a level unheard of out in the real world. He didn't like that stare.
"You." Sejanus levelled his blade her. "Tell us your name, o mysterious stranger."
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Post by blackpapermoon on Mar 31, 2013 10:37:43 GMT -5
Ferret had collected what he needed to know about Balalaika from Adder the psychotic sniper was sick and from the details he’d been give it would seem that she was very weak as well. He retreated into the basement as there was not a soul present, finding a semi-clean mat he rested himself down, after pulling his hood up he let his mutation take over. It all started the same a clearness of mind followed by the loss of the feeling in his limbs. A floating sensation that was followed by the dark room becoming unholy bright before finally he was free of his physical form.
Following up the stairs into the commons he avoided any of the stalkers milling about the station, waiting for someone to open the door he left without causing any odd disturbances. Once outside of Yanov he noted a commotion between a few mercenaries and a group of dogs and boars.
‘Bastards must have really kicked the Snork’s den,’ he thought ‘still better see if I can help them out.’
The group of Mercs had found a way into the tall brick tower that over looked Yanov station, the dogs and boars still trying to get into the building. With much effort he focused some of his energy into shockwaves in hopes of scattering the beasts before they could knock down the door.
The first one stunned the mutants but soon they went right back to try to claws at the old door, so he tried once more this time with more results, as he managed to chase away a few of the dogs but the majority of the hounds and the boar still worked away at the door. The third shockwave sent the rest running. After clearing the way he opened the door and ascended the stairway, where he found an oddly dressed Merc pointing a sword a sickly looking woman. The woman had white hair and looked vaguely familiar.
He materialized in front of the girl.
“I’m not sure if where you’re from pointing a weapon at someone is an acceptable way of saying hi,” the specter voiced hiding his face with his hood to make him look like any other Freedomer,” but it’s sure as hell not here.”
“Your mutant problem is gone now, “he continued, “You should take your friend to see a medic and kindly leave here.” ____________________________________________________
Spinning around he had to mentally stop himself from saying something abusive, "You are aware that telling me that only confirms that YOU," pointing at her and stepping forward as he spoke, "admit to giving the vial to some bandit, if you think anyone is interested in vials of mutant attracting pheromone, you're out of your damn mind."
Just as he said that he got a distress signal from Ibrahim.
"And now your handiwork has struck again, I hope working for a corrupt fool like Yorick ends terribly for you. I hope you come to the worst end possible."
Lisbet only smiled blearily able to contain a laugh that bellowed up from her stomach, hold her elbows she let it out. She cared not for the lives of some fool Mercenaries, and this Karc did not seem to understand that. They would die to help protect the advancement of human understanding something she had already dedicated her life towards. Her laughter continued and echoed throughout the halls of the lab, she found this all way to assuming.
After a while her laughter died down, Karc was going to become a problem later on, putting the sample back into the hidden compartment she then locked it.
She pulled out her PDA and contacted the mysterious leader of the Mercenaries. He had been so grateful to her after she had helped him with a medical condition, and did owe her a favor or two. She was sure that she could not remove Karc from the zone but she could remove him from her hair.
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Post by nuclearstorm on Mar 31, 2013 11:59:06 GMT -5
Giovanni walked up to Ferret as he talked with Adder, bringing along a small bowl of pasta. Giovanni noticed Adder's odd eyes and wondered to himself how many mutants were in the zone. He thought mutants to be frightening, holding power much more than other men as far as he had seen, but he had also seen Ferret's kindness and now knew that however frightening their appearance or power, they were still human. Seeing that what was likely Ferret's superior was also a mutant made Giovanni cautious about joining the faction, but remembering that their mutations did not require cruelty he decided that having more mutants as friends would further ensure safety and he began to feel more optimistic for the first time since entering the zone.
"Hello! You must be from freedom, yes?" He spoke to Adder, "Sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping I could join up with you guys. I can't really fight much, but I can cook well! Here, try my pasta!"
He held out the bowl of pasta, awaiting Adder's approval.
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Post by Basil on Mar 31, 2013 12:46:42 GMT -5
Not-Balalaika had fallen into a fever-ridden slumber by the time the mercenaries showed up. She was completely unaware of what was going on outside, her mind occupied by ghastly visions of snarling pseudo-dogs, distant screams and skies as red as blood. She became vaguely aware of heavy boots thudding up the stairs, but her mind simply integrated those into her fever dreams. As the mercs climbed the stairs she found herself dreaming of an enormous pseudo-giant chasing her through a forest of old and twisted antennae. As she ran from the abomination, she saw a familiar, skinny woman standing atop a nearby hill. Her hair was short and red and her eyes shone in the dark like those of a cat.
Not-Balalaika woke with a start. Her pale skin was again slick with sweat and she was huddled up on the floor, her poncho wrapped around her like a crude blanket. Her Kalachnikov lay beneath her, its folding stock digging uncomfortably into her ribs. Feeling dizzy and nauseous, Balalaika straightened up and gave the room a vague glance.
When she saw the armed and armoured men standing before her she blinked. Was she dreaming again? Perhaps her fever was making her see things? It was when one of them spoke to her that she started to consider them as real humans. It also took her a while to see the object the man was pointing at her: a blade of some kind.
"What...?", she rasped. The simple and confused question brought about another coughing fit that left her shoulders shaking pathetically in her dirty poncho.
"I'm...", she started before trailing off. The name 'Balalaika' came to mind, but it sounded terribly wrong and she had a feeling that using it would only bring her more trouble.
"I'm Blank", she said finally. The name was stupid but bland. It would do for now.
Just then, a hooded figure appeared out of nowhere, standing right in front of her and obscuring her view. She was so shocked by this apparition that she felt her fevered mind topple into confusion, and her vision swam.
"If...if anyone has some antibiotics at hand...", she said, "I'm ill, I have a fever and I think I might be seeing shit again..."
Adder raised an eyebrow as Ferret departed. He seemed quite confident that he'd be able to safely find Balalaika. Her doubts in the white-haired stalker's abilities were cast aside when a diminutive, Mediterranean-looking man came over to her. He seemed to be holding a bowl of pasta, much to Adder's surprise.
"Hello", said the man in strongly accented Ukrainian, "you must be from Freedom, yes? I was hoping I could join up with you guys. I can't really fight much, but I can cook well! Here, try my pasta!"
The small man held out his bowl of pasta, and Adder gave him one of those gauging reptilian gazes that unsettled people so much. She was genuinely surprised to see pasta in the Zone and found herself wondering where the hell he had found it. Freedom already had a cook called Fungus, who managed to make tinned food taste even worse than it already did. The fact that this man couldn't fight (at least he was being honest) wasn't a good sign...
"All right then", said Adder, taking an old spork out of her rucksack. She took the pasta and stuck her spork in it, dragging a good portion up to her mouth. She bit down on it and chewed slowly, savouring the food.
"Well...", she said with her mouth half-full, "I haven't eaten any pasta since I entered the damn Zone. Where did you even get this stuff? Military? If you have a good source for this we'll take you up. We're tired of fire-cooked Tourist's Delight."
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Post by Karcentric on Apr 1, 2013 5:47:38 GMT -5
Shaking his head as he saw the man materialise out of thin air. And speak with the woman.
Walking over cautiously as he neared he poked where the man's shoulder was but his hand continued, without resistance.
"If...if anyone has some antibiotics at hand...", she said, "I'm ill, I have a fever and I think I might be seeing shit again..."
Drawing his falchion, he passed it through the torso, again with no resistance.
"What in the fuck..." Karc muttered, sheathing the blade.
“Your mutant problem is gone now,“ the sprite said, “You should take your friend to see a medic and kindly leave here.”
Walking through him Karc turned and spoke. "Oh is it now? The mutants will regroup and chase again, you just scared them off for a while." He said, sarcasm dripping from his words, "They aren't hungry they are being drawn to us by that smug little bitch in the lab. She gave someone pheromones to attract mutants and they put it on our gear."
"I don't know what your doing here but while I appreciate that you helped us, I strongly advise you "kindly" piss off now." Karc said, looking to Blank who was indeed looking like death. He crouched pressing his hand on her forehead, her temperature was very high.
Snagging his bag by a strap he dragged it over, and fished through it, revealing a small canvas bag with a red cross on it. Carefully unloading the contents, looking for painkillers.
"Ah ha!" He exclaimed, opening the box cutting off a tab of 2 tablets, and plonking a bottle of water on the ground.
"Take these, they'll help bring your temperature down." Karc said as he repacked his little first aid kit and put it back in his bag. "Try to rest for a little bit, while we plan or next move, I'll take to the medic in the station soon."
Standing he left Blank to take the painkillers, and went to assemble the mercs.
Sajanus was still looking suspicious after the specter had disarmed him.
"Gather your men, we were set up to get attacked. I'll explain when Ibrahim gets here." Karc said.
About half a minute passed and Ibrahim and some of Sejanus' men came up the stairs.
"Okay, gather round," Karc said, keeping his voice low, "as you've been unfortunate enough to find out someone set us up. And while I know who set us up, there's fuck all we can do... unless they show themselves out side of their safe, enclosed environment."
Looks of confusion were what saw as he gauged the group.
"Professor Fossen is the one who set us up, while she is in good standing with some mercs, she pushes her luck with this. She used a pheromone that attracted the mutants, chances are there's a dab on the bottom of you packs. Use alcohol to clean it off. But first, we need to talk about our original mission, that's been scraped since we've lost track of Yorick and his niece, which means Sejanus, your mission now takes precedent, we'll hunt for this artifact and this oasis."
Karc said, shifting his weight and continuing.
"But first we'll take this young lady to the medic down at the station. Savvy?" Karc said, as the mercs went off to clean their gear Karc went back to Blank and knelled again.
"Are you able to stand? I can carry you if you'd like, but I'm sure you'd rather not be lugged everywhere. As I said just before, the medic at the station has more meds more suitable to help your fever, but you'll need rest." Looking at the woman's face he thought he'd seen her before but shook his head, there weren't many women in the zone so their face wasn't hard to remember. "You know... You look kinda familiar." He said.
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Post by milch on Apr 1, 2013 13:21:12 GMT -5
It seemed like they were fighting those mutants for well over an hour, when in fact it's been only about 3-4 minutes. Fear crept slowly into Ibrahim's mind. Fear of Karc not being able to reach them in time, or being too busy with his own work, or simply not hearing the signal. Anything was possible and the more Ibrahim thought of it, the more dark his future seemed. Ibrahim had scrambled up the hill he was rolling down with the snork not so long ago, trying to find his rifle. The monsters weren't letting him do that though. The gun was only a few steps away from the Merc, but for every step he took towards it he had to take two steps back under the pressure of the mutant onslaught. He had one of his automatic silenced PMs in one hand and the longest of his blades in the other. Taking attempted headshots at the mutants and thrusting the knife into them if they dared to get close enough. "This is it" Ibrahim thought to himself. That was going to be his end. 'Slaughtered by mutants' his gravestone would say, provided there was anything of him left after the monsters had their way with the corpses.
And then he heard gunshots from behind. Ibrahim slightly turned his head and with the corner of his eye he spied Karc charging towards the battle. That gave the Chechen a chance to snatch up his gun and quickly reload it. Karc sprinted past him with a short but straight to the point shout "Make for the station". And that Ibrahim did. He was never more willing to carry out an order from his boss than he was right then. He ran past Sejanus and his man and past Karc, who was already helping the sniper to his feet and telling others to head for the station as well. Ibrahim wanted to help, he truly did, but fear and the survival instinct had gotten the better of him. He slammed into the metal doors of Yanov only to find them shut. "Open up! Let us in!" Ibrahim screamed in his low voice with his thick Chechen accent to the guards inside. "Sorry, Mercs, but you're gunna have to find yourselves some other shelter. We can't risk everyone's lives here you see" came the reply. That drove the Merc mad, but he didn't show it. Ibrahim never showed his anger to anyone. Even to himself. "Anger is what kills men. Anger starts wars and anger triggers vengence. Anger does a man no good." his father had taught him when he was still a little boy and that Ibrahim remembered for the rest of his life. Ibrahim turned and saw Karc and Sejanus' man carrying the sniper. "Head for the tower" the Merc heard his boss' voice over the sound of gunfire and shrieks and growls. And then the boar appeared seemingly out of nowhere. It knocked down Karc and then knocked him out cold. "Karc!" Ibrahim let out a shout of despair. The only man he fully trusted and truly respected in the whole Zone wasn't going to get killed by a boar. Sejanus took care of the beast, while Ibrahim slung Karc over his left shoulder and made his way to the tower, shooting from the hip with his Galil in his right hand.
Ibrahim kicked in the door and ran up the flight of stairs to the next floor. He heard the door slam shut behind him and only then allowed himself to place his boss carefully onto the floor and sit beside him. Only then Ibrahim noticed that he was soaked with sweat, blood and dirt. He took off his Merc vest and threw it beside him, revealing a white tank-top which was also drenched in sweat, but that would have to do for now. His mentor was wounded and he needed to see to those wounds before they festered. The Chechen pulled off Karc's helm and saw that the skin on his forehead has split when the boar rammed it. Ibrahim pulled a first-aid kit from his back and a bottle of vodka and got to work. After the wound was cleaned and bandaged he saw to the other wounds treating the worst ones with his mixture of some Stone Blood and water. After he was done taking care of his boss' wounds he moved on to Sejanus' man and after that he would've treated the sniper as well had he not moved upstairs to pick off mutants. While he was doing that he didn't notice how Karc awoke and went upstairs. Only in the end Ibrahim realized that his face was bleeding and bleeding badly. The snork whose head he smashed in with the rock left him nice deep scars with those ugly hard long nails of it's which some stalkers even called claws. He sterilised the wound and then opened up one of the artifact containers on his belt containing the Slime. He rubbed the jelly substance in his hand and then rubbed his left cheek with that hand. The slime from the artifact stopped the bleeding and momentarily clotted the blood, while the mixture of Stone Blood healed the wound, leaving only scars, which forever would remind Ibrahim of this day. There were now four paralell scars on his left cheek all the way from his ear to the corner of his mouth. But scars suit men, the saying went.
When that was done he climbed yet another set of stairs, followed closely by Sejanus' man and found quite a strange company. A wounded sniper, a fanatical praetorian with gilded armor pieces, his boss, death herself and a ghost. A ghost?! Ibrahim wasn't sure whether he was just seeing things at first, but when it spoke to Karc and he respinded he was sure as hell that it was a ghost. "Oh, the things I see in this God-forsaken land." And then came Karc's speech. As he went on Ibrahim experienced mixed feelings. Not understanding at first, then anger, disappointment, but most of all - foolishness. He had been tricked by a woman. A girl even! And an egghead as well. Using Ibrahim's constant will to help people to lure them into a death trap. "Anger triggers vengeance" his father was sure right. And vengeance and anger kill men for sure, but they killed women just as well.
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