|
Post by blackpapermoon on Oct 12, 2011 11:33:10 GMT -5
The winter was still in its prime but Freedom was still in shambles, and was in desperate need of new blood. This was the reason for the assignment that Ferret was about to undertake. He and Wasp where going to sneak into the cordon and try to convince some of the loners to join them. Duty had been recruiting in the south for a long time, and they always had a steady stream of fresh recruits. Freedom was going to cut into that stream.
Ferret held his hands out to the fire for one last time, trying to retain as much of the fire’s warmth as he could before moving out. He had on a long ragged coat that he had scavenged from the corpse of a bandit sometime in the past, however he knew once they hit the cordon he would have to ditch it. The loners of rookie village where known for their paranoia of bandits.
“Ready to go little boss,” he asked as he wrapped a scarf around his face, and picked up his gear. They were in Agroprom their rout would take then they would pick their way through the swamps into the cordon, and he wanted to get going before the snow started up again.
|
|
|
Post by Basil on Oct 12, 2011 11:57:49 GMT -5
"Stop calling me that...", said Wasp before standing up. Her arms and legs were stiff from the cold, and her boots were encrusted with snow. She was wearing the sort of suit a simple loner would wear. A reinforced Sunrise with an old telogreika underneath for warmth.
Ferret's habit of calling her 'little boss' was irritating, but today she simply didn't feel like putting more energy into telling him to shut up. After putting the fire out by throwing snow and dirt on it, the two stalkers headed South. Their temporary camp had been set up at the end of a particularly toxic pond in which a lot of old materiel had been dumped at some point, and as they walked along the edge of the water and its poisonous exhalations, Wasp began to cough. She broke into a short but thunderous coughing fit that left her gasping for air.
"Jesus...", she said. "I must be coming down with a cold or some shit. C'mon, let's get away from this filthy old pond."
The two stalkers hurried past the toxic waters and soon reached a small copse of trees near the road that lead to the Agroprom Institute. Wasp watched the road for a few minutes to make sure there were no patrols.
"Looks like the coast is clear", she said. "All the soldiers must be back at the base, warming themselves in front of a nice fire."
|
|
|
Post by blackpapermoon on Oct 12, 2011 13:11:18 GMT -5
“Let’s hope that they are,” Ferret said his voice muffled by his scarf, “it would be a very sad day if those jar heads where to sneak up on us.”
They had yet to run into any of the zone’s nastier denizens, and so far, the only thing that hinder them was the cold. He was not looking forward to the trip into the swamps; he had heard the tales of The swamp creature and was not particularly interested in meeting it.
They continued traveling onward on the snow covered road, when the telltale sign of a bloodsucker where heard. After months of being up in the Military Warehouses he had become very skilled at taking out the mutants, he had his weapon at the ready wait for the slights hit of movement. The air was still and full of tension , but the beast had yet to show itself. Until the creature gave out a roar and something leaped over the two freedomers’ heads and drop a large object. After a few moments of silence Ferret looked down to see what was drop then gasped.
There on the ground was the blood drained husk of a solider.
|
|
|
Post by Basil on Oct 12, 2011 13:30:23 GMT -5
"Well, would you look at that", said Wasp, grabbing her Protecta shotgun. "Looks like the soldiers on patrol ran into a bloodsucker."
Another roar resonated over the cold, snowy landscape of the Agroprom area. Wasp muttered to herself before saying, more clearly:
"Fucking bloodsuckers."
She kept an eye out for the mutant. Its ugly, hissing breath could be heard, but she couldn't tell from where it was coming. Suddenly, she saw some snow get tossed into the air, as if something had run through it.
"Found you, you bastard".
Wasp immediately opened fire in the area where the snow had moved. With the second shot came a spurt of blood from seemingly empty air and an animalistic cry of rage and pain. As she looked more closely, she saw footprints and blood forming in the snow as the injured bloodsucker limped closer to where she and Ferret stood. She fired three more times, the final shot ripping the bloodsucker's gut open and killing it. As the mutant fell and died, its camouflage faded away, revealing its true form to the two stalkers. An ugly black creature with patches of fur on its humanoid body.
"Ugly fucker", she said. "Come on, Ferret, let's move before more of them show up."
Wasp took a few steps towards the dead mutant and kicked it. As she did so, she coughed again. She made a mental note to go find a doctor at the Cordon (if there was one). A cold could turn into pneumonia pretty easily in the Zone, and that spelled death.
|
|
|
Post by blackpapermoon on Oct 12, 2011 21:55:56 GMT -5
“That cough sounds nasty,” said Ferret bluntly, rifling through the dead soldier’s pockets, “hope that the captain trips aren’t making a comeback, or whatever it is, is not contagious.”
After looting a bandage and a few doses of Antirad off the dead man, he stood up and looked at the now dead bloodsucker.
Agreeing full heartily with Wasp they left the bodies behind and continued down the road. They soon where nearing the path that would take them into the Great Swamps, the snow acting as a marker for the Gravitational anomalies that dotted the path. However, the various snow drifts where becoming strenuous to walk through, some of the mounds of snow being waist deep.
“I hate snow,” said the ex-bandit grumpily, “pain in the ass to walk through and no matter what you do you leave a trail.”
|
|
|
Post by Basil on Oct 13, 2011 3:22:58 GMT -5
"I was one of those who had the Trips", said Wasp. "When Adder came back with the antidote it felt like a saint had just walked into hell to deliver us all."
The two stalkers continued to go South, encountering no further opposition. After safely going past the old Institute (Wasp saw a few sentries in the watch towers), the snow started to get deeper, which made walking much harder and slowed them down considerably.
"I used to love snow as a kid", said Wasp, in answer to Ferret's comment. "But now, I have to agree with you. We should have smuggled some snow shoes into the warehouses before setting out."
At least the deep snow revealed where the gravitational anomalies were. It would also make any attack by nearby predators easier to fight, but harder to escape since both parties would be equally bogged down by the snow.
As Wasp and Ferret made their way around a Whirligig, Wasp bumped into something. She looked down and saw a gloved hand sticking out of the snow, and after clearing the snow away, she made a grisly discovery: a dead stalker, buried in the snow. He had a couple of bullet wounds in his upper torso. Had he been shot by the military before managing to crawl here and slowly dying of blood loss and hypothermia? They would never know.
The journey to the swamps was long and tiresome. Wasp had no more coughing fits, thankfully enough, although when they finally arrived at the old railway line that marked the entrance to the swamps, her feet were numb from the cold. The two stalkers stopped for a rest, and Wasp removed her boots to rub some heat back into her cold feet. Thankfully, the snow here seemed less thick than back at Agroprom.
"I heard", said Wasp, putting her boots back on. "That there used to be a faction of some kind in these swamps. Kind of like the Ecologists up at Yantar, but secret. Think they're still around?"
|
|
|
Post by blackpapermoon on Oct 13, 2011 12:05:29 GMT -5
“Yeah I heard of them too,” said Ferret his arms crossed in an attempt to keep warm, “I was told that they had been wiped out by Bandits or something, but we might come across some of their stashes if we’re lucky.”
The taller Freedomer was now wishing that he dressed more warmly, but he suspected that it would have not made much difference. At the very least, he was grateful to have good winter boots; he soon remembered that he once had distant relatives that had once lived in the swampy area.
“You know,” he said trying to find some way to get his mind off the cold, “I had family that once lived here, moved out after the 1986 disaster.”
|
|
|
Post by Basil on Oct 13, 2011 13:25:42 GMT -5
"Really?", said Wasp, gazing away at the swamp that lay ahead of them. "If you don't mind me asking, where did they live?"
From what Wasp knew there were one or two abandoned settlements in the swamps. From where she and Ferret were standing, Wasp could see the ancient and partly collapsed spires of an old church off to the South-East. At first glance, the swamps seemed pretty deserted. There was no movement in the reedy, snowy expanses, no smoke, no animal cries or distant human voices.
Wasp knew better, though. She pulled some binoculars out of her bag and began to watch the area. Her inspection revealed a small herd of fleshes on one of the swamp's radioactive isles, as well as a solitary wild boar prowling the reeds around an abandoned and corroded Soviet lorry.
"I see fleshes and boars", said Wasp, putting her binoculars away. "Shouldn't be too hard to avoid."
|
|
|
Post by blackpapermoon on Oct 13, 2011 14:45:24 GMT -5
“They use to live in a small village to the east of here,” said Ferret his memory cloudy but still intact, “I’d be amazed if any of the hovels where still standing.”
The Swamps held a peculiar stillness to them; they did not have the same ominous presence that other parts of the zone had. If it were not for the few anomalies, radiation and the mutated swine that Wasp had pointed out, one would think it was just like any Swampy area in Ukraine. It almost felt safe hear, but any stalker who had gone deeper into the zone then the garbage knew better. There was always something in this godless place that wanted to kill you.
“Well, best we start moving out,” he said having fully caught his breath, “might want to tell me about what it was like at Rookie Village, on account of being a bandit the only thing I could expect from there was a bullet.”
|
|
|
Post by Basil on Oct 16, 2011 9:25:23 GMT -5
Wasp rubbed her eyes slightly and tried to jog her memory. So many things had happened to her since she'd left the Cordon...although most of the memories she had regarding her first days in the Zone were not very pleasant. It had rained during most of her sojourn there, and she'd been forced to trudge around the Cordon area with nothing but an old leather jacket, jeans and walking boots to keep her dry and warm. Her gas mask had also proved to be woefully ineffective at protecting her from radiation, as none of its filters were good.
It would probably have been better if she'd learned about that before she went hunting for artefacts around the old train. Her dosimetre had gone wild up there...
"Well, the Rookie village isn't anything special. It's just a bunch of old houses that newbies live in...there's Wolf, who protects and guides the rookies, and then there's Sidorovich, who steals their money...I blew half my cash on an M16 he had for sale. Damn thing didn't work at all, it was all nice and clean on the outside, but was completely rusted on the inside."
The two stalkers made it down the snowy slope into the swamps. Wasp briefly paused to keep an ear out for any suspicious activity before adding:
"As for your history with the bandits, nobody will give a shit unless you were well known or they can read thoughts."
|
|
|
Post by blackpapermoon on Oct 18, 2011 15:21:10 GMT -5
“I hope your right,” mumbled Ferret, “otherwise this would be one very short trip.”
They made it passed the snow-covered hovels onto the road that lead to the cordon, the wind began to blow, signs that a winter storm was headed their way. The only thing that crossed the mind of the black haired Freedomer was a warm bed and a hot meal. He was sure that the bed part would be hard to find where they were going but hot food should be that much of a problem.
“I don’t think we’ll too much recruiting tonight,” he said rubbing his hand together, “this winter weather is kicking my ass.”
|
|
|
Post by Basil on Oct 23, 2011 17:07:22 GMT -5
The two Freedomers continued along the snow-covered road, their boots making soft crunching noises as they walked. The wind was getting up, blowing snow off the ground and making it fly over the ground like a small crystalline mist. The skin on Wasp's face was red from the cold, so she tugged her scarf up to cover her lips and nose. As she did so, she coughed again and cursed quietly.
Due to the weather, the road to the Cordon was entirely clear of mutants and stalkers. In fact, Wasp saw practically no signs of life whatsoever. After what seemed like an eternity, she and Ferret finally arrived at the Cordon, her tired eyes quickly recognising the railway line and its crashed train carriages despite the fact the area was almost entirely covered in snow.
"Here we are", she said, her voice hoarse from the cold. "The Cordon. There's a couple of old pig sheds down there, behind the trees. Night's coming quickly, so maybe we could seek shelter..."
Wasp didn't finish her sentence, as she suddenly burst into another coughing fit. The coughing became so violent that when it finally died down, Wasp felt dizzy. She took a couple of shaky breaths before saying:
"I think...I have a cold or something. Had that when I was a kid."
However, something at the back of her mind kept reminding her of what she had seen in the Dreamcatcher anomaly. She swept the thought aside and started to carefully make her way down the slope, so as not to slip.
|
|
|
Post by blackpapermoon on Oct 24, 2011 10:49:22 GMT -5
Stiffly Ferret made his way down the snow bank, the wind blowing at his back as his boots slipped slightly under him. Despite the elements working against him, he managed to remain up right. His dry lips had cracked and began to bleed; his face was raw from the harsh wind and his limbs where numb from the cold. A place to bunker down for the night would be a heaven in this frozen hell.
“We should stop by the eggheads bunker on the way back,” he said after he sucked the blood from his lips, the tangy copper taste filled his mouth, “get that cough of yours looked at, Freedom needs all of the able bodies it can get.”
They made it to the pig sheds, only to find the buildings long abandon. It would seem that the loners did not travel to far from the Rookie Village much anymore. Not that the ex-bandit could blame them, all of the Zones various factions kept near their bases, not daring to do battle with old man winter. The two freedomers had made a fire and now sat around it, the warm fire fought away the coldness. A can of tourist delight sat near the fire, heating the nourishing contents inside. The only domestic that was a allotted to the two at this time. The convenience; as little as it was, was welcomed by Ferret.
As his dinner cooked, he pulled out his PDA interested to see the latest news from the north, but only found complaints about the ill weather. As he put the device away, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the shiny metal. Studying his features, he realized that he had aged so much in just the handful of months that he had lived in the zone. His scarred face was still red and raw from the wind and dark circles hung under his eyes due to his late night excursions in Penumbra. He looked old and he felt even older .
Just then he noticed something gray in his hair, he took hold of a small lock of his black matted mane, and confirmed what he saw in the reflection. His hair was now slowly starting to gray, sighing he let the locks fall back to its place. There was no use in doing anything about it; he had long ago accepted that he was not going to have a long life span.
“Hope this storm lets up before morning,” he said wising not to focus any longer on his mortality, “otherwise it’s going to be a bitch of a hike.”
|
|
|
Post by Basil on Oct 25, 2011 18:06:26 GMT -5
Ludmila huddled in a corner of the building she and Ferret had taken refuge in. The warmth from the fire was palpable and welcome as the wind howled outside. She took out some tinned food and, after opening the tin, put it over the flames to cook its contents. She didn't pay too much attention to what Ferret was doing. Instead, she looked into the fire and pulled her hood back. Her blonde hair had grown over the past few weeks, and was now touching her shoulders. It was probably matted and dirty now, a sharp contrast to how finely combed and trimmed it used to be when she still lived in the Big Land.
"You said it', she said, in response to Ferret's remark. The contents of her tin seemed to have cooked nicely, and she withdrew it from the fire, placing it carefully on the floor and trying not to burn herself. She waited for it to cool off before taking out the small spoon she used for eating and digging into the tin's contents. Meat and vegetables in some kind of sauce. She tried to remember what real food tasted like, but found it hard to do so. Ludmila had been eating tinned or dried goods for too long.
"At least it's warm in here", she remarked, looking up from her dinner. "And we're out of the snow."
|
|
|
Post by blackpapermoon on Oct 26, 2011 9:03:05 GMT -5
“Nice call on the sheds Wasp,” said Ferret as he pulled his can of what he assumed was beef from the fire, “beats the hell out of trying to camp out in that tunnel near the outpost.”
After letting his food cool, he began to eat slowly using his knife as an eating utensil. The can meat whatever it may have been was not as good as he first thought it might have been, but it was far from the worst meal he had ever eaten. Moreover, it was hot, and at that moment that was all he cared about, but just then a troubling thought past through his mind.
“I’ve heard rumors that there have been sightings of more powerful mutants hanging around the outskirts of the Zone,” he said putting his can of food down to fetch his canteen, “ from the reports it sounded like a Chimera.”
After taking a drink, he put the cap back on the bottle and continued,
“I’ve already met one, left me with a memento,” he said indicating the scars on his face, “I’m not in a hurry to meet another one either. It might just be the military telling stories but I’m not sure.”
|
|