Post by blackpapermoon on Dec 20, 2012 2:17:57 GMT -5
Swift walked alongside the train tracks, it had been four days and she had yet to see a locomotive go either up or down the tracks. The last vehicle she had seen was a truck that stalkers had used to get farther away from Chernobyl after the monorail ride. She saw how fast men deserted their respective factions and ban together in small groups, some to get home, others for nefarious and greedy reasons and yet others just for survival.
She fell into that first group; home was many thousands of miles away. She was sick of being away; she was tired of being a merc and a soldier. She had been abandon by her country, but not by the home she had left and her duty was to it now. Not the world, not the Mercenaries and not to America, just her people. That was not saying that Swift would not stop to help others, she was grateful to the men and women that had helped her to get this far and would return the favor if she could.
She could see a station not all that far off in the distant, but it was still almost an hour walk away. She had been walking since late morning yesterday, and the thought of a place to rest was by that time very welcoming. Getting a second wind, she continued on, hoping to at least find a neutral group, or maybe a small stash.
She neared the station, all was quiet as an uncomfortable stillness hung in the air. A Vortex paused nearby, kicking up dust and debris as it fluctuated the pull of gravity. Swift took the rifle from off her back, and with slow cautious steps crept closer to the building. There was blood and spent bullet casings on the ground.
Swift switched her assault rifle for the pistol and activated her night vision before entering. All was quite just for the Vortex and a buzzing, like one would hear if they came upon apiary or a nest.
She slowly crept into the main room of the station; the sound of the buzzing was the strongest here. Cocoons of thick paper like material covered the floors, walls and extended up to the ceiling. From one of the layers of paper a skeletal arm stuck out. Swift backed away slowly when suddenly something flew passed her head nearly taking it off.
Instinct took over, without thinking she turned and shot before even getting a good look at the beast that tried to kill her. What she saw before her was a strange wasp like creature, it was the size of a smaller dog, and had a yellowish gray like exoskeleton. One of its green eyes oozed a thick orange liquid where her bullet had smashed into its head. She didn’t have time to gawk at this new creature as more of its kin where started to awaken.
Making a mad dash for the door she pulled, a rather nasty surprise from one of her vest pockets. An F1 Grenade, her last one in fact was her trump card, pulling the pin he chucked it behind her. A blast rocked the station, as Swift took cover in the embankment. The blast was much bigger then she had expected, the shock wave sent her flying a good five feet. Slowly getting to her feet she saw that the station was on fire. The smell of gas was strong, indicating that the blast of her grenade had hit a gas main.
She stood watching the devastation, from the top of a hillock a safe distant away, the fire would burn for hours but due to the recent spell of wet weather would not spread. She knew very well that there would be nothing left to salvage, but she had to make sure of it. Soon it began to rain and continued to do so until the early morning.
With caution she venture back to the ruins after the rain had passed, as she anticipated there was nothing but burned wreckage. However yesterday she had been unaware of a shed that had been behind the station. Shooting off the lock she found that inside was an old gas powered trolley, as well as a total of four small fuel tanks.
“Nice to see that there is some higher power looking after my ass,” the ex-mercenary muttered out, the lack of rest was starting to take its toll. She pushed the cart on to the tracks and started up the engine, and soon was on her way. Still on guard she watched the country side as she passed by, plotting out her next move. If she could make it to West Germany, she would find one of the US army bases. She didn’t know if they had been abandoned or if they were still manned, but they would at least be a place for her to resupply.