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  04:52:31  15 June 2004
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back with a vengeance


On forum: 07/31/2003

Message edited by:
06/15/2004 10:54:52
Messages: 1729
I edit the story so that it looked good. Before I read it through, do you want your story to make it into the contest? I can try my best to make it happen, I promise .

P.S- My first act as moderator! now, newbie killing, anyone? Just kidding.
  00:19:20  15 June 2004
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On forum: 05/25/2004

Message edited by:
06/15/2004 10:47:20
Messages: 78
Life of a Stalker

This is my first story i've ever written so don't judge it to harshly, plz give suggestions though.

All of my former life revolved around the bell, the want for rest and luxury, getting away from homework. I never thought I would have to worry about gathering food, or building shelter, have to worry about if I will live till tomorrow.

I used to live in Beverly Hills. My family was rich. I went to high school at a private school. In my life there was no struggle, no fear except maybe for an exam. I also never thought that I might walk in the shadows, speak to the evil to survive, or have the stench of death over me just for money. I never thought these would ever happen to me, and I might have been right if in the summer of 2012, I hadn't decided to go with my friends, Thomas, Jack, Lawrence, and Ella. Thomas was my best friend. He was great at science, but hated war or anything having to do with death. Jack was a little better about death. He was shy and was a great math student. Lawrence was what some people called a geek, shy, very smart, never heard of a gun. And Ella was always very excited, enthusiastic, and probably the toughest among us.

The days in The Zone go and by, like during the summer when you were young and in school. In The Zone, the sun is something only seen 2 or 3 hours of the day, the other part is grey and dreer. The sun seems as if it wants to come back, but something is holding it from us. Life in The Zone is one of betrayal, money means everything. And that's how I came to kill all that I have, mutants and humans alike.

The day was perfect for the mission, dark and cloudy good to give us a little cover. "Thomas and Ella, get in the back of the truck, cover yourself with the blankets. Jack, Lawrence, and I will get up to the front."

The five team group gathered in the kamaz truck to the designated positions. "Alright guys, this is the last mission to do before we have enough to pay the military. So keep your focus, remember we're going for the new sets of weapons for The Dealer." I don't how many times I've said those same words before, but even I was thinking this might be our last mission to have to do for The Dealer, unlikely but definitely something to die for, or kill for.

We'd been through heaven and hell to get enough money to get out. We could never seem to get enough money, we'd come only a few hundred rubles away from the goal but then one of us would get wounded and it would cost us money. One time we were even robbed which is a definite death sentence if you were caught by the ones you robbed. A few weeks later, we caught him and publicly killed him, but we never found the money again.

As we drew closer to the military camp, the sweat rolled down my temple. The military wanted us for doing the raids for The Dealer. Normally he would have given up someone for a reward, but since we made so much money for him it wouldn't be worth it.

Our scarves on, guns off of safety, and hearts racing, we were ready. In the secret of his office The Dealer said to me alone that this would be a very hard assignment, that must have been why he gave us the FN2000s for each of us with all accessories that we wanted. This would be hell.

As we got closer, we could see the guard's eyes glancing suspiciously at us. "Name, identification, and purpose."

"Alexei, Yirkov, and Lorenzo. 2819KU2, 726YU4, and J79302OP. Here to drop off weapons." The names were those of the real shipment drivers who we ambushed the day before. I just hope these scarves cover us up so they can't tell who we are.

"You're clear to pass, the officer doesn't like to wait for the shipments. But where's Yano."

"Got sick."

Being in The Zone for 2 years quite a feat if you were a stalker, the average lifetime was 3 or 4 months. The total amount of kills as a group comes to about 120 mutants and 14 stalkers, pretty good for a five person group. Over the years, we changed drastically. All were more calm and quiet, in many ways more mature, but yet what some would call villains, crooks, or murderers. All might be true, but out here it's kill or get killed, steal or be stolen from, barbaric, yes, but did we survive, yes that's all that matters.

Getting close to the objective point, I was thinking on my formal life of luxury and riches. I pushed it away, that was the old me and this is the new me. Two lives, when returning home I would have to choose which one to use. Then again I never thought what would happen after leaving my home, the dangerous, yet in some ways fulfilling Zone. Would my parents except the new change, even if they did I would never be the same again, maybe I should stay here. The thought never occurred to me, this life, this new way of living, is so apart from the outer world, so different I wouldn't know how to go back. Bestial instincts that are essential out here, are looked down upon in the world.

We got out. There were six guards all with FN2000s guarding another KAMAZ truck, that was our objective. Lawrence jumped, out throwing two grenades. There were some screams of pain then silence. Three more guards left, Jack and me got behind crates and shooting randomly hoping we hit something. Bullets were flying everywhere and while Lawrence gave me cover I moved closer to the guards. Another few shots to the head took out another, but the other two were now taking cover behind the crates. They were calling for reinforcements. "Get them quickly so we can get the hell out of here." Another grenade, more screams. It was done. Now we had to sprint the 50 meters get the cargo, and run back with it without being shot by the reinforcements.
The drum of helicopters was in the air, damn. "Ella, get in the truck and get it to our position." By now the drum had gotten bigger, 500 meters. Hurry get the cargo in, 300 meters. Get all of it, come on. 100 meters. Two rockets exploded right next to me, and the next thing I knew was darkness.

I looked down and saw the clouds, dark, brewing, always brewing, always storming. The plane was at 50,000 feet. "Ladies and gentlemen hold on, we seem to getting in the middle of a storm." I gripped my seat harder, saying to myself, "Why did I come, from the beginning this trip has sucked." The only one of us who seemed excited for Moscow was Ella.

Suddenly the speaker came on again, "Everyone get a mask on, we're starting to hit some turbulence." The speaker went out, but then a flash and we were going down. Another flash.

The next thing I knew, I was in a military truck. Next to me were Jack, Lawrence, and Ella, where is Thomas? Lawrence cried, "He's awake! Get him some water."

He got some water, and started to pour it all over me. Ella brought me a pill, and told me to swallow it. I started to feel better, then darkness again.

I woke up with a start, and my head hit a bunk above me, ouch. When I started to look around myself I knew I was in a jail cell. I looked to another bunk seeing

Lawrence. "What happened?"

"After the two rockets got you out, the mission was already compromised. They surrounded us and there wasn't any chance."

"Where's Thomas?"

"He's dead, they got him with the two rockets."

"God damn, we've got to get out of here!"

The next thing I saw was Thomas looking down at me. "Doc, is he alright?"

"A few days rest and he'll be alright."

"Thomas, where are we?"

"Beautiful Chernobyl. I already tried to tell the army that we were from America and had to leave. They won't listen! We've got to pay them."

"How much?"

"At least 100,000 rubles."

"We're screwed then."

"No, we're lucky. The plane crashed right outside what people call The Zone. All of us except you were fine except with a few broken bones." He chuckled.

"What happened next?"

"Well, you were lucky you didn't see what happened next. There were these things coming toward us. They were dogs, except ferocious and much larger. A few seconds later they were on us, the rest of the survivors were killed. The screams still linger in my head," he sighed then said, "you were damn lucky. We were lucky, too. We were caring for you in the back of the plane. By the time the dogs got close to us the military showed up. Everyone, slaughtered, mutilated."

The Dealer, big, fat, ugly, rich, and powerful. Chugging down his normal morning vodka he checked the news out. Nothing new, nothing new, wait, what is that. His fist slammed against the table, not good. "Gregor, get over to the Klasticka prison and pay the guards for their hospitality to their new prisoners. Bring 15000 rubles."
As The Dealer thought about how much the group now cost him, he smirked even more. They would have to pay him the 15,000 rubles plus interest.

"Get out, all of you! The Dealer has made an investment in you." The guard checking over the money, had a grin on his face.

The sun felt good on my face. I don't know how long I'd been in there, but it felt like ages. But then reality struck me. "We're going to have a hell of a time to pay off The Dealer. What the heck, at least we're out."

The thought of my best friend had almost left me. There was no burial, no prayer, no remembrance, no tear for Thomas. That was the life of us, that was the life of a stalker.
When we got to The Dealer's he was very upset. "You guys cost me a lot of money. 15,000 rubles, and unless you can pay me now, you'll have to pay interest," He knew we didn't have 15,000 rubles to give, "Or maybe I'll send you on another mission, this time there's no way I'm getting you outta trouble. A week or two ago there was a blackout, right in the middle of The Zone. There were some other stalkers I sent out to get in, but they didn't return. I want you to look for any artifacts. I'll pay you double then normal for each artifact. The scientist sissies are paying good money for any artifacts found, it must've been a big one."

"It'll be harder without Thomas, while he was usually the leader."

"If you want you can take someone else. Oh, and you can take as much gear as you want for this mission. It's going to be hell."

We carefully chose our gear. Me: SVU with silencer and hollow tip points, AK47 with grenade launcher also hollow tip points, the HP-SA with silencer and laser scope, and to top it all off a level 4 MYS suit, it's a heavy suit best used against other stalkers. Jack: FN2000 with 8X zoom scope, the grenade launcher RG-6, Beretta 92FS, and a level 5 MYM suit, best against mutants. Lawrence: Same as me. Ella: LR-300ML, FN2000, Beretta, and a level 5 MYS, which is perfect for fast maneuvers. Each of us had night vision goggles of course. The Dealer also gave us a little "treat", of course as always we have to bring it back. A nice little Niva 4X4.

The Dealer gave us a map of The Zone, and circled the area where we could most likely find the best artifacts. We got a good rest, and at midnight we left. Night was always the best hunting time for us. Being in The Zone for two years, our most important senses have been greatly improved, while the ones unused wither away.
As we got closer to our objective point I checked my watch for the time, four in the morning. Then suddenly up ahead were a group of blood suckers fighting some zombies. I stopped the car to see what was going on. The battle was huge, there were about 30 suckers and 75 zombies. I looked amongst the buildings to see where the controller was. "They're coming towards us!" Jack steadied his grenade launcher and shot three grenades. Bodies flew everywhere, and suddenly I heard a rumbling off in the distance.

"Helicopters!" Suddenly I got out my AK and started shooting off all the monsters. Ella and Lawrence started firing too. Something grabbed my back, I pulled out my Baretta and shot behind me. Hearing a scream I stopped. Another few grenades and another twelve more were gone. But now the drone of the helicopter got closer. Suddenly the two machine gun turrets started mowing down the mutants. They were dead, body parts everywhere, blood everywhere. The helicopter landed and seven military stalkers came out. The familiar FN2000s lowered. "Why are you here." One of the stalkers asked.

"We came to look for some artifacts." My finger moving slightly to the trigger of my AK
"I'm sorry but it's off limits. We work for the scientists, and only us. Either leave or we'll hang your carcasses on the wall to dry." Sweat rolling down my body, what to do? I pulled the gun up and started shooting. Lawrence and Ella put their guns up too and shot. Jack shot his grenade launcher at the helicopter. The other stalkers fell in a matter of seconds. "Must've been newbs."

Normally I would have never dreamed of shooting another stalker just for some artifacts, but I had to repay the Dealer or he might give me back to the military. Kill or be killed is the law of the land, the law of the stalker.

Our day didn't get much more exciting then that. There were a few firefights against zombies and dogs, but that was about it.

Artifacts, 20 kilograms of galantine, and 4 mercury balls. Very good I thought, plenty to pay him back. We got back into our Niva.

"Now that wasn't to hard, was it?" But out at a distance there were shapes coming closer. 300 meters. "What the hell." 200 meters. "Use your binocular." 100 meters. "They're dogs, 50 of them!"

The next thing we knew they were on us. They swarmed around the car, scraped up the doors. "What are they doing, they aren't trying to attack. They're running away from something." And then we saw it. It wasn't much at first, but I had heard about it in the bars. A group of things called lullers. They were ferocious and very deadly, one could easily kill two people. But in this group there were ten. Then I saw something else, an anomaly. A gravity concentration. The others noticed it too. They charged, and in seconds Jack was down and Lawrence crouching got a slash along the chest. One saw me and turned. I took out my SVU and blasted with all my shots. The inevitable click came. I took out my pistol and tried desperately to kill it. 10 feet, 0 feet. I finally took out my knife and slashed it's belly open. The guts came out and me, and I was about to throw up. A slash came across my back. My vision was clouded by blood and dirt. Ella, where was she? I looked in the direction of the anomaly and found the answer. The twisted body of a luller came into my view. My life flashed before me. Before The Zone I was so happy and carefree. I was immature back then, not able to strive on my own steam. My life had changed, that wasn't me, this is me. I got up and picked up my gun and jumped into the anomaly. This better work. My level 4 MYS suit could withstand the effects of a gravitational anomaly for five seconds which should be only used in extreme emergency. Well, this is the most extreme emergency I'll get. Five, the lullers looked into the anomaly wondering why I wasn't being torn apart. Four, two jumped in. Three, another three jumped in. Two, one more jumped in. One, I could feel something pulling me apart. I jumped out as best I could. My body was aching, and I fell to my knees. My vision clouded again. Then darkness took me.

The next thing I remembered was that I was in a burnt and beaten building, the normal stalker housing. There was a fire going and a plate in front of me. I moved up against the wall. My back and legs hurt like crazy. Why am I here? My mind had finally caught up. "Hello is anyone there?"

"Finally you're awake," An unfamiliar voice said, "I saw all that happened, but I didn't know whether or not to help you. You might have been military. Once the fighting ended I came closer to the position and saw that you weren't military. I took you back here."

"What happened to Ella?"

"Who's Ella? Is she the other stalker with you?"

"There were four of us altogether," sorrow reaching my mind, "She didn't make it did she."

"Unfortunately not. She tried to do the same little stunt you did, unfortunately her suit wasn't made to handle the force of an anomaly. Her body was torn apart in a blink of the eye. Unsightly event, I never did like gore even after coming to The Zone. Where did you come from before The Zone?"

I thought this fellow was very nice even though i myself have forgotten where I first came from sometimes."California, I got here when my plane crashed along with my other four friends. Now all of them are dead, along with my hope for getting home."

"Well, you might be in luck there because once you come to The Zone you'll never be the same as before, never. The life of a stalker is one of distrust, innocence lost, and looking out for yourself and only yourself. The need to survive is melted into our brains and you can't get rid of it. Unfortunately I would love to get back to my family. We used to live in New York, but it doesn't matter how I got here just that I did get here. "

"When did you get here?"

"About 2007, I'm an old timer for The Zone. I'm not part of any clan or group. Nothing seems very exciting anymore as I've been captured by the military countless times, tortured, and then escaped. Many fear me, many hate me, and some even admire me. But over the years the only thing I've learned from The Zone is that you're life has no purpose, there are the best and there are the worst stalkers and it's just one job after the other and by some time you'll get unlucky and break your leg in a ditch and die. Not a word or prayer for one who risked much, nothing."

"I've wondered in the past months if I could change and go back to my normal self. But now thinking it over it just seems childish. Unfortunate are those who have come to this land only to be forgotten not as heroes or warriors, but as bodies on the ground as they lay."
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