Chapter II: From a renegade to a tour guide

 Boris stood there, in the broken down camp at Garbage with a dead chimera laying next to him. He might not get his redemption, but he will get his vengeance. He'd need to rise through the ranks however. Sultan probably didn't know his name or didn't remember his face so he could do jobs for the bandits. He'd need to silence the gladiator leader though, that guy knew Boris all too well. Dark Valley it would be then. But before Boris could move there, a message popped up on his PDA. A man called Timokha Tour Guide was looking for a guide to Wild Territory. And offering 5 grand for it. The idiot, Boris thought, he clearly doesn't know of the shortcut right here in Garbage. Still, if he was gonna pay for that easy a job, why not take a little tourist along?

Boris found the bandit wandering not far away. Clearly not the brightest lamp of the bunch. Still, Boris still had some spine left and didn't just blast him on the spot. The bandit agreed on Boris' terms, and they set of. Using the shortcut, they were at the Wild Territory in less than hour. Easy money, Boris thought, right as he heard a bolt cycle. Mercs, shit. But it wasn't mercs. Monolith patrol was just around the corner, but they had been ambushed by a bloodsucker. Boris and Timokha waited for the skirmish to end and Boris ended the lone survivor with his shotgun. The fanatics had interesting guns, but Boris couldn't be arsed to haul them around so he left them with their previous owners.

They made it to the spot Timokha wanted to be in, avoiding Monolith patrols and bloodsuckers. Thankfully it was night, Boris would've been dead in seconds otherwise. Timokha parted with his 5000 rubles, and Boris headed back towards the entrance. The night was getting on his nerves so he rested in the old merc outpost for a couple of hours. Waking up, another message had popped up on his PDA. Timokha Tour Guide again, looking for a guide to Cordon. By the Zone, Boris thought, this guy is a complete idiot. But money was money so he took Timokha along again. Back in Garbage, a firefight could be heard coming from the Duty checkpoint. A lone bandit was holding it, fighting 5 Monoliths. Before Boris could help, the Monolith had been dealt with. The bandit collapsed, and Boris reached him, tending to his wounds.

The bandit, Dimuha Loaf, had clearly done well for himself in the Zone. He had an exoskeleton, albeit without the suit itself, and a SVDS rifle. After waking from his bodily-harm infused nap, he told that rest of his squad had been killed by the very same Monolith whose lives he had ended. Boris asked him to tag along on the journey, and Dimuha who had just achieved his short-term goals, agreed. Together they smashed through military resistance in the Cordon checkpoint, and pushed Duty away from the abandoned farmstead. They defeated the second military checkpoint as well, finally breaking on to the car park where Timokha was headed. It had been a perilous journey, but Dimohas rifle and exo had come to help them against the well-armed military troops. While Boris still felt regret every time he was forced to shoot a fellow stalker, these military troops earned no remorse from him.

Having parted with dimwit Timokha, they split the profit and decided to head north. Boris was already heading towards Darkscape when Dimuha reminded him that they could also pass through the Meadow. When passing through to Meadow, Boris spotted a stalker wandering down the road. He had met these people in a life that seemed so distant, and thus he hesitated to open fire. The stalker did not. Bullets cracking around, Dimuha yelled to him to stop snoozing and take cover. His SVD let loose at the enemy, and a loner fell down, his chest spurting blood. Boris once again felt betrayed, and this anger guided his hand. Two shots rang from his Carabineer, and two stalkers collapsed to the ground. The two outlaws continued down the road towards Dark Valley, the only safe haven for the likes of them. Peace had settled to the Meadow after a cacophony of death.

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Chapter CXXXV: Intercepting the Infiltrators

  When Boris led his squad into the Yanov station for the third time in a short while, it had finally returned to its crowded state. Freedom squads chatted away around the tables, and from the athmosphere it was clear that the raid had been a success. Hawaiian served drinks and weed to the flecktarn-wearing warriors, and the Freedom fighters sang Ukrainian anarchists songs in only slightly slurred manner. Loki looked like he was the only one who had not enjoyed adult beverages or other substances, and he greeted Boris, Dima and Sanyok from his table. Ah, Redemption! Thanks for stopping those damn Zombified, I don't want to think about what could have happened if they got through, the Freedom leader said. We didn't stop them, the rain did, Boris commented, but Loki grinned all the same and handed him a bottle of Nemiroff for his troubles. Lighten up, brother, you guys seriously need to learn to take the glory or else you'll be in that Redemption business still when Sidorovic...
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Chapter LXXXVI: Darkest Hour

  The night sky over Western Yantar contrasted the flames rising from the underground complex. Cold stars lit the sky, while the snow on the ground reflected the fires. Strelok's and Father Diodor's group fought off yet another wave of Zombified, Strelok's SIG sniper wreaking havoc among the braindead while Diodor's and others 9 millimetre assault rifles cut a bloody tally. The explosion had alerted the group from their hunt, but the way to the demolition site was blocked by hordes of walking corpses, their rusty weapons still capable of fierce fire. Determined push allowed the stalkers to finally break the shambling husks. They made their way to the now-crumbled roof of the laboratory. The lab was in ruins. The roof concrete had smashed through the wire mesh protecting the central machine, but Strelok had to admit that the Sin demolitioners had been quite accurate with their work. The roof had collapsed to the sides of the room below, leaving enough room for the machin...
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Chapter LXXX: Sinister Visions

  Images flashed before Boris' eyes. Memories, places he had visited, faces, voices. Summers during his childhood, long boring days in the army, sleepless nights in the Zone. The battle of Flea Market during his first days as a renegade. Sultan spitting at him when he was still a gladiator. Friends he had made, Dima, Vityukha, Dimuha, many more. Lena, laughing at his jokes. The beautiful night sky at Truck Cemetery. The Duga antenna complex shining in the moonlight. Boris opened his eyes with a gasp. He was no longer in the Miracle Machine lab. He was standing on a rooftop, away from the Zone. The sky was blue, the air hot and the city noisy. He looked around. Judging by the large steel construct in the horizon, he was in Paris. He tried to move, but couldn't, as if glued to spot. What the hell? How'd I end up here?, Boris asked out loud. He did not get a magic answer. And he didn't really have time to wonder more, when a sudden flash of light struck upwards in the hori...
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