Chapter LXIV: Forest Painted Red

 A delicious aroma drifted through the thick underbrush of Red Forest. A mercenary squad was resting by the Devilfish Encampment, grilling a boar on the campfire. Their leader, Alex Swank, turned the carcass on the flames, eagerly awaiting the meat to grow tender. They had been guarding the local Digger detachment for days, and for the first time in what felt like forever they could eat something else than just canned foods or MREs.

The other three mercenaries were sleeping by the fire. Red Forest was still a nightmare, even more so as of late, but the mercs had grown more accustomed to it as of late. They trusted Alex as guard, and besides, the forest was less populated during daylight hours. Alex scanned the landscape ahead, and upon coming to the conclusion that it was safe for now, started cutting meat off the boar's side. Slowly, he ate a piece of the meat, savouring the taste of something more than just beans that had passed expiration date. He closed his eyes for a second out of enjoyment.

In the next few seconds, things happened so fast that the grey matter inside Alex's skull never registered everything. He heard a groan beside himself, hasty footsteps behind him and lastly, a raspy breath in his ear. A long blade slid between his ribs, appearing out of his chest. Blood spurted out of the wound, and all he could do was stare in horror. He heard an odd prayer to some entity as life left his body. His three sleeping companions suffered the same fate before none of them could react. The attackers cleaned their blades and started moving towards the Symbiot anomaly, first stomping the fire out and piling the bodies behind a large rock. The silence of the forest had not been disturbed.

Hours later, Boris Unforgiven and Dima Lord appeared to the scene. A wild dog was gnawing at the remains of the unfortunate mercenaries, and Boris swiftly put the dog out of its misery. While Boris observed the bodies for a cause of death and some clue on the attackers, Dima checked the trail ahead for any indication on where the ambushers had travelled to.

• Here's a few broken twigs here, and a set of footprints. A large squad by the looks, six or seven men. Those large footprints look like they were made by an exoskeleton, Dima whispered to Boris, who rose up, his examination complete. There had been some notes on the bodies about Digger operations, a few orders from Dushman but not much else. Boris nodded to Dima and the pair of experienced Zone-dwellers started heading along the trail.

In the nearby mine, the footprints became more clear. But they were not needed, a few more bodies from slain Diggers told a grim tale all by themselves. Boris cursed their slowness inside his head and said a quiet prayer to the victims, loading a round into his shotgun with righteous fury. Dima seemed agitated as well, these cultist bastards would pay for their murdering spree.

They peeked out of the mine and saw a group ahead. Dressed in brownish red robes and trenchcoat, they seemed to be performing a ritual of sorts, a man in an exoskeleton fervently preaching to the troopers, who sang an old Orthodox hymn modified to their new religion. Boris glanced at Dima, who slowly loaded a cartridge into his Val and prepared his optic. It was time to strike.

They struck quickly and viciously, giving no warning to the zealots. Boris' RPD fired at them at a lethal rate, sounding like a typewriter of death. Dima meanwhile placed precise and deadly shots into the heads of the Sinners as Boris advanced, sending grey matter flying as skulls cracked with disgusting sounds accompanying the horror. The Sin leader in an ad-hoc exoskeleton leveled his machete at Boris and roared over the gunfire:

• You dare interrupt our sermon infidel? Strike him, warriors of Vyraj, strike him with fire and flame!

• Shut the fuck up and die, urod, Boris screamed back at the top of his lungs and emptied his magazine into the preacher. His armour took the brunt of the damage but some of the large-calibre rounds managed to inch their way through and penetrate the soft skin behind the steel plates.

The Sin leader groaned and collapsed to his knees, raising his weapon defiantly even as Dima's Val hit him in the chest and ended his life. Last few Sin survivors tried to run further into the forest, disheartened by the sight of their leader dying, but they forgot that towards the Dark Bank, there was only anomalies and death. The sounds of Electro anomalies discharging filled the air, and Boris lowered his weapon, its barrel still steaming after the fight.

• Well, we're still in one piece, for now, and we've been here for more than half an hour. How about we stop pushing our luck and get out of this cursed forest?, Dima said anxiously. He was a scarred veteran of the Exclusion Zone, but the Red Forest got to the best of them. Screams from some unknown source always seemed to appear inside ones head if they let their guard down, and the darkness was ever present.

• I'll check our bishop here and then we'll get out of here as fast as we can. Keep watch and don't shit yourself, Boris replied, holstering his machine gun. He started to search the Sin leader's body for anything of use.

• Don't shit myself? C'mon Boris, put a little more effort into your insults, Dima complained but turned around to watch the forest. It was still mostly quiet, outside of a crow cawing further south of them and a few cries of lurkers. The sun seeped through the red leaves, bathing the Symbiot opening in light.

• Well, I guess we're on to something here!, Boris exclaimed, showing Dima the Sin leader's PDA. It had a marker over the mines of Red Forest.

• Onto something here? Boris, this means we won't be able to leave this place yet... What's that marker for anyway?

• Apparently they were tracking someone down there, and that was the only place they haven't checked yet, so that's where we'll head too, Boris explained, and Dima twisted his face in frustration.

• Fuck's sake, as if this godforsaken deathtrap wasn't enough, now we'll head to some damp and dark mine too... it probably has a ton of rats.

• Well, you'll fit in nicely there then, Boris replied with a teasing smile and started heading towards the trail once more.

Dima grimaced and followed, muttering to himself something about rats. Above the two Redemption leaders, the sky started to slowly take a shade of pink to it, and clouds swirled with immense energy. As the pair crossed the mine and appeared to the main forest path, a sound of charging Pulse anomalies appeared all around them. Boris glanced up to the sky and realized in horror what was happening. The skies above Red Forest turned as crimson as the leaves below. A psi-storm had been unleashed.