Chapter LXX: The Great Leap Forward

The wall of anomalies hummed and buzzed, as if it was alive and just waiting for a hapless stalker or reckless mutant to wander into it. It was almost as effective at keeping stalkers out as the Brain Scorcher had been, death very much a certainty in those conditions. Boris eyed the defence line of the Zone, looking for any crack or weakness. There were none.

• Are you sure about this, Boris? This plan of yours is ambitious and genius, but also utterly insane, Wild Napr asked, standing next to Boris with Dima and Toha.

• I will not abandon my friends. Not now, not ever. Far too much blood had been spilled because of me, far too many have died in my struggle against the Zone. Hip, Anton and Mark will not join those ranks if I can change that, Boris answered, his tone final.

• Is he always this stubborn?, Napr asked from Dima. Despite the circumstances, Dima grinned.

• Yup. What worries me is that he's going there alone. Do you have any idea how many times I've had to babysit him through labs and dangerous situations?, Dima replied cheerily.

Boris was about to tell the two of them to shut up when a strong industrial engine roared to life near the anomaly barrier. An excavator under the Digger's employment, modified for Zone use by adding armour plating and anomaly detectors to its front. Garin, the Digger technician, was piloting the venerable machine, which he had named Deathclaw after smashing a particularly bandit with the front claw. Now, it would be the centerpiece in Boris' risky plan.

• This is where the fun begins, Boris muttered to the others. He left Dima his orders and started trudging towards the excavator.

With a few limber jumps, Boris was on top of the driver's cabin of the massive digging machine. He waved a last greeting to the Diggers and Redeemed and crouched down to adjust his exoskeleton servomotors and powerplant. For his plan to succeed, he'd need to divert pretty much all power to the legs of the suit, a modification made possible by Polymer's tinkering. After a couple of minutes turning settings in the suit, he felt it ready for a test jump. It worked like a charm, the power of the suit alone allowing him to reach heights previously unobtainable.

He gave Garin a thumbs up to signal his readiness, the noise of the old engine far too much to make spoken communication possible. Garin extended the digger's arm over the first row of anomalies, revealing two more layers into the massive wall. Slowly, Boris started to inch up the machine's arm. He arrived at the large claw, keeping his balance remarkably well considering the amount of equipment he was hauling. The anomalies swirled angrily below, one wrong move and he'd be a goner, turned into a stew of broken bones and torn meat.

Boris took a long breath in, then sighed. It was time. There was a small opening on the other side of the anomalies. One jump was all it took, just one jump and he could help his friends. Without letting his thoughts get the best of him, he crouched slightly, prepared every muscle in his legs and leaped. His massive frame flew across the air, propelled to great speed by the Nosorog. Like a black and red flying squirrel, he glided through the air. Brief glance to the anomalies below told him that he'd make it.

Dust and sticks went flying when his behemoth of a suit smashed to the ground, driving a wedge into the dirt. His wound, still not properly healed, let out a spike of agony at the back of his mind, but Boris couldn't think of it right now. The adrenaline had overtaken his body and he felt amazing, the leap, despite its absolute ridiculousness, had worked. Now, all that needed to be done was to find Mark, Hip and Anton in uncharted territory, where the well-known areas could be counted with the fingers of one head.

After aimlessly wandering for fifteen minutes or so, Boris stumbled upon a road. It was old, the asphalt cracked and sprouting weeds, but it was still a clear route to somewhere. Boris decided to follow it, not like he had much of a choice. The first kilometre or so was fairly quiet. Boris learned how the nerve-wracking this area actually was, just the wind in the leaves sounded like whispers and cackling of madmen. Something was definitely wrong about this place, it was incredibly eerie to see shadows dance between trees and disappear the next glance.

Further up the road he sighted a small lake, or more of a pond. He checked it and found no signs of human life, no fishing boats or structures. However, just as he was leaving, an odd howl rang out behind. Boris made a snap-turn and came face to face with a monster he had never seen before. It was very much like the mutant he and Anton had encountered in Agroprom, a torso with a brown fur and gorilla-esque face, held in air by two muscular arms. But it was not alone.

Twelve such mutants began moving towards Boris, letting out sounds that sounded both wild and human at the same time. On closer inspection Boris might've noticed the distinct green tinge of their fur, but Boris had no time for analysis. He took out his shotgun and let loose, firing his first three buckshot rounds into the closest one, tearing it apart. Rest of his magazine went into another one, killing that mutant as well. Third beast-thing got close enough to swipe at Boris, who was astonished by the sheer force behind the creatures punch. Air escaped Boris' lungs as he staggered backwards.

• Goddamn, you guys don't play around, he managed to mutter out loud while swapping to his RPD.

• Unfortunately for you, neither do I, he taunted and opened fire.

Hot lead penetrated the hides of the attacking beasts, releasing their intestines to open air or tearing gaping wounds into their skin. The creatures soon screamed in anguish as Boris moved forward, emptying his machine gun into them. The staccato came to a crashing halt as the last cartridge left the weapon's muzzle, but similarly no mutants remained. They now lay in bloodied chunks across the field. One had gotten far enough into the water that the pond was now starting to become red in colour.

• Impressive work, stalker, a voice came from behind Boris. He turned around quickly and pointed his smoking barrel at the source.

It was a man in a trenchcoat, smirking at Boris. He wore a mask over his eyes, eyes which had a profound wildness to them, like the man was more beast than human. His voice was quite high, as if he was an adolescent, and it had a rather croaky vibe in it, reminding Boris of the old witches of children's TV shows.

• Oh please, I just heard that gun click empty. Put the silly thing down, I'm not here to harm you, the stranger said in a teasing tone. Boris lowered his RPD but simultaneously made sure that his pistol was within arms reach.

• Who are you? And how the hell did you get in here? This area is nigh impossible to access and only a handful of people know the routes, Boris asked in a demanding tone.

• Oh, I'm just old Kolovrat, I've been hunting here for my friends since the area became sealed off. Besides, you're here too, aren't you? Doesn't seem too secure to me now, does it, Kolovrat replied.

• Aye, but my methods were a bit... unorthodox. Either way, it seems you're not going to shoot me so mind giving me some directions?

• I can give you something better. Where you heading? I can take you there, who knows, we might come across some tasty snacks on the way.

• To the Mine. I've got a couple pals there that need my help with something.

• Alrighty then, we'll get there in no time, follow me, the stranger said and started trudging down the road.

Boris pondered for a moment whether to shoot the man in the back right now, an instinct that he had developed in the Zone. Something was off about the man, but following him could allow Boris to see just what he was made off and perhaps give himself an edge if push came to shove. Preparing his weapon just in case, Boris begun following the man down the forest road.