Chapter CVIII: Chasing Shadows

 No one outside of the members of the mysterious Group know the origins of the Generators as the place of creation for emissions. Why this seemingly random patch of ground behind the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was chosen is lost to time. And ever since the last people to work on the Generators left the halls leading to the emission machine, they have remained empty from stalker interference. Even the strange robe-clad creatures that stalk these upper areas of the Zone do not wander into these tunnels, too afraid of the psionic energies and deadly anomalies.

But to save Ukraine's most populated cities, Strelok would have to lead his rather unorthodox group into the heart of emissions. Lab X-3, situated right next to the aptly named War Labs, was a maze of old concrete, collapsed tunnels filled with dirt and old, bizarre machinery, which whizzing and clanking filled the tunnels to this day. At its core was a machine that outwardly looked similar to the Miracle Machine of laboratory X-16, but lacked the enormous human brain floating over its structures. It was replaced by a mess of wires, plating and expensive components pumping so much energy into the generators above that human mind could not comprehend such immense energy easily.

Zakarov breathed in and out thrice before stepping down the ladder of the elevator shaft that led into the laboratory. Unlike the other laboratories of the Zone which had remained roughly intact, this one had clearly felt the tooth of decay. Ground had overtaken the concrete floors, only the walls and roof remained intact. There were cracks in them as well, and what little remained of the floor was broken up by gaping holes, revealing steaming machinery and broken pipes. The place was falling apart, the weight of emission after emission generated from it clearly showing.

The group consisted of Strelok and his companions Rogue and Stitch, Kruglov and his three companions Zakarov, Major Tarasov and Edik Mutant and the Templars led by Father Diodor, who now numbered four men including the former priest himself, Master, Smartass and Fiend, all clad in various variants of the exoskeleton. Diodor and Master had typical heavy exoskeletons, while both Smartass and Fiend had a Sunrise suit and PBF gasmasks fitted with the servos and skeleton of an exo. The group turned on their night vision devices and headlamps, and the otherwise pitch black tunnels were flooded with bright cold light. A lone zombie growled, blinded by the lights. In this brief window of opportunity Tarasov gutted the pitiful creature before it could make more noise to alert others.

• Zombies, here? How'd they end up here?, Stitch asked.

• Probably went looking for their lost brain, Fiend commented.

• How about you join said search? Would do you good, Smartass replied.

• Must've been one of the original inhabitants or Monolith guard. It takes long for a Zombified to degrade into this state, and plenty of exposure to psychic fields, Zakarov answered.

• Indeed. Hopefully there are not many of its kind here. Now, I suppose we'll have to split up and search for the entrance into the machine room. Rogue, Stitch, Diodor and Master with me, Kruglov takes his crew, Smartass and Fiend, Strelok ordered, and the large squad split up to follow two different tunnels.

Zakarov was growing more anxious with every step as they moved further into the tunnels. This was truly unknown place, on the other labs they had some ideas thanks to Strelok's and some other intrepid stalkers' work, but this place? Nothing was known of it or what dangers lurked in it. Kruglov led them down the tunnels, dust swirling in their flashlights. Zakarov could swear that there was some faint whispers in the air, sometimes even something that could just barely be interpreted as words. But right when he was sure he got the meaning of the word it vanished into thin air. It was just at the edge of his hearing, faint enough to make one doubt its existence.

• Anyone else hear whispers of sorts?, Smartass muttered, breaking the eerie silence.

• Yes. I have a bad feeling about this, Tarasov replied quietly, preparing his AK-74M.

• Chyort, I think there is some sort of a psi-field here. Zakarov, look at these readings, radiation alone is bad enough but our suits can take it, but this amount of psi-activity is..., Kruglov spoke before his speech fainted into the background as Zakarov fell to his knees.

The young biologist had suffered a lot during his time in the Zone. The torment of Alpha Karlik had almost driven him to madness, and in X-16 the Miracle Machine had tried to batter its way in and scorch his brain of all but pain. And now, he felt it happen again. His comrades around him clamored to help him, their shouts muffled as if there was a thick wall between them and Zakarov. Darkness engulfed him, shutting off what little light their flashlights had generated. Zakarov drew in quick, frantic breaths, trying to calm his rapidly collapsing nerves, with no real success.

• Chyort, Smartass, Tarasov, secure a perimeter, I have a feeling something is causing this! Edik, give Boghdan's meds, I need psi-block this second!, Kruglov commanded, and the members of the group launched into action.

But for Zakarov, this went completely unnoticed. He was drowning in the dark, his eyes wide open yet he saw nothing but black around him. His brain was struggling to release him from it, but a sudden flash froze his blood. Two embers lit in the darkness, gripping his heart with their maleficent gaze. A shriveled form of a karlik came to view, but this was not the pitiful weak specimen, this was the Alpha Karlik. A mutant that hated humans unlike anything else. Zakarov's hand flew to his belt, drawing the pistol on it. And then, it all went dark again, but unlike before, Zakarov's cognitive function followed right behind.

• Good reactions, Fiend... That could've gone bad. Hope you didn't do any permanent damage, Kruglov sighed.

Fiend had smacked Zakarov with his rifle butt the second the biologist had reached for the gun. Kruglov crouched to examine his current state, checking pulse and making a quick estimate on the state of his skull. He was interrupted by a rifle barrel hanging close to his head, the sound of a charging handle being pulled back filling his ears. The veteran researcher looked up, seeing Fiend's bloodshot eyes and the barrel of his heavily customized AN-94.

• Fiend, get a grip on yourself! I am not your enemy!, Kruglov shouted.

• You return to haunt me again... I was just doing my duty, good soldiers follow orders, I couldn't disagree with the command or I would've joined you in the mass graves..., Fiend murmured quietly, clearly struggling with himself.

Kruglov could see the former black beret slip further and further into insanity. Edik, returning from his medicine bag, noticed the situation and acted fast. Fiend did not see the heavily-armoured stalker, still fighting with himself over whether to shoot or not. When he noticed Edik, it was too late. Large, exoskeleton-boosted fist struck the side of his head. A groan of pain echoed throughout the tunnel, followed by the stalker tumbling down. Tarasov and Smartass got to them as well now, observing the chaos wide-eyed.

• What the hell happened here?, Tarasov managed to say, but before Kruglov replied, he gave them a dose of psi-block and waited for them to swallow the pills.

• Psi-field. Heavy one. Zakarov lost it first, then Fiend almost pumped me full of lead. We gotta evacuate them, going further would be tempting fate if they wake up.

• Similar thing happened to Rogovets in Pripyat. You're right, we can't leave them here. Edik and Smartass, grap them since you've got the exos. Kruglov, dose them with sedatives. We'll continue with the professor, you two head up top, let's hope the meds work, Tarasov ordered, and everyone got to work.

The group separated further. Kruglov and Tarasov continued onwards in the dark tunnels, coming to a very similar hallway that X-16 had. This one however was not filled with snorks and bloodsuckers. It appeared to be a dead end, although there was a corridor leading to the left. Kruglov raised his Protecta and turned on the Oracle night-vision device. The familiar humming of the machine gave him a shred of comfort.

• I'll circle left and check that corridor, check the hall onwards, Tarasov whispered, and Kruglov nodded.

The hall reminded Kruglov of the time he had visited X-16. Long room with cages, some with machinery, others with what seemed like dozens of human remains. A document on one of the cages commented on the disposal of test subjects after the conclusion of psi-trials, confirming that while the ultimate goal of creating multiple supersoldiers had failed, there was at least some successes in the program. Kruglov thought the last paragraph on the page was rather ominous. He turned to check if Tarasov was coming, when very familiar ringing filled his head. Panicking, Kruglov lunged for cover, but it was too late. A screech of pure psychic energy struck him hard, pulling his vision towards the attacker.

But there was no controller, simply empty air. Still, an authoritative, deep voice boomed inside Kruglov's head, demanding him to submit and surrender. Kruglov fought back with the help of the psi-medicine, and managed to just limp into cover behind the corridor wall. Tarasov almost unloaded a magazine into him, having ran back when he heard Kruglov's pain.

• Cont... Roll... Invis... Ble. Beh... Indme, Kruglov managed to say, feeling drops of blood drip from his nose to his open mouth.

• Blyat, shut up and get down. Give me that Protecta, I think I got a solution, Tarasov commanded very quietly.

Painful seconds passed by as Kruglov took Tarasov's AK, his vision still extremely blurry and head feeling like a hammer was pounding it every other second. Tarasov kept his steely eyes on the other corridor, but even in his delirious state Kruglov could feel that he wasn't so much focusing with his eyes, but with his ears. And as Kruglov's head begun to get clearer, he heard it too. Heavy steps, from the attacker. Closing in slowly, coming in for a kill. And when the familiar ring of a controller attack came, it was followed by a series of gunshots from Tarasov and Kruglov, aimed at the corner of the corridor and the last place the steps had been heard. Muzzle flashes struck away the darkness, and in that brief period light, cloud of red blood spread across the room. The invisible controller perished. The two survivors waited for a while more, waiting to see if there were more of the devious beasts.

• I think it is safe for us to get up and leave now, the suka is dead now, Tarasov said finally, raising to his feet.

• Yes. Thank God for that. I wonder how Strelok did, this place was of no use to us, Kruglov commented.

The two men followed the empty tunnels back to the entrance, but on the way the short-range radio they had with them blared to life. It was Strelok on the other end of the line. And his news were far from good.

• The machine is too strong.... Diodor and Master went mad, Rogue and Stitch are still okay... I'm not sure where everyone is now, watch out if you run into the Templars, they're not themselves. I'll try to destroy the machine..., Strelok managed to shout into the radio before the signal cut out, followed by a massive rumble from the emission machine.

• Chyort, Kruglov muttered, as the air filled with Zone's most powerful and lethal energies.