Chapter CXXIV: The Hills Have Eyes

 Over the rolling hills of northern Zone, the giant flaming ball known as sun rose, beginning its journey across the sky. As is often the case, the thick cloud cover hanging over the Zone held most of the rays back, leaving only small glimpses of the sun visible. Like artefacts in the sky, momentarily lifting the gloomy existence of stalkers. However, as was just as often the case, spirits at Redemption were high. Perhaps it was the naive and optimistic outlook of the faction or the general composition of it, but moments of depression were a rarity. And with the return of Boris, Sanyok, Vityukha and Dima, all such notions were washed away.

Still, the situation could've been better, Boris thought, sitting on top of the church in North Hills. He had crossed his legs in front of him, dressed only in his undersuit. The venerable Absolver Nosorog was partially on his lap, being repaired by his adept hands. Almost a year with the suit had made him quite good at keeping it in shape, even if the tools he had on hand were quite subpar. He was pondering the situation of his faction, thinking all the possibilities through and weighing Scar's words. After a month inside a spatial anomaly, his head was not exactly in the right place to immediately start political and military planning. But alas, such was his duty. He was shaken off his thoughts as Dimuha sat next to him.

• Oh, hi Dimuha. What brings you here?, Boris asked.

• The view, mostly. It's so serene here. Look at those boars grazing in the distance. Or pseudodog pups playing in the grass ahead. Or that bloodsucker eating a snork... Okay that's pretty brutal, nevermind, Dimuha replied, and Boris chuckled.

• It's actually good you came here, I wanted to thank you for taking the lead. I talked with Dima, and we both agreed that you should be Redemption's second-in-command, or even first, from now on. You stepped up when there was no one else to do so, when there was no hope. You defended a dream that was not yours but mine, Boris said with a serious face now, placing his hand on Dimuha's shoulder.

• I did what needed to be done. You probably don't understand how much Redemption means to us. I'm a good example, a university fuckup, divorced at a ripe age of 21 from a psycho woman, used my skills from uni to scam people in Kiev. Do you have any idea how much it means to me that I'm no longer some lowlife bandit hiding in Dark Valley for his life since a bounty hunter or psycho-ex can't reach me there?, Dimuha replied with equally serious look.

• I uh, have some idea, Boris said with a grin.

• True, true. You have your past. But for real man, I'm a leader now. Fighting among legends like Strelok and Scar. Stuff like this would not happen in the outside world. But still, I do not want to be the leader of the faction. I can be your general, a soldier, but my tenure as chief was not pleasant. You know how to lead and convince others to your cause, to get people on your side. I don't do that well. I'm still better shot than you though, Dimuha added, grinning as well.

• Okay. You can be my general then. Although I plan to get rid of this whole military ranks bullshit, let's get something that feels more personal. We don't want anyone drawing more comparison between us and Duty, the armour debacle is bad enough, Boris commented.

• Polymer does have a new idea regarding that, apparently Psoglav's armour scheme is a prototype. What do you think?

• It works, I like it. A lot more functional, I'll give it that. Orlov had a two-hour rant about us copying their armour in the void so the sooner we make the change the better.

• Speaking of that, what next?, Dimuha asked.

• I want to finish up things here in the north. I promised Mark long time ago that I would help him find his friend. And Scar wants us to meet some new faction leader. But I need most of you guys to head back into Jupiter, I have plans in motion that require Redemption presence, Boris explained.

Dimuha nodded. He felt good about the fact that now he could revert back to his leadership role as a soldier, and leave politics for Boris. Besides, somebody had to kick the recruits into shape. The two leaders sat in silence for a moment, simply enjoying the peace. North Hills spread far and wide ahead of them, tempting them with its hidden treasures. Finally, a shout from Dima broke the trance of the moment, and they went downstairs.

• Okay you two, while we've been working our asses off preparing, what were you doing?, Dima scolded them teasingly.

• C'mon Dima, you probably spent all that time stealing some of that Scar's tobacco, Dimuha retaliated.

• He did what?, Scar's voice came from the other room.

• Absurd lies and agitations!, Dima replied, pocketing a suspicious bag filled with dried plant matter as Boris and Dimuha laughed heartily.

Hours later, everyone had prepared their gear, performed maintenance on their weapons and replenished their rations. Boris noted that Psoglav seemed to be extremely adept at maintaining weapons, but due to all the buzz he didn't manage to ask the new Redemption member about it. Finally, Psoglav locked the bolt in Stepukha's RPK to place and gave it back to him, good as new. The Redemption lieutenant gave it a look of sheer astonishment and shook the ex-Sinner's hand eagerly, leaving him confused. With the final piece of equipment fixed, the long march south could begin.

The squads split up. Boris would take Anton, Mark, Dima and Sanyok with him and head towards the nuclear power plant, taking advantage of the night to search for any clues on Theo according to a promise that Boris had made to Mark long time ago. Scar would in turn lead rest of Redemption and their allies south, to Jupiter. It was time for farewells, and Dr. Zakarov came first to shake Boris' hand.

• Good luck out there, my friend. Come back alive, the Zone needs its heroes.

• I will. I will never forget what Kruglov and you did for me. And if there is one thing I never forget, it's that good deeds are made to be repaid, Boris replied warmly as Orlov came to him next.

• You know, I never thought I would say this to an ex-renegade, but I am glad to call you my friend, Boris. And you too, Dima and Sanyok. Still, if you ever plan to get trapped in a spatial anomaly again, don't call me, a man can only take so much of Dima's jokes, Orlov said with a warm smile, uncharasteric to a Dutyer.

• And neither did I ever think I'd be happy to call a Dutyer my friend. Not enough to stop the dog jokes, of course, Dima replied with the widest of grins.

And with that, the two groups separated, heading to their destinations. Scar had taught Mark and Anton a way into the power plant but had refused to go looking there, citing bad memories as a cause for it. They took a path east, passing through patches of foliage, up hills covered in fresh grass and down the inclined towards a cracked and weathered road surrounded by aspens. At irregular intervals, Mark would stop the squad, lead them to a bush and tell them to be quiet. Knowing the hunter's skill, everyone would be quiet as mice. Packs of boars, fleshes or dogs passed them by, without noticing the stalkers hiding behind leaves.

They avoided dozens of the mutants, this place truly was uncharted territory where the Zone would breed its most fearsome mutants. In the distance, chimeras, lurkers and controllers wandered the plains, thankfully far enough that they were not spotted. There was also a massive sinkhole just barely visible amidst the trees, with an island in the middle. Boris wondered what its purpose was, but now was not the time to go exploring, as tempting as it was. They continued down the road, periodically spotting corpses or abandoned vehicles down the road. Some of the corpses were dressed in military outfits, others had Sin trenchcoats or Volos flak jackets on. Some even had old, weathered overcoats coloured in brown and vermillion, something Boris did not recognize. Just as he was about to ask Mark about it, a military outpost came to view.

They drew their weapons and halted. Boris, Anton and Sanyok lay close to the ground, keeping their weapons pointed at the guardposts, while Dima and Mark sneaked in using their infiltration skills to close in on the gates. Dima made it inside first, and Mark followed soon after. Tense seconds passed, Boris could feel droplets of sweat form on his forehead as he waited, tension creeping into his limbs. Thankfully the familiar face of Dima appeared from behind the gate in the dusk, and he waved for them to get in.

• I said come in, don't stand there!, he shouted, imitating Zhorik mockingly, making Anton chuckle.

• If he starts saying that his information may well be of use to me, I'm ending him, Anton joked, making Sanyok and Boris chuckle as well.

They entered the gate behind Dima, but their cheerful mood was soon soured when they saw Mark appear from inside the barrack to the left of them. His face was white like he had seen a ghost. Anton asked what was wrong, and Mark did not say a word, just waved at them to look inside. The squad did so, and entered the barracks. It was dark inside, and the air smelled like decomposed flesh and dried blood. They turned on their flashlights, and a gruesome scene spread before their eyes. There were twelve bodies in total. Some free stalkers, some soldiers. Each dead, each brutally gutted. And a message on the wall, simply reading "The north does not belong to you".

• What the fuck happened here?, Boris managed to say.

• "The north does not belong to you"? Sin maybe?, Sanyok asked.

• Not Monolith at least, they don't do stuff like this. This is clearly emotional. And Sin, maybe. But there's not many left, Anton commented.

• Boris... Remember that maniac we ran into in Truck Cemetery? The one who butchered those Diggers?, Dima asked quietly.

• You don't think... That this is from people like him?, Boris questioned.

• Look at those corpses. Similar modus operandi. Cryptic messages. Let's check the corpses. See if there is anything that may help us, Dima replied, a look of concern on his face.

They begun to look through the dead one by one, checking pockets, opening rucksacks. Some of it was heartbreaking, letters to families for example. But on one of them, there was a report on the PDA. Sanyok found it and read it out loud to the others:

• Day twelve. Arrived to North Hills, we managed to break through the Scorcher with the help of some stalkers. We got separated from the main force and had to make an uneasy alliance with them. Original plan was to secure some town close to the plant, use it as a staging point for Operation Revengeance. Now were stuck somewhere behind the plant. This place is really wild, mutant everywhere. Thankfully we found some old outpost, it at least provides shelter. There's one odd thing though. I am certain I keep seeing some humans in the forest nearby, but none of the others have seen anything similar. I told them to keep watch, those figures looked savage. I'm not sure I can trust the stalkers though, last night I caught one of them almost falling asleep on duty. Gotta stay vigilant...

• Well, that certainly raised more questions than it answered. But I think it was Sin, he does mention savages, Boris said.

• But wouldn't a soldier know a Sinner from a distance?, Dima asked.

• Not necessarily, could've been dark or the forest distorted his vision. But whatever killed these men could still be nearby. And if I remember correct, we were supposed to reach the CNPP at night. So how about we get moving?, Mark asked in a tone that showed he wanted nothing more to do with this place.

The others agreed, and they slipped out of the outpost, continuing down the road. Only the corpses remained, left in their tomb to rot like so many others in the Zone. And in the distance, a man in an overcoat distinctly similar to those laying dead near the road laid down his binoculars. He had seen enough, for now. In the cover of darkness, he vanished into the underbrush, and only the fleshes grazing nearby remembered that he had ever existed, until their animal brains refocused on the grass below their snouts.