Chapter CXXXVIII: Relative Calm Before the Storm

 A lone flesh wandered the quarry's side in Jupiter, occasionally halting to pluck wilted flowers and weeds off the ground. Its herd had been torn to shreds by a group of snorks, the twisted creatures ripping bones and muscles off their victims. This lone pig was the only survivor. It sniffed the grass before raising its gaze to the sky, and suddenly the creature let out a frightened squeal. It broke out into a chaotic sprint, which was stopped by a bullet ripping into its abnormally large eye, killing the mutant on spot.

• Scratch one pig, professor!, Dima shouted with a smirk.

• Oh... I was sure it was a Zombified stalker. Kurwa, the professor cursed.

• You're Polish, professor?, Sanyok asked, recognizing the ubiquitous Polish swear word.

• Tak, the Marigold Research Expedition has experts from multiple Eastern and Central European nations. We..., the professor begun, but the blast from Dima's rifle cut him off.

The sharp-eyed former merc had spotted one Zombifie, and his suppressed Val cut the brainless stalker down, making him quite literally brainless. Their sniping spot atop the concrete factory tower provided them excellent visibility. A fog condensed from the earlier rain made it harder for them to spot the husks however. Still, the first appearance of a Zombified stalker was promising, yet not conclusive enough. Boris raised his binoculars and surveyed the mist, thankfully it was quite thin still. Three figures hobbled from behind a bush into view, and the Redemption leader ordered his men into action.

Three more mentally degraded stalkers materialized from the foggy dew, and immediately three guns spoke. Zhuk killed one, Sanyok wounded another and Dima finished off the third. The wounded one fell to the ground and begun writhing like a beetle on its back. Zhuk's LR-300 Sniper variant was spot on with its shots, and the pinned Zombified soon joined its dead comrades.

• Promising start, but it is not conclusive enough. We need more hard data, quantity of Zombified must be higher, Zhuk pondered.

• True, could be stragglers. Keep an eye out however, these are treacherous lands, Boris reminded the others.

• Oh man, I still have nightmares of the bloodsuckers, Dima said with a long exhale.

Boris nodded. The day he and Dima met on the bridge nearby felt like it had happened years ago. How much had happened since then... Boris couldn't help but smile very slightly, at least he was better off today. Sure, things were rougher by the week, but still. His musings were cut by professor Zhuk preparing his rifle and nailing another flesh. Dima cheered as the professor frowned:

• Good work professor, keep it up and even if the experiment fails, we'll have bacon for days!

• Our expedition is not funded by bacon, I'm afraid. Boris, any sight of more zombies?, Zhuk asked.

• Njet, only fog. I'll keep monitoring the grounds ahead, take a break bratans, Boris replied and raised his binoculars once more.

The other three members of his squad took comfortable positions on the roof. Zhuk begun to explain some characteristics of the new anomalies to Sanyok, always eager for more scientific information. Dima scoffed and muttered "Nerds" under his breath, but Boris could see him listening in while pretending to sleep. The quarry's side and the swampy terrain to the north were quiet, some mutants wandered the area. Outside of a skirmish between pseudodog and cat over boar carcass, there was little action going on.

The lull continued for half an hour or so, with the three other stalkers dining while Boris kept scanning the wastelands. Zhuk shared his Ukrainian combat rations with Dima and Sanyok, Dima gave him one of his cigarettes in return. As the smoke rose from the tower, Boris finally spotted another squad. Zombified stalkers, five of them, travelling along the traintracks. They walked in a sort of conga line, a sight that might've been amusing if it wasn't made up of people who had lost all independent thought. Boris lowered the binoculars and readied the heavily modified M16 he had. This motion caught his squad's eye, and they rose as well.

• Go low. Don't shoot. I want to see if those Zombified stalkers come this way, Zhuk ordered, and the squad obeyed.

The five husks wandered closer, their staggered gait slowly propelling them across the wastes. The pseudodog from earlier, having beaten its adversary, passed the group without even looking at them. Children of the Zone, one way or another, Boris thought to himself. The Zombified squad was now quite close, and turned towards the tower. It was clear they were heading for the Magnet. Boris raised his brow at Zhuk and the Polish scientist nodded. With a quick squeeze of a finger, Boris' rifle rained lead on the husks, and his squad followed suit. Before they could even react, their existence as slaves to the Monolith was cut short.

• I think we have a conclusion!, Zhuk cheered.

• Man, working as scientist was this easy all along. How about we stop this Redemption business and start working as professors, Boris?, Dima joked.

• Sanyok would be pleased. But I honestly don't want to work right next to a rancid lake all day, Boris replied, chuckling.

• Oh, this was simply a small field experiment. People who take part in Applied Sciences do this all the time, albeit I haven't ran into them in a while. ISPRIT squads too. If you want, I could try to arrange you a spot..., Zhuk begun, but Boris cut him off by shaking his head.

• Tempting offer, professor, but we have our own path. One we must tread to bury the past properly. There are no shortcuts in Redemption, Boris explained.

• I see. Well, if you ever need more work, look up my colleagues in the nearby areas. Academian Skabinsky in Zaton is looking for expert stalkers for a deep raid from what I hear, Zhuk said, and with that, bid the squad his goodbyes.

As they watched the scientist slowly trodding across the grasslands towards Yanov, Boris couldn't help but feel a tinge of hesitation. Why had he turned down the scientist's offer? Did regret still drive him so much? Or was it loyalty to his men? After all this time, did he wish for his men to be redeemed like he had partially been? Boris sighed and decided that it was most likely a mix of them all. Dima had clearly read his thoughts and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

• Wondering if you made the right call?, Dima asked.

• Yes. After all this time, it would've been the way out. Work for the ecologists for a while, get a pass out of the Zone, become a citizen again. After my crimes, is there really anything better? But all those stalkers I killed, all that blood on my hands. It cannot be scrubbed clean by collecting artefacts. I do not know if our way is truly the one to vindication, but it sure as hell feels like the one, Boris replied quietly.

• And we agree. Hell, Dima and I've been talking, and honestly? We thought you'd need a new nickname. Unforgiven is descriptive, but you're our leader. You're the symbol of our entire fight. You need something that channels that. After all, we are all equals in Redemption, but you're our primus inter pares, first among equals. Quite literally first, Sanyok commented in turn.

Boris was taken aback. He had held his nickname ever since he was first asked to take one by Wolf in Rookie Village. It had been a mark of shame for him, something people could recognize his regret and sorrow from. Changing it would be nigh impossible, or at the very least incredibly difficult. But before Boris could properly respond, his PDA crackled to life. It was Toha, ringing him with an emergency message. Acting mostly instinctively, Boris opened the call.

• What's going on, Toha?

• We're in the shit! We made contact with the UNISG agents and Psoglav went ballistic. We lost sight of him near the roadside picnic and then Leva got bounced by pseudodogs. I got him to safety inside Krug but he's been bit pretty bad. And there seems to be a psi-storm closing in... Boris, if you're nearby, please help. I think there is something moving inside the facility and it has noticed....

The charging sound of a psi-storm begun in the background, growing ever louder until it exploded and cut the signal off. Boris raised his eyes from the device and witnessed another bolt shoot up from the sky, striking the ground in a dustcloud. Psionic blasts appeared all over the cloud-filled ground, still far enough to not be dangerous to Boris and his squad, but close enough for discomfort and nausea from the presence to set in.

• Blyat, psi-storm! What do we do now?, Dima asked, a hint of panic in his voice.

• I've got a psi-helmet and modified suit, I can take it. Somebody needs to get to Toha before whatever they sensed kills him and Leva. I'm not losing anymore soldiers, not like this, Boris shouted over the psionic uproar.

Dima was about to protest, as was Sanyok, but they saw the look in Boris' eyes. The Redemption commander had the same unhealthy glint in his eyes as before and during the Limansk campaign when he almost met his end. It would be futile to try to stop him now.

• You're a fucking lunatic, Boris, Dima groaned.

• Here, take these. Psi-block, just in case. Move from cover to cover, don't stay in the open for too long. And whenever you hear a Pulse, duck out of the way or you're a goner. I agree with Dima that this is absolute madness, but I know you'll do it anyway, Sanyok sighed and handed a small pack of pills to his leader.

• Godspeed Boris. If you don't come back alive, I'll kill you myself, Dima joked, but Boris could see worry in his eyes.

Boris didn't reply, he only nodded and took the stairs down in silence. The storm begun to swirl overhead when Dima and Sanyok sought refuge inside the concrete factory. Bolts of psionic lightning flogged the ground below, driving men to madness and Zombification. The lucky ones managed to escape a fate worse than death by ducking into cover or, more desperately, by having a handgun nearby. But through the winding path from Yanov to Zaton, Boris marched fast, the psychic screeches of the cataclysm held at bay by the psi-block and his prototype helmet. For now, at least.