S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Southern Comfort (29 page)

“She’s got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see her face
She takes me away to that special place
And if I stare too long, I’d probably break down and cry
Whoa, oh, oh, sweet child o’ mine
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, sweet love of mine
She’s got eyes of the bluest skies
As if they thought of rain
I’d hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain
Her hair reminds me of a warm, safe place
Where as a child I’d hide
And pray for the thunder and the rain to quietly pass me by…where do we go now?”

“
Konchay
uzhe,
” the guitarist Stalker says. “Here, take this vodka, just shut up. You played it well but that song makes me sad.”

“Yeah, me too,” another replies, chewing on a dried sausage. “It reminds me of a girl I used to bang in high school. How blonde she was, oh God! Like a fairy queen!”

“You lie, Tolik. How would a blonde get into high school?” the third Stalker asks grinning.

“Forget the school,” says the failed guitar player. “What the hell was she doing out of bed?” They burst into drunken laughter as the two soldiers walk away.

“I have to admit, that was the best song I heard in a long time,” Tarasov says.

“Did you like it? I screwed a chord or two, but… damn, how I wish I could have a real guitar to play on for a change!”

“It was fine. But enough pleasure for today. There’s something I need you to do for me.”

“Whatever you ask,
komandir
.”

“Don’t be too eager because you will not like it, son. I want you to stay put here in Bagram while I recon something. It’s pretty far away, so I might be away for a few days.”

“Indeed I don’t like it.”

“Your objection is duly noted. The truth is, I don’t trust this place. I don’t want to take the few remaining men with me and leave the wounded at Bone’s mercy. You will stay here, watch over the men and be my eyes and ears while I’m gone.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll take Ilchenko along. He’ll come in handy with the PKM.”
 

“Sure. Where are you going?”

“There’s something to be done for old times’ – and repaired weapons’ – sake. When I’m done with that, there’s one more obstacle that’ll need removing from our path to… the scientists. Don’t worry, when I find them, we get them together.”

Frowning, Zlenko lights up another cigarette. “With all due respect, sir, Needle might be in danger and we can’t just sit around here.”

“I get your point, Viktor, but our destination is in the middle of hostile territory. The mercs, commandos or whatever they are – aren’t even our worst enemy. If only half of what I’ve heard about the Tribe is true, there’s big trouble ahead.”

“Yeah, I heard some weird rumors from the Stalkers.” Zlenko bows his head. “It seems that even mentioning the Tribe scares the shit out of them, and not just the rookies.”

“You see? How are we supposed to fight our way through with me, you and only two other soldiers left capable of fighting? I hope I can at least remove the lesser obstacle from our path.”

“I guess we have no good options here. As ordered, then. I’ll watch the backs of the troopers.”

“That’s the spirit. Talking about spirits, didn’t that Stalker give you a bottle of vodka?”

“He did. Here you go.”

“Cheers. Here’s to a good raid!”

Encrypted VOP transmission between the Exclusion Zone and Central Afghanistan, 26 September 2014, 06:41:08 AFT

#Eagle Eye, this is Renegade, do you copy?#

#This is Eagle Eye on Sierra Bravo. Report.#

# I have acquired the transport coordinates. Need reinforcements to intercept the transport – unable to do this alone.#

#Positive on reinforcements. A detachment will be assembled and dispatched ASAP.#

#Eagle Eye, I don’t need just any men. I need my old squad.#

#We will see what we can do about that. Renegade, be advised that we picked up several messages between the central and eastern areas. Watch your back.#

#Affirmative. A friendly element might be involved in further developments. I suggest to contact Kilo and keep them on stand-by.#

#Are
you sure about sharing this intel with Kilo, Renegade?#

#Positive. It is us who adapt to the situation here, not the other way around.#

#Affirmative. Kilo One will be informed. Eagle Eye out.#

#Understood. Renegade out.#

Hellgate

Shamali Plains, 26 September 2014, 11:25:47 AFT

“I didn’t hide! I swear it on my mother’s life – may she rest in peace,” Squirrel says trying to blow the dust from a battered harmonica. “When the soldier manning the grenade launcher was shot, I got really, really angry. Had the sergeant not ordered us to charge them, I would have run down the dushmans on my own, I swear it!”

“I’m sure they were spared a dreadful fate, Squirrel.” Ilchenko gives the guide a skeptical look while he finishes cleaning his machine gun. “Am I not right, Major?”

“I’m with Squirrel on this… he’s a killer, he’s just hiding it.”

“Exactly my thought, sir,” Ilchenko sarcastically replies and takes a bite of the canned meat he’s having for breakfast. His face contorts in disgust. “Do you think I could use this shit as gun grease? It tastes like that anyway. Jesus, how can you Stalkers live on this?”

Squirrel blows the harmonica but a discordant shriek is the only sound the instrument makes. Grimacing, he puts it back to his pocket. “I wish I had an MP3-player, so that I don’t have to listen to your moaning all the time,” he says. “You know what? Don’t have any food for two days and then you will love it. You could lose a few kilograms.”

“Come on, Squirrel. I am from the
Ukraine
. I have a big soul. And a big soul has big appetite. But why do you have such a shitty call sign, anyway?”

“My political views are Red, I’m lightning-quick at picking up any artifact and have a long, big tail – if you know what I mean.”

“Is it bushy too?”

“Nah, man. But why so interested? I didn’t take you for a
gomik
…”

Tarasov yawns. He is tired after their night’s march through the forest. Now the first light of dawn casts beams through the high trees, making the woods appear less threatening. Sitting against the wall of the derelict farm where they halted for a short break, he enjoys the simple pleasure of feeling the cool morning breeze blowing between his toes as he cleans his boots with a damp tissue. He knows they will be dusty again after two paces, but the motion relaxes him.

“Did you hear that, Major? This rodent just called me a
gomik
!
”

“And what do you expect me to do about it, Private? Killing him?”

“Oh no,
komandir!
Just looking the other way when I shoot him myself!”

“Now listen up, guys… On my last mission in the Old Zone, I had a technician with a welding torch with me. I wish he were here now to weld your mouths shut!” Tarasov says shaking his head. “You two are worse than Yar and Ashot. So, Squirrel, instead of fucking with someone who is three times your size, you better tell me about that place called Hellgate we’re heading to.”

“It’s a shortcut to the plateau where the factory is,” Squirrel says. “There’s a road leading directly up, but it goes through an abandoned village infested with mutants. Sometimes dushmans also show up to say hello. Compared to that, this shortcut is a stroll in the park. In three or four hours, we should reach a perfectly nice Stalker camp at Hellgate.”

“If it’s such a perfectly nice place, why is it called Hellgate?”

“Oh… nothing, really. Just a few Burner and Geyser anomalies here and there, you know.”

“Hey, rodent,” Ilchenko butts in. “Why didn’t you leave that RPG at Bagram? It was good loot but my back’s aching just from looking at it.”

“Was I supposed to leave it on that dead dushman at the Outpost? He won’t need it anymore. And what if we run into a tank?”

“A tank? Here?” Ilchenko laughs. “You can’t be serious.”

“Okay… maybe a bear then, would that be better? I want to tell all my buddies how Squirrel the Brave saved the asses of two military guys with one single RPG shot.”

“I’ll look forward to seeing that.”

“If you want to know, back in the Zone – when I was still with Freedom – we did it the other way round. The process was the same, except it was not about saving.”

“Go ahead and make my day, rodent…”

“Peace, man! Don’t point that shooter at me. What are you compensating for with that machine gun, anyway?”

Meanwhile, Tarasov has finished cleaning his boots. “
Rebyata
… if you’re done teasing each other, let’s move on.”

“Let’s,” Ilchenko says standing to his feet. “Damn, how I miss those choppers… I hate walking.” He kicks the half-empty can, still holding the remains of his breakfast, into a bush.

“Don’t do that,” Squirrel says, looking around nervously. “The woods have ears.”

“And the fields have eyes,” Ilchenko murmurs. “Heard that before.”

“Stop! Squirrel is right. Get down!”

Maybe it is Tarasov’s tired eyes playing tricks on him, but for a moment he was sure he’d spotted a pair of eyes watching them from the bushes. They’d disappeared, but the movement of the branches and a barely audible crackle on the ground tells him that someone, or something, was definitely watching them.

“What was that,
komandir
?”

Crouching, Ilchenko aims his PKM and slowly scans the ruins.

“Squirrel! Are there any… bloodsuckers here?”

The guide pales. “Oh shit! Did you see one?”

“How could I? They can make themselves invisible!”

“We were not supposed to run into them before Hellgate!”

“Holy Mother of Jesus Christ,” Ilchenko exclaims. “It’s just a few anomalies there, you said!”

“Form an echelon. Ilchenko, take point. Squirrel, stay on my side and keep an eye on our rear. Let’s move!”

The woods become sparse as they slowly approach the steep descent to the plateau. They proceed cautiously, moving from cover to cover. After fifty meters, Tarasov signals a halt.

“Can’t see any contacts,” he murmurs, scanning the area through his binoculars. “Wait… I see a huge pack of jackals.”

“Are they moving in our direction?” Squirrel whispers.