Tak had been shadowing his fellow stalker for 15 minutes. The figure in the distance moved deliberately through the thick underbrush, as though he knew where he was going. This man, had to know where something valuable was. Otherwise, why risk being so far from "safe" areas? Out here it was easy to get lost...a very bad thing within the Zone.

Up ahead the forest appeared to be thinning out. Both a good and bad thing. Good because it made him more comfortable to be where he could see for more than 20 meters in any direction, and bad because it would make following this man far more difficult.

As he reached the edge of the forest he noted to himself what a strangely beautiful day it was. The sun was shining and everything was green and lush. It was almost a paradise...marred only by the constant pang of danger one felt while inside the Zone. At the best times a slight tickle in the back of your mind...at the worst an almost maddening feeling of despair...no matter how beautiful your surroundings, and this place was beautiful.

A sunny glade amidst a grand forest. A hill rose on the other side of the 200 meter or so wide opening in the forest. The ground was covered with wildflowers and thick tall grass up to your waist. It almost made Tak want to lay down and sleep. Reminded him of his times at home. Yeah, he should just lay down and take a nice nap...

No! He shook his head to clear his mind and refocus on his objective. He avoided killing other humans as much as possible. However, he had no compunctions about stealing from his fellow stalkers, and this man MUST know where something valuable is...maybe a secret stash of artefacts he hadn't been able to carry out in one load. Hopefully, the man wouldn't be able to carry what remained, and maybe after the man had gone Tak could steal what was left for himself. Maybe, it would even be enough for him to trade in his old AK-74 for a nice new F-2000 with the optical sights...yeah. "No...focus!" He thought to himself. "The Zone is no place for daydreams..."

The man walked to the center of some piled rocks, from what looked like the remains of an old building, now covered in moss and vines. Once in the center, he took a slow labored seat on a rock and looked down at his feet and just sat there. Tak watched the man for what seemed like an eternity. Neither of them moved even an inch. Finally, Tak checked his watch...the man had been motionless for nearly an hour.

The options ran through Taks mind. He could turn around and leave, wait longer, or go in for a closer look. Maybe if the man was sleeping he could get the entire stash. Either way he had to know what was going on. He started moving forward with excruciating slowness. Careful to hold his rifle and waterskin in place as they both liked to get jostled and make noise at inopportune times. It took him 3 minutes to cross the 100 meter gap from the edge to the square of rocks.

Suddenly, a sliver of danger pierced Taks skull like a knife. Something was truely wrong here. Tak listened...he couldn't hear the man breathing even from 5 feet away. He silently drew his side-arm. His trusty Browning HP he'd had since he'd started his "career" as a stalker. He stepped out from behind the rock he'd been behind and aimed carefully at the back of the mans head. "Don't move I..." Tak began until he noticed the two bullet holes in the back of the mans protective suit. "...'m in trap..."

A quick flash of movement in his peripheral vision caused him to spin with all the blinding quickness his reflexes gave him, lining up his gun rapidly with the vaguely human shaped head and squeezing the trigger...but he didn't. He couldn't...he willed so hard to put a 9mm round through that pasty odd face, but his body wouldn't listen. The controller smiled at him an awful grin, full of malice and spite. Out of the corner of his eyes and in front of him he could see them rising from the grass. At least 50 or so zombies. As they closed in on him slowly his mind raced to figure out how to get out of this mess, but all he could do was think of how he got into it...

-Timothy Andew Kane, born of the great rich Kane family of the United States. Extremely adept both physically and mentally he'd strolled easily through life. Every task he met he beat easily. Nothing was fun. There was no challenge to life. Then he heard about "them." Just rumours and stories really, of men who were brave enough to enter the "Zone." An extremely difficult place. A challenge. Maybe the only challenge worth his time and effort. He told his parents of his plan. His fater forbid him to ever go there.

So he left. He took the 5 grand he kept in his cigar box on his desk, and stole away in the still of the night. When he arrived at the town outside the Zone that served the resident stalkers he was glad. He started his life as Tak, a new stalker. He fit in well with all the others here. Criminals, sociopaths, people escaping debts....in reality people escaping their pasts. Much as he was. He purchased supplies a small shack to live in, and even managed to hire himself a tutor. Someone to teach him the basics of weaponry, and survival before he went of on his own.-

As the ring of zombies drew closer, he grew anxious...he wasn't afraid. He had never been afraid. He always somehow managed to come out on top. Whether through physical prowess, mental superiority...or just plain dumb luck...

At that moment he saw a small flash from the hilltop, and suddenly the controller's malicious grin turned into a giant bloody mass and his body fell from the rock he'd been perched on. A loud crack sounded shortly after. The zombies all stopped...abruptly disconnected from their leaders control they were dazed.

Tak didn't think he just acted. The instant he felt his body become his own again he took of running towards the flash. Whether, the man behind that rifle is friendly or not, he was human, and a human he could at least reason with. He ran full out for a minute or so before reaching the top of the hill. He heard a metallic click behind him and a voice speak to him. "Hold. Turn around."

Turning slowly, not knowing what to expect he turned to see behind the gun aimed at him the face of a rather large black man. "Eddie?" Tak asked almost unbelieving. The man's face split into a huge grin. "Hey Tim what's going on. Fancy meeting you here. When's the last time we saw one another...prep school?" He said relaxing his gun.

"Yeah, but I go by Tak now...so how'd you get here?" Tak asked as the started the long trek out of the zone. "That's a long story," Eddie replied,"It all started when..."

From that point on they worked together. Tak as the go to it man, and Eddie providing the back up and heavy-fire support. They became one of the first truely successful stalker duos.