the diary of a stalker.
it was an day like any other with a difference the sky was dark and threatening with its
it was three months ago when i came here, my family died in an fire when i was getting drunk in a bar, the memory's are still haunting me every night when i do my best to sleep but i cannot get rid of the sight of my house in an blazing fire while my family was burning inside and the smell of burning flesh filling the air, the unreal sirens and lights coming from the fire trucks seemed to come from hell.
what happend in the days afther that was like an dream no a nightmare everything looked as if i was underwater in an dark place, foices where sounding like growls from an angry animal an animal that was blaming me for the death of my loved one's.
those days where spend with walking the streets in despair looking for something unknown drinking everything with alchohol in it.
then i found it, it was a newspaper page that was blown by the wind over the streets until it stopped at my feet, it was an articel about the zone and its inhabitants stalkers and mutants and things unknown.
thats when i knew i had to go there and look for answers to find out if there was a god that made this happen to me.
i went to my insurance agent to get the money i had earned in the most disgusting way, the death of my family and the loss of my house.
the insurance guy was surprised to see me as i was reported missing since the fire.
i walked up to him and asked him how much i money i would get while at the same time avoiding his staring eyes that seemed to say «how could you leave your family alone you bastard» i was given an cheque for 250.000 dollar i took it and went to the bank to cash it.
my arrival near the border of the zone was sudden since i was not awhare of what happend since i went to the bank.
i checked my stuff i had on me and noticed i still had 249.321 dollar and some food i was scared i had spend all my money in my mental absence but i was lucky that i apperently was spending my money with utmosts care.
i walked up to the military checkpoint and asked where i could buy the equipment to become a stalker.
they first thought i was kidding but the soon realised i was serious.
they pointed out an place on a map and asked me if i was sure about my latest «career move» and that i should do the smart thing and find a normal job.
i ingnored them and walked around the fence to the stalker camp on the outside of the zone.
half an hour later i saw the first signs of an camp and i walked a little faster since at the other side of the fence where some dogs walking and looking at me but i could not see any eyes and that scared me a little.
when i entered the camp i walked up to an stalker and asked where i could buy equipment and rations.
he said i should go the the dealer and pointed to an stair going down into the ground.
i walked to the stair and walked down seing an button and a door i pressed the button and spoke into the intercom «hello i was send here to buy equipment is anyone here!» the buzzing sound was not the welcome i expected but it was good enough.
i walked in and i saw a fat man with only one arm and holding a shotgun in his hand.
«hello i want to buy guns ammo and rations can i do that here!»
«i am the dealer i can get you all the stuff you need and get back the stuff when an real stalker takes it off your corpse»
what how does he dare to insult me like that i thought but since i didnt want to pay more i decided to start shopping immediatly.
«i want to become a stalker what do i need»
«you will need an anomaly detector an assualt rifle armor an geiger counter clothes that will protect you from radiation acid rain and fog but your equipment will depend on how much money you have»
«money wont be the problem so give me the most advanced anomaly detector an ak47 with grenade launcher the best armor you have and a full nbc (nuclear biological and chemical) suit an good geiger counter and if you have one an dragunov rilfe with an infra red scope nightvision scope and ofcourse an normal scope»
i could see his mouth starting to grin and eventually he started to laugh as if i said the best joke of the planet.
«how are you going to afford that he he»
«with this money» while i threw a stack of hundred dollar bills in front of him.
«oh i see whe can do business afther all» was the response he gave without any sign he was going to apollogize, but that did not matter since he had to stop making fun of me if he wanted my money and somewhare underneath his skin he felt as if i made fun of him and he did not like that one bit causing me to grin.
«my advise to you stalker is to buy an fn2000 since it has more punch than an ak47 and an
«well i can afford it but i will take the ak47 with grenade launcher as a
the dealer looked at me remembering i was a rookie.
«the
that makes sence but why are the rats so dangerous i thought.
«why are the rats such an consern to you!» i asked.
«the rats are much bigger because of the radiation the pack is protected by even bigger rats the size of a wolf giving them the name ratwolfs, if you are attacked by rats your body will be gone in 15 minutes»
ofcourse i would not need any more facts to buy the
«ok i will buy the
the dealer started to think what to charge me since he did wanted me to return here to sell me even more.
«20.000 dollar american for your equipment and how much ammo will you require!»
thats a thought how much will i need? i must be able to carry all of it and be able to run for atleast 10 minutes.
«ill take 500$ worth of ammo»
the dealer looks pleased to earn such amounts of money he gave me all the stuff i bought and even gave me an old book.
«what about the book!» i asked.
«its an report made by one of the scientist it tells most of the known mutants and the anomaly's you can encounter and it has a lot of storie's of stalkers talking about the weakspots of the mutants and some survival tips you might need»
whow i was really surprised by his gift i did not expect this to happen and it would be very helpfull.
«dealer where can i get a map of the zone!» i asked him.
«sorry but i dont know of any map about the zone in its current state but i can sell you an old map of the area for lets say 10$"
«it much for a map but i will take it»
than i left the dealers shop and started to look around i saw an place where many stalkers where.
so i decided to go in, it was a bar i looked around and i found a table where a few stalkers where sitting i joined them and listened closely on what they where talking about.
i noticed that one of them was called sergey he was the boss of this group and he was going to hunt a mutant they called «controller».
then he looked at me for a moment then he asked me if i wanted to come along tomorrow to hunt the «controller».
well it was better for my health to go in the zone with a group the first couple of times so i accepted his offer.
i asked him where i could get some rest and said i should ask the bartender.
so i walked to the bar and asked the bartender if i could rent a room for the night.
«yes you can but it will cost you 30$"
«ok i will take it» i paid the man the 30$.
«its up the stairs room number 2 here is a key dont lose it or you are in trouble»
i went to my room and i went to bed.
my first steps in the zone
i woke up afther having an restless sleep i put on my brand new clothes and equipment and i loaded my weapons checked the geiger counter and turned the anomaly detector on.
i went downstairs and i looked for sergey.
he was sitting at the same table he sat at yesterday almost as if he slept there.
«he sergey when will whe leave!» within the hour he replied.
«but i first have to go to the dealer to get some ammunitions for my
i noticed i did not have bought any
«ok now whe will go to the tunnel and go hunt down that controller bastard»
whatever this controller was sergey hated it so much i could swear his blood would boil if he did not kill it today.
after walking for one and a half hours whe reached the «tunnel» it was an old drainage tube that was once welded shut but it was blown open with explosives i could tell by the large shards of metal and the scorch marks on the entrance.
within 5 minutes of walking/crawling through the tunnel whe where in the zone.
it was almost as if i was on another planet evrything was different than what the other end of the tunnel looked like, the place also felt different as if a thousand eyes where looking at you ready to ambush you if you where to close to them.
afther walking a couple of hours i saw my first mutant it was what sergey called an «blind dog» he said to keep quiet and wait till the pack of hunting blind dogs where gone.
«a pack i only see one of them sergey»
«the blind dogs are always hunting at this time of the day and always in packs of atleast 10 dogs , look there are two others and over by that bush is the rest of the pack»
«i see sergey but how long is this going to take!»
«that depends on the dogs if they smell us it they will attack us and if they dont they will walk on within 5 minutes»
but afther ten minutes they where still there and i could tell sergey was getting agitated.
«i think they smelled us a few of them are out of sight and they will probably land on our necks if whe dont grab our guns and kill them first»
this will be the perfect time to test my
«hey whats that you got there!» sergey asked.
«its an
«aim at the bush over there , that way you will take out 3 to 5 of them in a single shot but wait till three ok!»
«ok»
«1»
«2»
«3»
i shot of the
then my grenade landed and took out 5 dogs.
sergey ran towards the middle of the open field and i followed him.
«ok know whe have too listen carefully because there are a few left somewhare if you hear one blast it away with your
i listend for a while but heared nothing afther a couple of seconds i thought to have heared a snarl coming from a bush so i took aim and sergey looked at me and he noticed i heard some thing and when i neeld down he did the same.
then i shot.
the bang could have been heard miles around our position sergey launched up to his feet and shot behind me.
aperently a blind dog attacked me at the moment i blew up 2 of its friends.
then whe ran away from that place into a small cabin nearby a little stream.
sergey thanked me for the support i gave him then he collapsed to the ground.
«sergey are you ok? , answer me goddamnit»
«im ok but my leg hurts like hell»
i checked out his leg and noticed he had a piece of shrapnel in his leg.
«sergey you have a piece of metal in your leg but dont worry i will get it out of you in a second» i took out my autodiagnostic medikit with injector and fixed his leg than i put a bandage around it. «good as new sergey»
«thank you» he replied.
than whe decided to move on but when sergey was standing in the door he looked up and walked back in.
«whats wrong sergey!»
«acid rain is coming so whe will have to spend the night in this dump»
«well than whe might as well get comfortable and eat something»
«yeah good idea»
i took my cooking unit and i warmed up some coffee and i ate a
«not bad these
«yeah its quite good stuff but i prever home made food»
«yeah your right»
whe spend the rest of the hours before sleep talking about the zone and its dangers.
i had first guard bit little did i know of what was about to happen to us.
i was reading my book that the dealer gave me when i heard footsteps around the cabin.
«sergey whe have visitors» he woke up and grabbed his
«you have nice toys my friend» sergey said to me.
whe backed up into the room away from the door.
the door nob was being pulled but not turned around.
«that must be a zombie any human would be able to open it within a second»
a zombie i thought shoot at the head to disable it i recalled from the book.
«sergey i will shoot through the door at head hight» sergey gave me the ok.
i gently squeezed the trigger sending 8 to 10 bullets through the door.
a sound as if i hit a mellon, a corpse hitting the ground , more footsteps slowly walking to the door.
«definitly zombie's get ready to run out»
sergey shot through the door and ran to wards it kicking it open and running swiftly into the dark with me close behind him.
whe turned around and dropped to the ground taking aim at the 7 zombie's near our cabin.
«the controller must be nearby , those zombie's can't attack us in a group without a controller preventing them from eating their group members»
i started scanning the area and i noticed an person hiding behind an dead tree.
«sergey three o'clock at dead tree»
sergey had a smile on his face and took aim at the person.
he shot the mutant right through its right eye.
while the zombie's where gathering inside the cabin where we where three minutes ago.
i felt that sergey was searching for something in my backpack he grabbed my
we walked over to the carnage and put a bullet in every zombie's head if it had its head intact.
we then walked over to the controller.
sergey gave me my
we walked back to the stalker camp as the light of day was coming to enlight the zone.
afther a few hours whe found an bloodbath bodyparts everywhare.
«what happend here sergey»
«i dont know»
«lets search for their money and the stuff whe can sell» sergey said.
feeling uncomfortable i took everything what i could use afther all this is the zone.
the loot was 4 ak74's 1342 dollar 5643 roebels and 12 grenades.
i noticed footprints by one of the corpses.
«sergey look footprints»
«looks like a rival stalker clan killed these men»
«why do they kill rivals!»
«easy there is no law here no'one will ever bring them to justice so why not kill them before they kill you»
that makes sense but it is not something i would like to happen to me.
«they where fortunate they did not encounter marauders»
«marauders»
«thiefs that kill you for your gear they enjoy to injure you before they kill you, once i saw a corpse of an old friend he had its own guts forced into his own mouth he died hours after the attack» sergey said with much anger.
«fortunatly everybody shoots marauders on sight , you can recognize them by a few things 1 they always walk in groups of ten or more 2 they have much too expensive equipment than they should have compared to their skills 3 they always talk about their victims and how they killed them, for some reason they feel stronger by impressing the other marauders
4 they are careless they hardly ever bother to pay atention to their surroundings so you will be able to sneak up to them and give them a surprise they deserve"
«so when i see one i should kill him!»
«yes and the rest of them too while your at it its worth the time cause you can take their stuff and money» smiling because i showed interest in hunting marauders.
«it might be something we could do after we have sold this controller head to one of the scientist»
«wont we need some extra men!»
«no not really cause you got a
«he sergey how much money will you get for the controllers head!»
«about 2500 roebles easy why!»
«well why not buy a
«that would be nice but i need better protective gear like you have to be able to have children that wont glow in the dark» he said laughing
sergey and i where friends we hunted through the zone for weeks untill he was killed by an gravity anomaly.
alone in the zone
i had made a tree house where i hid my stuff from thieves and where i slept during my trips in the zone.
at that time i was as good as the best stalkers.
because i disapeared from the stalker camps i quickly was called a ghost never too be seen , leaving a trail of dead marauders every where i walked.
i only went to the camps to buy food and ammo quickly leaving without being spoken too.
i soon realised people feared me , because marauders told storie's of a shadow hunting them killing them without making a sound claiming that i was able to turn invisible and i had powers that made a controller look like your best friend.
i enjoyed those rumors as it kept me save from harm.
once in a while i would find a rookie stalker in trouble then i would help him out from a distance with my silenced dragunov.
and throwing a bag with an small amount of money usually around 500 dollars , because at that time i was a very rich man i had over a million dollars only because i hunted marauders and i wanted to help the newcomers as i was helped by sergey when i myself started.
making a new friend
at one point i saw a real rookie he was walking around through the zone obviously lost so i decided to follow him.
when an hour had past i saw he was walking in a trap of a controller.
«dont worry little friend the ghost is watching over you» i said to myself.
and yes indeed he noticed he was in trouble he started shooting like a wildman.
but he only took out 3 zombie's with his entire supply of ak 47 ammo so i decided to start helping as i promised him without even knowing it himself.
i shot the zombie he was looking at and he imediatly dropped to the ground.
«smart move kid» i thought.
i shot my magazine empty and reloaded while the stalker was still laying on the ground.
i wondered what he was thinking at that time but i could only find out if i kept shooting zombie's.
afther a while i shot most of the zombie's and then i found the controller so i shot him right through his head painting the wall red with its brain.
i walked over to the stalker and grabbed him by his arm i pulled him up to his feet and said tht he had to walk over to the house i was pointing at.
i continued to shoot the remaining zombie's just for fun.
then i walked over to the house the stalker was hiding in.
«hey where are you» i yeld into the house.
then i saw him walking down the stairs afraid of what was going to happen.
«hello there are you ok!»
«i…. i think so» he replied.
«you need to work at your aiming»
«uhm….. yes sir…!»
«you dont have to call me sir»
«uhm….. how should i call you then?…"
«im known as the ghost»
«i have heard about you , you are the one that helps stalkers when they are in trouble , you are a legend in the camps they even have a small shrine where they burn candles in your honor»
«really i did not know about that» is this kid kidding me or something?
«yeah a lot of stalkers burn a candle before they go into the zone they believe that if they do that you will protect them from marauders and mutants»
«did you burn a candle!» i was really curious about this one.
«yes the guys at the bar said i should do that as all the little bits help»
«and you now think it does!»
«yeah it made me feel safer when walking into the zone»
funny guy.
«lets bring you home» i said to him
i decided to go to my tree house first and give this guy the book the dealer gave me and to give him some new gear.
after around 2 hours we reached my tree house i climbed up and threw down an
the trip itself will take a day but we might run into fog forcing us to take shelter and since i dont like to walk at night it might take us 2 days to get to a camp.
the two of us started our journey that would be more dangerous than i ever could have imagined.
the bear
we where walking for about half an hour when i was alarmed by the total absence of sound.
no birds not even the sound of the wind was to be heard i started talking to my companion only to make sure i was not deaf.
we walked underneath a small hill over a road , a route i have walked countless times.
when i first noticed something was coming after us.
i did not mention it to the rookie stalker because it might upset him.
«what is your name!»
«john» he said.
«what brings you here john!» while still scanning the area for the creature stalking us.
«my father has become ill and can never work again my mother has to take care of him so she can not work either , so i had to find a job that payed enough to support them both» he was telling the truth.
«what did your parent say about you becoming a stalker!»
«they begged me to stay with them but i knew i could not support them with a normal job , they where afraid i might get myself killed»
«your mother was right kid if it wasen't for me you would be dead» the mutant was on the right near an car wreck so i took my fn2000.
«yeah i would be kinda dead but you saved me !» i calmly put the fn 2000 in my hands preparing myself for the fight.
«he kid i think it would be smart to take that
«why!»
«because the shit is going to hit the fan real soon»
«what do you mean!»
«i mean we are going to have to fight for our lifes»
he stopped walking and prepared his
i grabbed a grenade and pulled the pin out.
then i threw it right in the bushes where the creature was.
BOOM.
john fired a small burst of bullets in the bushes.
i took aim with my fn2000 since whatever it was was either dead or coming out within seconds.
it was still alive.
it was sort of a bear with two heads and the most nasty looking teeth you can imagine.
it was covered in blood but it did not seem to bother it.
it was much more muscular than a normal bearand its claws where also much bigger its nails where the size of daggers ready to rip apart anything organic.
its muscles forced the bear to walk on four legs otherwize it might fall over.
it looked as if the bear was on steroids but the radiation did this.
its massive heads began to size us up.
its eyes bloodred where shining as if the mutant found a long lost member of its family but instead we where its prey.
john opend fire and blasted holes in its left head.
i imidiatly answered john's fire and started to fire at the mutant.
the mutant walked back a little and than started to run towards me lowering its head like a dog does when running.
i had to dodge its charge or die trying.
i aimed at its eye's to force it to move its head it luckely did.
when the mutant was 3 meters away from him i jumped to the right and quickly rolled a few extra meters.
john shooting over me when i rolled, hitting the mutant in its side.
quickly i stood up and shot it in its behind , the mutant roared like something from hell.
it turned for another charge and i grabbed an grenade and pulled the pin out.
the mutant was thundering in my direction and i repeated my little stunt to get away from its snapping jaws.
as i was rolling i threw the grenade to the place i thought where it would turn around.
the mutant got the full load of the blast as the grenade was laying right underneath the mutant.
the mutant was killed by the shrapnel entering its belly litteraly tearing it apart it was finaly dead.
i took its two heads that where more or less intact and i took them with me as i left towards the camp with a really scared john.
i sold the heads to the dealer and lit a candle at the shrine that was made for the protector of all stalkers.
then returned to the bar i was so long ago and rented my old room.
where i decided to put my story on paper.