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who; Ghost and Strelok
what; Strelok has had that look in his eye.
where ; One of the group’s many hideouts
when ; Pre-Clear Sky
warning(s); none
"The fire cracked silently as four Stalkers sat around it. The night was silent, only a small wind and the rustling of grass and leaves to fill the ears. One of the men spoke up suddenly: "Have you children heard the tale of the Monolith?" Hearing no replies, the man continued, "You see, in the center of the Zone, stands the Nuclear Power Plant. Many have tried to reach it, and almost all of them have failed. Their ambitions were mountains of artifacts and gold, and anything else their greedy minds could think of. But their ideas had a reason; they all had heard and tried to get to the place most sacred for the Monolith bastards."
"They all tried to get to the Wish Granter - a being, or a place, only God knows what it is, in the Plant, that can grant you your wildest wishes! Mountains of artifacts, eternal glory, fame, hills of money, immortality - everything. Possibilities a man couldn't spend in a lifetime! All the Wish Granter asks in return is a small payment, but what it is, children, I'll leave you to find out."
In the morning, the elderly Stalker had left, leaving nothing but an echo from the story..."
- The Lore of the Wish Granter
Ever since they had let that elderly stalker make camp with them for the night… who was that guy anyway, they never got his name… Ghost had noticed a certain look in Strelok’s eyes. He had only seen it once or twice, when Strelok had heard news of some potentially big score – or worse, a big adventure. At night their fearless leader would stare into the campfire like it held all the answers, and more than once Ghost caught him zoning out over his gun. Over his gun. That never happened, Strelok was always way too careful about his firearms for that. Something had to be said.
And this happened to be the perfect time, holed up in one of their hideouts waiting for a blowout. Strelok wasn’t paying attention, instead pouring over some documents he’d picked up god knew where.
“You want to go after the Wish Granter.”
There was a beat where his friend didn’t respond and Ghost thought he might have to repeat his hastily-blurted statement. Thankfully right then Strelok looked up, expression as bewildered as Ghost had ever seen.
“What are you talking about, Ghost?”
“You know what I am talking about. Ever since we talked to that crotchety old guy you’ve had that Wish Granter on the brain. I can see it on your face.” Strelok’s gaze became distant for a moment, until Ghost interrupted, shouting wordlessly and pointing at him. “There! You started doing it again!”
Strelok paused and laughed lightly. “Come on, bro. I do not want to go after the Wish Granter.”
Lies. Totally lies, he could tell. He crossed his arms, levelling a serious stare at his friend. “I hope not. That guy was fucking crazy, the Zone got in and melted his brain. ‘Wish Granter’, bah… all that is at the Center is radiation and death.”
The other man made a non-committal noise that might have been agreement… and then started getting that look. Not the look where he started plotting to do something insane or stupid, oh no. The look where he tried to drag Ghost and Fang into his insane or stupid plot. “It would be something if it was there, though. Even if it wasn’t… we could be two of the stalkers that made it to the Center and returned to tell the tale. They would never forget us.”
“They will never forget us already.” Oh no. No no no. No way was he getting pulled into this. He crossed his arms tighter for a moment, glaring at Strelok. “Besides, you know there is no way in. Everyone that gets close has their brain scorched to bits. They wander around like brainless zombies. We would never make it.”
Strelok smiled a little. “Actually… there may be a pattern to the Brain Scorcher. And we may be able to figure it out. And better – look at these schematics.” He handed the pile of papers to Ghost. “I think there may be a tunnel that we could use.” Ghost stared at him before flipping through the papers. And there, right there.
Ugh. Strelok was right. Again. He glared at his friend, whose grin just got wider. Bah! “You are going to get me killed at this rate, Strelok. And Fang too.”
Strelok reached over and clapped him on the shoulder, expression almost triumphant… but hesitant, too. Like he thought that this would be the one time that Ghost shot him down. “Then we all die together, and become legends that the other stalkers will never forget! Are you in, Ghost?”
This was crazy. This was beyond crazy. No one made it to the center, and what would they even do when they got there? If they got there.
… When they got there.
Dammit.
“Fine. I’m in, Strelok.”
what; Strelok has had that look in his eye.
where ; One of the group’s many hideouts
when ; Pre-Clear Sky
warning(s); none
"The fire cracked silently as four Stalkers sat around it. The night was silent, only a small wind and the rustling of grass and leaves to fill the ears. One of the men spoke up suddenly: "Have you children heard the tale of the Monolith?" Hearing no replies, the man continued, "You see, in the center of the Zone, stands the Nuclear Power Plant. Many have tried to reach it, and almost all of them have failed. Their ambitions were mountains of artifacts and gold, and anything else their greedy minds could think of. But their ideas had a reason; they all had heard and tried to get to the place most sacred for the Monolith bastards."
"They all tried to get to the Wish Granter - a being, or a place, only God knows what it is, in the Plant, that can grant you your wildest wishes! Mountains of artifacts, eternal glory, fame, hills of money, immortality - everything. Possibilities a man couldn't spend in a lifetime! All the Wish Granter asks in return is a small payment, but what it is, children, I'll leave you to find out."
In the morning, the elderly Stalker had left, leaving nothing but an echo from the story..."
- The Lore of the Wish Granter
Ever since they had let that elderly stalker make camp with them for the night… who was that guy anyway, they never got his name… Ghost had noticed a certain look in Strelok’s eyes. He had only seen it once or twice, when Strelok had heard news of some potentially big score – or worse, a big adventure. At night their fearless leader would stare into the campfire like it held all the answers, and more than once Ghost caught him zoning out over his gun. Over his gun. That never happened, Strelok was always way too careful about his firearms for that. Something had to be said.
And this happened to be the perfect time, holed up in one of their hideouts waiting for a blowout. Strelok wasn’t paying attention, instead pouring over some documents he’d picked up god knew where.
“You want to go after the Wish Granter.”
There was a beat where his friend didn’t respond and Ghost thought he might have to repeat his hastily-blurted statement. Thankfully right then Strelok looked up, expression as bewildered as Ghost had ever seen.
“What are you talking about, Ghost?”
“You know what I am talking about. Ever since we talked to that crotchety old guy you’ve had that Wish Granter on the brain. I can see it on your face.” Strelok’s gaze became distant for a moment, until Ghost interrupted, shouting wordlessly and pointing at him. “There! You started doing it again!”
Strelok paused and laughed lightly. “Come on, bro. I do not want to go after the Wish Granter.”
Lies. Totally lies, he could tell. He crossed his arms, levelling a serious stare at his friend. “I hope not. That guy was fucking crazy, the Zone got in and melted his brain. ‘Wish Granter’, bah… all that is at the Center is radiation and death.”
The other man made a non-committal noise that might have been agreement… and then started getting that look. Not the look where he started plotting to do something insane or stupid, oh no. The look where he tried to drag Ghost and Fang into his insane or stupid plot. “It would be something if it was there, though. Even if it wasn’t… we could be two of the stalkers that made it to the Center and returned to tell the tale. They would never forget us.”
“They will never forget us already.” Oh no. No no no. No way was he getting pulled into this. He crossed his arms tighter for a moment, glaring at Strelok. “Besides, you know there is no way in. Everyone that gets close has their brain scorched to bits. They wander around like brainless zombies. We would never make it.”
Strelok smiled a little. “Actually… there may be a pattern to the Brain Scorcher. And we may be able to figure it out. And better – look at these schematics.” He handed the pile of papers to Ghost. “I think there may be a tunnel that we could use.” Ghost stared at him before flipping through the papers. And there, right there.
Ugh. Strelok was right. Again. He glared at his friend, whose grin just got wider. Bah! “You are going to get me killed at this rate, Strelok. And Fang too.”
Strelok reached over and clapped him on the shoulder, expression almost triumphant… but hesitant, too. Like he thought that this would be the one time that Ghost shot him down. “Then we all die together, and become legends that the other stalkers will never forget! Are you in, Ghost?”
This was crazy. This was beyond crazy. No one made it to the center, and what would they even do when they got there? If they got there.
… When they got there.
Dammit.
“Fine. I’m in, Strelok.”
