Fyonn
did their best!
My goal was to unlock Security Level 2 clearance by retrieving some leaked documents about the Pechorsk Zone in Bolotky Village. As per my usual, I climbed the small guard tower just outside the UNPSC (United Nations Pechorsk Special Committee) outpost I call home. The Tide had recently come through, so the damaged PM, ammunition, and a couple magazines for it would be back. While listening to the stash's familiar pre-recorded message about the amnesia, ataxia, and hallucinations I was probably suffering, I was already planning. It'd not only be my first time going so far into Pervomay, it was also my first time leaving it.
The route was pretty simple: head straight past the trucks and go through the gap in the fence. Duck when going through the fence though, as not to be seen by the fragments at the oupost. They aren't a threat really, but if they followed me far enough I'd still have to waste a couple bullets to dispatch them. Follow the train tracks (but don't walk on them) until reaching the levitating cargo container. There's a bed inside I could use, but it takes less than an hour of Zone-time to get there if I sprint, so no point. Besides, sleep means the Tide is that much closer and I'm that much hungrier. It's still valuable information: I suspected I'd be coming back under a pitch-black night sky.
Getting that far was easy, everything so far had been known territory or at least seen territory. From the cargo container I headed north to the train yard, it was impossible to miss. The front is one massive anomaly, the tail of one of the trains looks like a leviathan frozen mid-leap, bowed outward by a long-gone spherical burst of gravity. I looked up at the massive black sphere wreathed in an orange aura - the thing that all compasses point to in the Zone, and it occurred to me for the first time that it looks like just like a black hole. "Am I already too close to the event horizon?" I wondered. The train yard itself was wide open, with three trains providing most of the cover. I spotted two patrol shades, one fragment, and the signature squiggles of two spawn. The fragment saw me well in advance, determined to trudge its way all the way up into my business at approximately half a mile an hour. Having favored my sawn-off shotgun for the job (the loudest gun in the game by far), the rest quickly became very aware of me.
Having such clear sight lines meant that - even with the awful accuracy of my G17 - I was able to make pretty short work of the patrol shades. The spawn both covered a ton of ground in very little time, but their headcrab-y jumps were easy to dodge and left them vulnerable after their post-impact disorientation. In one of the buildings within the train yard, I managed to score myself an undamaged Colt handgun. In another, a serviceable full-length double barrel shotgun. Weight limits meant that my best option was leaving my sawn-off behind, along with three UNPSC weather monitors I'd found scattered about. I'd probably pick them up on my way back, that's a free $600~ retrieval bonus just laying on the ground.
Soon, near a little guardhouse evocative of the route out of Shadow of Cherynobyl's Cordon, I spotted the familiar guide posts and rope that signaled a safe route to another area - wandering into the thickest fog without the guides would just leave me circling back to some obscure corner of Pervomay. One loading screen later, I was in Bolotky Village. Which, honestly, is far more of a forest than a village. I spent some time unpicking the puzzle box of an anomaly field, looking for the documents I needed. For my trouble, I inhaled copious amounts of poisonous gas and got startled by a shade. For its trouble, it got introduced to my new shotgun after I was done crawling away while squeezed dangerously tight between two light spear anomalies. Taking the time to reassess the situation while waiting for the healing effects of one of my epipens to kick in, I realized I had misread my map and went entirely the wrong direction.
Because of my mistake, I ended up reaching the circle of houses I actually needed to get to right at nightfall, meaning I had to light myself up like a Christmas tree to see a damn thing. There were about five houses, surely all full of delicious canned pineapples and maybe a shotgun shell each if I was lucky, but I was there on a mission. I met a New Type of Guy - let's call them Mr. Hugs for their affinity for getting v e r y c l o s e - on the way in. I'm not sure, but I think they try to make sure they're obscured before they start sprinting? Either way, sprinting translates to noisy, so it's not like it's hard to be aware of them.
I figured opposition would be pretty similar to what I'm used to with other landmarks, probably four up to maybe six shades, and I'd already dealt with two. Took one last look at my map and reminded myself "It's the house on the back right. I'm not here for a tour, get in and get out." Approaching the house was pretty easy, just one more Mr. Hugs and a couple regular shades to deal with. I took a heavy firepower approach. I thought if I could clear the place quick enough I wouldn't have to deal with the consequences of the noise, but I quickly ran the shotgun dry.
Didn't have time to safely slot more shells onto the shotgun's side strap, and I was pretty sure I was basically done anyway, so I just reloaded the barrels. As I was approaching the house, I could hear the footsteps of a fragment on dirt, but I wasn't sure which direction. I ducked into the house and pushed far back into one of the rooms, making sure I had no surprises in the house itself.
I got ready with a clear view of the front door. Soon, the fragment footsteps stopped. It must have lost my trail, the regular ones have trouble with object permanence. Then, much worse: boots, and they were running. Before I had the chance to ask myself if it was a patrolman shade or a Mr. Hugs, a spawn slithered it's squiggly self up to the threshold, pausing as if to say "Hi honey, I'm hooooooome!" I unloaded without aiming, wasting a round but still killing it. And then it's buddy showed up and *click click click* fuck. It missed me, but it also soared past my head, onto the bed behind me.
You know tactical reloads? Well, I did whatever the opposite of that is, but I did get it done. I was already turning to face the doorway again after firing the third shot I knew would kill the spawn. The patrolman shade emanated little girl noises to my immediate right - okay, good info, it's just outside and around the corner, hoping to use the house as cover. Also, because of the porch railing, it can't rush my position from that angle without exposing itself. As a side note, the "voices" of the shades are completely arbitrary - the same shade can emanate the voice of any number of different people at any time for no reason at all, like half-broken radios who want you dead but can't stop receiving.
I popped out around the corner and oh fuck that's three patrol shades. I said goodbye to two of them and also most of my magazine, not before one of them gift-wrapped a bullet just for me. I know I hit the third one twice, but more pressingly I heard fragment footsteps directly in front of me. It's a translucent fragment. I ducked back into the house. At some point, I think during the second spawn debacle, I dropped the flashlight I keep angled forward in my hip pouch on the ground. Good news: it was illuminating the front door, and I also had a pocket flashlight that emits green light to counteract certain anomalies. Bad news: neither helped.
I could just barely perceive the body of the translucent shade sometimes as it walked around the porch railing, trying to find a way to me. I tried and failed to shoot the mostly-invisible enemy multiple times at a range that was... generous to describe as range at all. It stopped moving shortly after it was out of sight of the door frame - I don't think fragments are intelligent enough to successfully navigate such extremely complex terrain like porches.
I quickly took stock of my gear and grabbed the magazine and flashlight I dropped earlier. I had three to six rounds for the G17, spread across four magazines. I stuffed the G17 and its magazines into my backpack. I considered for a moment taking out the undamaged Colt, but I didn't have any ammo for it, not really. I pulled out the damaged PM. Thankfully, I had thought to load it and its spare magazine just in case back at the guard tower it called home. Just in, it was now case.
I stepped out into the open and quickly fire into the translucent shade and it helpfully screeches as it dissipates into nothing - not like I was going to see its death animation. It took three - three - rounds. I was certain the Security Level 2 Beretta would not have done this to me. I holstered the PM and pulled the shotgun out to peak around the right side of the house again. The last patrolman shade's not there and neither is his body. I don't know where he went. As I finally take the time to fully reload the shotgun, I find myself sweating. Not from exhaustion or fear, just from the stress of staying focused and coordinated under pressure.
I stepped back into the house and looked around. Nice place, small and cozy. It's the kind of place I'd love to own but probably never will barring revolution, economic collapse, or both. The bedroom I made my stand in had a small second floor above the near wall. Against the far wall sat a small desk, on top of which were the documents I came for. I took the documents before climbing up the ladder and was greeted by a flare, an anomaly detector, and a can of food. Sweet, free food. I posted up in the back of the mini-attic, fairly certain shades can't deal with ladders. I saved the game and quit. Getting out of the Zone intact will be a job for post-dentist me, the poor asshole.
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