Nail

Felix "Nail" Cherevko

Faction: Loner
Rank: Expert
Reputation: Good

Beginning in the spring of 2005, Felix and a group of friends began organizing raids into the area around the CNPP to steal abandoned construction equipment and materials. With the help of bribery and connections with the local military, they were able to drive empty trucks into the Exclusion Zone and return loaded with scrap.

After the Second Disaster in 2006, Felix's group realized a new possibility for income; instead of merely scavenging for metal, they began to rob the early stalkers for semi-mythical artefacts found in newly formed anomalies. Just like that, Felix became one of the first bandits in the Zone, and earned the name "Nail" for his exploits. Although they weren't quite as cheeky as their successors, the group amassed an enormous amount of money selling their ill-gotten artefacts in the outskirts of the Zone.

Unfortunately for them, success didn't last long. One day, a stalker they had ambushed told Nail about a huge stash of artefacts in exchange for safe passage. The stalker feared that if he tried to carry them all out at once, they might interact strangely. Nail let the stalker go without even taking what few artefacts he had, thinking of the vast sums of money he and his group could make if they found the stalker's stash; perhaps even enough to put the bandit life behind them.

Early next morning, Nail and seven men from his group travelled far into the Zone. Thanks to rare scientific equipment they had purchased with a month's worth of earnings, the expedition was going smoothly as they managed to avoid all the anomalies in their way. But to their surprise, everything changed drastically when they arrived at the supposed stash location.

Instead of a treasure trove of artefacts, they discovered a wretched two-headed beast. Having neglected to bring any serious weaponry, it was only moments before Nail was the last one alive. Somehow, in a blind panic, he managed to escape from the creature's lair. Covered in mud, with tattered clothes and frozen terror in his eyes, he finally stumbled back to the outskirts of the Zone in the late evening. He was rescued by a passing stalker, who took him for a deranged former resident of Chernobyl.

Since that day, Nail never spoke a word about his former group or past actions. Rather than keeping as far from it as possible, the horror he experienced prompted him to return and study the Zone. After hearing about a strange faction of militaristic scientists known as "Clear Sky" from the stalker who saved him, Nail headed for the Marshes to join them.

He managed to prove his fitness, and soon enough became a respectable member of the faction. He never sought out any special role in Clear Sky, but he was well regarded by all its members. When Lebedev led most of Clear Sky to the CNPP in 2011, Nail stayed behind due to a recent injury, which unexpectedly saved his life. When news about the death of Clear Sky's leadership reached the swamps, Nail chose to strike out on his own as a lone stalker.

Since then, he has found a place working for Sakharov as a supernumerary employee, and is considered one of the most useful. If not for him, many rare artefacts would have remained unknown to science. But still to this day, he fears that his sordid past will be uncovered, and his dreams are haunted by the shadowy beast that changed his life forever.

Proofread by TKGP