A Shephard- ZoC Main Story Vol 2 Chapter 3

Part 3 - Open Door Policy

-pov shift-

That dream again. You’re lying on the shore, now. At least it’s more comfortable than being in the ocean of glass shards that are now only lapping at your legs as they come and go from the ocean.

A loud bang and you’re up. A lot faster than you thought, makarov still in your hands and at the ready.

You see Lucy’s fluffy ears first pop around the corner, and then the rest of her comes into view. You eye her questioningly, but she shakes her head.

“Clear,” she says quietly. Well thank god someone else is looking out for you and your bad ideas, for all you knew you could have charged straight into a bloodsuckers nest and collapsed.

Another bang, followed by a long scraping against the door brings you back. Maybe still half asleep, you motion Lucy, your main firearm and method of trouble dispensings, to stay away from the door as you ready your pistol in one hand, and the other moves towards the rotating lock.

A scream, high pitched and unfamiliar, is what sets you into motion. Yanking open the door, you immediately see the man from earlier. He’s not himself, anymore, the emission got him in the worst way possible. Disheveled, broken joints, he’s lazily swiping at a stalker with a smaller figure whose half way in the mud. Their uniform looks new, despite the brown coating half of it, and they’re screaming in an unusually high pitched tone.

While observing this, you stop wasting time and put a few rounds into the shambler. Being kind of excited and just woken up, none of your hits are vital- although that doesn’t seem to matter too much with these things. But it had staggered back. You’re luck it’ seems to have lost it’s shotgun from yesterday, or you’d be in some serious trouble. As it falls onto it’s back for a moment, you hesitate on where to shoot.
“When they fall down, hurry and put a few rounds in their skull. They get back up fast. I remember that much,” Lucy adds helpfully.

And so you hurry up, past the muddy stalker, and put two more rounds in it’s skull. Maybe the second was excessive, it’s not like you’re hurting for ammo from your stash, but it’s miles away and you need to save as much as you can get. Things you’ve learned over the past month start to kick in as, while scanning the surroundings, you start to check the former stalker and former zombie for supplies. Most of the pockets have been ripped open or out, and his backpacks not on him anymore, but there were a few rounds of shotgun slugs and pellets in his back pouch. You grab them, despite not having the firearm. If things get too heavy, you can always ditch them. But better to have it and not need it, then need it and not have it, or at least that’s what one of the movies you remember watching back in your brief stay in america had said.

Turning around, you realize you had forgotten the other stalker. She’s just sitting there in the mud, looking dumbfounded at everything. How the hell did she survive this far in the zone and be this surprised at anything-

“She?” you say outloud, almost shocked.
That’s when she snaps out of it, realizing where she is. Trying to stand, she slips again and falls back into the mud. Context can wait for later, you go over to the smaller stalker and give her a helping hand. You notice that while a bit short, her new equipment doesn’t do well to her hide her “equipment.” She stares at your outstretched hand. ‘Rookies,’ you think to yourself even though by all standards most would still consider you yourself a rookie. Grabbing both her shoulders, you heft her up. Now you have one bewildered female stalker, covered in mud, looking up at you, at Lucy by the door, all around, and back at you- her mouth repeatedly opening and closing again as she struggles to form words at all. You’re totally disarmed by all of this. Everything the zone has beaten into you so far, never to trust anyone and to exploit every opportunity, falls short at this totally defenseless newbie stalker who has, minutes later, still failed to introduce herself, let alone say anything at all.

You note Lucy looks on with a smug look on her face- wait she’s capable of looking smug? Is that even possible?
Well, you have to start somewhere.
“Uh, hello. My name’s Blank, that” you point to Lucy, choosing your words carefully as not to reveal anything, “is another stalker who's with me. You’re, uh, safe, but I have to ask- what the hell we’re you thinking coming out to yantar without a gun, let alone with no experience?”

Whoops, you’ve started into lecture mode. Nice job. She’s scared stiff and you’re starting to interrogate her like Sid and Green did back at the village. Bad habits. Still looking wide eyed, she’s about to respond when Lucy walks up and puts her hand on her shoulder.

“Questions later,” she starts. “Working chemical shower inside. You want to clean off, yes?” she asks the figure who is now caked in mud. Shyly, she nods, and is led inside the bunker. You’re just left dumbfounded, Lucy has helped sure, but she never takes huge initiative like this. You follow inside.

Maybe you can learn more about this mysterious stalker.

Maybe it won’t be as much as a headache as you fear it’s going to be.