Chapter XIV: Darkness Within, Darkness Without

 Diary of Corporal Dimka Torodov, day 16.

Mill made it back to base okay. We lost Captain Taylor, our medic, not long after we arrived here, so patching him up was not too easy. Still, our rudimentary medical skills put together were enough to save his ass. Hernandez was pretty alarmed though, he kept going on about how we can't lose any more men as political situation in Europe is tightening. No idea what he is on about, news don't travel to us grunts here in accursed lands too often. And the local stalkers are about as politically illiterate as the rural folk back home, not much use fishing for info there.

I closed such notions from my mind, it was probably the typical hyperbole and hubris of politics anyway. Politicians lie and exaggerate all they like, and in the end we either get to put a bullet in someone or get one ourselves. Sevka agreed with me on this, and we did not discuss it much. Besides, we got a new gig lined up, a proper exploration mission this time. Maus had been looking for anything to fix stuff with, and had stumbled upon an entrance to some sort of underground passageway. He did not explore it further, but when I returned and told the Major about the vehicle lift, he immediately ordered the place to be scoped out.

Believe it or not, I actually was completely ready to head in and discover what was in that, most likely damp and dark, old tunnel, but Sevka negotiated an hour of rest for me and him. And looking back, I guess he was right. We were exhausted from the fight. Sevka took the time to sleep for a while, I on the other hand decided to get a good meal for once.

One of the guys here, Warrant Officer Pereira, had studied to become a chef before he dropped out and became a soldier, and he had used his skills to make meals out of the local fauna and flora. Grilled flesh chops with a side of anomaly-infused Zone potatoes. Apparently the man had found the latter growing near abandoned farm and after some tests found them safe. Not trusting him on that but my stomach commanded me to forget such silly things like personal safety. Besides, the local vodka seems to be a cure for anything, our eggheads have a theory that it is affected by the Zone in a way that makes it negate effects of radiation. If it's stupid but it works, it ain't stupid, I guess.

It wasn't Michelin-level cooking, but compared to the MREs and canned foods I had been eating the last few weeks, it might as well have been. I finished up the plate and thanked Pereira before leaving to get Sevka. My companion corporal was snoring on the lower floor, right next to the door, where Locke was keeping watch. I nodded to the private, who nodded back and then towards Sevka, shaking his head disapprovingly. I grinned at his frustration, if Sevka kept this up every mutant two kilometres from here would diverge on our location. Or more likely, away from us to save their hearing. To save everyone's patience, I kicked Sevka's boot, startling him awake.

• Siesta time's over, senor, time to go explore a secret underground passageway filled with unimaginable horrors, I joked while Sevka looked at me drowzily.

• Yay, nothing makes my day like yet another suicide mission. Well, let's go then, the sooner we return or get ourselves, the sooner I can get back to sleep, he said while yawning.

• That's one way to look at it, I guess, I replied as we begun to climb the stairs.

Fifteen minutes later we had descended into the underground facility. The route had been easy, a stairway with cobwebs and rats but nothing more hostile. Still, from the conversations I had listened in on, the local stalkers seemed to fear these places unlike any other, as if the anomalies and unnatural mutants were mere frights from time to time compared to the terror of labs. Now, we would find out if it was just another rumour or actuality. I loaded my sniper and Ruger ready and moved into the underpass. Sevka followed behind, Saiga prepared and leveled.

I was immediately greeted by a warm yellow light, an emergency lamp circling over the entrance. The stairway had led right next to the massive elevator shaft I had seen in the factory. And the tunnel, it was huge. Wrecked or abandoned vehicles as far the eye could see, forgotten cargo and anomalies. And darkness. I could see where the stories came from now. Even the nights of African wilderness did not compare to this. We immediately opened our flashlights and I taped the torch I had on me to the sniper's barrel.

We begun to move slowly. Long, deliberate steps between the Soviet machinery, flashlight cone circling over a spot before it was deemed safe. Sevka took the lead, his flashlight more powerful than mine and his shotgun more suited to this sort of thing. Gravitational anomalies hummed and twisted around here and there, their noise keeping us on the edge. But so far nothing had been alerted to our presence. We came to a corner and turned right, the tunnel stretching onwards. Small green puddles of bubbling goo lit up the way ahead, the chemical anomalies had devoured parts of the concrete. Now their sickly emerald light shone like a beacon, inviting us further. I was thankful that the screen helmet of my pathfinder suit blocked the noxious gases rising from them.

The sound of a weapon being raised alerted us, and we took cover mere seconds before a bullet struck the car ahead of us. Lunging behind the jeep, I hunkered down to be safe from the hail of pellets raking the battered UAZ. Our legs were mere centimetres from the Witches' Jelly, I could feel uncomfortable tingling in my soles. Then the firing stopped, and I could hear a man yelling orders in English.

• Fucking idiots, those are UNISG troops? I told you not to provoke any more international incidents, you bunch of peabrains!, the angry man shouted before continuing:

• You, UNISG troops! This is a Syndicate patrol, pardon for the fiery welcome but you can probably understand that we're a little on the edge here!

• You guys keep those fingers off the triggers and we'll talk then, and only then!, I shouted back and in the now silent tunnel I could hear multiple rifles being shifted to safe, or at least I hoped it was safe and not full-auto.

• Done. So, UN boys, what the hell are you doing here?, the voice asked.

• Right back at you, merc. We're scoping the place out for potential base location. It's just so charming and cozy here, Sevka answered.

• Really? Man, I thought you guys were a bit lost, but you're clearly just dumb. We're here to get to the Outskirts, this is the safest way ever since the gases were vented.

• Mind if we tag along for part of the way? Name's Dimka Torodov and this grumpy clown is Sevka.

• We don't mind, any help down here is welcome. Name's Pashka Awl, that there is Lyonka Cartridge and our medic is Alla Sidorova, Pashka, a mercenary in a Zone-modified LC suit, introduced himself and the others.

Lyonka was also in a different coloured LC-suit, one which was quite vivid in its colours, it reminded Dimka of the Chinese Marine camouflages he'd seen in a few places. Alla was a rare stalker among those found in the Zone since she was a woman, I had so far gathered that they rarely came here to the Zone, mostly due to Ukrainian cultural aspects and other factors. Still, I'd worked with enough female soldiers to not really see this as odd. I nodded to the SEVA-wearing merc, and we set off into the darkness ahead.

Moving in a group this size made me relax a little. The pitch blackness of the tunnel was getting to my nerves, but at least now we had three more pairs of eyes and three more barrels ready for some abomination to learn its mistake from. The tunnel remained filled with wrecks as we passed an open airlock of sorts. There the occupants of this wretched underpass finally caught up to us. I heard a bloodfreezing roar ahead, and in a second a creature materialized before us, swiping at Pashka as we fumbled to counter it before it disappeared. I managed to calm my head in that split second and calculated its trajectory quickly, firing a large .338 care package into the air. I expected it to miss, but instead the air burst into blood cloud and the beast screamed once before taking a last step uncamouflaged and collapsing down.

Sevka smacked me on the shoulder encouragingly and we prepared for more. While Pashka was patching up, we formed a circle around him, fully expecting another bloodsucker. But instead the tunnel was filled by dozens of individually quiet voices, which as a choir turned into a crescendo of roars crashing onto us. Alla screamed for us to get over on top of the cars as quickly as possible, and I jumped on top of the nearby truck. I could see the other do the same, but Pashka's wounded leg collapsed under him as he tried to get on top of an UAZ, and he fell to the ground.

Before any of us could react, a swarm of little rat-like creatures, standing on two legs, broke out into our flashlight cones, heading straight for our merc companion. Everyone opened fire, and while some of the rat-creatures fell, dozens more attacked the poor Pashka like a horde. He fought them off with his rifle stock, but it was too late. He was devoured on spot, the rat's little fangs gnawing at his flesh. Lyonka threw a grenade at his friends and the rushing little monsters were engulfed into a cloud of fire. Few survivors remained, those scuttling away mostly received a swift cloud of buckshot from Sevka.

I was absolutely horrified at the sight, they had brutalized Pashka's corpse and some had even begun to dug towards his insides. Sevka looked in horror as well, and the two mercs silently paid their respects to their dead comrade. I looked up to Alla and was about to ask when she replied to my question quicker than I could articulate it:

• Tushkanos. Little shits, usually go around in small packs. But this tunnel was cleared from both Monolith and most big mutant except the sucker, it looks like the bred like rabbits here. When a pack gets that big, we usually just use WP or flamethrowers to clear them out.

• White phosporus? Jesus, Sevka muttered.

• Ain't no Geneva Convention in the Zone, and besides, abominations like that deserve to get willy-pete'd, Lyonka said harshly.

I didn't say anything. Lines were becoming even more blurred, we were allied to people using a highly dangerous and controversial weapon now that they could get away with it. I looked at Sevka whose eyes told me he was thinking the same. During my UN peacekeeping tours, I had always thought we were doing it for the good of everyone, and we rarely had allies that seemed like they would be doing the opposite. Right now it seemed like this time we had chosen our allies poorly.

Spurts of gunfire coming from further ahead woke me from my thoughts, and we prepared our guns quickly. Whatever awaited us ahead, I would need to stick with these unreliable allies or suffer the consequences. War criminals or not, now was not the time to be picky.