2014
Exclusion Zone
Cordon
Rookie Village
Night time. Three rookies were huddled close to the fire. An "old man" or better said, a veteran STALKER, sat with them. There was an occasional tune on the harmonica or guitar, a swig of vodka, sometimes a cigarette was lit, occasionally a remark about the Zone was made. Sometimes a howl from a mutant was heard in the far distance. The rookies gave a collective shudder when a mutant howl came.
The veteran had his PDA out and was doing stuff on it. There was occasional and squelch chatter on the veteran's radio. The Rookies paid little attention to the Veteran.
At three minutes past midnight there was a radio transmission that began with a wolf howl, followed by code talk. At the sound of the wolf howl, the Veteran turned the volume up, so he could listen more clearly. The transmission lasted for a minute before silence on the radio returned.
"So, the Wolves still exist then," said the Veteran STALKER.
One of the Rookies, the youngest one, looked up, puzzled by the sudden exclamation form the Veteran.
"The Wolves?"
Veteran looked up with a look of slight wonderment.
"You haven't heard of the Wolves? I wouldn't imagine you would have..."
Veteran eyed the vodka bottle at his feet. He came to a conclusion and took the bottle and took a sizable gulp.
"The Wolves, or the Wolf Pack are a very secret group of stalkers that most stalkers believe that operate only in the area around Jupiter, Pripyat and maybe the NPP itself...
But others say different; they operate in Agraprom, the Warehouses, and in the Dark Valley. If they have a base, nobody knows about it. Who they really are, nobody would know."
"What do they actually do?" the second Rookie asked.
"They are a vicious, well trained and equipped group of stalkers that attack and kill any group, especially if the group has bandit or mercenary or monolith connections. Even the few mercs and monolith that have defected speak of the Wolves with absolute fear and awe."
Catching a disbelieving look from the third Rookie, Veteran went on, "Ill tell you a story."
Veteran shifted his pose, cleared his throat, spat out a mass of phlegm, sipped a bit more vodka and poked the fire with a stick.
Last year
Dark Valley
Skull Base
There were eight bandits in a small compound. There were two walking a perimeter outside the compound. the eight inside were discussing methods of extorting the loners and keeping Duty out of their affairs.
"Mikhail from Duty has been convinced that he better keep his commander focused on other matters and leave us alone." one bandit announced.
"Good," Snarled one bandit, "Duty is best kept privy to their own affairs. Any possible rich pickings?"
"There are some loners, Tooth, in the Garbage that are quite successful in getting artifacts in that area. Our contact in Cordon says that Sidrovich is getting some good business from this group."
Tooth, the leader of the bandit group, narrowed his eyes.
"I detest that old geezer..." he snarled.
There was a sudden burst of gunfire, followed by a scream from the radio.
The bandits drew their guns.
"Go and see what is happening!" Tooth shouted at the gathered bandits.
The bandits went out of the room.
Outside, the second perimeter guard was putting down heavy assault rifle fire at a spot in the distance. One of the bandits that was inside shouted at him.
A stalker, hidden in the bushes drew his two modified HK .45 USP pistols.
Softly on his radio he heard: "Steady Mad Wolf. A second one has joined the one who is shooting at Lone Wolf."
Mad Wolf replied: "Is Lone Wolf okay?"
"Lone Wolf is fine, he's changing his position. Get them now, Hind Wolf Out."
Mad Wolf stealthily got to his feet and ran towards the two bandits. He rammed the second bandit with his shoulder in the back. As he went down with him he fired his pistols at the first bandit who turned in shock. Mad Wolf's bullets tore into his legs, pelvis, abdomen, chest and one blew his forehead open. Mad Wolf leapt to his feet and kicked the bandit he rammed in the face, then did a triple tap into his chest.
Ducking back into the bushes he said into his mike: "Bag two Skulls. Bearded Wolf Pike, start sneaking in. Black Wolf give cover to Wolf Pike."
Mad Wolf heard the replies from Wolf Pike and Black, and made his way closer to the Skull bandit compound.
He saw that the Skulls were in complete disarray. Sniper fire from Lone Wolf and Cub only added to their terror. That suited the rest of the Wolves just fine. At the far side from Mad Wolf's location, Fenix and DeathSpecter Wolves setup a defensive spot where they engaged the Skulls in a fire fight, leaving Mad Wolf, Wolf Pike and Shadow Wolf free to sneak into the compound to capture Tooth, the Skull bandit leader. Hind Wolf was atop some nearby elevation armed with a radio and some high powered binoculars to give tactical support to the Wolf Pack.
Mad Wolf crept closer, sticking to shadows, and he was able to hear the Skulls inside the compound trying to make sense of the confusion.
"Cub, this is Mad Wolf, talk to me over."
Cub's bright voice sounded in Mad Wolf's ears.
"I got one Skull running into their den, I got him panicked. I can see all the way into the passage, looks like he's meeting someone inside."
"Drop all of them that you can see."
Inside the Compound
A panicked Skull comes running in, eyes wide, terror stricken face and drooling.
Tooth catches him and roars,
"What the FUCK is happening out there?"
The panicked wretch gibbers incoherently.
Tooth shakes him violently and repeats. The panicked Skull partially composes himself and mutters, "Its,... its... its them..."
"Who?" Tooth roars.
"It's, it's the ...W"
At that moment, a bullet tears through the chest of the panicked Skull bandit, blood sprays into Tooth's face. Tooth staggers back, and as he does, a second round tears the left cheek of his second in command clean off.
Tooth fumbles for his pistol and he pushes his second into the the opposite doorway, just as a third bullet ploughs into the wall just beside his head...
Outside
"Mad, Cub, I got defo one, possible headshot on a second guy, missed a third."
"Copy."
Wolf Pike had managed to sneak in close by to where Mad Wolf was, and saw what Cub's sniper fire had wrought. He decided to capture the guy who was missing his left cheek. Grinning under his black gas mask he crept closer, having his G36C compact assault rifle aimed at the guys head.
"Hind Wolf, this is Wolf Pike, spook 'em."
Outside a horrifying wolf howl was heard.
2014
Exclusion Zone
Cordon
Rookie Village
"The Wolves howl when they are about to kill all of their targets," Veteran said, with a slight twisted smile seeing the looks on the Rookies faces.
"The few that survive say that when the dreaded wolf howl is heard it signifies their end. The Wolves then go for the kill. and they kill in ways that would make a Bloodsucker flinch."
Veteran takes a swig from the Vodka bottle.
"They beat their victims to death, electrocute them by pushing them into the Electrical anomalies, they send them to areas where the mutants of all types swarm by the hundreds. They even staked a few stalkers that fancied themselves as vampires... as if we didn't have enough horrors in the Zone with bloodsuckers...
"Ugh, I can go on and on about the grisly details on how the Wolves kill," Veteran added, "But suffice to say, when the howl is heard, death is imminent."
Veteran reminisces on other atrocities that the Wolves are famous for or have allegedly committed.
The Rookies were horrified, yet eager to hear more.
"So what happened?" asked the second Rookie.
"Well...
Last year
Dark Valley
Skull Base
Inside
Wolf Pike ducked under the gun that swung around for him and smashed the stock of his G36C into a pressure point on the leg of his target. The Skull dropped but he barely had a chance to scream, for Wolf Pike kicked him in the face as he went down. Wolf Pike dropped his knee on the Skulls chest and kept the barrel of his G36C just under the mans chin.
"Don't you move..." he warned, his armored gas mask electronically distorting his voice for inspiring maximum fear.
The fight went out of Cheekless as he dropped his hands to the ground.
"Keep your hands where I can see them."
Wolf Pike rolled him on his back and kept the barrel of his assault rifle pressed in Cheekless's neck. Suddenly, Tooth stepped into the room, his pistol, a Fort-12 trained at Wolf Pike!
"Mad, this is Cub! I just saw a Skull dude walk into the same room where Wolf Pike is in, I think he may need help!"
Mad Wolf started moving. He wanted to get to Wolf Pike as soon as possible.
Wolf Pike calmly kept his rifle on the Skull pinned below him and kept his gaze at Tooth, breathing loudly and menacingly. Tooth, shaking with fear had difficulty keeping his gun steady on Wolf Pike.
Tooth suddenly felt a crashing blow in the back of his knee, and a hand on his head as it pulled his head backward and lobbed his head on the ground. Stars burst into Tooth's vision as his head made contact with the ground.
The next instant he was aware of a pistol being pressed in his face.
"Nice takedown Shadow Wolf," somebody said. Tooth canted his head and under his mask his jaw dropped.
The outfit, the weapons on his person, his demeanor and stance; it was unquestionably; Mad Wolf...
"Well done Wolves, thats him. Wolf Pike, finish that guy off, we don't need him." Mad Wolf paused while Wolf Pike's G36 roared with a burst of thunder, and Tooth couldn't do nothing but watch with dread as his second in command and close friend's life was extinguished in a thunderous assault rifle burst.
"Okay Wolves help the others mop up. I'll deal with this scumbag."
The Wolves that were Shadow and Wolf Pike left the room without so much as a second glance at Tooth. Tooth tried to get up, but Mad Wolf's foot knocked him with lightning speed back down to the ground. Tooth looked up, as he reeled from the blow, and saw that Mad Wolf's eyes boded nothing but pain and death for him, and he saw that there was a long combat knife in Mad Wolf's hands.
2014
Exclusion Zone
Cordon
Rookie Village
Veteran was rubbing his jaw, which slightly ached from having talked so long.
"Tooth, the Skull bandit leader was found a few days later, horrifically mutilated by knife wounds, broken bones, and even had one of his eyes gouged out. Medical experts who carried out a post mortem concluded that he died from his injuries sustained from torture.
"Only the Zone, or the Wolves know what Mad Wolf wanted from this guy, but what ever it was, Tooth must have done something really bad in Mad Wolf's opinion that earned him such treatment."
"How did they find out it was Mad Wolf who did it?" the third Rookie asked.
"Mad Wolf has a personal call, which a wolf howl that ends in diabolical laughter. It was written in Tooth's blood on the wall where his body was found. Plus, .45 shells from a pistol where found, which is the favourite caliber of Mad Wolf, allegedly."
Veteran lapsed into silence. He lit another cigarette and took a pull. The Rookies looked at each other in awe of the story.
"Of course, this is a legend of the Zone. While there are a few legends that are true, there are many more that are complete nonsense."
Veteran said matter of factly. "However as we heard the radio transmission, the Wolves exist. I just hope I haven't spooked you rooks too much."
The Rookies shook their heads but without much conviction or enthusiasm.
"In answer to your unanswered question boys, the Skulls all died." Veteran said, with a smirk.
Last year
Dark Valley
Skull Base
Outside
Mad Wolf came out of the small building, wiping blood from his hands and knife, the latter which he placed back in its sheath.
Lone Wolf, with his Dragunov sniper rifle in hand approached him. "Tooth say anything?"
"All I wanted to know."
"Good, we got five of the bastards alive. Thats too many than we can afford to let live. You have no objections?" Lone Wolf asked Mad Wolf.
Mad Wolf shook his head. Lone Wolf nodded to the other Wolves, who stood armed with a variety of assault rifles and shotguns, keeping their guns on the Skulls that had been taken alive. Upon Lone Wolf's nod, they fired.
Five bandit skulls blew apart and splashed the ground with blood and brain matter.
The Wolves then started scavenging the bandits's equipment, took the PDA's that they found and gave them to Hind Wolf. then they went their separate way. Mad Wolf remained behind, after having shared parting greetings with the rest of his pack.
Then he strolled back inside, unholstering his H&K pistol checking to see if a round was chambered.
He made his way to the room where he heard Tooth whimpering and moaning. Tooth was dragging himself away, leaving a trail of blood along the floor. Mad Wolf's knife work had rendered his legs useless. When Tooth heard that Mad Wolf had returned the whimpering and moaning intensified, and he redoubled his efforts to try and get away from him.
Mad Wolf almost smiled as he say his efforts in vain. Crouching down Mad Wolf wrote in Tooth's blood the letters Aawwwoooorahahahaha on the wall. Tooth had glanced back and saw with fresh terror what was written in his own blood.
"Go on Toothsie, try and see if you can get away." Mad Wolf mocked. "Maybe you'll get some fresh perspective of life in the Zone. Maybe you can maybe, just imagine, what it was like for all those rookie Loners that you preyed on."
Mad Wolf glanced at the message daubed on the wall.
"Well maybe not quite like that, but you get the... 'message'."
"Please, I answered all your questions, please let me just..."
"Let you just what?" Mad Wolf screeched. "You had it coming, Tooth. the Zone must be in Balance. You upset that Balance, and there are consequences. I will let you decide for yourself what you shouldn't have done." Mad Wolf added in a calm but menacing tone. Tooth looked away, losing himself in his own mind reflecting his life as a Bandit S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
Tooth looked back at Mad Wolf.
Mad Wolf raised his H&K USP compact pistol and fired. Once, twice and finally a third time. Mad Wolf holstered his pistol, took out his PDA and sent a message to a nearby Duty base: 'Skulls taken care off. Feel free to look for yourself. Wolf Pack.
Mad Wolf walked away and was soon lost in the shadows of the Zone.
All that remained was the lingering presence of a foreboding building that Death had just paid a visit to.