The days were merging together and it made no difference – night, day… Who cared? Artyom was sitting on the ground and he was playing the guitar as usual. The fire was dying out. It's been a while now since the last person from the group went back to check in with the camp and hasn't come back yet. The tunnel was dark and the random events were making them very nervous. The flickering light of the fire was casting shadows around the edges of the arcs of the tunnel in both ways. The shadows were playful and fell in strange shapes which gave the place an even creepier and darker atmosphere.

Noises were coming from both ways of the tunnel but the three men weren't paying much attention. Screeching and sounds of whispering were surrounding them and there wasn't much they could do but hold their position and wait for help to arrive… If there was such thing as "help".

Sasha was the first to die. They had orders to hold a position 300 meters up north in the western tunnel line underneath an old factory built inside a hill. It was the usual – search and scavenge whatever you can find useful. They had to stay there until the more skilled stalkers came and took over the mission. They just played the role of scouts.

Nothing.

Sasha suggested to go further into the tunnel but the risk was just too great. Anomalies were too frequent to find and they could see the shades of humanoid creatures fading away in the darkness of the tunnel. They weren't sure if what they were seeing was real or just their mind making them fear the dark. The sounds, however, were quite real – screaming and the bashing of metal was tearing the silence apart but eventually it stopped. Sasha was last in the group. Nobody saw anything. They just turned around and he was no longer there. They heard a loud and trembling scream that shattered their composure and broke their courage. They just stood there. Frozen. They started doubting their own beliefs – they wondered if he ever even came with them. Did that scream came from Sasha?

Ivan was second. He claimed he had heard something coming from the rooms located on the right side of the tunnel. Nobody else noticed these brownish, wooden doors before… That was that… Ivan heard the metal jaws of death. They never saw it coming – a bloodsucker snuck up on them and jumped out from the black with a loud non-human shriek. His claws were digging into Ivan's stomach as if it was searching for something. It happened quickly but nobody dared to shoot. The bloodsucker held him up in front of him as if it was shielding itself. Ivan's last desperate breath taken was spent on the words: "Shoot… I… It hurts… T-Too much… P-Please..." Artyom was the first to react. Hunter felt a strange war raging in his head. A battle between sanity and reality… Wait… Which one was it? He turned around and saw a flash of light. The old geezer's flashlight was in his face and he snapped out of it.

It's been two days since then.

Now they've set up a fire under one of the arcs of what seemed like an open space on the right side of the tunnel as if there were vehicles passing through here and this was some sort of a station a very long time ago. Eight of them came down here and now there's only three.

"It's been two days… – said Hunter, while looking down at the edge of his boots – Our shift ended two days ago; we sent three men to check in with the camp…"

"Stay calm. – Artyom interrupted him - If you lose your head to the Zone you might meet your maker."

"Agh, what's the difference, huh? – Hunter kept on going – What is the damn difference if you die today or the day after that, Sidorivich sent us here to do his dirty work again. We'll probably just all end up like Ivan with some bloodsucker sticking his filthy …" He was interrupted by the old man.

"You are still young. What do you know of living and dying, rookie?"
The old geezer was sitting across and he looked at him with a firm look. His beard was covering most of his face so you couldn't make out the exact age of the man but his eyes were filled with anxiety and you could sense that he has swum in deep waters. "You have yet to learn the meaning of the word "life", boy. Don't try to jump over a gap before you know how deep you can fall."

Hunter met the gaze of Artyom who was staring at him from the very beginning. Both of them stayed like that for a while. There was a strange smell down here but no one ever mentioned it. Suddenly Hunter broke the moment of quiet.

"What do you think happens when you die?" He said addressing the old man.

Artyom looked at him and spoke up.

"Have you heard the stories? – he asked with a calm and soft voice – About the watchers. About how God created the Zone with the sole purpose to spread it across the whole world and…" He was interrupted by Hunter.

"Artyom, you know I do not believe in this bullshit… Look, there is a theory. In life you can do whatever you want. Your life is just a bond between unconnected events that don't necessarily have to make sense in a chronological way. But once in your life you get to make a decision and if you make the right choice, you unlock a chain of events that are linked and your life turns into a plot and you are the main character – not God, you. And while you are following this path it might seem like all the things you do are always succeeding as if you were guarded by your destiny that was assigned to you after you made that choice and of course if you start doubting your destiny – your goal, then you will start failing and everything becomes hard again."

Once again there was a moment of silence while all of them were staring at the fire. The theory sounded nice but Hunter didn't believe in it. He believed that everything we do is because we chose to do it and everything that happened was because we made it happen that way by influencing it with our own actions.

"The moaning pipes…" – spoke the old man staring at the now barely living fire.

"W-What about them?" – asked Hunter.

"It's said that God, or whatever you like to call it, has lost contact with the Zone. People are hidden from him here and there is nothing we can do about it anymore. Once you enter the Zone you can never leave its grip. It will stay in your heart, blinding you from all beliefs you might've had. You lose yourself in it and your mind goes blank. Just like your dreams, all that you are and know starts fading away into the blackness of the dreamland. – he stopped for a minute and took a deep breath – I don't think you have ever been close to Chernobyl – a sight to be seen. Nothing of the things God could create… Oh, no! God has no authority in the Zone. There is … - a loud and bursting scream struck their ears as the old man began explaining. They all jumped from their places and grabbed their rifles but the noise stopped soon after. The atmosphere was all set for the story but danger was still there – waiting, listening, feeling… - There is a saying: – he continued – If you turn your back on God, he will never be able to reach you even if he wanted to."

"Losing yourself to the Zone… – said Hunter to himself in realization - Everything happened so fast. It's hard to say if we are next."

"The moaning pipes… They say that if you are ever alone with your thoughts and you are near a pipe, you can hear the voices of the long lost souls of stalkers who once roamed the fields of the unknown still trying to see the light, still desperately trying to reach it – God." – finished the geezer.

The fire died out and the only flashlight that still had batteries in it was the one Hunter was carrying. He swiftly moved his hand to find that it's not there. Instead he found a match. He tried and tried to start the fire again but with no luck. It finally worked and the fire started burning again.

He could again see the bent shadows on the walls and ground but what Hunter saw was terrifying: Sasha hanging from the roof with his arms and legs ripped from his body and blood splattered across the floor leaving a trail that kept going into the depths of the dark and seemingly endless tunnel. The only thing left from Artyom and the old geezer were their skins and the clothes they wore on them. The view was blood freezing. Hunter's heart started pumping blood faster and stronger. He started breathing faster, his sanity was slipping away and the pressure in his ears was rising. A violent wind blew from the direction opposite to the one where the exit should be and the fire died out once again.

He grabbed his AK-74 and started putting one foot in front of the other faster and faster with every step until his walk turned into a run. He couldn't see where he was going. He didn't hear anything. He couldn't see or think, or even feel for that matter. It seemed to him like he was running forever. He started thinking he was being followed. The echo from his footsteps was pounding in his ears and the cold wind gently blowing from his back was grasping his fear and he could feel his hands trembling and his breathing turning into a hiccup. No sounds… No lights… His thoughts weren't coordinated and he kept on running and running deeper and deeper into the dark space. The echo of his own footsteps was getting louder and it seemed like it was closer and closer… and closer… and closer… Hunter turned around and put his finger on the trigger of his AK-74. He kept on walking even backwards and every step he took sounded like there was someone in the distance. He put pressure on the trigger and he started shooting violently everywhere in the direction where he thought the sound was coming from. He tried to scream but nothing came out of his mouth. He ran out of ammo but he kept the pressure on the trigger.

He stopped; dropped his weapon and started searching for something in the darkness with his eyes as if something has finally made its way into his mind and made him realize something. He remembered what they were talking… Were they talking really? He fell to his knees and saw the faces of his fallen comrades… Friends. He saw the face of the old geezer and he remembered…

When you are in a tunnel and all you can see is darkness, silence surrounds you and it feels so thick that you could even touch it. Your breath sounds loud and desperate.

Your footsteps feel like they aren't yours and all you can think about is... What do you think about?

It's pitch black and you can't see your own hands in front of your face. You don't exist; you never have; you never will.

All you feel are your own steps. All you hear is your own breath. All you see is your own darkness and all your thoughts... Are mute.