Chapter 6: Rostok Blues
To Pyrrha, Rostok was the same as any remnant of human settlements throughout the Zone she has seen so far, dilapidated, grimy, and broken, reminding her of the scattered abandoned human settlements far out from the cities.
Although, she wasn't exactly expecting to see so many stalkers in one area aside from the ordeal from the Garbage when she and Sergei had to help a group of loners to fight off a group of bandits. 'One day I was a student… then the next day a stalker who has bloodied her hands.' She somberly thought as she followed Sergei into a blocky concrete building which had a sight nailed on top written in Cyrillic, mentally nothing to herself to ask Sergei to maybe teach her the local language if they had the time.
They then descend into the bunker, with the guard at the entrance inviting them in before downing a bottle of vodka and there was the bar. Empty and dimly lit by lights bolted onto the wall an old, grimy yellow light bulb, and a boxy old-fashioned television that played out old telenovelas.
And there behind the bar counter was a pudgy man butchering some mystery animal parts but Pyrrha assumed it was a mutant that lived in the radiation and anomaly-filled land of the Zone.
Sergei then turns to Pyrrha and smiles at her, "How about go take a walk around first while I deal with the Barman here, just to get yourself familiar with the place. Besides you need a bit of experience, I am not a mama duck guiding you around the Zone all the time…well in the worst-case scenario at least." He chuckles before letting out a sigh and gives her a pat on the shoulder and a reassuring grin.
"Should I go buy some ammo or medkits then…maybe some bandages?" Pyrrha replies as she fidgets nervously, feeling unsure to be on her own.
Sergei ponders for a moment before responding "Give me your shield, I'll hold on to it. So, you won't catch everyone's attention, also keep your mask on." To which Pyrrha nods in response.
Parting ways with Sergei, Pyrrha retraced her steps from the stairs up the bunker, and out into the desolate streets of Rostok, with most stalkers likely by the fire to keep them warm as a chilly breeze blows past, the sky low and grey as if it was about to rain.
Just as she was about to turn and enter the dilapidated warehouse to her left, asking some stalkers who were busy roasting food on sticks by the fire for directions, only to turn back as she finds out that the merchants selling most necessities was in the opposite direction to where she plans to head off to.
"Oi!" Somebody calls out to her as she passes by another campfire just by the warehouse with the plant-like anomaly.
Pyrrha stops and turns to see an aging man with greying shaved hair and friendly black eyes in bulky clothes and armor, as the man had metal struts on his arms and legs, with a helmet by his side. The man then motioned towards Pyrrha to get closer which she hesitantly does.
Glancing at the fire, she can see a sort of grill over the fire as the man takes out a knife and a block of wood, and a spice set as he starts to chop and crush the various spices he carried while using a large piece of concrete as his table "So, you're Sergei's new buddy eh?" the man asks with a chuckle as he takes out a plastic Tupperware with meats dunked in some sort of dark-colored sauce and puts the spices he prepared into it.
'I should be careful of what I say…' Pyrrha thought as she nods quietly as the man chuckles to himself as he takes out some tongs and places a strip of meat on the grill.
"Well, I don't know how you convinced him to have you around him. But I'm sure it's something that caught his interest." The man says as he glances at Pyrrha and laughs "Come on, I won't bite! Sit, the meat should be ready in a bit." The man said in a jolly manner which Pyrrha shifted uncomfortably as she hesitantly sat opposite where the man sat.
"So… Uhm… what's your name?" Pyrrha asks, trying to imitate Jaune's voice as a precaution which in turn gives her somber memories for another time while also hoping that the gas mask would mask her voice a little more as she glances at the meat over at the fire before towards the man who was resealing the Tupperware box.
"Ah…" the man said, "It's Hermit, just another stalker…and a friend of Sergei." He chuckles as he flips the large piece of meat.
This piqued Pyrrha's interest and curiosity, even with the kindness and friendliness that Sergei showed her, she knew that she barely knew anything personal about him aside from needing money for his sister's medical bills "So how did you know Sergei?" she asks.
Hermit shrugs as he stares into the fire then glances up to Pyrrha "Well, ran into him and his friends when they were still wee young rookies…well way too young maybe around fifteen if my memory is correct." The older stalker scratches his head "Took them under my wing for a while to let them learn the ropes of surviving in the Zone." He chuckles "So, how is he now? Not depressingly suicidal perhaps?"
This alarmed Pyrrha as she quickly shakes her head in response, "Well…not really…aside from eating sausages all the time." Before taking a mental note: observe her partner even closely.
Hermit lets out a hearty laugh, slapping his knee as he does "Ah, good to know he eats something now!" before poking the coals and flipping the meat again "So how's he treating you? And how's the Zone for you so far?"
"Sergei…well he's been okay so far. A little unorthodox but he's alright…as for the Zone…well a bit scary I guess." Pyrrha replies nervously, especially after her run-in with the controller and pseudogiant in the claustrophobic underground tunnels in Agroprom, which sent shudders down her spine.
Hermit nods "I see I see…" before he turns to look behind Pyrrha and smirks as Sergei comes into view giving his old mentor a blank look as the younger stalker folds his arms over his chest.
"Ugh, what the hell are you doing here you old drunk?" Sergei asks as he sat beside Pyrrha while he opens a can of soda that he presumably bought from the barman.
Hermit spreads his arms and grins "Just here cashing in some errand that Duty needed someone to do. And besides, I was planning to give you a visit since I was going to Cordon, since I last heard, you're still there to 'recover'." He chuckles as pulls out a plate and puts the slab of meat on it and offers it to the two "Eat up." He says as Sergei takes the plate and splits the meat into two with his knife and gives the plate to Pyrrha while he ate his share on his bayonet.
As they ate, Hermit then asks, "So how's your girlfriend Sergei?" motioning toward Pyrrha, making Sergei nearly choke on his food and Pyrrha blushing lightly while shaking her head.
"How'd you know? I mean she's a girl and no she's not my girlfriend." Sergei says before gagging just as he beats his chest to help unclog his throat.
Hermit laughs "Her eyes are way too pretty to be a man's and it's pretty obvious from her voice alone, besides I've been here long enough that I can tell if someone's a guy or not here, especially when there's barely any women around these parts and you know that." before turning towards Pyrrha "Now with the cat out of the bag, dig in."
Glancing towards Sergei, Pyrrha receives a small nod from him and an exasperated sigh before removing her gas mask, letting her long red hair flow out of her gas mask.
Hermit lets out a short whistle and elbows Sergei while whispering in Ukrainian, "Oi, how'd a scum like you get someone like her?" teasing the younger stalker only to receive an elbow back from Sergei.
"Shut it you creep!" Sergei snapped back in the same language, making Hermit laugh, and Pyrrha giggled as she watched the student and mentor bicker in their mother tongue.
As the two settle down and finish their meals respectively, Hermit then asks, "So, what are you two up to now?" as he starts tinkering with his PKM.
Pyrrha then leaned next to Sergei's ear as he was about to speak, "You sure we can trust him?" she asks, just to make sure.
"Yeah, he might be weird but he's alright." Sergei whispers back before chuckling "Good move though, I give you that…just make it more subtle next time." Before turning back to the older stalker "Well, get some cash, get better gear then go to Yantar I guess?"
Hermit raises an eyebrow and shakes his head, "Huh…going to Pripyat, again?" he chuckles "Hope it doesn't end up the same way as last time." Which earned a curious look from Pyrrha and a stink eye from the blonde-haired stalker.
"Last time? Pripyat? Uhm can anyone tell me what those are?" Pyrrha chimes in making Hermit laugh.
As Hermit was about to speak, Sergei cuts in, "Well, Pripyat is a city that's located next to the Chernobyl NPP, the place where everything began for the Zone. Also, home to a group of cultists called the Monolith." He chuckles nervously, seemingly wanting to avoid the topic…of whatever was 'last time'…at least, that's at least how Pyrrha saw it, like sometimes how Jaune sometimes avoided certain topics by changing them, but she didn't want to push her guide for now.
"I see…so are we heading there someday?" Pyrrha asks as she raises her knee, rests her arm on it before resting her chin on her arm, and looks at Sergei with a questioning look.
Sergei ponders for a moment, looks away then stares into the fire, "Depends if things lead us there…"
A silence falls over the three except for the howling of the wind, the rustling of trees, and the crackle of the fire before Hermit coughs and teased, "Tch, get a room you two(Translate)!" the older stalker teased resulting in the younger stalker to let out a burst of 'colorful' words, both in Russian and English with a very confused Pyrrha watching Hermit laugh at Sergei's expense.
After the commotion dies down, Hermit then asks "So, you two are short in cash…" he then examines the two before raising an eyebrow "And equipment, well your equipment is decent enough for Cordon, it's not enough if you two need to go deeper into the Zone." Making Pyrrha nod, as she had seen back in Agroprom Underground with the Pseudogiant…even with aura.
"What are you suggesting, old man? Another escort mission?" Sergei asks with an exasperated sigh, "Or is your arthritis kicking up again?", he grins smugly at the old stalker receiving an eye roll from his mentor.
"Tch, I'm not that old."Hermit grumbles and sighs, "But yes, just like old times Sergei. Just escort me over to the Clear Sky base over at the Swamps, and I'll give you two some sweet cash and of course gear!" he spreads his arms wide as he proposes the offer.
Pyrrha meekly raises her hand "So uhm…what kinds of 'gear' are you going to give us?" she asks, making Hermit laugh at her.
"Hah, cute, I like you already!" Hermit exclaimed before coughing into his fist "Well, some weapons…maybe some armor…and of course…" He hangs the last part as he glances at the younger stalker and the huntress "Artifacts." He whispered.
Sergei's eyes widened, making Hermit smirk in response and glance over at Pyrrha who gave the old stalker a skeptical look…as it seemed way too good for her, "Well, should I let you two talk over it?" Hermit asks, snapping Pyrrha out of her thoughts.
Sergei sighs and looks at Pyrrha who then says "Well, you decide here Sergei…you know him better than I do."
Sergei nods and turns to Hermit "Alright, when are we leaving old man?" he asks.
Hermit then ponders for a bit and looks at his PDA "Well, first thing in the morning. Just remembered I still have to talk to someone here." he chuckles as he stands up, collecting his assortment of guns which consisted of a PKM and a USAS-12 "Here, you two should get somewhere dry, it's raining." He chuckles as he hands Sergei five bottles of vodka before walking off "Consider this as an initial payment, and meet me at the Duty checkpoint leading to the Garbage tomorrow morning!" he calls out as he was far enough.
Pyrrha and Sergei were left by the campfire…just as the first drops of rain were falling over Rostok.
Pyrrha then looks at Sergei, "So, do you have a place for us to stay in?" she asks the stalker who already started cramming the bottles of vodka into his bag.
"Definitely by a fire, it gets really cold when it rains." Sergei replies as he pulls up the hood of his navy-blue camo jacket "Wouldn't like spending money for a cold anyway." He jokes as they head towards the warehouse near the entrance of 100 rads bar while Pyrrha puts her gas mask on again.
…
The duo found themselves in a small hallway near a duty mechanic's workshop who was more busy napping than tinkering with guns or armor. Not that the mechanic minded them, as long they didn't disturb him, he was more than fine to share the fire just in front of his workshop.
Sergei yawns as he sits by the fire "Rain makes me sleepy…" he mumbles as the rain starts picking up.
Resting her arm on her knee, Pyrrha replies softly, "Same here…it's just so relaxing."
A silence settles over them, leaving the soft ambient sounds of the rain pouring outside and the soft crackling of the fire to be heard as the two aimlessly stare at the fire.
"So how are you holding up?" Sergei asks, breaking the silence between them as he glances up at Pyrrha who continues to stare at the fire with wistful eyes.
Pyrrha shrugs as she proceeds to tuck in her knees and hug her legs "Alright I suppose…starting to get the feel of the place…How about you? Also are your injuries alright?" she raises an eyebrow, still remembering Hermit's words from earlier.
Sergei gives her a curious look before shrugging "Doing fine, just haven't had much of a chance to move around the Zone this much in a while. Why'd you ask?" he replies.
Pyrrha sighs "I mean, we'll be sticking together until we find a way back to get me home…besides it wouldn't hurt to ask about the wellbeing of my companion, right?" she says softly, as she'd most likely be more lost in this 'Zone' if it weren't for Sergei.
Sergei gives his red-headed companion a look of surprise before turning his head away from her as he pulls up the scruff of his navy blue fatigues to hide away the lower half of his face, "I'll be fine…but thanks for the concern I guess." He grumbled.
Pyrrha gives her navy-blue clad stalker a reassuring smile as Sergei lets out a sigh before coughing onto his fist "So, you said you were a student back in Remnant, right?" Sergei asks with a raised eyebrow, "So, how's school back there? Boring lectures and note-taking, and hard parties?" Sergei smirks, most likely assuming it to be the case.
Pyrrha tilts her head slightly upwards as she puts a finger on her chin, "Well, you are partly correct. Maybe aside from the combat classes and the older students being sent on missions." She replies with a small wistful smile forming on her lips as she remembers her friends and team back in Beacon.
"Shit, did you come from a military school?" Sergei jokes with a chuckle in reply.
Pyrrha lightly laughs, "Well, no. The academy in Atlas does that." She then asks, "So what are schools here like then?"
Sergei ponders for a bit while before scoffing, "Well, no combat classes unless you were in a specific school club or military academy. No 'missions' or whatever you meant about them, just more boring classes and notetaking aside from other school events." He sighs, "Never really had the time to have fun during those days either…" he said with his shoulders sagging before shaking his head.
Pyrrha gives Sergei a concerned look, but Sergei shakes his head, "It's alright, it's all in the past now.", and in response, Pyrrha nods in understanding.
"But maybe if you feel like it…maybe we can talk about it?" Pyrrha suggests, making Sergei scoff in response, "Just trying to help…" she says meekly afterward.
"Look…I told you I'm alright." Sergei declares with a firm tone as he shot her a stern look before taking his PDA out, ending the conversation short.
Pyrrha sighs, 'Maybe another time…' she thought to herself, still mildly concerned about Hermit's words earlier about Sergei's condition…but she has this gut feeling that he still wasn't over it, but he won't confide her about it yet…maybe someday, when he's ready.
…
It wasn't long till the rain ended, yet the skies were still low and cloudy. Like any other stalker, the two took two missions from Barkeep and a hunter-slash-merchant named Butcher in the garbage, and the mission specifics were simple: kill a drove of flesh and boar mutants wandering around the garbage and give a few slices of meat to Butcher.
While in the Garbage, Sergei was a little bothered by the sideways glances he started receiving from Pyrrha after his small outburst back in Rostok.
Climbing up a hill of debris overlooking a swamp filled with acid anomalies and a grove, Sergei then sighs "If you wanna say something, then say it. You've been awkwardly glancing my way for a while now." He said as he turned to his green-eyed companion while pulling out his binoculars.
Pyrrha fidgets her fingers on the rifle strap for a second before shaking her head, "It's nothing." She replies.
Sergei shrugs and looks the other way, scanning the area below with his binoculars before he spots a small drove of mutants emerging from the grove consisting of Flesh and Boar mutants, the boars seemingly keeping a lookout for threats while the Flesh mutants started to graze on the grass.
"Take your rifle out, you'll take the first shot," Sergei said to Pyrrha, who responded by unslinging her SKS and aiming toward a boar at the edge of the drove.
"Hey, can I tell you something?" Pyrrha asks while she steadies her aim.
"Shoot." Sergei replies as he unslings his AK and holds in one hand and the other holding up the binoculars over his eyes, "Your question I- "only to nearly jump out of his skin as Pyrrha suddenly fires.
"Tell me if there's something wrong, alright?" Pyrrha says calmly, before taking a short breath and pulling the trigger, her rifle letting another roar of a 7.62x39 round being fired. And before any of the mutants could react, the bullet pierces through a boar's side, piercing its lungs, only to be followed up by another shot from the crimson-haired huntress this time, the shot piercing the mutated boar's heart making it immediately collapse with a weak grunt.
Sergei snickers as he puts away his binoculars and shoulders his AK, "I'll think about it." He said just right before he squeezes the trigger, letting out a burst of 5.45x39 towards the mutants who just started scrambling away or charging towards them.
Sergei then focused on the incoming boar mutants as there were at least three of the carnivorous mutants barreling toward them, while Pyrrha picked off the flesh mutants running away with deadly accuracy.
'Huh, no wonder she's the champion of whatever tournament she's talking about.' Sergei noted as he saw flesh mutants starting to drop dead with nearly every shot that Pyrrha fired in the corner of his eyes just as he gunned down a boar and then kicks a drum down the hill, causing the two other boars to scatter, giving them more space against the mutants, even if it's just a few seconds.
Faced with two boars charging from both directions, Sergei fires at the boar barreling towards him, sending a few shots towards its thick skull before side-stepping like a matador towards an angry bull…but it continues to charge towards Pyrrha, alongside another boar just behind her.
Sergei panics as he scrambles to reload his AK to be able to help out as he watches Pyrrha calmly reload her rifle and unfold the bayonet folded on the end of the rifle before taking out her shield and throwing her shield like a frisbee toward the boar in front of her, and with her semblance makes it accelerate even faster, digging deep into the mutant's skull making it squeal and spray blood everywhere just as Pyrrha sprints towards the boar and steps on the shield lodged onto the boar's head just as it was about to fall onto its knees and uses the shield as a platform and to boost herself up into the air with her semblance flipping backward just as she shoulders her rifle, aiming at the mutant directly below her and lets out a few shots before landing back down gracefully as the boar lets out a squeal of pain as the rounds land on it's back.
Before Pyrrha could move, the sound of automatic gunfire cuts the mutant's squealing short, Pyrrha turns to see Sergei with his AK aimed and muzzle device still smoking towards the now dead boar before he turns to the huntress, with the stalker trying and failing not to laugh.
"Buhahahaha! What the hell was that!?" Sergei roars out in laughter, clearly in awe seeing Pyrrha's stunning, acrobatic, yet flashy way of dealing with the boar.
Pyrrha flushes red in embarrassment, "What's so funny about it?" as she folds her arms on her chest, pouting behind her gas mask.
Sergei holds up a finger, signaling Pyrrha to give him a second as he continues to wheeze in laughter for a few minutes before recollecting himself, in all honesty, it was the first time he's let out a genuine laugh for a few years now, "S-sorry…sorry…I just can't, hehe…seeing you with those moves. Just reminds me of those Japanese cartoons I watch whenever I'm out of the Zone." He chuckles before kneeling next to the boar with his knife out, "Try not doing that if you're fighting people out here… Well I meant the backflips and shit…shield is fine though."
Pyrrha then follows Sergei's lead beside the boar mutant's corpse, while giving him a playful punch on the shoulder, eliciting a small laugh from the stalker.
…
After finishing both missions, the two sat on the roof of the central building of Rostok, giving them a good view of the sun setting over Rostok and the derelict industrial complexes from below and bits of the Garbage behind a grove of trees in the distance, while they eat borscht with boar meat in repurposed cans while Sergei's PDA played music from the Zone's local radio station.
"Also…I was meaning to ask you this since earlier…is mutant meat okay for consumption?" Pyrrha asks as she scoops up a piece of boar meat with her spoon.
Sergei shrugs in response as he enthusiastically chews on boar meat, "Eh, usually it depends on how it's prepared, and I'm pretty sure barkeep has a standard for that type of stuff…or I at least hope so."
"I see…" Pyrrha replies just as she looks down at the chunky red soup before taking a mouthful of the stuff, making her eyes light up, as the warmth of the food spreads a pleasant warmth through her.
"Nothing beats freshly made food, eating preserved stuff all the time gets boring if you get what I mean." Sergei chuckles before gently blowing on the soup and downing the rest of it after he lets out a satisfied sigh and his lips curl to a small smile before turning to Pyrrha, "So how's it? The food I mean." He smirks.
Pyrrha nods, "Probably the best-tasting thing after eating nothing but sausages for a few days being here." she smiles before pointing at her lips, "By the way, you got some of the soup on you." She says as a grin splits her lips.
Sergei's eyes widen before rubbing it off with his sleeve, "Hah, you bet!" he replies, "So, are you ready to get your feet wet tomorrow?" he asks while he takes a cigar out of a zip lock bag in his chest pocket and lights it with a lighter
"Right…we're going to some swamp. Well, is there any place where we can get any extra socks…maybe some clothes perhaps?" Pyrrha sighs worriedly while she watches Sergei let out a huff of smoke, "Never knew you smoked."
"I only smoke on special days for your information." Sergei chuckles as he stares at the horizon as the sun starts slipping into the horizon, garnering a confused reaction from the red-haired huntress just as he puts the cigar back into his mouth.
"Hmmm…what makes this day special exactly?" Pyrrha asks, cocking her head to the side.
Silence falls over the two for a short while before Sergei takes the cigar out of his mouth and lets another huff of smoke as he looks at the sunset with an unrecognizable glint in his eyes before he turns to Pyrrha with a small smile, "For making me feel like a genuine person right now."
Sergei's reply takes Pyrrha aback, blinking with wide eyes as the stalker chuckles and stares right back at the sunset. The huntress lets out a soft sigh as she turns to stare at the setting sun with a smile forming on her face as they watch the day end.
A/N: (Incoherent screaming) Good lord, I hate school…and procrastination! Anyway, it's been a few months since I published the last chapter, and thankfully with summer right around the corner, I hopefully have more time to write more chapters.
As usual, thank you Nla Eid for helping me edit, and also Shadow_Stalker, Luwi, SpecterEnthusiast, and other friends who gave their opinions on things.
As always, stay safe out there, and good hunting stalkers!