Boryslav Shevchenko carefully watched the faces of the two kids in front of him, their blank stares telling him all he needed to know.
"... Shit." His inner voice spoke, "This is a damn fine mess I've gotten myself into."
It all started with rumors of a valuable stash in the corner of Wild Territory, contained within the back of a Zil-131. While most Stalkers would have put it off, deeming it too dangerous and not worth the effort, Boryslav had stuck to his guns and set off on his own to find it.
He found it alright. As it turns out, the reason why most never came back after looking for the stash was because a Space anomaly had enveloped the truck. Perhaps it was the all mighty himself at this point telling him to give up, but Boryslav wasn't one to quit so easily. He had delt with one long ago, he would deal with this one. He had a Svarog Detector, one of the best and newest types a Stalker could get ahold of. State of the art artifact AND anomaly detection at his fingertips, as well as the ability to send out a frequency to disable the Space anomaly in question. So it came as no wonder he was itching to try it out.
Instead, the Space anomaly imploded in his face, blinding him. When he blinked, he had found himself... here.
Wherever here was.
And now, after finding the truck and killing that giant flying red snake thing, he could use all the info he could get.
The boy with glasses looked up at him, staring at him like how an Ecologist would stare at an artifact. The other boy, the brown-haired one, seemed to finally take the initiative, speaking out.
"The first layer of The Abyss."
Boryslav blinked, none of what the boy had said even familiar to him. First layer? Abyss? He looked around, Vodka bottle still in hand.
Well, if one thing was for sure, this 'Abyss' was a hell of a lot prettier then where he came from. He had witnessed long rolling fields of healthy grass, giant mushrooms, giant trees... and then there were the clouds, not above but below, floating above the gigantic chasm that stretched on for miles.
He supposed the name 'Abyss' definitely made sense for this place.
Taking another sip from the bottle, he lowered it, staring at the red creature's body.
"What about that mutant I just killed? Does it have a name?"
"Mutant?" The brown-haired boy asked, speaking as if the term was unfamiliar to him. The other boy with glasses, however, seemed to quickly discern what Boryslav meant.
"A Crimson Splitjaw. Its habitat is the third layer, but this one's a juvenile... so it must've come up looking for food."
"Juvenile eh?" Boryslav said, scratching his beard. "And that big? Then I better get to work. I do not want to see an adult, or even worse, an angry mother." He then walked past the two kids, unclipping a Spetsnaz survival machete. There was always some part of a mutant that was valuable, be it a tail, a foot, or even a tentacle. It was probably the same story here. "Anything of value on these Splitjaws?"
The brown-haired boy stared at the survival weapon with awe as the other boy nodded, "They sometimes swallow minerals and relics... so if you cut open their stomachs-"
"Ah, I see. Like a crocodile." Boryslav said, preparing his machete as the brown-haired boy asked a question.
"What's a crocodile?"
Boryslav raised an eyebrow, before shrugging.
God, he couldn't remember when was the last time he had interacted with children.
He simply went to work, driving the sharp end of the survival machete into the creature's stomach. Its skin was tough, indicating the reason why it had survived so many shots from his AK-74, and taken two from his Gravi augmented Mossberg. It had also thought like a creature of The Zone, playing dead to get a jump on its attacker. This thing was evolved to kill humans, humans with weapons that is.
"Are you a Delver?" The brown-haired boy asked again.
"Delver?" He asked, just as the stomach sack gave way, blood and remnants of previous victims pouring out. He had even seen a human skull, partially digested and now laying on the grass. Boryslav expected to see the kids flinch, yet they watched with unwavering stares, almost as if they were used to such macabre displays.
And then there were the other things of various shapes and sizes. He leaned down to pick one of them up, a strange stone object the size of a tennis ball.
"What is this?" Boryslav asked, holding it for the two kids to see.
"That's a relic." The boy with glasses answered diligently.
The gravity of the situation finally caught up to him.
Where was he? A place he had never heard of before. Who were these two kids? Two kids that had never heard of a crocodile apparently. And what was a Delver?
So many questions, it hurt his slightly hungover head just thinking about them. He silently lowered the relic in his hand, looking at the two boys. "Then what about you two? This place is clearly dangerous. Where are your parents?"
"We're collecting relics to sell." The boy with glasses said as a matter of fact. "And we don't have parents, we're orphans."
"... Oh." Boryslav simply said, quickly realizing the awkward subject he had just walked himself into. He coughed, changing it quickly. "Then, ah... what are your names?"
"I'm Nat." The brown-haired boy now identified as Nat answered.
The other one straightened his glasses, "Shiggy."
"Well then, Nat, Shiggy." He then looked back at the bloody relics on the grass before looking back at the boys, handing the ball-shaped relic to Shiggy "... I guess you can take this 'relic', and the rest as well. I came here for something else..."
"Woah, really?" Nat said, a hint of excitement in his voice as he passed Boryslav. "Thanks!"
"Thank you." Shiggy added, joining his friend.
Boryslav turned away from the two scavenging orphans, Vodka still in hand as he walked to the back of the truck. He unlatched the tailgate, looking inside. There were a few open crates inside, already looted... all except one. The one thing that could fetch a pretty price.
"What are you looking for?"
He almost jumped, swearing-in Ukrainian as he turned to see that the two orphans beside him. Hands red from the bloody relics they had packed. "блядь! Do not sneak up on me like that!"
"Sorry." Shiggy simply said before perking up again, "So this is the back of the giant relic..."
"Giant relic? You mean the truck?"
"Truck?"
"Ah..." Boryslav paused before climbing up into the back, shoving a few crates out of the way as he spoke. "You have... wagons pulled by animals, correct?"
"Yeah." Nat answered, "Furpongs."
"Fur-?" The Stalker shook his head, "Well, think of a wagon but not pulled by an animal. It instead uses a machine to move it forward."
"Oh, so it's like a... steam train, or maybe boat but it goes on land?" Shiggy asked.
"Dah! Yes! It is like a train but can go on any terrain. No need for tracks." Boryslav replied as he reached the unopen stash, opening it to look inside. He smiled, reaching in to pull out a small lead-lined box. The fact that there were trains and boats in this land was good news, perhaps the people were advanced enough to possibly have electricity as well.
"So then... is it human-made?" Nat asked.
"They catch on quickly." Boryslav thought, jumping out of the back of the truck. "Dah. It is. And it contains something of value from The Zone."
Shiggy picked up on the last word. "The Zone? What's The Zone?"
He opened the box, a bright blue glow emanating from within it. Boryslav reached in, the two kids watching with awe as he held a Soul artifact in front of them. "Heh..." He chuckled, "In case you both have not noticed, I am not from around here..." He looked up. "Now, where is the nearest town?"
"O-..." Nat drew his eyes away from the artifact. "Orth..."
"How far?"
Shiggy pointed up, "It's above the first layer and it's about a half-an-hour walk from here."
"Good." Boryslav simply said, holding the artifact away from Nat's peeking face. "Do not stand too close. It is radioactive."
"So you're not from Orth?"
"Niet." Boryslav simply responded, the two orphans trailing closely behind him as he casually held his AK. Their backpacks were overloaded with relics from The Abyss, he was genuinely surprised that both kids were able to carry that much on their backs.
"Then... where are you from?" Nat asked.
"Ukraine."
Shiggy straightened his glasses, "There's no nation called Ukraine."
"Well-" Boryslav shrugged, "About an hour ago, I knew of no place called The Abyss or Orth, so let us just agree to disagree, dah?"
They walked on in silence for a few moments before Nat spoke up again. "What did you mean when you said that relic was radioactive."
"It was not a relic, it is a-" Boryslav shook his head, admittedly losing a bit of patience. "Look, I am tired of answering all of your questions. Besides, do you two not think you are a little too trusting of a stranger you just met?"
"But you saved the both of us from the Crimson Splitjaw." Shiggy said.
"Dah, and right after that, I could have murdered both of you and looted your corpses."
Silence. A few seconds passed before Nat spoke up, "But you didn't."
"... Dah, I did not..." Boryslav said. "But it does not mean I have not done it to others." Moments passed, both parties silent before Boryslav sighed. "Right, radioactivity... How must I explain this?" He turned his head slightly, thinking of a way to put it to the two children. "Think of ah, a dangerous rock or an object that can sometimes emit a... spicy air."
His explanation would have made a nuclear physicist cry.
"You cannot see this air." Boryslav continued, "And too much of this air can easily kill you if you are not careful, or leave you wishing to be killed."
"So its like poison?" Shiggy asked.
"A bit. But a type of poison that can gradually seep into the strongest of protection. That is why you need to use lead or concrete when dealing with radiation, or special types of suits."
Shiggy nodded in understanding as Nat spoke up. "So... I guess this means you're not a Delver?"
"Niet." Boryslav responded, "Where I am from, I am known as a Stalker."
"A Stalker? So you follow people without them knowing?" Nat asked, eyes scrunching in slight disgust.
"Not that type of stalker!" Boryslav answered with slight irritation before returning to a more prideful tone. "I am a scavenger, trespasser, adventurer, loner, killer, explorer, and robber, all rolled into one."
"Oh, so the word Stalker for you is more of an acronym." Shiggy surmised.
"... Dah..."
Admittedly, it was only now that Boryslav realized that aforementioned fact as Nat looked up. "Wait... then that means you're like an illegal Delver."
"I keep hearing that word, 'Delver', but I do not know what it means." Boryslav said, coming to a stop as he turned around.
Shiggy walked up to the Stalker. "A Delver is a person registered by the nation of Orth to explore the depths of The Abyss and contribute to study, collecting Relics for research or gain."
"Just like a Stalker would. Less of the government mandating or control." Boryslav silently thought, continuing his walk. "Well, now that you put it like that, I guess I would be an illegal Delver." He then looked down, "That reminds me, why do you both wear those red whistles like boy scouts? Some sort of fashion or...-?"
"Its to determine our Delver rank." Shiggy held it up for the man to see. "Me and Nat recently got our red whistles after delving the first layer."
"So you both are rookies?"
Nat nodded as Shiggy continued, "It's a ranking system. Depending on how experienced and how far down The Abyss you've gone. The order goes by blue whistles, moon whistles, black whistles... and finally the white whistles."
"And what is so special about these white whistles?" Boryslav asked.
"Only the greatest Delvers of all time!" Nat answered, "They're legends! And the things they've done or discovered have changed the world! They're super rare too, with only 5 in existence, and two of them already went on their last dive."
"Last dive? What is that supposed to mea-?"
The Svarog went off, beeping at a crazed pace as the party paused. "What's that?" Nat asked, Boryslav reaching into one of his pouches to produce the detector. He then froze up, eyes widening.
"Заебись!" Boryslav yelled, looking down at the device as Shiggy came up to him.
"What's wrong?"
"What is wrong, what is wrong?!" Boryslav turned his head, "There is a huge fucking anomaly just up ahead! So big, the damn screen cannot even record it!"
Shiggy blinked, "I...-" He then looked down the road, "Well, we're only just about now beginning to gain altitude, so maybe the curse is already manifesting ten meters ahead."
"The curse? What the hell is that?"
The young boy paused before taking off his backpack, quickly ruffling through it and producing a book. He then opened it, finding a page and showing it to Boryslav. "The curse of The Abyss. The strain of ascending. One of the greatest challenges to any Delver." He pointed to the first picture, the drawn man wiping sweat from his brows as he held onto a climbing rope. "Basically, trying to return from any layer comes with its own set of risks, varying in danger depending on which layer it is. Returning from the first layer only makes you experience mild dizziness. The second, headaches, nausea, and numbness of the extremities." The man was then puking. "The fourth, intense pain throughout the whole body and bleeding from every orifice." The man bled out of his eyes and ears. "The sixth and beyond... loss of your humanity or death." The man was now shattered, now one with the stones of the abyss.
Boryslav stared for a moment, placing a hand beneath his chin in thought. He then looked up, turning to face the road as Nat spoke. "That's why it's hard for Delvers to return home safely. There's just no way to avoid it..."
"Well..." Boryslav paused, slowly reaching into a special pouch that rested in front of his belt. "There's no way in hell I am going to walk right into an anomaly I don't fully understand, willingly or unwillingly. The last time I did I...-"
He recalled for a split second, recalling days without food, and scarce amounts of water, walking in one direction for days only to find yourself back at the same place as before. Getting stuck in a Space anomaly happened to him once, considered one of the most dangerous of anomalies in The Zone. His escape was thanks to one thing and one thing only.
Finding the artifact within to destroy the anomaly that imprisoned him.
Nat shrugged, "Unless you wanna get to Orth, you're kinda out of options. The curse is just one of the rules of The Abyss."
Boryslav grabbed ahold of the artifact, taking it out. It was a pitch-black orb, so dark that it seemed as if it was sucking the light from around it. The two kids looked at it with a hint of awe and confusion.
"It is a good thing rules are meant to be broken, dah?"
And then he walked forward, holding it out as it began to levitate, tiny pylons of crystals beginning to rise out of the dark orb. A white light then shot out from these crystals, noticeable despite being day time and striking what appeared to be an invisible barrier. Like a projector, the light grew bigger and bigger before finally stopping, a bright semi-circle over the upward road. Boryslav turning his head. "Alright, it should be safe to go. Follow me."
Shiggy and Nat did, the trio walking into the projected light before reaching the other side.
Both orphans froze up. They were sure of it.
They had gone up ten meters and not suffered the curse of the first layer.
Which meant...
Boryslav grabbed the artifact from the air, casually putting it back into his pouch as the 'opening' of light closed behind them. He then turned, noticing a visibly shaken Shiggy and a shocked Nat simply stare at him.
"A-Aubade... N-No, b-beyond a-aubade..." Shiggy murmured to himself.
The Stalker turned his head to Nat, "What is wrong with him?"
Nat didn't respond, simply staring at him with wide eyes as Shiggy spoke up, quickly opening his notebook.
"Y-Your name, I-I need- we didn't ask your name b-before."
"Boryslav Shevchenko."
He then smiled.
"But you can call me Worn. You can thank the assholes back at The Zone for making the name stick."
Translations:
блядь - Blyad - Whore (like how one would say Fuck!)
Заебись - Zaebis' - Holy shit