Roksana's Story 2012

My dad dropped out of school at the age fifteen, and then three years later he joined the Soviet Union, more specifically he was assigned at the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Ninth Convocation, the third and last of the Soviet Constitution. It's a pity though because my dad didn't do jack shit the first year except the fact that he played a petty role as a poster boy, but one thing you should know about my dad is that one, he never gives up, and two, he's more loyal than any Skye Terrier staying at their master's grave to the very end.

"What's a Skye Terrier?" Tolik interrupted.

"It's a dog. Wiki it." Roksana said impatiently.

"And what's Wiki?"

"Don't you mind! Alright anyways…"

In those days, the Soviet Union was on an immediate standstill, as they focused more on reforming their fading economic stability and maintained a sound parity to the United States in the areas of military numbers and technology, if they didn't, we all know what the U.S are going to do.

While the Soviet were licking their pathetic wounds, a year later my dad was assigned to fight the Soviet-Afghan War, they were going against the Islamist Mujahedeen Resistance just because they were Muslims that didn't want to go with the Soviet flow. He fought for nine years and for a guy his age, I reckon he's not too bad. In 1988, the Soviet commanded a troop withdrawal and my dad was awarded awesome Soviet medals, I could still remember when I was small, I and my brother would play as a lieutenant and a general with his medals pinned to our clothes, it made our little play a little more realistic and fun. Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention our family, two years later he had an arranged marriage to my mom, Eleonora Pylyp. In 1990, my bro was born and named after his father Sergiy Jr. and two years after that here I am before you Roksana Yaroslav. I had my father's eyes, so did my brother but my other looks are my mother's features while Junior's looks are a hundred percent his father's.

After the Soviet Union collapsed and on December 8, 1991, the presidents of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belavezha Accords which declared the Soviet Union dissolved and established something called the Commonwealth of Independent States, meaning the three different countries are now independent and best of all Karl Marx's dream world is long gone.

"How do you know all this history shit?" Tolik interjected.

"Because like all the normal kids, I go to school…and…and I read books." Roksana replied with an annoyed patronized voice.

"That's not normal."

"Whatever you say dickweed."

Okay where was I? Oh yeah! Now you would think that my dad was set for an early retirement and our family would live happily ever after but it didn't happen that way, my dad was a man of war and he had no form of domestic skills and no chance of adopting in society. The Soviet-Afghan war had a major impact on him and our family too, especially my brother. Our family moved to Ukraine and he joined the Armed Forces of….well, Ukraine. In the 1990's, the Armed Forces grew a close relationship with NATO, and when I meant close I meant "I'll suck your dick, you suck my dick". My dad was assigned in peacekeeping missions in Yugoslavia, my mom didn't want him to go to Yugoslavia and they bitched about it, "it's either me or your precious country!" I could still remember her saying that as if it were yesterday. So when I was only two, my parents got themselves divorced and our remaining family went to Australia for "great" opportunities. My dad then applied the Ukrainian Government to support our education from kindergarten to high school as long as my mom would study and graduate in one Australia's finest universities and then after we got enough money to support ourselves, we became permanent residence to Australia. My dad still visit my family, he'd usually come only two to three times a year and we would have an awfully silent and awkward dinner together, nothing to talk about, might as well don't visit at all if you're going to act like that.

Tolik nodded, "Word."

My brother who is the only family member or perhaps the only living being that admired my dad and wanted to follow his footsteps, I don't know why but I reckon he just want his father's attention and so he was enlisted in the Australian Defence Force. As the years passed, my mom graduated and worked her career as a math teacher, I'm still in uni, my dad was still in Yugoslavia and my bro was still in the army still trying to impress his dad, I guess he inherited his "never-give-up" attitude from his own idol. Until in the mid of 2005, my dad lost his right leg due to a minefield accident and went straight back to his precious homeland. For me I thought his trigger-happy days were over, probably because the fact that he spent his days holed-up in his condo alone but a bottle of vodka with one hand, drinking himself to death. But knowing my dad I was wrong, he got himself a prosthetic leg and returned back to military and that's how he got himself in to the zone.

"How?" Tolik interrupted, again.

"Dunno." Roksana shrugged.

Alright, at first when I heard about the zone, I thought "yeah whatever", but then money began rolling in our mailbox in the form of cold hard cash. It ranged from ten grand to a hundred grand Hryvnias dollars and it was followed by a letter. It wrote:

"Dear my beloved family,

I hoped that this letter came before the money, but it doesn't matter anyways. There is a new place that I'm in, a new world that I am in. At first I was just assigned to that place because those army bastards thought they could rid of me since of my unfortunate accident. But I am alive and well and I just want to tell you how much you guys meant to me. This new world has these magnificent, rare and valuable things called artifacts caused by the second nuclear explosion. And that explains the money coming right down to your pockets. I am giving it to you because I don't need it, not anymore. And it wouldn't be likely for to come back. This new world is where I belong. Yours Truly,

Sergiy."

"Wow, well-ummmm….yeah." Tolik responded after finishing the letter, speechless.

"What a dick right?" Roksana sighed. "He'd rather be in this apocalyptic shit-hole than he'd be with us!"

Tolik nodded pretentiously, "Yeah, but again the million dollar question is, why are you here? Are you like searching for him then?"

"For my pa? Nah, it's my bro…"

"He's here?"

"Yeah he's trying to find him, Junior would write letters to him every day and eagerly wait for his replies, and of course my dad was courteous enough to write back until late that year he stopped sending his letters, and the money too. And when Junior was in the zone, he would get in touch with us by email, a while later it's his turn to stop replying to my messages. Don't care so much about my dad, but I do care about my brother. He's a cool guy, he has always been there for me, my mom and unfortunately my dad. I don't wanna lose him."

"Oh I see," Tolik would never have thought that such a cliché family drama would exist in of all places the zone, and yet the world continues to amaze him and the same time inflicting him the emotion of empathy.

"But wait a minute," Tolik began, "how did this guy come in the picture?" Gesturing at Hacky, who was obnoxiously chatting to Wolf one-sidedly whatever comes to his mind.

"It's a funny story, I went to Kiev in need for support from the government but they can't do shit. They don't help stalkers Hacky said but they didn't bother helping my dad either."

"I met Hacky at a bar," Roksana continued, "It was one of those conservative hundred-century bars where war veterans, ex-convicts and forest hunters unite."

"As you would expect any other overweight single guy in their mid-forties to hangout." Tolik smirked.

Roksana giggled. "Shut up! He's a nice guy. Anyways, he told me to meet there and we had a chat and I agreed to pay him the money that my dad has sent. So it's a done deal!"

"How much are you paying him?"

"Ten grand,"

"That's too little for where you are right now."

"I know, but he said he didn't do it mainly for the money. He just wanted to lend a hand."

A moment of silence ensued, "But because of that I don't trust him."

Tolik's eyes widened, "Why?"

"Just a small hunch,"

"Okay, do you know his real name?"

"Nope."

The gate to Rostok was moderately guarded by the Duty faction with Sergeant Plichko in charged. The faction is one of the mightiest stalker clans of the zone, legendary stalkers that were formed by survivors from then Ukrainian Military troops and Special Forces Units that were left not to survive but to die at the hands of zone's cruel and horrifying elements in the form of anomalies and mutants. They were the earliest fighters of the zone and also the unluckiest, as they were traumatized by deaths of their close friends that they talk to everyday about which girl they are going to bang when they get back home, terrified by the twisted and alternate reality existing in the surface of the Earth as they watched their comrades getting sucked-up into the air in a unforgiving break-neck speed and exploded into smithereens and also at the sight of a mutated and invisible humanoid that sucks your blood by penetrating the Kevlar armour through the skin with its razor sharp tentacles. It was tough, it was hellish, and it was bloody but it did not serve as a fear factor but instead as a sheer motivation to destroy the zone and its corruption without a doubt. As the years passed, that motivation, the will to eliminate the zone has been gradually fading into only their official tagline as their current intentions and focus is to destroy their opposition, the Freedom faction. Roksana's dad might be in Duty after all, since he was one of the earliest stalkers assigned from the military...but only if she knew.

Tolik watched as Roksana and Hacky joined together and exchange conversation with two of the Duty onlookers. Wolf strode back to Tolik, whipping out his lighter and a pack of cigarettes.

"No thanks," Tolik declined politely as he was offered one.

"So what do you make of this?" Wolf asked, lighting the cig at the corner of his lips.

"Dunno, what did the fat bastard say to you?"

"Aside from the small pep-talk, a whole lot of bullshit I reckon."

"What do you mean?"

"He said that the girl there," Wolf pointed at Roksana, "wanted to search her daddy and her big brother in this zone with him lending her a genuine goody-goody hand."

"Yeah he's doing it for ten grand, I know that's not much but still I reckon Roksana's telling the truth."

Wolf looked at Tolik in disbelief and whispered, "Ah come on pal! Do you expect some brat from Australia who has her life already set out for her to search for her missing relatives?"

"Not much for the dad but for her bro-"

"Don't let her cute little charms fool you, Tolik" warned Wolf, taking another puff.

"Well at least you're already done your mission...what do you have against them anyways?" Tolik asked as he watched the two newcomers sat down by the fire with other Duty stalkers.

"I got nothing against them," Wolf protested, "It's just that...why do they have to lie to Sidorovich about their names, huh? What do they have to hide?"

"They aren't lyin-" but before Tolik could finish, Hacky approached the pair with his usual warm or eerie grin.

"Thanks for your company brother, looks like they aren't much bandits as they're used to be." Hacky laughed.

"They're still are but I guess you could save a bit of money without me escorting you huh?" Wolf answered coldly.

"Yeah I guess..." Hacky said with a wry chuckle, "Say, how bout we head to the bar? Drinks on me!"

"Nah," Wolf declined the offer, "I'm heading to the army warehouse, just catching up with a couple of old friends of mine."

"But brother I insist!"

"No, but thanks anyway."

Hacky looked a bit disappointed, or maybe acted disappointed but his attentions quickly turned to Tolik.

"How about you...ummm...what's your name?"

"Tolik," Tolik extended his hand as if he introduced himself for the first time.

"Wanna go grab a drink?" Hacky offered.

"Yeah I could use one."