Chapter Thirty - To the Camp

Koschei returned to where Alice and Crystal were waiting by the front of the gas station. The bear was rampaging still, roaring and clawing at nothing, though it was getting further back from the side of the station. The Stalkers had taken a few more shots at it, but it had only been a waste of ammunition and the stalker in charge--or so Alice presumed, had ordered a stop to that.

"Anton will probably live," Koschei said. "But he needs better attention. We're bringing him with us to the camp."

"We are?" Crystal asked. "Is the camp far?"

Koschei shook his head, then pointed off in one direction. "See that road there, the gravel one? It leads to the camp."

There was, indeed, a gravel road behind the gas station. It led upwards and to the... north? Alice wasn't quite sure on that last. But in any case, the gravel road continued on for some ways, following next to a cement-banked river.

"There's a hydro-electic plant a kilometre upriver, then the camp a little ways deeper in," Koschei explained. "It's a trek, uphill most of the way, and there are traps all around, but as long as we keep to the road we should be safe."

"This camp is sounding a lot more organised than I'd imagined," Alice said.

Koschei shrugged. "It's been here since the start. Some say that it was turned into a Stalker den before the Zone even appeared."

"Ohhh, time stuff!" Crystal said. She was on the verge of gushing, so Alice placed a hand on her head to tamp that down.

"We can help carry your friend Anton over. It's only for a few hours, right?"

Koschei shrugged. "One of the others is coming as well. We'll carry him." He eyed her. "Though maybe you could do it on your own."

That last wasn't a question, but it was a suspicion that he was voicing aloud. Koschei wasn't just suspicious of them, not at this point. Alice was pretty sure there was nothing he or any number of Stalkers could do about her and Crystal, but... well, maybe it was for the best that their time together was coming to a natural end.

Koschei moved on to grab some things from the station and was met by another man, the same one who'd been on marksman duty on the roof a few minutes ago. "Hey!" the man said. He was a thin, reedy fellow with large round glasses and a mask that he wore loose around his neck, ready to be slipped on, but not there yet. "Hey there, I'm Viktor, Viktor Kolzov, but my friends call me Vik."

"Hi Vik! My name is Crystal, Crystal Genocide, but my friends call me... Crystal." She extended a hand to Viktor who shook it, he seemed amused by the introduction before turning towards Alice.

"Alice," she said.

"A woman of few words," he said. "You know, it's not often we see ladies out here in the Zone."

"Is the zone misogynistic?" Crystal asked.

Viktor blinked, then shrugged. "Maybe! Who knows what the Zone thinks. But we often call the Zone a lady too, so it's hard to tell. Koshei, do you know any popular ladies in the zone?"

Koshei looked up from where he was dragging a pack over and glared. "No," he said. "Help me with Anton."

Viktor snorted, then jogged over. In short order they had Anton loaded up onto a cloth gurney with two poles on either side of it. The man groaned, then groaned harder when Koshei placed a bag onto his lap.

"This is the worst day ever," Anton said. "Ladies, come here, show me your pretty faces so that the last thing I see is a sight of beauty."

"Don't listen to him," Koshei said.

"Yeah, Anton's an idiot," Viktor replied. "I warned him about the bear and he walked out anyway." The man smiled, then his attention turned towards the bear. "It just walked through all of our traps, the bastard."

Koshei looked towards Viktor, and Alice sensed that he had just connected two dots together, but no explanation came as to which dots and what that might mean. "Take the front," he said to Viktor.

"Ah, I don't want Viktor's ass in my face," Anton complained as the two men grabbed an end of the gurney each. They grunted, then lifted Anton up. He groaned at the motion, clutching at his side, but then he laid back and stared at the cloudy sky and just breathed.

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"Miss Crystal, would you mind taking my bag?" Viktor asked. "It's not kind of me, but I can't take my gear and Anton all at once."

"Sure," Crystal said as she pulled Viktor's bag off the ground in one hand and held it up to the side. A rifle in a cloth bag was sticking out of a full pack that jingled and jangled with every motion. Alice imagined that it weighed half as much as Crystal herself did.

Viktor smiled smugly, and Alice suspected that he'd just proven a point, if only to himself. The man was clever, for all his goofy smiles and easy banter.

They said their goodbyes to the Stalkers that would remain. That group seemed tense, but there was nothing for them to do but wish them a speedy trip up to the camp. And then they were off.

"So, the camp has a hydro electric plant?" Alice asked.

"Small one," Viktor said. "The camp's got everything a Stalker needs to live a carefree and happy life!"

Koshei sniffed. "It's a trap, in its own way," he said.

"How's that?" Crystal asked.

"An area with lots of Stalkers, lots of provisions, medical centres, a bar. It's a small town all on its own. New Stalkers come here, brave the easiest edge of the Zone, then think they've found a safe space. How many of them have come here and will never leave?"

"Oh, like half, easy," Viktor said with a grin. "I work security. Anton here? He's been at the camp for three years!"

"Four," Anton groaned.

"Sure," Viktor said. "I come and go. After the next big storm I'm gathering what I can and making a run for it!"

"What's that mean?" Crystal asked.

Viktor glanced back. "There are lots of little anomalies, if you know where to look. They always reappear, and they're worth their weight in gold back in the motherland. A quick dip deeper into the Zone, and then you run back out. Sell it to the right person and... well, I'm halfway to retirement."

"It takes ten, maybe twelve runs to earn that amount," Koschei said. "Most Stalkers don't live through that many."

"Ah, but some of us do!" Viktor said. "That's what the camp's good for. You have a place to stay, listen to rumours, form a group to go out on a hunt. A safe space to sleep. There's... eh, the food's shit, but the beer's alright."

Alice was starting to wonder what this camp looked like. Her initial mental image was... of a camp. A few tents, maybe some slightly more permanent structures. She'd imagined maybe a small abandoned village with a few farm houses close together and some tarp homes strung out between them.

Now she wasn't so sure. They had electricity, and what sounded like a small society of their own. That required more than a few tents.

"Where does the name 'camp' come from? This is sounding more like a base than anything," Alice said.

"You know, I have no idea," Viktor said.

Koschei hummed. "It was to mislead. Lots of Stalkers know of the camp, so we call it the camp. If the army overhears you, or you're captured, you keep calling it the camp."

"Oh, that's clever," Crystal said. "But, uh, what is the camp? I mean, what kind of place was it before it was turned into the camp?"

"A school, yeah?" Viktor said.

Koschei nodded, then hiked up his grip on the gurney, which had Anton groaning again. "The camp was the Zarechny Institute Campus."

"A campus, not a school?" Alice asked.

He shrugged. "It was a campus for engineers. Very private."

Alice glanced at his back, then looked down the road again. There were the first signs of that hydroelectric plant they'd mentioned earlier up ahead. A pair of ugly square buildings on either side of an artificial dam. The churning of water was growing louder with every step they took.

She could make out a few transformers and a fenced-off area to the side with... well, she wasn't well versed when it came to electrical devices of the sort. Big grey boxes with metal poles and loops and wires all over them. There was a faint hum in the air, almost undetectable under the sound of the water.

And there were gunners on the roof, and more people within the power plants, some of them having noticed them coming.

They were finally getting close to the camp, it seemed.

***