Prologue.
"Father found a boar today. He shot it and brought it home, hopefully we'll have dinner tomorrow. He says he found it nearby so it must not be radiated. Thats become a bigger problem with the smugglers moving radiated material out of the zone. Father says the guards don't even stop them anymore. I wonder why? The rest of the world doesn't need to know of this place. The smugglers.. have they acquired them too?"
He stared at the page for a moment then penned "July 6th, 2005" on it. He sat up from his chair and gazed around the decaying room. "Its so cold" he thought as he pushed some blankets in front of the broken window. "Its time for you to sleep." a man said as he walked into the boys room. "Tomorrow we'll be expecting a vistor. He will need your help, and you will need your rest." A frown formed under the mans beard. He placed a knife on a desk next to the door then left. The boy looked at the doorway, then at the knife. He only saw a knife once before, when his sister was robbed and killed. "Why?" He tossed it on the floor and jumped onto his bed.
A shriek and howl from outside woke the boy up. His attention was drawn to raised voices down the hall. "Get out of here Stalker." His father said. "Now now, we are just coming for the rent." Another man said in a sarcastic voice. The boy could hear a man fall into their table. Footsteps sounded from the hall and a man in black leather rounded the corner into his room. "Come with me kid." he said in a rough voice. The boy slowly moved off his bed. He eyed the knife; the mans eyes following. "Maybe later." The man said as he grabbed the boys arm. A picture of a woman fell as the boy was tugged. She looked up at them as they passed. "What do you want? You have the money." the father said painfully as he lay in the ruins of an old table. Another man in leather raised a gun and shot the father.
"What the fuck Psycho?" The man let go of the boys armor and pulled a sawn off shotgun from under his jacket. "We fucking wanted the money, not him dead."
"Can't always get what you want eh? Grab his legs and pull him outside. I'll take care of the kid." Blood rushed from the fathers head and trailed across the dust ridden floor as he was drug outside. Another blast could be heard, quickly followed by "Fucking dogs."
"Now kid, tell us where the girl is or you'll be like tonic." Psycho said as he forced a picture into the kids hands. "No."
Psycho sighed. He looked around the kitchen as if for some clue, then punched the kid with the butt end of his handgun. He fell onto a puddle of blood. The kid started crying hysterically. Psycho aimed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger. It clicked. He pulled it again, it clicked. "Fuck." he said. He pulled out a knife, but paused:
The kid
"I..." the kid spat. He looked up at the bandit and pointed to his necklace. Psycho grasped the blue stone and eyed the kid. "What about it?"
"I know where more are. I... I was exploring with friends. We... we found it."
"Found what? What?" Psycho shouted with a hint of excitement.
The kid got off the floor and started walking out the door. The other bandit stood digging a hole. "Now I gotta dig two." he laughed as he pointed to a pile of dog next to the dad. Psycho nodded to the kid and the other dropped the shovel quickly. The kid stopped as they reached a dirt road and turned around. "Its in the forest. A cave... I'll show you, just don't kill me. Please." Psycho smiled at this and ushered the kid forward. They followed the road into a forest. There were no birds, but distant gunshots and shrieks providing ambient noise. The sun seeped through the menacing trees as they paced forward. The kid veered off trail, and the two bandits followed.As they moved through the thick underbrush more and more, the sun began to set. Psycho was now holding both knife and gun caustiously as they moved. "Where the fuck is it?" The other said. "Who knows Blonsky." Psycho responded.
After a few hours the group reached a steep hill. As they climbed, the pitch black began to fade into a blue. "Just over here." the kid said. They reached the top of the hill. A creature lay stooped over a dogs body. Its long tentacled mouth wrapped around its neck. "Whats--" Psycho pushed the kid down and the beast reared its head towards them. It stood up and ran at them. Click, click. "OH FUCK THIS." Psycho was tackled by the shriking mutant. Blonsky missed twice as he shot at it. The underbrush came alive with small creatures running. Psycho and the bloodsucker rolled down the hill. Screams from both were heard as Blonsky grabbed the kid and ran forward. "Here, here!"
The two reached a huge pile of rocks with blue light seeping through it. Blonsky threw off his backpack and started fishing through it. The kid took his chance and ran into the bushes. "Eh, let em rot." Blonsky mumbled as he tossed a located C4 block into the rocks. He ran to cover and detonated. The explosion tore through the trees and rocks. As the smoke cleared, a wall of blue light emerged. He walked to the rubble and gazed into the cave. Glowing stones and metals enlightened the area. He smiled, and pulled out a hand radio from his pocket.