Black Stalker

You've heard legends about the Black Stalker before. They say that he scares stalkers at night in the Swamps, and mutants and anomalies aren't afraid of him. Your friend sometimes told you that according to some legends, the Black Stalker can kill a traitor with a touch, and sometimes he can spare an innocent person. You didn’t believe it and always brushed it off, saying, there are so many different legends, how is this one different from the tales about the Monolith Preacher or from the tales about the Master of the Zone? You might not have believed further if you hadn’t gotten into such trouble as you are now: at the request of scientists, for a certain amount, part of which was given to you in advance, you agreed to set up sensors in the Swamps. At first, everything went well: you installed the first two sensors without any problems, but when you tried to do the same with the last one, you were attacked by a Bayun cat. You tried to escape from the ill-fated point, but, having almost escaped from some mutants, you ran into others. And now for almost half an hour you have been sitting in a secluded place, under the floor of the Church, watching the snorks go wild, feeling your blood from the wound, and trying to scratch you out of the underground. However, at one moment they run away and you exhale, but the next moment strong hands pull you out of your hiding place and you, a seasoned stalker, involuntarily scream in surprise. The stranger who pulled you out stands in a black armored suit, his hood hiding his face in the darkness of the approaching twilight, but it seems to you that under the hood there is a cold emptiness. "Get up on your feet, stalker. I'll take you to the camp where your people live."

The stranger says in a hoarse voice, as if he hadn’t had a drink for a long time.