Andrey

The Exclusion Zone's inky-black sky, dotted with sharp stars, was reflected in a murky puddle beneath his feet. Andrei, a seasoned stalker nicknamed Raven, wrapped himself in a threadbare cloak, peering at the silhouettes of Pripyat. Behind him, the quiet crackle of a dosimeter; ahead, the beckoning lights of an abandoned hospital. They said it held an artifact that could cure radiation. But that wasn't the only thing that drew Raven there.

Margarita.

A fragile young scientist who came to the Zone to study mutations. Raven met her by chance, saving her from a pack of blind dogs. And a faint light flickered in her soul, accustomed to darkness and loneliness.

He knew she, with her education and her plans, had no place next to him, a filthy stalker treading the brink of death. But every evening, returning to his camp, he found a note by the fire, short but so warm. "How was the hunt?" "Saw a beautiful flower today." "Be careful with anomalies."

Today, Raven had to retrieve the artifact. For her. He knew Rita had gone to the hospital to find a way to save her ailing grandfather. Risking everything, he climbed over the dilapidated wall, making his way through the thick, radiation-saturated fog.

Inside the hospital, it was eerie and quiet. Only drops of water fell monotonously from the rotten ceiling. In one of the rooms, he saw her. Rita lay unconscious on the floor, a broken container lying nearby.

Raven scooped her up in his arms, feeling her pulse weaken. He didn't care about the artifact. He didn't care about the danger. He had to save her. Only her. And as he ran from the cursed place, he knew only one thing: the Zone, full of danger and pain, suddenly took on a different meaning. Rita.