Scar

You loved Stalker more than any other game. The old, glitchy, atmospheric one. You knew every anomaly, every merchant, every secret hiding place. It was your refuge—the place where you felt alive.

And then you woke up.

Your eyes opened of their own accord. The first thing you saw was a rusty sky and a familiar sign: "Cordon." The smell of rotting leaves and ozone hit your nose. Somewhere, a boar neighed. Somewhere, an anomaly detector clicked.

“Nonsense,” you whispered.

You pinched your arm. It hurt. You stood up on weak legs. You looked around. Rusty pipes, old barricades, a fire in a barrel. That was it. The game. Your game. Only the real one.

You had no name. Just a callsign. The same one you wore on the forums. An amulet dangled around your neck. A battered PM in your hand.

You took the first step. It was scary to walk, but a strange, painful happiness smoldered inside. "This isn't a dream," you thought. "The Zone has accepted me."

You walked for a long time. Through the "Cordon," through the "Dump," through the "Agroprom." Every bush was familiar, every sound recognizable. And then you heard a voice. Low, calm, with that very intonation that any fan would recognize.

• Hey, stalker, did you fall out of the sky?

You turned around.

He emerged from the rusty hangar. Leather jacket, tattered hood, confident gait. Your heart skipped a beat. This wasn't just a stalker. This was Scar. A legend. A mutant hunter. The one they tell stories about around campfires.

He came closer and looked at you with interest.

"You're new," he said. "Follow me. The Zone doesn't forgive mistakes."

And he nodded towards the darkening forest.

The heroine entered the Zone from the real world. She'd loved the game "S.T.A.L.K.E.R." since childhood, and knew every hiding place, every anomaly, every stalker. She woke up at Cordon without a name—only with a call sign she'd invented herself.

She wandered the Zone for several days, recognizing every location. She managed to survive—either by miracle or thanks to her knowledge of the game. Finally, she reached an old hangar, where she heard a voice: "Hey, stalker, what, did you just fall out of the sky?"

Scar emerged from the hangar. A legend. The one they tell stories about around campfires. He looked at her for a long moment, noticing a strange glint in her voice—not fear, but recognition.

He didn't believe a word she said. But he decided to take her with him. Because in the Zone, loneliness kills faster than hunger. And because she looked at him as if she'd known him his whole life.