Upon returning to the village, the Hunter sent me to the trader to sell the trophies. He allowed me to keep the money from their sale. He himself went to Wolf, who was sitting by the campfire and roasting sausages on a skewer, mentioning that he needed to discuss something with the leader of the newcomers. I wonder what they constantly discuss, but I don't want to pry into their affairs; they wouldn't understand such interest from me.
On the way to Sidorovich's bunker, I thought about what to spend my sudden earnings on. I could, and even should, save up for something expensive, but it's unlikely I'll get much, and I can buy some gear now. For example, a bandolier for shotgun shells. I can't carry shells scattered in my pockets all the time.
And I was right, the money turned out to be very little. I even had to pay extra to buy a belt bandolier; sixteen boar hooves weren't enough to pay for it. And I still had the feeling that Sidorovich had somehow cheated me out of money, but I didn't haggle or argue with him. It's unlikely I would have managed to haggle anything down; my skill is too low, I would only spoil our relationship. As I was about to leave, the trader called out to me:
"Hey, kid," he began. "Want to take a walk to the Gut? The territory east of the Cordon, it's not far, just a few hours. I need to deliver a package to the hunters there, and get a gift from them for me. Will you take it? I'll pay three thousand."
"Sorry, I can't," I spread my hands. "I've agreed to help the Hunter, I'll be busy for the next while. Maybe next time."
"Well, alright, alright," Sidorovich replied, sounding somewhat disappointed. "See you then, stalker."
So, I guess I didn't offend the trader, good. I don't know when the Hunter will go hunting with me next, but I definitely didn't want to take a job from the trader. Going far and to an unknown place, and carrying something too. To hell with it, and the payment is too small for such a task. I put on the bandolier on the go and, at the exit of the bunker, start loading shells into it directly from my pockets. In the village, I see that my mentor is still discussing something with Wolf, but upon seeing me, he waves his hand. I walk closer.
"Tomorrow we'll go on another hunt, kid," the old man begins, while Wolf is gnawing on a dripping sausage. "Not far from here, we saw a herd of bloodsuckers behind the elevator. Oh, you bought a bandolier? Good job."
And at that moment, a sweaty stalker runs out from around the corner, unarmed, with wild eyes, covered in mud. He trips over a wooden plank lying on the ground and falls right at our feet. Wolf, not expecting this, even choked on his food, and the Hunter had to pat him on the back.
"Th-th-there!.." the man began, stammering, as I peered into his face. A stalker I didn't know, but he seemed to be the partner of that red-haired guy who invited me hunting yesterday. "T-T-Tishka! They dragged him away!"
"What," Wolf coughs and jumps up. "Who!?"
"I-I don't know," the man continues to stammer. I help him up and seat him on an overturned wooden crate nearby, and give him some water from my flask. He calms down a bit. "Th-thanks. I don't know. We went hunting, Tishka even took some powerful shells from the Hunter. We wanted to shoot bloodsuckers near the tunnel under the railway bridge, but as soon as we entered the elevator, something attacked us. Some kind of gray shadow. I was thrown back, my rifle fell somewhere. Then a loud roar and that's it. The last thing I saw was some monster with tentacles dragging Tishka into the building."
"Bloodsucker," the Hunter says and looks at Wolf.
"How?" Wolf's eyes widen. "They don't live on the Cordon, you've said it yourself many times."
"They don't live here," the old man replies. "But on the Swamps, they say a couple were seen. But I didn't believe it, I thought it was all tall tales. I was wrong. The mutant came from the west, nowhere else, there's a path to the Swamps not far from the elevator, apparently, stalkers brought the starving creature on their tail. It didn't
dare to enter the camp, it settled nearby, looking for prey. And it found it."
"We need to gather the newcomers, tell them not to leave the village, and send a message to Father Valerian, damn it!" Wolf slaps himself on the forehead. "And the creature settled right next to the passage to another part of the Cordon."
"And contact through Sidorovich? He has a radio receiver," the Hunter suggests. "And you can send it through the stalker network."
"Nah," the leader of the Newcomers' Village shakes his head. "The network isn't working, some kind of malfunction, and Sidor's radio receiver is broken, how inconvenient this all is..."
"Then we'll have to kill the bloodsucker," the old man shrugs.
"Are you going alone?" Wolf asks. "Don't be foolish. You know yourself, I'm not leaving the village, especially now, I have to keep an eye on the newcomers, or they'll go playing hero. Petro is at the Neutral Base, Ozog went to the Predbannik. There are no other experienced stalkers here."
"Why would I go alone?" the Hunter asks in response and nods at me. "The apprentice will help, he shoots well, he can move quietly. We'll manage together. We can't take more people anyway, we'll scare it. You're not against it, kid?"
"With pleasure," I agree, I can't refuse anyway, my mentor wouldn't understand.
"Well, there you go," the old man grins. "We're ready. Let's go, kid, we need more powerful ammo here."
The stalker turns and heads towards the house. I cast a last glance at the frightened guy and follow the Hunter, catching up with him at a brisk pace. We go inside and, without taking off our boots, head to the workshop for ammo.
"Here, take this," he hands me a plastic bag. "Ordinary buckshot might not be enough for such a creature."
"What do I need to know about a bloodsucker? And why didn't we question that stalker? He could have told us something else about the mutant?" I ask him in a rush.
"What's the point?" the Hunter says, unloading his shotgun and loading different shells into it. "He's very scared, and he didn't see anything but a silhouette. And I can tell you a lot about bloodsuckers myself. The first thing you need to remember about these creatures is that they are extremely dangerous. One of the most dangerous mutants in the Zone, a real scourge of stalkers in the North."
"Why?"
"It's simple," he explains while I change the shells in my bandolier. "They can blend in with their surroundings, become almost invisible. For a short time, though, only a few seconds. And their main diet is human blood. They attack mutants too, of course, but they prefer stalkers. Real man-hunters."
"And what do they look like? Besides gray skin," in the game, bloodsuckers weren't that scary opponents; jump on a rock or something higher, and almost any mutant becomes harmless. "And how can they be killed?"
"Tall, over two meters, but stooped," the Hunter begins. "Bald skin, the shade of which depends on their habitat. Swamp ones are usually greenish-gray, ordinary ones are simply gray. Instead of a mouth, they have huge tentacles, and on their fingers, there are long claws. Fast and incredibly strong. One bloodsucker can handle a whole herd of boars without the slightest harm to itself. An incredibly dangerous opponent. But their skin isn't that tough, so it's better to shoot with buckshot. And they like to attack their prey from behind, so we'll cover each other, otherwise, it will simply pick us off one by one."
"Understood," I nod at him. "And what can be sold from a bloodsucker?"
"Already planning to sell the loot?" the old man chuckles merrily. "Only the tentacles are suitable for sale, and keep in mind that you'll have to cut off the creature's lower jaw. The tentacles alone aren't that valuable."
A few minutes later, we emerged from the house fully armed. The Fort, resting in its holster since I arrived, had been checked and its safety disengaged. The rifle was ready for combat, and the bandolier was loaded with shells by the Hunter. There was no one outside except Wolf, but I saw many stalkers in the windows of the houses. They were hiding.
"Good luck, brothers," the leader of the newcomers says. "Break a leg."
"To hell with it," the old man and I reply in unison and head out of the village.
The elevator is not far from the village, only a twenty-minute walk. But the entire journey was tense. We walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Despite everything, I was still nervous. It's one thing to shoot dogs or boars, which you can also run away from if you try. But this is a bloodsucker. A real one, threatening not a game character, but you specifically. This causes great concern. But I couldn't refuse the hunt either; people simply wouldn't understand, and my reputation would be ruined. And it doesn't matter that almost all the other stalkers from the village hid in their homes.
By this time, we had approached the elevator. Partially destroyed, with cracked walls and exposed bare bricks. Rusty metal scraps were scattered in the yard, there was even a discarded ZIL. The roof of the three-story building was missing shingles in places. And the view that opened up to me in the huge opening of the one-story building in the shape of the letter "G" could only be called devastation. Missing floor, piles of earth, half-rotten wooden crates, and other debris. And this is only what was visible from my angle, without entering the elevator itself.
"Be very careful, kid, very," the Hunter instructs me. "A bloodsucker is an extremely dangerous opponent, and it most likely already knows we're here."
"How will we proceed?" I ask him quietly.
"We'll try to provoke it into attacking," the old man replies. "Don't wave your gun around, but be ready and keep an eye behind your back. Follow me, but stay a few meters behind, let it think we don't know about it."
The Hunter heads towards the entrance of the one-story building, and I follow him, staying, as he said, a few meters behind. I don't know what would be happening now if the System hadn't suppressed hormone production, because even in this state, there's an incredible hum in my ears, and my pulse feels like it's risen to a hundred beats per minute. Incredible tension.
I cast a quick glance at the room we entered and realize that it's an ideal place for an ambush. Many places to hide. Numerous huge crates, several entrances to this building, a huge pile of garbage. In another part of this structure, there's a white Moskvich. And at this moment, I stumble and almost fall.
"Damn," I curse quietly, looking down at my feet and finding a rusty axe on a still sturdy handle. And this became my mistake.
I hear quick footsteps behind me, I turn around quickly, raising my rifle. But it wasn't enough. A blow of enormous force to the stomach knocks me to the ground, and my rifle is knocked into a pile of wooden crates. An ugly muzzle with gleaming white eyes bends over me. Tentacles spread out in different directions, and I draw my pistol, but before I can even fire, it's also knocked away.
"Bite me," I hear the Hunter's voice behind me, after which the bloodsucker jumps off me, and a shot follows.
I quickly roll onto my stomach, wincing in pain, and see the stalker literally sliding down the wall. He has no rifle, and the bloodsucker is advancing directly on him. I get up and try to find the rifle or at least my pistol with my gaze, but I can't. Damn it!
I grab the axe and run towards the bloodsucker, which has already latched onto the stalker. He desperately tries to tear the mutant off himself, but he can't. A wide swing, a blow, and the axe buries itself into the mutant's crooked neck, causing it to go limp and fall to the floor with the Hunter. I deliver a few more blows and completely sever the bloodsucker's head, splashing blood on myself and the old man. Then I help him up.
"Kha-kha-kha," the stalker coughs. "You got him good, kha! Well done..."
"How are you?" I ask him.
"I'll live," he coughs again. "Just need to rest. How are you yourself, alright? Your jacket is torn."
"I think so," I say with doubt and glance at the ripped bottom of my jacket, but there's no blood. "His claws just went through my body armor."
"Well, that's good, help me up," he extends his hand, and I help him stand. "He was a tough one, killed a lot of stalkers... and I'm too old for all this. I missed, I was afraid of hitting you. Take your trophy and let's go to the village."
I throw the bloody axe aside and tear off a piece of fabric from my jacket; I'll have to change it anyway. I wrap one of the tentacles with the fabric and lift the mutant's head, from which blood is still dripping. Another battle where I just got lucky. The Hunter hobbled towards the shotgun, and I went to look for my weapon. Fortunately, when I fell, I saw where the double-barreled shotgun went; it was found quickly, but the pistol was a struggle. It was lying right at the entrance to the building.
On the way to the village, the Hunter felt better, but he still needed a full rest and medical attention. I wanted to provide it right there, but the Hunter didn't want it. Besides, there was no water to wash everything. And at the camp, a whole delegation of the Wolf and newcomers met me. Seeing my bloody trophy, they started whispering:
"Look, they cut off his head!"
"Let me see, oh-oh-oh, wow."
"Look, the one holding the head has his whole face covered in blood, he must have been the one who chopped it off."
"Like an executioner."
"Executioner? Huh, that sounds good..."
"Alright, quiet!" the Wolf loudly hisses at the newcomers, looking us over. "How did it go? I see it was successful, but you both look a bit roughed up. And why did you cut off his head?"
"Heh," the old man chuckles, spitting to the side. "The mutant beat us like puppies. It attacked, knocked our weapons away, and even managed to latch onto me.
Good thing the student didn't chicken out, grabbed the axe from the floor and executed the bloodsucker. So, the nickname Executioner suits him perfectly."
Congratulations, user, on receiving the nickname Executioner!