Finding nothing of real value on the fanatics except ammunition for his rifle and a couple of grenades—an RGD-5 and an F-1—Sergey began descending the stairs carefully, rifle raised and ready.
He reached the first floor.
The moment he stepped outside, a sniper shot cracked through the night.
For a split second, he saw a brief muzzle flash from a neighboring building—then pain exploded in his side.
His heart skipped a beat as he threw himself sideways, away from the entrance, sliding across the floor and into cover. Sitting against the wall, breathing hard, Sergey tore his gaze to his torso.
His combat suit was ripped open. A ceramic plate had shattered. The bullet had clipped his left side—not a lethal hit. Pain flared sharply, but the wound was already tightening, flesh knitting itself together under the effects of his artifact build.
"Thank the heavens… he missed," Sergey muttered through clenched teeth.
He pulled off his backpack, dug through it, and quickly attached a PSO-1 scope and an ATG suppressor to his rifle. Then he lowered third-generation night vision goggles over his eyes.
Backpack on again, he moved upstairs, higher and higher, until he reached the fifth floor.
Night vision on. Rifle switched to single fire.
He peeked through a shattered window and aimed toward where the shot had come from.
Through the scope, he saw him.
A heavily armored figure stood near the opposite building—motionless, patient. A Monolith sniper in a military exoskeleton, holding an SVDU, his rifle trained on the entrance. Every so often, the man glanced toward the windows.
"Holy shit… that's a military exoskeleton," Sergey whispered.
Exoskeletons were rare in the Zone. Slow, clumsy around anomalies—but terrifying in combat. Thick metal plating wrapped the entire body. Heavy cables ran from the back into the limbs. A built-in gas mask helmet hid the wearer's face completely.
Living tanks.
Still… even tanks had weak points.
The head.
Sergey steadied his breathing, centered the crosshair, and squeezed the trigger.
The suppressed shot cracked softly.
The bullet slammed into the helmet. The armored figure jerked backward and disappeared from view.
Sergey waited.
No movement.
Keeping his rifle ready, he descended and stepped back into the rain. Cold wind and drizzle soaked through his clothes, but he ignored it and crossed toward the neighboring building.
Inside, he cleared the rooms carefully, rifle pressed into his shoulder, boots leaving wet prints on the stone floor. He followed the trail to the sniper's apartment and slowly pulled the wooden door open.
It creaked.
The moment he crossed the threshold, something slammed into him from the left.
A massive armored arm redirected his rifle. Shots went wild, shattering plaster. Sergey was rammed hard in the side and thrown onto the corridor floor. His fingers loosened. The rifle skidded away.
The Monolith fighter was alive.
The exoskeleton's full weight crashed down onto him.
"Die… bastard," the fanatic hissed through the gas mask.
One hand crushed Sergey's throat against the floor. The other raised a knife toward his neck.
They struggled.
Thanks to his conditioning and the artifacts surging through his body, Sergey barely managed to hold the blade back. He clenched his fist and smashed it into the man's helmet.
The blow staggered the Monolith soldier for a second—just enough.
Sergey shoved him away and lunged forward, raining punches onto the armored head.
Pain exploded in his side.
The knife sank into his flesh. Warm blood soaked through his clothes.
Gritting his teeth, Sergey drove a brutal punch into the man's jaw. The grip loosened. Sergey ripped the knife free and stabbed upward—
Clang.
The blade bounced off the armor.
Panic surged.
He stabbed again. And again.
Nothing.
Not enough force.
A crushing blow slammed into his liver. The Monolith fighter kicked him away. The knife slipped from Sergey's fingers and clattered to the floor.
Sergey reached for his pistol—
Another hit.
They rolled across the floor, smashing into walls, trading blows. Every impact sent agony through his body. Gear in his backpack dug into his spine. His knuckles screamed as they struck unyielding metal. Muscles burned. Time stretched endlessly.
Breathing became fire.
The Monolith soldier was wounded only by exhaustion, but even through the gas mask Sergey could hear his ragged breaths.
They separated, standing several meters apart, swaying on unsteady legs, filthy and battered.
The Monolith fighter raised the knife.
Then froze.
Sergey was smiling weakly, pistol raised, muzzle pointed straight at the man's face.
"I win," he rasped. "Now… die."
He pulled the trigger again and again.
Bullets punched through the visor, through the eye, shattering the skull inside. The body collapsed backward with a dull thud, dust rising around it.
Sergey slid down the wall and sank to the floor, exhausted.
Shaking, broken, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with trembling fingers. Smoke burned his lungs—but he welcomed it.
For a moment, he thought he had survived.
Then something clattered near the entrance.
A metallic can rolled across the floor.
Sergey looked up.
Four golden eyes stared back at him from the darkness.
Lightning flashed.
The towering shape advanced slowly.
A Chimera.
One of the deadliest creatures in the Zone.
Meeting one meant death. Guaranteed. Especially now. Especially like this.
Sergey exhaled.
"Heh… guess I was wrong," he murmured. "I'm not leaving this place alive."
He pulled an F-1 fragmentation grenade from his pocket, pulled the pin, and held it tightly in one hand. With the other, he took one last drag from his cigarette.
"I always figured this is how I'd go…"
He closed his eyes.
The Chimera was less than a meter away.
He released the grenade.
The explosion tore the world apart.
Pain—absolute, overwhelming—ripped through his body as shrapnel shredded flesh and bone. Blood flooded the floor. Then, suddenly… relief.
Numbness.
Weightlessness.
His body went limp. Darkness swallowed his vision. His organs failed. His heart stopped. His thoughts dissolved.
There was only silence.
Thus ended the tragic fate of the stalker Sergey Chuguev in the Zone.