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pelaajanifta · 2 days ago

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«The Shining Zone»

So here are two of my stalker OCs enjoying a view in Pripyat! A freedomer and a noontider. They climbed up the ferris wheel and saw something incredible... There's a little story behind the artwork if you're enjoying small stories 🤭

Freedomer glanced up nervously. The endlessly gray sky loomed above his head, partially obscured by the bulky structure of the Ferris wheel with its yellow cabins. A crushing feeling settled in his chest, and his throat suddenly went dry.

“So you’re saying there’s an anomalous zone up there where we can see Pripyat the way the Zone herself sees it. Right?” his question came out a little strained. He tried to make it sound deliberately casual.

”That’s right, Guide”, she answered calmly. Her suit was the same dull gray as the sky, marked with a “Noontide” patch. “You just quoted me word by word”.

Suddenly, it didn’t seem like an inspiring idea anymore. Guide scratched the back of his neck.

“But how are we supposed to get up there?” He weighed the option of backing off, turning away, even proposing to sit in that creepy rusted bumper car surrounded by electrical anomalies. Receive an electric shock, sure – but anything suddenly felt better than climbing up there.

”I’ll help you.”

“How? Gonna drag me up there by force, digging up old memories, huh, Snow?” He chuckled, but his voice trembled slightly.

Snow didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

“You go first, I’ll guide you. I’ll tell you where to place your feet. Come on. It’s not as scary as you think.”

“Not as scary as I think, yeah right,” Guide repeated in his mind as the structure beneath his feet wobbled. Step by step, one small motion at a time.

He climbed.

“Don’t look down,” her voice came from below. Was she really not afraid of anything?

”Yeah, yeah!”

“Grab that ledge. Just like that. Now pull yourself up, and stretch your right leg toward that metal bar. Yes, that one. Yeah, it takes some flexibility. Come on. You won’t regret it once you’re up there.”

“Got it!”

“I won’t regret it once I’m up there,” he repeated in his head, again, cursing like a madman. Guide gripped a beam tightly, like his life depended on it, and paused to catch his breath. He looked around. They were only halfway up, but he could already see far more than he expected – rooftops, treetops. He wondered how fast he’d have climbed if a bloodsucker was chasing him right now.

“We’re not done yet. Now move right, along that branch,” Snow nudged his calf lightly with her finger, reminding him to focus. Freedomer pulled himself up again. Yeah, this was a decent strength workout, this climb. Might even get his biceps pumped. He noted to himself to straighten his shoulders too.

“You’d fit right in with Freedom. People there go on all kinds of crazy trips too. And green suits you.”

”Don’t get distracted,” she replied, but he heard a smile in her voice.

Guide focused on moving his hands and feet correctly. Somewhere in the distance, pseudodogs barked. Probably fighting over a piece of pseudoflesh. “Having a pseudo-brawl,” the Freedomer joked to himself. Too bad Snow didn’t get jokes. Not anymore.

“Now comes the hard part,” she said from behind him. “Step onto the beam and jump.”

“What? Ha-ha, down there, you mean?” The mere idea of letting go even for a second sent ice through his veins. He fixed his gaze on the cabin, just to avoid accidentally looking down. The structure swayed; his legs shook.

”Alright,” Guide couldn’t see what Snow did, but her voice was suddenly right behind him. “Take my hand and stand up.”

He did as he was told – her grip was firm.

”Now jump forward and grab those bars over there.”

Seconds passed.

“Okay,” he straightened his shoulders. “This is stupid,” thought to himself. And then he jumped, letting go.

The leap was quick. He flew forward and almost smashed his forehead against the pole in the center of the cabin. Feeling the structure shift beneath him, swaying like a wave, Guide grabbed onto it with both hands and squeezed his eyes shut. Something sparked sharply in his head, and he thought vaguely: “Well, that’s it – a stroke. Game over.”

”Open your eyes,” a calm voice came from beside him. A hand rested on his shoulder. “Look at it.”

That last sentence sounded almost awestruck – unusual for Snow, who mostly spoke emotionlessly.

Guide slowly pried his eyes open. At first, everything was too bright, too vivid. He honestly thought he had died. Then he realized it was sunlight. It was shining on the grass, the trees below, the road, and…

Snow sat down on the rusted bench, leaning back, squinting slightly as she looked out over the suddenly sunlit Pripyat.

”Definitely a stroke,” Guide muttered hopelessly, knowing this kind of view was impossible in the Zone.

Snow glanced at him with clear eyes and nodded toward the seat behind him.

“Sit. Take a look around. Have you ever seen anything like this?”

Guide cautiously let go of the metal bar and turned his head. He couldn’t believe his eyes. The apartment blocks looked almost friendly, nearly new. The trees rustled with bright green leaves, and the horizon wasn’t hidden behind a veil of radioactive dust. From up here, he could even see the CNPP – free of its usual aura of death and despair. All that was missing for total bliss were some birds singing and flower petals drifting on the wind… though, he was pretty sure those colorful patches below were flowers.

Guide reached to his chest and pulled out his anomaly detector. Silence – it showed no danger.

“Have you…” he began, clearing his throat when he felt the rasp. “Have you heard the theory of the Shining Zone?”

Snow slowly shook her head, her gaze drifting downward. Her ginger hair seemed to glow, and her suit looked less gray.

”The Shining Zone? No. But I think the name suits this anomaly.”

The Guide looked at her and put the detector away.

“How did you even find it?”

She tilted her head slightly.

”I… was looking for new landmarks,” she replied vaguely, placing a hand on the back of her neck and gazing at the CNPP.

Guide leaned back against the bench, crossed his legs, then straightened up.

”Alright then. So, tell me — how are things in “Noontide”?”

Snow’s gaze suddenly lit up — he hadn’t even noticed when it became heavy.

“Good. Peaceful. There’s always something to do during the day — help the scientist with his measurements, remind the cook to check the expiry dates on the cans, check on the patrol brothers. Strider doesn’t give me hard tasks — he forbade me from carrying waste barrels, for example. Said they were too heavy for me.”

”And… what do you think of Strider?” Guide’s leg suddenly began to twitch nervously, tapping against the rusty metal.

“He’s a great leader — keeps everyone together. Works too much though. I remember when Degtyarev stopped by Wild Island. He joked that we noontiders are all like his children, and together we’re like one big family.”

The wind lifted a strand of her red hair, messing up her hairstyle. Snow turned her head the other way and went on.

“We look after one another. In the evenings we sit by the fire and someone reads a book out loud. I listen and try to imagine myself as the hero of the stories, picture the scenes…”

Her voice grew quieter.

“I try to remember if I have ever read it in my past life.”

Guide thoughtfully ran his fingers along the strap of his gear on his thigh. He was hypnotized with how good her hair looked against the background of the foliage. He was silent for a while, and then said:

”Hm, green really suits you…”

”You’ve said that already.”

“I did?” he didn’t remember. “When?”

”When we were climbing.”

“Ah, right,” the Freedomer scratched his head, convinced he hadn’t said it. “You sure you don’t want to join us in Freedom? Our entertainments are way more…”

“I’m sure,” she cut him off and gave a firm look that made him falter. ”I won’t abandon my brothers. We need to stick together. We’re building a base, building a home. Learning to live again.”

She suddenly turned away and stared once more at the distant silhouette of the Chernobyl NPP — its smokestack surrounded by scaffolding, the workshop behind hastily built cover. She exhaled noisily.

“A year ago the Zone gave me a second life,” she continued, as if forcing the words out. “A new chance. And this time, I’m going to live it the way I want. And I won’t be anyone’s puppet.”

Her eyes flashed with that familiar spark of determination. The kind that could make a bloodsucker freeze and could calm the wildest chimera. The kind that hadn’t been seen in her gaze for a long time.

The kind that made him bite his tongue and stop himself from blurting out: “But you already lived it the way you wanted!” From saying that they’d known each other before her “Monolith” days. From shouting her name – her real name – not the Zone nickname she’d taken after forgetting the one he liked so much more. The one he’d given her himself.

He wanted to dive into her mind, just to check — was there anything left of her past in there?

But the words remained unspoken. They rose up and dissolved in the warm anomalous air. He has no right to take from her what she has now. He couldn’t be that… selfish.

Snow kept staring at the CNPP, then suddenly spoke again, reaching out as if trying to grasp fleeting memories.

“I woke up there a year ago. The Emission was roaring around me. Soldiers clutched their heads, writhing on the trembling ground. Their brains were boiling, burning them alive, and I had no idea where I was or what was happening."

Guide felt his throat tighten. He silently watched Snow, studying her light eyes. He noticed her fingers twitching on her knee, like a nervous tic.

”My suit was red from soaked-in blood. Not mine. My gloves felt wet. Near me was laying someone’s torn-off head — not cut off, no. Ripped out without a shred of remorse. And I don’t remember if it was I who did it or…”

Freedomer leaned forward and reached out, gently touching her hand on her knee. Through two layers of gloves. He didn’t want to force himself on her — only to calm her. Because despite the outward calmness and steady voice, Snow was on the edge.

She went silent, glanced at their hands, afraid to move. He himself was trembling slightly. She didn’t have to say any of this. “But she wants to,” he thought.

Snow looked up at him uncertainly.

“What if one day I become a puppet once again? What if I grab a knife and start chopping off the heads? I’ve heard stalkers’ campfire stories about Monolith, the one I was into — ruthless, unforgiving. What then?”

“I…“ he began quietly, after a brief silence.

But what could he say? He wasn’t some almighty god. He was just a Zone’s guide. Just a guide. Guide.

”Will you stop me?” her voice trembled.

Guide frowned, dragging out the pause. Snow gave a joyless smile and shook her head, as if scolding herself for such thoughts.

He genuinely thought she is fearless, but then there it is – one thing she was afraid of that is more thoughtful than he could imagine.

”I’ll join your ranks,” said in the end. “And I’ll make sure that never happens again.”

“To always stay by your side,” he added in his head.

Snow, as always, didn’t immediately understand him. She furrowed her brow seriously, already about to say something like, “Sorry, only former Monolith members are allowed into ‘Noontide’,” or “the brothers won’t understand if we start inviting just anyone.”

“Kidding! I know: blah blah, rules, blah blah, I didn’t lose my memory,” he quickly said, pulling away and raising his hands defensively, forcing a smile.

He desperately wanted to steer the conversation toward something more relaxed after all that, but…

She did it herself.

”I wanted to say that you’re already a part of us. Brothers accept you and know you’re not like the other stalkers. That you’d never hurt any of them… or me.”

Snow sighed and looked back at the plant again, lost in thought.

“But she’s not sure she won’t hurt them herself one day,” he thought.

Guide realized, with a slight delay, that this “ride” on the Ferris wheel was a kind of a birthday invitation. In May 2012, something ended for someone, and for someone else, something began. Those someones are now building ‘Noontide’ together and learning to live all over again. One of them asked her leader for a day off and asked Guide to take her there. To Pripyat. To the amusement park. And he did. He’s a guide, after all. Just a guide. Even if he liked Freedom’s entertainments more.

The wind lifted another strand of red hair.

“I wanted to say thank you. For helping me and all of us. For not having any prejudices and being kind. That rare in the Zone.”

”Well, how could I not help you…” he muttered.

And then he saw how Snow smiled. Suddenly he felt like someone had tossed his guts into a meat grinder. He swore: for that smile, he would give up all the artifacts in the world. For the one he remembered from before the C-Consciousness recruited her into a quasi-religious puppet faction.

He should’ve stopped it. But back then, he’d been a total idiot. Now, though, he felt like he would burn from the inside if he didn’t say:

”You know, you’re so beautiful it makes my heart ache.”

The smile froze on her face, her eyes widened. All that Monolithian calmness vanished, replaced by flushed cheeks and a stunned expression.

”Even more beautiful than the Shining Zone.”

The moment hung still, like a shard of glass caught in a “razor” anomaly. Hundreds of unsaid words suddenly spiraled, spinning madly around the motionless Ferris wheel. He felt his suit stick to his back. The air felt too thin. Her words echoed in his mind: “The Zone gave me… a second chance.”

And this time, he was going to take it.

Snow hesitantly adjusted her hair and clasped her hands together, clearly not knowing what to do or to say.

“But maybe not today. This is her moment,” he thought, a little sadly, and looked down at the abnormally green grass and flowers.

Once they climbed down, all the magic would disappear. Pripyat would return to being gray and unwelcoming. But maybe… just a little less gray than usual.

“You know, sitting up here is nice and all, but I didn’t think about how we’ll be getting down…”

A moment later, a quiet voice answered:

”We have to jump.”

“What? Oh you can’t be serious,” it probably came out sharper than he intended, and his eyes widened more than he expected, but for the laugh that burst out of her, he was ready to jump — even knowing that in a hundred percent of cases, such jump ends with imminent death.

“There’s some sort of air cushion down there. We won’t die.”

“I’m afraid to ask how you know that,” the Guide smirked.

Snow took a deep breath. Maybe he wouldn’t get an answer today.

But for some reason, he felt sure that someday, he’d know everything.

And that he’d tell her everything too.