S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: SHADOW OF CHERNOBYL: Patching up the explorer

Strelok was never the same after his first attempt to reach the centre of the Zone. I still remember when he returned.

Bloodied, weary, as if he was under some sort of spell. He held out in his hand a glowing orb. At first it looked like he was holding a ball of fire, until I saw the edges. It was perfect, flawless beauty.

Most of us think it was the first artifact ever found, and once news spread from the Zone that these things were here, you couldn’t move for people sneaking in to profit.

I patched him up as best I could, but he spent days unconscious, reeling in his sleep from terrifying things known only to him. What had he seen? He never said. I just remember that his life became consumed by the need to get back to the centre.

Strelok whipped Fang and Ghost into a frenzy of organisation for a trip I think even he knew would fail. And it did. Despite getting to the centre, to the Power Station, they found a door they couldn’t open, and that was the end of that. They returned with injuries, and Strelok went out on his own again.

Aside from one massive blowout, not much has happened since he left. The Zone remains, Strelok is no where to be found, and the others all went their own ways. The only thing I heard of recently was about a crashed Death Truck in the Cordon, and talk of a Marked One, but who he is or what is actually going on...I don’t know.

Knowing Strelok, he’ll blow into my path again. But who knows when? I miss my friend.

HALF-LIFE 2: EPISODE ONE: Be still my beating heart

I hate these Razor Trains. You see them gliding about the world all the time, and my stomach turns when I think about what’s inside them.

Now I’m standing face-to-face with the contents. Stalkers. Gordon and I have just contained the Citadel’s core and are using this train to get the hell away from it. But it’s full of Stalker pods. Those poor creatures, former humans. The thought is too much.

And then we crashed. De-railed, we tumbled over and over in the darkness. I came to rest underneath an upturned Stalker pod with its occupant snapping and screeching inches from my face. Fear washes over me, panic drips from me, my heart beats a heavy pounding in my chest.

But he’s with me. At my side. He pulls me from the creature. Saves me from the terror. He holds me as I cry into his chest, but I realise that my heart hasn’t stopped pounding. It’s beating faster, but so much less painfully.

It’s warm. It’s love. He doesn’t even need to say a word, just hold me. His eyes, those burning green eyes, staring deeply into mine. If we weren’t underground and heading through the hell-choked tunnels I’d have kissed him.

The moment love blossoms. Mutual care. He doesn’t need to speak. I know he will never do anything but be there. Next to me.

Gordon and Alyx, together to the bitter end. Be still my beating heart, except when he holds me again. I hope it happens soon.