The tree was lone and unwavering. It gave me the necessary shade I needed after my trek through the god forsaken swamps. I was irradiated and half drunk from the bottle of vodka I was currently working my way through, yet I sat rather peacefully given the success of my most recent quest to clear out some bandits holed up in an abandoned building.

A couple of them were already dead when I found them, a pack of boars had come through making a desperate attempt to quench their hunger. There wasn't much left of the carcasses, one of those bandit boys had a shiny new double barrel that's currently sitting next to me, only one shell left. Fuck.

Everything seemed calm around me. Coulda been the vodka. The Zone seemed like it was taking notes from one of those used car salesman, shiny and nice on the outside but once you look deeper you really get a sense of the kind of deathtrap you're being offered. The weather was impeccable and there wasn't a creature in sight, something definitely isn't right.

No movement, no sounds, nothing.

That's when I saw it.

The grass beyond was moving in an unorthodox way. I recognized the distortion immediately as active camouflage. A bloodsucker. But how? I've only ever encountered one underground, how could one be on the surface?

Then it hit me; I had heard legends of marsh bloodsuckers but I always though them to be an old STALKER's tale. It must've followed me out of the thick of the swamp and to the tree. I was too focused on taking a rest and drinking vodka that I didn't realize I was a sitting duck. Exposed from all angles.

I lost it. Fuck. Where did it g.....

And just like that it was on top of me. Ugly fucker, he wasn't as pale as the typical bloodsucker but he had this greenish moss that seemed to effortlessly stick to his body. The sight was horrid.

I was lucky enough to get that double barrel out and pointed right at it's mouth before I pulled the trigger. The explosion was huge. The thing flew back about 3 feet and landed on it's back, but it was still breathing. I quickly pulled out my pistol, the same one I entered the Zone with, and placed 4 clean shots right into it's head.

The young ones at Rookie Village won't believe this one. I was half tempted to take back a souvenir but I was already close to my carrying limit. They'll just have to take my word for it.

So there I was. Sitting back against my tree, empty double barrel at my side and a dead bloodsucker at the other.

Now to finish the rest of this vodka.