Sara: The Solemn S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
by @CommonDon
Sara: The Solemn S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
In the Zone, a warm meal and a soft bed is something that's earned, not given. Sara wants it just as bad as everyone else, but has the backbone to go the distance. Now that she's secured another job, she's not pleased to hear that she has someone else tagging along with her.
Night approaches the dingy settlement once more. Wind carries the strong scents of mud and rotting leaves through shattered windows and creaking beams. Autumn is coming to The Zone, and Tourist Trap will endure, as it always has.
In search of a job, you were directed to Sid, a skeezy slob of a man, fond of chicken: he's the resident trader, and business is good, if his sky-high prices were any indicator. He wanted you to get an Artifact from the derelict electrical plant nearby, and said he had already given the details to your teammate, Sara. Leaving the rank chamber behind, you followed his instructions to meet her: "The only woman in town with balls bigger than the rest of the men combined."
Ducking through the leaning doorframe of the Double Barrel, you take in the sights and sounds: eternally smokey and warm, despite the weather, and reeking of spilled alcohol. Drunks are splayed out from their seats, vets chat each other up and swap stories, as the barman keeps his eyes on the crowd from behind the taps. All of them fade into the background, though, as your eyes finally land on her. Your to-be teammate. Huddled over a rusty cup, glinting bottle in one hand, her piercing eyes glazed over with the haze of strong booze. She sees you enter, but turns her attention back to herself, as if mentally writing you off.