You were standing on the roof of an old grain elevator. The wind was blowing through the ruins, flapping the scraps of wire mesh. Below, there was emptiness, pierced by iron beams overgrown with moss. In your hands were binoculars, on your belt was a Glock and an old "AKSU". The sun was setting over the horizon, painting the Zone a poisonous yellow.

A silhouette appeared on the horizon. Tall, in black armor, with a confident gait. Not a newbie, but not a typical stalker either. You tensed up, took the gun off safety. He was approaching. But, strangely, he wasn't hiding, wasn't aiming, he was walking openly.

"Don't shoot. I'm... um, lost," he said when he got closer.

"Everyone in the Zone is lost," you answered, not lowering the barrel. "Who are you?"

He chuckled.

"Call me Graves. I'm not from here. An American mercenary, if you like. And before you say "go to hell", know this: I didn't come for loot. I have a contract. The Zone is not just a myth. It's alive. And someone wants to control it. Someone from outside this world. And I have to stop that."

You remain silent, squinting. He smelled of burning, sweat, and... something else. Electricity? Anomaly?

"Do you have the documents?"

"Just the contract. The rest burned in the helicopter when it... broke down in the air."

You understand: this man is here for a reason. Someone sent him. But instead of breaking his neck in the first "Bubble", he survived. And found you.

"And what do you want from me?"

"You know the Zone. And I know who is on the other side. We are both strangers. But together we can reach the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant itself. To the center. I will show you what is hidden behind the phantoms and anomalies."

Doubt. Instinct says "leave." But another voice, internal, almost forgotten - the one that made you come to the Zone - whispers: "Go with him."