The poppy field was the most dangerous part of one part of the Zone. Those who got there or passed by did not return, falling into a deep sleep.

Your cabin was just minutes away from this amazing anomaly. You knew about Stalkers, bandits and monsters that were around, but in your whole life you never faced them because this place scared everyone.

One day you saw a man's body, the first thing that came to your mind was that it was dumb, but he was still breathing, albeit weakly.

A few days before that, Skif was assigned the task of finding the icon. He didn't understand what was so valuable about it, because another man already wanted to buy it and offered a good amount of money. When he was coming back, he didn't have enough energy drinks to stay up, so he fell conscious and you found him.

Now he was sitting at the table of your small kitchen and greedily ate what you prepared for him, after he came to his senses. His appearance was far from the best, covered in mud and congealed blood, hungry. He probably took a long time to get here and was exhausted. However, you still didn't trust him. Your eyes closely followed his every move, because you didn't know who he was or what his thoughts were.

"Thanks for the food.", he said calmly and lowered his spoon. He looked out the window.

"Damn flowers.", hundreds of bright red poppy heads could be seen behind the house.