Твой путь завершается. Иди ко мне





The voices echoed through the dark corner of my mind. It is calling me, beckoning me to come the source.



Иди ко мне. Ты обретёшь то, что заслуживаешь.





These voice had been in my head ever since I had stepped foot into this forsaken place called the Zone. Initially it had been various whispers whenever the wind blew or during a quiet night.



Then it appeared in my dreams. Eventually it got stuck in my brain, playing those sentences over and over at every moment, every battle, every time I nearly died from a bullet, or animal bite. I cried myself to sleep every night. The tone and the intensity of those voices continually increased as I carved my way deeper into a place called Pripyat, the center of the Zone.





Now, in the midst of all the foul stench of rusted metal, rotten corpses and dusty wind, I took a deep breath, consuming all of those scents. I heard the orchestra of screaming gun fire and explosions. I felt myself going deaf from it all. Despite all that, in my mind I can still hear it very clearly as if someone was speaking in front of to me. I knew that I was close to my goal, my ultimate desire.





The only obstacles now are the fanatics standing in my way with guns blazing, all trying to stop me from fulfilling my wish. They surely were good fighters, since they got me pinned down where I don’t dare expose myself to their relentless sniping.





Despite the constant fire fight, I continued to pushed onward, holding my rifle tightly and fired one bullet after another, slaughtering all who stood in my way. I am numbed to the gun's recoil, it meant nothing to me.



Bang! One shot to this guy’s head which cracked his annoying gas mask wide open.





Bang! Another shot to his fellow mate in the stomach, causing him to cower down in pain. I walked toward that combatant and fired another shot into his brain, ending his misery. Suddenly it was all silent; I finally took a breath, feeling relief. I decided to take a quick break; I searched each of their corpses for extra ammunition. I then marched on after a moment of drinking a can of energy drink and eating a piece of sausage.





This place is really a freaking nightmare to navigate. It is one similar looking concrete corridor after another. I saw a maze of steel pipes, concrete beam, various instrument panels and Russian propaganda posters. While I was climbing up a set of stairs, my Geiger counter on my belt started to beep, I felt a sudden headache and a desire to vomit. Due to my sickness, I was nearly shot. Fortunately, it missed my ears and struck the wall behind me. Quickly, I turned to my left and shot my rifle point blank. Luckily it hit the sniper in his head. I ran into a large room, laid low below anything that resembled hard metal for cover.



Иди ко мне. Ты обретёшь то, что заслуживаешь



The voice spoke to me again, this time it sounded much louder. I knew I was close to it and no one will stop me now. A large group of the enemy was behind cover. I threw a couple of grenades in their direction. When I heard the explosion and screams, I made a mad dash toward the flame, shooting the survivor as he laid down yelling in pain. However before I could make to the exit gate, a pain shrouded up my sides. I look down and saw blood. I was shot, SHOT! Looking to my right, I saw my culprit, a collapsed soldier with a hand gun. I shot back, killing him too. I pressed on the wound, gritted my teeth, tears flow through my eyes. The pain hurt so much and blood poured out of my wound like a waterfall. But the voice was still calling me,





Tвой путь завершается. Иди ко мне.





I can no longer run but can only walk due to the wound. Clutching my sides, I marched on to the exit gate.





Going out, I stepped into a massive pile of debris. Looking up the broken roof, I can see the sun shining down. As I walked, the headache worsened and I started to coughed violently. My Geiger counter suddenly went off the chart, and beeped loudly before short circuiting itself out. As I walked further among the debris, I saw something fall. Waving my hand around, I saw that it was hair, my hair. My hair was falling out; I felt the fabric of my protective suit was rotting away before my eyes, which revealed my skin. My eyes blurred, probably from the dust or perhaps I was slowly sinking into the reality that is Chernobyl. I couldn't see clearly and stumbled upon several sharp pieces of steel and struck a couple of concrete objects. My body was in pain with so much agony, which told me to stop and surrender to the nightmare, but I refused to, not until I got my wish. This pain was nothing to me.





I collapsed, breathing heavily. Touching my head, I saw that all my hair was gone and my skin was slowly peeling off me. My time is now numbered. Tears fell from my eyes, I yelled, and cried out in despair. This was it, after everything I done, was it too late for me to reach it?





A glow suddenly stopped my tears, I look forward and there it was. A beautiful blue crystal lying on a pedestal against the wall. With all my strength, I crawled up the mountain of debris with hand reaching out. Almost there, just a little bit more, the glow get stronger as I got closer to it.





Suddenly, I slipped, rolling down the pile of debris. Ouch! I spitted out some blood, struggling to get up. As I limped near the crystal, I collapsed on my knees. There it was after so much sacrifice, so much grief, I have finally reached it, the Wish Granter.





The crystal continued to glow. The voices had stopped in my mind as if they were waiting for me. Not holding on to my grief anymore, I held my hand up reaching out toward the crystal and cried out,





I....WISH....I.....Wish...My son could live again!





The sound of my wish echoed throughout the hall. Then there was silence. I closed my eyes and waited. Then there was a sound behind me. I turned around and gasped. It was him, the child who I had witnessed dying in my arms. Now he is here in front of me, looking around curious about where he was.





I then cried out his name, trying to get his attention.





However, what happened next wasn't what I had hope for. As he turned toward me, he suddenly became startled as if he saw a ghost, and started to jump back.





“Please son, it is me your mother” I cried out, reaching both my arm out to him “Please come to me, my son.”





The boy didn't response to my call but instead increased his paces backward, increasing the distance between us. Looking at his face, I could see the fear in those eyes. His body shook with fright.





I was deeply confused as to why he was acting this way. Many questions spun through my mind, trying to comprehend the current situation. Didn't he recognized his own mother? Was it something I had said to him?





“What's wrong son?, don't you recognized me?” I asked again.





He didn't answer again and continued to walk backward.





“Son...please....remember me” I pleaded, tears flew from my eyes. “Remember your mother. I am the one who has loved you so much.”





He did not respond to my pleas, but continued to walk backward until he stopped near a pile of debris.





I turned back to where the Wish Granter was waiting because I wanted to understand why my son was behaving this way. However, I found nothing but a blank empty spot on the wall with no traces of the Wish Granter’s existence.





Turning back to him, I saw that he was now cowering in fear at a distance, trying to shield himself from me.





'No...No..No....' I mumbled, trying comprehend this situation. Everything had been wasted. All the sacrifice, all the people I killed, all the terrible things I did just to give my son a chance to live. All of it came crashing down on me.





The dam from my eyes broke. Tears flowed freely like waterfall. I screamed out, full of despair and frustration. Then it was all silent. I felt wetness on my head; I looked up toward the sky. Droplets after droplets fell on me, it was raining. For a moment, we both stared at each other in silence, hearing the sound of the heavy rain.





As the rain continued to drop, a small pond of water formed between us. Curious, I looked down, trying to see what I looked like. However, what I saw wasn't me at all. It was a creature that I didn't recognize. I was completely bald and my face was hideously red, with stripping of the skin. The creature stared straight back at me with a pair of blood shot eyes.





I waved my hand around in various gestures. In turn, the creature was able to imitate all of my movement perfectly. Looking at my arms, I saw that many of the scars and cuts on it matched the arms of the creature also. Gears in my mind started to turn as I realized all of the hideous features on the creatures face and body matches exactly as mine. I jumped back, startled with the realization that this monstrosity that I saw in the pond was none other than me.





Everything was clear as to why my son didn't recognized me at all. I had become a monster, an abomination. Is this the price I had to pay for my wish? To be turn into a monster.





A sound of gun clicking interrupted my thought. Looking up, I saw a sight that I never thought I would face. A barrel of a pistol pointed right at my face by my own son.





“No...please don't” I pleaded, cowering down, using my hand trying to cover my face. “Please....”



However he never replied as he tightened his grip on the pistol with both hands. His face turned from a look of fright to a deep hatred toward me as a monster. I never got a chance to finish as a cracking sound of a gun fire ensued





A sharp pain arose in my stomach. Then another cracking sound again, my arms were in pain. Then another sound and my stomach took the hit. Another shot wracked my head with pain. Finally, the last crack and everything went black for me.