''Bloody bandits. Fuck them, really. Fucking fucks. Dear God. Fuck them.''

It had taken Porfiry a while to get all the wood splinters off his visor and calm himself about going back and torturing the bandits (they were likely dead by now), but now he was fine. Somewhat shaken after his brush with death, but fine. He wasn't exactly unfamiliar with gunfights, having seen quite many thanks to his long time in the Zone, but he had been out of the game for quite some time and the ambush, as sudden as a porn site pop-up, had given him the shakes. He was calm now, though, he was calm. It was fine. He took a long breath. Counting his breaths made him calmer.

-

''Who the fuck do you think you're shooting, you bloody piece of shit? What kind of fucking faggot are you? I'm going to fuck your shit up! Beg me to stop, come on, beg me to stop!'' Bleeder tried to open his mouth, but was interrupted by a punch in the mouth, sending his head backwards into the trunk of a tree. As his head swerved from the sudden impact with the tree, another punch met his cheek and knocked out a tooth. Unable to stand thanks to the bullets in his gut, Bleeder rolled on the ground. ''Who the fuck are you? Who the fuck are you? Huh?'' After stomping on Bleeder's face, Porfiry threw himself on the bandit and pulled out his knife from its slot. ''Open your bloody mouth! I said open it!''

-

Porfiry often found Yantar to be a quiet spot. Stalkers did not frequent the place much, thanks to the high amount of zombies and the military groups all around the area. Thankfully for Porfiry, he had worked alongside them for long enough for them to not notice him when he was around. Respecting their tolerance, Porfiry did not bother them much. Plus, the rotations meant the guys he knew could be gone one day later, replaced with trigger-happy, frustrated greens. He looked around and appreciated the lack of movement. Nothing in sight. He felt tired. There was a drainage pipe not far from his spot. He sat next to it after a minute of walking. He took off his visor and helmet. He did not need any psi-protection right now. Just some clear air.

It was a nice place. He could hear some nice humming coming from inside the pipe, and he could feel the gentle wind on his face. The sky was cloudless and blue, letting the sun shine its rays on the vibrant green grass. He could see a squirrel on a tree in the distance. He closed his eyes and let go of the soft object in his hand. He was feeling like the Buddha, a beacon of serenity, a guide to all living beings. ''Life is good.'' He thought. He heard purring. Turning his head, he saw a cat nestled on the pipe. He grabbed it slowly and put it on his lap. He could see it pointing towards the piece of meat that he had put on the ground moments ago. He grabbed it and held it in a way that the cat could take bites from it. He started caressing the cat's back, then tickled its gut a bit.

''Wait a second.''

He could feel something dripping from his jaw. He took his hand to check and found blood. His nose was bleeding. ''What the fuck?'' He put the cat aside and started feeling his face. His eyelids were also bloody. He immediately got up and closed his eyes. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a mutated, somewhat gigantic cat with a swollen, spiky cheek and a split jaw biting a tongue. ''Shit.'' The cat looked up at Porfiry. [i]''Meow.''[/i] As they made eye contact, Porfiry realized that it had two pupils on its left eye. After a moment of shock and frustration, Porfiry stormed off for the Ecologist Bunker, leaving the cat to feast on Bleeder's tongue.