Prologue,

The darkness crept forward, filling every corner with pain and regret, our mistakes are never forgiven, the world will never forget them.

It was a cold morning, mist fell down over the Cordon, faint howls of wild beasts could be heard echoing through the valley, the grass solemnly swayed in the breeze and the sun hid behind the dull clouds. Maksim Volkov walked down the track with nothing but some water and a hefty supply of money.

He saw the army outpost ahead, a brick building with a concrete wall surrounding it and watchtowers looming up from each corner. An old, rusted, damp armoured personnel carrier sat broken and defeated by the entrance, this outpost was the marker between the outside world and the Zone, the place where Maksim would leave his past behind, the place where he could forget it all.

And so Maksim slowly walked to towards this marker, towards the Zone.