Pestilence[]
Marina Pokrovskaya does not like her nickname. It reminds her of the darkest days of the Horsemen of Apocalypse and evokes a burning longing.
Once upon a time, several dozen people were locked in a Waderkvarn bunker and survived the end of the world and the cruel betrayal of their own kind. But the story of Pestilence is not about that. Of course, she also played an important role in the formation of the gang, like the other horsemen. But her wit and knowledge really came in handy when, after all the misfortunes, a plague came to the test site.
Medicine was the first resource to run dry. And what was found in the neighbouring cities did not last long. Marina tried all possible means, but the disease spread too quickly, people panicked and carried it further. The epidemic was inevitable. To curb its spread, Marina had only one remedy left. Fire…
The disease has not returned for many years. And the once-inexperienced emergency doctor who saved the life of Victor Pyrrhus, was reborn from the ashes and received a new name — Pestilence. Now the horsewoman supplies the gang with provisions, patches up the wounds of her own and the others. And when pestilence swallows their lands again, her hand on the flamethrower will not flinch.
Seeker Drake’s Diary Excerpt.[]
I learned about the abandoned camp at the edge of the Wasteland on my way to Rock City.
The message said that the Lunatics from the outpost nearby didn’t risk entering the site, and this intrigued me: Lunatic, not trying to break and loot, dead or mortally scared. Is there a new anomaly or is it something worse?
By evening I got to the camp and immediately understood: there is simply nothing to take here. The charred remains of armoured vehicles looked at me from the dusk. Soot-covered parts and melted pieces of plastic were scattered on the scorched earth. Seems like everything was on fire here recently. And judging by the crumpled cylinders from under the combustible mixture, the fire was not accidental.
I looked at the empty tanks with unexplained anxiety - the black-and-red ribbons of the Waderkvarn corporation curled around them.
Then I saw a lonely boy in the middle of the ashes. He was on his knees with his hands down, and didn’t even hear my steps.
- What happened here? - I noticed an empty look, eyes covered with a veil of pain.
“Pandemic,” came the impassive answer.
- A new locus of infection? Is that what you mean?
-Not just that.
I involuntarily recoiled, peering into the darkness. Preparing to face one of the most dangerous gangs of the Wasteland - the mad Horsemen of the Apocalypse. To see swamp rats running in front of Marina Pokrovskaya’s armoured car - she was called the Pandemic for a reason. Hear the giggle of the devil coming from under a deaf suit.
Specially designed by scientists for protection against a changed world - Marina has been wearing this costume since she left the Waderkvarn test site. But her infected mind cannot be cured. Something burst in it at the worst moment of her life, when the fire reached the lower levels of the bunker, and the people trapped there began to scream...
- The Horsemen attacked you?
- They came for the goods. I ruined everything. I didn’t take my brother’s hand - I knew that he was infected. Pandemic... she immediately understood everything. She splashed gasoline in his face and stood behind the flamethrower herself.
The survivor got to his feet, muttering, and disappeared behind the shattered cabin.
I passed the coordinates of the site to the Engineers’ headquarters and immediately left the camp.