The Debt to the Zone

[Куплет 1]
At dawn, four stalkers climbed the slope.
The task was simple: haul the cargo
from the wreck where helicopter metal
lay rusting in the silent grass.
Mosin, quiet as a shadow,
kept his rifle close at hand.
Som watched the ridge. Amit checked the straps.
Tokyo turned the wheel and led them in.
But ice had settled in his eyes;
he knew the road, and more than that.

[Припев]
The debt to the Zone grows harder to bear,
but not everyone pays what they owe.
Four went in, not all came back—
now their names drift down the night road.

[Куплет 2]
A blind spot opened in the fog.
A chimera came in fast and low.
Mosin shouted, “Run! Get clear!”
He raised his rifle, took the strike.
He spent his last breath buying time
for Amit to leap into the truck.
Tokyo held the wheel as if alive,
blood darkened grass; the gunfire died.
Mosin stayed by the fallen gate,
while the others vanished into smoke.

[Припев]
The debt to the Zone grows harder to bear,
but not everyone pays what they owe.
Four went in, not all came back—
now their names drift down the night road.

[Куплет 3]
The UAZ flew through smoke and flame.
Som yelled, “Go!” Amit gripped the door.
Tokyo said nothing, eyes like winter;
he knew what waited past the bend.
He’d never been a stalker—he served Monolith,
with orders written in his blood.
He turned the wheel, eased off the gas;
the truck stood still, caught in the mud.

[Куплет 4]
Som cried, “Where have you brought us?”
Tokyo stepped out. The headlights dimmed.
“Forgive me, friends. This Zone is mine.
I serve its will. You don’t belong.”
From the fog, armored shapes arose,
Monolith marching through the quiet spring.
Tokyo met his companions’ eyes;
he knew there would be no road back.

[Припев]
The debt to the Zone grows harder to bear,
but not everyone pays what they owe.
Four went in, not all came back—
now their names drift down the night road.

[Куплет 5]
Som fought hard. Amit held his back.
They knew they wouldn’t leave that place.
Their rounds ran dry; one grenade remained.
The Zone would not release them whole.
Tokyo watched his friends fall one by one,
believing this was how gods forgave.
But here, no truth survives the price;
betrayal takes the only road.

[Final]
Beside the broken wheels they lie.
The fourth walked out, but carried the curse.
Mosin, Som, Amit—the wind keeps their names
in the dead country beyond the ridge.
Tokyo wanders, sleep torn thin;
he hears Mosin’s rifle in the trees.
The debt to the Zone grows harder to bear;
it never lets the faithless go.

[Финальный припев: quiet, almost whispered]
The debt to the Zone grows harder to bear,
but not everyone pays what they owe.
Four went in, not all came back—
now their names drift down the night road.