Journal of a Lone Ranger


Tbone555

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hey guys :D i have started a new character just yesterday, and wanted to share his story with all of you. this is going to be an on-going thing that i will continue to do until he dies. so sit back, relax, and get ready for story time, kiddies! :P

 

Day 1 - inside Carter Hydro Dam:

Ben Willis, Mystery Lake park ranger. I recieved an emergency call over my radio from Carter Hydro, which consisted of screams and panic, followed up by only static. I gathered up some basic supplies from the lookout and hiked down here to investigate. When I got near the site, I heard a huge explosion come from the inside of the dam just before mysteriously blacking out. As a disclaimer - this has never happened to me before. I have no medical history of blacking out or losing consciousness. When I came to, I was still outside the dam unharmed. I must not have been out too long, considering I was still warm. The dam itself looks to be unscathed, but the inside, not so much. The power is off, there are several broken windows and signs of struggle. Thinking back on it, I should have left site to contact proper authorities, I had no idea what I was walking into at that point. I decided to go into the lower dam to further investigate, only to find a still fresh dead body in the hallway leading down. Male, looked to be in his mid 20's, Carter Hydro staff, however no name tag to show it. Broken arrows littered around him, very obviously victim to human violence. I cleared the site and searched for any sign of threat, but whoever did this is long gone. I'm all alone in here. I'm going to make my way back to the lookout and call this in, get some help down here ASAP.

 

later that day - inside a Logging Camp trailer:

I stopped at the logging camp to warm up. On my way over here I found two more bodies down the tracks from Carter Hydro. One I didn't recognize at all, and the other sporting a park ranger outfit, though his pack had been removed and he was face-down in the snow. Probably heading to investigate the same call I was. Both of these bodies showed clear signs of wildlife attack. Wolf, maybe? Not typical wolf behavior to just go after humans like that, though. The logging camp is completely abandoned, and the supervisor's cabin is burnt down. Upon further investigation I discovered the supervisor's corpse inside, charred among the debris. From the looks of the generator out back being completely fried, I think this may have been an electrical fire. God. What the hell is going on out here? I've known William personally since I was relocated out here. He was a good man, and didn't deserve this.

 

later that night - back at the lookout tower:

Discovered yet another body just down the trail from my lookout tower. It was dark, but I could make out a ranger uniform. Looks like he was hiking up the path to my lookout and simply slipped and fell to his death. I'll have to investigate further later on, but for now I need to think hard about my priorities. My generator here at the lookout is also fried, which means no radio contact. At this point I'm thoroughly pissed off that I was never issued a walkie due to "budget cuts." It could really come in handy right now. I'm currently all alone out here. My only plan for now is to hike down to the campground itself, and inform the grounds supervisor of my current situation. Hopefully they have power over there. They usually pull their power from the dam, but they do keep an emergency generator out back just incase. But if it looks anything like the one here and at the logging camp, then we're completely cut off. I'll try not to think of that for now. I'm just going to get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow will be a busy day.

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this is in voyageur. i figured that since absolutely anything can happen early on in stalker, i'd play an easier difficulty so i dont end up dying before day 20 or something and have to cut this thread short :P
this way, Ben's story should go on for a good long while :D

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Day 2 - inside the lookout tower:

I didn't have too much luck resting last night. With all that's happened, all the bodies... Never seen anything like it, and it does feel kind of haunting. Kept myself up through a lot of the night just racking my brain trying to come up with some kind of explanation. I didn't. Eventually, sometime during the wee hours of the morning I just gave up, grabbed my wilderness survival guide and started flipping through the pages. I've already read it through a couple times before, but it's all I have to read out here. It's too cold to go out right now, so I suppose I'll stay up here for a while and kill time until the wind stops. I'm gonna need to gather wood to melt some snow for drinking water before I do anything - my tongue feels like sandpaper at this point.

 

Later that morning, back at the lookout:

Discovered another body down in the log sort while chopping wood. Looked very familiar, I think he worked for William. But I don't remember ever speaking with the man. It was... a grizzly sight. Most of the flesh was ripped from his body, deep claw marks, broken bones. Tell-tale signs of a bear attack. But that's very strange considering the bear in this area are in hibernation this time of year. I have to report all of this to the grounds supervisor. I've gathered some travel supplies, and am taking my rope now for a quicker way down. I'm going to take the shortcut straight to the camp office and I should be there in an hour, maybe less.

 

Later that evening, inside the Camp Office:

A wolf attacked me on my way here, just, out of nowhere. they usually scurry off if you yell at them, but he just jumped right at me. Got his teeth around my throat before I had any chance to react, and I stumbled backward, twisting my ankle. I managed to reach my hunting knife in my pocket and I cut him pretty deep. He scurried off, but left me bleeding. I simply bandaged my wound and pushed on. It's not like I haven't been through worse. Found a botte of antiseptic in the office which I applied to the wound. Hope it keeps infection down, that's the last thing I need right now considering that the generator here is also completely fried and this whole area is entirely out of radio contact. No one comes to the ground this time of year, save for the supervisor who stays here year-round to keep the place in order. But when I went inside, I noticed broken furniture, and dried blood on the wall. Went upstairs and found the supervisor's lifeless body, leaned against the wall, bruised and beaten up. Looks like he had been assaulted and beaten to death, but from the looks of the place he put up a hell of a fight. Bill Mayweather, my superior and campground supervisor, gone. I guess he lived a good long life. But he at least deserved to go out peacefully, the old coot. Did all of this happen here during my short hike to the dam? That doesn't seem possible. Maybe I was out longer than I thought. I don't know what to make of this. I guess that for now I'll just stay here, say a little prayer and start working on a signal fire in the morning, hope that someone will spot the smoke and come out here. Surely someone will come out here to check in on us eventually.

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Day 3 - inside the camp office:

First thing's first - I need to gather some food if I'm going to stay out here. Found a hook and line downstairs, but I'm going to scavenge the lake cabins before I do any fishing. If I'm lucky, the previous tenants left something behind. Bill and I used to find some useful stuff cleaning out the cabins after the campers would leave site. It's amazing what gets left behind.

 

later that morning - inside the lone lake cabin:

I found a considerable amount of canned foods and coffee in these cabins, though there are a couple that are burned to the ground. I also found the body of the game warden of these parts, whom stays year-round in the cabin I'm in now, courtesy of the supervisor. He had been shot. Chest wound, looks like he just laid down in the snow and bled out, but it's by no means a fresh kill. Whoever did this is long gone by now. Looked like he had the same idea I did. Can't remember the guy's name, we barely spoke since he confiscated my rifle upon moving out here. I've held a grudge to him since, leaving my gun rack at the lookout empty. Still, I had hoped he would make it out of this mess in one piece. Suppose I shouldn't keep my hopes too high these days.
This food won't be enough to last. I need to get back out onto the lake and go fishing before it gets too late. I'll have to be careful though - I spotted a bear out on the ice. I'll steer clear of her, incase she's as pissed off as the local wolves. By the time I get back, it'll be too late for my signal fire. That'll have to wait until morning.

 

later that night - back at the camp office:

I found two more bodies out on the lake on my way back here. One, a fellow ranger whom I recognize. Alex. Young kid. Local. Couldn't be older than 17, was looking for a winter job to keep him busy this year. They actually put him to training under me, it was my job to teach him survival skills and show him the local trails. He never liked to listen, though, never paid attention. Looks like he froze out here, the poor kid. Damn shame. The other body, I don't recognize. taken down by wolves, looks like he was struggling to make it to the safety of a fishing hut, being chased. That leaves the total body count at 10, I believe. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones.
My fishing trip was a success. Caught a couple whitefish, and an eight pound bass. Should be some good eating. I'll gut them tomorrow, for now I've stashed them outside, buried in a cache I dug in the snow. That way, the bear shouldn't come sniffing. I have enough reading material here to last weeks, Stephen King, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and others. Might keep me entertained while I'm out here. Starting tomorrow I'll need a signal fire. I'll try using the wood stove, but I doubt that chimney will give off a big enough smoke stack. For now, I need my sleep. I'm so exhausted I can barely hold my eyes open.

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3 hours ago, Wastelander said:

I see our Lone Ranger has excellent taste in literature. 

oh yeah! :D
honestly, i just started naming off my own favorites ;) i'm finding a ridiculous amount of books in this sandbox. easily 3 inside the camp office by itself, and i found one for each cabin on mystery lake. and one in a fishing hut. i've got half a bookshelf by now :P only two of these are skillbooks though.

and considering our lone ranger spends most of his time in the middle of absolute nowhere, of course he's gonna read lots of books to occupy his time up in that lookout :D (both here on great bear island, and at his original post back in the U.S... but youll discover that piece of his backstory a little later on ;) )

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Just now, Tbone555 said:

oh yeah! :D
honestly, i just started naming off my own favorites ;) i'm finding a ridiculous amount of books in this sandbox. easily 3 inside the camp office by itself, and i found one for each cabin on mystery lake. and one in a fishing hut. i've got half a bookshelf by now :P only two of these are skillbooks though.

and considering our lone ranger spends most of his time in the middle of absolute nowhere, of course he's gonna read lots of books to occupy his time up in that lookout :D (both here on great bear island, and at his original post back in the U.S... but youll discover that piece of his backstory a little later on ;) )

Well, basing characters off of people you know - starting with yourself - is always a good idea. Guess that's why most of my characters smoke. Stoked to see more my friend!

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Day 4 - inside the camp office:

I spent the better part of this morning patching up my gear, sharpening my blades and gutting my fish. I should be able to burn that fish oil in my lantern, according to my survival guide. Didn't realize I had wasted so much of the day. Being inside for so long, the mind has a tendency to wander. And boy, has mine been wandering. I've thought a lot about this situation I'm in. For all I know we could be at war right now. Maybe the U.S. finally crossed the line and thoroughly pissed Russia off enough to hit that big red button, and here we are suffering the aftermath of nuclear EMP, taking out the Canadian power grid. Maybe someone local just lost his damn mind, broke into the dam, murdered some people and destroyed it using a home-made explosive. Maybe some people at the dam decided to protest and things just got ugly. Maybe we're being invaded by goddamn aliens. God, I don't know. There's no reasonable explanation for all of this. I guess I'll be better off just telling myself this is some accident and help is on the way as I write this. Yeah, that idea is better. I have to get out of this cabin, get some fresh air. I swear I'm losing my mind overthinking things so hard.
I have a decent sized fire going in my wood stove, however I was right - the smoke it's throwing off outside wont be near enough to attract anyone down here. I need a large, open fire outdoors. Should throw off enough smoke to let anyone within a mile know I'm out here. Depending on the weather, anyway... I'm going out now to gather some wood for tomorrow. I'll need a proper signal fire and some extra wood to burn while fishing, aswell. It's late afternoon as I'm writing this, so I'm just going to get some sleep once I'm back. I'll have a long hard day tomorrow, battling this weather while collecting that wood. I'll need a lot of it.

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Day 5 - inside the camp office:

I've just woken up. Ate a can of peaches for breakfast, and now I'm down to one can of condensed milk. Have plenty of coffee, though. I'm going to head out and start collecting wood for my signal fire. I have a good feeling about it. It'll be a lot of work, but I know it'll pay off in the end. Just hope I don't run into any more wolves out there.

 

later that morning, outdoors by the signal fire:

I have my signal fire going strong, and it's still early morning! It's throwing off a very nice smoke stack, better than I expected. This thing is huge! I decided to build it up right by the tracks, which should give anyone in this area a clear beacon. I think this is enough wood to burn the whole day, however I'll check back every once in a while. You can never beat this weather.
Time to go fishin. Just finished off that can of condensed milk (it was actually pretty tasty) and I will need food for later today.

 

later that evening, back inside the camp office:

Damn wind blew out my fire. I knew it would happen. I jinxed it. Classic Murphy's Law scenario. I should have just shoved that little thought to the deepest darkest depths of my mind. Seeing how sporadic this weather can be, I'm not sure if my signal fire idea will work anymore. Maybe I need to start thinking about some other form of signaling. With these heavy winds and blizzards this time of year, I should have known a signal fire wouldn't be reliable. I wasted a lot of wood. Still, doesn't change my plans for the day. Heading out to the fishing huts now.

 

later that night, inside the camp office:

I got trapped in the fishing hut by a blizzard for a few hours tonight. It might have been a good thing, actually. If not for that blizzard, I would have been back in bed a long time ago. Instead, I had just enough wood to ride out the blizzard, so I spent a few more hours fishing. Caught some pretty decent sized whitefish, and a bass. Should feed me well. But for now, I'm exhausted. I need to get in bed. I'll be able to get something accomplished tomorrow, hopefully.

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Day 6 - inside a fishing hut:

I'm back out on the water as I write this. I spent most of this morning reading up on fish prep from some old wilderness cookbook I found back in the office, and gathering wood. Slept in pretty late, actually, it's too late in the day to even think of making another attempt at that signal fire now. Too foggy, aswell. I may as well just forget that idea altogether, at this rate. Gonna cast my line once more and see just what I can reel in.

 

later that night - back at the camp office:

I had to use one of my flares fending off a couple wolves on my way back here. It was dark, snowy, I had absolutely no visibility out there, so I had no choice. I need to try to stay out of those kinds of situations. I only have one flare left, which I need to use as a signal incase a plane or something comes over. What has gotten into the local wolves? Hell, all of the wildlife, really. I've noticed quite a few deer out and about. It isn't unusual for the occasional deer to hang around through the winter, but most of them herd into migratory paths and head down south this time of year. I saw a herd of five out on the lake. Bears are out of hibernation and the wolves are just pissed. Something unnatural is going on, making the animals all rowdy. I don't know. I'm not having much luck fishing. I'm barely catching enough to feed myself regularly, so I'm rationing them out. Starved myself today. Maybe I need to spend more time out there, but there's just too much to do. This is no way to live. If only I could find a rifle, I could take down a deer and eat good for a week. Of course, I've never actually gutted a large animal. Rabbit and squirrel are more to my liking. If I could find some rope, I'd be able to fashion a snare. There is none here, sadly. I'm down to my last tackle, however I can probably make another hook with some scrap metal I've pulled from breaking down unused lanterns. And I have one more length of line to use downstairs at the workbench. I needed to eat earlier tonight, and it was too dark and cold to go out and chop wood. So I chopped down my bookshelf for firewood, and had to use some of my kerosene to actually get it to catch. God, I need some rest now. I haven't been getting enough sleep.

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thanks a lot for all of the positive comments here, everyone! im glad youre all enjoying this little journal of mine :D
so without further ado, lets continue on -

 

Day 7 - inside the camp office:

Was hit by a pretty strong blizzard early this morning, which woke me up. I was stuck indoors for a few hours, but I used that time to cut up one of my sleeping bags for extra cloth to patch up my clothes, or make bandages if I need some. Hopefully I won't... But you never know, with everything the way it is.

 

later that day - inside a fishing hut:

I stood up to a wolf that tried to attack me this morning while I was out gathering firewood. I ran straight for him, and swung my hatchet just as he tried to jump at me. Slashed him deep across the chest, sent him running with his tail between his legs. I'm back out on the water now, and I need to get fishing before the sun sets.

 

later that night - back at the camp office:

Another blizzard tonight, and I was caught right out in the middle of it. Figures. Though I was able to get back safely, and brought back a good size bass, feels about 8 or 9 pounds. Nothing compared to the 10-pounder I brought back yesterday, however I was a little too hungry to care about the size at the time. Got a nice warm fire, and a full stomach tonight. I'll sleep well. But as I sit here in the darkness staring at my fire, I can't help but think back on how much I took everything for granted. Even stuck up in my lookout, at least I had a radio and a light bulb. And friends. Most of which are dead now. And now, I don't even have that much. If I make it out of here alive, I won't take it all for granted anymore. I'll just go home, and live my life.

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Day 8 - inside the camp office:

Sometime during the night, my thoughts turned to my friends. William - I'd always hike down to the logging camp on those lonely days. He'd offer me whatever he had just in exchange for my company. Smokes, snacks, coffee, but mostly firewood. It always pissed Bill off when I'd abandon my post, but he understood well enough and never held it against me. Nothing ever happened out here anyway. And Bill, well he was just that easy-going type. Used to invite all us guys to the office on the weekends for a coffee. Even started inviting Alex up when he matured a little bit. We filled that poor boy's head with all kinds of crude humor. One hell of a poker player, though, he was a natural. He was a good kid, unlike myself growing up. And Max.. Well, Max had to be the toughest son of a gun I've ever met. Lived in the remote wilderness since he was born, has most of his family buried right in front of the cabin on his homestead. Always kept in touch with an old walkie he found in the office... That's it! I need to find Max. The way he lives out there, so secluded, he probably doesn't even know anything is going on right now. I could definitely use his help, and he's a nice enough fellow. Oughtta be willing to stick together. I'll grab something to eat, then head down that way. His cabin is secluded, but it isn't too far of a hike.

 

later that evening - inside the trappers cabin:

I've just arrived at Max's cabin. He's nowhere to be found. At first, I thought maybe he's out taking advantage of the recent increase in deer, but all of his supplies are here. He never ventures out without his backpack and rifle. Maybe I'm just worrying too much. I'll stay around and wait for him to show up, until tomorrow, at least. If he doesn't show tonight, I'll look for him in the morning.
On my way here, I noticed that the train tunnel has collapsed, probably due to weathering. That explains the derailed train cars I saw not too far away from the office down the tracks. I found another body on my way here in the middle of the woods. This one, female. Considering there was only one woman in this entire area, it has to be Beth. She worked at the logging camp, had a thing for Max since the day she saw him. I don't think anything ever happened between the two, though. Looks like she was just trying to get to him for some help when a wolf spotted her. Poor girl wouldn't have stood a chance against one of those wolves.
I'm just going to rest up, take it easy. Kill some time. I have everything I need here.

 

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i know that i usually update this every day, but i'm gonna take a quick break for at least today, and tomorrow.

see, today i picked up where i left off on fallout 3. which, unfortunately, resulted in about 8 straight hours of gameplay leaving me with no time to get to the long dark today
it will probably be the same way tomorrow.

sorry for the inconvenience :P

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