Dirge for Mankind

Life has been a never ending series of disappointments for Arkady: a failed marriage, an earth-shattering apocalyptic event, the creation of bipedal animals who don't take kindly to humans, and the failures of the people in power to do anything about any of it.

So, overall, not much different from the other people in the Latvian Exclusion Zone. He earned the respect of his fellow stalkers and the disrespect of the people who label those in his position as criminals. He spent a third of his life after finding his place in the Zone trying to search for his ex-wife. Though those attempts proved fruitless. '

Until one day, a bounty hunting job leads him to discover something he was never meant to see. Documents proving that she, his ex-wife, the woman he still loves now, might still be alive. His obsession is reignited, and finally his life has a purpose beyond taking jobs to stay alive. But his discovery is not only his own. The people in power, the ones that had failed him so many times before, have decided that his discovery is theirs.

Will his unofficial VDV training from Alexei, his lessons from the Zone, and experience in civilian division of the Latvian military be able to keep him alive long enough to discover where she's gone after all these years?

Please note: Some characters and events in this story are inspired by or parody existing works and their characters. Any resemblance is intentional and meant purely for creative or critical purposes

I will also be posting this story to Royal Road.