Mitchell Loughlin’s Reviews > Roadside Picnic > Status Update

Ducking through allys and shortcuts he runs away. Stopping at home he takes something from the wicker basket and drops it at a secret location. He calls his buyer and tells him he’s caught, where the drop off was and to take care of his wife and daughter for the 3 years he’ll be in prison.

He takes a final look at his daughter knowing he did the best he could. He turns himself in

Red then tries to go to the bank but the taxi driver brings him to the bar instead. He’s so tired he accepts that the story the driver told him was true. Once inside he sees a crowd he doesn’t recognize and Ernest the bar tender asks him into the back room where he is met by military personnel.
Who pat him down and open his briefcase finding goods He escapes through a trap door. Unclear if it was w/ the swag

Anything new he didn’t know what it did he held back copies of incase it sold for more than he asked for. One such item was a ring of perpetual motion. He sells his wears and leaves.
Stops at the vultures house wear he talked to the man’s hot daughter. We get a real long description of the daughter…..
He gives her half the cash and she calls him an idiot for saving her father’s life. Sweet kid.

Monkey is an apt name for the stalkers daughter. Something red got into must have been irradiated because she is covered in fine golden hair and her eyes are solid black. In all other ways though she appears to be a normal kid. She likes hanging out with other children and asking loads of questions. We learn later the red does all he can to get other kids to play with her. Making her slides and swings etc

Red’s land lord is a dick. He tried to get red to leave by complaining but red ain’t going nowhere

Guta seems to have been up all night worrying and hugs him when he enters. she burys her face in his chest. He checks on his daughter (aka The monkey) and here’s his friend stoped by sloshed (daughters words)

Red takes his time leaving the cemetery. They douse fishing gear with water and stow the swag in a false gas tank. He wants to make sure they don’t run into anyone despite the fact that Vulture’s legs are actively turning to rubber. They stop at the butchers/ doctors to amputate the rubberized part of Vs legs. R leaves him to head home before work. They manage to get off Scot free

Red drags him through a whole
In the wall
Out of the cemetery and towards a jeep they had hidden away.

As this is happening the cops find another man in the grave yard. Red spotted him earlier leaning against an obelisk. As they get close he seems to teleport away a few feet. Red describes his motions as though the man is a wind up
Toy

Stalkers famously have freaky kids, likely due to radiation, but they want to keep the child.
End of chapter 1

Chapter 2: 5 years later
Red is married. He is in a graveyard where the cops are seemingly waiting for him and Burbanch, to return from a crawl. They found something good but someone squealed. B is in bad shape. He has no bones below his knees and keeps tslking about a golden orb and his family.

His friend though, thinks it over before getting a call. While he is on the phone a man come Malta asks Red to take him under his wing, Red offers him 1grand to just leave town.
The phone calls informs them that Kirill died and the authorities are looking for Red. Red spirals, already hammered he throws a streaker into the bar and runs away. He runs into to “Gurta”? His GF who informs him she is preggers

In the bar red and his friends get sloshed. The one who is able to keep his eyes open explains that the institution is making three additions buildings around the zone that will make it harder to stalk at night. It also will add a lot of new faces in town.
Someone implied to friend 1 that if he was able to get some hell slime he would make it worth his while. Even red sheis away from that idea. The stuff is DEADLY