Prip'Yat: The Beast of Chernobyl Read online

  Let’s see how you handle this, you bastard!

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lucas Pokrov | Yuri Volkov

  As the largest medical building in the city, the main hospital was where the majority of the injured citizens and workers were brought after the explosion of reactor four. There were three wings in the main hospital building, each with its own complicated set of corridors and rooms. The condition of the hospital was the same as the rest of the city as it too had suffered under the ravages of both vandals and time.

  Rotten floorboards, crumbling walls, peeling paint and sagging roofs were only the beginning of the building’s troubles. Smaller wildlife in the city had found comfort among the leftover medical supplies, leading to rat and mice nests being scattered throughout the building. Most of the medical equipment was scavenged by thieves in the months following the disaster, though this situation had a certain irony as the supplies did more harm than good due to the radiation that had contaminated them.

  The darkness combined with the dilapidated condition of the hospital made Lucas’s task none the easier as he ran forward. A splatter of blood had been thrown across his mask by Iosif’s death, though Lucas made no move to wipe it away. Through the red color he saw only anger and destruction as his rage became the focal point through which he concentrated.

  Coming out of the stairwell and into the basement, Lucas saw a shadowy figure ram through a pair of double doors, pushing its way into a large chamber beyond. Lucas picked up his speed as he ran down the hall, his finger instinctively brushing against the trigger of his SVD. All I need is a good shot, and you’re fucked. In the back of Lucas’s mind, he wondered whether this was true. Both he and Iosif had dumped at least two dozen rounds each into the apparition, all without effect. The high-explosive rounds were different, though, or so Lucas hoped.

  Inside the surgical theater, Yuri’s heart began to skip beats as terror overwhelmed him. While he didn’t see the shadow creature enter into the room, he could feel its presence and hear the soft ‘tick tick tick’ of its feet on the floor. The scratching and rustling of the creature made his brain scream and his baser instincts threatened to take over. Run! Run, you fool, before it’s too late! Yuri held still, though, remembering the screams from outside the room that proved that this creature was not something that could be easily escaped.

  The sound of soft breathing reached Yuri’s ears and he realized that the creature had somehow come all the way up the stairs of the theater. The flashlight at Yuri’s feet was still on, he noticed, and he quietly fumbled with it, desperate to turn it off in a vain attempt to conceal his location. As the beam passed over his shirt, he noticed his radiation meter. The small tag was already into the orange zone and rising rapidly after remaining still since they had escaped the greenhouse. Yuri dropped the flashlight to the ground in shock, mesmerized by the rapidly changing color of his radiation meter.

  A sudden scraping from outside the technician’s booth accompanied the clatter of the flashlight, distracting Yuri from the radiation tag and bringing him back to reality. Yuri took a deep breath and picked the flashlight up again, squeezing the base of it hard in his right hand. I won’t go down without a fight, he thought, though he knew that any resistance he could put up to the creature would be utterly futile.

  Yuri stood up from the floor of the technician’s booth, and turned to face the shadow that stood before him. Before the beam of the flashlight could pass over the creature, a shout came from the front of the surgical theater, distracting the creature towering over Yuri and causing it to whip around to face the source of the noise.

  “Hey you! Catch!” Standing in the doorway of the surgical theater, Lucas held his SVD firmly against his shoulder. His breathing was rapid but in control and he allowed his training and instincts as a sniper to take over. Time slowed as the laser beam from the bottom of the SVD’s barrel shone across the head of the shadow, reflecting in its twin red eyes and glinting off of its bared teeth.

  Out of the corner of Lucas’s eye he saw the glint of Yuri’s flashlight and said a quick silent prayer that whoever was holding the light wouldn’t be harmed. The shadow began to move toward Lucas, furious at his intrusion on its hunt. To Lucas, it felt like he had been standing in the doorway of the room for hours, but only a few seconds had gone by. His gloved hand wrapped around the trigger of the SVD, squeezing in time with his breathing to avoid any unnecessary kick of the rifle. While the beating of his heart and the exhalation and inhalation of his breaths were unlikely to affect the bullet’s trajectory at such close range, he didn’t want to take any chances with the creature.

  The SVD’s firing mechanism engaged precisely with Lucas’s squeeze of the trigger, causing the round in the chamber of the rifle to be expelled at high velocity out of the end of the barrel. The orange-tipped round flew at the creature, striking it squarely between its red eyes. For a split second, Lucas thought he might have grabbed the wrong magazine from his pouch. A grim smile spread across his face, though, when the round activated, causing a massive explosion to bloom out of the creature’s head.

  While the shadow beast didn’t make any audible noise to show its rage and pain, both Yuri and Lucas winced as it staggered back, the high-explosive round having done serious harm to it. Not waiting to see whether or not one round would be enough, Lucas squeezed the trigger again, expelling round after round into the beast. Each impact caused a new explosion of light, sound and fire to emanate from the beast’s body. With each explosion the two men winced in pain, affected by the creature’s reactions to the bullets in ways that they didn’t fully understand.

  Before Lucas heard the rifle click to indicate that it was empty, he had already dropped the empty magazine on the floor and slapped in a new one. His right hand ran along the side of the weapon, chambering a new round from the magazine into place with a metallic clang. For the briefest of seconds, the room was dark and quiet, the flashlight belonging to Yuri having been switched off as he cowered in the technician’s booth, covering his ears from the onslaught.

  Lucas squeezed the trigger again, though this time the results were less spectacular. Instead of impacting upon the shadow creature, the round passed through one of the rotting walls at the back of the theater, causing an explosion in the next room as it finally impacted on a solid object. Lucas pulled his finger back from firing another round, panicked as he realized that the creature had disappeared in the few seconds it took him to change magazines in his rifle.

  The thermal scope to the rifle was flipped up in a flash and Lucas peered through it, twisting and turning as he scanned the room for any signs of activity. Finally his gaze rested on the tall ceiling above the seats where the shadow had stood not seconds before. A gaping hole had been torn in the ceiling and the edges were white hot on his scope, indicating that the creature had somehow managed to leap two stories into the air through the roof onto the next floor.

  Lucas kept his rifle trained on the hole as he maneuvered his way to the stairs leading up to the technician’s booth in the theater. As the ringing in Lucas’s ears began to die down, silence once again reigned in the hospital. After a moment, a shuffle from behind Lucas caused him to turn around, training the rifle on the source. A teenager who looked to be no older than eighteen was standing in front of him, staring at him in amazement.

  Yuri shone his light at Lucas, marveling at the sight in front of him. Dressed in all black, loaded for bear with weapons and equipment, the masked man who had just saved his life was an impressive sight to behold, even with his rifle pointed directly at Yuri’s face. Yuri quickly raised his hands, holding the flashlight in his quivering grip high above his head. He struggled to speak, begging for his life from the man who had just saved it.

  “Please don’t kill me! I’m sorry we came here! Just please, don’t kill me!”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Lucas Pokrov | Yuri Volkov

  “Put down your light!” Lucas’s voice came through his mask as a whisper
, and only after he saw Yuri’s puzzled expression did he remember that he was still transmitting through his radio. He tapped a button on his radio’s controls, activating a small exterior speaker. He repeated his command and Yuri immediately complied, lowering his flashlight to point at the ground.

  “Who are you? Why are you here?” Lucas barked at Yuri again as he continued to watch the hole in the ceiling and the main doorway with his thermal scope. The boy was obviously not a threat and Lucas was unsure when the mysterious shadow would reappear.

  “I’m Yuri… Yuri Volkov. We just came here to explore, I swear. We’re not thieves! Please don’t kill me.” Yuri’s face was ashen and his voice trembled. Dressed in civilian clothes with a warm coat, the boy looked like a typical student who was out for an adventure. He was covered in dirt, dust and burrs and his eyes were black and tired. His entire body spoke to his exhausted and frightened state. After eyeing the boy for a moment, Lucas began to feel a measure of pity for him.

  “Who else is with you, Yuri?”

  Yuri paused, his gaze shifting toward the main door to the room. “My cousin, Dimitri. We came together.”

  Lucas glanced behind him at the door where Yuri was looking. “Where did he go?”

  Yuri paused again and shook his head. “I… I don’t know. He went out the door to try and talk to you, then he screamed and…”

  Lucas closed his eyes and swore to himself. Dammit! He held up a hand at Yuri, motioning for him to stay still. “Stay here, I’ll be back in just a minute. If you see that thing again, just yell for me.”

  Lucas walked slowly back to the entrance of the surgical theater, peeking out the door to check the hallway for any signs of the shadow. To the left, where Lucas had come from, he saw nothing on his scope except for an empty hallway. As he swung his rifle to the right he flinched, nearly pulling the trigger as the thermal scope exploded in an array of orange and yellow colors. For a second he thought the thermal signature was the shadow again, but when it didn’t make any movement toward him he realized what it really was.

  Coating the floor, walls and ceiling of the hallway was a thick layer of deep red blood, dripping from the ceiling tiles and pooling in small puddles on the floor. Lucas was thankful that his mask filtered out scents from the environment, though he could still imagine what the air must have smelled like. Lucas reached for his flashlight, switching it on and casting the white beam down the hall, illuminating the gory scene.

  The images reminded him of Iosif’s quick demise, brought about immediately after the shadow had slaughtered Yuri’s companion. Lucas noticed something odd about the scene of carnage and stepped out into the hall with trepidation, keeping a wary eye behind and in front of him. Fat lot of good that’ll do when this thing can punch through walls and ceilings like they’re made of paper.

  The grisly scene disturbed Lucas but he knelt down, shining his light over the spread of blood and gore across the hallway. He shook his head as he stood up, backing his way into the surgical room again. Where’s the body? While there was an enormous amount of blood spread across the hall, Lucas was struck by the absence of any solid remains, unlike what he had seen with Iosif. If the shadow had taken this person after Iosif, then perhaps it had carried the body off to devour it. Regardless of the reasoning behind the carnage, Lucas decided that the next best course of action would be to evacuate the civilian from the hospital as quickly as possible and then return to face the threat alone.

  Without Iosif’s assistance, Lucas was certain that he would not be able to kill the shadow on his own, particularly since it seemed impervious to conventional weaponry. Nonetheless, he was dutybound to fulfill his mission, no matter the cost. Regardless of what it took, Lucas resolved that either he or the creature would be dead by morning.

  “Yuri, get down here.” Lucas spoke as loudly as he dared through his mask, not wanting to attract any more attention from the shadow. Behind him, Lucas heard the sound of footsteps running quickly down the steps, and he was soon joined by the teenager who hung behind him, nervously shining his flashlight at the door.

  “I’m going to get you out of here. You need to follow me up the–”

  “No way in hell. I’m not leaving.”

  Lucas spun, putting the tip of his SVD in Yuri’s face, mere inches from his left eye. Lucas’s breathing was calm and even through the mask’s speaker as he spoke again. “You will leave this city. I’ve already lost two people tonight and I’m not losing another.”

  “Fuck you, soldier man, whatever your name is. I don’t know who you lost, but that...” Yuri sputtered to come up with the words to describe what he had seen. “That… thing killed my cousin. Kill me now and you’ll do me a favor.” Yuri pushed up against the SVD, pressing his cheek against the end of the barrel. His eyes were on fire in the reflection of his flashlight, blazing with both hatred and fear as tears streamed down his cheeks. Unprepared for such a reaction, Lucas hesitated, unsure of what to do next.

  After a long moment of staring at each other, Lucas finally took a step back and lowered his SVD. “If you get in my way, I’ll shoot you. If you get between me and that beast, I’ll shoot through you to kill it. Understand me?”

  Yuri nodded and stepped around Lucas, peeking out into the hallway. His light passed back and forth, stopping on the blood that coated the walls. “My God…” Yuri whispered as he staggered into the hall, falling on his knees in front of the bloody scene. “Dimitri, you fool. Why wouldn’t you listen to me.”

  Dimitri had been the one who encouraged them to travel to the city that night, though Yuri ultimately felt responsible for what had happened. If he had only argued more against the trip or refused to go, then Dimitri’s death could have been avoided. What am I going to say to Aunt Tamara? What am I going to say to mama? Yuri closed his eyes and sat back on his legs, whispering an old prayer that his mother had taught him when he was just a boy. A prayer for the dead, Yuri spoke it for his cousin, begging for forgiveness both for his inaction and for Dimitri’s soul.

  Lucas watched Yuri from the doorway to the hall, still glancing around with his thermal scope to make sure the shadow wasn’t close by. Lucas felt a twinge of pity for Yuri as the teenager sat in front of the remains of his friend, shaking his head and muttering to himself. He exited into the hallway and tapped Yuri on the back with the barrel of his SVD.

  “This hospital isn’t safe. We need to leave right now.”

  Yuri slowly stood and turned to face Lucas. The fire in his eyes hadn’t lessened, but a faint reflection of what Lucas himself felt now shone through. Vengeance for the dead, Lucas thought, turning to lead Yuri out of the basement.

  “Keep quiet unless you see the beast. Stay behind me and don’t get in my way.”

  Yuri didn’t respond to Lucas’s order though he did obey, remaining quiet and walking just a few feet behind Lucas. They ascended the stairs slowly as Lucas carefully scanned his corners, checking every square inch of surface in the halls and stairs for any thermal signatures. In the cold night air, the blood on the main floor had already cooled, showing up in the thermal scope as dark blue puddles and streaks. Lucas stopped at the top of the stairs as he aimed down the hallway, bothered by something that tickled at the back of his mind.

  Where’s Iosif?

  Chapter Seventeen

  Lucas Pokrov | Yuri Volkov

  In the long, dark corridor streaked with blood, Lucas realized with a start that Iosif’s mangled corpse was no longer present. For a moment he thought that it had just cooled and wasn’t showing up on the thermal scope, but a quick check with the flashlight showed him that this wasn’t the case.

  “What’s wrong?” Yuri whispered behind Lucas.

  “The body... it was here when I came downstairs, but it’s gone now.”

  Yuri peeked around Lucas, closing his eyes at the scene in front of them. It was virtually identical to the one in the basement and it made Yuri sick to his stomach. Without warning he felt bile rise in his throat and he turned
back to the stairs, vomiting into the stairwell. Lucas glanced back at Yuri, grimacing at what he heard. After a few dry heaves, Yuri turned back to Lucas, gulping deeply as he wiped his mouth on his jacket sleeve. He began to mutter an apology to Lucas who held up his hand, brushing off the attempt.

  “Follow me and stay close.”

  Lucas moved forward through the blood-soaked corridor, keeping his eyes straight ahead and refusing to look up, down or to the sides. Yuri followed his lead, briefly closing his eyes as he walked, trying not to think about the squishing sounds that came from beneath his feet as he stepped through the puddles on the floor. Far ahead of him, by the main doors to the hospital, Lucas had moved swiftly forward, eager to get out of the hospital and out into the open. While the openness of the city provided its own set of challenges, Lucas was tired of being an easy target in the darkened building.

  Once Lucas heard Yuri walk up behind him he turned and spoke with him. “How did you and your cousin get into the city, Yuri?”

  Yuri nodded his head in the general direction of the car that he and Dimitri had brought. “We have a car, way out by the forest. We drove up from the city and parked it there, then we walked in.”