Prip'Yat: The Beast of Chernobyl

Chapter Eight

Running alone through thick vegetation while simultaneously trying to pay attention to one’s surroundings in a dark environment was difficult enough. Doing so while in pursuit of a fleeting movement in the distance that could very well have just been the shadow from a cloud added an extra layer of complexity to the situation. Lucas stayed focused as he ran, regulating his breathing through the face mask and stopping every few seconds to scan the area ahead with his scope. Behind him, Iosif brought up the rear, performing the same series of actions as he ran to catch up.

With the hospital left unexplored, the soldiers still considered it a potential danger zone, and both of them periodically checked behind them as they ran forward, quickly closing the half kilometer distance to their target location. Lucas’s breathing was loud in his ear, a symptom of the full face mask that covered the front half of his head, including his ears. As a single piece of polymer-matrix composite, the mask didn’t restrict the user’s view at all, which was a far cry from the older protective gear that soldiers used to wear.

Although the face filter was bulky and made it difficult to breathe, the mask did offer one additional advantage. Due to its construction, it was able to withstand severe blows, including rounds up into a 9mm caliber. Larger rounds would penetrate the mask, but their penetration power was vastly reduced, meaning that even if you were shot in the face, you had a much higher chance of surviving than if you weren’t wearing it.

Slight negative pressure generated by a small pump on the mask ensured that it always had an airtight seal over the wearer’s face, which was reinforced by the pair of heavy-duty rubber straps that encircled Iosif’s and Lucas’s heads. In addition to providing impact protection and keeping the wearer safe from radiation, the masks also filtered out chemical and biological contaminants. Though the pair didn’t expect to need their masks for those particular use cases, they both had enough experience dealing with the unknown to appreciate the protection even if it wasn’t absolutely essential.

Passing through a thicket of trees, Lucas slowed as he neared the spot where he had caught the movement. He scanned the ground and the surrounding buildings, road, and vegetation with his rifle scope, but nothing was visible. Iosif had finally caught up next to him and crouched nearby, breathing heavily as he spoke.

“What did you see?”

Lucas continued to scan the area as he replied, switching between his thermal and infrared scopes. “Not sure. It was big, though, and moving fast. It disappeared here, between the buildings.”

“Did it show up on the scopes?”

“Negative. I had finished a scan when I saw it whip past and I took off after it.”

Iosif held his radiation meter aloft, waving it around them to scan the air and the ground. “Radiation levels seem normal here. Got anything on the thermal?”

Lucas’s thermal scanner on his scope was sensitive enough that it could pick up trace amounts of heat left in the footprints of animals for a few moments after they had passed. He had checked the ground several times since stopping, though, and had found no evidence of any residual heat.

“Nothing.”

Iosif sighed and looked around, getting his bearings. “This is the first sign of anything we’ve had tonight, so let’s stay on top of it. It was heading north, right?”

Lucas nodded. “Affirmative. Rapidly, too.”

“Okay, let’s head to the next checkpoint since it’s north of here. We’ll hit the hospital on our way out.”

Iosif ran past Lucas, breaking from cover on the east side of the main road and moving to the west side. Lucas continued striding up on the east side of the road, keeping close to the buildings as he moved. He trailed behind Iosif’s position by several yards as before, maintaining a close eye on the rooftops of the buildings as they moved past, alert for any signs of movement.

The road was empty and devoid of heat signatures or movement, though Lucas couldn’t deny feeling nervous as they worked their way north into the city. In past missions, when they had been alone in the darkness, they had always known who their enemy was and that he was out there somewhere, hiding in the dark. Pursuing an unknown enemy in a territory that was completely devoid of life was a new experience, one that Lucas didn’t appreciate.