Prip'Yat: The Beast of Chernobyl

Chapter Sixteen

“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?