Prip'Yat: The Beast of Chernobyl

Chapter Five

While planning their trip, Dimitri and Yuri had carefully checked the tour guide schedules, finding — to their amazement — that none had been scheduled by any tour agency for a three day period. This was very rare, and Dimitri had been overjoyed to see that it coincided with the annual school camping trip. Dimitri was ruthless in his insisting that they go. “It’s a sign from God that we should explore!” Yuri was less convinced of this fact, but eventually relented to Dimitri.

Despite the promise of no scheduled tours, there was always the possibility of running into an impromptu exploration like their own, or encountering an extremely rare guard patrol through the area. The larger threat, though, came from the animals that called the city home. Though they stayed in the wilderness areas during the day, they would occasionally venture into the city at night to scavenge for food. Wild dogs, interbred for generations, were the biggest danger since they traveled in packs and had virtually no fear of humans. Bears were less common, though every once in a while a tour group would have a close encounter with one in the city during the early morning or late evening.

“We’ll explore the city tonight and tomorrow morning, Yuri. It’ll be glorious!” Dimitri and Yuri were still taken aback by the sight of the city and the fact that they were finally standing in its center, a place they had imagined for years but never had the opportunity to see in person until now. The chill of the night air grew in intensity, making both cousins glad for the large down jackets that they were both wearing. Dimitri still held on to his Kalash, though it was loosened now, shaking back and forth on his back as he walked.

Prip’Yat was a city reclaimed by nature and undergoing a reverse transformation. Once a city of steel and cement, it was returning to a natural state. Grass, weeds and bushes cracked the streets and sidewalks, trees grew in the center of abandoned fountains and vines covered entire buildings, slowly cracking away at their shells. In another fifty years, the city would be unrecognizable, completely consumed by the world around it.

The encroachment of nature upon the city meant that radiation hotspots were more frequent and better hidden, disguised in clumps of trees or in the tall grass. Without a Geiger counter, the cousins moved quickly, sticking to the main roads and sidewalks while avoiding the open areas around the city. The roads, while still contaminated, offered better protection than the surrounding grass, and less of a chance of happening upon a hotspot. Yuri kept an eye on his disposable radiation meter. It had climbed by a few ticks since he last checked, but the movement was slow and his total exposure was still well within the safe zone.

Massive trees grew in the city square, their thick foliage rustling quietly in the breeze. Dimitri and Yuri’s boots ticked softly on the pavement as they walked, making a beeline for the Palace of Culture on the northwest side of the square. A common theme in the Soviet era, Palaces of Culture typically contained movie theaters, swimming pools and studios where the inhabitants of a city could meet and interact. Prip’Yat was no exception, though the once beautiful building was torn apart — glass, wood and metal littering the floors.

The crack of debris under the feet of the cousins was unnerving in the silence as they climbed the steps, entering the main section of the Palace of Culture. The Ferris wheel was visible out the front of the Palace. As one of the most iconic images representing the Chernobyl disaster and the city of Prip’Yat, the Ferris wheel was also one of the most dangerous, harboring extreme amounts of radiation. While it was a potentially lethal place to visit, it nonetheless remained a tantalizing target.

Stairs wound upwards into the large building and corridors snaked off in every direction, with new discoveries waiting to be uncovered. The twin flashlight beams from Yuri and Dimitri cut through the shadows of the building as they turned around, staring at the arched ceiling, then looked at each other.

Dimitri spoke with a grin. “Where first, cousin?”