Amaury Dreher - Opalescence - The Secret of Pripyat

Before going to sleep, I took a Scottish shower. The icy water flowed over me like a saving lotion, invigorating everything in its path. I felt reborn, a new being would return to the Zone.

I came out of the bathroom to grab the only bottle of alcohol in the minibar and kneel on my bed. The liquid was infective, but I remained impassive and determined to empty it to the last drop. I end up falling asleep, my mind spinning and my heart soothed.

In the early morning, I left the hotel a little haggard and started wandering in the street. The alleys were deserted, Kiev was still drowsy. Only a few solitary taxis were walking along the capital’s main arteries. One of them stopped. I rushed inside and handed a piece of paper to the driver. GPS coordinates had been scribbled in a hurry. He frowned and then started the car. The taxi leapt forward in a cloud of black smoke.

The blizzard was exhilarating. I could have sworn that two still eyes were staring at me through the branches. I felt watched. Something was listening to me, looking at me. The forest was dark and cold. The shadows were intimidating and threatening. The moon also seemed concerned. It emitted a weak glow, just enough to distinguish the silhouette from the trees. The thing was following me. It seemed to have an extraordinary agility as it was so discreet and undetectable. I felt its presence while ignoring the nature of its existence. I would have liked to annihilate it, break it by an outpouring of violence. However, I was getting used to it, as when we tolerate an enemy too weak to act. That’s how I tried to tame my fear. After all, maybe it was harmless. Probably my sharp mind was falling into a disproportionate psychosis. My vision was irregular. The colours seemed distorted to me. The blue tones were unreal. The contrasts, on the other hand, were very strong, almost aggressive. I was trying to stay calm. I was striving to breathe. But already, it was coming back, quicker and quicker. The blizzard was roaring.

8th days in the Zone.

Amanda was a fearless and rather clever girl. She seemed to be one step ahead of the other Stalkers, an acuity of mind that I envied her. Her beautiful emerald eyes shone in the night. They betrayed a kindness, but also an unlimited curiosity, which immediately made people feel comfortable and softened their behaviour.

I met Amanda on a full moon evening on the roof of the cultural centre. Andrei had introduced her to me with enthusiasm. The two seemed to be linked by a discreet complicity, a friendship of a quite unusual nature. Together, we chatted for long hours, lit by a small, rather modest candle that warmed our hands. Very quickly, the subject was discussed. Amanda was looking for the treasure. She had already roamed the Zone on multiple occasions, but had not made significant progress so far. I suggested that we would work together, coordinate our efforts and minds. She nodded with a smile.

Andrei seemed disinterested in the loot, but listened carefully. He opined, interjected, issuing more or less relevant opinions. His words were few and far between, but welcomed. He acted like a wise man with advice for his disciples. Amanda wanted to explore further the woodlands bordering the exclusion zone, including those adjacent to Belarus. These areas were rather ignored by the maps and various existing plans due to the lack of infrastructure present. For my part, I was betting on the northeast part, where a few abandoned buildings were located.

—And Duga, did you think about it?

—The perimeter is quite well guarded, it’s difficult to get in without a group of tourists,” says Amanda. A guard is constantly positioned with a dog.

She turned to me with an interrogating look on her face.

—Maybe you could go there?

—I’ll go make a passage, I’ve read a lot about it. Maybe I can find something new.

—Perfect,” Andrei adds. I could brief you on Duga, I’ve done the ascent several times.

—Is Oleksandr aware of all this?

The other two exchanged a brief look, I could have sworn they looked embarrassed.

Andrei dodged quickly:

—I don’t know, but let’s not involve him in our research, he’ll slow us down. And it’s been so long since I’ve seen him… Well! It’s late now. I propose that you meet us here in two days to take stock.

Andrei extinguished the candle with his hands. Despite the polar temperatures, we decided to sleep on the roof. The awakening would be splendid and the celestial vault would watch over us. The silence of the place was only braved by the rustling wind and Andrei’s sporadic coughing. Before I fell asleep, I took a few pictures of the sky. The stars shone in a sumptuous ballet, with a choreography that was as calculated as it was mysterious.

That night was an opportunity to experience new, hyper-realistic and frightening dreams. I could see myself running through the Zone, chased by a horde of dogs, bloody lips and sharp fangs. Their radioactive bites infected my body with rabies and all kinds of unwanted diseases. I was faster than them. I rushed down the forest at a mad pace, slaloming between the shrubs, leaping above the brambles. The wind carried the dogs’ howling and suggested that I accelerate even more. I gained speed, my impulses on the ground became more vigorous, my balance more fragile. I stumbled. My body was propelled to the ground in a cloud of black dust. The sun irradiated me with its hot rays while scratches caused me burning pain. It only took about ten seconds for the dogs to catch up with me. They all barked louder than each other. I could distinguish the rage that emanated from their eyes, the murderous instinct that animated them. I raised one last glance to the sky, the prodigious zenith that was before me. The heat of the summer was suffocating. The solar star would contemplate my death, and perhaps, soften it? I didn’t have time to think any more. A fierce scream rang out and the fangs fell wildly.

Despite my nightmare, I woke up peacefully. A new exciting day was coming up. Andrei had gone to take care of “some personal business” and I found myself alone in the forest with Amanda. This one was progressing like a cat. She tamed her environment with disconcerting ease while I struggled to avoid thorns and peat bogs. She was laughing at my wobbly gait. I felt almost ashamed. To reassure myself, I was looking for her weaknesses.

She finally started the conversation.

—I reread the press clippings, I listened to the broadcasts. During the Chernobyl disaster, the media and experts from Western Europe announced that the territory would be uninhabitable for 20,000 years. Today the Ukrainian government has committed itself to cleaning up the Zone by 2065. Some say it’s impossible. Who to believe? How to fight an invisible enemy and ensure its total eradication?

—We will never succeed in doing so completely, I have no illusions about that!

—It seems that new threats are emerging,” she continued. The Zone is now the scene of cyber attacks driven by who knows who. It’s just another invisible enemy, but this one is being deliberately directed. I hope they will identify those responsible…

—Did you go through the legal procedure that followed the disaster?

—Of course! Of course! Among others, the accused were Viktor Bryukhanov, head of the plant, Nikolai Fomin, the chief engineer, Anatoly Dyatlov, an assistant engineer and Yuri Laushkin, inspector of the Nuclear Supervisory Committee to the Soviet Union. After a year and a half of proceedings, Bryukhanov was found guilty of the accident. A 10-year prison sentence was requested against him and Dyatlov. Dyatlov and Fomin were also accused of conducting experiments on the reactor without the necessary permits. During the tests, the reactor power was reduced to 700 MW and the automatic shutdown systems were deactivated. No coordination with the reactor designer and responsible scientists had taken place. From the rest of the hearings, it emerged that the plant staff were insufficiently trained and did not have all the necessary knowledge to perform their role. Nikolai Fomin was less fortunate than the others. According to some witnesses, he tried to end his life a few days before the trial. If he was properly convicted like the others, he was diagnosed with serious disorders and doctors declared him unfit to serve his sentence. Instead, he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital where he was treated for some time before leaving. It seems that he finished his career at the Kalinin nuclear power plant…