Concrete Jungle

Chapter 12

It was around 3 pm when the real work got underway. Sasha kept herself hydrated and knew that she couldn't lose control like that again. No matter how personal this trip got, she was the consummate professional and wouldn't let it get to her. Besides, they only had a small amount of allotted time to their expedition, and not a second was to be wasted. So when Alexei was ready to send the drone towards the plant, everyone crowded around his device and computer to watch the whole thing happen. Rahel was snapping photos in rapid succession, and Sasha noticed that she got a great one of the drone on the ground with the plant standing ominously in the background. Rahel showed the shot to Sasha, who nodded approvingly, and they smiled at each other for the first time in professional comradeship. That's when Sasha knew she could do this.

Yes, it was extremely personal, but she owed it to the victims, their families, and herself as well to create the best issue for the anniversary for the magazine. So, as the drone took off, Rahel and Sasha watched via the computer its flight path as it got near the plant and where reactor 4 was; now encased in the haphazard sarcophagus. Sasha decided she didn't need to see the rest of that trip as she put her trust into Rahel and Alexei. She had other work to do. Putting on the radiation protective suits they were given, she, along with Ben and Vasily, went into one of the abandoned apartment buildings. She had her notebook and pencil with her which Ben smiled at. Seeing Sasha pulling out the tools of her trade made him understand that no matter what was going on with her personally, she wasn't going to let it get in the way of her job. Sasha caught him looking and returned his kind smile, with one of her own.

The three proceeded deeper into the building, looking from room to room, and floor to floor. Everywhere looked identical; abandoned and like people left in a hurry without putting anything away. Sasha looked around and started thinking about all that she had researched over the years about Pripyat; every single article was the same, about how deserted everything looked. What she rarely recalled seeing was the lives of those that ran. She began scribbling everything she saw that spoke of life before the desertion. While Ben and Vasily were studying a rodent's nest in the corner, Sasha let her feet lead her from room to room as though the ghosts of the past were showing her their lives as they were on the days just prior to the disaster and the hours before the evacuation. Finally, Sasha ended up on the roof of the building, careful to avoid the weak spots where she could fall through.

She looked out on the town that used to be brimming with life. She could hear the women going to work or playing with their kids outside on the many playgrounds that were surrounded by the co-op buildings. The giant Ferris wheel was covered with rust and radiation and in her mind's eye, moving in slow motion with children laughing with glee. Fast forward another 30 years and the metal attraction would collapse onto the ground and be surrounded by the grass and animals that now called this damned place home as it disappeared from view. The same would go for all of the buildings; as sooner, or later the rest of nature would claim them too. Because that was how the cycle of life went.

The drone whizzed around overhead as Sasha was lost in thought, finding a place to sit on the roof as she scribbled everything she was seeing in her head down into her notebook. Her story was starting to come together in bits and pieces like that of a puzzle. She also made a note to herself to research professional paranormal investigations that were conducted in Pripyat. Somehow she knew that would also come in handy at some point in her story or stories were more accurate. This expedition would take up the entirety of that April 2016 issue, and all would be done by her and her team. Ben and Vasily had just exited the building and saw her sitting on the roof, the picture of contentment as she wrote vigorously in her notebook, her pencil barely slowing down as she turned the pages.

She lifted her head just in time to see them pointing and looking at something in the distance and away from the central part of town. They waved at her, and she returned the gesture, deciding that she would get down from the roof and see what it was they were talking about as she joined them outside.

"Hey, Sasha."

"Hey, so what do you two have in mind?" She asked them with a preoccupied smile.

"We want to return to the village where we set up the traps earlier and see what we caught," Ben explained.

"Traps? What do you mean?"

"Oh, not like that. Ben and I set up the harmless mesh with sweet-smelling pollen to see what kind of bugs or other animals would be attracted to that. We will let them all go after we had a chance to record everything." Vasily explained.

"Sounds fascinating; mind if I tag along?" Sasha asked, intrigued.

"Of course not! Would love to have you join us!" Vasily said excitedly as Ben hid a smile. The kid had a serious work crush on Sasha. He was partially thrilled, partially terrified of her.

"It's settled then; let's wait for enough time to pass and we can go bright and early tomorrow. There is also a pond that is supposedly filled with oversized fish that I want to check out." Ben added. They agreed on the following day to be their village adventure tour.

As their first day drew to a close and they all drove to their camp out location, everyone had a lot on their minds. It was a full and fascinating day despite the rocky start, and the next one was sure to bring more of the same. Rahel, however, had come across something very interesting that she wanted to share with Ben. After dinner, when she was finally able to get him alone, she asked him to go for a walk with her, and he agreed.

"What's up, Rahel?"

"Listen, I found something out that you may want to know."

"Ok, I'm listening."

"Earlier today when Alexei sent the drone off to the plant and then around town, I saw that he was writing something in Russian in his notebook and I was curious about the language so I asked what certain words meant. He told me that he used shorthand to basically transcribe everything the drone saw as a second backup to his hard drive."

They continued to walk as Rahel recounted to Ben what she had seen and heard. He wasn't sure where she was going with this, so he didn't say anything but let her continue.

"As he manned the drone over to the apartment building, it showed you three walking around there. He wrote down your names, and that's when I noticed a familiar word in his writings and asked him what it was. Alexei said that that word was Vasily's name or Vasya for short."

"So? Is there a point to all of this?" Ben asked exasperated; he was tired and wanted to just hit his sleeping bag for the night. Rahel nodded vigorously.

"That word for Vasya that Alexei wrote in his shorthand in Russian was the exact same word I saw on Sasha's blue journal! The one she has been hiding from us so hard!"

It was as if all of the birds and animals understood what Rahel was saying at the same time as Ben did because one could have heard a pin drop in the woods. Ben blinked wildly as the realization of what Rahel had just said, made him feel like he had been awoken out of a sound sleep. He remembered Sasha's reaction to first meeting Vasily that afternoon and knowing full well that though it wasn't the same Vasya; whatever was in that journal had to do with the name of Vasya and of significant meaning to Sasha as well as Chernobyl as a whole. Ben knew there was no one by that name in her family; so who was the Vasya in the blue journal and why was it such a secret that it garnered such a hard reaction when meeting someone with the same name? The puzzle was slowly coming together; but what was it?