Chernobyl

April

West of the city, a strong easterly wind bashes the cars bonnet. She is afraid radiation can be carried through wind, so she winds up her windows and turns off the heater. The early winter sun shines bleakly down on the dead road. No longer can the cars be heard busily rushing to and fro. No longer does exhaust smoke rise to the clouds, a sign of human inhabitance. Down the deathly quiet highway, a small car travels lonesomely. The muffled sound of headphone music fills the car, along with the sound of tapping fingers on the steering wheel. Music calms the senses. Snow floats down and gently lands on her windscreen, resembling a family trip to a Christmas paradise. She would have been joyful if it was not for the fact that she was travelling alone to an uninhabited nuclear disaster scene. Major Diana Grant. Member of the Investigation committee of Russia, she was sent to inspect the deceased city, following hundreds of complaints of a distressing high frequency sound coming from the city's direction. The closest town is two miles away, giving the situation a much eerier atmosphere. Snow blankets the lands for as far as the eye can see. The tiny speck of a car is devoured by a white wasteland.

-

Miles away in the heart of Kiev, an elderly woman is being interviewed within the safety of her living room. Thomas Wilkins holds a microphone to her withered, elderly lips, as she recalls the final moments of Pripyat's life. Her mug of coffee spits steam violently into the icy air, sending a cosy feeling to inhabit Thomas' mind.

"I was forty years old when this all happened... Although I remember it like it was yesterday." Shifting to find comfort, she finally sits back to begin her story. "26th of April 1986... It was one of those mornings where life seemed to be perfect. The sun was warm and it kissed my gardens with gentle lips... I was watering my gardens...Oh, how I loved my gardening... Everybody was out that morning. Riding their bicycles, or just going for a stroll to soak in that beautiful sun... I was expecting visitors, so I wanted my front yard to look stunning." A smile slowly forms on her lips. "Margaret and Joseph..." her eyes glaze for a moment and she stops to take a sip of her coffee. "I was friends with them for thirty five years... We met in kindergarten. And they grew up to get married..." Thomas nods with a smile, but he can sense they are no longer living. The woman breathes in deeply to begin the difficult part of her story. "I had just finished tending my gardens, when we heard this terrible bang."

-

Diana arrives at the small city's entrance sign, after hours on the icy Russian roads. Pripyat. The breaks scream as though in pain, as her small car comes to a slow stop. A row of red pine trees nicknamed 'the red forest', stand eerily along the length of the road until they reach the city; still not visible. A radioactive warning sign stands weather-beaten and lonesomely, buried mid-way in snow. Diana reaches to the back seat and grabs her nuclear protection suit. Not daring to open her doors, even though thin metal would do nothing to protect her, Diana manages to slip into the suit. She breathes in deeply and slowly presses the gas pedal. Along the long, deadly road, the car crawls to finally enter the city.

-

Caroline Rollinski, the frail interviewee continues her recollection of the 26th of April 1986.

"The explosion was louder than anything I've ever heard in my entire life. My neighbours came outside to see what was happening, and I just stood there praying that whatever it was, was not harmful to anyone... But after that, everything went bak to normal. People just kept going about their daily businesses. Though deep down inside, I knew something was wrong... Around ten minutes after the explosion, I began to smell smoke..." With this, Caroline breathes in as though she is transported to that very moment in time. She closes her eyes and continues. "An hour passed and my visitors had arrived... In their little blue car, the one they've had for years... They got out and I went to greet them, when Margaret suddenly stopped in her tracks."

-

The roads are covered in a thick blanket of snow. Diana crawls to the back of the car to fetch the wheel chains, when she realises she had forgotten to bring them. She punches the cars door as anger engulfs her. "Now what..." She says quietly. She had been instructed to find the source of the distressing sound neighbouring cities were complaining about. She was planning to stay in her car. With curses and the fighting of an irrational fear, Diana opens the door and steps out into the town of Pripyat. She grabs the gun she had placed before leaving from under her seat and closes the door. Precautions she thought, must always be taken.

"Alright" she whispers. "Let's get this over with." With that, she begins her journey through the - in her words - city of death. It is the scene of a cinematic zombie apocalypse. Buildings are hugged by overgrown plants and leafless trees. She sees a distant ferris wheel covered in rust and snow. Although what distresses Diana the most is the fact that the windows of the buildings are all smashed. Even those on the outskirts, those furthest away from the disaster zone. Despite the fact that she does not want to look away from her surroundings for a second, she cannot help but observe the ground for footprints. Once these are found, she will return to her car and discontinue the mission.