“Where do we want to go first?” Alexei’s straight, white teeth gleamed in the moon glow. “I definitely want to visit the town square.”
“We’re not here for sightseeing. Let’s go to the stadium first. That’s where the sighting was.” Armina doubted the veracity of the email she had received from a viewer who claimed to have stolen into Pripyat at night and caught sight of a ghost moving through the trees inside the old stadium. She pointed the way, and they set off through the deserted husk of the once-vibrant city.
“It’s safe, isn’t it? The radiation, I mean?” Oleg examined his hand as if searching for signs of genetic mutation.
“Of course it is.” Armina rolled her eyes, though her friends could not see it because she was once again recording them. “They’ve been letting people take tours through here for years. They wouldn’t do it if the radiation was too high. Besides, this is not where the leak occurred.”
“Close enough. Maybe it’s not ghosts people have spotted here, but fallout victims! Horrible mutants that have been hiding underground all these years, just waiting to come out and feast on human flesh.” Alexei elbowed Oleg, who forgot to favor his ankle long enough to chase Alexei ten meters and punch him in the shoulder.
A shiver crept down Armina’s spine, like the icy breath of a nether spirit. It’s just the night air, she told herself. The river is close by, and that makes everything cold and damp. Of course she didn’t believe in ghosts any more than she believed in the power of séances, but viewers did, and the sudden closing of this ghost town a year ago, coupled with the strange rumors, made perfect fodder for a paranormal investigation. The best part was, they didn’t actually need to find anything. As long as they filmed a strange shadow, an odd light or a door or gate that appeared to move under its own power, viewers would go crazy. Still, Oleg’s words put her to mind of the strange stories they’d heard of late about the goings-on in Pripyat. Oleg insisted there had to be a reason the rumors had cropped up so suddenly, but who was to say? Perhaps tonight they’d find out.
They halted in the street before the hulking forms of the old family hostels. All along the buildings, silhouettes painted by graffiti artists lurked in the shadows as if waiting to spring. Armina moved out into the middle of the road and motioned for the boys to take their places. With her fingers, she made a silent countdown.
3... 2… 1…
“Greetings! I am Alexei, and this is Oleg.” Alexei elbowed the blond boy who grunted and waved. Oleg was the worst choice ever for a co-host, but perhaps he would provide comic relief. “And welcome to the first-ever episode of ‘SpiritWeb,’ we…” The words froze on his lips as a mournful howl cut through the night.
Armina strained to listen over the sound of her pounding heart. They all stood in expectant silence, but the sound did not come again. A wolf, she thought. Animals roamed the surrounding area, and sometimes wandered into the abandoned city. No reason a wolf might not be among them. They would simply have to exercise caution. She motioned for Alexei to continue.
“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we are here. We are paranormal investigators, and we are bringing you to a haunted ghost town. Until recently, people were allowed to tour this place, but no more. The government no longer issues permits, and has warned residents to keep away. Want to know why?”
Silence hung in the air until Alexei elbowed Oleg, who was still gazing off in the direction of the howl.
“Oh!” Oleg gave a shake like a dog drying himself, and took up the explanation. “The authorities have received reports of strange happenings here. Odd noises, like what you just heard, but also spookier, more human sounds, like people suffering. Shadowy forms leaping from building-to-building, or moving from one pool of darkness to another with superhuman speed. And we are here…” He screwed up his face. “We are here to…”
“We are here to get to the bottom of this mystery,” Alexei finished. “Come along with us, as we investigate the true last frontier.”
He smiled like a television news host waiting for a station break, and Armina indicated that they should investigate the sound they had just heard. Oleg paled, but Alexei, to his credit, went with it.
“Let’s begin by investigating that sound.”