The Echoes Of Chernobyl Are Made Of Darkness
51:07 Share

"This is stupid," Henry Waller said as he set up three laptops on the portable fold-out table he'd hiked into the area. "Quit bitching," Callista Jones said, from her side of the safe tent they'd set up as their base of operations. "We shouldn't be here," Henry said. "This is stupid. You've mentioned that more than a few times," Callista responded. "Three times before we even got into the Land Rover. At least six or seven times while we drove out here.

and I counted eight times during the hike alone. Ditch the mood, Henry. It's getting old. Yeah, well, making me carry all this shit didn't help the mood. Henry protested. You're built like a goddamn ox, Callista said. She unlocked a small case and began taking out different pieces of camera equipment. You can handle it. That's what everyone thinks, yet no one ever asks, Henry said. They look at my size and assume I have no problem being the pack mule.

"Isn't that on your resume?" Jasper Lyons asked as he came into the tent, wearing a level A hazmat suit with the hood undone, hanging down against his upper back. "Pack mule, whiny bitch, crybaby." "Better a crybaby than a moron willing to walk into a hot zone wearing a glorified baggy," Henry snapped. "This shit is pure Tyvek 400, baby," Jasper said as he turned in a slow circle. "I'm safe as can be in this thing."

"You look like an idiot," Henry said. "A soon-to-be-dead idiot. Haha, you know I look hot," Jasper said. "Admit you want a piece of this. You do look hot, but more in an overheated way than a sexy way," Callista said. She carried a harness over to Jasper. "Arms up, beautiful. See, Henry?" Jasper said. "Cal gets it. I'm damn sexy in this thing."

"The only thing sexy about any of this crap is the payday," Henry responded. "So you and your jumpsuit and that camera rig better get us the footage we need. I didn't haul my ass through a fucking war zone and out in the middle of fucking nowhere to come back empty-handed. Get the shots and sell the mystery so we can get paid."

"Hey brother, that's what I'm here for," Jasper said. "To get the good shots and get us paid. Hold still, dammit!" Callista snapped at Jasper. "I need to tighten this, or it'll flop everywhere." Callista clipped two straps up under Jasper's armpits, then cinched the straps until Jasper grunted.

I'll barely be able to move my arms, Jasper complained. Who's the whiny bitch now? Henry said and laughed. Still you, Callista said. Then she patted Jasper on the shoulders and backed up. She twirled her fingers. Spin around quickly. I want to see how it holds up to fast motion.

Jasper did as he was told and spun around Sound of Music style, which resulted in him almost knocking one of the laptops off the folding table. "Watch it, dipshit!" Henry snapped. "This working for you?" Jasper asked, giving Callista a wink. "We'll see," Callista said and turned to face Henry. "You got that shit up and running yet?" "You got that shit up and running yet?" Henry responded in a snotty, mocking voice.

He typed quickly at the middle laptop then stepped back. "Bingo, bitches!" The screen on the left came to life with an image of Callista and Henry as Jasper faced the two. The screen on the right showed a blurry whitish background. The screen in the middle was still blank. "Turn around," Henry said.

Jasper began to spin again. "No, no, no!" Henry said. "I didn't say spin, I said turn around. You know, just turn. Once. Not even a full 360, 180. Can you handle that, Jasper? Dude, you are less fun than our guide." Jasper said, and turned to face the entrance to the tent. The right screen became a poorly framed image of Callista and Henry. The left screen became blurry and whitish.

"Hey, where is Olek?" Callista asked. "He was going back to unload the food and water, but I haven't seen him since we set the tent up. I don't know," Jasper said and shrugged. "Don't do that," Henry said. "Do what? Shrug?" Jasper asked. "Yeah, don't," Henry replied. "It messes with the rig. Then it's a good thing I'll have this," Jasper said and turned back around so he could step over to the folding table.

He slid a small case out from underneath and set it on the table. With two clicks, he had the case open and was pulling out a handheld camera rig that was basically a pistol grip with a GoPro bolted to the top. "Action cam Jasper at your service," Jasper said, and turned the camera on. The middle laptop screen came to life and showed what the handheld camera was capturing.

No, seriously, guys, Kalista said and walked to the tent entrance. Where did Olek go? Who knows the mysterious ways of Ukrainians, Jasper said in a faux spooky voice. The dude's country has been invaded by Russia. Maybe he's taking a break and just catching his breath. That makes no sense, Kalista said and unzipped the tent flaps. I'll be right back.

"Careful out there," Jasper said. "Don't let the scary Chernobyl wolves get you. Fuck off," Callista said and left. She zipped the flaps back up, leaving Jasper and Henry alone together. "Okay, dude, seriously, what's up your butt?" Jasper asked Henry. "You have been mopey and moody and bitchy ever since we left the hotel yesterday. I thought a Chernobyl expedition was on your bucket list."

"It is," Henry replied while he checked the three laptops. "Then what's the deal?" Jasper asked. "No deal," Henry said. "I just have a bad feeling. You always have a bad feeling," Jasper said. "You should see a gastroenterologist about that. This feeling is like Kathmandu." Henry responded. Jasper went quiet. It was a quiet that said a lot. "You get it now?

Henry asked, when Jasper didn't say anything in response to his Katmandu comment. "We said we wouldn't bring that up anymore," Jasper said. "Not cool, man. I just want you to know that my bad feeling isn't because I ate some chicken keev that had gone off," Henry said. "I had the same feeling in Katmandu as I do here, and we both know how that turned out." "Yeah, well, we're here," Jasper said. "And none of us can afford to turn back now.

"I know," Henry said. "That's exactly why I-" The entrance zipper screamed upward, and Callista burst into the tent. "He's fucking gone!" Callista shouted. "Who?" Henry asked. "Olek! We can hear you!" Jasper said and held his hands out, palms down, in a placating gesture. "Switch to your inside voice. Fuck you, Jasper!" Callista cried. "Olek is fucking gone!"

"Did he leave the food and water?" Henry asked as he rubbed his face. "Please tell me he left the-" "No! The only thing he left is us!" Callista yelled as she slammed her fists against her thighs. "I knew I should have watched his ass! You were!" Jasper said. "That's the problem. You've been flirting with that Slavic stud from the moment he picked us up at the hotel."

"'Yeah, because that's how you get shit done in places like this,' Callista said. "'Tight t-shirt, a friendly smile, maybe a light brush of the fingers on the arm. How the hell do you think I got us out of Bogota?' "'By asking nicely?' "'No, you idiot. I cocked a hip and pushed the girls together. That's how.' "'I assume the Land Rover is gone too,' Henry said, sounding resigned to their fate already.'

"What? I don't know," Callista said. "I didn't hike back to the road. Are you joking?" Henry replied. He threw up his hands and his fingertips pressed against the ceiling of the tent. "Careful, man," Jasper said. "This tent cost more than Olek's Land Rover. Where are you going?" Callista asked as Henry unzipped the tent's flaps. "This whiny bitch-pack mule is going to hike back to the road and see if Olek is still there," Henry said. "Which is what Cal should have done.

Screw you, Callista said as Henry left the tent and zipped the flaps back up behind him. No way am I hiking back through radioactive woods at night alone. Whatever, Henry shouted from outside the tent. I guess it's just us, Jasper said and raised an eyebrow. Never, ever, ever going to happen, Jasper, Callista said. You are not my type and never will be.

"Too much man for you?" Jasper asked, giving her two thumbs up. "Too much Jasper for me? Hell yeah!" Jasper said. "That's not a compliment." "Says you." "Says any woman with eyes and a brain and a beating heart and… I get it, I get it." Jasper interrupted. "Geez." While they waited for Henry to return, Callista went through and double-checked every function of the camera rig.

"Does it really have to be so tight?" Jasper asked. "If we want a stable image, then yeah." Callista answered. "You've worn this a million times. Why are you complaining so much?" "It pinches under my arms in this suit." Jasper said. After a few minutes, Callista went to the tent entrance and touched the zipper. "Maybe one of us should go look for Henry," Callista said. "He's been gone a long..." The zipper flew up and Callista screamed as she stumbled away from the entrance.

Just me, Henry said, slipping inside the tent. Olek is in the Land Rover. He's back at the road? Callista asked. Why didn't he bring the water and food on that special cart of his? He was so proud of those all-terrain wheels. He caught some chatter on the radio, Henry said. He's staying close to the Land Rover just in case. Just in case of what? Jasper asked. Chernobyl wolves? He laughed, but Henry and Callista didn't.

"That's a joke," he said. "Russians, you moron. There are reports of Russian troop movements nearby, so Olek is going to keep an eye on things from the road. He said to stay off the radios." "Stay off the radios?" Callista asked. "But how about we talk to each other when Jasper goes into the plant?" "I know, I know," Henry said. "I said the same thing to Olek." "What did our guide say?" Jasper asked. "He said to do what we want," Henry replied. "It's our funeral."

"He said that? That's a lot of words for Olek," Callista said. "It was implied in the shrug he gave me," Henry said. "Well, we don't do what we do because we like the safe, easy life," Jasper said. "And there's no way I'm going into the plant without comms available," Henry shrugged. "Can we get this show on the road or what?" Jasper said. "Might as well," Callista said. "The sooner we get the footage, the sooner we get the hell out of here."

That's something I can agree with, Henry said. Let's run through the cameras and... Already did, dude, Jasper said and clapped his hands together. No more prep. It's go time. I hate it when you say that, Ballista said. Jasper shrugged and laughed. Look at me. I speak Ukrainian. It's all in the shoulders, I guess. What are you talking about? Ballista asked.

"The shrug!" Jasper said. "Like Olek, I shrugged in Ukrainian. Just fucking go already," Henry said. "And be fucking careful. I still have a bad feeling."

Did you survive the curse of Frost Lake Manor? If you've already listened to Tony Martirano's exclusive Halloween story, then you know just how terrifyingly brilliant it was. But the horror doesn't stop there. Be sure to check out Tony Martirano's other bone-chilling stories, including the Haunted series and Sinister series available on Amazon.

These horror-filled tales of fear and suspense are guaranteed to keep you up at night. If The Curse of Frost Lake Manor left you wanting more, Martirano's Haunted and Sinister series will take you even deeper into the nightmare. You can find them on Amazon by searching for Tony Martirano's Haunted and Sinister series or by clicking the direct links in the episode description of The Curse of Frost Lake Manor. It took Jasper an hour before he reached the edge of the former nuclear plant.

"I can see the containment structure," Jasper said as he stood between two gnarled and stunted trees. Brown grass blew in the breeze, tall enough to brush across Jasper's Tyvek-covered thighs. "Huh?" "Huh? What do you mean by 'huh?'" Henry's voice asked over the comms. "What are you saying?" "This containment structure is supposed to be sealed, right?" Jasper asked. "Supposed to be, yeah," Henry said.

"But there's a way in on the north." "Oh, there's a way in, alright," Jasper interrupted. "And it's directly in front of me." "Twist your body to the right," Callista said over the comms. "How's that?" Jasper asked. "Your other right," Callista said. "Sorry," Jasper said. "How about now?" "Jesus Christ," Callista said. "Someone blew a fucking hole in the structure big enough to drive a tank through." "Bigger," Jasper said.

"The camera must be distorting the dimensions. You can get two tanks through this hole." "Let's call it," Henry said. "What?" Jasper and Callista exclaimed at the same time. "I said we should call it," Henry said. "This isn't supposed to be breached like that. This is not good." "Dude, chill," Jasper responded. "I'm the guy out here, and I don't see anything worth getting worried about."

"Other than the melted down nuclear reactor, you mean?" Callista said. "Well, yeah, that," Jasper said. "But I don't see any tanks or trucks or soldiers or anything. It's quiet and dark here." "I'm still not happy about this," Henry said. "We should cut our losses and get gone."

"Hey, do you see what I'm seeing?" Jasper asked, and crept slowly closer to the broken structure that had been designed to surround the original containment sarcophagus, which in turn surrounded the reactor itself. "Jasper, do not get closer." Henry snapped. "No, no, I think I see what he means," Callista said. "Take a look at this," Jasper said as he stopped by the first pile of rubble, his handheld camera taking in the thick pieces of broken concrete.

Something didn't break into the structure. Something broke out. That's crazy, Henry said. Dude, look! Jasper exclaimed. He lifted the camera and carefully documented what he was seeing, which was rubble strewn outward and away from the containment structure, not rubble broken up inside. Maybe there was an explosion, Callista said.

"I'm not seeing scorch marks on any of this concrete," Jasper said. There was silence for a moment, then Henry said, "He's right. We'd know if it was an explosion. Could be compromised structural integrity in which case you should not step foot inside there, Jasper." "Too late," Jasper said as he worked his way through the rubble until he was standing directly outside the containment wall. "I'm here to do a job, and I'm gonna do that job. Wish me luck."

Then he crossed the threshold of the containment wall and entered the sealed reactor area. "'Pay attention to your rads,' Callista warned. "'You check that bracelet on your arm every five minutes. If it goes full red, then you get the fuck out of there fast.' "'But I got the Tyvek, baby,' Jasper said. "'Yeah. Nuclear disasters don't give a fuck about your Tyvek, dumbass,' Callista said. "'If your bracelet goes red, you book it. Understood?'

"Yes, Mom," Jasper said. "Dick," Callista responded. Jasper kept moving. In the darkness, with only the light from his camera rig illuminating the space, shadows stretched and warped all around Jasper. He tried not to let it bother him, but it felt like with every step he took, he was being stalked by something just out of range of his peripheral vision.

"What are you doing?" Callista snapped over the comms. "Why do you keep twisting like that?" "It's hard to see and move in the suit," Jasper said. "I have to turn my whole body." "How's that Tyvek now, baby?" Henry asked. "Shut up," Jasper said. "Still doesn't explain why you're-" Callista started to say.

What was that? Jasper asked. I lost you. What was that? Henry asked. What was what? Jasper replied. Guys, you're confusing the shit out of me. What is going on? The sound of rubble shifting echoed from directly behind Jasper. He spun about, aiming his handheld camera's light back the way he'd just come. Nothing. Guys? Guys, you there? Jasper asked.

There was no response. "Guys!" Jasper shouted. "Guys!" Came an echo of his voice. Jasper whirled around, his camera aiming this way and that way and all over. "Guys, this is not funny!" Jasper said. His breathing became ragged and Jasper desperately wanted to yank the hood off his suit and take in a lungful of some cold fresh air. But he knew if he did, that where he stood, he'd also die where he stood.

The statistic was a person could live for approximately five minutes before he or she started to hemorrhage internally and bleed out. That was if the person's brain didn't boil in their head first. Although, Jasper wasn't sure that last part was real. He'd heard it from a guy at the bar the last- "Jasper? Can you hear me?" Callista called over the comms. "Jesus, there you are!" Jasper replied. "What the fuck happened?"

"Henry thought he heard something outside and went to look," Callista said. "Then the comms went out, and I've been trying to fix them." "They're fixed now," Jasper said. "What did Henry find?" "I don't know," Callista said. "He hasn't come back." "Is he answering his radio?" Jasper asked. With a voice back on the other end of the comms, Jasper felt a little more confident and started walking deeper into the containment structure.

"He's not answering his radio, or replying when I yell for him," Galista said. "But I probably shouldn't be yelling if Russians are around." "Or so Olex says," Jasper replied. "I bet the guy is fishing for a higher payout. He's making it look like we need to give him danger pay." "We're in a fucking war zone outside Chernobyl," Galista said. "Danger pay is the only pay around here." "You know what I mean," Jasper said. He rounded a corner and froze. "What is it?"

"What'd you see?" Galista asked. "How'd you know I saw something?" Jasper said. "The way you stopped short there." Galista said. "Turn a little to your left. Your other left." "Can you see it?" Jasper whispered. Before him was a huge concrete wall. There were doorways cut into the lower half, but the rest of the wall stretched up at least six stories.

Jasper craned his neck, but everything above was lost to darkness and impossible to see. Except what was on the concrete wall was not impossible to see. "Is that an outline of a bird?" Callista asked. "If it is, it's a big fucking bird," Jasper said. He took a step closer and lifted the handheld higher. "Shit, the GoPro signal just went out," Callista said.

"It's still recording to the internal storage," Jasper replied. "Yes, but I can't see anything on my end," Callista said. "Angle your body rig up just a bit. A little bit more. There. Hold still for about thirty seconds so we get it all." "This is not a comfortable position," Jasper said. "Position," Inigo replied. "What the fuck?" Jasper cried as he spun around. Only darkness greeted him from behind.

"What are you doing?" Callista asked. "I said 30 seconds." "I heard something," Jasper said. "Or someone." "Did you just say someone?" Callista asked. "It's probably an echo," Jasper said, more to convince himself than to explain to Callista. "Yeah, just an echo of my voice." "Voice," another echo replied. "Own voice. Echo." "No," Jasper whispered. "That's not how echoes work."

"What is that?" Callista asked. "I don't fucking know!" Jasper snapped. "But I'm leaving! Someone is in here fucking with me, and I refuse to die by some sick, sadistic Russian dillhole's hands! Not happening!" "Henry? Is that you?" Callista asked. "Cal, did you hear me? I'm bailing!" Jasper said, and started to retrace his steps. "Cal? Henry? Anyone?"

"Um, hold on Jasper," Ballista said. "Henry, stop fucking about. Get your ass in- oh my god!" Static exploded in Jasper's ear and he pawed at the Tyvek hood, then froze as he realized he was about to kill himself if he removed the hood. So he crouched down and waited out the static despite the piercing agony it produced in his head. Then it all went quiet, except for a ringing in his ears.

"Cal?" Jasper whispered. "Cal, you there?" Jasper waited but there was no response. "Henry, can you hear me?" Jasper called. A clatter of concrete rubble got Jasper to his feet. He turned left, he turned right. He spun in every direction, the lights from his cameras making shadows dance and leap and reach for him. "Fucking hell!" He cried, trying not to panic. "Guys? Guys!"

"Guys!" the echo replied. "Shut the fuck up!" Jasper yelled. Then he stopped spinning and froze in place once again. He angled the handheld rig up at the concrete wall. There was no outline of a bird anymore. "Wrong wall," Jasper said to himself. He turned to his left, but the wall in that direction was very different from the one he'd seen the bird outline on. He turned to the right, and there was a long concrete tunnel that had caved in halfway down in that direction.

Jasper looked back the way he'd come. Nothing there either. This can't be the wall, Jasper said to himself. I must have panicked and moved into a different space. Different space, a voice cackled from behind Jasper. Space, space, space. Jasper turned and saw nothing except darkness. Then he realized that the darkness was moving. It was undulating like it was alive. Oh, shit, no, Jasper said and backed away from whatever he was looking at.

"Shit, no." The undulating darkness responded. Jasper turned and ran. "Shit, no. Shit, no. Shit, no." echoed from behind him. Jasper's lights caught the outline of one of the doors set into the concrete wall. He sprinted straight for it and was almost there when his feet slid on some chunks of debris. Jasper came crashing down hard, but Panic refused to let him lay there. Hand over hand, Jasper crawled through the door until he was on the other side.

Then he rolled himself to the side, sat up, and shoved his back against the wall, terrified that the sound of his breath would betray him. Jasper held the air in his lungs for as long as he could as he listened for signs of whatever it was that he'd seen. But all he could hear was his pulse pounding in his ears as his lungs grew tighter and tighter. Jasper had to let out the bad air and take a deep breath. When he had oxygen in his lungs once more, Jasper tried to calm himself down.

Just a shadow, Jasper thought. And only echoes. Big space, weird shit. That makes shadows and echoes. Jasper didn't believe a word of what he told himself. He counted to 30. Then he counted to 30 again. On the fifth round of counting to 30, Jasper stood up.

He inched to the doorway, then leaned slowly out to take a look at the way he'd come. The shadow struck, and Jasper was knocked off his feet and sent flying back a good twenty yards. Pain exploded in his back as he slammed into a metal railing still semi-attached to a concrete walkway that had fallen from above. Moaning and close to losing his mind, Jasper found a gap between the collapsed walkway and the floor.

Without hesitation, Jasper crawled through the gap and made himself as small as he could get in his hazmat suit. But even hidden under the collapsed walkway, Jasper still had a view through the gap and could see his side of the concrete wall. The shadow was squeezing itself through one of the doors. Then it was inside and standing there. "A fucking bird?" Jasper mumbled, then bit his tongue at his mistake, hoping the thing hadn't hurt him.

The shadow stood tall and spread its wide, pure black wings. Part of the thing moved where Jasper assumed the thing's head was. Then it crouched low, and two pitch-black eyes gleamed in his direction. "Shit no, shit no, shit no!" the huge shadow bird, or whatever it was, cawed. Then it moved in fast, and Jasper finally realized he still had the lights on. "Fuck!" he shouted and scrambled to switch them off.

but he couldn't get them off before a massive eye filled the gap between the floor and the collapsed walkway. A black iris held a black pupil, which made up the entire black eye that stared at Jasper. The comms crackled to life. "Is someone there?" a gruff voice asked. "Hello there, is this Jasper?" Olek, Jasper was so glad to hear someone on the comms that he almost replied, but he'd learned that lesson already and remained quiet.

Not that it mattered much. The eye blinked, but Jasper almost missed it, because the bird or creature or whatever it was had eyelids just as black as the rest of it. A screech from out in the reactor made Jasper's bladder clench, and he fought to keep from pissing his suit.

Shit no, shit no, shit no! Is this Jasper? Hello there. There is the Jasper. I begin to think you are dead man. Still could be. Where are Callista and Henry?

"What that?" Olek responded. "I barely hear you." "Colesta and Henry," Jasper said a little louder. "Where are they?" "Gone," Olek said. "Taken by a shadow." "A shadow?" Jasper asked. "Did it look like a bird?" "Large bird," Olek answered. "Very large bird." "That doesn't make sense," Jasper said. "I saw it too. It was here with me." "More than one bird," Olek said.

Jasper swallowed hard. His whole body shook with a shiver of fear. "If one is here," Jasper mused, "maybe they live here." "The Jasper should leave," Olek said. "You leave and go west for three kilometers. I meet Jasper on the road." "Yeah, but what if that thing brought Callista and Henry here?" Jasper said. "I couldn't find them." "The Callista and the Henry dead," Olek said.

"You saw them die?" Jasper asked. It was a question he never wanted to ask, but he always knew he would have to one day, considering the situations they got themselves into. "No, I see blood," Olek replied. "A lot of blood." "That doesn't mean-" Jasper said, then jerked his head as noise exploded over the comms. Gunshots. Automatic fire. When the gunshots ended, Jasper waited a few seconds then called, "Olek?" There was no response.

A screech echoed through the containment structure. It was answered by a smaller screech. Then Jasper distinctly heard, "Shit no, shit no, shit no, shit no!" "This is not Catman 2," Jasper said. "I won't let it be." Jasper eased his suited bulk out from under the collapsed walkway. He stood slowly, checking every inch of the suit he could reach and see. It was hard to tell, but Jasper was pretty sure the suit hadn't ripped or been breached.

The bracelet on his wrist was a yellowish-green. Jasper pivoted left, then right, and finally saw a second tunnel he'd missed before. A tunnel that was not caved in halfway down. "Come on, come on," Jasper said as he switched all the camera lights back on, since he never could get all of them off anyway. With pure terror in his belly, Jasper took a few steps toward the tunnel. "Come on, come on," he said again.

Then a screech echoed from down the tunnel, and Jasper knew for sure which way to go. He headed off, his handheld camera up, his body rig lighting the way. As Jasper went further and further down the tunnel, he noticed his footsteps were getting quieter and quieter. He paused and looked down, lifting his boots up one by one. What dripped and slid off his boots looked like bird crap, except it was pitch black, just like the few feathers that were strewn around the tunnel's floor.

If Jasper had been on the fence about what he was dealing with, that fence collapsed under the evidence beneath him. "A fucking bird!" he whispered. A screech called out and was met with a second screech. Both came dead ahead. At that point, Jasper could have turned back around. He knew he should turn back around. That was smart. That was self-preservation. Jasper was all about being smart, and he was even more about self-preservation.

But in the back of his mind, all he heard was Olek saying that Callista and Henry were gone. And despite the narcissistic persona Jasper liked to present to the world, his colleagues, his friends, meant everything to him. No, it would not be another Kathmandu. He would not allow it to be. Jasper picked up his pace and hurried down the tunnel, careful not to slide in either the bird shit or slip on an errant feather.

When he reached the end of the tunnel, the space opened into a massive chamber-like enclosure. Jasper had studied the schematics for Chernobyl, the original schematics of the plant and the schematics for the subsequent enclosures built around the reactor in order to contain the massive amounts of radiation still emitting from the melted core. None of those schematics matched what Jasper was looking at. He had no idea where he was.

What he did know was there was a pile of concrete about 20 feet high in front of him, and perched on top of that pile was what Jasper could only describe as, well, a nest. It would have been comical if it wasn't so terrifying. The nest was made of not twigs and little branches, but the trunks of entire trees. And not small trees, not saplings. Fully grown, mature trees were twisted and bent around each other to create the nest.

Jasper had witnessed a lot of strange shit over the years hunting mysteries with Henry and Callista, but he'd never seen a nest so big you could sit a house inside it. Then the debate began to war in Jasper's head. Did he climb up the pile and try to get a look inside the nest? Or did he turn tail and get out of Chernobyl like he should have done in the first place? The debate continued until Jasper heard a noise that sent his stomach up into his throat.

"Please no," Callista's voice said so quietly that Jasper had thought he'd imagined it at first. "Please no," the voice said again. The voice was followed by the distinct sound of crunching and cracking, which was then followed by a solid, wet flop. "Please no," the voice echoed through the massive chamber. "I'm coming, Callista," Jasper thought as he tucked his handheld camera into his belt, then reached up and took hold of the highest hunk of concrete he could reach.

Hand over gloved hand, Jasper made his way to the bottom edge of the nest. He studied the twisted tree trunks and saw a way up. It wouldn't be easy, but Jasper had climbed worse. The trick was doing it so he didn't rip his suit. With careful handhold by careful handhold, and very slow, deliberate placement of his boots, Jasper was able to get himself up to the lip of the nest. He was exhausted, he was terrified, and he felt like a fool for taking the risk he was taking.

But he didn't stop. Neither did the crunching, the cracking, and the occasional wet plops. Jasper started to reach his gloved hand over the lip of the nest, then paused. He realized he didn't need to literally rush headfirst into danger. Jasper wedged his body up against two tree trunks so he could securely get the leverage he needed to take the handheld camera from his belt.

Then he switched on the light, made sure the camera was recording, and eased it up over the lip of the nest. There were some muffled screeches, and the crunching paused briefly. But then the sounds returned to their previous rhythm. Jasper let the camera record for 20 seconds before he lowered it back down and fumbled at the controls. It was difficult with the gloves, but Jasper managed to rewind the footage a bit in order to see what he'd recorded.

The vomit made it from his stomach up into his throat, then paused just as it pressed against his lips. Jasper slowly swallowed his own sick as he stared at what he saw on the GoPro's video screen. Callista's body was torn apart and strewn about the nest while two things pecked at it and devoured her piece by piece by piece.

The only reason Jasper knew it was Callista was because of the bloody shirt that hung from a snapped branch on one of the trees that made up the nest, and her severed head that was sitting upside down on the far side of the nest, close to one of the thing's black talons. Then one of the black beaks opened, letting bits of flesh and drops of blood fall to the bottom of the nest as it said, Please no. Jasper fought vomit once more. He won the second time, though.

Then he took several slow, quiet breaths and got himself together. Calista was dead. That realization hit Jasper hard. He'd told himself that he wouldn't let another Katmandu happen, but what he saw, what he'd gotten himself into, was way worse than Katmandu. Jasper stopped to play back at the footage and put the camera back on his belt. He started slowly back down the concrete pile until he was on the chamber floor once again.

Yes, Callista was dead, and she died in a horrible, horrible way. But Henry could still be out there somewhere, and that was what Jasper held in the front of his mind as he took slow, deliberate steps back to the tunnel. Except he was having a hard time finding the tunnel. He looked all about, but the space was so massive that even the bright lights of the camera rig were having a hard time illuminating distinct features.

So Jasper walked in the direction his instincts told him the tunnel would be found. But the tunnel wasn't there. It was nowhere to be seen. Where the tunnel should have been was just darkness. A huge blob of darkness. Jasper took a couple of steps back and looked up instead of side to side. There, about 30 feet or so up, Jasper saw something dangling. It was hard to tell what it was or why it was there.

But Jasper saw it and knew it hadn't been there before. Then the sound of dripping reached his ears through the Tyvek hood. Jasper angled his view to the chamber floor, and the camera lights instantly picked up the red staining the concrete. Blood. A lot of blood. Jasper took several more steps back, knowing he had to widen his perspective. "Oh, fuck me," Jasper muttered when he realized what he was looking at. Mama Bird had returned to the nest.

and in her huge beak was a body that was dripping blood like a leaky faucet. Mama Bird was bringing more food for her babies. Mama Bird was bringing them Henry. Jasper continued to retreat from the huge creature. "Shit no, shit no, shit no, shit no, shit no!" echoed from behind Jasper. "Please no, please no, please no, please no!" joined the echo. Mama Bird responded by tossing Henry's corpse high into the air. Jasper craned his neck to see where it landed.

but the suit blocked his view. The distinct thump of a body hitting the bottom of the nest, followed by happy screeches and then cracking, crunching, and wet plops, told Jasper that Mama had found her mark. And that's when all thought of rescue or self-preservation, anything rational really, left Jasper's head. He turned and ran screaming. He had no idea which way he was going. He had no idea if he was running deeper into the containment structure or if he was running to safety.

But run is what Jasper did, until his legs went out from under him and he fell face-first onto the ground. He lay there for several minutes, expecting a giant beak to pierce his suit and dig straight into his back when death didn't cleave him in two. Jasper got up onto his hands and knees, then when he still did not get murdered by a pitch-black demon bird the size of a city bus, Jasper stood up. He was outside the containment structure.

Despite fleeing in blind terror, Jasper had gotten himself not only outside, but he was a good 50 yards inside the stunted and gnarled treeline. He'd tripped over a root, and off to Jasper's left, he could just make out the dawn of light filtering down through the bald branches. He'd survived the night. He'd survived Chernobyl. And he knew which direction west was. Olek had said to head west and meet him on the road.

So, with the dawn to his back, Jasper hiked and hiked, pushing his bone-tired body and weak legs to the very limits of his endurance. Then he saw the road and ducked deep so he could sprint the last few yards. "Stay there," a voice called out, and the distinct sound of a rifle being charged reached Jasper's ears. Without even being asked, Jasper held his hands above his head as he froze in place.

Then he saw the Land Rover and the man standing next to it with an AK-47 in his hands and blood on his jacket. The Jasper? Oleg asked. Lord of the above, you made it. Holy fuck. Jasper said and fell to his knees. Holy fuck. Stay there. Oleg said and was lost in sight from behind the Land Rover.

When he returned, he had a bright yellow canister in his hands instead of the rifle. It looked like a fire extinguisher but slightly different. "You will hold still," Oleg said, and then Jasper found himself enveloped in the thick white vapor. Once the vapor had dissipated, Jasper was held up onto his knees and his hood was pulled off. Air had never tasted so good, and Jasper gulped it in. "We get you out of suit," Oleg said.

He did not wait for Jasper to agree and just began to tear the suit off Jasper's body. When free of the suit, Jasper only stood there in his t-shirt and thin pants and shivered in the morning chill. "Here," Oleg said and tossed Jasper a backpack. "I saved some of your gear. Clothes and that." Jasper managed to get the backpack unzipped and yanked out a pair of jeans and a flannel shirt. They were Henry's, not his, but he didn't care.

When dressed, Olek guided Jasper into the passenger seat of the Land Rover. "Not mine," Olek said when he got into the driver's seat and saw Jasper staring at the blood on his clothes. "Russian blood." "Okay," was all Jasper could say. "Now we get you to airport and we leave this place," Olek said. "We?" Jasper asked as Olek pulled the Land Rover out onto the road and floored it.

Oleg said and smiled. "I have laptops. I even have the Jasper GoPro in box in case of radiation." Then he looked at Jasper and turned that smile on him. "I have footage of Monster and you have client with money. We now partners."

Jasper closed his eyes then shot them back open as images of the nest and its horrors flashed through his mind. Olek said, Jasper said,

Then we go to airport and fly to New York so we get rich with camera footage," Olek said. His smile wider and wider with every word. "Airport is good," Jasper said. "But coffee is better." "Coffee?" Olek said. "Strong, strong coffee," Jasper said as his eyes closed, then shot back open again. "So I never sleep again."

"Never sleep again," Olek said and laughed. "Americans are funny. You see bad things and you get all sad. Ukrainians see bad things every day and we keep going." "Good for you," Jasper said. "Good for you." Then he leaned his head against the window once more and stared down the road as the dawn light brought on the day. He fought sleep and fought it and fought it, but knew he would lose. So he straightened up and looked at Olek.

You ever been to Kathmandu? Jasper asked. No, never. Oleg replied. Then I've got a story for you. Jasper said and started talking. He kept talking until they reached the airport. Hey guys, thanks for listening. I want to give you all a quick heads up regarding some upcoming political ads you may start hearing leading up to this year's presidential election.

These ads do not represent my own political viewpoint. So if you hear a political ad play on the podcast and it's not in my own voice, then it has absolutely nothing to do with me personally as a podcaster. Thank you again for being a dedicated listener of mine, and I can't wait to have another amazing year with you guys. I'll see you in the next episode.