© Dec 2016 – Google
The tourists have been here for quite a while, but due to the dropping radiation levels, I’m unconscious most of the time. Pretty soon, I’ll fade away altogether, though I expect that will be a blessing.
At first, I wasn’t sure if I was dead or not. Of course, the Chernobyl accident killed everyone, including my maintenance team, and the citizens evacuated from Pripyat because of the danger, but what happened to me was unique. Did the radiation convert my body to this invisible plasma, or is this the nuclear representation of my soul?
As the radiation levels began to subside, so did I. It’s been a lonely existence, but somehow these tourist seem like an intrusion to me. After all, for years, I was the sole King of my domain, the only one who could live in my personal city. Now I’m just a dying artifact of another age.
I wrote this for the What Pegman Saw challenge. The idea is to use a Google Maps image and/or location as the prompt for crafting a piece of flash fiction no more than 150 words long. My word count is 150.
Today, the Pegman takes us to Pripyat, Ukraine, which was a community abandoned after the Chernobyl disaster. Because of that, the city has a unique history, and due to rapidly dropping radiation levels, people can go on tours of Pripyat now.
Of course, I had to add another wrinkle.
To read other tales based on this prompt, visit InLinkz.com.
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James – powerful – felt so real
And side note – the radiation topic does worry me a bit
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Yes, it’s pretty terrifying. In real life, radiation just screws up your body so you die slowly or die very quickly depending on your exposure.
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I know some folks (my health mentors) who have helped a few folks heal from radiation exposure using iodine – (lugols is great) it is done carefully and while I have used it on my own – the docs test the urine and when it starts showing up int he urine – it is no longer being absorbed. They start with twp ills and fo to 1/4 – anyhow, really works.
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The curse of the radiation-proof survivor rattling around the dead city. Well done. Was he the result of a SOviet experiement, or just naturally unlucky? I read an arcticle about the dogs of Chernobyl that had a similiar tone. Well done.
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One of those “freak of nature” things. I did read an actual study, though now I can’t remember where, about the effects of the Chernobyl accident in ants. Apparently, it really did strange things to their behavior.
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Those pesky tourists coming in and wreaking havoc with his domain, though, like the earth’s natural rssources, his much needed radium is diminishing…
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I wasn’t kidding about the tours. The city was evacuated in two days in 1986, but due to the short half lives of the types of materials released, it’s safe to go back in…for a limited period of time.
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I know.
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Thought provoking little tale. I don’t know if I risk winding up in your spam folder by posting this link, but your story made me think of another spot I found while wandering Chernobyl: https://www.google.com/maps/@51.3895951,30.1002387,3a,90y,295.16h,81.21t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOPfJJjEizKQTBTheSY-gQcRKMU9Dz7SuU-10Vl!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOPfJJjEizKQTBTheSY-gQcRKMU9Dz7SuU-10Vl%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya150.03685-ro-0-fo100!7i5300!8i2650
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It made it through, Karen. I can’t read Russian, but it looks like a touching memorial.
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That’s a very imaginative take on the prompt, James. Your last line is particularly poignant.
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Thanks, Penny.
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As the radiation levels began to subside, so did I This line is particularly creepy.
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He’s a particularly creepy person, Alicia.
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Interesting: a ghostly person with a half life. My favorite line is:
Did the radiation convert my body to this invisible plasma, or is this the nuclear representation of my soul?
Still wrapping my head around that idea.
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It is a deep mystery.
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