Hey guys and welcome to Chapter 9 of "Pups At Chernobyl". Now, I am going to say this in advance, the chapter is short as I was struggling to add more parts onto the paragraphs.
However, don't take me as a fool who just says, "here's my latest chapter, enjoy" and then you get like a chapter with only ten to thirty lines and then you say it's shit. I will be extending this over the coming week, but the release time could change as next week is my last week at college before we break up for the Christmas holidays, I'll also be going to my first ever work-do and my birthday is coming up this week, so yeah I've got a hell of a schedule for the next seven days.
So regarding the extension, like I stated, I'll be extending it over the week (that's if I don't hit a writer's block *fingers crossed*), and I do personally think this little part, along with chapters 7 and 8 are it's shit. But I do hope it entertains at least some of you. The rest will be released at the same time as chapter ten.
So for now, enjoy.
(Edit from 01/01/2022) P.S. The chapter has been extended.
Chapter 9 – Igor's Plan
Back at Chernobyl, the miners were slowly turning into human fountains as they entered and left the tunnel, time after time. For most of the miners, they slipped off their shirts so their chests were fully exposed to not only the air. Carts came rolling in, rolling out, in, out, none stop. Hundreds of pounds of dirt they dug, carted off and piled elsewhere didn't help their situation. The heat was immense. For most of them, they worked in warmer conditions, but this mission took the bite out of the cake. Some of them weren't willing to keep up. It was during one night as Igor and Ustinov were planning the next stages, Tracker raced into the tent and requested for both men. Upon first sight, the miners had stripped off their clothes but still continued to work. Ustinov squinched his eyes and faced away with crossed eyebrows. Legasov stared in horror. Glukhov approached the men and pup, from toe to face uncovered. Ustinov regain his eye contact with the leading miner with a face steamed. Glukhov raised his hands in confusion.
"What?" He spoke. "You're unprotected." Igor stated. "We're still wearing the hats." Glukhov protested.
He turned back to his men. All of them were completely naked, sweating and boiling. He turned back to the officials. "Look, it's a complete blast furnace in there. We need fans." Glukhov requested. "You can't. The fans will blow the dust inside." Igor pointed out.
"I don't give a fuck. I've been breathing dust for most of my lifetime." Glukhov stated. Then Ustinov approached him and stood an inch away from him.
"Not this kind of dust," Ustinov daunted. "Now, if Legasov says you're unprotected, he says you bloody well are. Put your clothes back on or your lives will be at the end of the chambers." Glukhov looked at him like the Soviet Commander wasn't intimidating, but he knew what his words meant. Glukhov grabbed his hat and threw it down on the ground, then walked away to his men. Ustinov stormed toward him, but Igor called him out of his thoughts. "Killing these men isn't going to help their situation."
Ustinov paused. He slowly turned around, only for Igor to be met with an enraged stare. Igor gulped and waited for what the commander had in store for him. The professor felt the Commander's presence growing nearer. To his surprise, Ustinov walked around him and entered back into the tent. Igor was ready for a punch, a kick, something to hurt him physically because he ticked off the Commander. Igor looked back at the miners, gathering all the tools that had their name on them and left the site before their skin was completely melted. With no heat exchanger to slow the meltdown, what else did Igor have to…
"The wind." Igor whispered to himself.
Raising his eyes up at the exposed block unit, he knew that the wind would carry more particles further than Adventure Bay and Foggy Bottom. Igor returned back to the tent where the Soviet Commander stormed into and found the blueprints for the power plant. Ustinov raised his eyes in annoyance. "The core is still exposed," the professor warned. "We've got to cover the core somehow."
"Then why haven't you done so?" The professor heard the Commander say. Igor slowly turned toward Ustinov with a face of both fright and annoyance. "We could've done so, but I think there might be graphite on the roof." Igor stated. He turned back to the diagrams and skimmed through the layouts. "It should be easy to cover up the core within months, or maybe years. But the roof will be a problem. I need men to go onto the roof and take dosimeter readings so we know how much ionizing particles are in the area." Igor added. Ustinov got out from his desk chair and approached the professor. With a click from behind him, Igor stood straight and kept his face away.
"Bullets never solve problems," Igor spoke. "It's the one who pulls the trigger in the wrong direction, not the weapon." The sudden urge for the Commander to pull the trigger intensified more and more by the seconds Igor was still breathing. Keeping his finger wrapped around the trigger, he slowly pressed the chamber against his head.
"I'm giving you forty-eight hours to make at least some progress and I want a lot from it," Ustinov raged. "Если ты не хочешь пулю сейчас?" Igor gulped before choosing his answer. "Нет." He spoke.
Then he felt the chamber that pressed against his back, retreat and the Soviet Commander retook his seat, whilst picking up the telephone.
"What are you doing?" Igor asked in confusion. "Getting your men!" Ustinov yelled. As the Soviet Commander continued to communicate through the telephone in Russian, Igor watched as Ustinov's patience started to hang by a thread. He understood every word he said in Russian, but the professor wasn't paying attention. Igor took his seat as he felt if he attempted to leave the tent, Ustinov would have him dragged back in.
Chase received a call. There was a hospital that was appropriate for Skye's treatment. Whatever time the ill-fated Cockapoo had left, Chase didn't care. What he made as his priority was being at her side before or after Skye's death. He couldn't let anything stand in his way, not even the Soviet Union. Chase drove all the way down to the medical centre and parked outside the entrance. He also knew Marshall and Everest were coming along too. He felt his heart racing about his meet up with the dally after what happened when Skye was sent into intensive care. He heard the fire truck rolling up nearby. Chase looked up and saw Marshall and Everest jumping out of the truck and headed toward the entrance.
Chase jumped out of his cruiser and approached the pair. "Chase?" Everest spoke first. "Is everything alright with Skye?" Chase could see the fear glowing off the Husky's face.
"I haven't had the chance to see her yet," Chase stated. Both pups tilted their heads. "But I actually wanted to speak to Marshall." The Dalmatian jumped a little, then Chase told the Husky that that'd be along in a while. Everest nodded and entered the camp, leaving the police pup and fire pup on their own. Chase presented himself clearly and tried to maintain eye contact between him and his best friend.
"As I admitted my feelings toward Skye, I told her I loved other girls before I truly fell in love with her. I was starting to think maybe I'm not built for girls, and perhaps boys instead." Chase explained. Marshall, with an eyebrow raised and ears wide open, sat down and rested his aching paws. "I was on the verge of loving you just before Skye joined the team, and it was at the time that I thought of myself as a bisexual. But right now, during this crisis, that's not important. I'm only mentioning this now because the whole team has been in the presence of radiation since this thing blew up, and I fear my side of the reality wouldn't get to you." Chase continued.
"But why are you saying all of this?" Marshall asked. "Because you mentioned you had feelings for me…" Chase stated with no hesitation. The Dalmatian was caught off guard by the little sentence Chase spoke. Then the two were broken out of their thoughts as they heard calls from Everest as she and Skye came out of the centre and into an ambulance. Chase and Marshall raced after the two and hopped in the back. The doors closed behind them and the vehicle sped off.
"I did say that." They heard Marshall's voice say. Chase looked up and met with the dally's eyes.
"And Skye told me everything," Everest spoke after.
"You know the expression: diamonds are girl's best friend. So, we expect to have the higher quality gifts from you two individually." Skye added, followed by the two girls giggling at her last sentence. The boys looked at each other and then back at the girls. For Chase, the memory of his confession cycled through his mind. For an older Chase, it was like the memory was fresh in his head. He was taking Lulu to a point where Danny had taken the citizens of Adventure Bay, to see the smoke that rose up from Reactor Four on the night of the explosion.
"This little spot here is called 'Death's Peak'. Everyone who came up here on that night didn't survive. Thus giving its name." The older Chase explained. "And would Katie have been one of them?" Lulu asked. Chase nodded. The two returned their eyes back to the power plant. "We're safe from where we're standing; there's a massive shield covering the whole of the reactor block." Chase explained as pointed out the confinement shield arcing over the block. The power plant itself looked like a ghost town, forbidden to revisit. But one thing that bothered Chase was how they managed to cover up the exposed reactor.
Ustinov and Legasov were at the power plant devising the next plan. A plan that would see the further steps of precaution. A worker handed Igor a picture of the exploded reactor. Three black circles mark three certain parts of the roof: one on the reactor's roof, one on a level higher than the reactor's roof; one where the ventilation shaft sits on. Each of the circles had a name written at the side of each one.
"We came up with three names for each section of the roof. The smallest is Katya: a thousand roentgen per hour. Two hours of exposure can be fatal. Nina, the one to the side has two thousand roentgen per hour. One hour is fatal." Igor explained.
"So, let's use bulldozers to clear it all off." Ustinov advised.
"Too heavy, they'll fall right through," Igor pointed out. "We can use moon rovers as they're light and if we cover them with lead, they'll withstand the radiation." The workmen whispered to each other. Ustinov shook his head in irritation. The room fell silent, but would soon become a void-filled silence after a voice had asked, "what about that large section?"
Igor turned toward the worker who spoke and turns to see the worker's hand pointed to the section outlining the roof where the chimney sat on. "Masha. Twelve thousand roentgen. Stand on that section wearing full-protective gear from head to toe for about ninety seconds, you receive a lifetime dose. Two minutes and your life expectancy is cut in half. More than three minutes, you're dead within months." Igor explained. The workers felt their words trapped in their throats, or they couldn't find the right words to describe the situation. Some of them began to think that Masha was now the most radioactive place in the world. "And lunar rovers won't work up there. Gamma particles penetrate through everything, they'll even shred the circuits in the microchips. Anything more complicated than a light switch, Masha will destroy it."
Every man who heard it were stunned, but not Ustinov. "I don't care how many we have to go through. Just get the work done for Satan's sake." Ustinov spat as he stormed out. Then a soldier appeared from where Ustinov disappeared from.
"Igor Legasov?" He spoke. Igor looked up. "This way, please." The soldier obliged. Igor followed him. He only presumed one thing. Edmund was locked away in Town Hall's basement. He sat in dead silence and had no idea what to do. His mind was blank, his bones didn't move an inch, his face remained straight. Nothing of ancient value surrounded the imprisoned Chief General, just boxes of papers and papers and papers. The sound of the door unlocking made Richardson move his head toward the door. Igor walked in with the soldier who unlocked the door.
"Get the paperwork ready." Igor ordered as looked back at the soldier. The soldier nodded and left. Igor closed the door behind him and sat beside Edmund. "They beat me up. I was cornered all around." Edmund spoke, finally breaking his silence. The professor sat in pain for the weakened Chief General.
"I'm sorry. I really am." Igor spoke. "Toptunov and Akimov spoke to me. Akimov's face was gone. Nothing left." Edmund said as he started to sob.
"That effect does happen. You're not the only one who've seen people without faces." Igor confessed. A blowing silence from the wind was filled to forget about the topic. Then the Chief General reached into the pocket of his blazer.
"I wrote everything down they said. I never got to Dyatlov. But from what Toptunov and Akimov told me, they were running a safety test and on that night, they pushed the AZ-5 button and the reactor exploded." Edmund recalled.
"They must've been too late." Igor stated. "No. They both agreed that Akimov pushed AZ-5, moments before the reactor exploded. Toptunov also mentioned after that exact moment the power surged, on the lead up to the explosion." Edmund denied. Igor stared at him with half-dead eyes. From the explanation the Chief General found, Igor's thoughts lead him to the fact it could be a fault. An old saying came slithering back into his mind that he used to hear before being chased out of the Soviet Union. 'It's man's fault for accidents like these, not machines.' He always stood by that term. Until now… Second thoughts started to sweep through his mind.
"I'll call in a request for you to go back to the hospital and resume your inquiry. And don't bother with Akimov and Toptunov. They'll be both dead by now." Igor declared. Edmund nodded and Igor got up and left. With what Edmund had provided, the professor was surely doubting himself that if it was man's fault for the Chernobyl disaster. Maybe so, something had to be said about it.
Back at the nuclear power plant, two moon rovers had been planted on Katya and Nina. The rovers collected as much as they could and shoved the scooped debris into the exposed reactor. Masha, however, still remained without a rover. What machine could possibly clear off the graphite off the highest roof without being damaged by the radiation, was something the professor nor the Liquidators could answer. Eventually, word got around that the Soviets have found something that could withstand Masha. A confirmation was made and days later, Masha (the most dangerous place in the world) was being introduced to Joker. A German robot that the Union thought it could work on top of Masha.
The helicopter hovered over the highest rooftop of the power plant, lowering the rover down to the roof landing. Joker's wheels rested on the ground and the helicopter released its cable and pulled away. In a nearby control room, workers had a signal with Joker. The navigator pushed forward on the joystick and the cameras visualised it moving. Fearing they would celebrate too early, some of the workers held back their smiles of relief. They felt their muscles in their cheeks fighting them. The tensions would soon halt as they saw on the monitors that Joker was jittering. The workers watched in suspense as the navigators tried stabilising the rover. Soon, Joker became bust. Ustinov is informed of the news of Joker's demise; any soldier in his presence evacuated the same room he was in.
Igor and Ryder were outside Town Hall, feeling more uneased as they heard yelling from inside the building. Then a pissed off Ustinov kicked the doors to Town Hall open and threw the telephone on the floor. The two watched the phone crumble into pieces like a biscuit. Ustinov dead-eyes the boys nearby.
"The official position of the State is that a global nuclear catastrophe is not possible in the Soviet Union. They told the international community the highest detected level of radiation was 2,000 roentgen." Ustinov raged. Igor stood shocked, while Ryder had lost all hope. The ten-year-old could sense that he had not only let himself down but Adventure Bay as well. His home. His birthplace. He, along with Igor, was completely silent. Then Igor felt a cold hard stare from the Soviet Commander.
"Я устал от этого кризиса,(I've had enough of this crisis,)" Ustinov raged.
"Я посылаю солдат, включая всех оставшихся членов Щенячьего патруля, убрать крышу с каждого графитового блока на этой долбаной крыше!(I'm sending soldiers, including every remaining Paw Patrol member, to clear the roof off every graphite block on that fucking roof!)" Igor's eyes widen in response. He kept firm eye contact with the exploding commander.
"Но товарищ Устинов, они всего лишь щенки. Они только что потеряли двух членов. Они не могут просто пойти и потерять больше после того, что произошло!(But Comrade Ustinov, they're just pups. They've just lost two members. They can't just go and lose more after what's happened!)" Igor protested. "What's he saying?" Ryder asked in fear.
"Тишина! Они будут подчиняться моим приказам, или я сокращу их продолжительность жизни короче, чем время, которое у них уже осталось.(Silence! They will obey my orders, or I'll cut their life expectancy shorter than the time they already have left.)" Ustinov threatened. Igor heard Ryder's pleas of what the Commander was saying. A lie now would only make things worse for both him and Ryder. "He's sending the remaining members of the Paw Patrol to clear up the graphite with other soldiers." Igor answered with the same regret he's used to. Ryder's heart stopped after hearing his words.
"Товарищ Устинов, очень вас прошу. Их собственной жизнью, пожалуйста, не присылайте им.(Comrade Ustinov, I beg you. On their own lives, please don't send them.)" Igor begged. Then in a matter of moments, Ustinov commanded his men to round up the remaining Paw Patrol members and prepare them to clear the graphite off the roof. The soldiers scattered whilst Igor held Ryder back from blasting his anger out on the Soviet Commander.
"Killing Ustinov won't make the problem disappear," Igor reasoned with the raging boy. "That problem will just lead to more that are far worse than this right now." Ryder tried freeing himself from the professor's grasp. What was the point? A ten-year-old was never going to overpower a tall fit man who was sent to Adventure Bay for one reason; he knew that reason wasn't fighting him. He eased his anger and left the courtyard of Townhall. Igor watched him walking away without uttering a word.
Back at Bellingham hospital in Washington, Edmund finally found Dyatlov's room. Just as Igor stated, both Akimov and Toptunov were dead as he saw both their bodies being rolled out of their respective rooms. He could almost smell the decaying skin emitted from the plastic bags they were contained in. A gush of vomit ejected from his stomach, but Edmund swallowed it back down. He proceeded into Dyatlov's room and the occupant turned around at first instant.
"No. Leave." He urged. Edmund closed the door behind him and kept a firm eye contact with the patient.
"I need your help. Senior Reactor Control Chief Engineer Aleksandr Akimov pressed the AZ-5 button within the control room of Reactor number four," Edmund explained. "Could you confirm that Akimov did initiate AZ-5?" Dyatlov raised his head with disgust. He looked up at the Chief General with annoyance.
"How the fuck should I know it exploded?" Dyatlov exploded. "All I know is Toptunov called it out, Akimov initiates AZ-5, that was the only good decision they ever made, and hopefully for the rest of their lives. Complete morons. Besides, RBMK reactor cores can't explode." Edmund got out a picture and rested it at Dyatlov's side. Dyatlov made one glance at the picture, then locked his sight on the image. The image of the infamous destroyed reactor.
"Well, this one did. And you know this reactor like the back of your hand. You've worked with it." Edmund pointed out. Dyatlov felt his fists clenching up. "Oh, so that's why you're here? Just to put the blame on me because it's all my fault?" Dyatlov questioned.
"I'm not here to blame you, I'm here to find out what happened. And believe it or not, right now I'm your best chance of dodging an early life's exit." Edmund stated. Dyatlov looked back down at the picture. There was not a single piece of him to hold him back from tearing up the photograph. Making one last effort, Dyatlov returned his eyes back to the Chief General and uttered one last point. "I can tell you now void coefficients have nothing to do with AZ-5. I hope that answers your god damn questions." Dyatlov spat.
Edmund nodded and started heading toward the door. "You thinking asking questions will get you the truth?" Dyatlov called out, stopping Richardson in his path. "There is no truth; no real answer to all of this. Ask the bosses all you want. Who, what, when, where, why, how. You'll get the lies, and I'll get the bullet." Edmund looked at him, then at his notes. He had everything he needed for Igor. Not wanting to spend a second longer with a whacko in the same room as him, Edmund darted out of the room and quickly left the hospital and rode back to Adventure Bay. During the journey, one term struck his mind: Void Coefficients?
Hours passed since Joker became a bust. Ustinov had more soldiers recruited for the clear up of Masha. Chase, Marshall and Everest were brought back to the power plant where Tracker and Zuma waited for them. None of them was informed of what was about to happen. All contact or communication with Ryder and Igor was cut off. The pups were left in the dark. Clueless, frightened, petrified. The five pups were then taken to a control room, just as they were suited up in pup-standard boiler suits and covered with lead plating. Both Tracker and Zuma had a sense of what they were being sent to do. Then a Soviet captain stood in front of them.
"Now listen up, Commander Ustinov has had enough of this accident. He wants you all to go up there and clear away any Graphite rubble that's still stuck up there." The captain explained. Zuma felt his heart tightening upon hearing rubble. The only thing he thought of was his best and late friend. "Because of the nature of the working area, you will all have no more than ninety seconds to shovel up the remaining rubble and throw it back into the core. If you follow the instructions you are provided with, and perform your work correctly, you will be fine." The captain continued.
Then he turns to a board that has a map and a layout of pictures of the reactor block. "This is the working area you'll be heading to. Some of the rubble contain blocks weighing approximately up to 40 kilograms. All of it must be thrown over the side into the reactor. And take care not to stumble. There is a hole in the roof. If any part of your skin is exposed, exit the roof at once and do not hesitate whilst up there. Do you all understand this mission?" The pups were scared. Scared than fighting a bear with their teeth, scared than facing their worst fears, scared of being another casualty for both the death toll and for the team. All of them remembered to the very point in time that they were ready to save the country, and Adventure Bay.
Still standing with their young brave hearts, they all called out "yes, sir," in unison. "These are the most important ninety seconds of your lives. Good luck." The captain wished them, and they were escorted to the roof. For each pup, they tried to fight off their feeling, their fear, their fright. Chase kept his mind on Skye. He recalled the very moment just before he was sent back to Chernobyl, that he called out to the bed-bounded Cockapoo that they will meet again. When that was he, himself, could not find the answer. As the pups ascended up the stairs, more men in full-protective gear descended down the stairs. Nothing looked wrong with them, right?
Eventually, the pups lined up next to a wide hole, where Masha is waiting for them. A soldier starts banging on a pipe and more soldiers in full-protective gear came rushing through the gap. The soldier then ordered the pups to switch on their Geiger counters, to which all of them were ticking.
"After ninety seconds, I will notify that your time is up by hitting this pipe. Once you hear it, you must all return immediately, drop your shovels in the bin and report downstairs for decontamination. Understood?" The officer explained. The pups nodded and faced the gap in the wall where the light shone through.
"On my mark," the officer counted. Their hearts pumped more uneased than ever.
"Ready," No turning back now.
"Go." The pups rushed out onto Masha. Already, their Geiger counters were screaming. The disorientated ticks engulfed their minds to the point that all thoughts had been crushed into molecules.
80.
79.
78.
77… Then the pups saw the piles of debris. They quickly scattered by themselves and started shovelling the debris up. Tracker scooped up a pile and carefully treaded toward the edge. He marked the hole he was warned about and navigated around it and tossed it over the rail, then leaned over to see the ruins in curiosity.
56.
55.
54.
53… Marshall jammed his shovel under a block of graphite and tried to lift it up. Upon doing so, the block tipped over and fell back onto the roof.
44.
43… Chase saw his best friend struggling and quickly assisted him with the graphite, then chucked it over the rail and into the core.
36.
35… The pups kept pushing. Masha's breath was getting less dangerous with every block of graphite removed. Everest, similar to Marshall, tried lifting up a metal steel frame. Zuma raced to assist the Huskey with the piece but couldn't get it to budge. Marshall joined Everest by her side and managed to lift the piece up. They feared that the wood of their shovels was losing stability. They can't move the frame with their paws. It was like lifting up a car. To their relief, the frame was tossed over the rail. The pups weren't worried about the radiation, or the Geiger counters, they were worried about the time.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang… Time was up. Time to evacuate Masha.
The pups sprinted back to the gap they came through out onto the roof. Chase was first, then Zuma, followed by Marshall. Suddenly, Everest got her back paw caught. She picked herself back up and tried to her yank her paw free. Tracker turned back to see her struggling to break free. They were past their limited ninety seconds. Masha was already feasting on the two abandoned. Tracker quickly went to help Everest. They pulled her paw out but slipped out of the boot. They quickly rushed back inside and saw that another set of soldiers was lined up to meet Masha.
"You two. You're both finished." They heard the soldier from behind inform with no regret. Everest was extremely thankful for the Chihuahua. If he hadn't heard her struggles, the Husky would most certainly be dead within months. However, the mood changed as Zuma started to lose his fur. The Labrador was sent to hospital but didn't receive his treatment in time. Five days after the pups were sent to clear Masha, Chase was called to Bellingham hospital after hearing news on Skye's recovery. The German Shepherd sat outside Skye's room, shaking to know who was going to come out of the room, or what news was going to be presented. His heart started tightening up. His stomach blasted with butterflies. Chase squeezed his eyes shut and started tapping his paw. The tension was drowning him, then he heard the door to his side click open. Chase turned to see a doctor walking out of Skye's room with a clipboard.
"Well, she is fine?" A worried Chase asked. Chase noticed that the Doctor had no sign on his face. No widened eyelids; no worry lines; no smile; nothing.
"The operation to cure Skye of Acute Radiation Syndrome was successful," The Doctor announced. Chase sighed in relief. "However, we weren't aware of this situation to the last fateful second." He heard the Doctor's voice say. His lips eased. Everything he knew 'Positive' disappeared from his mind. Chase slowly looked up at the Doctor, who still had no other emotion on his face.
A second on, Chase lowers his eyes to the floor as the Doctor took his place next to the stricken pup. "We picked up on a case of Leukaemia. Something that Uranium miners can get. The scans show that this case is very fateful," the Doctor explained. Feeling his whole body becoming numb from the news, Chase froze in distress. "I'm afraid she hasn't got long to live." The Doctor stated as he placed his hand on Chase's paw. The Shepherd woke up from his traumatizing dream and looks up at the Doctor with eyes swelling with tears.
"Can I at least be at her side?" Chase asked. "You may. She has been informed of the situation as well. A nurse will arrive to check on you two." The Doctor added just before getting up and leaving the pup alone. The German Shepherd got up and faced the door. He started to think this was the end. In how many ways could this have ended? Being brave up to his title, Chase slowly advanced inside the room. There she was. The love of his life, on the verge of ascending into the light. She stared out the window. The rain gently tapped on the pane as the silence continued to flow.
Chase slowly approached her. Her body was scalded with radiation marks and patches of her trademark fur lost. Chase observed that the once beautiful Cockapoo that he fell in love with, was now a slowly dying pup was needed company. "How are you holding up?" Chase asked, trying to hide his misery.
Feeling every last ounce of energy within her drained up, Skye managed to turn her head around to meet his eyes. Seeing his brown set of eyes made the pilot pup thankful that she wasn't alone anymore. "Fine." Skye asked, being fully honest with herself. "I don't want to die." Chase grabbed her paw as she broke down into tears after her sentence.
"I know. We all didn't want Rocky and Rubble to die as well. We didn't want to die." Chase stated. "But there's one thing that isn't going to die." Skye looked at him. Chase saw that she was waiting for his answer. "The Paw Patrol. Memories of the Paw Patrol. Our love in the Paw Patrol. Memories of us, ourselves. The legacy that we've left behind. Although this generation will lose their greatest heroes, the future generation will look back on us and the other great heroes of this nuclear disaster and start to think how brave we were." Chase reassured her. "But nonetheless, I will still love you and will always do." He planted a kiss on her lips and wiped the tears out of her eyes, then sat on the bed next to the Cockapoo. Skye rested her head back as she kept a grip on Chase's paw.
"When I die, it'll be just you, Marshall, Everest, Tracker and Ryder?" Chase heard Skye ask. "Of course it will, but I don't think Everest has long as she caught herself up on the roof. Her paw got exposed." Chase answered. Skye hid her face away. Moments passed and Skye stared out the window. Though the blinds covered most of the view, she could see that the rain kept falling.
"The rain is beautiful." Skye pointed out. Chase looked out the window and observed the droplets beating against the glass. "Sure is." He agreed. The Shepherd went over to the window and pulled up the blinds for a full view. Chase saw the view of Cornwall Park. The sun shone through the cloud covers and lit up the falling droplets. The Shepherd recalled a moment of his life. "Remember the time we were playing at the park?" Chase started. Skye lifted her eyes up to meet Chase's.
"You and I were playing tag, then all of a sudden it starts raining. You covered me from the rain as we ran back to the Lookout." Skye recalled. The two giggled just before Chase leaned in and kissed Skye on the lips. The two broke apart and Chase leaned back. The police pup noted the clock on the wall above the door.
11:59:37. It had been nearly ten minutes since Chase received the news. He turned back to his lover, only to find her staring into space. The Shepherd froze for a second. He slowly extended his paw over to her paw and rocked it. The Cockapoo remained still. After a moment of silence, Chase rested his head on her chest and heard no other sound. The pup felt his eyes slowly shifting outward; his breathing became shaky. Chase closed his eyes and exhaled one last sentence in her presence. "Goodnight, my love."
Days had passed. Masha had been cleaned up. The remaining soldiers within the exclusion zone were honoured and praised. A red flag was carried to the highest point of the zone. The colour was not linked with the ideology of the Soviet's life of Communism; instead, for the honour and memory of those who had finished the deadliest and most inhumane mission ever compiled in the history of mankind. I serve the Soviet Union was every soldier's last words within the exclusion zone.
The Paw Patrol were down to three members: Chase, Marshall, and Ryder. Everest and Tracker were sent into Bellingham hospital but died hours later. The three were called by Igor and Edmund to conclude the problem, once and for all. The pups and Ryder were told to meet in Foggy Bottom's park. Although the Paw Patrol are not fans of Foggy Bottom, they still came. After the citizens evacuated the town, cars and bicycles were left scattered around. Headlights still shone through the fog and windows were reduced to shards. The scene of the environment was unsettling for the remaining members. Ryder, Chase and Marshall reached the park and walked up to the fountain, where Igor and Edmund waited for them.
"Why are we meeting here in Foggy Bottom?" Marshall asked. "It's a good distance from the exposed reactor. About ten times the background radiation." Igor explained. "And it's the unlikely place that the KGB would look for us here." Edmund added.
"So, what's this all about?" Ryder asked. The two officials turned to each other, then back toward Ryder. "The Supreme Court of the Soviet Union is putting Dyatlov, Bryukhanov, and Fomin on trial. We're all being called for expert testimonies. Me, Igor, and you, Ryder." Edmund explained. Ryder raised an eyebrow. He shook his head in disbelief. Chase, too, was surprised by the news.
"But why Ryder? What's his involvement?" Chase asked. "It only mentioned his name. No reason." Edmund explained.
"But how are we going to explain what happened?" Marshall asked. Edmund pulled out a file of papers. "I sent Edmund to carry out an inquiry of what had gone on. He spoke with Dyatlov himself, and two of his colleagues. Toptunov and Akimov." Igor explained.
"It has every minute by minute, second by second, every moment, every button press and turn of a switch at each specific point in time, all in the lead up to the explosion." Edmund explained.
"And they're guilty of gross incompetence, violation of safety regulations, recklessness beyond belief." Igor explained further. As the professor explained, Edmund handed Ryder the papers and he skimmed through the pages. "I also found this," Edmund pointed out as he pulled out a book. "It's an article on RBMK reactors under extreme conditions, something I figured could be of interest. I had noticed that two pages have been torn out."
Edmund noticed that Igor was staring in surprise just after he pulled out the book. "You've seen this before, haven't you?" Edmund pointed out. Igor held in his breath for a moment before slowly looking back up at the Chief General.
"Believe me when I say that I know how an RBMK reactor core explodes." Igor admitted. Ryder and the pups looked up at Igor with eyes wide open. "But I didn't rip those pages out. But I knew in 1975, in the RBMK reactor in Leningrad, there was a report of a fuel channel rupture. The operators initiated AZ-5, but instead of the power immediately going down, it went up," Igor explained.
"And there are proposals from the Soviet government to plant six more of those RBMK reactors on US soil grounds." Edmund mentioned. "But there are sixteen more in the Soviet Union." Igor added.
"So, what do we do?" Chase asked. "We tell the truth," Igor stated. "The Soviet Union we'll try anything to shut the truth out, but someone has to start talking."
What I had just stated back at the beginning was meant back in the past.
Well, the Paw Patrol are down to three members but the question is: Who's going to be next? Or will the three suspects be locked up. Only one way to find out, Chapter ten holds the trial.
But from me, I'll see you next time, Q: Where the hell have you been? A: Enjoying Death.