'Halt,' a voice barks behind us.

I turn to see the man who took us from the abandoned place, the one who seemed to be in charge. But now he is speaking in S'Armunai.

'What is it, Colonel Alexandrov?'

'I've heard all the prisoners have to say, and know that they have come into contact with radiation. They must be quarantined.'

'What does quarantined mean?' I ask.

James sighs.

'Professor Ridling, they are to be put in one of the cubicles. For our safety. If the radiation spreads, then we will all get ill and I won't allow that.'

'But…'

'Now Professor.'

Other men appear behind the man, the Colonel, and start to walk toward us.

'What is he saying?' I shriek.

'They think you are radioactive, that the spirits are surrounding you and make everyone else ill.'

I gasp. 'Spirits? Am I surrounded by these spirits?' I look around me, at my feet, my hands, my arms.

'I don't know.'

'Is there no way to tell?'

'I also don't like the idea of spirits surrounding me,' Danug adds.

James ignores him, and grins at me. 'A Geiger counter. That will tell us, that's what we need. Colonel, these people should not be locked into cubicles until they've been tested. We need a Geiger counter.'

'I don't think…'

'Colonel Alexandrov, a Geiger counter will be bought here. Do not try to block my wish, you might be part of the army, and I a scientist, but I work for the Russian Government, for the President. Do not think to disobey me in this.'

The two men stare at each other, but then the Colonel lowers his eyes.

'Fine,' he says. 'Get a Geiger counter but after being in contact with that Hazard suit man, they are sure to be radioactive and I will have them quarantined soon.'

OOOOOOOOOOOO

'You will stay here with our people for the next week,' Pripyiah told Druwez. 'And in that time, you and Bretie will do as I say, you will eat what I give you and stay close to me for instruction. After that time, you will be ready to go back to the haunted cave.'

'What instruction?' Druwez asked.

'I will teach you to meditate, how to relax. You need to do this, or the spirits in that cave will overcome you and you will become ill with an internal eating disease.'

'I don't want to get ill,' Bretie frowned.

'Fear not, young Bretie. It will all be okay. The Mother is with you and will protect you, just as though the next week is spent as she has ordained.'

'What food will you give us?' Druwez asked.

'You are to eat mostly whole grains, but I have a small amount of sea vegetables that should last the week. Seaweeds, kelp and sea lettuces mainly, made into soups, or stews with the grain. And of course, salt.'

'Salt?' Druwez exclaimed. 'But it is too precious, too rare.'

'And necessary.'

'I have nothing to swap that's worth anywhere near as much as salt.'

'If you manage to do what I think you will do, then that is payment enough.'

'I don't understand.' Druwez frowned.

'I believe, or at least the Mother has told me, that your cousin isn't the only one who has been taken by the spirits. So too are the people of the third cave. And you will bring them back.'

'But… how?'

'That is all part of the plan,' Pripyiah said, smiling at the two. 'But I will tell you off that nearer the time, for now, your training must start.'

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

A man comes into the room, carrying something in his hand.

'Just stand still,' James advises us. 'He will wave it over you, and we will know if you have been exposed to radiation.'

I nod, but still flinch when the man starts to move the object us and down my body. A crackling sound, a bit like a fire, comes from it. Then he does the same to Danug.

'Just background radiation Colonel,' he says.

'What?' The colonel grabs the object from the man and starts to wave it around. 'But,' he splutters. 'You should be radioactive, you've been exposed. You must have been exposed. I was sure that you were radioactive.'

'Well they're not,' James says, trying to stop himself from smiling. 'Now, Colonel Alexandrov, if you will excuse us, I think these people could do with a rest, and it won't be in a quarantine cubicle.

'But… they should go in one anyway, just in case…'

'In case what Colonel?'

'I…' he stares at the floor. 'Fine, take them to the accommodation block, but I want an armed guard outside their rooms at all times. No matter what. These people aren't from this time, we don't want them wandering around. It's for their protection as much as ours.'

'Whatever you say Colonel,' James says and then grins at us. 'You will have to stay with us for a while, until we understand what is happening, but there is no reason why you shouldn't be comfortable.' He starts to walk away.

'Professor Ridling.'

James turns to look at the Colonel. 'Yes?'

'They should start taking anti-radiation tablets.'

James nods. 'Yes, they should. I will arrange that once I have them settled.'

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

We are led down the inside pathway that James tells me is called a corridor and taken to the other side of the camp. Here I am given a shelter of my own, a room with a raised platform for sleeping on, though it is a lot softer than I am used to and is covered not by furs but some sort of material. And on top, there is what looks like a cloud, James puts more material over it and lays it over the platform. There is even a smaller cloud for me to rest my head on.

'Get some sleep,' he says but blushes and hurries away when I start to undress.

The platform is softer than I thought, I find when I get in; it adapts itself to the contours of my body and lulls me to sleep.

The next morning, I wake and dress and then sit on the edge of the platform for a while but then getting fed up, leave the room. There's a man standing outside my room, who smiles at me when he sees me, and takes me to a bigger room, where tables are. A diliscious smell is wafting through the air.

I see James sitting at a table with Danug and walk over to them.

'Ah good, you are here,' James says and pulls out a seat for me to sit on.

I timidly sit down, not used to a seat with legs and so high off the ground.

'What would you like to eat?' he asks. 'You know, the Russians have a saying, 'eat breakfast yourself, share dinner with a friend but give supper to your enemy!' Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.'

I nod. 'My mother used to insist I always ate breakfast when I was little, when I just wanted to go outside and play in the little pool, she would make me eat. Even though I wasn't hungry, she used to say it was the most important meal of the day too.'

'Really? How interesting.' He smiled. 'Danug here has got a Russian delicacy, blini's with sour cream and jam. Would you like the same or would you rather have some toast like me? Or you could have some rye bread, with cheese, eggs and meat, or a selection of all of them.'

I shake my head. 'I don't know.'

'I will order you all of it,' he smiles. 'I can see that Danug is nearly finished his, and still looks hungry, so I will order extra for him too.

Danug smiles a sour cream smile and cuts a bit of the blini with his eating knife, he spears it up and pops it into his mouth.

'You really should try the knife and fork Danug,' James says. 'You would find eating a lot easier.' He lifts up a shiny knife and another implement that looks a bit like a teasel. He leant forward to his own food. 'You use the fork to anchor the food,' he says, sticking the teasel like implement into his toast. Whatever toast is. Then he cuts the toast with the knife so that a small amount surrounds the fork which he lifts up and pops into his mouth. He chews and then swallows. And then smiles. 'Easy,' he says. 'Why don't you try it Danug.'

Danug picks up the implements in front of him and warily looks at them.

'Just have a go,' James smiles as he stands up. 'I will be back in a moment with your breakfasts.'

OOOOOOOOOOO

After a long day of meditation, Druwez sat next to Bretie eating a bowl of seaweed soup, while listening to Pripyiah tell a story.

'This is a story that you all will have heard,' the holy man said. 'Except for our visitor Druwez. It is called Baba-Yaga and Vasilisa the Fair.'

'Ooh, Druwez, that's a scary story,' a boy shouted. 'Maybe Bretie will hold your hand so you aren't so afraid.'

Everyone laughed at this, everyone except for Druwez and Bretie, who shuffled a little apart.

Pripyiah looked sternly at the boy. 'I seem to remember you wet yourself when you first heard the story.'

The boy blushed and looked at the floor.

Pripyiah started to spin his tale. 'A long time ago there lived a Trade Master and his mate; they had one child at their hearth, a girl called Vasilisa. One day the mother placed a hide doll in the child's hands, and said, "My child, I am dying. Take this doll as my blessing. Always keep it with you and never show it to anybody. If anything bad happens to you, give the doll food and ask her for guidance." Shortly afterwards the mother died.

'That's not scary,' Druwez interrupted. 'It's just sad.'

'Sshh,' the holy man said as he continued the story. 'The Trade Master soon became lonely and decided to mate again. He mated a woman who's own made had died as he thought she would be a good mother. But both she and her two daughters were jealous of Vasilisa's beauty. They made her bring water from the frozen river in winter, or work outside in the hot sun when everyone else was inside resting. They did this so she would grow thin and her face turn ugly in the wind and the sun. But Vasilisa became more beautiful every day. For each day she gave her doll food and asked for advice. Having finished eating, the doll would help with the tasks and even bring Vasilisa herbs to prevent sunburn. As the years passed, Vasilisa grew ever more beautiful as the women's hatred of her intensified. One day, Vasilisa's father went on a trading journey and his mate decided to leave their cave and move to a hut on the edge of a dense birch forest. But this was not just any birch forest, for in this forest lived the terrifying witch, Baba-Yaga. A witch who ate people like others ate chicken.

'Witches aren't real,' the boy said but as Pripyiah started talking again, he ran to his hearth and climbed in his furs.

'Every day, the woman sent Vasilisa into the forest, but the girl always returned safe and sound with the guidance of her magic doll. Then one night, the woman crept to the fire and extinguished it. And then she said in a loud voice. "It's impossible to finish our work in the darkness. Somebody must go to Baba-Yaga and ask for a light." "I'm not going," said the woman's first daughter, who was stitching a hide. "I can see." "And I'm not going," said the woman's second daughter, who was weaving cloth, "I can see." So Vasilisa was thrown out into the dark forbidding forest. Despite her fear, she fed her magic doll and asked for its advice. "Don't be afraid, Vasilisa," said the doll. "Go to Baba-Yaga and ask her to give you a light."'

'I wouldn't go,' a woman chuckled.

'All that night, Vasilisa walked nervously through the forest holding the doll who guided her path. Then suddenly, she saw a man rushing by. His face and clothes were white and he was riding a white horse. As he passed the first light of dawn appeared across the sky. Then, another man came by. His face and clothes were red and he was riding a red horse. As he passed the sun began to rise. Vasilisa had never seen such strange men and she was very surprised. She walked all day, until at last she came to Baba-Yaga's hut. A fence made of human bones surrounded the hut. It was crowned with human skulls. Vasilisa was terribly afraid. Suddenly, another man galloped by. His face and clothes were black and he was riding a black horse. As he passed, night descended. As the sky darkened the eyes of the skulls began to glow. Their light illuminated the forest. Vasilisa trembled, she wanted to run but her legs would not move. Almost immediately she heard a hideous noise. The earth shook, the trees groaned and there was Baba-Yaga. She stopped and sniffed the air. "I smell a human!" she cried. "Who is here?" Vasilisa stepped forward, trembling with fear. She said, "I am, Vasilisa. My stepmother sent me to you to ask for a light." "I know of her." Baba-Yaga replied. "Stay with me for a while. If you work well, I will give you light. If you do not, I will cook you and eat you." As they entered the hut, Baba-Yaga ordered Vasilisa to bring her some food. There was enough to feed ten men; she collected also collected raspberry wine and beera. Baba-Yaga ate and drank everything. She left Vasilisa nothing but a small piece of dried meat. "I'm tired," Baba-Yaga said. "Tomorrow, Vasilisa, you must clean, sweep the hut, cook the supper and wash my hides." "Then," she added, "You must go to my grain storage and separate seed by seed the mildewed grain from the good grain, and mind that you remove all the black bits. If you don't complete these tasks I will eat you." Soon Baba-Yaga started snoring, her long nose rattled against the roof of the hut. Vasilisa took her doll out of her pocket, gave it some of the dried bit of meat and said, "Please help me. Baba-Yaga has given me an impossible task to do and if I fail she will eat me." The doll replied, "Don't be afraid, Vasilisa, eat your supper and go to bed. Mornings are wiser than evenings." Although Vasilisa woke early the next morning, Baba-Yaga was already up and leaving. Vasilisa went to the grain storage and found the doll picking out the last black bits. The other tasks were also fulfilled. The doll said, "All you have to do now is prepare the supper and after that you can rest." Vasilisa thanked the doll and went to prepare supper. She cooked the food, laid the table and waited. As the skulls' eyes began to shine, the trees groaned, the earth trembled, and there was Baba-Yaga. "Have you done what I told you?" she asked Vasilisa. "See for yourself," replied the girl. Baba-Yaga was very upset, for she wanted to eat the girl but the tasks were all completed. Hiding her anger, she said, "Very good," and then cried loudly, "My faithful servants grind the grains!" From nowhere three pairs of hands appeared. They took the grains and vanished. Baba-Yaga ate the supper and said to Vasilisa, "Tomorrow you must do the same tasks and then you must go to the store room and sort out the dirt from the poppy seeds." The next morning Baba-Yaga left again. Vasilisa, with the help of her doll, finished the tasks. In the evening the old woman came back and checked everything over. Three pairs of hands appeared. They took the bin of poppy seeds and vanished. Baba-Yaga sat down to eat. "Why," she said, "do you sit there so quiet and still?" "I'm afraid to speak," said Vasilisa, "would you mind if I asked you some questions?" "Ask if you want," said Baba-Yaga, "but remember that not every question has a good answer." Vasilisa hesitated, "It's just that on my way here I saw a white horseman. Who was he?" "That was my Bright Day," answered Baba-Yaga. Vasilisa continued, "Then I saw a red horseman. Who was he?" "That was my Red Sun," answered Baba-Yaga. "And then a black horseman overtook me whilst I was standing outside your gate. Who was he?" "That was my Black Midnight," answered Baba-Yaga. "These horsemen are my faithful servants. Have you further questions?" Vasilisa remembered the three pairs of hands but remained quiet. "Now I have a question for you. How have you managed to carry out all the work so quickly?" Vasilisa replied, "My mother's blessing helped me." "I knew it," said Baba-Yaga. "You'd better be gone. I will not have people with blessings in my home." With that, the old woman pushed Vasilisa out of the hut and through the gate. Then she took one of the skulls, stuck it on the end of a stick and gave it to the girl, saying: "Here's a light for your stepmother and her daughters. That's what you came here for, isn't it?" She walked all day and by the evening she reached her home. As she approached the gates she was about to throw away the skull, but suddenly she heard a muffled voice say: "You must keep me, your stepmother and her daughters have need of me." The girl carried the skull into the house. As she entered, the skull fixed its eyes on the woman and her two daughters. Its eyes burnt them like fire. They tried to hide, but the piercing eyes followed them and never let them out of their sight. By morning nothing was left of the three women except three heaps of ash on the floor. Vasilisa was unharmed. She buried the skull in the garden and went to find shelter in the nearest cave. Here she lodged with an old woman. One day the old woman gave Vasilisa some flax. With it Vasilisa spun the most beautiful thread, so fine it was like hair. Then she weaved the thread into the most exquisite cloth. It was brilliant white, soft and so beautiful. Vasilisa gave it to the old woman and said: "Grandmother, you have been so kind to me, sell this cloth and keep the money." The old woman looked at it and said, "My child, this is too fine to sell. I am going to take it to the leader of their people." So she brought it to the leader as a gift who thanked the old woman and gave her many presents before sending her home. Impressed with the beautiful cloth, the leader tried to find someone who could make tunics from it. However everyone declined the work, as the cloth was too fine for them to handle. In the end the leader called the old woman and said, "You must also know how to sew the cloth as you made it." The old woman replied, "No. It was not my work. It was done by a girl I took in." So the leader asked the old woman to see if Vasilisa would make the garments. Vasilisa made the tunics and the old woman took them to the leader. As she waited for the old woman to return, one of the leader's men entered. He said loudly, "The leader wishes to see the woman who has made his wonderful clothes." So Vasilisa went to the first cave. Vasilisa and the leader were captivated by each other and eventually they married. When Vasilisa's father returned, they invited both him and the old woman to come and live at the first cave. Also in the cave was the little doll, for Vasilisa carried it around in her pocket until the day she died.'

'Do you think my dolly would do that for me Mother,' a little girl said.

'I expect so,' a woman replied. 'But let's hope your doll never has to.'

'That was a good story,' Druwez said to Pripyiah.

The holy man nodded. 'But I am sure you have many stories of your own. Maybe you will share one now with us.'

Druwez grinned. 'I will tell you the story of Ayla.'

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

I wake to another day, the seventh of the same kind, walk down the corridor pass the small garden we are allowed to visit and into the cafeteria. I yawn as I see Danug who is busy stuffing eggs into his mouth.

'Morning,' I say and slump in the chair next to him.

He nods and carries on eating.

'Glad to see that this week's confinement hasn't spoiled your appetite,' I say ruefully, nodding my thanks to a woman as she places a cup of coffee in front of me. I ask her for some toast.

Danug puts down his fork and looks at me. 'We have to eat,' he says. 'I keep thinking we have to eat as we have to be strong because I'm hoping that soon, we will be able to go back to our time.'

'Do you think they will let us?'

'I think James will try his hardest to make it happen.'

'And the Colenel?'

Danug sighs. 'I think he would have preferred to not have us as a problems but now that we are, I think he would like to send us somewhere so we can be studied.'

I sit up and stare at him. 'Really? Is that what is going to happen to us?'

Danug shakes his head. 'I don't know, I hope not.' He takes my hand and squeezes it. 'We have to trust James,' he says.

I nod and take a sip of coffee.

The doors of the cafeteria suddenly open with a bang.

'We've found him,' James shouts as he runs in. 'We've found the hazard suit man.' He looks at me. 'We've found your bear man.'

I put down my cup and stare at James. 'Does that mean we can go home?'

James frowns. He shakes his head. 'He's in the reactor number four in the Chernobyl plant but that reactor exploded and is behind a concrete sarcophagus. No one could be alive in there, but it seems that he is. He's been seen moving around by some of the cameras that are still operational. Goodness knows how he's not been noticed before.'

'So all we have to do is go there, find him, touch him and we go home?' I ask, grinning.

'You can't go there. That area is too radioactive…' he sighs. 'The spirits, they are many there, exposure to them would make you die.'

'But…'

'And he hasn't been to see our people since you arrived either. I stationed someone to guard them, and report any sightings plus I've spoken to the patients. They haven't seen him.'

'Oh, but how are we going to get back then?'

James shrugs.

'We have to go to this reactor,' I insisted. 'It is the only way.'

'You would die.'

'Better to die than stay here.'

James frowns. 'Has it been so horrible here that you would rather die?'

'It has been boring, though I've enjoyed meeting you but I have to get back to my sister, and Danug wants to get back to his cousin. We have families.'

'Well, then we need to hope that the hazard suit man starts visiting the patients again then,' James says. 'And he does seem to disappear every day, but not to here.'

'I bet he's going to your cave,' Danug says.

I nod. 'I just hope that someone is looking after my sister. Though, it is more likely, she is being made to look after everyone else.' I look at James. 'There must be some way of getting back, can't you contact him somehow. You say you've seen him though he is far off so you obviously have some sort of magic. Can't you tell him to come back here?'

James smiles. 'Maybe,' he says, rushing to the door. 'Yes, it might be possible.'

'Can we come?' Danug asks.

'No,' James shakes his head. 'You have seen too much already. You will have to stay here. I will be back when I have news.'

OOOOOOOOOOOO

'I can't believe that this is Pripyiah's plan,' Druwez groaned as they walked to the haunted cave. 'This is a stupid idea; it's never going to work.'

'If he thinks it will work, then it will,' Bretie said. 'Pripyiah knows about these things.'

'But…'

'Come on,' she said, grabbing his arm when he tried to stop walking. 'We are nearly there.'

Sure enough, the cave was within sight and they would get to the path that led up to it within moments.

'We should have thought of another plan.'

'We can trust Pripyiah's plan,' Bretie said, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him. 'He would never have let us come here if he thought it was stupid. I've known him all my life, and I can tell you, I would trust him with my life.'

'But you are trusting him with your life,' Druwez snorted. 'You are trusting in a plan that could end up with us being in the spirit world.'

'If that is what the Mother wants, who am I to object?' She shook her head and carried on walking. At the bottom of the path, she stopped and looked around at him. 'Are you coming?' she asked. 'Or do I have to do this myself?'

'Fine,' he said and joined her on the path, walking behind her until they got to the mouth of the cave.

She stood and looked into the dark and trembled. 'I…' She looked at the rock floor.

'I know,' Druwez took her hand in his. 'We'll go in together.'

OOOOOOOOOO

Shala screams and points to the side of the cave. The bear man is walking there, he takes the bubble off his head and sits down. Seems to mumble words, though no sound is heard from him. He stares around the cave, putting his hands out to the people. Mouthing the words, 'help me,' to them. Shala screams again.

And I wake up. Half expecting to see the bear man, I look around the dawn lit room and sigh. 'Please don't be scared Shala,' I say to myself but also to her. 'I will come back.'

I think about the bear man, and then I remember that he'd seemed to be asking for help. He wanted help. I climb out of bed, throw a tunic and trousers they've given me and rush to the cafeteria.

'He's trying to get us to help him,' I shout as I run into the room. 'The bear man, all these years he's been asking for help. Reaching out his hands, mouthing help me words.' I see that James is sitting with Danug. 'He's terrified, you know. I could always see it in his eyes. We have to help him, as well as help ourselves.'

James nods. 'I agree but it's going to be hard. I've tried to contact him, but he seems to be spending less time in the reactor, disappearing, probably to your cave, for hours and hours. I will try again though.'

'But don't you see?' I sit down. 'He asked us for help, my people. He asked me. I have to be the one that helps him. Please, I need to do this, is there no way I could be allowed to communicate with him? I'm not afraid of the magic or spirits involved.'

'No, I can see you're not,' James grins. 'I will see what I can do.'