After a long moment of staring at each other, Lucas finally took a step back and lowered his SVD. “If you get in my way, I’ll shoot you. If you get between me and that beast, I’ll shoot through you to kill it. Understand me?”
Yuri nodded and stepped around Lucas, peeking out into the hallway. His light passed back and forth, stopping on the blood that coated the walls. “My God…” Yuri whispered as he staggered into the hall, falling on his knees in front of the bloody scene. “Dimitri, you fool. Why wouldn’t you listen to me.”
Dimitri had been the one who encouraged them to travel to the city that night, though Yuri ultimately felt responsible for what had happened. If he had only argued more against the trip or refused to go, then Dimitri’s death could have been avoided. What am I going to say to Aunt Tamara? What am I going to say to mama? Yuri closed his eyes and sat back on his legs, whispering an old prayer that his mother had taught him when he was just a boy. A prayer for the dead, Yuri spoke it for his cousin, begging for forgiveness both for his inaction and for Dimitri’s soul.
Lucas watched Yuri from the doorway to the hall, still glancing around with his thermal scope to make sure the shadow wasn’t close by. Lucas felt a twinge of pity for Yuri as the teenager sat in front of the remains of his friend, shaking his head and muttering to himself. He exited into the hallway and tapped Yuri on the back with the barrel of his SVD.
“This hospital isn’t safe. We need to leave right now.”
Yuri slowly stood and turned to face Lucas. The fire in his eyes hadn’t lessened, but a faint reflection of what Lucas himself felt now shone through. Vengeance for the dead, Lucas thought, turning to lead Yuri out of the basement.
“Keep quiet unless you see the beast. Stay behind me and don’t get in my way.”
Yuri didn’t respond to Lucas’s order though he did obey, remaining quiet and walking just a few feet behind Lucas. They ascended the stairs slowly as Lucas carefully scanned his corners, checking every square inch of surface in the halls and stairs for any thermal signatures. In the cold night air, the blood on the main floor had already cooled, showing up in the thermal scope as dark blue puddles and streaks. Lucas stopped at the top of the stairs as he aimed down the hallway, bothered by something that tickled at the back of his mind.
Where’s Iosif?
Chapter Seventeen
In the long, dark corridor streaked with blood, Lucas realized with a start that Iosif’s mangled corpse was no longer present. For a moment he thought that it had just cooled and wasn’t showing up on the thermal scope, but a quick check with the flashlight showed him that this wasn’t the case.
“What’s wrong?” Yuri whispered behind Lucas.
“The body… it was here when I came downstairs, but it’s gone now.”
Yuri peeked around Lucas, closing his eyes at the scene in front of them. It was virtually identical to the one in the basement and it made Yuri sick to his stomach. Without warning he felt bile rise in his throat and he turned back to the stairs, vomiting into the stairwell. Lucas glanced back at Yuri, grimacing at what he heard. After a few dry heaves, Yuri turned back to Lucas, gulping deeply as he wiped his mouth on his jacket sleeve. He began to mutter an apology to Lucas who held up his hand, brushing off the attempt.
“Follow me and stay close.”
Lucas moved forward through the blood-soaked corridor, keeping his eyes straight ahead and refusing to look up, down or to the sides. Yuri followed his lead, briefly closing his eyes as he walked, trying not to think about the squishing sounds that came from beneath his feet as he stepped through the puddles on the floor. Far ahead of him, by the main doors to the hospital, Lucas had moved swiftly forward, eager to get out of the hospital and out into the open. While the openness of the city provided its own set of challenges, Lucas was tired of being an easy target in the darkened building.
Once Lucas heard Yuri walk up behind him he turned and spoke with him. “How did you and your cousin get into the city, Yuri?”
Yuri nodded his head in the general direction of the car that he and Dimitri had brought. “We have a car, way out by the forest. We drove up from the city and parked it there, then we walked in.”
Lucas shook his head. “Damn. So much for getting you out quickly.”
“I already told you I’m not going. I’ll die before I lose my chance to kill that thing first.” Yuri leaned over and picked up a piece of a broken chair, brandishing the chair leg in his hands like a baseball bat. Lucas snorted at the sight, momentarily distracted from the seriousness of their situation by Yuri’s absurdity. Lucas could see the fear etched in Yuri’s face, but he was impressed by the display of bravery, no matter how foolish or hopeless it may have been. With a wry smile, Lucas held out his hand to Yuri.
“My name is Lucas Pokrov, sniper with the Spetsnaz special forces group. I’m sorry to meet you like this, Yuri, but I admire your courage.”
Yuri held the chair leg in his left hand, gripping Lucas’s thickly gloved hand with his right. Yuri’s grip was firm, though Lucas could feel the slightest tremble in his arm. Whether this was a symptom of the cold, the youth’s exhaustion or his fear, Lucas wasn’t sure. He released Yuri’s hand and reached up to his back, removing the shotgun that was strapped there.
“Do you know how to use one of these?” Lucas held the shotgun out for Yuri to take. Yuri’s eyes went wide and he dropped the chair leg to the floor, taking the shotgun with both hands.
“Dimitri and I used to shoot sometimes.” He flipped the pump-action shotgun over, examining the body of the weapon. With a rapid movement he took the pistol grip in one hand and slammed the pump back and then home again, ejecting a shell from the side of the weapon. He grinned sheepishly at Lucas and retrieved the shell, pushing it back into the gun.
Lucas nodded approvingly. “It’s short range, but it packs quite a punch. Just hold on tight and don’t use it unless you’re right on top of the beast.”
Yuri nodded and spoke again before Lucas could turn to leave. “What is that thing, Lucas? Is it some kind of bear?”
Lucas stopped mid-turn, shaking his head as he looked out the entrance of the hospital. “No, but I don’t know what it is. Iosif and I dumped enough lead into it to drop a bull elephant, but it barely seemed to notice us. It’s certainly no bear.”
Yuri sighed as he sat down in a nearby chair, ignoring the dirt and debris that coated it. “I guess the stories about this place are true.” He looked up at Lucas, questioning him. “Why are you here, anyway? You don’t look like local military.”
Lucas hesitated before choosing to be open with Yuri instead of hiding his mission. “Iosif and I were sent here to kill whatever that thing is.” Lucas looked behind him and backed up to a table that was pressed against the wall and leaned on it, catching his breath as he spoke. “I think Iosif had more information about it than I did. All I was told at our briefings was that it was some kind of anomaly suspected to be in the area.”
Lucas looked down at his vest suddenly, sparked by a memory of Iosif. He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out the small notebook that Iosif had handed him. Lucas turned the notebook over in his hand, brushing his fingers over the deep brown leather surface. He glanced out the door of the hospital again, still concerned about the possibility of the shadow returning for them again.
“What’s that?” Yuri stood up and walked closer to Lucas, holding his light up to illuminate the surface of the book. Lucas took off the rubber band that held the book closed and opened it to the first page, flipping through it to try and discern its contents.