Prologue - Disaster of '86
Sirens rang in my ears as me and my family rushed to our car. An explosion shook the ground as a smoke funnel collapsed a mile away.
"What about Misha?!" My mother said.
"We can't save him! He's gone now."
"But-..." My mother was stop short when gunfire was heard in front of us. People were looting buildings and killing others.
"Anna, the radiation levels are to damn high right now. There's nothing we can do." Father said, holding my mothers hand. My father's Geiger counter ticked faster and faster as we were leaving what was Chernobyl. But what will be a wasteland.
We drove to my grandparents house far from the disaster. As my mother carried me in, I could hear her crying as she gave me to my grandmother. "How is my little two year old?" Her voice was sweet and loving, which was okay for me. Their television was on as a news reporter in a helicopter was talking. "Not only two hours ago, a reactor in Chernobyl exploded. So far, it's killed over a hundreds of workers, scientist, and civilians with thousands still suffering radiation poisoning. It's so bad here, the firefighters eyes are turning from brown to blue instantly." My family stared blankly at the t.v. when my grandfather spoke. "Where's Misha?" My mother started crying again. I hated when my mother cried, but I could only listen. My father lead my grandfather the the backroom and told him what happen. That's all I can remember from 1986. That's all anyone can remember.
Soon after the events, death decided to take over my family. First my brother Misha, then my grandmother, then father, then mother. My grandfather was the only one to survive. He took care of me from then on out. It was hard for him, but he dedicated his life for me. I don't know why he would put away everything he had to take care of my. He once told me a story about when he was in World War II. He was a Major in the Red Army and a damn good one. He told me lots of story but one stood out from the others. This one, he said, was back in 1941 in Berlin, Germany. He and his unit just took control of a German outpost and was searching for patrol patterns when he came across a folder with weird insignia's of unicorns of some sort. "Ivan, did you find anything?" He quickly hid the papers from his commanding officer. "Nothing, sir." His officer gave him a glare then walked off. Ivan stuffed the papers in his backpack and left everything else. My grandfather said to me that he told no-one else about that story. For 20 years, I never thought hard about the story until 1994. The day he died of a heart attack. And the day I learned about something dark and secret.
At his funeral, a man dressed in all black suit walked up to me. "Your grandfather served his country proud." I could only say "Thank you." I didn't talk to anyone else that day. I drove home and drank myself to sleep with vodka. For two weeks, I drank myself away. Bottle after bottle, I got weaker and skinnier. I even bought a gun and some bullets thought, "Why the hell should a drunk carry on in a sober, high-class family?" I loaded the gun and pointed the barrel to my face. "One pull, and it's all better." I said to myself. Right before I pulled the trigger, a knock at my door startled me. I slid the gun under my pillows and stumbled to the door. "I looked through the peep hole on the front door and saw my moms sister, Trisha. "Dmitri, are you home. I have something for you." I opened the door and let her in.
"I know it's not the best time but, I found a box in Ivan's house. I had your name on it."
"What's in the box?"
"That's for you to find out."
When she left, I sat the box on a table and opened it. What I found was Ivan's medals of war. I would think he'd have them buried on his chest six feet under but, I didn't care. All that was left was a note typed with the date 1943 on top of it. It read, "My dearest grandson, I hope you are reading this when I am done with Earth. I leave you this letter to give you instructions about something top secret. First, you must enlist into the Russian Armed Forces, then serve one year. After that, travel to your old home in Chernobyl. In your home, under the floorboard is a box. Find it." The note ended and my life changed. This was only the start of things.
