Bilibino – Jessica Tregarth

October 26, 2013

Halloween Surprise (pt. 25/30)

It was dark and spooky beneath the tarp, with a deadened feel in the air. Lila crept over to the closest window and stood on tiptoes to peer inside the vehicle. Shining the red light from her flashlight through the glass, she had a feeling that at any moment she was about to see a horde of shambling zombies lunging toward her from inside the RV. Lila shivered.

“Creepy much,” she whispered.

Lila felt Ian slide in beside her to peer through the window.

“Wow.” He whistled almost silently.

The interior of the RV looked almost exactly like the control room of the Bilibino nuclear power plant that they had just toured, except everything was compacted into about a third of the space. The room was slightly illuminated by the flickering lights on the instrument panel. From what she could see of the space, there didn’t appear to be anyone currently in the vehicle.

Joe was acutely aware of how the canvas covering would move around them as they repositioned themselves. He pushed his hands against Ian’s and Lila’s shoulders, warning them to stay tightly pressed against the vehicle’s surface. “Slide,” he breathed into their ears.

One at a time, with Lila in the lead, they edged their way around the vehicle until they reached its door. Trying to find a joint or handhold, Lila ran her fingers carefully across the icy metal surface. She gave up in frustration after a couple of minutes and moved to the other side of the door to aim the flashlight at the door’s surface.

Ian moved in front of the door and identified what appeared to be a locking mechanism. He withdrew a fancy looking 3-in-1 tool from his pocket, from which he removed a finger-length piece of metal. He inserted the metal tip into the lock and pulled a clamp connected by a wire from the other side of the tool, which he fastened to the edge of the lock.

Pushing a button on the main body of the device, there was a brief surge of current and a spark emitted from the lock, after which Lila heard a smooth click. The door popped open so quickly it nearly brained Ian, and it was only Joe’s quick reflexes pulling him out of the way that kept him from being hurt.

They looked at each other apprehensively, and then Lila reached her foot up onto the first step and started climbing into the RV, taking hold of the railing alongside the short staircase to maintain her balance. She cautiously climbed the steps, keeping her flashlight trained on the area directly in front of her feet. As Lila reached the main level, she could see a closed and presumably locked door in front of her. She leaned down to wave Ian and Joe forward, waiting for them to reach the area next to her before continuing to the door.

Ian knelt down to study the door’s dead bolt before going through the same unlocking procedure with his device. He stretched out his hand, gently pulling downward on the European style handle. At that same moment they heard what sounded like a toilet flushing.

Lila blanched, her eyes huge. Scarcely daring to breathe, Ian released the door handle in slow increments and backed toward the bus entrance. Joe stopped Ian’s and Lila’s backward movement by the simple expedient of placing a hand on each of their backs. He gestured for them to stay in position, and they stood there for a few minutes until there was no further noise. At that point, Joe edged forward to once again open the door in front of them.

October 22, 2013

Halloween Surprise (pt. 21/30)

Lila squelched the urge to look behind them. “What color car?”

Joe replied sarcastically, “There’s only one. It’s black.”

“Okay, so it’s easy to spot. I guess they don’t want us losing them.”

“I’m not about to lose them. They get very angry when spurned. I don’t much fancy walking out of the nuclear plant and seeing my lovely Lada keyed up with garbage thrown all over it.”

“Wow, they really don’t like to lose people,” Lila said amazed.

“Let’s just say I’ve heard it’s not a best practice,” Joe said dryly.

Lila snoozed in the backseat as Joe drove cautiously across the rough surface, while Ian kept a casual watch on the black car.

As they approached the city, Ian leaned back to tug on the hair that had fallen over Lila’s face. She waved his hand away and mumbled, before awakening in a rush. Her first view of Bilibino was less than inspiring. “Looks like a bunch of Legos put together into long barracks.”

“I’m guessing this isn’t a place where you want to go it alone in the tundra,” Joe remarked.

“Our friends are passing us,” Ian said quietly as the shiny black sedan zoomed past them and two men waved at them.

Lila’s jaw dropped. “Did you see that?”

“They want us to know that they know that we know,” Ian said tensely.

“They really stick out here,” Joe commented. “Can’t be good for their suspension – or paint job – to go that fast.”

“I think they’re making a point,” Lila said, “that their car has more get up and go than ours.”

“Not true.” Joe patted the steering wheel. “This girl’s got a lot of giddy up in her.”

“You sound like you’re talking about your girlfriend,” Lila said with amusement.

“I’ve always wanted to drive a Lada,” Joe admitted. “First times are always memorable.”

Ian snickered. “That’s too easy.”

Lila sighed. “Will you two give it up?”

Both men burst out laughing. Ian turned his head back to face Lila. “For you, darlin,’ anytime.”

“I can tell we’re all punchy from being tired,” Lila said. “Speaking of tired, where’s our hotel?”

“Oh, not yet,” Joe cautioned. “We still have an appointment at the nuclear plant. I got a business to run, and a tour to give.”

“How about you give it to yourself, Joe,” Lila advised.

Ian laughed out loud. “This just keeps getting better.”

The group drove slowly past four monolithic Cyrillic letters that identified this as БАЭС [BAES], the initials for Bilibino Nuclear Power Plant. Round twin-headed streetlamps lined the drive leading to a series of large square buildings separated into yellow and gray sections.

Hanging from the top of one of the buildings was an enormous white banner on which giant, black Cyrillic letters proclaimed the toughness of these northern dwellers: СЕВЕР-КРАЙ СИЛьНыХ [NORTHERN EDGE STRONG].

As they pulled into the parking area, Lila marveled at all the windows in the buildings. “I guess when you live somewhere as far north as this, you want to let in all the light possible.”

They entered the building, where Joe introduced them as the expected tour members, and they walked one at a time through the metal detector past guards wearing camouflage uniforms and caps.

As they neared the heavy, metal door marked Turbine Hall, Lila felt the hair on her arms rise.

October 21, 2013

Halloween Surprise (pt. 20/30)

Joe rushed forward to give both of them a friendly handshake. “Hey, guys! Great to see you.”

“What are you doing here?” Lila asked when she got her voice back.

“Helping out, a little this and that, you know.” Joe spoke evasively.

Ian said derisively, “You’re here to baby-sit us, aren’t you?”

“Nope, not me.” Joe then broke into a grin. “Well, maybe. Not like I’d pick one of the colder places on the planet to visit when it’s almost winter. No, sir, not me. Gimme Thailand or maybe Vietnam for its beaches.”

“I didn’t know Vietnam’s beaches were famous,” Lila commented.

“Oh, definitely,” Joe affirmed enthusiastically. “I highly recommend Nha Trang or Phu Quoc Island. Even China Beach, where the U.S. troops used to go, is a pretty amazing place with a nice 5-star hotel. But we’re getting off track.” He paused. “Lila, how’s your Russian?”

“Better than yours,” Lila shot back.

“Oh, yeah?” Joe smirked. “My team beat yours at the language bowl last year,” he said referring to their departmental Jeopardy-style foreign language and culture game that was waged annually in December.

“You cheated,” Lila protested. “We should have won easily, but you guys pulled in a ringer. He was Lebanese, so of course he was fluent in Arabic. No fair!”

“Don’t be a hater,” Joe jokingly admonished before turning serious. “So, you’re here to visit Bilibino.”

“That’s right.” Lila glanced at Ian who had been silent during the Lila and Joe’s easy back and forth banter.

Ian shrugged. “I guess we’re here to see a reactor.”

“I’m the man for you.” Joe pounded his chest. “Reactor Tours Limited is here to provide you with the best and most up close Russian reactor experience possible.”

Lila burst out laughing. “You are such a ham. Is there really such a company?”

“Absolutely. In fact,” Joe rooted around in his pocket and pulled out business card, “here’s a card for you.”

Lila admired the oversized photo of Joe beaming while standing in front of a nuclear reactor building. “Very nice,” she said, snickering. “You look like a used reactor salesperson.”

“What can I say, I’m a man who loves a reactor. Now back to your Russian.” Joe returned the focus to Lila.

“I’m a level 2 probably. Not perfect, fairly intermediate.” She looked at Joe expectantly. “Why?”

“Because we’re about to take an awesome tour by none other than yours truly.” Joe whipped out a set of keys. “In fact we’re going over right now.”

Lila groaned. “I’m tired. And hungry,” she complained.

“But you have all those things in your bag. Find something to eat. Maybe a pickle would take the edge off,” Ian said with a gleam in his eye.

Lila looked thoughtful. “Beggars can’t be choosy,” she muttered and began dragging items from her bag. “Let’s see, chocolate bar, oh, and here’s that pickle,” she said triumphantly tearing it open and eating it.

Ian exchanged looks with Joe. “I see some things haven’t changed,” Joe motioned toward Lila, “she still likes her food.”

“Yep,” Ian gave a mock sigh.

Lila finished her snack and then she and Ian decked themselves out in the winter gear he had brought. “Ready,” she announced.

Joe shepherded Ian and Lila out to the parking area. “Everyone pile into Uncle Joe’s lovely Lada,” he said referring to the Russian manufactured vehicle parked near the terminal.

“No Land Rover?” Lila teased.

Joe patted the small car’s hood. “This baby will get you everywhere you need to go. I’ve driven these through rivers and they kept on going.”

Lila seated herself in the narrow back seat, the frozen plastic upholstery crackling under her. She yelped, “It’s cold!”

“No kidding,” Ian said mildly and looked back at her from the front passenger seat. “I’d offer to let you sit on my lap, but I think that would make driving here even less safe.”

Joe started up the vehicle and pulled onto the gravel track that passed for the road to Bilibino. His eyes flickered repeatedly to the mirror, while Ian casually glanced at the side view mirror.“We’ve got a friend behind us.” Ian said quietly, his lips scarcely moving.

October 20, 2013

Halloween Surprise (pt. 19/30)

“I don’t think there’s time to run into town.” Ian grimaced. “Besides, have you seen the snow coming down out there?”

Lila scoffed at what before had seemed horrifying amounts of snow to her. “That? The locals would consider that summer weather.”

“Hardly,” Ian said disagreeably. He pointed to the display panel next to the gate. “Does it say what time we’ll be leaving?”

Lila squinted at it. “Not yet, but I’m sure any minute there’ll be an update. If we hurry there’s probably time to make it into town.”

Ian shook his head. “No way. I’m not making it all the way to Russia, just to miss our flight because of tusks.”

“Mammoth tusks,” Lila reminded him, “And they’re only 600 dollars per kilogram. That’s a bargain! Where else can you find them available to buy like that?”

“Gee, I don’t know, but where would we store them?”

Lila appeared crestfallen.

Ian said consolingly, “Maybe we’ll have time to stop in town on our way back.”

“Do you think?” She cheered up. “I’m sure I’ll find a way to transport them… Wait, I can just ship them!” Her face fell. “Okay, and pay a ton of extra costs to make sure they arrive, but still it will be worth it.”

“What’s up with the interest in tusks?”

“I just think they’re a piece of forgotten history. You know, instead of having pillars or a Roman aqueduct in our living room, I think a set of tusks would be a nice touch,” Lila finished wistfully.

“Go great with the coffee table. Or even better you could have a coffee table made of tusks.”

Lila’s eyes lit up and then she looked sad. “I don’t know if the pieces are that big.”

“Something to look into,” Ian said encouragingly. “See? You still have more research to do.”

Suddenly the gate display flashed a new message:

Magadan plane now boarding.

A gate attendant propped open the door to the plane’s walkway and people converged from all corners of the small terminal.

Ian and Lila joined in the fray, entering the walkway. They pounced on their seats, stuffing their bags in the overhead across the aisle where they could keep an eye on them.

A man with a chicken in a wire cage walked past them.

“I love chickens!” Lila exclaimed.

Ian groaned. “So do I. For dinner.”

Lila gave him a disgusted look. “They’re so cute, and full of personality.”

“Yum, yum.”

Lila sniffed. “You have no appreciation for fowl.”

“Actually, I’m a friend of fowl: barbecued fowl, seasoned fowl, garlic and butter fowl, and of course, lightly roasted fowl. I’ll go with extra crispy, but I’m really more of an original recipe guy.”

Lila sighed. “If only I could get you to see the light: vegan, vegetarian.”

“I’ll eat that too, along with the fowl.”

Lila just shook her head and then leaned it against the window to watch the countryside flow underneath them after takeoff.

The flight took about four hours, and Lila was staring intently out the window as they circled over the mountainous landscape coming in for a landing. “Wow, this is rural. I mean really rural.”

“I take it you’re not a Farmer in the Dell kind of gal.”

“No, not at all. In fact, my father sent me to stay on a farm for a summer to gain some appreciation for down home living, but it didn’t work. I came back more determined than ever to stay in the city.”

“This is the same father that buried people in cement?”

“There’s no proof of that.” Lila grinned. “Let’s just say it’s a good reputation to have. Nobody messes with you.”

“I can imagine.” Ian laughed. “Hope he likes me.”

“Oh, he does, at least he’s said so,” Lila teased him.

They began deplaning at that point and they grabbed their luggage, walking from the plane onto the cold ground. Lila shivered as the frigid air engulfed them. She spotted a man holding up a sign with their names.

“It’s us,” Lila called out in Russian and waved to the man.

“Handy, you speaking Russian.” Ian murmured. They walked toward the man and Lila smiled in a friendly manner. “Здравствуйте!” [“Hello!”]

The man pointed to a building with red and cream siding that served as the airport terminal.

“Go in?” Lila asked as the man waved them away. She tugged Ian along with her to the structure and breathed a sigh of relief as they entered the slightly warmer interior.

“Ian and Lila!” A familiar voice called out to them.

“Joe?” Lila blurted out in astonishment.

October 17, 2013

Halloween Surprise (pt. 16/30)

hollywoodAtSunset3 — Leaving L.A./Hollywood sign at sunset

They left the park and drove back to their condo where they parked their car. Lila stuffed her favorite black non-wrinkling travel clothes into a carryon, and Ian threw into his backpack some sub zero cold weather parkas that folded down into small packets, along with warm socks and thermal underwear.

“You’re packing like we’re headed to the Arctic,” Lila commented.

“We are,” Ian pointed out, “we’ll be north of the Arctic Circle in Bilibino.” He checked a phone app to look up the local temperature. “Today the high temperature is, dum, dum, dum, five degrees, with a low of minus 4 degrees.”

“Holy…” Lila’s mouth dropped open. “We’re going to need a whole lot more winter gear than that!” She pointed at the backpacks.

“Well, this is all we have time for, and if they want us to be prepared, they’re gonna have to provide it or we’ll buy it once we get there. I’m sure they stock clothing suitable for the weather there in the area.”

“I am never moving from Los Angeles,” Lila said determinedly. She looked at her phone app and quoted the day’s temperatures. “84 degrees for the high, and a low of 58. I love this place,” she said with conviction.

“I know, I’ve heard you say that often enough,” Ian laughed. “Let’s go. We’re heading out now.”

As they were walking over to the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital, Ian received a text on his cell phone. “Top floor. Go now.”

They picked up their pace, quickly entering the hospital and taking the elevator to the top floor.

“I’m glad we’re flying out of here, instead of flying in,” Ian said grimly.

Lila nodded in agreement.

A man wearing a yellow vest met them at the top and addressed them in turn. “Ian? Lila?”

“That’s us,” Lila yelled over the pounding noise from the waiting helicopter.

“ID?” the vest wearing man continued.

Ian and Lila dug out their passports to show him.

He motioned for them to get on the helicopter.

As they ducked and raced to enter the passenger seats, Lila called out, “It’s really loud!”

“What?”

“I said it’s really loud!” Lila shouted again.

Ian shook his head. “Can’t hear you,” he mouthed.

They seated themselves and strapped in, gazing out in awe at the city lights beneath them.

Lila grinned. “This is so awesome. I love flying at night!”

Ian looked a bit grim. “Bad memories from my last night flight,” he mumbled.

Lila could barely hear him. “Baghdad?”

“Medevac over the Euphrates. Cool view of the river, but less than desirable circumstances.”

They traveled in silence to the airport where they flew high over the runways before making a pinnacle landing in a steep descent onto the LAX west helipad. Before they exited the helicopter, the pilot turned to give them a set of tickets. Lila clutched them in her hands as they raced underneath the whirling blades of the helicopter.

They slowed to a walk and Lila eagerly tore into the ticket envelopes.

Ian laughed. “You’re like the announcer on the Miss World contest opening the winning envelope.”

“Well, the winner is… nonstop to Moscow, flight to Magadan,” Lila’s eyes lit up. “Hey, that’s where Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman went in Long Way Round.”

“And then?” Ian asked patiently.

“Then a flight to Keperveyem Airport.” Lila’s eyes sparkled.

October 16, 2013

Halloween Surprise (pt. 15/30)

“You were talking with him. He is still able to converse in his current form.”

“But… he’s dead.” Lila said incredulously.

“Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t able to converse with others. It is true he vibrates on a higher level than most – but not all – people. People such as yourselves will be able to see him, as you are more sensitive than others.”

The voice directed the following comment toward both Ian and Lila. “That was one of your tests, when you were able to interact with him at the Trianon. It shows that you are two of those people who have that ability.”

“Great,” Lila muttered, “just what I needed to have, the gift to see – what do you call him?”

“He is an entity, as are we. There is no reason that energy has to disappear, it simply changes form, as your Einstein so sagely wrote. Matter may convert to energy, but the energy is not lost, it has simply changed form. This is what has happened with Sergey.”

“And us, someday,” Lila mused. “In a way it’s nice to know that I may be spooking some people in the future.” She grinned unrepentantly. “I know a few people I’d like to haunt.”

“They will not be able to hear you, but perhaps will sense a tiny bit of disruption around them, unless they are as you are – sensitive to interaction with others.”

“I guess that’s a good thing,” Lila said hesitantly.

“It is most definitely for us. Now let us plan for how you will prevent this potential nuclear holocaust”

Ian interrupted the voice – was it one person or all of them speaking? – to ask cynically, “What is your stake in all of this? Why do you care?”

“We have a vested interest in what goes on here on this planet as we are currently home based here. The ecology is already dire in places like the ocean surrounding Japan, but the possible nuclear meltdown in this location in the Chuvan Mountains is very near our headquarters. There is almost no traffic or disturbances in this area as it is only accessible through an ice road in the winter. It is ideal for our,” the voice paused, “studies.”

“What kind of studies are you doing?” Lila asked suspiciously, thinking about how aliens used humans as a food supply on the 1980s TV show V.

“We gain energy through processing the output of human emotions. It is a simple and harmless technique we use.”

Lila snorted. “Like what, sucking their brain waves from their skulls?”

“Nothing so drastic. We are also conducting further research in the laboratory where you were at this evening. It was useful to see how you interacted so easily with the interface. You are truly gifted.”

“Okay, down to basics.” Ian interrupted. “We need to figure out how, if a crisis is looming on the horizon, we are going to get from here to there.”

“There will be a helicopter waiting for you at the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital helipad.”

Lila nodded. “That’s near where we live.”

“Where to from there?” Ian asked skeptically. “It’s a long way from here to Vladivostok, or at least the nearest airport to Bilibino.”

“You are correct. There is a rough road leading from Keperveyem Airport to Bilibino. You will take it one leg of the journey at a time and we will provide tickets along the way.”

“What about food?” Lila demanded. “I’m not going hungry.”

“You will be supplied as needed. Return to the upper level now.” One of the entities waved its hand and Ian and Lila were drawn against their will back to the tree where they found themselves once again standing.

“Hell of a ride.” Ian beamed.

Lila nodded grimly. “But what will tomorrow bring? And what will we find in Bilibino?”

October 15, 2013

Halloween Surprise (pt. 14/30)

Lila turned to Ian. “What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?”

“A hole?” he replied impudently.

The short people – or were they normal height? It was hard for Lila to tell — moved around them forming a loose circle.

“We asked Sergey to send you here. We know you are very good at dealing with problems such as these.”

Ian said to Lila out of the corner of his mouth, “Problems like going down the hole in an Alice in Wonderland? Yep, pretty accurate.”

Lila snorted a bit in laughter. “Pay attention. This could be important,” she reprimanded him. “These aliens obviously have a height problem.”

“Who says they’re aliens?” Ian whispered back to her.

“We can hear what you are saying.”

“Oh, great.” Lila rolled her eyes at him. “Now we’re in trouble.” She said accusingly, “This is your fault.”

“How is it my fault,” Ian argued.

“Humans!” The sound seemed to come from all over as it had in the research lab.

“Nice acoustics you’ve got here.” Ian added, “Must make for cool movie watching.”

“You are so irreverent.” Lila pointed out. “Have a little respect.”

“Like you?” Ian guffawed.

Suddenly there was a loud cracking noise that came from the floor and a large viewing screen rose from it.

“Sweet.” Ian mouthed.

They were watching people moving around a pool in the ground with rods in it in a large building that appeared to be a nuclear reactor. Lila could make out the words Билибинская АЭСon a wall plaque. “Bilibino,” she read aloud to Ian. “It’s Russian.”

His face twisted in concentration. Ian leaned slightly forward watching the action on the screen. One of the men pulled an alarm lever set on the wall and a light began flashing. Ian tilted his head as he considered what was going on in the picture. “Hell, it’s a nuclear meltdown.” He looked expectantly at the small people across from them. “Is this now? What’s the timeframe?”

“You have fifteen days before this becomes reality. I’m sure you know that this is the most northerly nuclear power plant in operation.”

“Actually I didn’t know that,” Ian motioned toward the screen. “How are we supposed to stop it?”

“No one will take our warning seriously,” the voice continued, “Particularly not in Russia. Sergey should not have been involved, but he knows us. He worked on another task last year for us. Things have, however, changed for him. He is dead.”

Lila gulped. Chills ran down her arms. In a slightly quavering voice, she asked, “Then whom were we talking to?”

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