"I just wanna have a talk with him..." Radius assured his group of new friends as they followed him to where the wolves told him to meet their leader. "...right before I cave his skull in and do the same thing he did to those men."

"This has ambush written all over it." Daring Do said.

"I'm gonna have to agree with her." Shining Armor said. "I've seen my fair share of those."

"You just saw me take on five huge wolves at one time." Radius countered. "I think I've proven that I can hold my own well enough."

"And just whatcha try'na prove this time, pardner?" Big Macintosh nervously asked.

"I'm trying to serve justice and redeem myself. Now you all need to quit following me, okay? Shit's about to go down."

Radius was on a mission and was set on serving justice to the one responsible for the deaths of the three murdered construction workers who were found by the search team as they lay disemboweled. Everypony else had their own serious doubts about the idea of the pony they searched for their entire time in the exclusion zone going off to confront some creature that was capable of such atrocious acts. Still, the mutated unicorn's mind was made up so he would stand to hear none of anypony's reasoning against his plans and much to their frustration, he picked up his speed to shake everypony off his trail. Contrary to his seemingly confident attitude, Radius knew that what he was getting into was far too dangerous for the rest of them to be involved in and as far as he was concerned, he too could very well die within the hour.

Though the group slowed their pace and increased their distance between themselves and Radius, they continued to follow much to the latter's annoyance and despite his repeated requests to cease. As far as they were concerned, he was still their primary objective and until Princess Celestia returned to give an order, they were not about to let him out of their sight. Still Radius pressed on Northbound, his brow furrowed and his acid producing salivary glands overacting, leaving deadly puddles in his wake for everypony else to avoid stepping in. The mutated unicorn was on a mission and nothing was going to stand in his way if he had anything to say about it.

"So what exactly is your plan, Princess?" Frederick asked as he cautiously peeked his head out of a bush that he and Celestia hid in.

"To find my subjects including Radius and neutralize whatever threatens their well being if necessary." Celestia replied as she scoped their surroundings with binoculars. "Oh, by the way, thank you for coming with me. I'm going to need all the help I can get."

"Eh, whatever. I just wanted to see some action."

"Action? That's it? No other reason?"

"Okay, okay, Shiny Guy is kinda cool I guess. He and I talked for a while over drinks other night."

"See? Us wimpy little ponies are alright after all."

"Well, I've got a reputation to maintain so this conversation never happened."

"What conversation?"

"Good. Alright, lead the way and stay alert. No telling where something may be hiding and waiting to ambush."

"I'm thousands of years old and I've lead an entire nation to war more times than bullets you've fired off in your whole lifetime. I think I can take on whatever little pipsqueaks think they can so much as look at me funny, the way I'm feeling right now."

"Alright, now that's what I'm talking about! Hey, try the two ways again. We might be within range of the others by now."

After nearly an hour of power trotting without a single break in between, Radius finally reached the exact location that the two wolves acting as messengers told him to meet their pack leader. He wanted nothing to do with any risk of harm coming to the team who spent over a week searching for him so he teleported far ahead of them when he noticed that they were still following him. After finding himself content with the distance he had put between himself and the others, he continued on but little did he know that they saw the flash of his reappearance in the distance. Still not giving in, once the team quickly reached the spot where they saw the flash, they found that they were fortunate enough to have a trail to follow in the form of the small, smoldering, sizzling pools of Radius's acid saliva.

Though the group had a trail to follow, they were tired and sore from over a week of very little sleep in uncomfortable conditions, searching an entire city for Radius, and occasional radiation exposure. If that was not enough, many of them experienced a traumatic event one way or another. Be it an attack from a mutant fish the size of a truck, a run in with a vicious gang-like pack of wolves or the sudden discovery of a mutilated human corpse, everypony had been through much great hardship in their time in Pripyat. With their energy and stamina running low along with the many scrapes and bruises their tired bodies had sustained, at this point, it was sheer will and determination that kept them going.

"He...o? Ca...nypo...co..in..." A familiar muffled female voice crackled over the what remaining radios the team had left.

"Is that who I think it is?" Daring do asked.

"Plea..ome in! Is ev...ony alright?! Hello?"

"Auntie!" Shining Armor exclaimed as he levitated his radio unit out of his saddlebag as they all continued to gallop. "Where are you?"

"Shining! Oh, we're finally within range! Frederick and I are heading back up to our base! Is everypony with you?

"Yeah except for Twiley but she's meeting some guys at the checkpoint! We're not actually at the base right now but we're not too far away from it. We found Radius but now he's gone off to pick a fight with the wolf pack! We tried to stop him but he's made up his mind!"

"Damn...Hang on a second..."

"Hey, Shining, this is Frederick." Fredrick said after being given the floor by Celestia. "Where are you guys?"

"We're heading North right now..." Shining Armor began. "...and by the looks of it, we're gonna be a bit west of the base! There are some schools and daycare centers where we are if that helps."

"Okay, I know exactly where you are then. Listen carefully, I need you guys to follow Radius but keep your distance and keep a low profile. The local wolves don't want us in Pripyat and they've got the road blocked off so the army can't get trucks in. Once Radius gets to where he's going, stop and wait and keep back. If he's thinking of fighting these other mutant freaks, it could get messy and if you get too close, you'll just get caught in crossfire. Understand?"

"Find out where he is but keep our distance! Got it!"

"Da, just find a good spot to lay low and we'll find you. We'll get what you all came for done in next hour. We'll get Radius to cooperate one way or another."

With the help of Frederick whom has seen plenty of combat and knew the area better than anyone else, everypony continued on to where Radius had ran off to in order to locate him and await further orders. Still though, he and Princess Celestia were just within radio range so they were still a fair amount of distance away from the rest of the team. If the soldier and the Princess were to find their comrades before the real danger does, they would have no choice but to head towards their location with much haste. Meanwhile, the primary target whom of which was the very reason for the group having left their home to work so hard to search for was just arriving at his own rendezvous and not far away from finding the trouble he sought after himself.

Radius had gotten to know every single nook and cranny of the city after spending thirty years unable to leave it so he already had a picture of the precise location painted in his mind. He arrived at the specified location in the form of a gymnasium of the local youth recreational center. Anxious to see who it was who had asked him to show up, Radius used his aura to pull open one of the heavy double doors before trotting in. The mutated unicorn knew that a fight would soon take place and he was confident in his abilities to defeat whatever foe may come his way so he turned around to face the door with his horn aglow. Using his now smoldering horn glowing a bright cherry red, Radius pressed it against the small gaps between the doors and began to melt the metal firmly welding them shut. Now, whoever he was to come up against could not easily escape; nor could he.

The inside of the gymnasium was dark and the floor covered in a thick layer of dust all except for a few spots directly under small holes in the ceiling where rain leaked through and formed puddles. Much to be expected after thirty years of absolutely no maintenance. Nevertheless, Radius was ready to serve justice and make the one responsible for the murders of the three construction workers pay for their atrocities. Much to his confusion however, the mystery being who had arranged the rendezvous was nowhere to be seen which both disappointed and aroused suspicion. Every conceivable possible scenario went through the mind of the unicorn who was more than ready to tear someone apart.

Perhaps, the perpetrator had gotten cold feet and fled in fear. Perhaps instead, Shining Armor's theory of an ambush was soon to be proven correct. Maybe they just simply had not arrived yet and were running late. Regardless, Radius was in the mood for some action that he had grown quite accustomed to as fights between he and other local creatures were quite common. Fortunately for the search team whom still sought for his safe return home however, they were able to quickly locate their target's rendezvous point as the trail of acid had come to an end just outside the still smoldering door.

"Uhh, I think he's sealed himself in." Daring Do said as she closely observed the fading glow of the quickly hardening metal used to seal the doors. "Might not wanna touch this, guys."

"Well, we've done all we can for now." Shining Armor replied. "Frederick knows what he's doing so we're gonna trust his word and wait until he and Celestia get here."

"I still kinda wanna see what's going on in there." Soarin said. "Why don't we just find a window and take a peak, huh?"

"Way ahead of ya!" Rainbow Dash said aloud.

"Shh! Relax, Crash!" Spitfire shushed. "We need to keep a low profile, remember?"

Agreeing that they all at least had the right to observe whatever it may be that their primary target was getting himself into, everypony very quietly made their way to the opposite side of the building to the nearest window. As a precautionary measure, Shining Armor made it a point to turn down the volume on his radio and have the rest who still had a functional unit to do the same as to prevent their cover being blown. The large room they peered into through the filthy, unwashed window was completely empty with the exception of the very reason they all entered the exclusion zone standing in the center, his ears perked up and his keen nose hard at work.

"Alright, come on out, you coward!" Radius shouted in the direction of a set of double doors that lead to a locker room. "I know you're in there! I can smell y-"

SLAM!

Radius was indeed correct as to the whereabouts of his potential adversary as one of the double doors flew open hitting the wall nearly hard enough to knock it off its hinges. The sheer force used to swing it open was the least of everypony's concern however as the massive, furry paw the size of a trashcan lid that extended from the dark room holding the door open incited a nervous gulp from each of them. Radius on the other hoof remained unmoved even as the second double door swung open and slammed against the wall causing the floor to shake and rotted chunks of the building to fall from the ceiling. Much like the first, the second door was also held against the wall by another gargantuan paw. By this point, everypony watching through the window could feel their manes stand on end end every last bit of their blood drain from their faces. There they all stood with their mouths agape and their bladders suddenly feeling full as the massive creature slowly stepped out from the darkness.

"Come on now, don't be shy!" Radius teased the colossal creature much to everypony's shock. "Come on out, handsome! Lemme get a good look at ya!"

"F-F-Fred?" Shining Armor squeaked over the radio as the massive creature slowly walked out from the dark locker room on four tree trunk-sized legs. "Aunt Tia? Help? Please?"

"Ohhh boy, what is it now?" Frederick asked.

"Is there...any possible way to expedite getting your army buddies in here?"

"They're filling up holes in road as fast as they can, comrade. What's the problem?"

"We found out who Radius wants to fight and he's the size of a goddamn truck!"

A long pause incited a moment of awkward silence and made the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife. Frederick was an intelligent and not to mention very brave individual but Shining Armor had just broke to him a bit of news that could truly make their mission much more difficult than it needed to be. After several seconds of trying to process what the pony on the other end of the frequency had just said to him, Shining Armor decided to speak up again.

"Did you hear me?" Shining Armor squeaked as he and the other ducked down from the window to avoid being seen. "There's a fucking mutated wolf...the size of an SUV over here!"

"Okay, hang on just a second." Frederick said. "Are we talking like as big as my Jeep or...or what?"

"Uhh, more like a Chevy Tahoe."

Again, Frederick paused making for another moment of awkward silence as he imagined a ghastly creature comparable to a full sized American sport-utility vehicle. Standing next to him, Celestia heard the entire conversation and if she were not already coated in white fur, she could not possibly look more pale. With a shaky hand, Frederick held down the key on his two way unit and gave the best advice he believed he possibly could.

"Get away from there!" Frederick shouted. "Get far the fuck away from there and Princess and I will come and get you! Just hang on, okay!?"

Shining Armor and the others did as instructed as they trusted the word of a combat experienced individual who knew the area better than anyone else. Slowly and every so quietly, they crept away from the side of the building and dashed into a nearby patch of overgrown foliage where they would continue to observe with their binoculars. Though they were a decent distance away from what seemed like an impending showdown, their minds were anything but at ease and every muscle in their bodies tensed up at the sight of what their primary objective was up against.

The horrifying creature in question was much like the rest of the deformed wolves seen before except well over twice the size and the three tails attached to it were easily twenty-five feet in length. Aside from that it's large eyes glowed and flickered back and forth between every possible color as well as a purplish steam spewing out of its nostrils every time it exhaled. This wolf seemed to emit a great deal to light as the long, sharp, bony spikes that jutted out of its back glowed green with every beat of its heart. It was truly an astonishing spectacle to behold and yet a sickening and nightmare inducing reminder of the true terror that is radiation and the horrible things it can create.

"What the...Bolnoyvolk? Is that you?" Radius nonchalantly asked the behemoth canine that stood before him. "Long time no see, comrade! Heh, funny, I was just thinking about you and the last time we met! Jeez, you got a lot bigger since then. What are you, ten or eleven now or something?"

"I'm fourteen, asshole." Bolnoyvolk replied with a furrowed brow and a smirk. "But yeah, you know, I've been working out and soaking up some more rads. Apparently the last time you bashed my head, you knocked something loose and my pituitary gland started acting up."

"Ohhh, didn't know that was possible. see, I was a doctor in physics so hormones weren't really part of my expertise. But hey...your welcome, I guess."

"Well fuck you very much."

"Pfft, aw come on, sourpuss. What are you so mad about?"

"This fucking shit!"

Bolnoyvolk then proceeded to use his paw to pull aside his lower lip while he pointed into his mouth with the other revealing several sparsely spaced teeth much too small for such a massive set of jaws. As Shining Armor spied at the creature showing his disproportionately small teeth through his binoculars, everything he was shown before simply clicked together like a perfect puzzle. He recalled the tooth that his sister had hoofed over to the scientists and though it once belonged to Radius, it was still comparable to those of this wolf which explained why Twilight feared that the mutated unicorn could be a murderer. Upon seeing this, there was no longer so much as a hint of doubt in his mind nor of anypony who watched the scene before them. As far as they were concerned, Radius Hoofenschtov was innocent.

"Aw quit your bitching." Radius teased Bolnoyvolk. "What's the problem? They're about as big as mine."

"They were a hell of a lot bigger before." Bolnoyvolk huffed. "Out of all the growing I've done, my teeth had to come in like this after you knocked them out. I'm five times your size now and because of you, my teeth didn't follow suit."

Both enemies paused for a moment and continued to stare each other down, Bolnoyvolk with his brow furrowed and what remained of his teeth barred and Radius with a toothy smirk. Despite their massive size difference, Radius almost seemed as if he were intentionally taunting the giant wolf with his smug attitude. Unlike their last encounter however, Bolnoyvolk had changed a great deal and was much more patient. Instead of losing his own composure like Radius was hoping for and expecting, the ghastly creature matched the smirk of the mutant unicorn and flipped the conversation much to the latter's confusion.

"Heheh...but enough about me." Bolnoyvolk chuckled. "Let's get to why you're here."

"Right. So you're the one who killed those guys, huh?" Radius asked.

"Ohohoho, I did a lot more than just kill them. You know how cats play with their food?"

"You...son of a bitch..."

"Oh man, you should have seen them squirm! Ahahah! I started out by breaking all their limbs and letting them try and crawl away."

Radius was always one for keeping his composure to the best of his abilities when it came to dealing with enemies and he knew very well that allowing emotion to get in the way was something to avoid. Try as he might however, he simply could not help himself as he clenched his teeth out of burning anger. He could actually feel his body temperature quickly rising and his bodily glow grow more intense. Despite his best efforts, his own anger would end up being his worst enemy and Bolnoyvolk who was well aware of it was planning to use that to his advantage.

"...And after they got a few feet away, I'd just drag them back and let them start over." Bolnoyvolk chuckled. "I'd let it go on for a good while. I'd chew on their throats a bit so they couldn't scream...slowly tear their guts out and let them squirm a bit more. The looks on their faces were the best parts. Just sitting back and letting them bleed out was the most fun I've had in ages."

"And that's why I'm here." Radius said through his teeth as he slowly began to circle his foe. "I'm gonna make you pay for what you've done."

"What about you? Like what you did twenty-nine years ago was any different?"

Bolnoyvolk then followed suit and now both enemies were slowly circling each other. Everypony observing from a distance through their binoculars could not hear what the two were saying but they both knew that that a fight was inevitable and they could do nothing about it but wait helplessly for Frederick and Celestia to arrive. Shining Armor had seen first hoof just how well Radius could fight but he had his doubts as his mutated friend was going up against a creature the size of an American truck. Regardless of which one of them had an advantage, everypony knew for a fact that one of them would not make it out alive.

"The fuck are you talking about?" Radius asked as he and Bolnoyvolk continued to circle each other. "How do you know about that?"

"I know plenty about you, Radius. You went crazy and massacred a bunch of your own friends. Everybody knows about that."

"It wasn't me. I have an alternate personality and if you keep that shit up, you'll be unlucky enough to meet him."

"Excuses, excuses."

"I'm not asking you to believe me. I don't have to prove anything to you. I know it wasn't actually me who killed them and that's all that matters. You on the other hoof...it was your true blue, sadistic self who disemboweled those men and you're okay with openly admitting that."

"And there's the pot calling the kettle black. You and I aren't any different. You're a cold blooded killer just as much as I am."

"I...am nothing...like you."

"Come at me little horsey. I'll give you a free shot."

"Of all the times we've fought before..."

"Let this be our final one..."

Both combatants were ready to go and prepared for a battle to the death that had just begun as Radius took advantage of the so-called free shot he was offered and charged after Bolnoyvolk. As the giant wolf sat on his rear while Radius sprinted after him with his horn aglow and ready to slice him to pieces, the former simply motioned with his paws for him to come over in a taunting manner. Radius was confident in his ability to fight and expected to make quick work of his foe. Surely this would be too easy, which is what he would have liked to think but Radius would soon find that allowing his emotions to play too large a part would be his first mistake. As the furious mutant closed in on the truck sized canine, he readied his horn to fire his beam of thermal energy and just as he let it out, Bolnoyvolk disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"What!?" Radius yelled as he screeched to a halt to glance about and find out what had just happened. "Where'd you go, you coward!? Disappearing act, huh!?"

"Oh, I didn't disappear, tough guy." Bolnoyvolk chuckled. "I'm still right here ripe for the picking. What are you waiting for? Make me pay for what I did."

"Ohhohoho, you've developed a refraction field and can make yourself invisible!? Nice!"

"I've got plenty of new tricks! Wanna see some?"

"Ooohh, the doggy's gonna do a trick for me?"

Each and every time Bolnoyvolk spoke to Radius, his dialog would come from a different direction which caught the mutated pony off guard. His eyes and ears darted all around the large room in attempt to pinpoint his potential adversary's precise location and his horn was still aglow ready to either slice through flesh or melt another hole through the concrete wall of the building. Much to Radius's misfortune however, he would not be able to so much as even fire a shot as the first major blow of the fight would not be in his favor.

"Surprise!" Bolnoyvolk beamed as he suddenly popped into view directly in front of Radius's face.

After majorly catching his opponent off guard, he quickly balled his paw up into a fist and nearly flattened the pony's muzzle sending him flying across the room. If not for the concrete wall that he slammed into causing dust and broken chunks of rubble to fill the air, Radius would have sailed much further. After the dust settled revealing Radius stuck in a superficial indentation matching his own shape, Bolnyvolk stood back to admire his work. Now realizing that he could no longer take this particular foe of his lightly, the still conscious Radius peeled himself off the wall and hit the hard floor below with a solid thud.

"Whoa! Not bad!" Radius said as he stumbled to his hooves. "Alright, that was pretty good but now you're playing with the big boys!"

"Says the tiny little horsey! Have at me!"

"Have at you!"

Expecting Bolnoyvolk to pull his invisibility trick again, Radius decided to use his own means of element of surprise and just as it appeared that he was going to try firing another beam he put his plan into action. Once he closed half the distance that was originally between himself and his enemy Radius tried an old but reliable trick he knew and teleported. In the blink of an eye, Radius disappeared from in front of his canine opponent and reappeared just behind him with intent on slicing him into oblivion with a well focused beam. Much to the hero's misfortune however, Bolnoyvolk was yet another step ahead and made it quite clear to the pony by grabbing him and pounding his head into the hardwood floor with concrete underneath. This time however, Bolnoyvolk was not about to give his equine opponent time to recover.

While Radius was dazed, Bolnoyvolk put one of his tails to work and tightly wrapped the flexable twenty-five foot appendage around the stunned unicorn flung him upward to the ceiling. The force of the wolf's movement was more that enough to send the three hundred pound pony straight through and even further up into the air. The entire time, Bolnoyvolk watched as his prey came plummeting back down and readied himself to inflict another blow unto him. Everypony from the search team watched helplessly as their new friend tumbled down back into the hole his body had created in the building. Once he disappeared back into the roof, the loud thud of him hitting the hard floor before receiving a firm stomp from his foe could be heard and even felt by the helpless team as it shook the very ground on which they stood.

Once the dust settled from Radius having slammed into the floor to have a massive back paw stomp him in even further, the juggernaut of a wolf stared down at his dazed and confused opponent with a smug smirk. Though Radius was dizzy and and battered rather badly, his bruises and cuts would prove to be the least of his worries as he was now blinded. Thirty years of wearing the same pare of glasses had dealt a great deal of wear and tear on the spectacles but being tossed through the air and bashed into the wall and floor respectively was the last bit needed to shatter the lenses.

"Aww. Poor widdle pony in da floor?" Bolnoyvolk mocked Radius as he reached into the hole he lay in and pulled him out. "Here lemme help you up."

"I'm gonna fucking kill you." Radius coughed just before being slammed into the floor again.

Things were beginning to look grim for Radius as Bolnoyvok repeatedly slammed his equine target into the floor and walls of the building. Finally, the sadistic wold had Radius whom he hated so much right where he wanted him and was thoroughly enjoying beating him senseless and stomping him as hard as he possibly could. Though the mutated unicorn was much more durable than the average pony, Bolnoyvolk's attacks were doing a great deal of damage to his body. Radius often had the desire to die but not at the paws of the one responsible for the horrific murders of three innocent men just doing their jobs; at least not before he too was punished for such atrocities.

Every inch of Radius's body received brutal blunt force of one form or another as Bolnoyvolk tried everything he could think of to cause bodily damage to his victim. The monster wolf one moment was firmly grasping onto Radius's tail as he repeatedly bashed him into the floor and walls and then using him as a living chew toy the next. For the pony's who worked so hard under horrific conditions and saddening circumstances to watch their new selfless hero of a new friend who had already gone through so much be mercilessly beaten was nausea inducing.

Finally, the brutal beating stopped and Bolnoyvolk tossed Radius's limp body to the floor in front of him to admire his work and the wounds he had inflicted. Unbeknownst to him however, he would soon find that a warning he received from his victim just a few minutes ago was about to come true despite Radius's best efforts to oppose it. As Radius lay there in a daze while Bolnoyvolk cracked the joints in his paws in preparation to finish off his target, something truly terrifying was going on inside the mind of the beaten and broken pony. Just when Bolnoyvolk though that he had won and the search team all embraced each other while they wept, a new and much more bloody battle was taking place within the mutated unicorn's subconscious.

"Raaadiuuusss..." A familiar voice sang out within Radius's mind. "Raaadiuuusss...Let me out, Radius...Heheheh...You can't win this without me."

"Fuck off, Spazz." Radius spat as he lay on the floor much to the confusion of Bolnoyvolk.

"Huh?" Bolnoyvolk asked as he scratched his head. "Hot damn, I must have hit him pretty hard! Hahaha! Now where did I put those cigars?"

"Come on, Radius." Spazz cooed. "You need me. You can't beat this guy on your own. Why don't you just take a little nap and let me take it from here, huh?"

"I'd rather die and take you with me." Radius huffed. "I'll never let you back out."

"Lemme rephrase that. I don't plan on giving you a choice in that matter."

"No! You're not doing this! I won't let you!"

"Oh, I'm doing it, alright! You're too weak to stop me and I've got you right where I want you!"

"Please don't...don't hurt my friends...please, they never did anything to you."

"Aww, that's too bad...'Cause I'm gonna tear them all apart while I fuck them at the same time. You done now? Huh? Alright, now go to sleep! This body is mine!"

"No...I can't...hold it anymore...I'm sorry, everypony...I failed you...I'm sorry."

"Man you're a riot when you're dying!" Bolnoyvolk laughed as he came back out from the locker room, a lit cigar smoldering between his teeth. "Do you talk to yourself often or just when you're...what!?"

Bolnoyvolk came back out from the locker room where he had retrieved a cigar from his personal stash as he was in the mood to celebrate a victory before he would finish off his victim once and for all. He simply expected to hear more incoherent babbling from the pony who's head he had throttled so many times before deciding to snap his neck and get it over with. What he did not expect however was to come out and see that Radius had gotten off the floor to dust himself off and was now in the process of nonchalantly using his aura to put the pieces of his glasses back together. To see his rival simply get off the floor and act as if nothing had happened was simply too much for the wolf whose jaw went agape causing him to drop his cigar.

"How...in the fuck!!" Bolnoyvolk shouted as he observed Radius gently sliding his fixed glasses back onto his face. "How can you just get up after all that!? This...how is this possible!?"

"Oh trust me, you did a pretty good job there so don't doubt yourself." Radius chuckled as he opened his eyes revealing a bright red glow. "But this town isn't big enough for two sadistic killing machines. What say we go ahead and really get this party started!?"

Author's Notes:

I come to you to tell the tale of a town in North Ukraine

About how the events of one night for many brought so much pain

The tragedy brought upon the city by no more than human error

Setting free an invisible killer to wreak is deadly reign of terror

The year was Nineteen Eighty-six on a warm clear April's night

The date was the Twenty-Sixth the citizens of Pripyat sleeping tight

All but a few of the staff at Chernobyl a mere mile outside the town

Who worked on an important test in the event of a power down

A man who made it his longtime goal to conquer nuclear power

Would find himself overseeing the most perilous task of the hour

It was the head of operations Anatoly Dyatlov was his name

Once lost a son to radiation gaining control of it was his game

Unsatisfied with the test results, he pushed the equipment evermore

Unbeknownst to him and his staff the reactor would melt its core

In the wee hours of the morning the reactor had blown its shell

The fire that raged from inside it resembling the bowels of Hell

For days the fire raged on but the townspeople couldn't have known

Their ignorance to the impending threat was no folly of their own

Still they knew something was amiss when many of their own fell ill

After keeping it under wraps for days the authorities were forced to spill

Much to the horror of the people let down by the soviet nation

They were already affected by radiation's degradation

Those with any common sense and a brain within their head

Knew they had to leave their life behind or they would soon be dead

Those who were responsible were put on trial for their reckless actions

That caused such terrible damage what could be seen by eye just fractions

To this very day that entire area is much to dangerous to live

If not for an infrastructural marvel the reactor would have more to give

May the memory of this tragedy be a lesson to us all

A reminder that man's imperfect nature can make the mighty fall

Though we may learn from this there is one thing that will never change

We as human beings will make mistakes in every range

"With so many human deaths, I cannot say I am completely innocent."

Anatoly Stepanovich Dyatlov ~ July 8th, 1987 ~

Image above by little-tweenframes