Locket full of Secrets (19 page)

Knowing it could be my last moments I pressed my lips closer to Steven’s ear. He needed to know I felt now, in case I never got another chance.

“I love you Steven,” I whispered, before closing my eyes tightly and waiting for the sound of gunfire.

              At the sound of people shouting and laughing from across the open area we were standing in, I slowly opened my eyes. Looking past the men that still had their guns trained on us I watched as a few tour members headed our way, hurrying to cover the distance to the bus in the cold weather. I breathed a sigh of relief as they got closer and closer, finally causing the two men to put their guns away. After exchanging a few tight lipped words to the men in Ukrainian, Olena turned to me with a look that almost resembled a smile.

              “We should get you back on the bus,” she managed, her words forced.

              I nodded, not able to find my voice. Steven gripped me tightly, walking quickly to the bus. We took our seats up front quickly before staring out at the men who were now talking to the tour guide and bus driver. The other tour guests gave me sad looks as they entered; clearly the stress we were facing was causing me to look sicker than ever before. Olena used the time to pull a winter cap from her bag. Slipping it on her head she managed to cover most of her open wound.

              “What’s going on?” Steven asked finally, as the tour guide ended his conversation with the two men who then got into their car and drove off ahead of us.

              “They are joining the tour, I think,” Olena quickly whispered to us before the tour guide boarded the bus.

              While the tour guide announced that we would be headed to the power plant next for our final stop I glanced at my watch. It was 1 o’clock. According to the pamphlet I read earlier we would begin driving back to Kiev at 3, arriving there at 5. I did not like the math on this one. In less than 4 hours I could be once again facing the men determined to kill us.

              “It’s going to be okay,” Steven whispered, pulling me closer to his body. “Olena will think of something to get us out of this.”

              Looking up at Steven I tried to put on a brave face, but inside I was in a panic. I could not imagine how Olena could get us out of the situation we were in. The men were driving right ahead of us, as if leading us to the power plant and our deaths. Sure, Chernobyl no longer emitted enough radiation to kill anyone instantly, but we had worse things to worry about than reactor 4.

              “So, uh,” Steven began slowly. “Did you mean what you said back there?”

              I could feel my cheeks burning with blush as I remembered my confession of love for Steven not long before. Although said in the heat of the moment, the feelings it was inspired by were real. Now, however, saying the words again seemed almost silly.

              “Well….ummmm,” I paused, not knowing what else to say.

              “Hey,” he smiled, planting a quick kiss on my forehead. “We’re going to get home safe and then we will have all the time in the world to talk about things.”

              Too embarrassed to say anything I simply leaned my head on Steven’s shoulder. Glancing over at Olena I saw she was staring at her hands in her lap, deep in thought. I could only guess at that moment what she was thinking about. After walking through her uncle’s home for the first time in over 13 years, receiving a letter from her family, and handing me the missing piece to the puzzle of what really happened that fateful night, Olena was suddenly in more danger than ever.

              Closing my eyes I tried to imagine how we could get out of the mess that seemed to be drowning us. By the time we pulled to a stop a few minutes later I was still completely lost as to what could work. Sitting next to us in the lot was the car that held the men that wanted us dead. Little did they know the photos they took from us were not the ones Uri had taken. Hopefully that information would stay hidden, even if we were gunned down.

              “Alright everyone, we are going to go to a few monuments and locations around this area, but please stay close,” our tour guide announced. “Do not wander off please. Radiation levels in this area are still high, so we want to leave on schedule.”

              “Who are those men?” someone near the back of the bus called out.

              “The men who joined us work at the checkpoint,” the driver explained. “They will be joining us for the tour for additional safety. There have been some wild animals spotted in the area recently so they want to make sure nothing happens while we are looking around.”

              Although the answer appeased the others on the bus, I knew this could not be farther from the truth. Looking at both Steven and Olena I could tell the next two hours were not going to be easy. These men were “protecting” our tour group, so if someone happened to see their guns they would not think anything of it. And once we headed back to Kiev, it was likely they would come up with a reason to stick with our group yet again.

              The seconds ticked by slowly. At Olena’s coaching I did my best to act normal. I was thankful that in my case that also meant not feeling well. Still, I tried to stick with Olena and Steven as we walked around the safe area near the Chernobyl power plant. Olena told us staying at the bus was just asking for trouble. The more we were with the other tour guests, the safer we would be.

              Despite my life being on the line, I found myself taking in the damage to the power plant in the distance. We were not allowed to get closer than 200 meters, but even from there the destruction was evident. Much work had been done to the power plant since the initial explosions so long ago, but the crumbling buildings were still all around us. In the distance I could see the unfinished cooling towers that were beginning to fall apart, and thanks to our tour guide I was able to tell the difference in building materials used from the original reactor buildings and the newer additions to both fix and also contain the damage. I listened to all the information, pretending to take photos with the camera that held the truth about it all.

              I watched Olena as she took in everything. It was hard to imagine her visiting her dad here when she was little, seeing the plant up and running. To anyone else it would look like she was simply quietly observing the area out of respect for the other people around her. But I knew. I knew now that Olena was no doubt wracking her brain for a way to ditch the men who were trying to kill us while also grieving the loss of her family.

              Out of the corner of my eye I could see the two men, smoking near the bus and sneering at the plant. They knew the truth we were still waiting to finally see. For them this was a secret they did not want out, and it was worth any cost or life to keep it hidden.

              “Look,” Steven said with a smile as he pointed behind me.

              Following where he pointed, I watched as Olena walked towards us with a determined look on her face. It was clear she had a plan.

              “Did you know there is a US Embassy in Kiev?” Olena asked, gesturing to the building ahead of us as if she was telling us something about reactor four.

              “What is that?” I asked. I had heard the term before, but was not sure how it could actually help.

              “It is a place for US diplomats to come to when they are in the area and have work to do,” Olena said quickly. “But it is also where Americans can go if they lose their passport or have other issues when they are in the country where the Embassy is located. If someone is in trouble, they can take refuge in the Embassy so they are not wrongfully accused or punished for something they did while not in the US.”

              “So we need to get Claire there?” Steven asked, Olena’s words sinking in quickly.

              “All three of us,” I corrected.

              “Only US citizens can truly take refuge there without local authorities getting involved,” Olena paused before continuing. “And since you have the film it is most important for you to get there and hand it over to people we can trust.”

              “Alright, but how do we get away from them?” I asked, with a nod of my head towards the two men with guns.

              “We need to slip away when we get to Kiev,” Olena said simply. “Steven, you need to keep Claire safe and get her to the Embassy. I will get the men to follow me. When we get off the bus you can hand me something that they will mistake as more photos so hopefully they will think you guys are safe to lose sight of for a little while.”

              “And what if it does not work and they follow us?” Steven asked, his grip on my hand tightening.

              “All we can do it hope and pray that does not happen,” Olena shrugged.

              Nodding my head I stared ahead at the damaged building before us. People died in that building, killed by the flames and also by the radiation that spread through the air. Looking down at the camera hanging around my neck I knew we didn’t have a choice. Sure, we would be risking our lives, but this was bigger than us. There were hundreds and thousands of people who were killed or affected by the tragic events that took place only a short distance from where I stood. Getting the pictures into safe hands was about more than just helping Olena’s family. It was a way to help people understand and come to terms with such a tragic event.