The thought of all this was both scary and exciting, but at the time I had no intention of investigating it further. I am no brain, but I know better than to poke a sleeping bear. Still, over the next few weeks, I would find my gaze wandering to a certain patch of woods as I passed by on my way to and from work. Out in a clearing, half a kilometer from the road, there was a large concrete pillar that ended in a heavy metal grate. I had always assumed it was some kind of ventilation for the tunnels underneath, but before Luka’s story it had always been a mild curiosity at best. Now it was imbued with a kind of weight that was both attractive and repulsive. Still, I stayed away.

When the attacks started last month, my mind immediately went to the Bowl of Pripyat. This may seem foolish to some—while Pripyat only has small crimes usually, it is not unheard of for someone to be attacked or even killed. But this was different. One of the bodies I’ve seen myself and the others I’ve heard tell of, and the way they were burned and changed, it seems unnatural. People, good and sensible people, started talking about witchcraft and curses, or possibly some kind of Nav. But my mind went to the thing I had come to believe lay beneath us.

Tonight when I was walking home, my eyes went to that patch of forest again. My feet froze to the spot as I saw something looking back at me. It was tall—half again as tall as a large man—and even obscured by the trees and shadow, I could tell it had an unnatural shape unlike that of any person or animal I knew. It did not move, but simply watched me as I gathered up the courage to run back home as quickly as I could.

Every step I ran I expected to be my last. The thing would catch me from behind and drag me away. They would find my body as they had the others—cracked, charred and bloated with bones that no longer seemed to fit together right. But nothing happened. I made it back home and have heard no sign of the creature in the hours since. I’m writing this to not only make a record, but to help me decide if I should talk to others about it as well. I do not wish to be thought a fool, but I also do not want others getting hurt if what I know could help.

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