Chapter 6
There was no ground beneath my feet. The sharp teeth of eight monstrous hounds, vehemently trying to snap at my fast-moving heels, furiously gnashing behind me. The saliva that flowed from their open jaws could be poured out in buckets into the filthiest well in the world. My fear, every time, fed those monsters better than they would have fed on my body, vivid and strong, just fit for escaping from death. The rain lashed my face like a wet whip, and the thunder crawled between the grey buildings, pushing my neck with an all-consuming roar. The high grass wound around my legs, but not the dogs’ paws, letting me know on whose side nature was in this wilderness – those mongrels chased me around Pripyat as if I were some hare in the field. I smelled the rotten stench from their muz
