Realistic or Modern Cold War

[hadal]

My God he was tired. Every inch, ever damn fiber of his being ached with pain and exhaustion. He was most likely somewhere in Ukraine right now, but he didn’t know where. It was a forested area with no civilization in sight. Occasionally he’d hear the rustling of some small animals in the bushes, or a flock of birds departing from their perch on a tree. Other than that, he was all alone. As he had been for the past 3… 4… 5 months? His fellow escapee, Vanya, froze to death much earlier in the journey. He didn’t know how long ago that was though. He didn’t know how long it’d been since he escaped the camp either. Kazimir had intended to keep track… to count the nights, the weeks, the months, but he lost count. His counting skills weren’t very good. It was never a necessary skill in the camp.

The weather wasn’t so bad now. When Kazimir escaped, it was subzero and there was a blizzard, and it felt as if all life would freeze to death at any moment. While it was still cool out, the weather reached a comfortable temperature and most of the snow dried up. It must have been the early days of Spring. The thought of Spring approaching gave Kazimir some sort of comfort, but even so, the nice weather did little to alleviate the pain shooting up through his legs and into his back. On this journey alone, his body endured so bunch damage, and his legs felt as if they were about to collapse. Slowly, he sat himself on the wet, muddy ground and leaned against a tree. It was still bright out, but he was in desperate need of sleep. He could let himself rest for just a few hours, then he’d be on his way again.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira found herself lost in the woods somewhere in Ukraine. Her plane had been shot down a week ago. She was battered and bruised and dried blood coated the left sleeve of her sliced army jacket where she had been slashed by a piece of debris from the plane. She had tried to search for other survivors, but the pilot was dead on impact with the ground, she had seen him between pieces of the plane and had not been able to find a pulse. The other passenger, her friend Adam that she had been partnered with since boot camp and through some special training, died in her arms as she failed to save him. After taking their dog tags to ensure that they wouldn't get stolen, she put them in a pocket on the inside of her jacket then grabbed what supplies she could and ran. She was sure that the Soviets that had shot them down wouldn't be far away, so she knew she had to go while she could. She fled into the unknown parts of the woods, searching for some place safe, or at least relatively so in enemy territory.

Amira was surprised by the weather. Based off of many stories, she had assumed that even though it was almost spring that it would still be cold where she was. Amira had already known that much about what the government fed the people about the Soviets was over exaggerated, but she also knew that not all of it was. She was glad that the weather had been a bit of a lie. She wasn't sure what she would do if she had to worry about frostbite along with her other injuries. Amira was very weak as she continued through the forest as silently as possible. She had lost a lot of blood. She had found a river with water, and a few berries along her way, but nothing near what she needed to really help her body heal, all the rations had been burned in the plane. Just as she was thinking that she would be fine for a short rest, she came upon a particularly muddy area and as she was trying to think about how to get around it without leaving distinguishing footprints, she spotted a man sitting under a tree with his eyes closed. She wondered if it was a trap. She hadn't seen any signs of other activity until then, but she was always wary. The man wasn't wearing anything to signify that he was in the Soviet army, but she was not one to just trust a stranger. He did look like he had been travelling for awhile, and he didn't look to be in good shape. Maybe he was stranded too, for much longer than her, and maybe he knew more about the landscape and where they were. She kept her hand over her sidearm, but didn't draw it yet as she contemplated what to do.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir felt as if he dreamed about nothing. He was not haunted by his usual nightmares of blood and pain and death. No, it was just blankness. And nothing, he thought, was better than something, because something was always bad. Something always loomed overhead, or stalked behind you, waiting to strike. For a second there, in the black nothingness of his dreams, he thought he felt, heard, something. A light sleeper, he shot awake, ready to run or fight if need be. As he came to, he saw a bleary figure dressed in camo, pointing a gun at him. In a panic, his heart began to race and his eyes widened with shock and fear. Oh God no, oh please no, he cried to himself. The Soviets had come for him, and he prayed that they just kill him here and now, because he could not bear going back there. He wouldn't be able to deal with having to go back-- he'd kill himself, he really would.

As his vision came into focus, he saw the camo the woman wore did not belong to the Soviets. He did not know what country the woman came from though, or why she was here. Kazimir jumped up into a standing position, ignoring the pain that pulsed through his legs and back. Immediately, he grabbed for his old, rusty knife that sat in his coat waist pocket. The woman was injured and bloodied, but he didn't want to take any chances (even though he logically knew that she could shoot him before he stabbed her). "Who are you" he snarled, his eyes dark, heavy, and wolf-like. His stance was defensive, his grip on the knife firm. Fucking hell, he was terrified, but he didn't let it show. Years in a prison camp taught him how to shove that fear down and make it seem as if he was the dangerous one, even though he was always just as scared as anyone else.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira drew her sidearm when the man jumped up and yelled, but she didn't fire. She was never one to be in the mindset of "shoot first, ask questions later." She was going to be careful, but killing him could mean losing any way out of the forest. She comprehended that he spoke Russian. His accent suggested that he was most likely from the actual country of Russia, rather than one of the so called "Soviet Republics." She wasn't quite sure what to do. She had been in the midst of battle before, but never just face to face with someone that wasn't shooting at her on first sight. He seemed just as scared, if not more scared, of her than she was of him. She wasn't going to give a name just yet, at least not her real name. She fixed him with a stare and then spoke.

"My name is Jane. I would venture to guess that it is obvious that I don't belong here, but it also seems pretty obvious that you don't either." She stated plainly.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir forced himself to even his breathing, knowing he'd be unable to think clearly if he were in a panic. The woman seemed scared as well, and her accent was strange and foreign. While she spoke Russian well (and possibly more properly than him. He spoke poor, peasant Russian), her accent certainly didn't belong to any of the Soviet Republics. Though he never heard an American speak before, he ventured to guess she was one. The Soviets were at war with the Americans after all.

"Where are you from? Why are you here?" he asked, trying to hide the fear that violently pulsed throughout his body. He had heard many bad things about the Americans. They were evil, racist imperialists with no regard for human life. He heard that they wanted to kill all Russians and destroy the Soviet Union. Kazimir didn't know what to believe, though. Could all Americans really be that cruel? Weren't they just people too? Besides, he'd also been taught that he, his family, and fellow political prisoners were vile beings, deserving of torture and enslavement. He knew that wasn't true, and so he didn't quite know what to think about Americans. They surely weren't to be trusted, but perhaps he'd been told some lies growing up.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira took it as a good sign that he hadn't attacked her yet, so she decided a continued discussion would be best. She was worried about what to tell him about her background, but her uniform clearly showed that she was from a western country.

"I am from America, from a state near the border with Canada. If you wish me no harm, I will return the gesture. I was stranded here when my plane was shot down. Now, I have answered your questions, what is your name, where are you from, and why are you here?" She asked the same questions that he had asked her already. She lowered her sidearm ever so slightly in a slight show that she wasn't just waiting to kill him, but she wasn't foolish enough to put it away in a situation like this.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir stared at her warily, still unwilling to tuck the knife away. So she was an American. While it was marginally better than coming across a Soviet soldier, he certainly still didn't trust her. It seemed as if she didn't intend to kill him, but that all could just be a deception. He didn't know what to think, and trying to come up with a solution only caused him to panic more. For a moment, Kazimir was tempted to just run, but he wasn't a coward. And maybe, if the American was telling the truth, she could be of some benefit to him. A fellow prisoner told him a tale of America that contradicted all of the government's stories. The name had been to America before-- New York City, supposedly-- and said that it was a land of great freedom and prosperity. If this was true, maybe the woman could help him get there.

Gulping, Kazimir finally responded, "I am Kazimir, and I'm from Russia," he spoke slowly, cautiously, not willing to explain his escape from a prison camp. "I'm looking to cross the border at the west," he admitted. His plan had been to cross into Slovakia and then eventually get to Austria, where he could find freedom.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira continued to look warily at the man. Every moment that she was waiting for a response made her tense more, but she forced herself to relax. Tensing only aggravated her injuries anyway. When he spoke, she took a moment to think. 'Headed from Russia to try to get to the West. It seems as though he does not sympathize with the USSR or he wouldn't be trying to escape it.' she rationalized. His state told her that he must have been trying to escape for awhile. If he was from Russia and he had made it this far, he did know the right direction to go in, so maybe he could help her get back to safety. She wasn't sure about being able to help him, but just like when she wanted to enlist, she wanted to help free those from the East that were being harmed.

One difficult thing that she had to face was that she didn't know why he was running away. For all she knew, he was an actual escaped convict that had done something heinous. She held on to her other thought that he could be a victim of something. She ventured to guess that the government would jump at the opportunity to help a possible Soviet informant and it wouldn't hurt to have some help getting to the West. She had helped others rescue refugees from the East before, and the people tended to feel sympathetic to those escaping the monstrous USSR anyway. She could help him with the allies*, but it seemed likely that he could help get her to them.

"I might be able to assist you. If we can get to the West, it is a possibility that you can be granted asylum as a refugee." She stated and waited for a response so she could gauge his reaction.

(*just using that for now so that I can stop referring to it as just the West. I would imagine they came up with some United front in Western Europe in this circumstance)

 

[hadal]

Kazimir looked at Amira suspiciously, the distrust evident in this narrowed eyes, tensed face. It may be difficult to be granted refugee status, but crossing into the West with an American solider would be immensely helpful. He was tempted to jump on that offer right away, but he still didn't trust her. As much as he wanted to believe her, a part of him remained convinced that this was some elaborate form of deception by the KGB. They wanted to lure him into a tramp and send him back to prison, and this woman and her promises of freedom were the lure.

"How would you be able to do that?" he asked, unable to hide the anxiety in his voice. Oh God, was he terrified. This interaction could end any number of ways, and Kazimir dwelled on the worst possible solutions. He imagined himself lying dead in a ditch, or handcuffed to the wall in some small, dark room. "How do I know I can trust you?" Kazimir spoke slowly, cautiously. There was something of a wild look in his eyes--a mix of fear, suspicion, and desperation.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira would guess that Kazimir was either equally or more wary than she was. She had to figure out a balance between promising too much and making it seem too hard. If she offered too much, she would truly feel bad if it didn't work out and he could probably figure out that it was unrealistic. If she offered too little, the chances of him helping her get back to the West were probably lowered. She settled for mostly honesty with a little more optimism around the edges so it was still possible and rather realistic.

"I suppose that there is no way that you know you can trust me, just as I have no way to know whether or not I should trust you." She stated plainly. "I'm not saying anything would be easy, and there is no guarantee that everything will work out, but it should be pretty obvious that you have a better chance of staying alive if you head towards the West accompanied by someone from the West. Even if you made it, your lack of English speaking skills could pose a barrier for you. A Russian man running across the border wouldn't exactly be the most welcome sight during wartime." She stated then tapped a radio on her shoulder.

"If we get close enough to the border or an allied camp, I can use this radio to make contact. When my plane went down, all long distance communication for me went down too, so all I have is this short range radio. You wouldn't even be able to use it without help and you wouldn't know the code to use." She stated.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir fell into silence, considering the woman's words. Even though he didn't trust her, she was right. Few people ever managed to escape the Soviet Union, so without her help, his chances at freedom were slim to none. The idea of trusting this American with his freedom scared Kazimir, but then again, so did everything else. If she wasn't deceiving him, she offered him an actual chance at freedom. It was a risk he had to take. He already traveled so far, alone, through bitter, miserable conditions chasing this ever-elusive notion of freedom. But if he were to get to the West, he imagined this freedom would become something tangible. It would surround him and become apart of him, and that fear and terror that always seemed to haunt him would be gone. "Okay," Kazimir breathed, lowering his knife to his side. "I will agree to this," he said, his expression still weary. It seemed to be the only option, or at least the best of a bunch of bad ones.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira felt slight relief, at least a bit, though full relief was not so easy. She put her sidearm back in it's holster on her leg in response to him putting his knife away. In some show of acceptance, if any cooperation could be done, she decided she could start with giving him her real name. She would normally shake his hand as well, but she didn't want to approach him too fast.

"My real name is Amira." She stated, hoping that he could understand why she had given him a fake name at first. They were in a very hostile area after all. She wasn't quite sure what else to do, but she was thirsty. She opened her canteen and noticed it was empty. She looked in her bag for a moment than removed a makeshift bag full of water. She had meshed together a few bags to hold a decent amount of water when she had found a clean river. She filled her canteen and took a sip. The bag still had some water left. She looked at Kazamir after putting her backpack back on, but still had the water out. He looked tired, probably thirsty too. In a show of attempting to make a peace offering, she held the bag out.

"Are you thirsty?" She asked. The water clearly wasn't some trap. It was the same water that she had in her canteen, so she hoped he would accept it.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir tucked his knife back in the waist pocket of his dirty, ripped coat. "Amira," he repeated, nodding his head slowly. That was a nice name. He had never heard of one like it before. Forcing himself to relax, he sat down on a nearby log. "Yes," he sighed, glancing up at Amira and the canteen. He was thirsty and hungry and exhausted. His nap had done little to reenergize him and the tense encounter with the woman probably further drained him.

"I've never met an American before," he said after an extended period of silence. For all his fear of her, Kazimir was also very intrigued by the woman. She was different than he assumed Americans, especially American soldiers, would be. Not that he had any clear idea of them in his mind before, but he imagined them to be very fat and mean. The soldier didn't appear to fall into either criteria. And for all his fear, something about meeting her excited something in Kazimir. Up until now, he'd only ever really been around other prisoners or guards, and Amira was so different and so strange to him.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira nodded carefully and went into her pack to find something that could act as a cup. She found a thermos that was almost destroyed in the crash, but the cup cap was intact. She took the cap cup out and filled it with water then slowly approached Kazimir and set the cap on the end of the log before retreating to her bag. She packed everything back in it then moved to a nearby tree and sat against it, glad to be off her feet for at least a moment. The silence made her slightly nervous, but then he broke it. She was glad that they could at least say a few non threatening words to each other. She took a moment to form a response.

"I've never met a Russian that wasn't shooting at me, fully intending to end my life." She stated. They both seemed to be in a strange situation. She didn't go into any detail, choosing not to go further into a topic that could anger him in case he was still very much supportive of the Soviet army. She idly wanted to ask him why he was venturing West and what the USSR was like, but decided that it was probably too early to ask anything like that, so she lapsed back into silence.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir quickly downed the bit of water, too thirsty, and probably too carless, to savor it. Something about the woman's remark made him smirk. It was a serious thing she was talking about, sure, but he found some sort of odd humor in it. Maybe it was because he knew where she was coming from and could sympathize with the sentiment. "Not all Russians are like that," he joked, his tone soft. Instead of looking at her, his eyes remained fixated on the ground when he spoke. He stared down at his ragged shoes, the muddy ground. If he didn't know someone well, or he was scared of them (all soldiers terrified him. Russian or American... it made no difference), he struggled to meet their gaze. At the camp, he was never supposed to look a guard or one of the more dangerous prisoners in the eyes. They perceived it as a sign of disrespect, and he'd get beaten for it. You little rat, what are you doing looking at me like that? a guard would hiss before smashing a nightstick over his head.

Kazimir fell into silence, still very much uncomfortable around the American. But he had so many questions! America fascinated him, and he desperately wanted to know what it was like. Were the people really so fat and mean? Or was it truly a free and wealthy land--a place where people could say what they thought, and do what they wanted! What is the culture like? And how is the weather? He barely knew anything about the West at all and he was oh so curious.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira observed Kazimir for a moment before observing the landscape. 'at least the trees are pretty in this hell hole.' she thought. She moved ever so slightly in an attempt to be more comfortable, but quickly found that that only made immense pain course through her body, but she didn't let on to that fact, she just resettled. She was worried about her wound, but if she checked it and saw that it was too bad later, she would self cautorize it, even though the thought terrified her, especially with recent encounters with herself being burnt. She decided to think of something else.

Amira wondered if the crash site had been scowered already and if it would safe to return to see if there was anything left to scavage for. Something in her stomach turned a little at the thought of possibly seeing her dead comrades again, but she probably needed to try to think logically and worry about supplies and also wanted to give them a proper burial if they hadn't been moved. She knew where she had come from, and knew she could get back there in a few days travel, but she wondered how her new companion would respond to the trip. She looked back in his direction.

"I need to go back to my crashed plane. There might be useful supplies that I left behind in a hurry to get away. I also... Have a duty to some friends that I need to complete." She stated somberly. "You can come with me, or at least part of the way, and then wait for my return, or wait here. I guess you could technically just head west too, but if I'm going to be honest, it seems like we both need each other's help in some way. The trip wouldn't be easy though, and I'm not sure about the presence of the Soviet army, but that is also an unknown anywhere between here and the West." She stated. She left it at that statement and waited for a response.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir considered this for sometime. It could easily be a trap, and even if it wasn't, the crash site of an American plane would catch the attention of the Soviets. He didn't want to think about the repercussions should he be caught with an American soldier. But he was in need of supplies, and there may still be some left over from the crash. It was a risk, but all options carried a certain level of danger. The threat of capture always loomed over head, but Kazimir saw it as an almost necessary threat. It was preferable to being locked up.

"I'll go with you," he said after a period of extended silence. "How far off is it?" He stood now, taking a hesitant step towards Amira--still sure to keep his distance. His feet sank slightly into the mud, but he planted them there. Kazimir now looked at her with the same weariness that was there before. It never really seemed to leave. "How bad are your injuries?" he asked. She seemed to be in a bad condition. While she handled the injuries admirably, Kazimir could tell she was in pain.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira had waited with patience while he considered his answer. She would help him either way, but she knew he had no reason to really trust her that much. She knew giving him time to think was the best option. Trying to force someone to do something usually didn't end well. 'And here I sit because I was drafted.' she thought to herself, hoping that she didn't die in the forest. She stood up when he did and looked at him.

"Now that I know at least a little bit about this forest, at least the way I came, it should be about a 3 day travel if we can keep pace. There's a place probably about two-thirds of the way there that is heavily shrouded in shrubbery. It is a bit muddy and mossy, so there is a weird smell, but it should be able to throw any attack dogs off, so that would be a good place to rest. We can stop along the way too, but any prolonged rest elsewhere might be a little more... concerning" She stated.

She then addressed his second question, a bit surprised that he had even commented on it. He seemed to be very wary of her, so it wouldn't really be any of his concern. Also, she had hoped that she hadn't let on to her pain, but then again, a few injuries were quite evident. "My injuries are nothing I can't deal with." She stated. She was a stubborn person and she was planning on handling her injuries herself. She wasn't exactly going to trust a person to help her with her injuries anyway. She pointed in the direction that she had come from.

"The crash is this way." She stated then started off at a slow pace until she was sure that he was going to follow her, of course being cautious that he was now behind her and she couldn't see him directly. She did trust her senses though, and if he moved she would hear it.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir nodded, stepping in line behind Amira. The journey wasn't too lengthy, and it was currently broad daylight, so they'd have at least 5 hours of travel before it got dark. And despite the woman's insistence that she was okay, he had his doubts about her ability to make the trek. He needed her help to get to the West, so he needed her to stay alive. Besides, Kazimir had been utterly alone for months now. Being left in solitude, with only one's thoughts as company, quickly warped into a form of torment. For that reason, he was almost relieved to see another person.

"Is there fighting in this region?" he asked, worried about the potential presence of Soviet troops. His knowledge of the war was almost nonexistent. Sure, he knew his country was fighting the West because America and it's allies were imperialists, aiming to bring about the destruction of communism, the Soviet Union, and all of the Soviet people. But while he knew the reasoning to go to war, he knew nothing about the war itself. The fighting never reached the prison camp, either. The camp was far too secluded, hidden away in the southeastern reaches of Siberia. Though the Americans and Soviet citizens knew the prison camps existed, they knew little about what they were like and how they functioned. By and large, they were kept secret, totally hidden away from the world.

It wasn't until Kazimir escaped that he actually saw the war. Sometimes he'd walk through more populated areas, or trek through the snowy mountains where battles took place. He saw buildings turned to rubble, burnt and abandoned tanks, mangled bodies and trails of blood. There were times when he'd hear the guns and blasts of artillery, and he'd see soldiers shot down and blown to bits in real time. For the most part though, he managed to stay away from the fighting and troops. He'd take longer paths to avoid any encounters, and became adept at hiding away when troops were nearby.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira stiffined ever so slightly at the question of fighting, a few flashbacks playing in her mind. Videos and surveillance from the sky scanning the region.

"That is why I'm here." She stated. "Not much on our path back to the plane as far as I noticed, besides a patrol or two right around the plane when it first crashed. But..." She hesitated a moment, but decided she could tell him about the war his own country was in, just not too many details of her own mission.

"Kiev is mostly destroyed. I was sent in the survey the damage and take care of any hostiles. Your army was supposed to hold Kiev, protect it from the West. We didn't even make it in time, still over a week away from arriving at the city. The USSR I suppose didn't want to take the chance of Kiev falling, so they... Took care of it themselves, not leaving much behind then abandoned it." She stated, starting to get vaguely angry, the grip on the stock of her weapon tightening.

"All the people... Innocents, left lying in the streets. I am not foolish enough to say that none would have died in the crossfire when the allies arrived, but civilian safety is something we are working on. To murder one's own people, the people who trusted you for protection, is absolutely despicable." She finished in a bitter tone. She didn't care if he believed her or not. She knew the truth and that was all that mattered to her.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir fell into silence, sensing the anger in Amira's words. The news about Kiev didn't surprise him. Before he'd been sent to the camp, when he was still just 6 years old, the Soviet army came in and massacred his village. Oh God, the screams, and all the bodies that just littered the ground... he remembered traversing his way around the bodies, identifying each one. It was a small close-knit village, so he knew all of their names. Many of them were friends of his family. The rest of the village, the ones who survived, were sent to the camps.

Oh yes, Kazimir knew all about the brutality of the Soviet regime. He knew the misery and overwhelming violence that constantly accompanied it. The massacre in Kiev was to be expected, and while it reminded him of all the pain he experienced at the hands of the government, it did not affect him too greatly. Such killings had just become a part of his life. While he hated this life, he did not have the energy to become angry at every government killing. He wouldn't have lasted this long if he did. "The government doesn't like Ukrainians," Kazimir told her plainly, his tone unnervingly detached.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira gritted her teeth slightly, trying to stop more of her anger from seeping out. "Well my government doesn't like the USSR, but we don't purposely set out to massacre its villages." she stated. She knew war overall was callous. People were going to die, including civilians. In World War II, she knew that the US had targeted some civilian cities in Germany and it disgusted her, but they weren't using that tactic anymore, at least to her knowledge, though it wasn't even for humanity's sake. If they used that tactic, the US would lose support from its partners in the West. She took a breath to steady herself, though it was a little shorter than she would have liked.

"Listen, I know not all of the people of the USSR are bad. There are some in the West who believe that, but not as many as you would think. So many are under the thumb of your oppressive leader. Based off of your state of being, it doesn't seem like you were treated well if you traveled this far on foot to escape. I'm sure there are others like you and that is why me and a great many others are here, to try to help. Of course there are war mongers, there are in every war on every side, but no side of a war is wholly good or bad. It seems to me though that the state of the USSR is far worse than our side and I'm not just talking about military might." Amira stated, trying to help him to understand that she didn't hate all of the people of the USSR, just the dictatorship and those among the people that believed how the USSR was being run, with people having little to no rights and the quality of life always in decline, was a good government.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir took awhile to respond, considering her words. He sensed that the mental and emotional wounds of whatever she'd seen and experienced were still fresh. She was full of anger and wanted to make things right. And while he knew the way he and his family had been treated was wrong, he struggled to grasp on to all the anger Amira was holding onto. Maybe that anger and hatred was there, but he struggled to voice it. He didn't know how to. In the camp, if he were ever to be heard criticizing the government, he'd be tortured or killed. Even now, hidden away in the woods, he was scared to utter even a word against the government. The Soviet leader, Chernov, was said to have ears everywhere. The more irrational part of Kazimir worried that should he insult Chernov and the government, one of Chernov's spies would sneak out of the bushes and put a bullet in his head.

"We went to war with your people because the Americans want to destroy the Soviet Union and all it's people," Kazimir told her, repeating the propaganda that had long been drilled into his mind. For all he suffered under the Soviets, he did not imagine the Americans were much better. They were imperialists that wanted to kill Russians for simply being Russian. Though he knew little about the war, he heard that the Americans were going around and massacring villages. He didn't know what was true and struggled to reconcile what Amira was telling him with what he'd been taught all his life.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira halted midstep and turned to glare at Kazimir, fire in her eyes. She had seen the propoganda that the Soviets had spread, and knew that he was probably just regurgitating information, but she didn't hate it any less. "If Americans wanted to destroy the Soviet Union and all of its people, we would have easily done so by now. The Soviet Union has numbers and coercion, but we have pride, a system that let's people express themselves without the threat of certain death or prison, and most of us have the heart that when we hear about what goes on in this god forsaken place, we know we have to do something to stop it." she said in a very quiet, but venomous tone, almost an eerie combination. She turned back around and continued the trek and threw in one final statement. "If Americans wanted all of you dead, don't you think I would have killed you while you were resting?" she left the question in the air. She didn't stop walking, not caring if he was really following, but knowing that she probably should care. "When you get to the West, you'll see for yourself what the world is like. You've already seen the nitty gritty, but you need to see the brighter side to understand that it isn't always this bad." she stated after a few seconds.

Amira focused on steadying her breath and then continued to guide the way to the resting spot. It was still at least a days travel away, but they would get there, if he didn't give up and just kill her and take her supplies that was. She was constantly aware that he was behind her and that he had a knife. She did have all of her gear on, but she was sure she couldn't protect everything. She knew she would rather die trying though. She had sick family waiting for her stateside and she wanted to see them again, she hoped and prayed that she would see them again. She would also fight to be able to tell the families of her fallen comrades how courageous they were and how they did their best when the plane was going down. She was very aware that their dog tags were in her pocket, and they wouldn't leave her possession until she got them to the families. It was this determination that helped her continue. She kept her pace, not slowing despite the pain she was in, she could rest in the spot where she knew it was relatively safe. A bit of her was also putting off attempting to rest because she didn't really trust Kazimir. She wondered if they would be able to try to talk a little more civilly when they were resting the next day.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir momentarily stopped in his tracks, staring at Amira in silence. After thirty seconds or so, he started walking again, but was unsure of how to respond. She was so angry. At the Soviets, at him. He supposed her anger was not without reason, and maybe he too should be furious, but he was just too damn worn out. Maybe he used to be angry, but that must have been a long time ago. All that fury died out, and permanent exhaustion and despondency took it's place. Amira had a lot of fight in her, and she seemed all but ready to tear down the Soviet government. Chernov was not going to just disappear though, and his empire wasn't going to come to a sudden and crashing defeat. The Soviet government was seemingly All Powerful, and so Amira's rant confused him. Though he was told America was trying to destroy the Soviet Union, he was also told that the Soviet Union had the superior military force. But even if what she said was true, Kazimir remained in something of a despair, believing Chernov's rule would last forever, and that he would never escape this place.

"Then what does America want?" he finally spoke. What was the point of war, if not to destroy the enemy? "If they don't want to destroy us, then why go to war? Your people won't bring down Chernov." The way he spoke of the dictator almost seemed like a praise, but the sentiment was more inspired by fear. Chernov painted himself as a sort of immortal and divine being, incapable of being defeated. Even though Kazimir hated him, he wholeheartedly believed this portrayal to be true.