Realistic or Modern Cold War

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira was starting to seeth in anger. If another soldier with less patience had found Kazimir, he probably would have been dead by then. "America wants to spread freedom. WHEN Chernov falls, the "Republics" will choose what they want. I'm not saying that America won't stay involved, we usually do that, but we won't murder the people. If we don't out right kill Chernov when we get to him because we are under fire, he will be brought before a war crimes tribunal so his people, the people he treated so badly, can hear about all that he has done, with the evidence to back it up." She stated.

"Our Special Ops is usually sent in to deal with those delicate situations. We will storm Moscow. The city will most likely burn, that tends to be unstoppable when there is a prolonged firefight like I would predict there would be. Moscow is the most protected Soviet city, but it will fall like Berlin did years ago. Our army will distract the Soviet army. I'm not going to give you details, it is confidential, but sections of it will be sent to other places, and Chernov won't escape. Unless he follows the other, most gruesome and despicable leader of this century, Hitler, he will be defeated by the allies," she said, before adding one last thing, "including our forces made up of previous Soviet people and soldiers that joined to topple their former government." She stated. She was special ops after all, she knew what would happen. She told him mostly the truth, but with a lot of detail cut out. It really was confidential, so she couldn't say too much.

 

[hadal]

She seemed furious with him, and Kazimir couldn't figure out why. What had he done? Was it what he said about Chernov? He fell into another one of his lengthy silences, his eyes fixated on the ground as he walked. This woman scared him, but he knew he had to stop getting so frightened by everything--he was a grown man, after all, and he'd felt the fury of people far more frightening than Amira. Still, every encounter (no matter how fleeting) he's had since his escape has been highlighted by mistrust and fear. How could he know that she wouldn't kill him in his sleep?

"I don't think Chernov's rule will ever end," he spoke softly, more to himself than anything, fiddling with a stick in his hand. That's not how he wanted it to be, but he was doubtful that the Americans would kill him. Chernov caused Kazimir and his family so much pain and suffering, but for him and his empire to be brought down was almost inconceivable. "You know... I hate Chernov too, but... but I just don't see there ever being an end to this." While Kazimir's parents had been deeply religious and used their faith in God as a source of hope for the future, he had no such faith and hope. Life in this place was miserable, and he often felt as if he and all of the other Soviet people had no chance at escaping this misery. They were bound to suffer under Chernov's rule forever.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira sighed. She couldn't remember the last time a sigh had escaped her, it seemed like such a simple thing, however for much simpler times. She was trying to understand Kazimir in at least some way, it was just difficult. She took awhile to formulate a response as the sun started to set. Finally, she spoke. "Listen, I know we are in a very strange and difficult circumstance and we don't exactly trust each other all that much, but I know you have some bit of hope, no matter how small. You wouldn't have bothered escaping Russia otherwise. At least, I think if you thought, really felt, that there was no hope for you, you would have just waited to die in Russia, but you didn't. You are wandering through a forest in Ukraine, with an American soldier, which I'm sure could be very damning if you were found, because you want to get to the West." She responded. It was in her nature to try to help people and she wanted to help Kazimir realize that he had to have something that he held hope for or he wouldn't still be there, so she tried a different tactic. It was a little risky, but she went for it anyway.

"Why haven't you killed me?"

 

[hadal]

Kazimir took off his wool cap, scratching his head as he thought. He didn't know if it was really hope that he carried with him, but more just the desire to die a freeman. Never did he think he'd make it all the way to Ukraine, and maybe he could find some bit of hope in the fact he did make it this far... but when he was escaping, all he knew was he did not want to spend the rest of his days in that hellhole. He would have rather frozen to death in the woods than live out the rest of his life in bondage. And even though he was now more free than he ever had been, he still lived within the confines of an open air prison--of the Soviet Union. He desperately, desperately wanted to escape, but he didn't want to get his hopes up either. "Hope leads to nothing good," he stated harshly, "What if I get my hopes up only to be captured? That will only make it worse," he huffed, falling into a silent shock at Amira's question. "I think you know why. I need to get to the West."

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

"Yes, you need to go to the West. I might be able to increase the chances of you successfully making it to the West, we've been through that, but think for a moment. You could have killed me and taken all of my equipment probably. Granted you wouldn't know how to use some of it, but i'm sure you could figure something out. You know the direction, you know how to get there, you could get there and get along somehow. There is nothing specific about me. As far as you are concerned, I'm an American soldier out to destroy your country right? You could find other sympathizers around here if you were careful, people that would help you out. It would be difficult, but it could happen, yet here you are, following me in another direction. You don't even really know if I am taking you to the crash site." she stated. She left it at that statement for awhile, not speaking again until the sun had risen a decent way into the sky. She was tired, but they were almost to the resting space, so she spoke again, probably jarring him from a zombie like state for all she knew. She had just periodically looked back to make sure he was still there along the way.*

"It should be plainly obvious that I don't sugar coat things. I am realistic. I do think that we can make it to the border, but I also know that we might run into opposition. Now you may not kill me because it would be more risky to approach the border alone, but you should also recognize that should we be found, being found with a US soldier would not result in a pleasant ending for you. There are many levels of hope. I don't think that you can honestly, truthfully tell me that you don't hope that you will live through this to make it to the West. There is a proverb* of your people that I learned. It is often used in propaganda, but the proverb actually holds some true wisdom if you disregard all of that bull crap that Chernov feeds you attached to it. I believe it goes "In the kingdom of hope, there is no winter." Maybe you should take heed to that. I might be one of your last hopes to get across when we get to the border, but you will have to be hopeful if you want to make it to the border in the first place, or else that "winter" may come." she finished. She stepped around another branch and disappeared into a bunch of high shrubbery along the forest floor, stepping into the spot that was well hidden where they could rest.

( first *trying to move the time along, sorry it was probably terrible. Second * literally looked up Russian proverbs for hope. It seemed like it could be used for propaganda too, so I went with it.)

 

[hadal]

Kazimir squatted down, mindlessly dragging his finger through the dirt. "Trust me," he glanced up at Amira, "I'm very aware of what would happen to me if I got caught with you," it came out more sharply than intended, but the very idea of getting caught put him on edge. He knew what kind of things they'd do to him, and at the end of the day, should he ever have to chose between being recaptured or killing Amira, he'd kill her.

"That winter was always here," he sounded bitter. There was some value to what she said, though. His mother would have said something similar. She was always telling him proverbs--they were stories of courage, family, trickery, and hope for the future. When he was young, he found some comfort in them, but they just seemed silly to him now. He used to pray with his family as well, and his father would tell him to just have faith in God, but Kazimir lost that faith a long time ago. For some time, even after his family was all gone, he still prayed. God never answered though. He tried to keep his faith, but he just felt abandoned. "Besides, such stories are for children."

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira sat on the ground against a tree, careful not to rustle the leaves on the ground or the foliage that reached above her when she sat. She gave up on trying to inspire him. She thought about what would happen if she were to get caught. She could be killed, tortured, made an example of, or all three in a certain order. She tried to push those thoughts from her mind. She took her backpack off of her shoulders, but continued to lean against it. Her body seemed to scream at her, every inch of her hurt. Her feet hurt from walking, her ankle hurt because it was sprained in the fall and she was walking. The list could go on. Her greatest pain came from burns on her back that were hidden by her jacket and what was left of her vest, and the dang cut on her arm.

Amira gently took her jacket off, needing it out of her way to tend to her arm. She was lucky that she could move her arm at that point, the cut was probably close to hitting a few nerves. She didn't take off her vest, it didn't cover her arms. She did have to peel off some of her other padding, the government did make sure they were decently armored. They didn't exactly plan for falling from the sky in a burning husk of a plane though. She tugged her backpack from behind her and settled it in front of her, grabbing gauze and disinfectant. The disinfectant was almost gone, but she knew pouring unsantized water on the wound was not good. She sat her backpack on its end so her arm was hidden from Kazimir's view, she didn't want him to see many of her wounds. She would be fine.

Amira carefully removed the bloodsoaked gauze that she had wrapped around her wound days ago. The thing reeked, the smell of stale blood overpowering. She examined the wound as best as she could, it was on the outside of her arm. She rummaged in her bag for a bottle at the bottom, it held what very little, half a bottles worth, of sanitized water she had left. She tore off a small piece of gauze and got it wet. She grit her teeth hard and winced as she cleaned the wound as best as she could. The application of the disinfectant burned badly and it ran out far sooner than she had wished. She then carefully re wrapped it and tore the gauze again then threw everything back into her bag. The ground was soft, so she dug a small hole and threw the bloodied gauze in there then covered it up. It would stop the smell of blood from spreading through the forest, alerting anyone to their presence.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir climbed up onto the branch of a tree, perching himself there. It was an odd spot to rest, but he enjoyed climbing and it offered him a good vantage point. He could see far out into the forest and his body was obstructed by the leaves. Kazimir didn't plan on sleeping, so he could stay up here and watch for movement.

He glanced towards Amira, sensing the reeking smell of blood. "You're injured," he stated, after watching her go through the motions of disinfecting and dressing her wound. "I can help..." he offered tentatively. Over the years, he learned how to treat the nastiest of wounds with little to no supplies. Having treated his own wounds, as well as the injuries of others, he'd gotten quite good at it. People would sometimes come to him for help, and it became a source of pride for him. It was a way in which he could help people and prove his own worth. Even though he didn't trust Amira, he still wanted to help.

(Sorry for the short crappy reply. Couldn't think of much to write at this point.)

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira looked up at the tree in front of her and a little to the side. "No thanks, I got it." she said. She leaned heavily back on her bag, very tired from her trek. She hadn't slept in over a week, She hadn't even slept the day before her mission started, there was no time. It had been a sudden deployment, only time for debriefing and a send off. She remembered saying goodbye to the others and offering a smile to her brothers in arms, they had planned on having dinner in the mess hall to just talk after the mission, something that was rare in a time crunched schedule. That wasn't going to happen now. She focused back on the present.

"Do you know if any plants in this forest have medicinal qualities?" she asked, not wanting to be completely rude, so she tried to start some topic after he had offered to help. She slid further down her bag, her eyes drooping slightly. She fought to stay awake, but her body wasn't having any of that, she was asleep before she even got an answer. It was probably more equivalent to passing out, but it was a mixture of both. She needed rest. She didn't rest all that well, between awakening at every sound. She might have been exhausted, but even her sub conscience knew she was in hostile territory. She awoke to every animal noise, every movement that Kazimir made, and every snapping twig in the distance, and didn't fall back asleep until she was sure she was okay. She kept a knife next to her hand after the second time she woke up. It was almost sunrise by the time she finally woke up for good. She wasn't exactly well rested, but it was better than nothing. They would make it to the crash site that day. Amira blinked a few times then looked around to find Kazimir and see what he was up to.

( It's fine, it was kind of a weird place anyway. We'll get to the wreckage soon so there will be something.)

 

[hadal]

As Amira slept, Kazimir trekked deep into the forest, looking for plants he knew to have medicinal qualities. While he was not too educated on the flora in Ukraine, he managed to find some plants that he recognized from Siberia. He gathered Rhodiola and Rhaponticum, both which defend the body against stress and disease, and help protect overall health and well being. Amira's wounds could easily get infected, so the plants could be boiled and applied to the wounds to guard against infection. He gathered berries and various plants he knew to be safe for consumption as well.

Kazimir returned a bit before Amira came to. He hadn't got any sleep, but it wasn't much of an issue. He'd ran on far less sleep before. "I got some food and medicinal plants," he told her when she awoke, sitting criss-crossed on the dirt, neatly sorting out the food and plants. He handled them with an unusual level of care and gentleness. It was his mother who taught him all about the different types of plants that grew in the Siberian forests. As he was often forced to work in the forests, he learned a lot about the territory's flora. Learning about the plants indigenous to the area was one of his few good memories. It was bittersweet though. He was reminded of his mama, how gentle and loving and knowledgable she was. For so long, she tried to protect him, but there was nothing she could do. Yet, when they were in the forest, and she was teaching him about the plants, they were able to find a semblance of peace and normalcy. Kazimir couldn't help but brood over her memory now. Something as simple as plants brought the memories flooding back. He knew it was ridiculous and useless to dwell over his dead mother now, but he couldn't help it. Kazimir missed her dearly and was scared of what was to come, and while memories of her brought some heartache, they also brought comfort.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira wiped the sleep from her eyes and was quickly as alert as she could be again. It did take her a second to gather what Kazimir had said as the sleep left her mind, but she nodded after a second. She looked at what he had laid out before him. She didn't recognize much of what he had before him. She recognized the berries because she had gathered some throughout the week, the rest she was unsure of. She decided to take it at face value, he was eating the same stuff anyway. She stood up and stretched, wincing ever so slightly before getting the water bag from her backpack and picking up her gun. "I'll be right back." she stated.

Amira came back about 5 minutes later with a full bag of water, as well as a full canteen. She stopped at her backpack and grabbed a package of something then went and sat in front of Kazimir. She opened the slightly crushed package of crackers that she had and set them next to the berries. "It's not much, but it's some of what I've got." she said and set the water next to her as well. "Do you still have the cup I gave you?" she asked, pointing to the water.

 

[hadal]

"Yes," Kazimir responded, sticking a gloved hand into his coat pocket and pulling out the cup. "These plants are called Rhodiola and Rhaponticum," he began, pointing to a small pile of plants he laid on the grown. "They have medicinal purposes... You can boil them to apply to your wound. They protect against disease. The rest of the plants are to eat." Growing up in a brutal environment with little to no access to medical care, the plants served him well. It obviously couldn't compare to modern medicine, but it was always the best he could do with the little he had.

"What's America like?" he asked suddenly, shocking even himself with how impulsively he asked the question. Meeting the American soldier made him curious though, and he spent nearly the entire night thinking about what her country must be like. He always wondered what America and the West was like. America had always been the faceless, unknown enemy or, as a few of his fellow prisoners described it, some far off fantasy of freedom, but meeting an American made it seem so much more real.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira nodded and poured water into his cup while he explained things. She wasn't sure about the plants, but she had asked if he knew anything about them, so she'd go with it. "Thanks." She said. She was worried about the boiling though. She had considered sewing her wound closed, but she would need a fire to boil water to clean it so she could clean the wound properly. She didn't want to attract attention with the smoke. They'd have to figure that one out later. Amira had just popped a berry into her mouth when he asked his question. She was surprised that he asked such a question all of a sudden. She took her time chewing to try to formulate a response. How to describe her country was a difficult task, she had never been asked to describe it overall, just to describe her own town. She thought for a few minutes before replying.

"America is my home. It is a place where I was able to get educated, where I could make my own decisions, albeit with my parents permission sometimes, but that's expected. I was able to choose some extra activities to do,my parents madedecent money, so we didn't have many luxuries, but we had a good life. America is a place where my parents were able to have good jobs, which I suppose it not so common in the world. Women aren't always allowed to work or get educated, or at least they are very limited, but that isn't so in America. The freedom of America apply to everyone. There is inequality, but it is getting better. War has something to do with that right now though, anyone supporting the effort is appreciated." She said then switched topics slightly.

"And it is so beautiful. Where I'm from, fall is so pretty with the leaves changing. The winters are cold, but the snow makes up for it. Summers can be hot, but my state is pretty far north, so it isn't too bad. I've traveled to places where the head is sweltering too, and it doesn't snow, even in winter. I suppose that is a huge difference from Russia. America isn't as big as Russia, but it is, taller, I guess, so we get so many different climates, which also means we grow a variety of food. Again, war changes a few things, so there are rations right now, but they aren't too bad and planting a garden usually helps fill the gaps, and the government encourages the gardens too. The government tries to support domestic things when it can, but it's main focus now is abroad, but most people are dealing with that okay. Overall, America has ups and downs like every other country in the world, but I wouldn't live much anywhere else. I like the freedom America provides. I can mostly be my own person, even as a woman. That probably doesn't matter as much to you, but it does to me and that's who you asked so that's getting thrown into conversation. I suppose it's my turn now. What's Russia like?" Amira finished then asked her question.

(Sorry about the length. I tried to throw in both the freedom that would be important to mention to him and some other elements that could describe America.)

 

[hadal]

Kazimir listened intently, his eyes wide with a childlike curiosity. He hung on to her every word with a mix of disbelief and even excitement. She spoke of a life rich with freedoms Kazimir was never afforded and never imagined. Maybe he felt a flicker of hope-- the thought of living in such a land so unreal and so astonishing. And when Amira talked about her country, she spoke with a sense of fondness he could never imagine having for his own. "That sounds... so nice," he said. It was a stupid, simple thing to say, but he wasn't quite sure how else to respond. He never even knew people could enjoy such bountiful freedoms, so her words were shocking to him and he didn't know whether or not he should believe everything she said.

He found her question difficult to answer. What's Russia like? The question was so simple, yet he struggled to respond. He almost felt ashamed to describe his home after she so fondly illustrated a glimpse into her own. Then there was the question of whether or not he could trust her with this information. He couldn't explain Russia without describing how he grew up in a prison camp and now escaped. As much as he hated the place, as much as he wanted to burn it to the ground, that prison was his home. It was his life. When he first really talked to Amira though, she said she wanted to help the oppressed people of the Soviet Union. She spoke about Chernov and the Soviet government with disgust, appalled at how they treated their own people. Considering this, he supposed she was probably one of the few people he could trust with this information and how he honestly felt about his own country.

"Life here is hard," he stated solemnly. "I don't think there is much good here... just pain," he sighed, unable to bring himself to meet Amira's gaze. Instead, he stared at a spot on the ground and ran a finger through the loose dirt. "I was born in a small rural village. From what I remember, life there was not easy, but my family and I were happy. It was enough. I think I was 6 years old when Soviet troops came. They just... they killed everybody. Men, women, even children... I don't know why. No one did nothing wrong." Kazimir paused for a long breath, his fingers now pulling at the lose threads of his coat. It was a nervous habit.

"Everyone who survived got sent to the prison camps. My family and I went. Most of them didn't last so long. It was a very cruel place. Always so cold and miserable. Little food, and still we always had to work. The guards were very mean. It is no place for anyone to live. I hated it there. I hate it so much." He could have gone into more detail, but he couldn't bring himself to describe anything more. Much of what he experienced was just too painful to talk about, and Kazimir was convinced that he would never tell anybody. Apart from the broad brushstrokes of what his life was like, there were things too painful and too traumatizing to ever utter.

(Nah you're good, I enjoyed reading it!)

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira listened intently to what Kazimir said. She gave him the time he seemed to need to get through what he was saying. She wasn't completely surprised, she had heard about the camps and life behind the Iron Curtain, but to hear it from someone who had actually gone through it was a different story. She had to take some time to try to form a response. She felt sorry for him, but decided that that probably wasn't what he wanted, so instead tried to focus on the fact that he was brave for escaping. She had faced a lot of difficulties, but escaping a soviet prison camp wasn't one that she thought she could face easily, let alone succeed in escaping.

"You are brave." she stated simply, that being the only thing that she could form into words. She didn't want to ask more questions and be insensitive and she didn't want to just stay quiet in case he thought she wasn't paying much attention. She couldn't quite imagine what it would be like to be taken away to a camp at such a young age and seeing those around you suffer just as much. She had seen lots of suffering, but she imagined that every person's experience with suffering was different, so she wasn't quite sure what to think. It did harden her resolve a bit. She was going to make it back to the West and help people like Kazimir who were escaping or wanted to escape from the terrors that lay behind the iron curtain. "We will make it." she concluded. "We'll make it to the West and try to help others like you and others that are hurting. We can't do it all, but we can try our best." she stated. She looked up and saw that the sun had risen enough to travel by easily. "Shall we head out? I think I can put what is left of the food and that medicinal stuff that you found in a pocket of my backpack, unless you would rather carry it, you did find it after all."'

 

[hadal]

"Yeah, we better make it," Kazimir spoke softly, still picking at the threads of his coat, "I'm not going back there." And he meant it. He could not imagine a worse fate than being sent back to the camp. To be killed instantly, and to not have to endure the suffering and torture that would undoubtedly accompany recapture, would be much more preferable. Amira spoke with such conviction, though. Maybe she didn't really mean it, but her confidence that they would escape inspired a small sense of hope within Kazimir. While he still wasn't confident that he'd ever reach freedom, he didn't dwell on the possibility of recapture either.

Kazimir nodded, pushing himself to his feet. "I'll carry it," he told her, then proceeded to neatly wrap the food and medicinal plants in a piece of cloth, which he stuck in his tattered brown bag that lazily hung off his shoulder. His back ached slightly, but he had grown used to the discomfort, so the pain was not much more than an afterthought. However, he still worried about Amira's ability to make the journey. Her wounds still were not properly treated, and he could sense she was in a great deal of pain.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira nodded and stood up. She stretched slightly, not too much because it still did hurt her, but she needed to stretch after waking up shortly before. She slung her backpack back onto her shoulder and picked up her gun again. "The plane is in this direction." She said as she started to leave the brush. "We need to be even more careful, they might still be patrolling the area looking for a survivor." She added. She carefully started leading the way towards the plane, being extremely cautious of her surroundings. (Okay, it's gonna be not so pretty next paragraph. I know you said you wanted it to be dark at some points, but I figured a warning wouldn't hurt)

Amira felt herself grow more anxious as they travelled closer to the site of the crash. She wasn't sure what was going to meet her there, everything had still been on fire when she left. She wasn't sure what she would do when she saw the bodies of her friends. As she saw the clearing up ahead, her stomach twisted into knots. As she finally entered the clearing after doing a quick survey of the area, she froze with one foot in the clearing. She opened her mouth to scream, but was able to catch herself and muffle it with her arm and coat. The quiet scream lasted a few seconds before she dropped her things and vomited into a nearby bush. She hadn't expected to see what was before her. In the clearing, her comrades we're mutilated in the center of the field. Some phrase was spelled in branches in Russian above their corpses, but she hadn't looked long enough to see what it was.

Amira had known that the Soviets had sent videos of torturing captured Americans before, of dead Americans, but she had not thought that they would do it to soldiers that were already dead. The stench of blood, charred blood, and burnt rubble filled her senses and only made her vomit more. She was in pain from the motion itself, but the thought prevailed that what hurt her most was her head and heart. Memories swirled through her mind of her with her friends and then she felt like her heart was being crushed to see them in such a way. She didn't even think about Kazimir being there, for all she knew at that moment, he didn't even exist.

 

[hadal]

Kazimir's eyes widened in shock as the mutilated bodies of Amira's comrades came into view. For awhile, he just stared at the bodies. It was quite morbid to keep looking, but he couldn't tear his eyes away. Even though his initial reaction had been one of shock, he couldn't say he was shocked that the Soviet army would do such a thing. His village looked similarly grotesque after the army came in and massacred all of its inhabitants. With the Americans, though, they seemed to go an extra mile, desecrating the bodies with care. They wanted to send the Americans a message, one so ghastly and gory it could not be ignored.

He then turned his attention to Amira, who seemed to be in immense pain. Kazimir empathized with her--he was well acquainted with that kind of pain after all--, but he didn't know how to comfort her. There really was no way to comfort someone in such a situation. It was just raw, unending pain, and no words could possibly mitigate that. "I'm so sorry," he spoke softly, his voice far heavier with emotion than usual. The generally harsh look in his eyes softened as well, revealing a look of empathy and even sorrow.

It probably hadn't been long since the army left this site. Despite Amira's loss and agony, Kazimir couldn't help but become concerned for his own well-being. Maybe it was a bit callous and selfish, but there was a chance the army still lurked nearby. Maybe they knew an American would return to this site, or even just hungry citizens who'd come to scavenge the wreck for food and supplies. Kazimir and Amira could be standing a trap, and the Soviet army would come and maul them like a pack of rabid dogs.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira registered Kazimir talking, but didn't respond. Instead, she continued vomiting. When that was done, she actually mentally chastised herself for wasting food and irritating her injuries, her friends wouldn't have wanted her to make survival more difficult. She sat on the ground for a few seconds before picking herself up. She wasn't sure what to say or do. Her body essentially took on auto pilot mode. She focused on the plane, which seemed to have been scavenged. She wondered if anything was left.

Amira mechanically moved towards the plane, not going close to her friends and trying to not look at them. She tried to look into the wreckage without disturbing it. She knew metal scraping sounds in a field would travel far, even if her brain wasn't quite comprehending that that was why she was acting cautious. The Soviets had picked most of the plane clean. They hadn't taken the seatbelts though. Amira guessed that those pieces of fabric could come in handy. She turned towards Kazimir and mouthed "watch my back" before she moved forward. She took out her knife and sawed the pieces of seatbelt from the plane as quickly and quietly as possible. As she was backing away from the wreckage, she saw a screen in the cockpit with numbers.

"Longitude and latitude" she muttered to herself absently. She read the numbers repeatedly, ingraining them in her mind as she stepped away from the wreckage and started heading back towards Kazimir. She was a little wobbly. Her throat hurt from the acidity of her bile and the rest of her hurt from injuries and movement. She knew it her injuries were blatantly obvious, even if the full extent wasn't visible. She had tried her hardest to just be "okay," but it was never that simple, was it?

 

[hadal]

Kazimir was searching for some words of comfort, trying to think of anything he could do to possibly help Amira, but his thought process was interrupted by the pattering of boots, the cocking of guns, and an angry scream. All of his breath seemed to instantly leave his lungs, and a raw, animalistic terror set in. This was the moment he dreaded. It was bound to happen, but Kazimir didn't think it'd be so soon. He thought he would have been able to enjoy at least a month more of freedom before being captured. The Soviet army had them surrounded though, so this is were his freedom permanently ended. Oh God, he was going to die here. He wanted to panic and cry and run, but he was no longer a child. No matter how scared he was, he was going to take their torture with dignity. He was going to die like a man.

At the behest of the soldiers, Kazimir dropped to his knees and placed his hands behind his head. He glanced towards Amira, desperation and fear plainly visible in his eyes. His hands were shaking profusely and he felt ready to throw up, just as Amira did at the sight of her mangled and bloodied comrades. Kazimir felt like he was 6 years old again. He felt as if he once again witnessed the slaughter of his village and was doomed to be taken away to spend the rest of his days in hell. He felt familiarly helpless. There was no way out of this.

 

[RemnantsOfShadows]

Amira froze as she stood. She heard the soldiers yelling. She chanced a look at Kazimir and saw the terror on his face. She looked around again, there were 4 Soviet soldiers. She looked back at Kazimir. Her gaze hardened. She had told him that she would do her best to help him get to the west, and that was what she was going to do. As they shouted at her, she got on her knees and shrugged off her backpack and set her gun just in front of her. As expected, one of the soldiers walked towards her, spewing insults about Americans and women and mocking her deceased friends, only serving to further irritate her. She took a breath, knowing that she couldn't let them get to her. By some chance, a second one approached her and kicked her in the side, causing her to fall. She bided time for a moment until they had their weapons in one hand pointed at the ground as they focused on insulting her or hurting her without their weapons. She was in pain, but she was resolute. She waited for the other 2 to start moving towards Kazimir before she acted while they were distracted.

With quick movements, Amira moved and picked up her weapon with one hand and wildly swatted their weapons out of their hands and across the field. Out of instinct, she was prone to protecting others, so she turned towards Kazimir and shot at the soldiers who had their guns pointed at her. She was in pain and not fully coordinated, so she didn't have the best marksmanship, but she did hit their legs, causing them to fall to the ground after sending a few bullets her way, only one grazing her arm as the rest sailed by. One of them struck one of soldiers behind her and she heard yelling as he fell as well. "Get their guns!" she shouted to Kazimir. One of the soldiers near him had dropped their gun while the other was holding onto his loosely. She couldn't do anything more to them as the remaining soldier by her narrowly missed slitting her throat as she turned to address him. Her weapon fell as he kicked it from her hand. She kicked out at him, knocking him to the ground. He lunged forward with the knife again and she caught his wrists, but he fell over on top of her and they fought for control of the knife. The second soldier by her seemed to have died from the accidental friendly fire.

Amira was putting up the best fight that she could, but metal from the wreckage dug into her back, which was already injured. All of her injuries made her feel like she was on the brink of death and her vision was starting to go blurry, but she tried her best to stay conscious and fight. She was going to win. She was going to get back home. She was going to see her family again. She was going to make it back west. She was going to get Kazimir to freedom. At that moment though, she had to hope that Kazimir had snapped out of his sheer terror and had grasped at the opportunity to fight back against his oppressors. If he hadn't, Amira knew that she would probably die in the next few minutes as she fought for her life.