Catch up to the partisans

“Stop!” a partisan yells and readies his weapon as Sasha and I overtake them.

“Wait.” Another says. “It’s those girls from the farmhouse.”

I see the one who has a crush on me. He’s wearing a smile as wide as the steppe.

Smirnov comes from further ahead and approaches us. “What the fuck is going on here?” He asks, then he sees us. “I don’t believe it! What the hell are you doing?”

“We want to come with you.” I tell him.

He looks at me with his mouth agape.

“I want to help.” I explain.

He roars with laughter.

“You? Help?” He jokes, before calling out to his men “Comrades, carry on!”

They all start walking again. The one with a crush on me gives me that sad puppy dog look. We stand and watch them for a moment before I pull Sasha along and we catch up to them.

“Come on Sasha.” I say. “Let’s go find Sergeant Dadonov.”

“What is wrong with you?” Smirnov asks me as we pass alongside him. I don’t answer him.

“You really are persistent.” He mutters.

It isn’t long before we catch up to Dadonov, who is surprised to see us.

“Sergeant!” I call out as I go over to him.

“What are you doing here?” He asks me.

“We want to come with you.” I tell him.

He thinks for a second. “Why?” He asks.

“We were in a bad situation at that farm. We needed to move along.” I explain.

“My whole life is a bad situation, miss.” He says. “If you’re looking for safety, you won’t find it with us.”

“I want to help.” I say. “I want to fight back too. I’m tired of hiding.”

“It’s not for me to decide.” He tells me. “But you can come along with us for now, and I can take you to our headquarters if you’re still interested.”

“Thank you.” I say to him. “Thank you for taking me seriously.”

“It’s nothing.” He says. “I like you. There’s a fire inside of you, and I can see it.”