First taste of the partisan life

“So what do you think of your new job so far?” Artyom asks me quietly as we walk along through a forest. It’s all we’ve been doing for the whole day.

“It’s a lot of walking.” I answer.

“That’s pretty much it.” He says to me. “Long, boring periods of walking through the woods, and short bursts of panic and chaos.”

“To be honest, I’m not that excited for the second part.” I tell him.

“Don’t worry, Tatya.” He says. “This is an easy one, we do this all the time. As long as we stay quiet everything will be fine.”

“About that.” Smirnov growls, backtracking to us.

“Go take point, dumbass.” He orders Artyom. Artyom looks back at me before picking up his pace and heading to the front.

“Are you ready to give up yet?” Smirnov asks me.

“No.” I answer.

“You know, when you die, you piss and shit your pants.” Smirnov explains to me. “On these long missions, sometimes we have to leave the bodies behind. The animals come for an easy meal. The crows pick out the eyeballs first. They like to dig in anywhere soft. The worms and maggots come next. They’ll clean you down to bones. The books, they never talk about the smell.”

“I’ve seen a dead animal before.” I tell him.

“But a dead person?” He asks.

“I’ve made a couple of those.” I answer.

“Just don’t fuck this up.” He warns me. “Or you’ll be one. Personally, I don’t give a shit if it happens to you, but I don’t want you to do something stupid and get me killed.”

“Wouldn’t that be terrible?” I ask sarcastically.

“Just shut up and keep your eyes on the woods, okay?”

“Yes, comrade.” I answer.

Our conversation stops and I make sure I pay extra attention to our surroundings. I can’t help but be paranoid. We carry on for another hour or two until Dadonov stops everybody.

“This is it.” He announces quietly. We wait here until dark. Keep your eyes open.”