Horror

I follow Evgeny down the street. Even though I have calmed down enough to function since my mental breakdown, I am still extremely shaken and on edge. We travel a few blocks, and everything seems to be going well for once, until we approach a large gap between two buildings.

"Hold up." Evgeny says, and drops to a knee. I follow suit. "I don't like this."

He turns back to me. "We need to get over there."

"Use the periscope." I suggest. "See if you can see anything."

"Good idea." Evgeny says, and slings his rifle to take it out. He creeps up to the edge again and uses the periscope to peek around the corner.

"Do you see anything?" I ask.

"Hold on." He says, and continues to look. He pulls the periscope back and retreats from the corner, coming up to his knee next to me.

"I didn't see anything." He tells me.

"Good." I say. "Let's go."

"Hold on. Not seeing anything doesn't mean anything." Evgeny argues. "There's a lot of places to hide out there."

"What should we do?" I ask.

"Get a running start." He says. "As long as we're quick, we should be alright."

"Okay."

"You go first again. I'll be right behind you."

"Why do you always make me go first?" I ask.

"Going first is better." Evgeny explains. "If anybody is out there, they have less time to react to you. We used to take turns."

"I see, but if we take turns, then you should go first this time." I tell Evgeny. "I want to be fair."

"Don't worry about it." Evgeny insists. "Come on."

The two of us come to our feet and back up. I tighten my grip on my rifle and try to focus, my eyes fixated on the opposite corner.

"Fuck!" I mutter nervously.

"You can do it." Evgeny assures me. "Just run as fast as you can."

"I'll see you on the other side." I tell Evgeny, then take a deep breath.

I charge towards the corner, picking up speed. I hear Evgeny begin to run a few steps behind me. I grit my teeth and duck my head when I run beyond the safety of the building and into the open. My heart is pounding.

I nearly jump out of my skin when a German machine gun roars to life and tears the ground at my feet. My adrenaline surges and I dive for the opposite corner. I hear Evgeny cry out behind me. I whip my head around to see his body reeling from the impacts across his torso, his arms windmilling. His momentum carries him past the corner, and his rifle clatters to the pavement next to him.

"Evgeny!" I scream and rush to his side. I roll him over. He is torn apart. Blood pours from his mouth. His eyes are open, but they do not see me. "Evgeny!"

I shake him, but he does not respond. The horror of reality begins to set in. Evgeny is dead.