Make haste to the factory district

“Come on, hurry up!” Somebody calls from ahead. I pick up my pace. Anton slips in the snow but recovers. We are hurrying to the factory district to answer reports of sniper activity.

The fighting is hot in the factory district, but the city is cold, snowflakes falling over Stalingrad. However, the snow is light, and hasn’t amounted to very much so far, nor has it affected the battle.

I’m grateful to stop once we near the front, and take off my helmet and hat to let my body cool down, because I was beginning to start sweating. The last thing I want to do is to drench my clothes in sweat and then spend several hours laying in the snow.

We spend a few moments speaking to the soldiers who are nearby, and try to gain some information about the potential whereabouts of the sniper before deliberating, and splitting into our pairs to cover the area before us. The pairs remain relatively unchanged. Ivan is still working with Ilya, Nikolai with Valentin, and Alyona tags along with Anton and I.

The three of us enter a large factory building about one hundred meters behind the front line, which we decided with Ivan could be a good vantage point if we can get to the upper level. There are some Soviet troops taking a break in one of the rooms we pass through, and we greet them.

“Welcome, friends.” One of them welcomes us, all of their eyes quickly bouncing between Alyona and me.

“Thank you.” Anton greets them. “Brothers, we are here to counter the sniper you have been dealing with.

“What can we do to help you?”

“We’re looking for a good vantage point so we can kill this svoloch.” I tell him.

“Yes, you should be able to find a good one on the upper level. There is a metal staircase to the right.”

“Thank you, comrade.” I respond.

“Hey, sniper girl!” One of them calls as we leave the room. I turn back and look at him through the door. “Be careful.” He says, and blows me a kiss.

The three of us head up the stairs, and I check my rifle to make sure it’s ready, before we reach the top and cautiously begin to search for the best positions.