Come across a house

We’re laying on our stomachs, overlooking a dilapidated house.

“Do you think anyone is inside?” Clarke asks us.

“I’m not sure.” Dadonov responds to him. “I don’t see any smoke coming from the chimney.”

“That doesn’t tell us anything.” Smirnov argues. “That shithole is probably full of goose-steppers.”

“So you should be extra careful when you go to check it out.”

“Wait! You’re sending me?” Smirnov protests.

“Correct. Take Tatya and the rookie with you.”

“Fuck me.” He gripes. “Come on.”

I give a nod of acknowledgement and check my weapon.

“We’ll cover you.” Dadonov assures us and checks his SVT before shouldering it.

“Stay down, and don’t say a fucking word.” Smirnov hisses at us, and the three of us start for the house. We slink through the brush, crawling on our stomachs. The house seems so far away. Smirnov leads the way, followed be me and Zhukov behind me. He stops from time to time and we watch and listen until the sounds of spring resume.

Eventually, the cover of the tall grass runs out, and empty space lies between us and the house.

“We go on three.” Smirnov whispers. I take my left hand off my drum and place it on the ground next to me, preparing to stand up. My eyes fixate on the house. “To the side. One, two, three.”

The three of us quickly jump to our feet and make a break for the cover of the house. As much as I anticipate them, no bullets come for us and we slide down against the side of the house. I shoulder my PPSh and aim for the front corner. Smirnov creeps to his feet and peers inside of a window.

“I don’t see anything.” He whispers to me when he comes back down. “Lead the way up to that next window.”

Smirnov turns to Zhukov. “Listen to me kid.” He hisses. “If you let anybody sneak up on us you’d better hope that they get to you before I do.”

I creep forwards towards the next window and stop just past it, keeping my weapon trained at the corner. Smirnov follows behind me, and peeks inside the other window.

“Nothing.” He whispers.

“I don’t like this.” He tells me, checking his bayonet. “You and I are going inside that house.”

I nod and lead him up to the corner and carefully peek around it. “I don’t see anything.” I whisper. Against every survival instinct in my body, I turn the corner and head straight for the door. Aiming my PPSh towards the door with one hand and locking it in place, I reach for the doorknob with my other hand and grasp it. I prepare myself. Here goes nothing.

The doorknob anticlimactically does not turn and the door doesn’t open. I jerk the knob one more time.

“Just get out of the way.” Smirnov sighs, backing up. I step to the side when I realize what he is doing.

Smirnov narrows his eyes at the door and takes an athletic stance. I see his chest rise and fall heavily a few times before a look of fury crosses his face and he charges straight for the door, picking up speed as he gets closer. I stand to the side and prepare to rush in behind him.

Smirnov lowers his shoulder and slams into the door with everything he has. The door greets him with an opposite reaction, putting him directly on his ass with a sickening thud. I can’t help but burst out laughing.

“Fuck you.” He groans, rolling on the ground and holding his shoulder. “Shut up or they’ll hear you.”

“If anybody was in there, they heard that.” I tell him, covering my mouth and trying to suppress my laughter. “Window?”

“Alright, fine. We’ll try the window.” He gripes, dusting himself off and crawling back to his feet. I follow him back around the corner where Zhukov is waiting for us. Smirnov walks up to a window and prepares to smash it with the butt of his rifle.

“The other one is already broken.” I comment.

“I don’t give a fuck. I like to break stuff.” He says, and smashes a window pane. “Especially this fucking house.”

Smirnov reaches his arm through to unlock the window before he opens it.

“You have papasha, you go through the window.”

I give him a nod and approach the window. “Give me a boost.”

Smirnov leans his rifle against the house and presents his hands for me. I step in them, and he helps lift me up to the window. I quickly scan the room, which I find empty, then begin to climb inside. Smirnov grabs a handful of my ass to push me through when I throw my leg over the windowsill.

“Fucking asshole.” I growl at him from inside.

“Go unlock the door.” He orders me.

I turn and ready my weapon, creeping for the door to the room I’m in. Carefully, I peer around, ready to shoot if I have to. I don’t see anything, and creep into the next room. Slowly and methodically, I clear each room in the house. Luckily, there is nobody here. Were it not for the thin film of dust, I would have thought that everyday life was still going on here. It looks like they just left everything exactly the way it was.

Smirnov and Zhukov are waiting for me on the other side of the door when I open it. “It’s empty.”

“Good.” Smirnov snorts and walks inside. “Go get the others.” He orders Zhukov.

Smirnov wastes no time before he starts to rip open the cabinets in the kitchen.

“I’ll save that for later.” He says, slapping down a can of food on the counter before ripping a drawer open and pulling out a fistful of spoons. “Is that silver?” He asks, squinting, before snorting and throwing them all on the floor.

I follow Smirnov into a bedroom, where he starts to rip dresser drawers open.

“We come into a house, and your first thought is to steal shit?” I ask him.

“I like to steal shit.” He says, rummaging through a drawer. “Besides, whoever owns this house is probably dead anyways.”

“Haha!” Smirnov cheers, pulling a tiny bag from the drawer and dumping a handful of coins out on the top of the dresser. He murmurs to himself as he counts them out.

“Six rubles and twenty-three kopecks.” He grumbles, stuffing them back into the bag. “Fucking loser.”

Smirnov stuffs the bag into his pocket and I follow him out of the room, where everybody else meets us, minus a few who I presume are posted on guard.

“Wow, this house is fucking trashed.” Clarke remarks.

“You can thank him.” I joke.

“At least it still has a roof.” He says. “We’ll hold here for a while. I want to go out there and scout ahead.”

“Good.” Smirnov remarks. “I’m going to go search that other bedroom.”

“Sergeant, I want you to come with me.” Clarke tells Dadonov. “The rest of you sit tight, we’ll be back.”