Take back Fallen Fighter’s square

“Mmm.” I moan, my voice muffled by Nikolai’s hot lips pressed against my own. We’re making out in a hallway, sitting next to each other and getting handsy with each other. He pulls back to look at me, and I gaze into his eyes before leaning back in for another delightful kiss.

“Alright, lovebirds.” Ivan grumbles, standing over us. “You’re making me think about what I’m going to do with my wife…. If I ever see her again.”

“Sorry about that, Captain.” I say meekly.

“Don’t worry about it.” He says, lighting a cigarette. A few of the others start to gather, Anton and Alyona sitting down next to us. “What you do when we’re not on the lines is your business. I don’t blame you two one bit.”

“What’s happening, sir?” Nikolai asks him. “Is it time to go back?”

“Soon, comrade. Orders are in.”

“What orders?” Anton asks.

“Reinforcements have arrived, and the time has come to counter attack and take this square back from the fascists again.”

“Surely those resources could be better used.” Anton suggests. “It’s going to be a fucking meat grinder out there. You saw what we did to the Germans yesterday.”

“I don’t make the decisions.” Ivan explains. “The attack starts in a little over an hour.”

“Will we have any support?” Nikolai asks.

“We are the support. Apart from that, we will have artillery to soften them up before, should be starting before too long. That would be a good time to take our positions. We will also have armor for this attack, but not much.”

“Same teams as yesterday, captain?” I ask, hoping to have the chance to fight by Nikolai’s side for once.

“Yes, Tatyana. The same.”

“Understood.”

“Five minutes.” Ivan tells us. “Check your ammunition, do what you have to do.”

We disperse slightly, and I lean back in to Nikolai for another kiss before pulling away and checking through my bandolier. Our short break ends very quickly, and we head out to cross the street to the front. I hear a rumbling when I get outside, and turn my head to see a small group of T-34 tanks heading in our direction. We cross over, and into the building where we have been working from for the past few days. Troops are already massing inside, preparing for the attack.

We hear a haunting, screaming, howling in the air, the most terrible noise I’ve ever heard. I throw myself to the floor. Deafening explosions begin to erupt on the other side of the square.

“What the fuck is that?” I ask in terror.

“Come on.” Anton responds. “Don’t tell me you haven’t heard that before.”

“I have, I just don’t know what the fuck it is! And I’ve been too embarrassed to ask.”

“Rockets.” He tells me. “Don’t worry. They’re ours. They’re called Katyusha rockets. I sure as fuck wouldn’t want to be on the other side right now.”

I laugh nervously. Explosions continue to pound the enemy, rockets screaming overhead.

“Let’s get upstairs, and get ready. This won’t last that long.”

We make our way up, and to the room where Anton and I were posted the day Maxim was killed. I’m relieved to have my spot beneath the bookshelf again. While we have a moment, I roll a few chunks of shattered concrete to the front of the shelf, so I have a little more cover, then carefully sneak behind it and hit the floor.

I think to myself. These big shootouts always scare the absolute shit out of me. It’s so hard to figure out exactly where the enemy is, without exposing yourself, and if you expose yourself, you’re just asking to be killed. I can’t even count the men I’ve seen fall in this city, to the hands of an enemy they couldn’t even see. I’ve had some success, but I could have never imagined that it would be this difficult. Every day I worry that my luck will run out. I watch the small cluster of windows that I can see. I’ll just keep an eye on these, and try to be patient. Maybe somebody will come up in one of them.

The rocket barrage ends, and an eerie silence grips the square, the nerves and anticipation of those on both sides building. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I try to control my breathing and hold my rifle steady. It should be any minute now.

The silence is pierced by the screech of a whistle below, followed by a rising chorus of war cries as our men begin their attack. Gunfire from both sides roars to life, and the jackhammering of the machine guns picks up. I lay silent and still, watching and waiting.

Though I watch, and I wait, I don’t see anything. The attack begins to drag on, and I start to worry that I’m not doing enough. I even begin to panic. Maybe, if I move back, and look out over the top, I’ll see something and I’ll be able to help my comrades below. After what feels like a very long time, my patience runs out and I begin to crawl backwards and ease myself out from under the bookshelf.

I hear a gentle voice in my head, a voice that isn’t mine.

“Tatyana.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I freeze right where I am.

“Stay down.”

I have an overwhelming feeling in my gut and in my soul to heed this voice’s advice, and I creep back up to my previous position and look back through my scope.

“They’re pushing through!” Anton hisses over at me from the other side of the room, over the sound of the gunfire. “They’re crossing to the right and making it to the buildings!”

I remain where I am, and continue to watch, but I don’t see anything. The battle rages on. Eventually, the shooting from the other side begins to die down.

“We did it.” Anton whispers once it’s all over. “We took it!”

“Fuck.” He grumbles. “Look at all of the bodies.”

“I’m coming out.” I whisper, and crawl back and out from under the shelf. I don’t dare get up, instead staying low and crawling to the door. I feel guilty, having stayed down and cowered for the whole fight while my comrades below were being killed.

Anton and Alyona follow my lead. We start down the hallway until we see something that stops us dead in our tracks. All of the others are gathered in the hallway around a body.

I gasp and rush over to them, beating Anton and Alyona to the scene. It’s Oleg, and he’s been leaned against the wall, his feet sprawled out before him. He’s been shot through the neck, and it’s very obvious that he is dead.

“What happened?” I ask, breaking into a cold sweat, but part of me already knows.

“I was with him.” Valentin says, **** up. “It happened right after he fired. He- he was in a good spot! I don’t know how he was spotted!”

“Do you think it was….” Anton begins. “Him?”

“I don’t know.” Valentin stammers.

The color drains from my face, as I realize what happened. If I had gotten up earlier, my comrades would be gathered around my body instead.