Trouble

Evgeny and I carry on after catching our breath. We walk through a ruined city. Not a single pane of glass graces any window in Stalingrad. We pass through a scene of devastation, crawling over the rubble in our path. Soviet soldiers stream through the area, hurrying towards the sounds of battle coming from only a few blocks away.

"Stop!" A young officer barks out to us. He's piled up at a corner with a group of his men. "Comrades, come here!"

Evgeny and I join him at the corner.

"Snipers?" He asks. "We could use your help, we are ****!"

"What is the problem?" Evgeny asks.

The officer looks around him at the bombed out buildings and the fresh corpses of Soviet soldiers laying in the street.

"What ISN'T the problem?" The officer asks, staring at Evgeny with wild eyes.

"What can we do?" Evgeny asks.

"The fascists threaten to drive us into the river. We must counter-attack to regain our foothold into the city." The officer explains, taking a deep breath. "We have tried twice, and my men have been cut down like dogs. There is a machine gunner out there."

"A machine gunner?"

"One like I've never seen before. He's too damn good, and has the entire street locked down."

"Where is he?" I ask.

"Ahead, and to the right." The officer says, gesturing with his hand. "He's smart. He moves around."

Evgeny pulls his periscope and creeps up to the edge of the building. He lays on his side and carefully extends the end of it around the corner. The officer creeps up behind him, standing.

"He was in that building." The officer begins, starting to peek cautiously around the corner. "The one with the-"

The officer leaps back when the machine gun roars to life and a burst of rounds plaster the corner of the building.

"Fuck!" The officer cries. "That was close!"

Evgeny crawls back from the corner.

"I know where he is." Evgeny tells the officer.

"You and your comrade get in position." The officer orders us. "We must attack soon, before he has time to move to a different building. We will begin the **** in ten minutes. Find him and silence him as quickly as possible."

"You're just going to throw your men out there?" I ask. "As bait?"

"Is this your first day in the city?" The officer asks me, bewildered. "It must be, otherwise you wouldn't be so clean! Otherwise, you would understand just how dire our situation is! I don't know where you came from, but whatever the hell you did there will not work here! Our backs are against the fucking wall, so please, comrade, go and take your position!"

"Understood." I mutter.

"Let's go." Evgeny urges me. He puts his arm around me and leans in to whisper in my ear. "Don't ever question an officer like that again."

"I'm sorry."

"I need you to listen to me." Evgeny says, leading me into the building. "Stay low."

Evgeny and I drop to our stomachs to crawl through a room with big open windows at the front. A few soldiers sit in cover and watch us go by.

"Get that son of a bitch." One of them cheers us on with a clenched fist.

"Listen to me." Evgeny says when we enter a stairwell. "We're going to get you in position, then I'm going to move to another."

We move up one level, then proceed down a hallway, Evgeny peering into rooms.

"This is a good one." Evgeny whispers, and stops before the doorway to a messy room. "Lots of places to hide. Stay here a moment."

Evgeny crawls into the room and over behind a desk. He cautiously raises his periscope over the top and looks through it, scanning the area.

"Come here." He whispers. "Crawl to me."

I follow his lead and drop to my belly, then crawl across the floor to join him behind the desk. Evgeny hands me the periscope. I take it and look through it, moving from building to building.

"The white building, with the destroyed corner. Over on the right. Do you see it?"

I gradually move the periscope across the landscape until the building sits in my view.

"I see it." I whisper.

"Be ready, but stay down until the **** starts." He tells me. "We are a lot closer to the enemy than I would ever want to be. Go for the machine gunner only. Shoot once if you see him, and get down. Don't get back up, even if you miss. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Evgeny." I tell him.

"The last thing I want is for you to get in a firefight with the regular soldiers. You're a sniper, remember. You're more valuable. We're here to do our job and get out." He looks at his watch, and I take out mine. "The attack begins in three minutes."

"I understand." I tell Evgeny. "Kiss me before you go."

Evgeny places his hand on my leg and turns to me. We press our lips together and kiss passionately. I pull Evgeny's head back when he tries to stop, and **** him to kiss me once more time.

"Be careful, Evgeny." I whisper to him, and watch him crawl out of the room and into the hallway.

Well, here I am, behind a desk, in a room, in a building, on the front lines in Stalingrad, the worst place to be in the entire world. I look down at my watch, which is ticking. Two minutes. Two minutes until something happens. I look over to the rifle laying across my lap, and open the bolt to peek inside. I have one in the chamber. I sit with my back against the desk, and try to calm my nerves.

One minute. Thirty seconds.

I use my hands to quickly visualize what I saw through the periscope, stuff my watch into my pocket and grab my rifle. Ready or not, now is the time. I take a deep breath.

Suddenly, a chorus of "URAH!" arises from the street below us as our men begin their attack. It takes all of the courage I can muster to expose myself, to pop up over the desk and shoulder my rifle, then look through the sight. I hear the disgusting sound of his buzz saw when it comes to life. I jump from one window to the next. Where is he?

I see his barrel sticking out of the window, but I can't see him. Part of his head peeks around the edge and I try to line it up, but he moves and I lose sight of him. He continues to fire. I squint and wait for my chance.

I hear the crack of a rifle from the above floor and the hammering of the machine gun is silenced.