Try to sneak back to Soviet lines

I hide for the entire day. It’s cold and miserable. I’m tired, hungry, and thirsty, but I have to wait until dark so I can have a real chance to make it back to friendly territory. Friendly territory. What is that? By now it’s nothing but a thin strip of land along the Volga. I wish I didn’t have so much time to think. To me, it’s looking more and more like the battle is lost if something doesn’t change fast. Maybe I should just give myself up.

No. I’ll never surrender to these cruel, evil bastards. I would be beaten and fucked mercilessly. If they decided not to execute me for being a sniper, they would ship me to a crowded POW camp to rot until I die from typhus or cholera or some other disease, stripped of my dignity. I have to make it back to Soviet lines, and make my final stand with my comrades.

The night is silent once I finally creep out of the ruins of that staircase. I’m careful not to make a sound as I move Eastward through the ruin. I drop to my stomach as I approach what is left of the outer wall. Cautiously, I peek out to plot my next move.

I don’t see or hear anything for a long time. My decision is to take it nice and slow. The darkness will cover me. Patiently, I crawl across the rocky ground. I hate having open sky above me. My heart thumps as I crawl past a pair of corpses. Finally, I reach the wall of a building.

Through the window I go, and silently I creep through a hallway, weapon ready. The sounds of voices freeze me. The enemy. Three or four of them talking. They’re far enough away that I can’t make anything out, so I proceed carefully.

As I near the front, something stops me dead in my tracks. The sound of battle not far in front of me. I take cover at a window and peer around the edge. How will I ever get past the enemy?

My eye catches a manhole cover sitting on the pavement, an open hole next to it. The sewer. Could I?

I shudder at the thought. I’ve heard stories, terrible stories about the battle underground. What should I do? Should I take the sewer? Or take my chances trying to sneak through the battle above ground?