do not have much of a choice, do I?” The Lieutenant stood and reached out with his hand.
Removing the belt to his trousers, he looped it and then buckled it closed. Handing the loop to the Lieutenant, he said, “If I come to a big rock or other obstacle, I will let you know. Now, if I tell you to get down, drop to the dirt right then, sir. We can do this, if we stay calm and work together.”
“Do not leave me, Sergeant, please; the partisans will tortured me for hours, because I am an officer.”
“We are comrades and I have never left anyone alive on the battle field yet, sir.” Morozov said and then thought, Except those who were dying anyway or slowed me down. Let us both pray, for your sake, Lieutenant, you are able to keep up with me. This is a walk for life and I will not be held back by an injured man, but do not worry, I will kill you before I leave you. War is about survival and I fully intend to retire.
“Good, Sergeant. When we return, I will see you are given a medal.”
Medal? A worthless piece of cloth and some tin? I would rather have a quart of vodka , he thought and then replied, “Why thank you, sir. Now, we need to be moving. Let me know if you have problems, the first mile will be the hardest.”
“I will move, and thank you, Sergeant.”
“Enough talk, sir. We do not know who else is in these woods. We need to be quiet, and let us move now.”
The first quarter mile was rough, but after that, the Lieutenant seemed to gain some trust and walked much easier. At first he seemed hesitant to take a step, but with time he moved much faster. The day passed uneventfully, with no one seen and nothing heard. As dusk neared, the Senior Sergeant was near a small lake, so he stopped for a few minutes.
“I am hungry.” the Lieutenant said.
“We have no food, sir. There is a lake near, which I'm sure has fish, only I have no way to catch them.”
“Is there a stream?”
“Yes, there is one leading from the lake, why?”
“Often fish will swim from a lake, enter a stream and then be trapped when the water level drops. You can find them by feeling with your hands in the water under rocks, logs, or stream banks. You must use caution, because at times snakes will be found instead. Or you can make a fishnet from a limb shaped like a 'Y' and use your undershirt to make the net portion. You can use it to catch small fish or minnows.”
“It is cold now and I will need a fire, if I am to fish the stream. Let us move deeper into the trees and find a good spot. I think I have about an hour of light left and then it will grow dark.”
“Good luck, Sergeant.”
It was cold and the Sergeant didn't really like the idea of getting wet, but they were both hungry, which meant he had to try. He stripped completely naked and entered the cold waters of the stream. He glanced at the sky and cursed the falling snow.
An hour later, after catching four large fish under the banks, he had them cooking over the flickering flames of the fire. He knew fresh water fish carried parasites, usually worms, so he cooked the fish well. He didn't know the locals called the fish bass and would not have cared anyway. His hunger was acute and he also craved a strong glass of vodka, but knew that would have to wait until he returned to the base.
As soon as the meal was finished, with two large fish left over, he wrapped it up in some cloth and attached it to his belt. At least now, they'd not starve to death, because there was enough fish left for a couple of days. By his estimation, they should be close to the base by morning.
“Lieutenant? Can you walk?”
“Yes, but I thought we would stop for the night.”
“Sir, we cannot take that risk. With partisans moving around us, we need to return to the base as quickly as possible. If we are caught out here, I would fight hard, but the battle would not last long. We need to continue to move
Removing the belt to his trousers, he looped it and then buckled it closed. Handing the loop to the Lieutenant, he said, “If I come to a big rock or other obstacle, I will let you know. Now, if I tell you to get down, drop to the dirt right then, sir. We can do this, if we stay calm and work together.”
“Do not leave me, Sergeant, please; the partisans will tortured me for hours, because I am an officer.”
“We are comrades and I have never left anyone alive on the battle field yet, sir.” Morozov said and then thought, Except those who were dying anyway or slowed me down. Let us both pray, for your sake, Lieutenant, you are able to keep up with me. This is a walk for life and I will not be held back by an injured man, but do not worry, I will kill you before I leave you. War is about survival and I fully intend to retire.
“Good, Sergeant. When we return, I will see you are given a medal.”
Medal? A worthless piece of cloth and some tin? I would rather have a quart of vodka , he thought and then replied, “Why thank you, sir. Now, we need to be moving. Let me know if you have problems, the first mile will be the hardest.”
“I will move, and thank you, Sergeant.”
“Enough talk, sir. We do not know who else is in these woods. We need to be quiet, and let us move now.”
The first quarter mile was rough, but after that, the Lieutenant seemed to gain some trust and walked much easier. At first he seemed hesitant to take a step, but with time he moved much faster. The day passed uneventfully, with no one seen and nothing heard. As dusk neared, the Senior Sergeant was near a small lake, so he stopped for a few minutes.
“I am hungry.” the Lieutenant said.
“We have no food, sir. There is a lake near, which I'm sure has fish, only I have no way to catch them.”
“Is there a stream?”
“Yes, there is one leading from the lake, why?”
“Often fish will swim from a lake, enter a stream and then be trapped when the water level drops. You can find them by feeling with your hands in the water under rocks, logs, or stream banks. You must use caution, because at times snakes will be found instead. Or you can make a fishnet from a limb shaped like a 'Y' and use your undershirt to make the net portion. You can use it to catch small fish or minnows.”
“It is cold now and I will need a fire, if I am to fish the stream. Let us move deeper into the trees and find a good spot. I think I have about an hour of light left and then it will grow dark.”
“Good luck, Sergeant.”
It was cold and the Sergeant didn't really like the idea of getting wet, but they were both hungry, which meant he had to try. He stripped completely naked and entered the cold waters of the stream. He glanced at the sky and cursed the falling snow.
An hour later, after catching four large fish under the banks, he had them cooking over the flickering flames of the fire. He knew fresh water fish carried parasites, usually worms, so he cooked the fish well. He didn't know the locals called the fish bass and would not have cared anyway. His hunger was acute and he also craved a strong glass of vodka, but knew that would have to wait until he returned to the base.
As soon as the meal was finished, with two large fish left over, he wrapped it up in some cloth and attached it to his belt. At least now, they'd not starve to death, because there was enough fish left for a couple of days. By his estimation, they should be close to the base by morning.
“Lieutenant? Can you walk?”
“Yes, but I thought we would stop for the night.”
“Sir, we cannot take that risk. With partisans moving around us, we need to return to the base as quickly as possible. If we are caught out here, I would fight hard, but the battle would not last long. We need to continue to move
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