Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

Colder than the Snow ((me and Houdini))

As they approached the frozen stream he was looking for, he turned and handed the rifle to Senka. Part of him shuddered as he did it, as it went against all his training to give such a powerful weapon willingly to a Russian. But things were different now. He would be considered an outcast by his own people. "I suppose it will be of more use to you than to me."

"But tell me", he said, continuing to walk. "What was it about your fiancee that has made you so devoted to him, even after he has been gone so long? Was it just that he loved you, and you think back to what life could have been, or was there something else that made him different from all the other Russian boys?"
 
Senka took the rifle from him and slung it over her arm with the strap. She continued to walk with him as he spoke. She looked at him when he asked her about her fiancee. She looked down for a moment and said "He was my first love. We had grown up together and he had always been kind, sometimes a little irritating, but only in banter. I suppose the horrible way that he had to die has stayed in my mind. Something like that...you don't just forget. It's a bit ironic really. The day before he died...the lake at frozen over so we had spent the day on the ice just having fun and then I had to watch him die, along with the rest of my family. All I have now is my mother, but she is growing old, and the war is draining on her. I fear soon she will be gone to, and I will be left on my own" she said softly.
 
"I suppose that the manner of his death and the fact that you grew up together would make it very difficult to move on", he empathized. "I know it seems impossible to move on, in fact I never thought of it myself until these last few days, but don't you think it still might be possible to rise above this and not be alone?" He took off his gloves and rubbed his hands together for warmth, blowing on them a bit.

"After all, you're still a young woman. Maybe you can settle down yet, even give your mother a grandchild before she passes on." He took a mouthful of ice water from his canteen before trudging on.
 
Senka heard him speak. She ad tried to move on, but she could not push him out of her heart on her own. She closed her eyes and she continued to walk behind him and said "Perhaps..." she said softly in reply to his comments.
 
He said no more for a while, continuing to lead the way through the bitterly cold night. After a few hours had passed, Josef stopped, turning to her, and said "I think we've covered about 6 miles. Do you have strength to continue for another hour, or do you want to sleep here until dawn? I think we'll have some company coming after us tomorrow morning."
 
Senka looked at him and said "Lets keep going, the further we can get away the better" she said and continued to trug along.
 
He took a deep breath and plodded on. Senka, it seemed, had more energy than him, despite being a woman and having endured prison treatment for the last few days. "You really did want to get as far away as you can from that German prison, didn't you?"
 
"Yes...I do...could you blame me?" she asked him and kept walking on. She was tired, but she had gone on in many missions, resiting the urge to rest, she knew she was stronger than this.
 
"I guess not. After all, only yesterday, I was supposed to be torturing you until you spilled your guts." Senka seemed to take the lead, full of endless energy. After a couple more miles, Josef checked his watch. "It's 3:00 AM", he announced. "I think we need a few hours sleep before daybreak."
 
Senka looked back at him and nodded and said "Alright let's rest then" she said. She looked at him and said " I think it would be unwise to try and pitch a tent.
 
He turned and looked back at her, her image glistening in the bright moonlight. He wasn't sure what she had in mind. "Well, you're the expert. What do you suggest?"
 
She looked at him and said "A tent would only attract unwanted attention. On many missions my partner and I slept in the snow with blankets, digging a burrow helps keep the heat in, even more so if you can move somewhere where you can seal the entrance, like a cave" she said.
 
"That sounds fine", he said. "I just thought no one would be looking for us yet." He located an especially high mound of snow, and headed over towards it. "What about this one?", he asked, starting to move some of the snow at the bottom out with his gloved hands.
 
Senka followed behind him and said "Thats good" she said and began to help him shift the snow with her own hands.
 
"I'm freezing, but I suppose a fire would be even worse for attention", he remarked. Once a snow cave was hollowed out, he crawled in. "Seems big enough", he remarked. "I heard if you light a candle and let it burn inside for a half hour or so, it lets the snow inside melt and then freeze again to harden the walls."
 
Josef pulled a candle out of his knapsack, as well as some matches, lighting the candle and sticking it firmly in the snow on the floor of the cave. The warmth felt good, even from the small source of heat. "It feels a bit strange sharing such close quarters with the enemy," he remarked to her. "But I guess we're sort of on the same side for a little while." The flickering candle cast their shadows across the walls of the snow cave, and even seemed to him to give Senka a softer, gentler image.
 
Senka looked at him and watched as he lit the candle. She looked at him and said "Yes..I suppose it dose..." she said. She looked over as him and said "Well, I;m going to try and rest now" she said before she moved her arms and placed her head on them, using it as a pillow.
 
He put out the candle, laying down on the cold floor, and falling asleep a couple of feet from her. The comforting sound of her breathing lulled him to sleep, temporarily forgetting that he had left everything he knew behind only a few hours earlier. At the first break of daylight, he forced himself to wake, even though his body desperately needed more rest. "Senka", he called out, gently nudging her shoulder. "Wake up!"
 
Senka slowly awoke when he nudged her. She looked over at him and sighed to her self a little and said "Alright, lets go" she said climbing out of the burrow they had made.
 
They put on their packs again and headed off. Josef pulled a loaf of bread out of his satchel and handed half to Senka, taking a bite of his own as he walked. "I think we should get to high ground to see if anyone is out there", he told her, leading the way up a gradually sloped hill.
 
Senka took half the loaf and she nodded and said "Yes, lets go" she said walking up behind him.
 
As they got up away from the stream bed and to higher ground, Josef though he heard a faint barking in the distance. He ventured higher, knowing if anything was going on within several miles of them, they would see it from the top. As the pitch got steeped, he turned to give Senka a hand to hold onto, while climbing up a particularly treacherous portion of terrain.
 
Senka took his hand as he helped her up the path. Once they came to a flatter area she said "Wait". Looking down the scope of the sniper rifle and cursed. "They are getting closer, we should move quickly" she said.
 
His heart raced at the thought of his former companions chasing him down. He picked up his pace to a trot as they traversed the top of the ridge they had just climbed up. "Do you think it's better to keep on the run, or find a strategic place to hide and fight from if we need to?" he asked Senka.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom