1941

Run. That was what the only order that he told his body. He had been running for an hour straight now and he could feel the burn on his legs that desperately wanted reprieve. Running was his only chance of survival right now. It was suffer in their hands or escape. But now that he thought about it, he would die either way even if he outruns the soldiers. He was lost; he didn't even know which direction he was running to. He finally felt the harshness of the Siberian wilderness as if the forest knew he was an outsider in her lands.

Suddenly, August stopped as an idea appeared in his mind and quickly searched for a tree with the lowest branch. He walked a few steps back and ran towards the branch, jumping up and barely getting a good grip on the branch. But he was able to hoist himself up and climb higher, slowly getting surrounded by thick leaves. A few meters away from the tree was a river surrounded by rocks and he figured that he could kill the soldiers without them knowing where he was if they would appear in the clearing.

And so he waited; he didn't move a muscle or made a sound. He steadied his breathing when the sound of their footsteps reached his ears and just like he predicted, they went pass him, eventually reaching the clearing. The soldiers paused and looked around for any sign of him until one knelt on the ground and searched for tracks. They knew this forest while he did not but right now, he had the advantage over them. In one second, their pursuit of him would fail.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and shot the standing soldier in the head. The latter panicked when he saw his fellow soldier drop down dead in front of him with blood gushing out of his head. He hastily took out his rifle and searched for the German in the treeline.

"Выходит, вы трус!" The remaining soldier shouted in both anger and fear. Panic was evident in his face as he surveyed his surroundings although he didn't know he was aiming at nothing.

I'm up here, you git.

He took aim and slowly pulled the trigger, the sound of a gunshot echoing in the wilderness and their filthy blood staining the rocks and river. His finger released the trigger and breathed slowly, wallowing in the aftermath of what he had done. He closed his eyes and leaned against the trunk, his leg dangling freely while his hands were resting on his lap. He had slept during his turn and ultimately killed his companions because of his mistake.

What was he going to do now?

August kept his eyes closed, repeating the question again and again inside his head until finally he opened them and started to climb down the tree. He knew what he was going to do. It was the only logical thing, really. If he deserved to die then so be it, but now wasn't the time for that. He had a family - a sister and a mother to go back to. He was still alive and he was going to survive.