Deep in the thicket, the wind and snow cut like knives.
Simo leaned against a boulder riddled with bullet pockmarks, his chest heaving violently. A stray bullet had grazed his left leg; though it missed the bone, the blood had already frozen to his trouser leg, making his movements sluggish.
His submachine gun had long been spent. Now, he held a Mosin-Nagant scavenged from a corpse.
"Three rounds left."
Simo patted his pocket, a wry smile touching his lips. There were still plenty of Soviet elites left; the disparity in power was staggering. They weren't in a hurry to rush him; instead, they were tightening the noose inch by inch, intent on driving him into a corner.
Bang!
Another shot rang out, striking the top of the rock and showering him in stone chips.
"Come out, Finn! You're out of bullets!"
The Soviet encirclement was closing in like a net being slowly hauled upward. Simo ignored them. He took a deep breath and lunged out from cover, firing a shot based on a veteran hunter's instinct without even aiming.
Bang!
A Soviet soldier attempting to leap forward fell instantly.
But that was Simo's final act of defiance. Of the two remaining rounds, one was for the nearest enemy, and the last... was for himself. He drew his hunting knife from his belt and plunged it into the snow before him.
"Come on, you bastards," Simo growled, preparing to end this final stand in the most primitive of ways.
Just then…
Bang!
A crisp gunshot echoed from the Soviet flank. A soldier preparing to hurl a grenade at Simo had his head blown open; the grenade rolled to the ground and detonated with a roar.
A gap instantly appeared in the Soviet perimeter.
"Who's there?!" Wolf's roar erupted.
Simo jerked his head up to see a white-clad figure darting from behind a tree on the flank.
"Squad leader! Get down!"
Walter Ilves' voice was like music to his ears. He didn't charge blindly; instead, he used the trees for cover, firing rapid, aimed shots.
Bang! Bang!
Walter's appearance completely shattered the Soviet rhythm. They hadn't expected the Finn who had already escaped to have the gall to return and seek death.
"Walter! You lunatic!" Simo cursed, though his eyes reddened.
Walter reached Simo's side amidst the chaos. The two stood back-to-back, facing an enemy that outnumbered them several times over. Yet, the situation remained desperate. While Walter's surprise attack had claimed one life, the Soviets held the absolute advantage. The remaining elites quickly adjusted their formation, creating a crossfire with two machine guns that pinned the rock down.
Captain Wolf hid behind a massive tree. Watching the sparks fly off the bullet-beaten rock, he wasn't angry; instead, he wore a smile of perverse excitement.
"Good, very good." He clapped his hands, his voice piercing through the blizzard. "Buy one, get one free. I love surprises like this."
He signaled his men to cease fire. The shooting stopped abruptly. The woods fell into a terrifying silence, filled only by the howling wind.
"Brave Finnish warriors inside," Wolf's voice drifted from behind the tree, carrying an elegant, almost gentlemanly tone in his broken but intelligible Finnish. "You have proven your courage. I admire you."
"I am Captain Wolf. If you lay down your arms and walk out, I guarantee you the treatment war prisoners deserve. Hot soup, bread, even vodka, all you can ask for."
Behind the rock, Walter and Simo exchanged looks.
"He's full of it," Walter said coldly. "He's stalling."
"He's trying to pinpoint our location," Simo added. "Don't believe a word."
"I'll count to three," Wolf continued, his voice laced with the playfulness of a cat with a mouse. "If you don't come out, I'll have to level that rock with grenades. If that happens, there won't even be enough left of you to put in a coffin."
"One."
Even as Wolf spoke, two Soviet soldiers were moving silently through the flanks, attempting to loop behind the rock.
"Two."
Walter activated the Eye of Death. Even through the rock, his heightened intuition detected the movement on the wings.
"The one on the left is yours. I've got the right," Walter whispered.
"No problem." Simo gripped the rifle containing his last two rounds.
"Three!"
As the word left Wolf's lips…
Bang!
Walter lunged from the left side of the rock, firing a shot nearly flush with the ground. The Soviet soldier attempting the sneak attack had just exposed a foot when his ankle was shattered; he fell to the ground, screaming.
Immediately following, Walter didn't retreat. Instead, he made an even crazier move. He bolted from behind the rock like a leopard, heading straight for the fallen wounded man.
"Cover me!"
"Damn it!" Simo cursed, leaning out from the right to pin down the other flanking soldier.
The Soviets were clearly caught off guard by Walter's sudden charge. For a fraction of a second, they hesitated. That half-second was all Walter needed. He reached the wounded man, delivered a crushing stomp to his head, and snatched up the PPD-38 submachine gun and two drum magazines.
Dada-dada-dada—!
Walter squeezed the trigger without hesitation, spraying a burst at the tree where Wolf was hidden, forcing the captain to yank his head back.
"Retreat!"
Having secured the weapon, Walter didn't linger. He scurried back behind the rock like a rabbit.
"For you!" He tossed the captured submachine gun to Simo while slamming a fresh magazine into his own weapon.
"With this, we can hold out a bit longer," Walter panted.
Simo took the submachine gun, felt its weight, and a predatory grin curled his lips.
"Good lad. Now we're actually qualified to talk to them."
Behind the tree, Wolf wiped a smear of blood from his face where a wood splinter had nicked him.
"So, you chose the hard way." Wolf's voice turned frigid, dripping with murderous intent. "Grenades! Blow them out!"
At his command, several grenades were hurled from behind the trees, arching through the air toward the rock.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The violent explosions made the rock tremble. Snow and earth were kicked up, falling like rain. Walter and Simo were pinned behind the cover, finding it difficult even to breathe. Shrapnel struck sparks off the stone; to expose themselves even slightly meant death.
"We're going to get blown to bits if this keeps up!" Walter shouted, his ears ringing.
"Wait! Wait until they're done throwing!" Simo pressed his body tight against the stone, eyes fixed forward.
Finally, the blasts tapered off.
"Now!"
Simo lunged out, the submachine gun spitting fire.
Dada-dada-dada—!
A Soviet soldier preparing a second volley was caught in the chest, falling before he could release the grenade. Simultaneously, Walter fired from the other side.
Bang!
The report of the M28/30 was crisp and lethal. Another Soviet soldier was dropped with a headshot. In mere seconds, two more Soviets were down.
Watching this, Wolf's expression finally shifted. His elite squad, originally a dozen strong, was down to five. The two Finns across from him were like unkillable cockroaches, not only did they survive the explosions, but they continued to harvest his men's lives.
More concerningly, he realized the veteran with the submachine gun had an incredibly cunning aim, while the young sniper was a nightmare; if anyone showed even a sliver of themselves, it was over.
"This isn't right..."
For the first time, a trace of panic flickered on Wolf's face. As a cautious commander, he never fought a battle he couldn't win. The situation had spiraled out of control; if he stayed, he might lose his own life.
"Covering fire! Suppress them!" Wolf roared, ordering the remaining three soldiers to fire while he quietly began to back away.
"Comrade Captain?" one soldier turned, looking at him in confusion.
"I'm going back to call for reinforcements! Mortars! We need mortars!" Wolf shouted, his eyes darting. "Hold them! I'll be right back!"
With that, he took two of his inner circle and, using the darkness and the trees as cover, retreated without looking back, moving with startling speed.
"He's running!" Walter spotted the silhouette vanishing into the forest.
"Want to chase?" Simo asked, his gun still leveled forward.
"Forget it," Walter shook his head, looking at the few rearguard soldiers still resisting stubbornly. "We're almost out of ammo too. And Juha and the others haven't gotten far enough yet."
The two didn't rush to pursue. Instead, they used the rock as cover and entered a standoff with the remaining three Soviets. Both sides understood this was now a battle of attrition with no winner. The Soviet soldiers were waiting for reinforcements that would never come, while Walter and Simo were waiting for the right moment to withdraw.
…
Behind the rock, Walter and Simo remained frozen in their firing positions for half an hour. The cold was steadily devouring their body heat. Simo's injured leg had lost all sensation, the blood frozen into a hard casing. The side effects of Walter's Eye of Death were also manifesting; a violent headache was turning his vision dark in waves.
The three Soviet rearguard soldiers weren't doing any better. They huddled behind trees, expressions strained. Though they still fired the occasional potshot, the will to fight to the death had evaporated. Their captain had "gone for reinforcements," a lie that felt incredibly hollow in the minus thirty-degree chill.
Both sides had become abandoned orphans.
"They're out of ammo," Simo whispered, his voice raspy. "Those last few shots were all bluff."
"We don't have much left either," Walter checked his magazine, the last half of a drum. "And if we don't leave now, we'll never catch up to Juha."
The standoff continued, but a strange, silent understanding began to grow in the darkness. Finally, a Soviet soldier tentatively poked his head out. He didn't raise his gun; instead, he quickly ducked back.
No gunshot followed. Neither Walter nor Simo fired.
As if receiving a signal, the three Soviets began to back away slowly. They kept their faces toward the Finns, their muzzles still pointed forward, but their pace quickened.
"Let's go." Simo lowered the heavy submachine gun and stood up with difficulty. "They don't want to fight anymore, and there's no point in struggling with a few walking corpses."
Walter nodded, supporting Simo as they began to retreat in the opposite direction.
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]