Red Storm chapter 2
Second chapter to my series "Red Storm."
Red Storm ch.2 Yuri and Kiril watched the retreating Germans dissapear below the ridge. "God damn..."the Yuri sighed. He new they would be back, and with forces the Red Army, in its current state, couldn't counter. Kiril looked first at Yuri, then over the trench at the hill. "Sound off!" Someone yelled. Multiple names were called, some voiced responded to them. "Yuri Brezhnev!" The voice called. "Here!" He called up and raised his hand up over the trench. A couple more names were called, most of which were listed as dead. "Set up secondary defensive positions!" The Commissar ordered. "Hey." Yuri tugged on Kiril's uniform. He pointed off to a rifle pit a couple meters from them. Kiril nodded and the pair walked over to the pit, somewhat low, as the both of them were very conscious about possible snipers on the ridgeline. When they arrived to the muddy pit, they sat down to take in what they just witnessed, the adrenaline from earlier now dispersed. Yuri took off his pilotka and cradled it in his hands, different emotions rushing over him. Kiril wad surprisingly calm, Yuri noticed, as he pulled out another cigarette and started to smoke. "How the hell does Stalin think we can counter this?" Yuri asked Kiril, definit frustration in his voice. "Hell if I know, comrade." Kiril said, still exhausted from earlier. An explosion was heard over the cover of the rifle pit and the two soldiers looked to see what was coming at them this time. "PANZERS!!!" They heard a voice yell, and chills went down Yuri's spine. He knew well what the Panzer IVs were capable of. He'd seen it first hand outside Moscow when he was training there in 1941. "Fall back!" Anothet voice shouted. "No! Stand your ground! No mercy for cowards!" The commissar yelled to a group of soldiers trying to retreat. Yuri turned back to the steel monsters roaring twords him and his comrades. Yuri aimed and fired a shot at a tank; the bullet hitting in between the driver's and co-axial's position; which sparked vibrantly as the bullet glanced off of it. "Shit..." Yuri hissed under his breath as it continued its advance. "Kiril, follow me out-" bullets hit the rim of the rifle pit and the both of them dived to the ground. "Follow me out to the commissar!" He yelled. "I'll try to keep up, comrade!" Kiril said back as the panzer merged closer. Yuri waited for other Red Army soldiers to draw the panzer's fire so they could make a run for it; and it happened. Four other soldiers ran directly at the tank; and the pair burst from the rifle pit. "Kiril!" Yuri yelled to his friend who was a slight bit behind him. Kiril looked up and ran closer to Yuri, jumping around as bullets flew near the two. They reached the commissar just as an explosion ripped through their communications tent to their right. "Comrade Commissar!" Kiril yelled. The commissar spun around to meet Yuri and Kiril. "What are you doing!" He yelled. "Back to the line or I'll shoot you! Damn cowards!" He ranted on until bullets tore through him; his body essentially turning into a pin cushion. Yuri jumped back away from the body and into an abandoned logistics tent. He tumbled a short distance and stood up, trying to find his rifle. "Oh shit..." Yuri mumbled as he looked for his rifle. He heard multiple yells coming from outside, some followed by a scream or an explosion. "Dammit.. were the hell's that damn rifle!?" Bullets started to tear at the tent, as Yuri was sure the tankers knew where he was. "Oh fuck it!" He said as he ran from an opening in the tent. "He looked around and found most of his unit running away. How could he blame them? Yuri looked around for Kiril and saw him rummaging through an ammo crate. "Kiril!!!" Yuri yelled to his friend and the feline spun around and ran as fast as he could twords Yuri. "Found this. Take it." He handed Yuri a PPD40 SMG. "Let's go then." Yuri said, with a slight edge in his voice. The two ran to various pieces of cover as the panzers moved closer, one panzer II running over the logistics tent Yuri was in a couple minutes ago. Yuri followed Kiril closely, but he stopped when Kiril was knocked to the ground by an explosion. "Come on! Get up!" Yuri yelled to his friend, who managed to stand up. Yuri continued to follow Kiril, but stopped after a sharp pain went up his leg. "Ah Dammit!!" He yelled. Kiril ran up to his injured friend. "You alright comrade?" He asked. "Don't know... how bad does it look?" Yuri asked as Kiril examined Yuri's leg. "Just shrapnel." He said. "It's in deep, though." He said. "Let's just... keep going.." Yuri was gasping heavily as the pain in his leg was growing. "Just keep up." Kiril said and the two continued to run over the ridge, away from the panzers. They weren't the only Red Army unit out there. Passed this ridge, was a checkpoint for retreating Red Army soldiers who survived their previous engagement. The two weren't too amazed at the number of soldiers here. Yuri would want to take more inventory of the situation, but his leg was killing him. The two found a tree to sit under where Yuri could look at his leg. "Ah shit..." Yuri looked at the wound, which was bleeding profusely. He fished around for the shrapnel, or whatever hit him, but all he was doing, he reasoned, was making it bleed more. He stopped and continued to hold on to his wounded leg. A couple minutes past, the two sitting silently under this tree. At this, Yuri made the decision to continue searching for the shrapnel. He finally found it and pulled it out of his leg. It was a thin, very sharp piece of metal that probably came from one of the ammo bunkers. "Kiril. Get me a roll of gauze." Yuri said calmly to his friend, who looked nothing short of exhausted. "Yeah..." Kiril got up and walked twords the medical tent, which, by this time, was swarming with wounded. After searching for a usable roll, re returned to Yuri and handed him the gauze. "Spasiba, tovarishch." Yuri said. As he wrapped the gauze around his leg, the both of them took in what they could. Listening, and thinking. Finally, Yuri spoke up. "The hell will we gain from this damn war? The fascists are sweeping over the Motherland, and we're loosing more men and ground as the days go by..." Kiril looked at him, and spoke. "Maybe something will come of this... maybe we will learn how to fight them.. but all I can think of is that "Comrade Stalin" has forsaken us." Yuri nodded in agreement and the two looked out at the vast Russian steppe.