• Wait for Me
    A short story by Lumanaru

    Setting: Russia, 1944
    Time: Approximetely 2 'O Clock PM

    Corporal Mikeal Gregorvich wrinkled his nose at the blue smoke cloud emanating from Alexsev's unfiltered cigarette. "Put that damn thing out. You know I can't stand the stench." He muttered.
    With a sigh, Alexsev ground the glowing tip out against the T-34 tank they were leaning against. " You know, if you were anyone else..." He chuckled. The all needed to get their laughs where they could. The Germans may have been on the run, but they fought for every bit of ground like a mother wolf protecting her cubs. The armor units were getting the worst of it. The Krauts had plenty of bombers left, and friendly fighter support was never a guarantee.

    Mikeal had lied about his age to join the Red Army. After his basic training, he was assigned to the 335th Motor Rifle Regiment, just in time to help chase the German military out of the Rodina. Along the way, he had met Ivan Alexsev, a man with a smart mouth, but very few could equal his skill with anti-vehicle veaponry. He always had at least two Panzerfaust anti- tank weapons on him, and was continuously scrounging for more. Along the way, Mikeal had seen friends killed, entire towns levelled to the ground, and German crimes that would have made a Chekist cringe. He wondered if the nightmares would ever go away.

    "Off your arses, boys!"
    Mikeal and Alexsev traded a look. The voice of Sgt. Sergetov was never a good thing, especially in that tone. They stood up, not slow enough to count as insubordination, but not as to give Sergetov the satisfaction of having his men jump to their feet. The pair joined up with the other men beginning to group around him.

    "Today, we will move to push through the town of Khraznov, destroying the German whore-sons, and linking up with the 27th Armoured."
    A collective groan escaped the men's lips. Khraznov was where the Krauts-a whole division!-had been holed up for over a week. The town was on a hill, and easily defended, and the landscape around Khraznov was littered with ruined vehicles and men. To top it off, the Germans were not afraid to call in air atacks, and the 335th had no defence against that.

    45 minutes later, the small convoy of vehicle slowed, then ground to a halt. The plan was to send the lone T-34 and small group of armored troop carriers to draw the attention of the Germans, while the infantry forced the defenders to fight on two fronts with a classic "pincer" movement.

    "Aaaah..." Alexsev let out a sigh. " If I sat in that thing any longer, my a** would have turned to stone." Mikeal chuckled. " Pain is good for you. Lets you know you're alive." A smile crossed his face as he realized how much like his father he sounded, then vanished when he thought of the family he had left behind.
    "We won't be alive much longer if you don't get your asses in gear! So move it!" Sgt. Sergetov barked.
    As the men began to split into their respective groups, Mikeal was forced to pause in mid-stride. That drone...

    The pilot of the German Ju-87 dive-bomber grinned beneath his oxygen mask. It never failed. Without the Jericho sirens, surprise was on his side...

    Mikeal looked up to see two Stukas near the bottom of their dive the bombs already falling off their racks.

    The lead pilot banked left as he climbed to inspect his handiwork. One bomb must have landed right in the middle of the men, he saw, as they were all down, like a wheat field after the harvest...

    Mikeal woke in what appeared to be an infirmary, but he was the only patient.
    "Ah, you are awake?" A voice spoke the words in flawless Russian, but with an accent he could not place.
    "Yes, I..." Mikeal began. Then: "Where are my comrades? And who are you?" He began to feel light-headed.
    " I am Dr. Baker, with the 3rd Infantry Division, British Army." The boy was fading, he saw. Internal bleeding, most likely. Nothing could be done. Pity...
    "You were the lone survivor of the failed attack we stumbled upon. You are now around twenty kilometers away, in the small town of Kohlya. Thank God the local doctor's office wasn't damaged."
    Mikeal nodded, too tired to speak.
    "I have given you morphine, to ease the pain," Baker went on, "But until my staff comes back, I want you to rest. Then we will begin to work on you."
    The boy was already unconciouss, he saw. What a shame. He didn't even look old enough to shave.

    As Mikeal's conciousness drifted away to the void, his last thoughts were of his second family, his brothers-in-arms who had gone on ahead. " I'm on my way, comrades."

    "Wait for me."

    Mark Peterson
    September 22, 2009