[????, 1942]
His footsteps were now as fast as his fearful heartbeat. Something was beginning to chase him, and it certainly wouldn't care even if the young man's eyes were red from two full days of lack of sleep. The young man's vision began to blur, until he came across a post where many Red Army soldiers had gathered to rest right in front of him. He stopped running, then took a deep breath before stepping into the post as if he were part of the group.
Most of the soldiers paid no attention to the green-eyed young man's arrival, continuing their conversations with their interlocutors. The young man approached a soldier who was eating soup and said, "Hi, comrade. Anyway, how many more minutes until our break?"
"Ah, we just assembled. The captain gave us an hour to rest before continuing our journey to the next post some distance away."
"Good then. I'd like to get some sleep. I haven't slept in two days..."
"I just met you, comrade. Aren't you from this group?"
"True. I got separated from my group three posts earlier," the green-eyed youth said without another word, placing his pack on a snow-covered rock, then knelt down and leaned his head against it as a pillow. His ushanka was lowered so that half of his face was hidden, and soon he was asleep. The soldier who had been eating the soup returned to his lunch.
*Taken from 2013 archive I ever wrote