Shot Throught the Heart

twenty-nine

After leaving the boarder crossing behind, we drove off road for a little bit until we hit a sideroad. Trying to blend in and not draw too much attention to ourselves, we kept speeds close to 50mph. My head was on a constant swivel with my rifle held tightly in my hand just incase I needed to use it quickly. I gave the map to Cosima to navigate from the middle seat in the back. Two advantages of having her in the car with me is because she is fluent in Ukrainian and can easily navigate us through the backroads with the knowledge of her country.

            Only two hours into the drive we had our first major test. We had to go through the city of Lviv. From what Cosima told us, this city is one of the largest in the country. But as we traveled through it, the place was mostly a ghost town. We ran into a few people out on the streets who were walking in the direction of Poland with suitcases and it made my heart break. Most of those leaving were women and children. I just wish we could give them a ride the rest of the way to the boarder.

As we were pulling out of the city we did find a gas station that had power and I thought it would be a good idea to fill up the tanks while we can. Cosima and I went into the store to do the talking while the rest of the team stood watch as the trucks fueled up. The gas station attendant didn't bat an eyelash to me having the rifle in hand. Though I know Russian, the Ukrainian Cosima was speaking was lost on me. The words were similar to Russian but it didn't make much sense. While Cosima continued to speak with the attendant, I walked around the shop and picked up a few different snacks and plenty of gum to add to the total.

When I saw Rob give the signal and got back into the trucks, I told Cosima it was time to go. Cosima pulled out the envelope of banknotes we were given as we loaded up and paid for everything before taking the bag from the gas station attendant. I thanked him as we moved to the door and made sure to have my weapon up and ready before pushing the door open. After making sure the area was clear, Cosima came out behind me and we went right over to the truck. I reached into the bag and pulled out a few packs of gum before walking over to Bravo truck.

"A gift for ya." I said and gave Rob two packs of gum.

"You're honestly my favorite person." Rob said and gave me a smile as I walked over to Charlie truck.

"Monica, make sure your team knows how to share." I said and gave Felix the other gum packs I had in hand.

"You're a saint." Monica said and took them right from Felix's' hands as I returned to the passenger seat of my truck.

Cosima navigated us out of Lviv and I felt like I could relax a fraction of an inch. We were back on a country road shortly and I finally let go of my rifle.

"Cos, what was going on in the store?" I asked after we got onto a long stretch of straight road and popped a piece of gum in my mouth before putting the pack in one of my many pockets.

"He told me that the president has sent the first lady out of country to be safe, we don't know where. He also told me that any able body man is barred from leaving the country and must take up arms. When he asked who we were I told him we were troops sent by NATO to help. He wouldn't take money for the gas, he only let me pay him for the snacks." Cosima said taking in all the farmland around us.

"Do you know if any of your family is here in country?" I asked the question that has been lingering in my head since we left the base this morning.

"Last I heard, my brothers are home in Philie with my mom. They all came back home early from our usual summer trip but my dad stayed behind because he wanted to spend some more time with his brothers. The last time my mom heard from him, he was still at home but that was almost two weeks ago now." Cosima said.