Red Forest, Ukraine, 1910s
The trenches were muddied with dirty snow and gunpowder. The air was thick and filled with smoke. A dark stench lingered along with it. It smelt of burning human flesh as well as that of our horses. My horse was surely dead. I had no idea what had happened to it. I was hiding in the trenches, clutching my gun to my chest. I breathed in and out, desperately trying to calm myself down but to no avail. I could hear men screaming and bullets flying.
KABOOM!
Another bomb went off. It shook the ground, causing me to tumble to it. I landed on my stomach and gasped at the loud noise. I scrambled for my gun and slowly lifted my head to look over the trench. Many of my fellow soldiers laid lifeless in the bloody snow. A shaky breath left me as I carefully climbed out of the trench. I looked down at all my friends and bowed my head in sorrow.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
My eyes flew open wide and I leaped behind a large tree. A rain of bullets hit the snow and the trench. I shakily peeked behind the tree and pointed my gun. I spotted a Russian soldier within the shadows of the forest. I aimed for his head and pulled the trigger. The gun drew me back from the impact. I managed to shoot the Russian soldier right in the jawline. His life was snuffed out by me instantly and his broken body crumpled to the ground.
The sound of bullets and explosions was deafening. Not to mention the smell of burning flesh. My fellow soldiers and I thought that the Russian soldiers were all to worry about. We needed to shield ourselves from the bombs and bullets. But the thing was, that wasn't all. There was something out there in the forest, watching us. Some sort of humanoid beast clad with the mask of a horse. The beast emerged from the shadows and appeared to be a huge woman. We didn't stand a chance against her. This war seemed to be fun to her. I could tell by the way she looked and stood that she lived in this forest. She was tall and strong with big calloused hands. Now obviously she wasn't a Russian soldier, but she wore the uniform of one.
One shuttered to think how she got her hands on it.
Many Russian soldiers fell by us. We thought we were winning. They had ran off into the forest hiding. My comrades and our prepared to march through the snow and track them down. My comrade and good friend, Wolfgang, stood by my side. We were on the prowl for Russians but never expected this. The large masked woman ambushed us soldiers with nothing but malicious intent. She must have been studying how the Russians treated us. My fellow soldiers barked orders in German, readying their bayonets for combat. But the woman was too quick. With a grunt, she threw a rusty old hatchet. She aimed it skilfully to Wolfgang and I. I quickly dove out of the way but Wolfgang froze up in fear.
Crack!
The hatchet struck right between his eyes. Hot blood gushed from his skull and spurted onto me where I laid on the ground. Wolfgang's body hit the snow with a thud, staining it red.
"WOLFGANG!" I screamed. I bowed my head and angrily punched the snow. "No..." I sobbed in grief.
The other soldiers let out battle cries and stormed towards the woman. Bayonets sliced through the air but she was too quick. Another hatchet was thrown and another German soldier fell. Anger boiled within me as I carefully brought myself to my feet. We were running out of bullets, but I still had a few. I snatched my gun off the ground and aimed it for the woman's mask.
A soldier pointed his gun at her as well. The woman grabbed the wrist holding it and broke it effortlessly. He shrieked in pain and dropped the gun. She kicked him in the chest where he then laid on the ground. With another grunt, the woman brought her boot down onto his skull. When his head turned to a gory mush, her sights set on another one of my comrades. This man knew that he couldn't beat her so he quickly tried to scamper away. The woman instead grabbed his neck with her big hand and snapped it like a twig. I ducked behind a tree and fired my gun at the woman.
I missed.
Her eyes from behind the horse mask darted towards me. I panicked and ran away to where my other comrades were. The woman lifted another hatchet and threw it my way. She had quite an arm on her as well as excellent aim. Too bad it was all directed at me. The hatchet struck my right hip and burrowed deep into the flesh. I screamed in agony and crumbled to the ground. My helmet fell off my hair and rolled away into a puddle of blood. The snow was icy cold against my head but it was the least of my worries.
I breathed heavily and began to cry. I shakily clutched the hatchet handle that stuck out of my side. My hand was immediately caked with hot blood. It oozed and gushed from my wound quickly, giving me small relief from the cold temperature. I didn't know how long I was laying there for. I could hear my comrades scream and gurgle on their own blood from all around. The woman was merciless and killed every single one. She bashed the last to death with a rock. His face was just a wet red heap.
Then it got quiet.
It was so eerie yet comforting. There were no explosions or bullets or screams. Just silence. I laid in the snow without moving a muscle. I was completely soaked in my own blood as well as Wolfgang's. I stopped crying and groaning in pain to just await my death. I could hear the masked woman trudge through the snow, glancing down at every fallen soldier she killed.
She began to hum.
The Russian woman hummed a soft tune that I didn't recognise. I slowly turned my head to the side to see her in the near distance. She leaned down to the soldier she bashed with the rock and rummaged through his uniform. I saw her bloody hand pull out a little handmade doll. She lifted it up to her mask and stared down at its little button eyes. A noticeable blood splatter adorned its face. The woman tucked away the doll in the Russian uniform she wore. She then went to another soldier, also rummaging through his uniform for anything that appealed to her.
I lifted a shaky hand to my own uniform, sliding it under. My bloody fingers traced the rough fabric of the small teddy bear I had. It was a gift from the children back in Germany for when I got drafted. They told me it would keep me company and keep me safe. I tried to smile at the thought but my body was far too numb and traumatised to even consider it.
The woman continued to hum as she approached my broken body. She loomed over me and seemed surprised that I was still alive. With my last bit of strength, I pulled the teddy bear out from my uniform and held it out weakly for her.
Here is your prize.
The Russian stopped humming and that was when my vision completely blurred out. I turned my head and closed my eyes. The last thing I felt was my blood pouring out and her taking the teddy bear.
I awoke by the warmth of a fireplace. I stirred tiredly on the blanket I was laying on. I hissed in pain and cracked my eyes open. I found myself in a small room by the fire. There was a dinner table behind me and a huge chandelier made of what looked like elk antlers. I was laying on a blanket made of a skinned animal on the floor. My jacket was missing. I found myself only wearing my bra, pants and boots. I glanced down at my side that was wrapped tight in a bandage, blood soaking through. I took a shaky breath and ran my fingers over the wound.
How did I not die?
Footsteps followed by the sound of a woman humming sounded from outside. I shot up in surprise but then winced when I tore my wound a little. The door flew open to reveal the large woman with the horse mask and Russian uniform. I froze in place and stared wide eyed at the figure in the door. She stopped humming and the only thing that could be heard was the crackling fire. We stared silently at each other for a few painfully long moments.
The masked woman began to softly hum to herself again. She strode over to where I sat by the fireplace. She squatted down next to me, her dark eyes glaring at me from behind the mask. I nervously clutched the bandages that were covering the hatchet would that she inflicted.
"What is it that you want from me?" I asked in a hushed tone.
The woman tilted her head in confusion. Ah, of course. She was Russian. There was no way she could speak English, let alone German. Whelp, that was an issue. The woman ignored it anyway and instead pulled out something from behind her. I held my breath and braced for it to be some kind of weapon.
She pulled out my teddy bear.
I looked down at it in her hand confusingly. The woman nudged it to my chest, silently telling me to take it. I hesitantly took the small bear and held it in my hand. It looked up at me with its big, sad button eyes. A little flicker of my blood stained its already matted fur.
"But it is for you to take." I said even though I knew she couldn't understand me.
The woman sat next to me on the blanket and continued to hum. I stroked the teddy bear's fur and stared into the orange glow of the fire. My side hurt so bad. I contemplated the past couple of events. Everything played like a movie in my mind. I knew that I would never be a normal woman again after the war. And this woman, she... she threw a hatchet at me and then patched me up. She killed my comrades, my friends.
Wolfgang.
My shoulders shook as a sob left me. I hunched over and cried, tears trickling down my cheeks. I bowed my head and hugged the teddy bear, wishing that I died then and there with my comrades. The Russian woman hummed, stretching an arm around my bare shoulders. She pulled me close to her and sung softly by my ear. I cried harder and closed my eyes. The masked woman began to stroke my hair lovingly.
"Shh, shh, shh." She uttered.
I couldn't shove her away. My side hurt far too much and I knew if I tore it again, it would surely be fatal. I remained laying there on her chest with her fingers in my hair.
Who are you? I wished I could've asked her.
The large woman cradled my wounded form by the roaring fireplace. The teddy bear laid in my lap, my tears dripping down into its fur.
"Medvezhonok." She cooed affectionately.