CHAPTER 39

“Hold On, Brother”

     

September 15th, 2040: Unknown Position, Foreign Forest 

Feeling the effects of something akin to a flashbang being set off inside their vehicle Moskvin fumbled around blind for the door handle, and once finding it, threw open the door and collapsed onto the thick lush grassy ground. 

“Chto, chert voz'mi, proiskhodit?” Cursing in his mother tongue, Moskvin rubbed his eyes in a desperate attempt to ‘fix’, whatever was wrong with them. All the while he could hear distant yelling from the Canadians as they fell victim to the same experience.

“Commander! I’m blind!” As panic set in, Karol's heavy, erratic breathing was the only close sound, other than the moaning from Vadium, Matvei, and Kolzak, that allowed Moskvin to locate their vehicle.

“So am I. What about everyone else?” Slowly fumbling back towards the vehicle on his hands and knees he stopped once his right hand bumped the front wheel.

“I can barely see, I believe my sight is returning.” Being the only one with flash-resistant goggles on his kit, Matvei pulled them to his helmet and rubbed his eyes. “Looks like we all… what the hell?” Interrupting himself as he opened the passenger door he stepped outside and, through hazy but functional vision, stood in awe of their surroundings.

“What? What is it Matvei?” Still not able to see, Moskvin pulled himself up by the front wheel and steadied himself on the vehicle’s fender. 

“We… are not in the glade anymore, commander. We are in… some, dense forest.” 

 

With the Russians quieting down, leaving only the yelling Canadians, they managed to open the Coyote’s rear doors and fumbled out one by one. Eventually, Moskvin broke the Russian silence with a hearty chuckle, followed by Vadium and Kolzak also starting to laugh.

“Matvei, I think your vision is more fucked than ours.” Finding it increasingly hard to keep himself together in such a serious situation he banged on the hood of their vehicle a few times to redirect his thoughts.

“That one of you, Russians?” Came the familiar voice of Sergeant Keen. The Canadian struggled to support his weight against the Coyote. 

“Yeah, it’s Moskvin! Along with the rest of us. Can’t see a damn thing!” Forcibly blinking, Moskvin could make out the faint outline of the Coyote and moving blobs that he guessed were soldiers.

 

As everyone's vision slowly returned the Russians realized that Matvei hadn’t gone completely insane. All around them, the open grassy glade had completely transformed into a lush, dense forest. Trees towered above; the leafy canopy blocking any direct sunlight from reaching them. 

“Did we time travel to the future or some shit?” One Canadian, Benjamin, questioned as he strained his neck to look up at one of the massive trees.

“Not to the future… nor any past we could survive in comfortably. These look like… some subspecies of Sequoioideae--Redwood trees. These only exist on the Western Seaboard, not where we were.” Standing at the base of one of these supposed subspecies Jessica placed her right hand on the rough bark.

“So, what then?” Keen asked. “We got sucked through some… portal, now we’re in some parallel dimension?” His mind conjuring the most obvious answer he could think of, he watched as Jessica looked back at the mix of soldiers with a ghostly look. 

“I… I don’t know. No one who has ever gone near these anomalies has ever returned. So we just assumed them to be some sort of blackhole, not a portal.” 

“If you damn Russians had just for once listened to someone actually competent, we wouldn't be in this mess!” Oliver barked as he stood up from kneeling on the ground. Reactively, Vadium took a step forward.

“We did not invite you to join us! Nothing was stopping you from just staying put, cyka.” As he gestured with his right arm at the Canadians each side closed the gap between the other. 

“You wanna repeat that last word in English, bud?” Rolling up his multicam sleeves Oliver stepped forward again as Vadium did likewise. “Your ass can’t even win a war against the post-soviet states. What makes you think you can beat us?”

“Fight? Against Canada?” Joining the standoff with a laugh, Kolzak threw his arms out to the side. “We already won! Where are your Arctic claims? Oh right! You lost them!” 

“Uh huh, and how’s the Smolensk? Still at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean?” Benjamin sneered.

 

Tension flared, and with it, the yelling grew louder and louder. Then, just as quickly as it started, it ended as a gunshot caused everyone to flinch. Everyone but Moskvin, with his pistol pointed in the air.

“I could not give a single shit about your political opinions right now. As of this moment, we are focusing on survival. Does anyone have a problem with that?” With cold expressions, the Russians and Canadians took a few steps away from each other. 

“What do you have in mind, Moskvin?” Taking charge for their side, Keen crossed his arms in thought.

“You Canadians, stay here and attempt to get the vehicles working again. If you can’t, set up camp.” He turned his attention to a very shaken Jessica. “If what Jessica said is correct--with these… things, being portals instead of blackholes then maybe there are others, right? So we will scout the surrounding area.” 

“Alright, works for me.” 

 

With a tense but mutual agreement reached the Canadians went about attempting to diagnose their vehicle while the Russians geared themselves lightly; having only old AKMs and one KS-23 shotgun to work with. While grabbing the only box of ammunition for his shotgun, Moskvin’s mind returned to what Vadium had said back at the research camp. After quickly glancing at the distracted Canadians he lifted the false floor to find a jet-black briefcase. Releasing its latches and opening the lid, he was greeted with 6 unmarked chrome smoke canisters.

 

With his eyes locked onto the seemingly harmless-looking canisters Moskvin began to hear distant screams. A mix of commanding orders, and soldiers calling out for their mothers. As the voices grew louder, Moskvin’s face began to burn. But, just as quickly as it started, he was harshly brought back to reality by Vadium snapping shut the lid of the briefcase and replacing the false floor before any prying eyes could see what was hidden.

“Commander? Is everything okay?” Concerned by Moskvin’s blank stare, Vadium could only watch as Moskvin blinked rapidly before turning to him.

“Yeah, doing as well as one can in this situation. Let’s move before night falls.” Stepping away from the vehicle before Vadium had a chance to pry into his personal affairs Moskiv looked to his left to see Karol, Matvei, and Kolzak at the edge of the small clearing, facing an animal trail. Joining his comrades, all five soldiers checked over their gear. Then, with Moskvin taking the lead, began their journey into the unknown.

 

A Short While Later…  

 

“So… what exactly are we looking for?” Kolzak asked. “I know we said we were looking for other ‘survivors’ but I find that hard to believe, commander.” At the rear of the column, Matvei’s question bounced around in Moskvin’s mind as he stopped and turned around.

“We are, but more importantly, it gives us complete privacy to discuss other matters.” 

“As in, should we trust the Canadians?” Karol questioned, then shrugged. “We’re all in the same boat. I don’t see a reason as to why we shouldn't.”

“Did that bright flash erase your memories as well, Karol?” Kolzak motioned back to where they had come from. “Ever since we arrived at that camp, to help I might add, we have gotten nothing but the cold shoulder from the Canadians! Why should we trust them if they won’t trust us?”

“Because someone has to be the first to extend a hand.” Moskvin answered. His comrades looked skeptical. “Out here we will need all the help and cooperation we can muster. We don’t know where we are and we don’t know what possible hostiles this forest holds. Without doubt I'd much rather have a second pair of eyes at my back than no eyes at all.”

 

As the conversation fizzled out the Russians continued along the trail; though as they did, Moskvin slowed, then raised his shotgun. Signaling with his left hand, everyone else readied their rifles.

“We have blood ahead.”  Whispered Moskvin slowly stepping closer to a light trail of blood droplets. As he pushed through outstretched branches his eyes fixed on a scene that made his heart sink. Directly on the trail, a blood smear covered the ground and nearby foliage. Resuming his slow advance Moskvin scanned their surroundings before examining the ground closer. Sure enough, just past the blood smear, boot prints were pressed deep into the soil, and just behind those, massive paw marks dug into the ground. 

“Poor bastard never had a chance.” Matvei muttured. 

“What the fuck…”  Stepping around the blood smear Vadium kneeled down by the animal track. “In all my time hunting, I have never seen an animal print like this.” Examining it closer, he could make out three long, slender toes, one protruding at an angle. Though, as his mind processed what he was seeing, he began to realize that this was no simple footprint. Looking back to his comrades, his eyes were wide with alarm. “I don’t believe this to be a foot, this is a hand.” 

 

Dead silence around them, the four Russians were at a complete loss as to how to proceed. Approaching the handprint, Moskvin gaged the size of the print with his own boot, which he was able to comfortably fit inside the palm area. As his inner voice was screaming for him to retreat, his soldier's drilled mind demanded the exact opposite. After examining the alien forest around them, Moskvin stared down the trail towards where the boot and hand prints originated from.

“We keep moving forward, have your rifles readied.” Raising his shotgun back to his shoulder he began to walk down the path; his comrades quickly falling in behind. 

Continuing down the trail Moskvin’s vision locked to the distance where the track slowly opened up into a small glade. As they got closer they all spotted that they weren't the first to be there. Covering most of the glade were the remains of a hastily created military encampment. They stopped just outside the clearing, the atmosphere around them growing heavy, each soldier’s heart sinking to their feet. All around the glade were completely ruined tents. Three CSK-181 armored vehicles had been thrown around like a child’s toys. There was enough blood to saturate the ground in crimson red.                

“What… happened here?” Vadium voiced quietly, finding it increasingly difficult to keep his old AK steady in his hands as the smell of iron filled his nose. Glancing at the ground, there were enough bullet casings and scattered small-arms for a platoon of soldiers. 

“All this blood, yet not a single body. Nothing from Earth could cause this much carnage, but what could survive this much firepower?” Thinking out loud, Moskvin kept his shotgun raised as he scanned the annihilated tents. While doing so, he noticed a torn piece of cloth. Flipping it over with his boot, he instantly recognized the insignia patch. Whoever this once belonged to had served with the People's Liberation Army.

“Whatever it is--or was I don’t believe the Coyote will protect us.” Snapping his head over to where Kolzak stood they both stared in complete dismay at what had been hidden behind a tree. A Chinese ZSL-92--or what was left of it, flipped upside down. Two of its six wheels were missing, and another two bent to the point of snapping their axle; multiple gashes scarred the hull and each gash was just large enough to match up with the monstrous hand prints. Taking the initiative, Kolzak bent to investigate the wreck further. He leaned down next to the vehicle, and then looked back at Moskvin. Even with a balaclava covering his face, Moskvin could see his fear. 

“...The turret is missing.” 

 

That was enough for Moskvin. Spinning on his heels, he locked eyes with the other three Russians.

“Move! We. Are. Leaving.” They broke into a jog, all rushing to not be left behind as they hurried along the trail. Then a sudden dead stop--and not voluntarily. In the far distance and from down the very trail they had just walked came a roar of such distortion, and anguish, that it echoed all around; and not long after, gunfire responded in kind. 

“W-wha-what d-do we do? Co-commander?” Moskvin turned to face Vadium, who wasn’t the only one showing outright terror. Without answering, Moskvin knew what they wanted to do. Run. Run as fast and as far as their legs could carry them. 

“We either live until dusk, and die to this creature, or, we go to help our brothers--and likely die together. Either way, it is not my decision to make for you. Vyshe tol'ko zvezdy!” Without wasting another second, Moskvin spun around and sprinted down the trail.

“Only stars are above us…” As the old Spetsnaz motto rattled around his head Kolzak growled “I swear if I live through this, General Dimitrev owes me more than 200,000 roubles in hazard payment.” He took off after Moskvin. Vadium, Karol, and Matvei looked at each other and Matvei shrugged.

“Vyshe tol'ko zvezdy.” And with that, all five Russians accepted their uncertain fate. One where they would either die a meaningless death, or perhaps achieve something that had not happened in centuries.