Why I fight

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The cold breeze of dawn kissed his tired and scarred face as he knelt down by the cross. The massive graveyard was commissioned by the Russian government in 2015 to honor the deceased soldiers of Russia, but it had been almost filled in a matter of eight years.

 “Anything going on up there?” the man asked the cross, only to be replied by utter silence. “Well I hope I am not interrupting you” the man let out a raspy laugh which turned into a coughing fit. “Everything has gone to shit since you left…” There was a faint rustle of the leaves, and the heavy steps of combat boots defiled the silence. The man instinctively reached for his AKMS and turned around, finger on the trigger..

The fresh faced Sergeant, probably just out of training, made an exaggerated mock surrender.“Easy mate. It’s just me. Scouts just spotted heavy USEC presence at the interchange. Scouts say they have a certain VIP with them. The head scientist at №14. Finish up here, we are moving in 10.”

“I’ll be there”

The Sergeant walked back, humming the tune of Kalinka. It was silent again. “See what I mean Vladimir, everything’s gone to shit. Look at him, what is he? Twenty? Twenty two? Those bastards at head office have been sending younger and younger men.” The man smelled the air. It brought back memories of the chamomile garden of his neighbor’s house. “Can’t blame them though. We have been losing men faster than they can train the reserves to be BEAR ready. Hell, the white caps got new toys now, that’s why. Sonars. Motars. The new carbines. We aren’t dealing with the ragged militia that Boss convinced us about. There is more to this, man; I know it. Heck, last week, Boris, you remember Boris, fucking annoying but he was a funny guy sometimes. Yeah, he got shot in the head by a sniper. Poor bastard had less of a head then Gorbachev. But guess which sniper fired on him.  A fucking M40. An M40. Since when did the damn Yankees get involved?” The man sighed. The sun was starting to set. It was going to be a nighttime battle. The man cursed under his breath; he hated night time battles ever since the 7th Bay. Vladimir had died at the 7th Bay.

“For fuck sakes Vladimir, why don’t they leave? Its been six shitty years already. What do they want with us? I say they just nuke the SEZ. Screw this place. We’ve been losing at least 5 men everyday from USEC snipers and car bombs. We haven’t even moved an inch in territory. Boss says defense is the best offense, but I say its just a shitty excuse for losing. Enough about this depressing shithole. How you been? You havin’ fun up there Vlad? You and the virgins?” The man’s laughter was soon followed by wheezing and another coughing fit.

“I am getting too old for this shit. You know what they are making me do now? I am supposed to be a spotter. I just sit there spotting for the snipers, watching every bullet hit, seeing every one of my men die in combat.” The man looked weary. Not the weariness following a lack of sleep but the weariness following when a man has seen all the death, destruction and brutality of mankind.

“Why do they make us fight Vlad?  Why didn’t I just realize sooner that I am a simple pawn in another man’s game? I joined the Russian army at 18, served it my whole life. Then what happens? Terra Groups happens. UN happens. Soon, the high ups “suggested” I join BEAR. Saying BEAR was a better place. Bullshit. They wanted me here to fight under a PMC rather than my country due to the diplomatic shit at Moscow. They wanted to fight the enemy under a different name so they could keep Russia’s image clean. I joined thinking I could do something, help our motherland. But that’s all just nonsense. This is all a game to those at parliament. Those dickheads couldn’t fight their own battles so they just send us to do their dirty work. Oh no. You can’t remove blood from a Ralph Lauren suit. Bah, we pay in blood because they can’t sit around a table and talk. We go into war thinking we would make a difference, bring change and protect our country but we will die knowing we didn’t make a difference, just another pawn in another man’s game. Yeah, yeah, I know. I know. I’ve given this speech to you a hundred times at least. But you know why I stay? We took shelter at a school three weeks ago. We thought it was empty ever since the fighting began. But then, this lone girl, looking like she didn’t have a family anymore and hadn’t eaten for days, stuck her head out of a room. Nikolay almost shot her. So anyway, she stuck her head out the door and whispered to us. ‘are they gone now?’” The man paused for a while as if he was reliving that memory.

“She is the reason why I fight, Vlad. I don’t give a shit about any of this. I don’t fight for Russia. I don’t fight for our mothers back home or the towns we were born in. I fight for our youth, our future. I fight so atleast they can live in peace.” The man heard commotion at camp. It was time to leave.