Burning Moscow

Chapter 144: Return to Division Headquarters (Part 1) The two then began discussing the next phase of combat deployments. One by one, operational orders were swiftly transmitted to specific units via the radio beside them. I sat beside them, watching them work, unable to contribute a single word. I wisely kept quiet, observing as they deployed their troops. Tired from sitting, I tried to stand up to stretch my legs, but the movement tugged at my wound, and my left shoulder instantly shot with a searing pain. The intense agony made me let out a soft groan. My groan caught the attention of both men, and they turned their heads almost simultaneously. General Lin asked with concern, “Lida, what’s wrong?” I took a deep breath and, forcing myself to endure the excruciating pain, replied, “The wound hurts terribly; it might be infected.” Without a word, Colonel Gryaznov walked straight to the door and called out, “Second Lieutenant Gabifor, come in here.” At his call, the second lieutenant who had just guided me in strode through the doorway, saluted, and asked, “Comrade Colonel, Second Lieutenant Gabifor is here on orders, awaiting your instructions.” The colonel pointed at me and said, “Division Commander Oshanina’s injury has flared up. You’ll accompany her to the division infirmary for an examination immediately. Do you understand?” “Understood,” Second Lieutenant Gabifov replied, stepping forward to my side and saying politely, “Comrade Division Commander, I’ll take you to the medical clinic. Please follow me.” I stood up and followed him to the door, then paused and turned to General Lin and the others, saying, “If there is any news regarding the 8th Guards Division, please notify me as soon as possible.” Since I spoke in Russian, General Lin didn’t understand at first. Just as Shi Zhe was translating for him, the colonel spoke up first: “Rest assured, Comrade Oshanina. As soon as we have any news, I’ll send someone to notify you immediately.” “All right, thank you.” With that, I followed the second lieutenant to the medical tent to receive treatment. The medical station was set up in the middle of the forest, with an ambulance bearing a red cross parked between two neatly arranged rows of tents. The second lieutenant led me to the ambulance. He stepped forward, pounded the tightly shut rear door several times with his fist, and shouted, “Is anyone in there?” When no one answered, he pounded the door again with all his might. “What are you doing, Comrade Commander?” The door didn’t open, but a female medic emerged from a nearby tent. She stood there, flung the medical kit slung across her chest behind her, and said in a displeased tone, “You’re disturbing the wounded.” Hearing someone speak, the second lieutenant quickly stopped, rubbed the back of his head, and asked somewhat sheepishly, “ “Are you a medic?” “Yes.” The female medic didn’t give him a friendly look just because his rank was higher than hers; she asked angrily, “Are you feeling unwell?” The second lieutenant said somewhat flustered, “No, it’s not that I’m feeling unwell.” He pointed at me standing beside him and said, “I’m here on the orders of the Division Commander to accompany the commander of the allied division to see you for medical treatment.” “The commander of the allied division?!” The female medic looked in the direction he was pointing with some confusion. She caught a glimpse of my shoulder insignia and immediately snapped to attention, saluting: “Comrade Commander, good day! Please forgive me; I didn’t notice you just now.” I quickly waved my hand and said, “It’s fine. I’m here to have my injuries checked; there’s no need to be so formal.” The female medic shot the second lieutenant a sharp glare, then smiled at me and said, “Comrade Commander, please follow me.” Seeing how polite she was, I replied politely, “Thank you.” Then I turned to Gabi, who was standing nearby, and said, “Thank you too, Comrade Second Lieutenant.” The second lieutenant smiled, stood at attention to salute me, and then turned to leave. By then, the female medic had already opened the door and gotten into the ambulance. She leaned out and said to me, “Comrade Commander, please get in,” extending her hand to help me. I didn’t hesitate, grabbing her hand and climbing into the ambulance with her assistance. Inside the ambulance, there were two beds—one on the left and one on the right. I glanced around and sat down directly on the left. As soon as I got in, the female medic closed the door. Fortunately, there was a light on the ceiling, so even with the door closed, the interior remained well-lit. The female medic wanted to examine my wound, but my clothes had already stuck to it—likely because the intense physical activity during the fighting from yesterday through today had caused the wound to reopen. Seeing that she couldn’t pull the clothes off, she had no choice but to cut them open with scissors before cleaning the wound. After cleaning the wound, she gave me a shot of sedative and helped me lie down. After tucking the blanket around me, she said softly, “Comrade Commander, I have to go tend to the other wounded. You just stay here and get some rest.” I felt sleepiness slowly washing over me, so I mumbled a vague “Mm-hmm.” Hearing her walk out of the compartment and close the door, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. Although I felt very tired, the faint sounds of gunfire and explosions drifting in from outside made it impossible for me to fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw images of my head and chest haphazardly wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, and the terrified expression on the face of the soldier I’d killed at close range—I could even seem to smell the mixture of blood, gunpowder, and the scent of burning flesh in my nostrils. With that, my drowsiness vanished without a trace, and I had no choice but to open my eyes and stare blankly at the ceiling. I don’t know how long I lay there with my eyes wide open before I finally felt a little drowsy, but no sooner had I closed my eyes and fallen asleep than I heard the sound of a car door being gently pulled open. I jolted awake and shouted, “Who’s there?” Instinctively, I reached for my waist, expecting my pistol to still be there, but my hand came up empty. Only then did I remember that I was lying naked in bed, and that I must have lost my pistol somewhere during our breakout. Just then, the female medic’s face appeared before me, and she asked curiously, “Comrade Commander, what’s wrong?” “Nothing, nothing.” I hurried to cover up my earlier panic. “I thought the German devils had made it this far.” “No way,” the medic reassured me. “According to the wounded soldiers coming down from the front lines, our troops have already broken into the city, joined forces with the units holding out there, and are now mopping up the remaining enemy forces inside.” “What?!” What surprised me wasn’t that the 7th Division had attacked the city, but that my men were still fighting inside and had managed to hold out until reinforcements arrived. I sat up abruptly, not caring that the blanket had slipped off, exposing my bare body. I grabbed the female medic’s uniform and asked anxiously, “How many men are left in the city? Who’s in command?” ” “I don’t know, I don’t know.” The medic shook her head vigorously and replied, “I only heard it from the wounded; I don’t know the specifics either.” “Oh.” Somewhat disappointed, I released my grip on her clothes. The medic promptly picked up the blanket and draped it over me, saying cautiously: “ “Comrade Commander, you’d better go to division headquarters to find out about these matters. Only the commanders there can tell you the specifics.” That’s right—if the medic hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have thought to go to the 7th Division headquarters to inquire. Just as I stood up, I sat back down immediately; I couldn’t possibly go out like this, completely naked. So I asked, somewhat sheepishly, “Comrade soldier, do you have any spare clothes here?” “Yes, yes,” the medic replied eagerly. “I have a spare set of military uniform.” Saying this, she bent down, pulled a small suitcase from under the bed, and took out a uniform. As she handed it to me, she said hesitantly, “This is just a regular soldier’s uniform; it might not fit you very well.” “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll just try it on.” With that, I took the uniform from her and began putting it on myself. After all these days, the injury on my left shoulder had improved significantly, and I could use my left hand with some strength again, so I managed to get dressed without much trouble. To be on the safe side, I still kept my left arm slung across my chest. After thanking the medic, I opened the car door and stepped out. As soon as I stepped out, I saw a large crowd of wounded soldiers gathered in front of the tents. When they saw me emerge, all eyes turned to me at once. Although I felt a bit self-conscious under their gaze, I steeled myself and made my way through the crowd. Just as I reached the middle of the group, someone suddenly wrapped an arm around my waist from behind, and a voice sounded in my ear: “Comrade soldier, where are you headed?” I turned my head to see that the soldier holding me was one with a bandage wrapped around his head; he was staring at me with a lecherous look. I was in a hurry to get to division headquarters and didn’t want to get involved with him, so I snapped, “Let go of me!” He showed no intention of letting go; instead, he said in a lecherous tone, “I won’t let go. What are you going to do about it?” ” Without a word, I drove my elbow into his ribs, snarled, “Get lost!” and quickly broke free from his grasp. “Whoa, you’re quite feisty.” He rubbed his side as he advanced toward me. “Stop it! What do you think you’re doing?” Just at that critical moment, a voice from the distance came to my rescue.