Occasionally , a stoic , coat clad , officer would yell out "To the left!" or "To the right!". The row of awaiting men soon got shorter as they ware divided into two wagons. Toris was the first to go. He was no longer cuffed. The scrapes and bruises from the interrogations still lingered across his face and hands. His fingers ware cold , his shoos , coat and his whole clothing at all not worm enough. He shivered as he awaited to be directed to a wagon. Left or right.
"Left!" , the Lithuanian slowly walked towards the wagon , his limbs cold and shivering. Raivis was the next to go , Toris worried more about his friend then for him self. He got even more worried when the boy was directed to the right wagon. The Latvian looked over at Toris quickly , his eyes puffy and red from crying , his limbs trembling. Toris nodded. "Go , they'll take us to the same place. We will meat there-" , he assured , trying hard to believe his words as well. "Move it!" , the officer yelled but Raivis again hesitated. He turned however towards the right wagon. "I hope you're right." , the Latvian half whispered , his voice raspy and his throat soar from crying. Toris had no idea that it was going to be the last time he would see his friend.
As fate would have it , Feliks and Toris ended up together , being the only two faces in the stuffed wagon that knew each other from before. The sat together on the cold wooden floor of the wagon , pushed closely against the wall so there could be room. There was almost none however as the wagon continued to fill. How could there be so many people that ware accused in betrayal?
The train ride was more than unpleasant. The train stopped somewhere after a day and then continued again. There was hardly any personal space. Everyone's limbs would go numb from staying in the same position for over a day. Almost no food or water was given to the men in the wagon. The train barely stopped for toilet brakes. There was only one little window in the whole wagon that was kept close for some reason. No fresh air was allowed in the over stuffed box. Like a little prison on wheels. It was after the second day when the hunger and thirst started to take the first victims. Most of the men in the wagon became sick from the lack of fresh air , water and food. There was no place for one to stretch his feet or limbs. None could sleep out of stress and the uncomfortable positions. Some simply got crazy after the third day. The fear of tight places , Claustrophobia , stepped in. The men that refused to stay silent ware taken out and shot.
Exhausted , hungry and thirsty , stuck against the wall , heading towards a place of almost no return , it all made Toris stressed , he was not used to panicking like his Latvian friend however thus he continued to keep silent. He was closed in him self , scared. Feliks was barely human anymore. He didn't look or act like it though he looked paler , his eyes ware glazed over , his fingers ware almost blue , so ware his lips. Some of his minor injuries and scraps got infected , refusing to close and heal properly.
Since then on Toris was like a dead man. He was barely conscious due to the hunger and thirst and remained in this situation until the train stopped in it's destination.
Soft , forest green eyes opened slowly as some thin and soft voice urged for them to. Toris's eyes ware met by a pale face , shining light blue eyes and the tiniest of smiles. Instinctively , the male though of Natalia but she would never give him even the tiniest of smiles. Her eyes ware at all not so soft , rather cold as a winter night. He woke up to soft blond hair , long as Natalia's , though the hair of the Belarusian was a lot lighter , even though blond.
The male could barely feel his body. He felt the soft warmth of thick blankets over him however. The softness of something like a mattress under his numb body. The room was worm , or at least he supposed it was a room. He opened his mouth to say something but no words ware heard. His mouth felt dry.
Something was pressed to his lips and he could feel little drops of liquid on the surface of the porcelain cup. "Drink , slowly." , the pale woman urged , helping him sit up slowly. Her voice was soft and quiet , almost a whisper , though it felt cold , now that the smallest of smiles was whipped from her face.
The Lithuanian sat up slowly and tried to raise his hand to take the cup. The semi worm water entered his mouth and he was over come with the urge to drink it all in one breath. The woman that was helping him however restrained him from doing so.
As Toris came to him self he sat up on his own , drinking the remaining drops of water in the cup. He could also get a better look on his surroundings. It was a cabin of some sort. Lit only by a soft gas lamp in the corner , the little fire of which could barely lit the whole room. A few more men ware lied down on the floor across the cabin , some , like Toris , ware lucky enough to get a mattress. A soft caught got Toris's attention , and he slowly tried to turn back to see where it came from.
The blond girl was quick to stand up and walk back to another mattress on which to Toris's surprise lied Feliks. He too was covered in thick blankets for warmth. The blond filed another cup of water and helped the blond on the mattress to sit up , giving him the water with the same desire , for him to drink it slowly. Oh how soft the girl's voice was , so silent.
Toris heard Feliks cough heavily a bit more , having neglected the girl's advice and gulping down the water thirstily. The girl schooled him quietly and left the cup down beside the mattress.
"Where are we?" Toris asked after finding his voice. He kept his voice low however. The girl looked at him after helping Feliks back down on the mattress. "Lay back down , don't worry much." , was the replay the brunette got. He didn't push the subject further though , feeling too tired to argue. He lied back down and tucked him self more into the blankets.
Once the girl was done nurturing the sleep talking Feliks , calming the blond's delusions , she slowly walked back to Toris. One thing the brunette noticed was that his Latvian friend was not in the shack , that got him worried – he couldn't close his eyes out of worry. The girl knelt down beside him and he averted his eyes towards her questioningly. He was about to turn his head towards her when she slipped her cold palm over his forehead and cheeks. He froze as a blush crept over his cheeks. "You have no fever like your friend. That is good." , the blond softly said. "Is Feliks okay?" Toris quickly asked , keeping his voice low. The girl nodded. "He'll be okay. Thank god they left the worst cases rest. Tomorrow you'll start working." , the girl informed as Toris blinked. "Can you…tell me more clearly?" he softly asked , suddenly worried for him self as well. The girl again nodded , her gaze as if piercing through the Lithuanian. He felt a bit uncomfortable actually. "You ware brought this morning. From Novgorod. You traveled for about a week as I was told. You're here to help build a new set of train rails. That will connect Siberia with outer Russia , over the mountains. Many prisoners ware brought actually. I heard some wore dropped out in Ukraine to be send to Kazakhstan though. I do not know why." , Toris's eyes widened , the thought about Raivis flashing before him. "Some ware unconscious when you came so the soldiers left you in the village to-" , "Where's Raivis?" the Lithuanian interrupted , not thinking that this girl might not know who his friend is or if she even knew how he looked. He needed to know where the Latvian was , did no one understand? Raivis couldn't not survive alone! "Where is Raivis!?" , Toris raised his voice a bit as he shot up from the mattress in a sitting position.
The girls eyes widened , but her expression pretty much did not change. "Calm down. You'll wake up the others." , she silently said , her eyes narrowing into a hard expression. "No , tell me where Raivis is?" the brunette continued , not caring about pretty much anything except his friend. "I do not know who you are talking about. But please calm down. You are going to wake up the other men here."
With that demanding and yet calm tone and those piercing eyes the girl pretty much looked like that demon. Ivan Braginsky. Who interrogated him back in Novgorod. Toris could say no to such a harsh look and secretly hard and demanding tone. He fell silent , his voice lowered pretty much when he continued. "What time is it?" he cautiously asked as the girl took something out of the pocket of her thick and heavy leather coat. To the Lithuanian's surprise – it was his watch! The gift from Feliks. Seeing his puzzled expression , the girl quickly answered: "Russian soldiers like to look over corpses for any values. I was scared to leave anything valuable in these men here , and you." , Toris shivered as she mentioned the word 'corpse' but other wise nodded in understanding. He could understand though. He had always taken the Russian race as pure and honorable people. Doing something as terrible as robbing people while they ware unconscious or even dead was something terrible , unheard of for the Lithuanian! The girl however continued. "I know how painful it is to lose something precious. So I took in everything you might have had , to keep it until you woke up. This watch looked valuable." , the girl gave it to Toris , her soft , pale palm touching his hand as she did. The Lithuanian nodded. This girl thought good. He looked at the watch , priceless present from his friend , and figured out it was about two in the morning. It looked dark out side , so much he could make out of the little window beside the door.
The room was actually nothing special. Aside from the little fireplace that was radiating it's soft heat and the little table beside it the room looked quite plane. There was a naked light bulb hanging from the sealing though it wasn't turned on. Toris again looked at the girl , pushing his watch in the pocket of his thin pants. He understood he was clad only in his dress shirt and his black dress pants. His coat and hat lied on the floor beside the mattress on which he lay on. "My name is Toris. Toris Laurinatis." , he tried to pull off a soft smile , passing a hand towards the girl , expecting her to return the hand shake offer. The girl looked at his hand , then at him , then at his hand again before taking it into her small palm , shaking up and down softly. "I am Cecilia. Shtepenek. Cecilia Shtepenek." , Toris's eyes widened slightly at the spoken name , suddenly remembering the soft , pale face and blond hair , same silent nature and expression of the officer in Novgorod. The one Feliks knew.
"Do you might…I mean , have you by any chance a brother?" the Lithuanian asked , the girl sighting after a second , a painful sight. "Yeas…my little brother. I haven't seen him from long ago. How do you know?" , Toris thought about a possible answer for a bit before answering. "I met him…when me and Feliks ware send to prison. W-We didn't do anything! I-I and my friend did nothing , Feliks-" , the girl brought her pointer finger at her lips , motioning for Toris to quiet down. The Lithuanian felt a bit embarrassed but nodded non the less. It wasn't his fault he was so emotional. "I am sorry , I know." , he quickly apologized before continuing , "He was one of the officers that came to arrest us." , quick and easy. Just like he wanted.
The girl's expression didn't change though inside she was pained. "I understand. Did he…look healthy?" , Toris blinked a bit and tried to remember the boy from before better. "Yeas…he looks okay , he looked okay actually. Um…he…he sends you regards." Toris remembered the boys wish when Feliks pleaded for him to do something to help them. It was a miracle he was meeting his sister truly so he thought it would be better to pass his regards. The girl's stoic expression quivered a bit , her eye twitching slightly , but other wise it didn't change. The words of Feliks from back then came to the Lithuanian's mind. She'll , like , curse you to hell…
"We lived together in west Czechoslovakia…but when the Germans invaded those parts we decided to leave. We actually had a fight that time. That's why he left to Russia. I moved to Poland because I could understand the language somewhat…when they imported me and other women and children here I was scared I will never get word from him. I miss him really , I am not that cold."
Silence. Toris looked at the girl again after a few minutes. "There you met Feliks?". The girl actually gave the tiniest and softest of laughs , much to the brunettes amusement. "I didn't even know his name. He retreated with his company from the border. We hid some soldiers back then but it didn't last. He was smart enough to flee on his own and here he is now. Not very far from the others if I might say but still alive." , Toris too felt like giving a soft laugh. The more he knew about his blond comrade the more he amused him. "He lasted in Russia with fake documents for about…a few months. I met him in October…and we got arrested on the first of May. He wanted to go back and become a partisan." , the girl's eyes widened slightly in amusement , "Really? He did not at all look that brave." , "Yeas , he is really strange , but he gave me and…my other friend , shelter when we needed. He is very nice but comes up as selfish. He is very stupid really. Such an idiot…I'm here thanks to him now…that jerk…" , the girl was amused , raising her eyebrows slightly. "All Poles are such , do not worry." , Toris laughed a bit and looked at her again , "Really? That's bad , so there is a whole nation of Feliks'?" , the girl's shoulders shivered in a suppressed laughter.
"Mladshaya Sestra…water…pushalsta…" , a weak and heavy voice was heard from one of the men behind the girl and she quickly bounced on her feet to retreat the needed liquid. She filled a cup , using a flask on the table , and brought it to the begging man , kneeling down beside him and helping him sit up lightly. "Here , comrade , drink up. Slowly…that's it…" , Toris watched as the girl helped the man drink then lay down again. She looked dedicated in taking care of the men that ware left in her hands. She would make a great front nurse…But those ware thoughts that Toris quickly shook off.
Speaking of girls…what was his Bella doing? Was she okay? Had she made it safe home? Who was he kidding. A week had passed since then. Who knows how she was. He had no way of knowing either. Maybe he could send a letter? Who was he kidding?! A letter getting from Siberia to Bella was as good as impossible.
It felt as if an hour later when Feliks started to come to him self. The blond felt hot even though it was probably under the zero in the room. His mouth felt dry and he tried licking his lips before opening his eyes. Some tears gathered in the corners of his eyes as he blinked rapidly , trying to get the salty fog away from his eyes. He heard talking , low whispers , but he felt too dizzy to turn his head towards the sound. Everything started to become more clearer and mustering out strength and courage the Pole started to sit up. He groaned softly as soft steps ware heard against the wooden floor. If he didn't know better he would think he was home.
Someone knelt beside him and soft hands slowly pushed him down. So much for getting up. "Don't move much , lay down." , the soft voice from before was heard. Being curious the blond looked up at the person beside the mattress on which he lay. Seeing blue eyes he was about to yell out 'Mathias' , but the Dane's voice was not at all that soft and silent. Also , this person was out of the gentle gender. The Pole squinted his eyes and blinked again to remove the fog covering his eyes. A soft and a bit concerned face came to view. A face he knew but the name of which he could not remember.
"Feliks?...are you okay?" , the blond remembered that voice. His friend , dare he say that comforting word. The thing he never truly had. His friend. Toris. "Toris!?" , if it wasn't for his burning stomach and chest he would have shot straight up to see his friend. The blond girl over him quickly held him down with little but firm hands , bringing a finger up to her lips , motioning for him to keep quiet. "Shhh…" she softly hissed at him. The boy however was stubborn and even though he lowered his voice half way down he still couldn't stop him self. "Toris , are you , like , okay? You're fine right?".
Toris sighted in relief. "I'm glad you are okay." , he softly murmured , even though he couldn't see his friend he could tell he was out of danger. "I am fine too , don't worry.". "Hey , your name was Shtepenek right. Help me , like , sit up." , as demanding as ever , Toris thought that the girl would neglect him ( she looked like the easily angered type ) , to his surprise she did help the skinny boy up.
Feliks felt his lungs tighten but other wise nothing hurt. He sighted and ran a hand trough his hair. His eyes widened slightly at his new realization however. His tiny smile dropped as he realized that his hair was a lot shorter. A lot choppier and shorter. He had no idea how he looked but he guessed it was bad. Unlike most men he cared dearly for his looks – clothes , his hair , everything. He prized his chin long , soft hair. Oh , how many women would die to have his hair. He sighted and ran both his hands over his hair. He probably looked like a slob or worse. Like a P.o.W. Oh how he hated feeling like this. He actually felt his eyes water a bit.
"I am sorry I have no food." , the blond girl softly said , "You must be hungry. Me and some other women of the village near the camp give out food twice a day for the workers here. The soldiers don't give us any food after six when the second portion is served." , "Don't worry. I doubt we'll be able to keep anything down anyway." Toris replayed , suddenly feeling his eyelids drop. He felt tired. All he wanted was to sleep.
The girl looked at him for a bit more , her eyes softening. She had only wanted to serve against those damn communists. Against those damn Nazis that started this heart breaking war. But no one took in women into the army. She couldn't even become a field nurse. She was useless at some point. She could only help the men here. Because she felt them all as her brothers. Because she wanted to help as much people as she could. The people that ware accused by those damn bastards.
She was about to go out to cool her head when she felt a slight tug on the sleeve of her thick coat. She slowly turned her face at Feliks. "Hey , can I ask you how I , like , look?" , surprised by the question it took Cecilia a bit to answer. "Fine…erm , you looked bad when they first brought you here. But I cleaned and bandaged your wounds. You will be fine.". "And did you cut my hair?" , the female was quick to shake her head a no. "They brought you like this , I have enough of hair to want yours." , the Pole's eye twitched at the answer as he inwardly huffed. "Lay down and rest for now. You had a bad fever a bit ago." , the girl pushed Feliks down slowly without him minding much. He didn't really care. He felt tired , his mussels tensed and hissed at any move he made. He agreed to rest.
It was three hours later , in six in the morning , when Feliks was woken up by a loud crash and yelling. He stood up quickly , sitting up on the mattress , despite the pain that shook his head and body. The first thing he could make out was the blond girl from earlier standing in the center of the room and yelling something in Russian towards the officers that stood in the door. One of the officers yelled back at her while the others started to wake up the sleeping men that lay on the floor. "Some of these men are too wounded to work!" , Feliks recognized the girl's words. The officer that stood in front of he however just pushed her aside , hard enough for the girl to hit the table. "Their not here on vacation! Know your place! Damn suka!" , the officer grabbed Feliks by the forearm , the blond hissing at the harsh grip. The soldier then threw him on the wooden floor. "Stand up you slug!". Feliks's body hurt more as he struggled to stand up. Cecilia's pitiful yells ware heard in the background as the soldiers pushed the wounded men out of the shack and into the muddy ground.
It was still dark. Mostly nothing could be made out of the surroundings. In the background there could be seen an ever green forest. The snow had started to melt for the spring and summer , turning the ground into mud. From early dawn the noises of working people could be heard in the background. A few feet away was the so called village. The houses looked like the old Kazakh leather huts from the old times. Everything looked like a deserted mini hell to say the least.
As much as it hurt Feliks dragged him self over to the other workers. Gladly they ware given heavy coats. It was still cold even in spring. Their duty – to dig. To get rid of the unneeded gravel that was in the way of the train rails. Many men worked on moving the rocks and gravel to the side of the rails , or where they would be after they ware set. Again by the workers. The Russian soldiers worked on making the situation worse , pushing and yelling the skinny and bruised men , treating him worse than animals. They would laugh at their misfortune , pulling the Russian race lower in the eyes of the Pole.
While Toris was lucky enough to get an old rusty shovel , Feliks was not. The blond had to move the big rocks away with only his bare hands. By half an hour of work the Pole's hands ware littered with scrapes and bruises , his body still aching. He felt a fever build up again as he huffed , too stubborn to just collapse on the muddy ground. The Lithuanian too would not give up , even though he was in the same situation. The ground was frozen in deep making it harder to dig with a shovel. And as much as their hands and bodies hurt they could not stop. In one way they ware working out their anger and despair. Feliks was angry at how he had pulled down weeks of work with him. How he would never be able to go back and fight , serving out his duty towards his nation. Toris was angry too. At how he had went lower than zero again. Just when he saw light for the second time it slipped right between his fingers and for what? The feeling of hidden despair hung in the air around them as they tried to block their ears from the screams of agony and the mocking Russian laughter.
Caught in angry thoughts , Feliks didn't see the man that stood behind him. He was about to turn around to dispose of the large rock in his hands when he bumped into someone , the rock falling on the persons foot as the startled Pole flew backwards. The Pole hit the ground letting out a startled yelp. When he opened his eyes though he saw a boy about a year older than him , painfully gritting his teeth and biting his lip. Feliks was quick to stand up and help the poor boy rid of the heavy stone. Good thing it was just the boy's toes. Nothing was broken.
The blond boy hurried to kneel down , holding his dirty boot where his toes ware. Feliks looked at him , a distant memory flashing over his mind. He had the feeling he had seen the boy from somewhere. But where could he had seen this dirty and skinny boy. His green eyes lingered a bit over at the boy's eyes. They ware soft violet , glazed over by some sort of fog. Something he saw a lot around here since he had came.
"Owch…god that hurt…I'm sorry I got in your way." , the boy looked up at Feliks , taking him out of his thoughts. The Pole blinked and nodded as the boy stood up. He was a good inch over him , probably as tall as Toris. "I am , like , sorry , it was my fault really." , he apologized , heading back to his work. Something he had not expected was the boy beside him helping him move the stone. He looked up at the other shocked. The boy was quick to answer , turning back at Feliks with a soft smile. "It looks heavy for you." , Feliks didn't question further. It really was.
The heavy piece of stone was finally at its desired place and without any more talking the two came back to their places to continue working. Feliks didn't even catch the name of the friendly fellow , he only knew the boy worked beside him and Toris. The blond however couldn't shake off the feeling of knowing the boy or having seen him somewhere before. Toris didn't question Feliks. He hardly talked to him actually. The only words he would spare him ware directions on what to do and where to push the rocks. The Pole was not in the mood for talking either.
A thing the two new comers did not know was that even though food was supposed to be given out two times a day it rarely happened. Sometimes , which was normally , the working men would not get even a minute of rest , let alone time to eat. They would starve and be given food at night , after the shift. And even so , a daily shift would sometimes last ten hours , sixteen hours. Sometimes they would not be given any rest or sleep at all. Toris and Feliks had came in a day in which the soldiers ware good enough to give the workers a small portion of thick and cold soup. It was really unpleasant to eat though.
Feliks somehow managed to keep down the disgusting soup once it was in his stomach. As much as it wanted to get out he knew he wouldn't be getting anything else till night fall.
The work was resumed. No water was given however. By the time the workers ware supposed to stop working ( which was around midnight ) Feliks felt more than exhausted. He could barely walk back to the shack he was taken from. He just hoped Cecilia was there. He had remembered her with the water. His limbs ware trembling , fingers bruised , hands covered in blood and mud , he felt feverish. His mouth was dry and he felt cold even though he was burning to the touch. Toris would ask him occasionally if he's okay , but that would happen seldom and quietly. Not talking was allowed.
About ten men ware stuffed in the shack Feliks had woken up to. The door was shut closed and locked. To the Pole's surprise , the blond boy from before was with them in the shack.
Once inside , the Pole quickly collapsed on the floor in the corner. Toris quickly ran to his friend and ran a shaking hand through the blonds forehead. A silent gasp fell from the brunettes chopped lips. "Fee…you're burning…" , only soft pants left the blonds lips. Toris looked around for the little flask of water from which Cecilia used to fill them water earlier. It was no use though. And the Lithuanian knew better than to share his concerns with the other badly shaped people. He pulled the Pole on his back , tucking him more in his coat. He him self didn't feel okay but his friend looked worse.
The blond continued to drift between consciousness and unconsciousness as Toris ran out of ideas. If his friend's fever continued to raise it could end bad. Just as the Lithuanian was starting to panic he felt a soft pat on his shoulder. Startled , he quickly turned around to meet clouded violet eyes. He gasped softly and was about to ask what the boy before him wanted when a soft smile came to the boys lips. "What is the matter? Can I help?" , such kindness amazed Toris. He sighted and nodded. "He…he has a fever…I don't know what to do."
The blond boy , heart as big as the ocean , knelt down beside Feliks who subconsciously opened his glazed over eyes to look at the boy. The other blond smiled soothingly and ran a hand through the Pole's forehead. He kept his shock to him self and took back his hand. "It's high. The soldiers wont listen to you if you say anything. Wait a bit , just a second." , Toris quickly nodded , ready to wait as long as Feliks could last.
The blond boy stood up and walked over to a group of men in the other corner. Whispering was heard and the blond would occasionally turn around to point at him. one of the men , the oldest as it seemed , looked at their direction making Toris feel uncomfortable. Though , when the man's face became softer Toris's heart calmed.
"There's water under the floor boards under the table! Give it to the boy!" the man softly said , his voice gruff and booming. Toris felt more than thankful. Even Feliks , as feverish as he was , turned his eyes towards the man thankfully. Seeing that the Lithuanian was stunned , the blond smiled and nodded towards him , standing up and walking quickly towards the wooden table in the other corner. He knelt down and moved some floor boards around. Toris did not know how long these men ware here but he was amazed at the teamwork they had. He had not talked with anyone the whole day nor did he hear anyone talk with each other. He was amazed at how that teamwork came to be.
The blond came up to the two with a canteen of water and took out a cloth from his pocket. Sure it looked like a dirty rag but it would do. The boy knelt down and wetted the cloth with the water from the canteen. He smiled at Feliks like a professional doctor who was smiling down at the scraped knee of a child. He folded the thorn cloth and slid the damp material over the Pole's forehead. He pressed it down gently and kept it in place with his hand until he started to feel the cloth slowly heat up. He then looked at Toris. "He will be fine but that will not be enough. We will have to wait until tomorrow when Cici would come. He'll have to last through tomorrow." , the Lithuanian sighted and nodded , looking down at his friend. Ever since he saw him in the morning , his hair choppy and short and feet barely standing , he felt as if he was looking at a different someone. He would have to coup however. He would , but would Feliks push through this to coup?
Everything went silent soon. Too exhausted to do anything the men all fell asleep. Only the blond stayed by the Pole's side when even Toris fell asleep after some time.
Timo was as reliable as a dog. If not more. He would never leave someone's side , his heart was too kind. He saw the good in everyone. He would never abandon anyone. He knew Feliks from a day and still he felt a liking towards him. He had seen a burning passion in the Pole's eyes , the same passion he had been told to have as well.
Timo Vainamoinen was Finish by blood. Things had happen quite fast for him. His short life was lived in constant searching for the better. When eighteen he had joined the military as that was his dream. To be helpful. He was too soft though , many didn't think he would hold the riffle right. When war threatened to inflame the Finish border however he was send to fight and for the first time in his life he felt as if he was needed , as if somebody relied on him for something great. He was known as the compassionate loser , unable to march straight without tripping , but when the knife came to the bone he took the rifle and did not hesitate to shoot down communists in the cruelest of ways. He became a sniper and not just any sniper but the best. It was always Timo Vainamoinen who shot down Russians , whenever a Russian soldier camp alongside the border would be attacked and communist blood would be spilled it was always Timo Vainamoinen. No one else had the sharp mind to shoot with such accuracy as Timo. No one could hide in the snow and trees like Timo. It was always Timo's doing. And it was always Timo who would be prized.
The Finn didn't say anything of course , he always took in the prizes. It was when spring came however and the snow started to melt when the young sniper lost his hiding places. It was about the time the war started to go down for Finland. Timo relied on skis to move fast around the snow ( a think that the Finish military was smart enough to make out ) but when the snow melted and the smart invention was out of use Timo had to run. And he was at all not used to run that fast anymore. He was easily caught by the Soviets and send to Siberia with more of his comrades. He had only one thing he was sorry about for leaving. Only one thing he felt like crying about. Aside from that thing he could go through anything the hideous tundra had to offer.
The Finn's eyelids ware starting to close though he knew he had no time to rest. The blond that lay down with a fever had started to calm , calming Timo as well. Everyone around him was silent , softly snoring in heavy sleep. Timo sighted softly and took the cloth away from Feliks's now cooled forehead. He felt happy the trick had worked with such a high fever. He started working on hiding the canteen of water ( now more than half empty ) and the cloth under the floor boards. No one wanted the guarding soldiers to find such things around them.
He returned to Feliks and knelt down just to find the blond awake. He was surprised , it was a happy surprise. Timo smiled and waved softly. "Good morning , are you better now?" he greeted softly and silently as not to disturb the men around them.
At first Feliks thought he couldn't see. He was drenched in sweat and covered in heavy coats , his own and two more. His eyes ware like in a fog. Once the fog cleared however he could make out the boy who he had bumped into earlier. As things slowly came back to him he remembered the same boy helping him. The other men too. He never thought he could feel thankful but there was a first time for everything , right?
"I am fine…thank you…" , the Pole groggily said , his voice raspy. "Don't thank me. It was a pleasure." , the other blond smiled though Feliks could tell it was fake. The boy's eyes never brightened ever since Feliks had met him today. That was a sine of fake smiles as his mother had told him. "I am Timo Vainamoinen by the way." , the boy introduced him self and Feliks nodded. "Feliks Sim- , Lukasiewicz. Sorry , out of habit." , had it truly become a habit to be someone else? Had he started to forget him self already? The boy didn't push the question , to which Feliks was silently thankful.
Timo Vainamoinen. The name suited the boy. The boy's smile though… " Can you…grin?" , Timo was pulled aback by the question , looking at Feliks questioningly. "Grin? Can you , like , grin and salute , with the right hand. I…wanna , like , see something…" , the Pole's voice suddenly dropped lower , his eyes now concentrated at the boy. He had seen him before , he knew he had. And his name…he had seen it too.
Timo blinked at the strange desire but it wouldn't hurt. He mustered up his best , ear to ear grin and raised his hand in a salute. The Pole looked unpleased though , as he knitted his brows , eyes narrowed in concentration. "Close your eyes…a close eye grin…" , the Finn obliged , shutting his eyes. That was it. It was him…the boy from that picture. His wife!
"You're Ber's wife…"
The violet eyed boy froze. His hand fell from it's saluting manner , his grin shrank , his eyes opened. There was only one Ber he knew. And there was only one person who's wife he was.
"You're , like , the scary Swede's wife…the one on the picture in his place…" , the Pole continued to murmur under his nose. "How do you know Berwald?" Timo blurred out , looking down at the Pole. Feliks looked up at him too , their eyes briefly meeting. "He lend me the apartment…my apartment , when I came to Russia…" , the blond didn't know how to say it. It was quite a long story for such a rushed moment.
Small tears pricked in the corners of the Finn's eyes. How could he take all the happiness that filled his heart? He thought he would never get word from his , dare he say it , husband , but here this Pole was , telling him the Swede was there , a few thousand miles from him. He had last seen him before the war when he was still on training. There the Swede had taken a photo. There he had confessed. The silly confession almost made the Fin laugh if he wasn't so happy back then. Such a make shift marriage did they have. Just a simple giving of rings between them. But still the blond Finn felt so happy. Berwald was the only thing he missed when he came to Siberia. The only thing he thought he would never see again but…oh , what a miracle!
"Is he alright , does he eat properly , does he look alright?" , the Finn's voice was starting to crack with happiness and through the bangs of hair that fell over his eyes Feliks could see those violet orbs clear as a true smile emerged on his pale face. The Pole nodded softly. He was not Berwald's babysitter , he barely talked with the Swede. Those eyes though. They burned in his memory. The Swede was angry at him. For getting in trouble. For leaving. Had he not known better he would think the Swede had been worried. Or was he not?
"Thank god." , a deep sight left the Finn's lips as he brought a hand over his hair , straightening up. He brushed away the tears from his eyes as well. He then decided to do something he had never done. He reached over in the front of his coat , pulling out a thin string. He opened his palm for Feliks too see. The Pole was surprised to see a small round ring. It was darkened , probably since it was silver. It had no shine and it looked like rusted metal. Though it was priceless for the Finn. "My 'wedding' ring." , the blond laughed softly , running a gloved finger through the ring.
Felikd had nothing against something like this. He had been born in quite a small village where not much news from the outside world came so he never really thought two men could marry. It seamed more than strange. It was like for him to randomly propose to Toris. He actually wondered about the Lithuanian's reaction , maybe he would try it as a joke some day. When Berwald had introduced Timo as his wife , back in his apartment , Feliks had thought that it was some Swedish word that meant 'BFF' or something. The Swede had proven that he meant wife as in wife , quite clearly even. The Pole did not push the conversation further.
"I was a sniper back when I served." , Timo answered to Feliks's question. They had forgotten the sad themes from before , deciding to converse a bit in the last half an hour of their rest before the soldiers barged in to get them to work.
Feliks looked allured by the answer. "It must be damn awesome to be a sniper , yeah?" , Timo nodded with a small smile. "It takes brains really." , Feliks laughed lightly , "Than I'm not , like , suited for the job huh?". Timo gave a shocked expression , thinking he had offended the boy , an expression to which Feliks softly laughed. "I made it to poruchnik when I served. I was actually quite a normal soldier." , the Pole confessed , the Finn raising an eyebrow. "What's a poruchnik?" , "Ah , you know , something like a lieutenant in the West." , Timo nodded in understanding. "Lieutenant is a high rank." , Feliks just shrugged. He had never been flattered with his post. He didn't really take it in deeply. Did it mean something when you had no desire to fight when needed.
"I heard you Finns put up quite a fight." , the blond turned towards Timo who sighted. "You could say. It did us no work though." , the Finn raised a hand up to his mouth as he yawned. He hadn't slept at all after all. "I look up to you Poles a lot." , Feliks blushed lightly , looking away. He had always been shy even though full of him self. "Oh really." , "Yeas! You people are like a synonym of patriotism. I'm sorry for all you poor fellows had to go through though." , Feliks just shrugged. When talking about Poles in general Feliks felt left out of the whole thing. He was proud , a patriot indeed , but it had done him no good. So far at least.
"What are your plans after the war? If you , like , get out of this dump?" , Timo thought a bit on that , he shrugged in the end though. "I want to go to Berwald , where ever he is. But getting out of here is no use. You have no where to go. It's rather logical to get eaten by wolves if you truly do manage to get out of the camp." , "So it is , like , hopeless?" , Timo sighted , "When you stay here for about a month like me you'll see it is.".
Feliks felt a bit depressed. So his life would be wasted in this wasteland? He wouldn't be able to go home ever again? He wouldn't be able to die as a hero? What was he living for then? If he wanted a heroic fate then he would rather jump in front of the rifle of one of the guards! Just get it over with. Why did he bother to have fate and look foreword. There was no foreword! Once you came to Siberia it was over , you ware gone , dead. Siberia was the fangs of the mighty bear. They chewed you and spat you out with a broken spirit. No more human.
"I don't wanna die…" , Timo would have comforted him somehow if he had heard the boy. But Feliks didn't want to be heard. He needed no one to comfort him. He would feel strange if there really was someone to help him.
Soon , another painful day was started. The new thing was the higher posted officers that had came form the capital to 'look at the work'. The guarding soldiers ware worse than ever , deciding they could do what ever they want with the working prisoners. That resulted in many broken limbs and ribs. Feliks occasionally slacked off for which he got a good kick. As if the pain was not enough he then got schooled by both Toris and Timo. He was never the type that did work with the desire of 'a hundred Soviet men'. Slacking was normal for him.
It was somewhere around lunch when they ware supposed to be given food. No food was given though , it was something that happened often. Starvation was the main reason for death in the camps.
Everyone continued their work , seeing that no food would be given today. No use in whining. And even though he was hungry Feliks preferred to die rather to have that disgusting stew for lunch. He concentrated on his work , moving the heavy rock and gravel that Toris would dig out of the frozen ground. It was such a terrible job. He felt like doing something just to make the guards mad. He needed a bit of color in the daily routine. God , if Toris could hear his thoughts he would go nuts. The Pole mentally snickered at his mischief. Oh yeah , he noted to try out the confession joke on the Lithuanian later.
He continued with his work , lost in his little dream world. He was just about to head towards Toris for the next stone when he was suddenly stopped. A boy a bit taller than him ran up to him , stopping the Pole in his tracks. "Hey , buddy , I trade four cigars for a slice of bread." , the strawberry blond boy said with a smirk. Feliks blinked at the offer. He had smoked of course but never really felt desire to smoke like most people. He did on occasions. You can't sine in the military without having smoked or drank before. It meant something was wrong with you. "Sorry , buddy , I , like , have no bread." , the boy stomped on the ground in frustration. "Oh , fine." , he ran off towards Timo and Feliks over heard the same question. The boy however turned to the Finn by his name. Feliks thought they knew each other. The Pole started to slowly walk towards Toris , keeping an eye at the two. He saw Timo shrug and shake his head , the strawberry blond again stomping on the ground. The blond watched as an officer came to the two and shouted at the strawberry blond male. He grabbed his arm and dragged him off towards the rail way , pushing him in the mud. Feliks shuddered slightly as the officer spat out some curses and turned to leave. He quickly ran towards the Lithuanian to do his work as the soldier caught him staring. He didn't want trouble.
"Who was that?" , Feliks asked once Timo was back to work. "Ah , just Vlad." , the blond raised an eyebrow as he dragged a rock away from the train rail line. "And who's Vlad?" , "Just Vlad." , the Pole's eye twitched as he had again gotten a lousy answer. "What does he want?" he tried again , walking with Timo back at Toris. The Finn just shrugged , leaning down to grab a rock. "He gets him self in trouble." , "Can you answer me a bit fuller!?". "How come you didn't see him yesterday , he sleeps in the same shack as us." , Feliks raised a brow , dragging the unneeded materials away with the Finn. "Haven't seen him." , the blond shrugged , glancing over at the so called Vlad. The boy was still looking for someone who he could give his cigars for a slice of bread. He looked like a rat. His clothes dirty and torn , hair dirty. But eyes and grin flaring on his pale and dirty face.
"Hey guys , wanna hear a joke?" , Vlad asked as the tired men ware already in the shack after the shift , some of them already sleeping as if they ware shot. "Go away kid…leave us sleep." , one of the men that had lied down on the floor said tiredly. The strawberry blond just grinned. "I'll tell you seven paradoxes of the socialist state." , "Vlad shut up…" , another man groaned. "Nobody works , but plan is always fulfilled." , "Vlad…" , "The plan is fulfilled but the shelves in the stores are empty-" , the boy snickered as another growl was heard his way , "The shelves are empty but no body starves , nobody starves but everyone's unhappy , everyone is unhappy but no body complains," , "Vladimir enough!-" , "No body complaints , but the jails are always full!" , the boy laughed loudly much to the men's dismay.
Feliks , who was pressed against the wall in the corner , too laughed , more like snickered. He had been hearing a lot of anecdotes back in Novgorod but this one in particular was always his favorite. And it was so suitable for his current situation. "That wasn't funny…" , Toris mumbled from beside Feliks. The Pole nudged his side with his elbow , a playful smirk on his face. "Hey , Toris , wanna , like , hear a Armenian radio joke." , the Lithuanian groaned softly and shook his head. "You beg god to kill us before you go to sleep right." , the Pole laughed softly at his friends expression.
"Vlad is a good guy." , Timo softly said , as he was sitting beside the two. "He just doesn't understand when to stop." Toris secretly gave Feliks a look , the Pole didn't seam to notice though. "He always looks for trouble and always seams to find it." , "Where is he , like , from?" , the Pole cut in , "He's from Romania. As I know he has a brother that's living in an orphanage in Braila. He came to Russia for god knows what and was quickly send here for a small robbery in 1938. He's here for quite some time now. He's good , like I said , but he takes things too far sometimes.". The Pole looked at the still snickering Romanian. He had been here for what? Three years? No wonder he went crazy.
A few Armenian radio jokes and some longer stories later ( from which the Pole couldn't sleep from laughter ) , the shack fell silent , everyone taking their peaceful moments of sleep. The next day was the same. The work however was with three hours longer. It was true torture to work in complete darkness. Feliks literally didn't know what he was touching , every time he would touch something just a bit softer he would jump miles in the air out of fright. What if he touched a dead body? There ware many , even though buried in massive graves in the forest a few miles away.
He found the Romanian Vlad amusing however , deciding to stay by him. And he wasn't sorry. The boy had one sense of humor! Of course the propaganda jokes ware left out whenever the soldiers ware around , replaced by funny enough Romanian jokes unheard from many.
The seemingly bright atmosphere was replaced with hunger as the soldiers decided that the workers needed no food today. A day and a half with no food what so ever brought mild distress to the working men. Some of the newest editions even fainted. The lack of food and the longer working hours all together succeeded in giving the working men despair. It spread slowly , killing the hope of a better day. Not to mention that neither had even a drop of water since two days.
When the next day started the people ware like corpses. They ware given some water however and to their surprise a worm , actually tasty meal. Sure it was plane soup with potatoes and carrots but it was so much for them.
At six when normally the second portion of food should have been served the men ware pushed in a line in front of a small shack. The shack was perhaps a nursery and served as a place from which the men should be given food. It had two rooms , in the first was the kitchen and in the second ware brought the wounded and fainted men.
Every man got three gulps of water ( and if the woman giving him the bottle was good – five ) and a small portion of worm soup with a piece of bread. To Feliks's surprise the woman that gave the men food was non other than Cecilia. God , he felt relieved. He hadn't seen her in two days now.
Happy to see her friend , the blond Czech woman gave them some more bread to secretly give the others. She even threw in a canteen of water. She was smart , if she was giving them the extra food that meant that the soldiers would not notice. She was worried about the Pole's fever however , for the scrapes on Toris's hands too , for Timo also. "Feliks if you want to stay for a bit in the nursery I am sure we could work it out…" , she had insisted once it was the Poles turn to get food but he had refused. "I wanna , like , keep in touch with Toris and Timo."
Thinking about others was not like Feliks. He would never admit it but now , when he was no longer paying the rent in Novgorod or relaying on others to help him around the apartment , he decided he would let Toris become something closer to him. A friend. He was not going to leave him as it seamed , they would be forced to spend time together.
Toris was going to be something closer to Feliks…and the blond was going to relay on him from now on , morally.
Aside from the thoughts that tortured his mind a brighter thought came to the Pole's mind. A thought that almost made him spit out his soup. He stopped him self however. It was too precious to be spilled like that.
It was the thought about the fake marriage joke.
Out of laughter , some of the Pole's soup escaped his mouth and trickled down his chin and coat front. He was quick to gather it with his bruised and cold hand as Toris shrieked from beside him. "Feliks are you crazy! You wont be getting anything else after this if you spill it!" , the Lithuanian schooled as the Pole continued to laugh. "Marry me Toris!" , "What?!" , "I said , like , marry me!...oh , wait , that , like , didn't come up so well…" , "Feliks are you drunk?!"
Timo , who was sitting beside the two friends , smiled , looking up at the gray sky , bowl of cooling stew in hands. His heart flared. Flared with new sparks of hope. Oh , how he missed the Swede. But he was there , somewhere. On the other side of Russia but there. He was going to make it out of the camp. He was going to go back to him and live his life. New hope flared in his heart.
New hope flared in Feliks too. Toris could feel it too. The fragile Czech could also feel her heart wormer with the thought of her precious little brother somewhere there , alive and safe. And from the distance , the crazy looking Romanian's heart too got a bit wormer.
"Life is like a circle Feliks. One day you might be going through hell but the other you will be spending money in Vienna. But remember that Vienna wont last. You'll go down again and again up. You just have to have hope in tomorrow."
- to be continued…-
Happy tenth chapter! Yey , scary and terrible Siberia rides! Mentioning of Oc Czech and Romania! More drama awaits for these poor souls in the next chapters!
Okay , so first – we all know that the Russians didn't care if the working men ware hungry , cold or tired. Much like the Germans really. They want the job done and it will be done!
Oh no , Raivis is lost! He'll die alone! Literally!
I just love SuFin do you not~ , it worms my heart. I imagine Finland quite cool as a soldier…
Second!: Poruchnik ( Polish ) is a lieutenant much or less. It is a rank not used in today's military but used during WW2 and 1.
Oh , during the Soviet times the citizens ware not allowed to talk against the motherland so instead they made up jokes known as anecdotes. They showed the state of the nation in the eyes of it's citizens. An Armenian radio joke/anecdote is basically a question-answer joke , for example: "This is Amrenian radio , our listeners asked us: 'Will the police still exist when communism is built?' , We're answering: 'Of course not. By that time , all citizens will have learned how to arrest them selves.'" , it always starts the same way and there are a lot more of these that help you understand true Socialism and Communism.
So , by now you should have understood that this story is not based only on Poland and Lithuania's life right? If not , then I am telling you now! This story is called "What Lies Tomorrow" not , per say , "What Lies Tomorrow for Feliks and Toris". Yeah they are the only characters listed cause the others ware too many. You will see what I am talking about in later chapter. Pointing this out now so you wont get confused. This story will get through the lives of many characters in the times of war without getting far from our two main characters , thus Toris and Feliks.
R&R as always!