Alina was still weak, but already conscious. The antibiotic worked. The fever subsided. She couldn’t walk herself yet, but at least stayed on her feet when supported.
On the threshold, Mikhey shoved a bundle into my hands.
— What is this?
— Cartridges. Seven sixty-two. For your “Tiger.” A hundred pieces. No more.
I looked at him. An old poacher risking everything to help fugitives.
— Lukich…
— Go already, — he grunted. — And this… Good luck, Gromov. You’ll need it.
We went into the forest. The sun was rising over the spruce forest, gilding the tops of the trees. Somewhere behind — eight armed men with orders to kill. Ahead — Devil’s Hollow and the last chance.
We reached Devil’s Hollow by noon. Alina was still weak, although holding up bravely. The antibiotic did its job: the heat subsided, the delirium stopped. But strength hadn’t returned yet, and every kilometer was hard for her. Vera carried her on herself, like back then in the swamp. I offered to help. She refused. “I’ll manage,” she said. “You better watch the road.”
I watched. The forest here was dense, windbreak, ravines. Animal paths wound between trunks, lost in ferns. Even Uglyum walked carefully, sniffing every bush. By noon the ascent began. The hills here aren’t high, but steep. Had to climb almost on all fours. Alina was completely exhausted, and for the last hundred meters I carried her in my arms. Light as a feather, skin and bones.
— Thank you, — she whispered when I lowered her to the ground. — I’m sorry I’m such a burden.
— Don’t talk nonsense. Catch your breath.
We stood on the crest of the hill. Below, in the ravine between two slopes, lay Devil’s Hollow. A narrow gorge, three hundred meters long and no more than fifty wide. Sheer cliffs on both sides, covered with moss and stunted birches. The bottom cluttered with stones, boulders, fallen trees. A stream runs in the middle, shallow but noisy. And only one entrance. From the north, where the gorge narrows to ten meters. Bottle neck. Ideal place for defense.
— Here? — asked Vera, looking around.
— Here. Gloomy place, but reliable. Let’s go down.
At the bottom of the gorge it was damp and cold. The sun almost never peeked in here, only in the morning for a couple of hours. Smelled of rotting foliage, wet stone, mushrooms. At the far end of the hollow, under an overhanging cliff, I once found a cave, small but dry. There one could start a fire, hide from rain and wind. I led the women there.
— Settle in, — I said when we arrived. — Fire is allowed, smoke will go into the crack above, invisible from outside. Food is enough for a couple of days.
Vera looked at me carefully.
— And you?
— And I’ll go prepare a welcome for the guests.
The next few hours I worked. Worked like I hadn’t worked in a long time. Hands remembered army science, investigator tricks, and hunting wisdom. Everything came in handy.
First thing — wolf pits. Three of them on the approach to the gorge neck. Had to dig with bare hands and a knife, no shovel. Depth — waist-high, sharpened stakes at the bottom. On top — thin branches, foliage, moss. Not deadly, but can easily break a leg. And a man with a broken leg is no longer a fighter.
Then — tripwires. Mikhey gave me a couple of signal flares from Soviet times. I rigged them to a thin wire stretched across the path. Touch it — it flares red, visible to the whole forest. And I’ll know where the enemy is.
Next — abatis. Sawed through several trees on the slope so that a push would send them crashing down. Tied a rope: pull — and a whole birch flies onto the head. Old partisan trick, grandfather told me about it.
And finally, positions. Chose three points on the slopes from where the entire gorge could be covered. Cleared sectors of fire, prepared hiding spots.
Carbine, cartridges, flask with water. By evening I was exhausted. Sat on a stone, leaned my back against the rock. Uglyum approached, lay down next to me, put his muzzle on my knee.
— Tired, brother? — I asked.
He sighed. Human-like, heavily.
— Me too.
Vera found me at dusk. Came quietly, like a cat. I didn’t even hear footsteps. Only Uglyum raised his head, recognized, calmed down…
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