"Yeah, b***h! Don't! I swear to God! Just the two of us. We're scouts. We were returning from a raid. We spotted your campfire and decided to check it out." Serge spilled everything he knew, just so they'd at least stop turning that damned steel.
Pavel eased the pressure, waited a moment, looking with disdain at his fallen opponent, and drew his knife. Then he left Serge and approached Andrei.
"That was a good idea, Andrey," he praised. "A living person can still be useful."
Romanov remained silent. Gronin sighed, placed his hands on his shoulders, and looked into his eyes.
"You did the right thing," he said softly. "It's either us or them."
Andrey's gaze cleared a little. Just a little.
"I understand. It's just... this is the first time I've intentionally killed a man... Consciously
