Chapter Text
The officer’s own heavy breathing seemed too loud in the confined space.
He could hear the heavy sound of footsteps on the ground,followed by muffled speaking in a language he couldn’t comprehend that was periodically interrupted by the lingering sharp sound of a bullet ripping through all this mess.
A few minutes ago he had been resting among various people of his own country ; although now he was pretty sure that at least half of them were bleeding out on the ground,taking in their last breaths.
This…was not supposed to happen,was it?
A few soldiers from the Royal Nation had decided it would have been a wonderful time to raid the Golden Empire’s base and most likely going against protocol.
Of course,Nikolay had been caught off guard,now he was hiding behind a gun rack with two empty pistols and an overwhelming sense of terror he had never felt before: he was outnumbered,unable to defend himself and shielding himself from the danger instead of fighting it.
Damn it,he was an officer,he shouldn’t be acting like this!
Yet currently his pride was being overrun by the desperate need to survive.
…what was he even surviving for,at this point?
That train of thought was soon shook out of his mind as he felt lone footsteps getting suspiciously close to his spot,the officer’s eyes widening in terror as he forced his mouth shut,holding his breath to avoid drawing any attention to himself ; yet of course,given being himself,Nikolay accidentally laid most on his weight on one hand -given the other was on his mouth- and promptly touching the sharp blade of his pickaxe he hadn’t noticed was in fact still beside him,making his arm wince back and hit the gun rack.
A small breath mixed with a curse slipped from his lips,a bead of sweat forming on his forehead: he hadn’t knocked the thing down,yet he was sure he had just openly revealed his location to that enemy who was roaming close earlier…in an embarrassing way too at that.
The Russian was pretty sure he heard those same footsteps come even closer to him,and that’s when he knew he was doomed: he took in a sharp breath and genuinely started praying.
Was this the end?
Was he destined to just be another carcass among others?
The god that was so looked up upon didn’t feel as holy as tales told now.
What kind of omnipotent being would let one of it’s creations die?
…was that sinful to think about?
Before he could dwell on that further,the sound came to a conclusion,Nikolay’s eyes snapping open at that.
Shit!
The officer’s breath hitched,hands scrambling for purchase on the ground,pushing himself back at the sight of someone actually in front of him: a lancer.
How did he know?
He had it’s blade pointed at him.
Nikolay squeezed his eyes shut,arms flying up to cover his face almost if bracing for impact,yet…as he waited,nothing actually happened.
The officer slowly lowered his arms just enough to peek,gaze falling on the soldier in front of him as his breathing slowly slowed down.
The lancer’s weapon was still pointed at the Russian: through the slits of his helmet Nikolay could notice the man’s eyes fall on the guns now laying useless on the ground beside him,before flicking back up to the officer,reluctantly drawing the lance away from the man’s neck.
A barely audible sigh could be heard out of the lancer,the metal visor muffling the sound,taking a look around to make sure no one was watching before leaning down to the officer’s level.
He wasn’t gonna kill someone who couldn’t defend themselves ; that was pathetic.
The soldier’s bloodied hands came up to the Nikolay’s face,staining his skin with what seemed to be still fresh blood.
“Play dead.”
A dull voice quietly rang behind the helmet: the officer was still somewhat scared,yet he appreciated the fact that the lancer had chosen not to kill him.
Before he could reply,the soldier was already standing up,leaving the cramped hiding spot before calmly walking back to the rest of his battalion,talking about something he couldn’t quite grasp.
Nikolay did as the lancer told,closing his eyes as his mind wandered relentlessly: he was left…fairly confused,yet he couldn’t help but be grateful for his life getting spared,after all.
As his thoughts came back to reality,the base now was left silent.
The officer slowly opened his eyes,taking a peek out of his hiding spot: no one,just a few bodies and blood splatters left on the ground to dry.
He slowly pushed himself up,finally walking out,spotting a few others still alive coming along: at least he wasn’t the only survivor.
…they were gonna have to get reinforcements.