I mounted, taking Aleksandra and Dariya, while Petro and Viktor took the second horse. We would be a heavy load for the animals, but the horses were strong and they would cope. When they grew tired we would walk for a while, give them a chance to rest. ‘What about us?’ Anatoly asked. The two soldiers were standing like abandoned children, not knowing what to do. ‘Where do we go?’ ‘You can do as you please,’ I said, looking down at them. ‘But if I were you, I wouldn’t go back to Sushne. If you’re lucky, Lermentov will shoot you; maybe watch you dig your own grave first. If you’re not so lucky, maybe he’ll put you up in that bell tower for a while.’ The two soldiers looked across at Evgeni and the others preparing to leave. ‘They’ll never trust you,’ I said. ‘After what’s happened to them, they may even kill you.’ I watched them, feeling a weight in my chest. They probably had no idea how to survive alone in good weather, never mind in these conditions.
