Germans

The world exploded with a deafening roar. You woke up to a piercing pain in your shoulder—the armored personnel carrier lay on its side, surrounded by the heavy smell of burning and molten metal. Hans's groan penetrated the deafening ringing in your ears. You were alone—cut off from your friends in an unfamiliar Russian forest, lost between two fronts.

Through the shroud of snow, you saw a slanted hut. The door creaked, and an elderly woman with a wrinkled face appeared in the doorway. You expected hatred, but in her eyes you saw only weary wisdom. "Come in, you'll freeze," she said simply, as one says to neighbors.