Chapter 148

The bell for morning prayer rang crisp and freezing over the positions of the Grey Snow Company. Army chaplain Andrei stood atop an ammunition crate half-buried in the frozen earth, unfolding a briefing bulletin stamped with the double-headed eagle insignia. The biting wind tore at his worn vestments, but he forced his voice to pierce the freezing air: "Division combat report! Our forces routed the main vanguard of the Abyss at the Southern Rift, annihilating two thousand of the enemy! The southern sector of the Iron Curtain defense line is as secure as a monolith!" No cheers, no excitement. Only numb, frostbitten soldiers silently passing the thin sheet of paper from hand to hand. The edges of the paper were quickly rolled and frayed by stiff, frozen fingers. Nikita, a new recruit, huddled behind a battered sandbag. With dirt-bandaged fingers where frostbite cracks oozed bloody streaks, he mechanically wiped down his archaic 7.62mm North Wind bolt-action rifle. The bolt produced a harsh, grating sound as he pulled it.