A lone armored personnel carrier moved through the ruined city, that was engulfed in flames of fires and smoke. Dirty, unwashed soldiers sat on the armor. Their faces were emotionless because of never-ending fatigue, but nevertheless, they continued to observe the situation. The radio operator sitting with them continued to listen to the broadcast.
"'Kamin', I'm 'Strela-2', when will the evacuation finally happen?! We have nine 'two hundredths', 'three hundredths' can not be counted!"
"Have you tried contacting the division?"
"No availible communication!"
"They won’t have any comms, because they were burned. But I understood everything, everything is fine."
It was the year of 1996. The most scary days of war were gone, however, horrors still were happening on everyday basis. Burned collumns of vehicles, torn apart corpses, crying civilians and destroyed homes -- that was the routine. It was hard to remain sane in these harsh conditions, and yet, most soldiers tried as hard as they could.
An armored personnel carrier was carrying fighters to reinforce one of the checkpoints on the outskirts of the city of Grozny. There was a lot of shooting there, but it was one of the few areas where it was relatively safe. But terrible messages were recieved directly from the city's streets every minute.
"Fifth... I'm wounded, the BMP is disabled..."
"'ALMAZ', I AM 'GRANIT', WHERE ARE YOU SHOOTING?! YOU ARE SHOOTING FRIENDLIES!"
"Sanya... Sanya! WHERE DO YOU GO, SANYA, STOP!"
"'Almaz', I'm 'Plesetsk-85'. Do you hear the broadcast? Friendly fire!"
"There are a lot of enemies in your sector, the guy gave a tip on himself! 'Plesetsk', please understand, we can't stop shelling, take cover there! Armored vehicles will arrive soon, hold on!"
"'Almaz', I'm "Plesetsk-85". YOU must understand, this is not just another friendly talk. I can't leave the wounded, and almost all of combat vehicles are burned. We need specific and quick help. Let the helicopters help us. We'll hold out for a maximum of a couple of hours, you must decide faster."
Suddenly, the armored personnel carrier abruptly stopped. The radio operator took off his headphones and looked at the road ahead of the vehicle. On it layed a girl of about 20 years old in bright clothes, already quite dirty with mud. A stir began on the armor -- the squad leader jumped on the ground, clutching a rifle in his hands. After thinking for a moment, he turned to his subordinates.
"Listen to my command! Lampa, Sekira, on the ground! Elektronik, take the radio, follow us. Get in touch with division, say that we've found an unconscious civilian here, let them send the evacuation team."
The radio operator hoisted his equipment onto his shoulders with a sigh and jumped down after the others. Tarpaulin boots immediately began to bog down in the mud. The guy winced. As soon as the group gathered, people moved towards the girl lying on the ground. After a cursory examination and checking the pulse, it became clear that she was alive. However, something in radioman's face changed, as he touched the girl's hand. It wasn't human skin. After realising that, he and his squadmates leaned closer.
"That's good, she's alive. But something sticks out from under the hat... Are those earphones?" the radio operator said thoughtfully, and took off the girl's hat. The view plunged people into a stupor -- war exhausted them, there was no strength left for shock and panic. Girl's face wasn't human. She had blue coat and pointy ears.
"Hmm... Who would have thought..."
"She has a face of... A pony, maybe? Or maybe, it's a mask?"
"You already know that it's not."
"How is this even possible?"
"The devil knows how."
The squad leader walked around the girl with a thoughtful look, and after that, he carefully rolled her body over. Everyone saw that she also had a rainbow-colored tail. It was not visible from the armored personnel carrier, as the girl covered it with her body. The commander knelt down, and after a short thought, ordered the radio operator to establish communication:
"Elektronik, get on the radio. We will report that, and the division must send the medical vehicle and pick her up."
“Comrade sergeant, can’t we take her with us? You never know who will finish her off here..." the radio operator muttered, examining the girl. She was dressed unnaturally brightly, standing out against the background of dirt, smoke and gray skies. She had a light blue coat, white tennis shoes and a matching hat, that the radioman was still holding in his hand. A bit of her multicolored hair fell on her face, covering her eyes. Something about her hooked the attention of the young radio operator. Her ears and tail in particular... This creature looked so innocent, so alien that it caused melancholy. The commander thought for a moment and nodded.
"Yes, nice thinking. But under your responsibility. Then you will put up a connection from the BTR along the way, they will take you from the checkpoint along with the change of shift. She will definitely need extra care."
"Yes, comrade sargeant."
The radio operator carefully picked up the girl from the ground. She was very light, miniature -- even with a heavy radio on his shoulders, the guy easily picked her up. She made her stir, and she brought her hands to the chest. After that, she snored quietly. The guy caught himself thinking that he should have been surprised by this, but he wasn't. The radio operator chuckled on that.
On the armor, the girl was handled carefully, and after the radio operator himself climbed onto the vehicle, he took the radio equipment off his shoulders. He leaned closer to the machine gun turret, and placed the girl between his hands. Despite the noise of the engine, she was still sleeping. Only from time to time her ears and tail twitched from the cold air, and once more she curled up, snoring.
"'Kamora', I'm 'Kostochka-74', vehicle number 15. We picked up a civilian, she's passed out. She was found unconscious on the way to post number 74, the intersection of Gazetnaya and Moskovskaya. We will wait for further instructions."
It was the year of 1996. The sky was covered with gray smoke from fires and destruction, somewhere far away sounds of the cannonade of heavy artillery could be heard. The noise of the armored personnel carrier prevented the radio operator from hearing his new unwilling companion snore, but he felt it through the vibration. She looked so out of place... Small, fragile, defenseless. In her bright clothes, she just layed in cold mud, forgotten and unnecessary to anyone. But not the radio operator. And while he hesitantly caressed the girl's bright rainbow-colored hair, he swore that she would definitely make it out of this accursed place.
"Hey, Elektronik!"
"Yes, comrade sargeant?"
"Did you get the division's responce?"
"No, comrade sargeant."
"Well, shit... Guess that we'll need a medic right on our post, then. We can't stand still for much longer," squad leader groaned and made a few bumps with his fist on the vehicle commander's hatch.
Without further hesitation, BTR's engine roared and its wheels spun. Tired men once again were looking at the surroundings in anticipation of another Dudaev's men attack. But now they had another goal other that their regular combat objectives. Now they had to protect this strange, otherworldly creature with rainbow-colored hair and tail. They couldn't know, could they survive another day.
But one particular radioman knew, that he would do anything to save her.
