Вяйнё Линна - Unknown Soldiers

They were already scrambling up the opposite bank. Susling hung across Rokka’s shoulders, and Rokka blew water out of his nostrils, asking, ‘You git water in your lungs? You git water in your lungs?’

‘No,’ a weak voice said from over his shoulder. They were already at the edge of the positions when a crash came from the opposite bank. The men dived headlong for the ditch and, just as he leapt, Rokka howled, ‘Gaddamn it!’

The others lifted Susling from his shoulders. Susling kept repeating over and over again, ‘Antti… it hit you… I heard… you’re hit.’

‘I know… left shoulder… Gaddamn it that hurts.’

They huffed and puffed, and sneezed out water. The medics from the Border Patrol Jaeger Company started binding Rokka and Susling’s wounds. Susling’s wound was bleeding profusely, but it wasn’t dangerous. The bullet had torn through his side, but just at the surface. Rokka’s shoulder, on the other hand, was worse. The bone had obviously been crushed, and when the medic ripped his shirt and moved his arm, Rokka erupted into a litany of curses and his face twisted into pained contortions.

‘Gaddamn it… my shoulder, damn it! See, fellas, you see how it’s bleedin’?’

Vanhala sneezed and coughed, ‘Boys, take a look at this boot! Nearly got me…’

‘Boot nothin’! Just look at my shoulder!’

‘Wouldn’t have taken much. Went right there and right there. Look, guys!’

‘Naw, see here! Who took it worse here, huh? Boot… Just look at my shoulder! Gaddamn it that hurts! If I wasn’t in such pain, I’d laugh. I saw Sankia Priha the Great crawl up outta that crick. I even thought, damn, even you ain’t laughin’ this time!’

‘Heeheehee… brutal fighting as our boys pull out… heeheehee. That’ll wipe a smile off your face all right, heeheehee. But you should’ve seen the glob of snot that came out my nose when I blew it! Heeheehee… But I sucked ’im back up in there where he belongs, heeheehee. Oughtta get a Swimming Cup for that. I mean, we earned it all right.’

Then Rokka remembered the Ensign. He had rushed off to organize the men who had crossed the river first so they could offer support for the Jaegers, as he was afraid the enemy might try to take the same route across. But the enemy stayed on its own side, and the Ensign calmed down.

‘Lissen, Ensign!’ Rokka yelled to him.

‘You badly hurt?’ Jalovaara asked, coming over.

‘Shoulder, damn it. You, you are a curious character.’ Rokka looked at the Ensign for a long time waiting to see his expression.

The Ensign smiled perfectly calmly, however, and said, ‘I was. But I’ve learned my lesson.’

‘You believe me now that we swam?’

‘Can’t deny it. At least not until I put on some dry clothes.’ The Ensign was so calm that Rokka let up right away. He had just wanted to make sure that the Ensign believed him now. He let the issue drop, and Jalovaara started rounding up the platoon to take them further behind the positions, as they were being put on a break. As they headed back, they carried Rokka and Susling to the side of the road to wait for the ambulances. Rokka cursed away on his stretcher, lecturing the others in between his howls of pain. ‘Now, did I really have to live to see the day you fellas’d be carryin’ me round like a cripple? I ain’t never needed help from nobody! But gaddamn it that shoulder burns like hell. How you doin,’ Suslin’?’

‘Better when I ain’t movin’.’

‘You fellas know where Antti Rokka’s goin’? To Lydia. I’m gonna have to count the youngsters to see if we got more of ’em now… Damn it! I ain’t seen’na littlest fella but that one time on leave. The missus’ old man had’da take care a gittin’na family all evacuated. I’m gonna make him up a good barrel a home brew… Antti’s wars’s done. Guess we’ll just see how things go with the arm here.’

‘Shouldn’t be too bad,’ the medic said. ‘It’s just the collarbone that’s broken. Bullet got it on its way out.’

‘Whatever. Hurts like hell, that’s for sure. Of all the stupid ways a… I was three months out in Taipale when it was rainin’ lead and nothin’ happen’na me. Now I git it crossin’na gaddamn crick! But ain’t that the way it always goes… ain’t nothin’ you can do about it.’

The ambulance arrived. Jalovaara took Rokka’s hand and said, frankly and seriously, ‘So, see you… I hope. I would have liked to hold on to you. It’s really only now that we’re going to be short of men. I hope you’ll forget what we said back there. I was a little green. I don’t have to dwell on it, and I guess that kind of thing always happens when you’re inexperienced, but I’d feel pretty bad going around thinking I’d offended you. I heard more about the bad side of your reputation on my way out here than I did about the good side. Now I’ve seen that for myself and I have to say it was pretty stupendous. Well, get well quick, then…! Both of you. Not much chance we’ll be seeing one another out here again.’

‘Lissen, Ensign, don’t you worry ’bout none a that! That was nothin’. You ain’t the only officer I had my spats with. Lissen, I don’t hang on’na none a that stuff. I’ll just tell you a couple a things… you got two good fellas in Määttä and Vanhala there. That lil’ brat Asumaniemi’ll be a real devil once he learns to fight with a little sense about ’im. Honkajoki’s a good fella. Just talks like a crazy man. You just ignore that part. Rahikainen’s a businessman. When you all git hungry, you just put him in charge, he’ll come up with sumpin’. And you’re always gonna be hungry. Have been up to now anyway.’

When they had all said goodbye, they lifted Rokka and Susling into the ambulance. ‘Well, so long, fellas! Suslin’, you better watch out now they don’t go tryin’na separate us in’na transport. I’ll make a real stink if I notice ’em tryin’ anythin’. Gaddamn it! Don’t you put me in like that! I ain’t headin’ out a here feet-first! Uh-huh, well now, that’s just fine.’

The ambulance left. A great shouting emerged from it as it started to move. The medics were being lectured on how to handle the wounded.

‘Same racket he made when he came,’ Vanhala said. He didn’t smile. They were all feeling pretty dispirited. Their group had been stripped of so many members in such a short time. Vanhala, Määttä, Honkajoki and Sihvonen felt as if they’d been orphaned. All around them were strange men.

‘Hietanen, Koskela, Rokka and Susling. Group shrunk all of a sudden,’ Sihvonen said.

‘All of ’em leaders of some sort, except Susling,’ Vanhala said, looking at Määttä. ‘If it keeps on that way, I guess you’re up next, heehee…’

Määttä didn’t answer right away. After a little while he started walking over to another platoon and called back, ‘Doubt the Lord’d bother goin’ after a guy who just happened to end up corporal…’

The morning sun had just risen.

Nervous shooting crackled in the crisp air. A fine mist hovered over the river.

Ensign Jalovaara crawled over to Vanhala. ‘Try to run along that low stretch down there. See that body, the one that’s a Finn?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Their light machine gun is right next to it. There are at least two machine guns in that thicket of fallen trees over there, but their fire can’t reach into the bottom of the low stretch where you’ll be running. Määttä will try to keep them occupied. If you can make it into the trench that way and take the machine guns out of play, the rest is easy.’

Vanhala looked grimly at the hill in front of him. ‘Yeah, I can make it into the trench. Makin’ it out’s another story. Keep that light machine gun quiet.’