[Fiction] A Story of Past

[Haplo]

The sun shined down on the gray landscape of the snowy Siberian desert. There was nothing to be seen for miles in any direction from where Tasha Kronkoff stood. Nothing except for her fellow comrades, and their vehicles.

They stopped because a few of the others needed to piss, most notably of all Boss Kronkoff. The boss was nearly six feet and four inches, the biggest of the group. He wore a heavy long, green jacket that went down to about his knees, and covered all the other layers that Tasha knew he was wearing. Boss Kronkoff could stand in the cold all day and not seem bothered. He had several patches of frostbite all over his body, Tasha know, but it never seemed to bother him. His head had floppy ears that Tasha always had a fascination with when she was younger. Still the same old boss, she thought.

Of the others, there were ten in all. Each wore all the warm clothing they could muster to wear, and most hated Siberia. Tasha knew most of them, and none of them were good. She knew they worked for Kronkoff because they liked the job, and the freedom of choice they got from it. There were two new goons, and both of them had her attention from the moment they showed their pretty little faces.

The first showed up at Boss Kronkoff’s door not a week ago, begging for a job. When he first entered, he appeared to be in his late teens, blonde hair unkempt and uneven beard unshaven. He, even in his rugged state, was the second prettiest boy she had ever seen. He came through the doors of Kronkoffs hunched over, seemingly malnourished. The Boss gave him some pasta and told him to be on his way, but the kid wouldn’t leave until Kronkoff gave him a chance. Kronkoff did, and the kid did well. What he had to do Tasha did not know, but she was happy he was there.

His name was David, and was obviously American. His Russian was terrible, but Tasha liked him well enough despite that. He was nineteen, only two years older than her. He kept his unkempt stubble at the dismay of Boss Kronkoff only because Tasha convinced the Boss to let him keep it. David first spoke to Tasha as she was taking care of Bosses spiders.

“Guys got a lot of spiders, huh?” David said, trying to be suave. He leaned against a shelf where some spiders were kept, and smiled to her.

She peered back at him, and gave him a friendly smile, not speaking. They spent most of the following night at the square of the city, just talking about their lives before then. He spent the ages until his thirteenth birthday in America, northern California to be exact. Tasha hung off his every word, and asked many questions at all times. He moved out with his parents, but they were killed in a car crash a few years later. He has spent his years until now moving and running. When they parted ways at sunrise, she was afraid he would run off.

He didn’t. She peered back on him; he was still pissing. He wore a lot of fur today, and she did not blame him. This was his first trip into the Siberian desert, and was afraid of frostbite. Before anyone noticed, she looked away from him and to Alexander. He was peering at her from inside the large vehicle they traveled him. He smiled at her, and she looked away from him.

Alexander came along three days back, she remembered. She heard of him for a few years from the Boss, but never met him. He was the boss’ nephew. He just turned sixteen, and was now old enough to work. He was pretty, but he was rough. From the moment he walked in the door, she didn’t like him. He strolled in with his long black hair, and his ‘Hey ladies’ mustache. He used some slang American term for hello, and gave her the eye. He was disobedient, impolite, and worst of all he wouldn’t leave her alone.

She knew today would be a long day. They were traveling to Siberia to make a delivery. They dropped what they needed to in a bunker, than made off. They had left at 0500 and she doubted they would get home before 2300. She had tried making excuses to stay behind, but the Boss would not hear it. He wanted her there, and for what reason she did not know.

She took off her fur gloves and rubbed her pretty white hands together. Her skin was always pale, and she had never suffered a burn or spider bites. The Boss always called her as pretty as her mother, but Tasha didn’t know. She rarely saw other woman, usually just the ones the Boss would bring back, or any of the other men who stayed in the bunkers. They were never friendly, the woman. She put her gloves back on, and her hood back over her head. She was starting to hate the desert, and wished so much that she was at home.

As they gathered back on the vehicle, she did too. Due to the one entrance, they had to line up. David got behind her, pulled down her hood, and covered her head with a handful of snow. Tasha turned around in a steam, and knocked him to the ground with a push. He was laughing, and she was biting his head off. The Boss told her to get back to getting on the bus, and she did smiling.

----------------

Editors Note: More to come

[Haplo]

Tasha stared out the window of the vehicle. It was a large, bus like vehicle, but the wheels were replaced with tracks, like on a tank. The distance was filled with nothing but ice tundra’s, and she grew bored of it quickly. Since there were twelve people on the trip, people were pretty spread out. In the seat in front of Tasha resided Alexander. For a while he had tried to make conversation with her, but she shrugged him off. He was lying down as she stood up to remove her voluminous jacket.

As she sat back down, he heard a whisper of jumbled and foreign words. She turned her head quickly and almost head-butted David. He quickly moved his head, and quietly chuckled.

”What did you say?” Tasha said to him, keeping quiet and looking around. No one was really paying attention, as most everyone was asleep. Only Tasha, David, another guy that Tasha knew as Vladimir, and Boss Kronkoff were awake. Vladimir was driving, and Boss was keeping him company while looking over some notes.

“I said it’s too cold to be without a jacket.” He smiled, but was still shivering.

Tasha laughed, which drew Boss’s attention. He shot her a dirty look, and went back to reading. Tasha had realized that Boss didn’t like her talking to David, but she didn’t really care. She threw the jacket over his head, and looked back forward, trying not to laugh. He put the jacket over his shoulders and sat back down. Tasha was left wearing a baggy army surplus jacket over a sweatshirt, and more layers beneath that. She put her hands in her pockets and stared out the window for a while, and soon she heard David snoring.

Quickly she caught herself thinking about David, and blushed. No one was looking, but it was rare for her to think about this stuff. A stir in front of her stole her from a daydream, and Alexander poked his head above the seat and looked at her. As she looked at him, he smiled pleasantly. He mouthed the word ‘hello’, and Tasha felt obligated to respond.

“Hi, Alexander.” She said to him in a stern voice.

Alexander looked at the front of the bus to find Boss not looking in his direction. He quickly moved to sit next to Tasha, and it caught her by surprise. “I was hoping that we could get to know each other more, babe.” He rubbed his upper lip, which was home to the laughable excuse for a moustache.

“I.. I don’t really feel like talking now, Alexander.” She had given him this response at least ten times since he began trying to speak to her.

“You don’t seem to mind talking to David.” Alexander looked at the seat in front of him for a moment, seemingly angry. “Uncle Kronkoff doesn’t like David, you know. I know he is just looking for an excuse to get rid of him.” Tasha ignored him, looking out the window. He had gone too far, Tasha thought, and had best watch his mouth. After several more seconds, Alexander went back at it. “Maybe he’ll have him killed. Maybe he’ll let me do it.”

Tasha punched him in the face, and Alexander made a show out of it by falling backwards into the aisle and yelling in a ‘pain’. Most of the people woke up alert, and ready to start shooting. The vehicle stopped moving almost immediately, and Boss moved to the back of the bus. He grabbed Alexander by the hair and dragged him to the front, and threw him out the door. Alexander yelled and whined all the way out. Boss looked back at Tasha, and gave a finger motion that told her to follow. She stood up to walk out, and her jacket was placed over her shoulders. She looked back at David, and he gave her a look of sorrow. She realized that her face was red, and that she stared at him for too long. “Tasha! Here! Now!” Boss yelled back to her, his voice booming. Tasha obliged, slipping her arms into the jacket and closing it. They moved outside the vehicle, and Tasha noticed most people go into their laying positions once more. Alexander was standing up straight, and trying to look respectable. He did this whenever Boss was looking. At first Tasha thought this was Alexander’s trying to be respectable, but soon found that it was Alexander making fun of Boss.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Tasha!? I brought Alexander here to keep you company! So you’d have someone your age.” Boss looked at Alexander, than Tasha. It was apparent he wasn’t angry at all, but worried. Tasha kept quiet, looking down at the snow and ice below her. It was about mid-day, and the sun was bright, but small. Boss scanned the bus, than the tundra’s, lost in thought.

“Its cool, Kronk! No biggy, I know women are crazy.” Alexander spoke, smiling. Boss gave him a long, strange look, than looked back at Tasha. Her apparent hatred for Alexander was definitely showing through.

“Okay, back on the bus. We’ll settle this when we get home. Tasha, I want you sitting up by me.” Boss spoke, moving back to the bus.

“But that’s unfair!” Tasha screamed at him, which got most peoples attention on the bus. “Why do I have to move!? Can’t you make him move!?” Tasha’s hood slid back off over her head, and her face was flushed.

“Haha! Looks like you can’t mess around with David anymore! Haha!” When Alexander says this, Boss gives her a long, hard, and mean look. Tasha put the hood back over her head, and seemed to shrink a foot. She walked back onto the bus, and sat in the empty seat closest to Boss’s seat. No one seemed to look at her as she got on. Boss and Alexander shared a few more words, than both boarded the bus. Neither gave her a passing eye as they went near her. When the bus started moving, Tasha stood to remove the jacket. In a passing glance towards David, he gave her a quick smile of sorrow. Right in front of her, Alexander was giving her an incredibly mean look. Tasha decided to not make a response, and sit down instead. She watched the tundra for a few miles, and the sun was quickly disappearing. She fell asleep laying on her jacket.

When she woke up, hours must’ve passed. The only light was from the stars, as it was a new moon. She went to move, and noticed that a blanket covered her. Boss often did this when she fell asleep on trips. She removed the blanket and sat up, rubbing her eyes. No one was on the bus that she could see. She let her eyes adjust, and saw that the bus was right outside of the bunker. Tasha threw on her coat, and opened the door. It was terribly cold, so she moved quickly. When she got inside, she descended the stairs into a main room. This room had many old television monitors and desks, and the tone of the room was gunmetal. Across the way was a stairs that led to a hallway, and she moved towards it. A clock on the wall read 2330 hrs. As she moved through the bunker, she found that no one was around. As she peered into a room, she saw everyone sleeping on cots. A note resided on the door, from the boss.

“Tasha. Sorry about earlier, we got here late and decided to stay the night. There is a small room across the way set up for a bed for you, and a kitchen down the hall. See you in the morning.”

Tasha yawned, and moved into the room. She wasn’t hungry, and wanted to get in a bed immediately. She stripped down to a tank top, and her underwear, and got under the many blankets that covered the bed. A indiscernible amount of time later, she awoke to someone entering the room. She sat up slightly, and as her eyes focused, she found that it was David. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants, and no shirt. She had no idea how lean, and in shape he was. Her first response was to ask him what he is doing, but he moved his finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet. He closed the door slowly, and moved over to the bed. She was on her side, watching him. He stood on the bed, and stepped over her. He got under the blankets, laying behind her. He wrapped his arms around her, and pressed his body close. She didn’t speak a word, and soon heard him breathing heavily. She wrapped one of her hands around his, and closed her eyes. Her stomach was too tense to let her sleep, so she just laid with her eyes closed, hoping that no one would find out about this.