red moscow

Chapter 3128

The other person was silent for a moment, then replied in a slightly hoarse voice, "Victoria, I'm not Misha, I'm Baharov. Isn't Misha with you?" His voice carried a hint of confusion and urgency, as if he desperately wanted to confirm something in the darkness.

“No!” Victoria answered crisply, her voice echoing from the bottom of the pit, tinged with obvious anxiety. She then countered with a tense and uneasy tone, “Where are you? I can’t see anything, it’s all dark around me.”

“I saw your flashlight,” Baharov’s voice came from afar, sounding slightly relieved. “Stay where you are, we’ll come find you right away.”

Victoria was now inside a deep pit, the smell of earthy soil filling the air, damp and cold. The pit walls were steep and slippery, making it nearly impossible to climb out on her own, but with someone's help, it would be much easier. She calmed her breathing slightly, trying to make her voice sound composed, and readily agreed, "Okay, I'll wait for you here!"

Not long after, footsteps came from the edge of the pit, along with Baharov's familiar, slightly tired voice: "Vika, how did you fall into the pit? Are you hurt?" His question was full of concern, and his voice was much closer than before.

Victoria shone her flashlight toward the edge of the pit, the beam tracing a faint but clear line in the darkness. She saw Baharov's outstretched hand, hands that, though covered in mud, seemed unusually strong. She grabbed it immediately, as if grasping at her only hope. But just then, another muddy hand reached out from the side, fingers slightly curled, skin pale, startling her so much that her heart nearly leaped into her throat—for a moment, she thought she had encountered something unclean.

Fortunately, Baharov spoke up in time, his tone reassuring: "Vika, don't be afraid. Grab Braun's hand with your other hand, and we'll pull you up together."

Baharov's explanation dispelled the fear that had just risen in Victoria's heart. She then realized that the other hand she saw belonged to Braun. Composing herself, she quickly stuffed the flashlight into her uniform pocket and grasped Braun's hand with her free hand. The hand was cold and rough, yet very strong. She looked up and said, "I'm holding on tight, you can pull me now."

With their help, Victoria was slowly pulled out of the mud puddle. When she stepped back onto solid ground, she let out a long sigh of relief, her legs still a little weak. She took out her flashlight and shone it on the two men in front of her. The light illuminated two mud-covered faces, their features almost indistinguishable. She looked closely and finally recognized the man on the right as Baharov from his eyebrows and overall silhouette. She hesitated slightly before pointing to the man on the left and tentatively asked, "Baharov, is he Braun?"

“Yes, that’s Braun.” Bakharov wiped the mud from his face, his voice weary but certain. “When I returned to Moscow some time ago, I told you that Misha had found Braun among the prisoners of war and rescued him.” He paused, then looked around, his tone turning puzzled: “Where’s Misha? Isn’t he with you?”

“I don’t know either,” Victoria said, shaking her head, the flashlight beam trembling slightly in her hand. “When I woke up, I didn’t see Misha, and I don’t know where he went.” Her words were filled with confusion and unease. After a moment’s hesitation, she continued, her voice gradually lowering, “Maybe he couldn’t return to this era like we did.”

“That’s impossible,” Baharov shouted, his voice echoing in the darkness with an undeniable determination. “The four of us traveled to the Great Patriotic War together, so we’ll all come back together. How could we leave him alone in that era?” His words seemed to be trying to convince Victoria, and also to convince himself.

“But I really didn’t see him,” Victoria said expressionlessly, the beam of her flashlight slicing aimlessly across the muddy ground. “And after I regained consciousness, I called out for ages, but apart from calling you all over, I didn’t hear his voice at all.” There was a hint of helplessness in her voice. “Could something have happened to him that prevented him from responding to your calls?” Baharov had barely uttered this guess when he immediately shook his head in denial: “Impossible, absolutely impossible. Even if something happened to us, he shouldn’t have been in trouble. Something must have happened that we can’t even imagine.” His voice trailed off, as if he were suppressing some kind of emotion.

He paused for a moment, racking his brain to figure out where things had gone wrong. In the darkness, only the slightly rapid breathing of the three could be heard. After a while, he looked at Victoria, the flashlight beam reflecting in his anxious eyes, and asked, "Vika, how did you get back? Is something wrong?"

“On New Year’s Day, I returned to my quarters after my shift,” Victoria said. “But as soon as I stepped inside, I felt dizzy and collapsed to the ground. When I came to, I found myself back underground at Hoflin Hospital. By the way, how did you two get back?”

“My situation is similar to yours,” Baharov said. “I was celebrating the New Year with my colleagues, had some drinks, went back to my dormitory and fell asleep immediately. But when I opened my eyes, I found myself back underground at the Hoflin Hospital.”

Braun, who was standing next to him, added, "I also woke up from a nap and found myself here."

After Braun finished speaking, Baharov continued, "When I woke up, I found Braun right beside me. We hadn't even had a chance to exchange a few words when I heard your voice and rushed over."

Victoria didn't speak, but nodded silently, wondering to herself where Sokov had gone.

Seeing that Victoria remained silent, Baharov couldn't help but ask, "Vika, what do we do next?"

Victoria looked at Bakharov and said slowly, "Misha told me that when he went on the Victory Day expedition with you to explore the underground fortifications, he traveled back to the Great Patriotic War. In that timeline, he was promoted to general for his outstanding military achievements, until he was wounded and unexpectedly returned to the modern era. When he came back, he found that only a few hours had passed here, and you had just finished your search in the underground fortifications and were chatting outside..."

Victoria's story reminded Baharov of the time when Sokov disappeared, and his group had searched the underground bunker twice without finding him. He immediately understood Victoria's intention and tentatively asked, "Vika, do you mean we should leave here first and wait for Misha outside? Maybe he'll come out soon?"

“It’s a pipe dream for the three of us to find someone in the dark.” Victoria nodded and said, “Why don’t we go out first and wait for the rescue team to arrive before sending them down to search for Misha?”

(End of this chapter)