The rain was drizzling down terribly, but at least inside the pharmacy, it was warm and dry. A young man in a grey hoodie came pushing into the little store, and Mihai furtively eyed him over, but the young man was clearly seeking nothing other than to get out of the downpour. Mihai pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose anxiously. The lenses were cracked. They would need to be replaced, but the money - Where would he get it? Ah, problem for another day he thought as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. At least, there was enough Leu to afford the medicines still. The wife would appreciate this. If not for herself, then for the children. He pictured them now, small and frail. Precious little things they were, yet they lacked not in fervor. Andreea would call them bundles of energy. He was just glad to be getting back to them. The clerk called his name, speaking loudly over the thrill of the small radio behind him, and Mihai dragged himself out of his thoughts. Gratefully accepting the little package on the counter. The price left a hole in his wallet, and his heart heavy, but not paid not in vain. These little bottles could mean the difference between life and death in the coming winter.
Stepping away from the counter, he looked out at the bleak evening sky. No sunset to speak of, just grey clouds and drizzling rain. He paced around the store reluctantly, unwilling to leave the warm sanctity of the little store for the biting cold outside. No frost or snow yet, thank God, but the wind was more than enough to send chills down the spines of all in Pridnestrovie. The clerk coughed and eyed him suspiciously, clearly he was wasting time, but Mihai made a show of inspecting a packet of hair dye. Holding the dye close to his eyes and reading the little labels earnestly. Haites Hair dye - strong and long lasting. But his facade wasn’t fooling anyone and he sighed in defeat, glancing at the clock half-heartedly. Quarter to nine. The radio coughed static for a moment, and then cleared itself, from its crackly wires came a message all of Moldova had been dreading.
[People of Moldova, the ministry of defense has just received word that Ukraine has declared war on our nation, foreign air forces entered our airspace from the North East at 10 past 8 this evening. Citizens in the Pridnestrovie region please seek shelter immediately. Proceed to your nearest air raid shelter immediately. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill....]
Shit. Mihai’s reluctance dissipated instantly, he had to get home. Now! Before the foreign air forces from those Ukranian snakes arrived. The two other men in the store conversed anxiously over the counter, but Mihai paid them no mind. Walking swiftly now, he exited the store into the spitting rain. The fast growing damp in his blazer and the fierce wind snuck through his orifices, chilling his bones and raising goosebumps along his skin. No matter.
A dull drone picked up in the distance, reaching Mihai’s ears even over the beat of the rain. Planes, he was sure of it. But ours or theirs? He couldn’t tell, hoped they were far off. He had no car, well no that wasn’t true. He had a car, but the price of gas had skyrocketed and many found it easier to just walk. The state road was not far, just down the bank, and although the rain was still spitting down - he thought it would be safer. Stay in the open, away from the buildings. Just in case. 40 minutes on foot, he would be home, and to hell with the blazer.
The cacophony of beeping and growling masses almost drowned out the whine of engines above. Almost. Mihai didn’t envy the poor suckers stuck on the roads, whatever the hell was holding them up - well, it wouldn’t be clearing anytime soon. There was a narrow walkway beside the road, and Mihai made his way along it with haste. All the while the horns beeped in time with the whine of grumbling engines, the lights headlights flashed and the rain - it drizzled. Evidently, drivers were getting more than a little anxious, some started to get out of their vehicles. Tentatively stepping out into the damp, yet unwilling to actually leave their vehicles. Mihai watched them from across the road. A man on his side of the divider jogged up, waving to Mihai, a younger women trailing cautiously behind him.
“Hey, hey wait my friend. Where are you going? We heard the broadcast on the radio just now. Its really happening huh? Where did you say you were going?
“Back home, along the state road, it will be safer in the open here. Away from buildings,” Mihai said after a moment's pause.
“My wife and I” - the man responded, gesturing to the women behind him, who had now caught up and was leaning against the man cowing behind him almost. “We weren't sure about the traffic, so we decided to abandon the car. How far is it to your place?”
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“You cannot follow me, I’m sorry,” Mihai said quickly, stiffly - and with that he loped away hurriedly, ignoring the exclamations behind him, unwilling to wait around and waste time.
Moments later, the dull drone above - that had been a constant tremor in his ear - flared up into a screaming frenzy. The blue notes in the engines growled and machine guns barked out into the fading evening. All at once the road beside Mihai erupted into a senseless crush. Shrieking metal and panicked screams sounded all around him, and Mihai jumped near out of his skin in shock. Clutching the precious bag close to his chest, Mihai sprinted forwards, along the side of the road, around him - screaming tyres and the shouts of the injured. He tried to pay no heed to them, anxiously hoped he wouldn’t be stopped. It was even more important, now that war had broken out, that he made his way home with the bottles. The thought pushed him along, pumped blood into his burning legs and strength into his gasping lungs.
Between the thud of explosions and the furious beeps of stuck cars, Mihai could barely hear himself think. Sweat clouded his eyes, and he blinked. Again and again. Wrenching his head around nervously, it was all too much. Too loud, too much. He pushed forward, along and up the bank slightly. Hoping to see further ahead. The view was nothing short of carnage. Crashes littered both sides of the road, and people weaved to and fro, in and out of the havoc like scared little ants. Yet still, vehicles powered through, seemingly without heed or care. Thundering along the road with tires screeching and horn blaring. He could scarcely believe his eyes. All too soon his luck ran out. A great big lorry came careering down the road opposite, scattering people as they jumped out of the way, A faded yellow car swerved out of the way of the lorry, it broke through the barrier and came careening across the road. Directly towards Mihai.
Missed, just barely. The car smashed straight through the traffic barrier, passing by Mihai by a hairs inch and up the bank with a sickening crunch. Mihai stumbled backwards, away from the smouldering wreck. He shook his head to clear the grit from his eyes but he was well and truly fucked now. With no way around the car, and him totally unwilling to get close. There was no option but to move left, onto the open road.
The air stunk of cordite, and smoke stung his eyes, forcing him to blink back salty tears. Mihai inched out further onto the road, shuffling forward as if on a tightrope. Unwilling to look down or around. He dodged around the decimation as best he could. Refusing to focus on the flickering crush of cars littered all around. He clutched the medicine closer still, tight against his chest as if it were a little baby. Mihai wormed his way forwards, over to the other side of the road, as if drawn by an unknown force. Only when he had made it to the dividing barrier did he look up properly. Mihai was in the thick of it alright. The lorry from before was a little ways ahead, smouldering in the midst of a crush of cars. Figures hastily brushed around Mihai, shadows in the smoke. Nothing more than imprints in the drizzle. He paid them no heed. The only matter of importance was to get to the other side of the road. The other bank, and from there - home. He pushed forward, determined to carry on.
The lorry served as a useful marker, an anchor to work towards. Mihai pressed onward, right into the midst of a particularly gruesome crash site. The lorry ahead fumed and sparked, spitting bright flickers of flames out of the cab, and spilling its aromatic liquid all over the road. Mihai gagged at the smell and brought one arm up over his mouth, as if to shield himself. Smoke clouded the air, and he ducked lower to the ground. In front of him, a hazy figure struggled against something. A car? There was no other way through, and so in spite of his nerves screaming at him to get out, Mihai crept forward further still. Closer to the person and the flames. The vague silhouette crystalized into that of a woman, tugging at something in a little car wedged between the lorry and a dirty old van, clearly terrified out of her mind. Mihai inched backwards slightly, hoping that if he stayed quiet, he could slip by unnoticed. Of course, its not like the woman would notice him anyway. So preoccupied with the car as she was. Maybe it was her husband in there? Mihai felt a twang of guilt in the pit of his stomach, and he crouched down, eyeballing the scene. With a mighty struggle, the woman managed to tear open the door and tugged at a slumped shape inside. The heat was growing, pressing on his eyeballs and forcing its way down Mihai’s cracked throat.
Now was the time to leave, He crept forward, angling himself parallel to the lorry and free road ahead, but still he lingered. Transfixed by the sight of the struggling woman. The smouldering lorry flashed with a heart-wrenching whump, and flames spilled out of the cab. Working frantically now the women tugged and pulled at the person inside. Mihai poised, considering his options, mostly cursing his cowardice. At last she managed to pull the stricken figure out from the car. Hauling it out onto the ground beside her. Another woman, this one considerably younger. Her daughter? Safe then, Mihai turned to leave - but no. The two women were completely drained, the older one looked like a nervous wreck, and the younger was out cold. Flames flickered and flashed close by. Cursing himself, Mihai rushed over to the girls, unwilling at this point to leave them to their fate.
The older woman was struggling to lift the younger up, straining against her limp weight, but Mihai was there a moment later. He grabbed the unconscious woman roughly around the waist and hauled her up into a standing position. He took the bag of medicines and gripped it with his teeth, and with the other hand he pulled the older woman forward, away from the burning lorry and out of the wretched smoke. The three half walked half stumbled out of the carnage, plodding along on aching feet. Lips cracked and eyes stinging they carried on. Until finally they made it out. The other side. Checking that the bank was clear of shrapnel and glass, Mihai gently laid the unconscious women down. He checked once to make sure her older friend had followed, and then without pausing a second more, he strided up and away along the bank. Leaving the two women alone on the grass.