Soldier X

Tamara, X, and Sergo find Zoya’s burned body and bury it in a shallow grave. They head away from the sound of artillery across the charred landscape, struggling to breathe and lacking supplies. They find a burned deer carcass and eat it, taking some with them, and then approach a wetland full of stagnant water unfit for drinking. Eventually, they break through into the forest and find a source of clean water.

As they travel through the forest, X subconsciously avoids the spots of sunlight breaking through the canopy, mimicking a childhood game he had played with a friend. They find a deep pool, bathe, and discuss what to do next. X finally admits that he is a deserter and wants to go somewhere neutral, like Switzerland; Sergo absurdly insists they should go to America, breaking the tension.

The trio travels for three days without any sign of civilization and with little food or water. Eventually, they reach a farm; the Russian farmer is terrified to see them and demands to be left alone but reluctantly shares that they are in Ukraine. They continue, finding shell craters and scattered bodies, which they raid for supplies and weapons. Eventually, they come to a ruined, abandoned town once inhabited by Germans and now abandoned; they settle in the abandoned Pedagogical College and sleep with their new supplies.