Soldier X

Russian soldiers carry X on a stretcher to a cart bearing four identical-looking soldiers in mummy-like wrappings, who are all chatting jovially. A soldier notices X’s water bottle and asks for it since the flash burns have made him extremely thirsty; X shares it willingly. The bandaged soldiers ask X personal questions, but he struggles to remember the right words and does not know how to answer; he finally decides to pretend he has amnesia. The soldiers understand, even joking that they don’t know who they are, either.

The next thing X knows, he is on a bus with an IV and bandages on his wounds. He wakes up next in a schoolhouse with boarded windows, feeling little pain; the schoolhouse has been transformed into a hospital and is filled with wounded soldiers. X is greeted by a cheerful man with a shaved head and his waist and legs in a cast, who introduces himself as Nikolai. X wallows in fear and semi-consciousness, suddenly realizing that he has caught himself in a terrible charade and could be caught at any time.

X asks for water but learns that there are too many patients and not enough nurses or doctors to keep them all cared for constantly.