Eyes of Vengeance

Chapter 8: Refugees

Chapter 8: Refugees

            After the death of the Prime Minister, more than a few people were fleeing the city. Some went to Russia, but not nearly as much as had been before. Nataliya didn't want to go to Russia at all, so she searched for anyone that would be going somewhere else, she found it. There was a large bus filled with people that was planning to go to the Crimea.

            The Crimea seceded from Ukraine a few weeks into the war, they were already their own autonomous republic, so it wasn't too hard for them to fully remove themselves. The Belarusians and Moldovans avoided the Crimea, as they saw the small amount of extra farms they would've gotten as not enough reward for the fight.

            Nataliya was accepted on the bus rather quickly, which surprised her, seeing as they turned away more than a dozen families. Being a young orphan has its perks in some areas. Nataliya sat near the back of the bus in a seat all to herself. She lifted her legs up and brought her knees to her face, as it was the position that was most comfortable for her, it made her feel safe.

            The trip wasn't too long, taking only about five hours. Half way there a woman argued with her husband for twenty minutes before giving Nataliya a small amount of food. She thanked her and ate it slowly.

            It was obvious when they arrived that the Crimeans expected refugees, they had a large amount of troops on the main highway who immediately stopped the bus, looked it over for a bit, and spoke to the driver for awhile.

            The driver stood at the front of the bus, sighed and turned to the people he had driven. He slowly said in a gruff voice, "The Crimeans are not accepting any refugees, however, they are willing to use ships to take certain people to Italy, where the European Union will take over."

            An older woman sat up and said, "Certain people?"

            "Yes, the soldiers here are going to pick who can, and cannot enter," the man beckoned the guards and they wandered through the bus checking everyone over.

            When they got to Nataliya they asked, "Where are your parents?"

            "Dead," she responded, not looking at them.

            The soldier nodded and continued on to the back of the bus. From there he yelled, "Everyone under 25 can come, all those above must turn back, or else."

            Nataliya slowly stood up and wandered out of the bus, there were only two other people under 25 that didn't have parents with them. One of the mother's was crying as she held her child close, yet not a single one of the parents let their kids go. It was stupid in Nataliya's opinion, the parents should have been giving them a better chance at living, rather than keeping them close.

            Nataliya and the two other people were taken to a small jeep and driven to Sevastopol'. On the way the other two talked a bit, even tried to ask Nataliya a few questions, she kept all her answers brief, and they eventually stopped trying to include her.

            Sevastopol' looked like an even poorer Poltava. The outskirts of the city were largely suburbs with dirt roads connecting them, the highway being the only paved road until they got to a slightly more urbanized area. There were very few people wandering the streets for it being the middle of the day, perhaps the war was making people skittish.

            Nataliya and the others were driven to a large warehouse at the harbor. The soldier got out and said, "Get inside with the rest of the refugees and await the next ship."