On a cold snowy day in Moscow, a taxi driver smokes a cigarette and checks his watch as he waits for a customer to arrive. Several minutes later he hears a hard tap on his window and comes out of the car to greet Micheal saying, "You must be the one from Nigeria eh? I'm IgorSikorsky" as they shake hands.
Michael shivers as he tries to load his bag into the boot of the car with Igorhelping him out to ease his suffering.
Once safely inside they set off with Igorasking, "First time in Russia my friend?" and rubbing his hands on his shoulders Michael replies, "First time in the snow, does it ever get better".
With a huge smile on his face Igorlaughs "Depends on how many bottles you've had that day" before sharply swerving to avoid a car coming head on in the wrong lane.
Once they're in the clear Igorlaughs again, "See that driver is very warm isn't he?".
After making a sign of the cross, Micheal sinks down into his seat asking, "Eh, how much longer do we have to drive?" and Igor replies, "We pull into train station right now".
They get down and Igorhands the keys to a waiting friend while they load up into the train car assigned to them.
Throughout the process Micheal is slightly disturbed by the awkward stares he gets from children and old people alike until he settles down in his seat.
The train then leaves the station that afternoon and Micheal settles down for a nap, his strength sapped from the constant shivering he did earlier.
When he wakes up he is shocked to learn he is still on the train and asks, "How many more hours until we get there?", and Igor replies , "Oh just three days".
With a heavy sigh he sits up and tries to get a snack from his bag, but Igorgives him a plate saying, "Try this". Micheal grabs a bite of the fries and remarks, "Not bad".
"Also try this English station, helps you learn more about Russia while you stay", Igor says as he hands Michael his phone.
"Welcome to ET news, our top story this afternoon President Sonnov Vabic has told reporters there is no need to worry about future conflicts with Ukraine over the Crimean peninsula as he is working on a permanent solution, this comes just days after he kicked off his campaign for reelection.... ".
Switching the channel to sports and music Micheal eventually grows bored and falls asleep.
Throughout the journey he spends most of his time looking outside the window, glancing through the channels on Igor's phone and meditating until they reach their final stop at Omsk.
There a very tired Micheal packs his bags, gets into another car and sits staring at the white capped ground until he and Igorfinally reach a secluded cabin hidden deep in the forest.
There an old woman walks out to greet Igor giving him a tight hug and dusting the snow off his jacket. She then looks at Michael and gives him a nod before leading them inside her quaint little cabin.
Igornotices the wood in the fireplace getting low and after complaining in Russian he picks up two axes, handing one to Michael saying, "Here, we go out to cut wood now".
Reluctantly, Micheal accepts the axe and walks back into the bitter cold trekking for several hundred metres until they find a suitable tree to cut and bring back to the cabin.
As they take turns chopping down the wood Micheal asks, "When am I going to start my training?" and Igor replies "This is your training".
"Wait there must be a mistake, there's nothing out here" Micheal says and Igor replies, "Exactly my friend, the first rule of sniper training is patience, that is why we took the train, I was watching to make sure you were ready for this" before taking the chopped wood in to the fireplace.
"Well, go ahead" he says, and Micheal replies "Sorry I don't have a lighter but Igor laughs "Come on my friend I used to work for FSB I know you have powers".
With a shrug Micheal flicks a tongue of fire onto the wood and lights it up immediately causing the temperature of the cabin to rise.
"You can also take off the glove, I can see your fake arm" Igor laughs.
After showing Micheal his room he hands him a Mosin rifle saying, "It's time to go shopping".
Together they step outside and silently trek through the snow covered landscape for 30 minutes until Michael asks "What are we hunting?".
"Deer, my friend," Igorsays.
5 minutes later Michael asks again "Where exactly are they?" and Igor replies again "In the direction of deer".
Eventually Michael goes back to being quiet and keeps walking until Igorsignals for him to stop, pointing at three animals foraging in the distance.
Micheal gets down into a prone position, adjusts his scope, and aims at the deer's core asking "Clear?".
Igor says "Fire when ready" and Micheal does so immediately but his shot strikes a tree just inches above the deer causing them to flee westward.
Quickly Michael gets up to pursue but Igortells him it's a waste of energy. They trek another 5 kilometres until they come across another herd of deer. This time Igortakes up a firing stance and watches closely but does not shoot, he waits for a blade of grass to sway in the other direction before taking his shot, dropping two deer in the process.
With a brimming smile he gets up and ushers Michael forward to secure the kill. Igorinstructs Micheal to dig a hole and drain as much blood into it saying, "It will lighten the load, and keep away the wolves".
After making it back home the deer is skinned and prepped with each part carefully stored away for future use.
Once they are done Micheal asks, "Where did you learn to shoot?"and he answers "Before I joined the army my mama would take me and my 4 brothers out every Sunday to shoot bottles, whoever didn't get a perfect 10 didn't go out hunting, which meant no supper".
Michael sighs "And I thought my mom was harsh"and Igortaps him on the back saying, "But that's nothing compared to the battlefield, I'm sure you know, in the end it kept us alive, well most of us".
Not wanting to get lost in thought Igor hurries Micheal inside for a quick bit of dinner before they rest for the night.
Sequence 2
The next morning, by 4 AM, they go for a 5 kilometre run with full gear and back before beginning target practice.
With his rifle, Micheal aims and shoots the first row of five targets without missing. He does the same for the second row, positioned 400 metres away.
On the third row however, he misses the second bottle so Igortells him to stop, run back home and come again. Once home, he sips some water, rechecks his equipment and discovers he only has 15 bullets in his pouch.
He tries to grab more from the ammo box under Igor's bed but an automated message plays saying, "Good work comrade, if you are hearing this you probably forgot to check your weapon properly. Let me remind you that taking more ammo than necessary will end the training entirely, good luck".
An hour later, Micheal returns and starts his run again, hitting every target precisely this time.
He repeats this exercise three times a day for three days before moving on to the next exercise, creating a ghillie suit. To start they head to a local fishing village and Micheal's "unique" appearance attracts the attention of local children who point and stare.
Ignoring them, Micheal searches for a suitably coloured net as well as ropes, hooks and sewing equipment to bring back to the cabin. Once there he gets to work sewing pieces of the items he brought to an old khaki uniform Igorused to wear and finishes it off by fashioning a wrap to cover his weapon.
Igorwalks out with his own suit saying, "Nice work for your first attempt, let's go test it out".
They do some basic cardio and stretches before target practice which Micheal clears with little difficulty. Later that night Micheal makes amendments to the suit next to a fire outside.
He is joined by Igorwho takes a seat with a bottle of vodka in his hand saying, "You know what I like the most about this place, it's the quiet, I can just hide away and forget my problems".
Focusing on his sewing Michael replies, "That must be nice, just you and your mother, living in your own terms"
"You miss yours don't you?".
Dropping his tools Micheal replies, "Every day", then takes a large gulp of vodka to drown his sadness.
"I understand how you feel, but now you are a warrior. If you fail this mission there is nothing worth living for".
"If this is life then just kill me now" Micheal sarcastically remarks, and Igor walks over, putting a hand on his shoulder whispering, "Don't say things like that".
As Michael downs another large swig Ivan's mother comes out shouting, "Igor, почему ты все еще на улице!? Здесь замерзает, и вокруг бродят волки. Пять лет назад я видел, как демон взлетел из леса, и опять начинаю чувствовать то же самое…" .
He replies, "Это не был "демон", это был метеорит, и я уже проверил наличие волков, так что не волнуйся".
As she runs inside mumbling, "Понял, демон взлетел и уничтожил его. Как скажешь"
Igor turns to Micheal and shakes his head saying, "Always talking about the wolves and a demon she saw 5 years ago, I guess mothers will always be mothers. Anyway let's get inside you have a long day tomorrow but if you complete the last exercise you pass".
Sequence 3
At midnight Micheal suits up and heads out following the markings Igorset out.
As he walks he asks DIVA "What threats do I need to watch out for?" and she replies
"Aside from the local wildlife of bears, tigers and wolves there are several Anomalous entities which forests of Russia and Kazakhstan, Kokormi a witch like entity that stalks and attacks children, the Leshy a living trees which are hostile to outsiders, Baba Yegha a witch that attacks without warning and fairies"
I'll be sure to avoid any angry fairies then… " Micheal says as he comes across a downward arrow carved onto a tree. He digs to find a box and opens it to see a picture of a deer with a white cross on its side.
He folds the photo into his jacket and begins his search for deer tracks stalking quietly through the forest and blending in with the snow covered trees in search of his target.
After three hours of searching he comes across a herd of deer and takes up a firing position. Watching carefully through his scope, he Scans the herd in search of his target and quickly comes across one animal matching the description. Michael patiently aims his scope at the deer's core, tracking it through the falling snow until he gets a clear shot and fires".
With the deer downed and the rest of the herd scattering in several directions, Micheal wastes no time in preparing his kill and carrying it back to base.
On the way back, Micheal grows suspicious and turns around to see 7 wolves tracking him in the distance. He attempts to fly away then thinks, "If I burn the suit I might fail, but if I get eaten by wolves I might fail…. "
After 10 seconds of tense contemplation Micheal drops the deer, pulls out his knife to cut open its chest and tosses its liver on the ground saying, "I don't need to fight, I just need to live".
He makes the trek back to base where he's greeted by Igor and his mother who congratulate him with cake on completing the course.
Chowing down, he's told, "You can go home now or you can stay one extra day and celebrate with us, what do you choose?".
With little hesitation Micheal decides to stay, visiting a local church and playing games in the snow with the children throughout the day.
Later that night, he decides to train for one more set with the bottles as he does so Ivan's mother calmly walks up to him and asks for the rifle.
Licking her thumb to gauge the wind she takes a deep breath, aims and fires hitting not one bottle but a wolf hiding behind a tree.
Reloading the gun, she hands it back to Micheal and taps his shoulder before going back inside.
Sequence 4
The next day Igor hugs his mother goodbye and says, "I'll be back soon" before setting off with Micheal in his car.
They drive not to a train station but an airport where an NSDF representative is waiting to receive Micheal for a direct flight back to Nigeria.
Before he leaves Micheal asks Igorone question, "Who exactly was your mother?" and with a smile he replies, "The Witch of Stalingrad, but to me, she's Nina Sikorska, mother of five great boys".
Once he's back in Nigeria, Dele greets him saying, "How was Russia?" and Micheal replies, "Cold".
"Well things are about to get warm very soon, we've got a lot of activity happening up North that's got Headquarters spooked, at first we believed it was just bandits….. but the bandits kept coming back" he says, displaying a picture of the same man killed 4 times, a green aurora shimmering around him.
With eyes glowing red, Micheal says, "Fear not, Death has come".
The End?