Immediately after arriving in front of the paramedics, Eric asked a few words, and although Eric continued to make gestures, the other party understood what he meant and took him to a wounded man. After chatting with the wounded man, Eric also took out the map and asked the other party to mark it, and then put it away after confirming that it was correct.

"Where is this man?" Pete asked.

"From the north." "He said that the vanguard of the Russians had arrived in the north and northeast. They were in close cooperation with some of the local Ossetians who were still resisting, making it impossible for them to resist. Before he was sent here, the Georgian army to the north was retreating, preparing to retreat into the city. At this point, Eric looked worried, "It's not good. If the perimeter is quickly lost, then Tskhinvali will lose its barrier, and the surrounding high ground will make it difficult to attack. Perhaps the shelling of this place will soon begin. ”

Eric then questioned a few more wounded, and after marking the map around Tskhinvali in various ways, Eric walked with Pete and Donovan to the vents, took out a cigarette, and smoked it.

"At the moment our... It should be said that the Georgians are in a very bad form. Eric said as he took a heavy drag on his cigarette, took out the map and looked around Tskhinvali and circled his finger and said, "Now it's certain that the south side must be impossible to walk." It is now known that it is not only the southern part of Tskhinvali that has been blocked, but that all important roads leading to this direction in Gori have been heavily bombarded, including Gori. The Georgians suffered heavy losses in personnel and materiel, and most importantly, if this development continues, Tskhinvali will most likely become an isolated city, which means that those inside will not be able to escape, and those from outside will not be able to enter. ”

"Is the Georgian Air Force all finished?" Pete asked.

"Yes." Eric nodded, "It's all over." Now the Russians can start air strikes with impunity. They are also said to have dispatched helicopter gunships. ”

Donovan took a puff of his cigarette and said, "So do you have any suggestions or plans?" ”

Eric didn't speak immediately, but after thinking about it, he turned to the map: "The only safer place now may be the west side of Tskhinvali. ”

"Chengxi? Are you sure? Donovan looked at the map and said, "Is there some conspiracy in this?" Why is it dangerous in all other directions, but the west is let go? ”

"Nope. You misunderstood. Eric shook his head and said, "There is no such thing as a place that is absolutely safe. There's not much to let go. It's just that the intensity of the fighting on the western flank of Tskhinvali is not high. This may be because of the topography there, out of the city is the mountains, and the Georgians don't have much strength there. ”

"And you're going to let everyone in here?" Donovan asked on the west side of the map where Tskhinvali lived.

Eric nodded, "The current idea is this. But you'll have to see for yourself. ”

"You mean to scout first?" Donovan asked.

Eric turned his head to look at the Georgian wounded and said, "You can't rely on what these people say. A lot of them are scared, and you know that the scenarios that people describe in such situations are often exaggerated and distorted. So in order to ensure reliability, I think it's important to take a look first, after all, we may only have one chance. ”

Pete stared at the map, and it was clear that Eric had a point. Now that they have lost contact with the outside world, they can only rely on themselves, and if they choose the wrong route, the result is likely to be that they will not even have a chance to withdraw back to Tskhinvali.

"Okay." Donovan nodded after thinking about it, "Pick someone to scout first." But I think if that's the case, shouldn't we let everyone move to the west of the city first? Otherwise, the distance back and forth is not close, and we will have to carry the wounded with us, and it will be too dangerous to go back and forth. ”

"That's true." Eric nodded, "That's it, then. Eric said and looked at Donovan and said, "I'll inquire first, you choose a good man, whether you inquire or not, we will go to the west of the city, and first find a place where we can stay temporarily." ”

"We?" Donovan looked at Eric and said, "You're with you?" I mean to conduct an investigation? ”

"Of course." Eric nodded and said, "Now I'm the only one here who can communicate with these Georgians." And I think I'm better than you at choosing a route, escaping, and fooling around. You don't have to worry about anything, if we can't find a way out of here as soon as possible, then we will definitely be surrounded here and forced to fight the Russians to the death. So I'm going to go along, maybe I'll be able to buy us some time. ”

"Okay. Then we'll split up. Donovan looked at Pete and said, "Pete is still following you to inquire about the news, and I'll go back and arrange for manpower." ”

"Count me in first." Pete heard Donovan say this and immediately spoke, "This place is unbearable for me, and I can't stay any longer. ”

"Good!" Donovan glanced at Pete appreciatively, in fact, he didn't believe Pete at all, what place could he not stay in front of such a great danger? This is Pete's usual style of taking responsibility and risk, just like when he was in the service, he took his squad out of the army and rushed on foot to support him. "I'll be with you, and it's almost as good as finding one more person."

"That's it." Eric saw that the two of them had made up his mind, put away the map, and stepped on the cigarette butt, "We'll meet at the landing point in about half an hour." ”

Pete followed Eric again in the direction of the wounded, but before he could take two steps, a violent jolt and a somewhat muffled explosion came overhead. This caused Eric and Pete to immediately stop and look up, although they might not even see the roof of the basement in this way, but everyone still looked at it like this, as if it would make their fears better than their hearts.

After about three minutes, the shaking and explosions gradually died down. After a long sigh of relief, Eric walked briskly over to a paramedic and, after a brief inquiry, walked in the direction they were pointing. And after some communication with the other party as before, he marked the map. After asking about three or four wounded soldiers, Eric put away the map and said, "Almost." They all say the same thing, and they should be believed. Come on, let's go back. ”

By the time they returned to their location, Matt and Ellie's wounds had been stitched up, and Donovan and Jeff were sorting out their gear. After seeing Eric return, Donovan immediately said, "How are you asking?" ”