share that the soldiers who visit them are Einsatzgruppen (Nazi death squads). Kolya asks the girls why they don't walk away, and Lara tells them about Zoya, who was a young girl who was captured with this group of girls. She tried to run away one day, and to punish her, Abendroth, the Einsatzgruppen officer in charge, made the others watch as he sawed Zoya's feet off. Lev and Kolya decide to try to kill the Nazis when they come later that night. Lev is terrified, and Kolya offers him a pack of playing cards with naked women on them to distract from his fear. The Nazis arrive earlier than expected, but are ambushed by Russian partisan fighters outside. The partisans almost shoot Lev and Kolya as well, but finally agree not to. Lev, meanwhile, is surprised and intrigued to find that their best sniper, Vika, is female. Korsakov, the partisans' leader, gives everyone an hour to warm up and then they all depart the farmhouse. The girls head south and Lev and Kolya follow the partisans to try to hunt Abendroth. As they walk, Kolya tells Lev more about The Courtyard Hound and Lev asks Kolya if he's writing it. Kolya doesn't deny this theory. They soon come across villages that the Einsatzgruppen are burning and head for a nearby safe house to sleep. While everyone is sleeping, Kolya explains to Lev that he was actually accused of desertion because he spent New Year's Eve trying to find a woman in Leningrad to have sex with, but he grossly miscalculated how much time he had to get back to his squad. The next morning, the partisan on guard duty wakes everyone, yelling that the Germans are coming. They all try to run but it's too late. Korsakov is killed. Lev tries to hide. Vika, Kolya, and a partisan named Markov find him, but the Germans are still approaching. Vika decides they should try to infiltrate the group of prisoners who are with the Germans, and they successfully do so, but then one of the prisoners starts yelling that Markov is a partisan, and the Germans shoot Markov. When the company reaches a schoolhouse, an Einsatzgruppen officer tests the prisoners' literacy. Lev, Kolya, and Vika all pretend to be illiterate. All the literate prisoners are shot and the rest are squeezed into a toolshed for the night. The following morning