After a while, Simo was with the other soldiers making their way to battle.
The calm feeling from the farm was gone.
No one talked much.
Simo carried his rifle as he walked.
After a lot more time passed by, they reached a new area.
This place was different.
There were trenches in the snow.
This was the front. This was the border between Finland and The Soviet Union
Simo stopped and looked around.
The soldiers looked tired, like they had no sleep at all.
Simo looked at their faces.
They were serious and focused.
An officer walked toward the group that Simo was in.
He gave them instructions on where to go, where to stay, and what to do.
After that, Simo was led to a position behind trees with other soldiers.
The trees gave them some cover.
Simo and the other soldier got into their positions.
Just a little bit of time after they got ready in their positions, they heard a loud noise.
It was a gunshot.
Then they heard more gunshots, a lot more gunshots.
The soldiers around him didn't seem to be scared.
They were used to it.
Simo stayed still and listened.
All of a sudden, one of the soldiers near him spoke quietly.
"That's the Soviet soldiers," he said.
Simo stayed low, and waited patiently.
This wasn't practice or training.
This was war.