- Alex can't stop thinking about soup. Hey, it's not weird—if you were trudging around in the snow for days with an empty stomach, you'd be fantasizing about chicken noodle, too.
- As the day rolls on, he starts to notice an increasing number of buildings along the road. And what do you know? He's made it to Moscow. Boom.
- Naturally, the first thing Alex does is approach a merchant to buy an apple. Unfortunately, he doesn't have enough money and is "turned away" (3.8). What a jerk.
- This catches the attention of a nearby soldier, who accuses Alex of being a homeless vagabond. Alex quickly explains that he needs to see his uncle and asks for directions.
- Alex follows the soldier's directions and approaches his uncle's house… but when he knocks on the door, he's met by a woman who he's never met before. Uh oh.
- She acts confused when Alex asks about his uncle. Then, after checking that the coast is clear, she quietly tells him that good old Uncle Dmitri has been taken by the GPU, too. Bummer.
- Devastated, Alex walks until he reaches another market square. Suddenly, "a pack of children" (3.30) runs up to a vegetable stall and steals pretty much everything there. In seconds. It's actually pretty impressive.
- They leave one cabbage, however—Alex notices a small boy sneaking back to the stall and snagging it. The stall owner notices this, too, apparently, because the boy quickly hides under the table.
- A soldier approaches Alex and asks him if he saw where the boy went. Alex points in the opposite direction, leading the soldier on a wild goose chase.
- Suddenly Alex is approached by a tall kid in messy, ragged clothes. His name is Peter. Peter thanks Alex for refusing to rat out the small boy and invites him over to his crib for a bite to eat.
- With no other choice, Alex accepts the offer. They make their way to a messed up old building and crawl into the cellar.