Beyond the Shadow of Night by Ray Kingfisher

Author:Ray Kingfisher [Kingfisher, Ray]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542041768
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2019-04-01T04:00:00+00:00

A few minutes later, Asher and Rina were deposited at the meeting point next to the railroad station. They sat down on the earth next to each other. Asher put his arm around his sister and looked left and right. The square was contained on all four sides by either brick or solid fencing, and was patrolled by those armed guards the authorities seemed to have an endless supply of, whether SS, Gestapo, or Stormtroopers.

Asher had often walked past the square over the past couple of years, and each time it had been thronged with people waiting to be taken away.

Today it was less than half full.

They had chopped off all the meat and were now scraping away the gristle.

But where exactly were they being taken? Asher looked around, his eyes falling on a man a few yards away, gnawing away at a potato. Would he have any more idea what was happening?

The man noticed Asher staring at him and stopped gnawing. He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out two more small potatoes, then reached over and handed them to Asher.

Asher thanked the man, but there was no reply: he stared straight ahead again and continued gnawing away.

Then a dot of darkness appeared on Asher’s knee. Then another. He looked up and got a splash in the mouth. It tasted good. Soon the raindrops were bouncing off their heads, and Asher grabbed Rina’s arm, pointing toward a wall at one side of the square. They both stood and hurried over, settling down there with their backs leaning against the wall. Asher took his coat off and held it over both their heads. He handed Rina one of the potatoes, and they both started chewing.

For a second, Asher considered using the rain to clean the mud off his meal, but even a little mud would fill his belly a tiny bit more than the wood-like flesh of the raw potato alone, so he left it on. And the little seed sprouts added variety, as well as providing something to hook his teeth onto.

The rain continued after they’d finished eating, the drops dancing on Asher’s already soaked back. He used his wet sleeve to wipe the blood from the side of Rina’s face, and they huddled together; it was starting to get cold.

“At least we might find out what happened to Mama, Papa, and Keren,” Rina said.

Asher said nothing. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

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