The Bird Has Flown by Elaine Ellis

Author:Elaine Ellis [Ellis, Elaine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-06T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Dominique counted the markings on the wall she had started on the first day of her incarceration in Hell. Today will be the 35th day. She had managed to differentiate between day and night solely by the food that was slipped through a small hole, covered by a flap, at the base of the door. The cell had no window, and the light was left on 24 hrs a day for a period of a few days, then pitch black for a few more, alternating as the mood took the guards. Music was piped through the whole block, loudly, intermittently. Her morse code conversations with Gisèle, through the thick cell wall, kept them sane, just. Gisèle had been taught the same technique from Milo, as Dominique, and hadn’t divulged anything the Gestapo didn’t already know.

Dominique had woken up feeling physically sick. There were rumours, morse coded, through the block that some inmates had been taken away, ill or dead, from tuberculosis, typhoid and influenza. She went over to the pot in the corner of her cell and put her hand down her throat. She wretched but nothing came up. There was virtually nothing inside of her to come up. She ran her fingers through her hair to take it out of her face and took the strands that had fallen out of her scalp, rolled them into a ball and put it under her lice-ridden mattress. She had taken to lying directly on the stone floor, to prevent herself incessantly scratching through the night.

The cell door opened. She looked at the guards and saw one had a bowl of water in his hands.

“You must wash. We will be back to collect you in 10 minutes.” He threw a clean white tunic onto the filthy mattress and shut the door. Dominique had learnt not to question anything; she just did what she was told. She washed herself down, being careful of her injuries. Most of the burns had healed, and her bruising, gashes and cuts were less painful. The most pain was coming from her cracked ribs but as long as she kept still they would heal. They had left her alone for days. She was anticipating bad news from her next interrogation. She needed to alert Gisèle. She put on the clean white tunic.

The music had stopped briefly. She went over to the wall between their cells, crouched down and started tapping with a spoon she had kept all those weeks ago, from her first tray of slop that had been shoved under the door.

“You ok stop?” She tapped. Within seconds Gisèle replied.

“Not so good stop” Dominique was concerned. Gisèle had been getting worse over the last few days.

“We are leaving today stop Can you walk stop?” Dominique had a plan. She’d had a month to work it out.

“Yes, When, stop?” Gisèle kept the message short. Once the music came back on it was difficult to catch the taps.

“Tonight, after tray taken stop Be ready stop.” The guards opened the slot to take out the food tray after supper.

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