The Road to Freedom by Pollock Shawn

Author:Pollock Shawn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cedar Fort Publishing
Published: 2017-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

TEN

When Meier and Brigitte returned to the camp, Dietrich was back under his blankets and Maria held a cup to his lips. He coughed, spraying water all over himself and his daughter. Brigitte rushed to his side. Meier accepted a piece of bread from Claus and sat to eat it.

Kohler sat apart from them all, his chin in his hand, thinking. Despair seized him. It had been rash to say he would find a way for everyone to get out, especially in twelve hours.

Worried as he was, though, he didn’t regret saying it. He looked at the Schallers. What if that was his mother and sisters hiding out in the forest, his father unable to protect them? He would fight to his last breath for them. There had to be a way to do it now.

Then he thought about Schmitt. The boy’s death stung him. If only Kohler’s aim up in the tree had been better, if he only he had killed the sniper.… Schmitt’s loss had to mean something more than the senselessness of war.

And he wondered most about Kracauer. The SS man was probably angry at the way Kohler had defied him earlier. He might have already decided to deal with Kohler personally. He might not even wait until night to do it.

Kohler dared sneak a look at Kracauer. The sergeant sat cross-legged on the ground, the Mosin-Nagant in his lap. He held another cartridge that disappeared and reappeared as he swept his hand over it.

The children, Karin and Julius, noticed the sleight of hand and moved closer. Kracauer saw them and for the first time Kohler had seen, the SS man’s features relaxed. He picked up a pebble from the ground and showed it to the children; then with a flourish, made it disappear too. Julius’s eyes widened and Karin clapped a hand to her mouth.

“Where do you think it went?” Kracauer asked. Julius shook his head. Kracauer put a hand to the boy’s ear and the pebble rematerialized.

“Now watch,” Kracauer said. “I’ve got something better. Hold your sister’s hand.” The children joined hands, and Kracauer waved the pebble past Julius’s ear and showed that it was gone again. Then, without ever bringing his hands together, he put his other hand to Karin’s ear and the pebble was back. The girl giggled.

“How do you do that?” Claus asked.

“Magic,” Kracauer said. “If I had all my props, I could really show you something.”

“Were you a magician?”

“I was.”

“Were you famous?”

“No, but I had a good thing going. Some theater stuff, clubs, lots of parties, mostly on weekends. Of course, once I joined the SS there was no time for that anymore, but I’ve kept it up as best I can.”

By now the other adults were watching, quiet, as Kracauer showed the children a few more tricks. Kohler turned away. Things like this, innocent as they seemed, worried him. Right now Kracauer was entertaining the very people he had moments before argued to leave behind. That added unpredictability to the SS man’s arsenal.

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