Traitor_A Novel of World War II by Amanda McCrina

Author:Amanda McCrina [McCrina, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult, War
ISBN: 9780374313524
Amazon: 0374313520
Goodreads: 52751442
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Published: 2020-08-25T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

The kukuruznik came back just after noon.

They heard the engine muttering over the water before they saw the plane. They dropped flat on their stomachs under the trees, waiting for the flyover. Ahead of them, the pine wood marched away down a long, low slope. There was a reed marsh at the foot of the slope and a swath of bare grassland sweeping back up to the eaves of the wood on the far side of the marsh. The kukuruznik passed over south by east, on a line for the city. Tolya picked himself up on his hands and knees, sitting back on his heels.

Solovey’s fingers snaked around his wrist, jerking him back down.

“What is—” Tolya started, but Solovey crooked an arm around his neck, slipping a hand over his mouth. He motioned with his pistol. Through the reeds across the marsh, Tolya could see two NKVD riflemen going up the grassy slope, away from the water. They’d been filling their canteens.

There were more riflemen at the edge of the wood.

Tolya’s throat closed. He watched the squad split and spread out across the shore. Their voices carried over the water—a murmur, a snatch of laughter, a sharp command in Russian: “Quiet!” They came closer, working through the reeds on the mud bank, looking for footprints in the wet black earth at the water’s edge. He could see the red-enameled order star above the right breast pocket of the nearest man’s jacket.

Then they were past, moving slowly away down the shore. The crunch of boots on underbrush faded away. There was no sound but the rustle of the marsh grass and the whine of the mosquitoes and the thump, thump, thump of his heart against the pine needles.

Solovey let go of Tolya’s mouth. He lifted his arm from Tolya’s neck. He lay still for a moment, his eyes shut, his forehead pressed to the earth, as though he were praying. Then he raised his head and smiled. His face was pale.

“Well,” he said very softly. “That’s that.”

“You think they found the cabin?”

“I think we’ve got to assume they did.” Solovey rolled away from him and sat up. “Anna didn’t know this place,” he said. “Neither did Iryna. The others did.” He was silent, holding a hand absently on his splinted calf. “Do you know what’s funny about it?” he said suddenly.

“What?”

“They went right past us in the night, and neither you nor I saw or heard them, and they didn’t see or hear us. What do you think? What’s the most obvious explanation?”

“They didn’t go past us in the night.”

“They were already here, waiting for us. We were betrayed.” Solovey got up, kicking the ground with his good foot. Then he put his hand on a tree trunk and stood for a moment, head tipped back, eyes shut.

“How are your feet, Tolya?” he asked. His voice was calm.

“They’re all right.”

“Your shoulder?”

“All right.”

“Liar,” Solovey said. “But I guess the best of us are.”

He opened his eyes. He pushed himself away from the tree.

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