The Cuckoo Bird: Say The War Had Never Happened...

Hiatus Special - Two

Chapter Three

Anna was not entirely sure how much time had passed when they were all made to line up in the middle of the room. It was still light outside, but that didn't mean so much in the summer. She had been so focused on the task at hand that she hadn't even attempted to count down the minutes. Shaking out her sore limbs, she let her reality awaken her, her whole mind still numb under the weight of what had happened.

A few minutes. That's all it had taken for her to lose everything. Perhaps not everything. Maybe Elli was sitting somewhere not far away feeling the exact same way.

How likely was that?

Anna clasped her hands together in front of her, her head faced down towards them. Everyone stood in silence, waiting for something. It gave her a moment to study the women's faces as best she could.

Why was everyone in the line female? There had been men on the platform, so why not here? They were all relatively young, the oldest probably no older than forty. All of them looked tired, but healthy, or as healthy as she had seen anyone look in the last few years. They were able to stand and didn't appear frail and emaciated.

The guard stood at the top of the line, in front of one of the women. He seemed to be saying something to her as his outstretched finger traced her arm, the poor woman frozen in abject disgust. Anna looked up and down the line again, realising a pattern to the selection process.

Young, pretty, vulnerable.

            At that moment, Keller stepped into the hut. The guard stood to attention, clearly apprehensive of being too close to an inmate.

Anna's heart stopped, her breath caught in her throat. There was something inherently eery about Keller, as though to be ensnared in his embrace would bring only emptiness. When he spied her looking, his mouth curved to a small smile. Instinctively, she looked down at the floor. When nothing happened, she risked a glance in his direction. He was searching the women, obviously checking them for valuables.

Anxiously, Anna awaited her turn. It lasted an eternity. He seemed to take his time getting to her. It wasn't that he lingered on the women like the other guards did, more that he paused for a long time after each one to make the next one wait with bated breath.

As he finally reached Anna, she held her arms by her sides, in some vain hope that it would make the process easier. This time, he did nothing at all.

She dared, at last, to look up at him, only to be met with those cold eyes and an amused look on his face.

'You're a curious creature,' he said finally. She'd never a known a voice like his. It was as though honey oozed from his mouth. 'What's your name?'

The words clung to her throat, choking her. 'Anna Lehman.'

'A good German name.' Gently, he reached out and set his hands on her. His exploration seemed less about finding contraband and more about getting the measure of her. He came across something in her cardigan pocket. 'What are these?'

'My reading glasses.'

'Put them on.'

Anna did so obediently. She could see even more clearly how beautiful he was. The perfect Aryan man. Perhaps that was why he was so cocky.

'Hmm,' he mused as he scrutinised her. 'I don't think so.' His palms braced her cheeks, his index fingers deftly slipping her glasses down her nose. Dropping them to the floor, he waited a beat before he stamped on them. Immediately, he turned her round to pat her down from the back.

It took every ounce of her grit not to cry out as his fingertips trailed up her legs, his large hands cupping her outer thighs. She'd only been touched like this once before, and then, she was willing.