Authors Note: I am sorry for the long wait. I started school last week, so things have been a little crazy. But, here is chapter 10! I would like to dedicate this chapter to my Grandpa, who is turning 56! Happy Birthday!
After walking for ten minutes, Winnie and Jesse finally found the place they were looking for. It was an old barn, with peeling paint on the outside, and it looked like it could fall over at any minute. Jesse gently knocked on the barn door, and they heard whispering, and some shuffling of feet. A man with a deep voice asked them in French who they were.
Jesse said, "Jesse Tuck and Winifred Foster. We are with Miles?" They heard more whispering, and then the door opened slowly, and Miles slipped out and shut it behind him. He turned to face them.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. Jesse stood up straight and looked his brother in the eye.
"We've come to offer our services." He responded. Miles raised an eyebrow, and suppressed a smile.
"Come on, Jesse." Miles began, "I'm busy, I don't have time for your-" Winnie interrupted him.
"Miles we want to train with the villagers." she explained. "We think that we could help defend this village from the Nazi's, if you gave us a chance and trained us." Miles looked from Winnie to Jesse, and sighed as he removed his cap and ran his fingers through his hair.
He fixed the cap back on, rolled his eyes, and said, "Fine. Why not?" Winnie and Jesse grinned from ear to ear as they squeezed each other's hand. Miles pushed open the barn door, and beckoned them to follow him inside. The barn was large, and had hay bales stacked along the walls. A large space had been cleared in the center of the barn, where they were supposed to train, but the villagers all sat on the hay bales chatting.
The barn had a second floor to it, where more hay was kept, but the only way up was by ladder. That was where they would stash the weapons when they were done.
Miles cleared his throat and called the men to attention. They quickly leapt to their feet and formed a sloppy line. Winnie recognized Andre, Erik, and the man from the fire the night before. Jesse and Winnie stood to the side, as Miles walked past the men. "This is my brother Jesse," he extended his hand toward Jesse, and Jesse slightly nodded. "And this is Winifred Foster." He did the same, and Winnie smiled at the men. "They are going to train with us."
The men broke into applause, and the man from the night before stepped forward. "My name is Luiz, and I would like to thank you for what you did last night. I was afraid that I had lost my little girl forever." Winnie saw Miles jaw clench. "If it wasn't for you three, I would have nothing. Thank you."
He walked up to Winnie, and grabbed her shoulders. Before she could register what was happening, he leaned in and kissed her on both of her cheeks. She blushed madly. Then, he turned to Jesse, and Jesse repressed a look a horror as Luiz did the same to him. When Luiz approached Miles, Miles stuck his hand out, and firmly shook his hand.
Jesse leaned over to Winnie and whispered, "I wish I'd have thought of that." Winnie giggled.
Luiz got back in line, and Miles glanced at Winnie and Jesse, and he nodded his head toward the line. They quickly walked over and stood beside the men at attention. Miles reached behind a hay bale, and brought forth a large sack. He dumped the contents before them, revealing many different guns. Winnie heard someone gasp.
"Lets begin." He said.
Over the next week, Miles worked with the resistance every day; preparing them for when the Nazis would come. He had trained them on how to load and unload the guns, how to shoot, and how to aim. He and Andre had also devised a look out plan, and had trained the men to regularly climb to the top of the Church bell tower with binoculars, and watch out for enemies. The whole village felt the buzz of anticipation, even though nobody but the resistance fighters knew what was going on.
Winnie had trained with the men, but it was decided early on that she would be the head nurse, in the event of an attack, because she had the most experience.
After the week had gone by, Jesse and Winnie began to worry about how much longer they would stay in the village. They knew that they should keep moving, but Miles insisted that the troops still needed training. However, Miles realized that they had worked very hard the past week, and decided that a day's rest would do them good.
"I don't like this one bit Andre!" Cheri whined to Andre, as he threw a grape in the air and caught it in his mouth. "You're gone every day! Doing, who knows what! What about your job!" Winnie and Jesse exchanged an awkward glance, and Andre almost choked on his grape.
"Cheri," he said calmly, "I promise. What I am doing is for the greater good!" Cheri sighed dramatically and Henri giggled.
Suddenly, a commotion arose from the hallway, and Miles and Erik burst into the dining room, their faces red and their shirts covered in sweat stains. They were grinning and laughing.
"Where have you two been!?" Cheri demanded. Erik's smile immediately disappeared, but Miles couldn't seem to contain himself. They sat at the table.
"We were just taking a walk, and we lost track of the time." Miles lied. Erik gave Miles a small smile, but quickly looked down at his plate when Cheri turned to look at him. Suddenly, Cheri gagged.
"Ah! You two stink!! Go take a bath before you come down here again!" They grinned at each other and jumped out of their seats to go wash up. Miles ruffled Henri's hair before he sped out of the room.
Jesse raised an eyebrow, and then leaned toward Winnie. "He never acts like this," he whispered cautiously. Winnie understood what he meant.
"Erik too!" she replied. "I don't think I've ever seen him smile..." They met each others eyes and then said in unison,
"Cheri may we be excused?"
Cheri looked puzzled for a moment, and then nodded her head. She and Jesse quickly grabbed their plates and ran them to the sink. Then, they walked to the main hallway. The house had a washroom downstairs, and they tiptoed towards it.
"What could be going on?" Winnie asked. Jesse shrugged. When they reached the door, they saw that it was open a bit, so they stood beside the door. They heard running water and low voices, and had to strain to listen.
"I did it!" they heard Erik exclaim.
"You sure did." They heard Miles reply. "How did it feel?"
"Amazing! I never thought that I would hit it! I mean actually hit it!"
They heard Miles shush Erik, before he continued.
"Andre will be proud of you."
Jesse and Winnie knew now what they were talking about. All week, Erik had been having trouble firing his gun. He never hit the target, and often would sulk on a hay bale during training.
"Miles must have taken him out to target practice." Jesse whispered to Winnie. The running water stopped, they held their breath.
Suddenly, Miles opened the door and stared at his brother. "Eavesdropping?" he asked. Jesse shook his head.
"No! Just passing by." He and Winnie turned on their heels to walk up the stairs, when Miles tapped Jesse on the shoulder. He leaned in and whispered something to Jesse, which caused Jesse to raise his eyebrow. Then Jesse nodded and he grabbed Winnie's hand and led her up the stairs. Once they climbed the ladder to her room, Winnie turned to him.
"What did Miles tell you?" she asked. He sat on her bed.
"He told me that he wants to talk to us upstairs." he replied. Winnie was about to ask what he meant, when Miles climbed up the ladder. Winnie sat on the bed next to Jesse, and Miles stood before them, running his hand through his hair like Jesse often does.
He sighed. "I think it's about time to go." He finally said. The room became still as everyone thought this over. It pained them to leave because they had grown very fond of the village, but they knew that they had to leave. Before Von Kliest caught up to them, or before somebody found out their secret. Andre was already skeptical of Jesse, whom he had met five years earlier.
Jesse slowly nodded. "When?" he asked. Miles shifted on his feet.
"Tomorrow?" he asked. Winnie's forehead creased with worry.
"What about the resistance?" she asked quietly. "They depend on us." Miles chewed on his cheek.
"I've taught them what I can. They can handle themselves." Winnie still wasn't convinced, but she didn't push the subject anymore.
"So, tomorrow then?' Jesse said. Miles nodded, and Winnie looked at her feet. How were they going to explain to the villagers why they had to go? What will happen when the Nazis come? Will they be prepared?
Miles turned to climb down the ladder, when something caused him to freeze in his tracks. The distinct sound of church bells ringing in the distance floated through the window, and caused Winnie's blood to turn cold. She looked at Jesse and saw the same fear in his eyes.
"They're here." Miles said cautiously.