CHAPTER NINETEEN
“HAVE YOU ANY IDEA what you’ve done?” Eli Marsden’s eyes flashed like lightning waiting to strike Jack down with angry bolts. He stood a head shorter than Jack, but his indignant stare was enough to make the young man stare at the floor boards. Grace stood outside of the study as Eli roared, feeling sorry for Jack. In some ways, it was her fault.
“I’m sorry, Eli,” Jack said with uncharacteristic meekness. “But there wasn’t another way to convince her.”
“That is not the point!” The elder stood right before him and pointed a finger right at Jack’s face. “You put her life in danger. Oh, your heart was in the right place, and I’ll admit, it probably saved a lot of time and discussion, but if anything had happened to her…Well, it would have all been for naught, wouldn’t it?”
Jack continued to hang his head. “Yes, Sir.”
For a good five seconds, Eli glowered at him and held his gaze in a vise grip.
Finally, he waved his hand. “Ah, whatever the case, she is safe now. But you must not be so reckless, especially with Grace’s safety. More rests upon her than you even know. Do I make myself clear?”
Jack nodded. After an appropriate pause, he said, “Eli, the tunnel and tower have been compromised.”
“You didn’t—?”
Jack proceeded to report the details of their escape from the guards. “It was the only way to get there safely. But they now know about the tunnel.”
Eli threw his hands up. “And now they’ll be searching out all of them. It won’t be long before they uncover our entire network.”
“I’m sorry,” Jack said, not so much out of fear of Eli’s ire, but that he’d disappointed him.
Finally, the elder’s countenance softened, as did his tone. He placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder, gripped it and gave it a shake. “You have the courage of a great warrior, Jack. Temper it with discretion.”
“Now, go on. Get some rest.”
Jack stepped out of the study and vanished into the hallway.
“Grace, won’t you please come in?” Eli said, his firm voice booming enough to intimidate, if not for its palpable warmth.
“Don’t be too hard on him,” she said, “It wasn’t completely his fault.”
Eli sat and waved her over to sit in the chair opposite him. “Not to worry, Jack’s suffered much worse than a scolding from an old man.”
She sank into the sofa, the tension ebbing from her mind. “He respects you. I can tell.”
“He’s a good boy, that one. Just needs to think before acting, sometimes. Though, he does accomplish things few people even dare attempt.”
“He almost died protecting me in that tunnel.”
He fixed a solemn pair of eyes on her. “He almost got you killed.”
“But the important thing is that I survived. And I saw it—the Belegshaft—for what it really is.
Steepling his fingers under his nose, the old sage shut his eyes, his lips moving silently in prayer.
After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked straight at her. “Do you understand now?”
“I’m beginning to,” Grace said. “What I don’t understand is why it was so important, why anyone went through such pains to reveal these horrendous truths to me. I’m just one person, what could I possibly do?”
“Do not despise the days of small beginnings, my dear. Sometimes it just takes one person to stand up and face the giants. That person need not be a giant herself, she only need know from where her strength comes.”
“I remember a story like that—The Shepherd King¸he called it. Miles read it to me from a secret book.”
“That secret book is called the Tanakh, or the Bible—the holy text of Jews and Christians. Its main subject is about liberation, courage, and the triumph over evil and death itself.” He lowered his chin and gazed out over the gold rims of his spectacles. “You can see why such texts would be considered dangerous by the Nazi party. They are viewed as subversive, revolutionary.”
“But that shepherd boy had the power of the Almighty behind him, when he defeated the giant. He was destined to win, destined to rule.”
“Exactly.” Eli smiled.
It took a moment to register what he was implying. “But I don’t even know who I really am, much less what I’m destined for.”
“There is a prophecy—You do believe in prophecies, don’t you?”
She laughed to cover her uncertainty. “Now you’re patronizing me.”
“Oh, I understand. Even among our own people, there are those who don’t believe. They call it anything from a fable or folklore, to a prediction. But I know…it is an actual prophecy.”
“Isn’t it just a childish fantasy?”
“Not in this case.” Eli clasped his hands together and shook them slightly. “Your very presence here is proof.”
Grace furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”
“Your whole life you’ve been lied to—a fact that you are just now realizing. But it goes far deeper than that. The truth about the empire and how this dark regime came into power would make anyone with a heart cringe.”
A shiver crawled up her spine like a spider.
The dreadful genocidal images from the archives returned. The bodies, the people she had called Mother and Father standing over them. It had cost Freidrich his life, nearly cost her own. And Mother had died protecting her from the consequences of that discovery. “I’ve seen pictures.”
“Oh, it’s far worse than any pictures you’ve seen. America was never liberated, quite the contrary. Nazis from Germany unleashed a horrendous nuclear weapon and conquered this country when the entire world was at war. As they took over and established a new government, they crushed any who dared stand against them. They literally rewrote the history books such that future generations—such as yours—would know nothing of their atrocities. But you’ve seen…and now, you have the most dangerous weapon of all.”
“What weapon is that?”
“The truth.”
Understanding rushed in like a flood. Questions, inclinations, and suspicions coalesced. She was waking from a nightmare, only to find reality to be much more horrific.
“My dear Grace,” Eli said. “Try to understand. They have worked to deconstruct everything that makes us human, our very existence. They rule with an iron fist and only continue to increase their power. The Empire will destroy us all if we let it—not just with bombs, guns, and gas chambers, but by crushing the human spirit.”
All her life, she had been taught to be a role model, an exemplary citizen and a good Nazi. Indeed, people throughout the Aryan States admired her virtue and loyalty to the state and to the Empire. Now, she knew: It had all been a lie. “But…I’m just a girl.”
“You’re so much more than you realize.”
“I don’t think so.”
“As a man—or woman—thinketh in his heart, so he is. The question isn’t if you can, but if you will help stop this. If you don’t fulfill the prophecy, then perhaps another will rise in your place. But we believe you were born for such a time as this.” He stood, and smiled warmly. “Now more than ever, I am convinced. You are the one the prophecy foretold would liberate the people—Jews, Christians, Muslims, Blacks, Asians, artists, disabled, Americans who remember and refuse to submit…anyone the Nazis deem sub-human.”
She sat and sank back into the couch, her mind adrift in a sea of thought and wonder. “Me?”
Eli took a deep breath and appeared pensive as he considered his words. “You are destined to lead us all out of bondage, Grace. You need only be willing.”
“No, this is a mistake. The only reason I’m alive is because of Miles and Jack. I wasn’t leading them anywhere, they were leading me.” She put her hand on her head as it began to spin. “Besides, I haven’t what it takes to confront the Führer’s forces.”
“I believe you have more within yourself than you realize.” Eli turned and walked across the room. “We will help prepare you, if you are willing.”
It would take more time for her to fully grasp the entirety of all she’d just learned, and all the hope they’d put in her. But Eli’s words rang of truth that surpassed her reasoning and rationalizations. And for some reason—not just because Miles and Jack had put their confidence in this man—she wanted to trust him.
Grace stood tall, and nodded. “I’m willing.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
It had been nearly eight days since she fled the palace, yet it felt much longer. In that short span, her life had been reoriented around a new understanding of reality—one that angered and sickened her all at once. How could her nation, the entire empire have kept the truth from so many, for so long? And how could such cruelty, such horrendous treatment of human beings be so easily perpetrated? Having witnessed what she had, Grace wondered if she could ever believe in humanity again.
But at the same time, the people in this safe house had accepted her—though she had always represented the very people who they opposed. The honor and affection they showed her, an outcast, was beyond comprehension. And she had come to see Eli like a grandfather—unconditionally loving, wise, and kind.
Would that she could simply live here the rest of her life, in the tranquil embrace of this community.
The government would never suspect. The people here were legitimate citizens, farmers and gentle folk except, of course for Eli—who always remained hidden if visitors or state officials came by. They were all ordinary people whom none would ever suspect to be sympathizers of Infekts and rebels.
A knock came on the door and startled her.
“Rise and shine.” It was Eli. “We’ve got a lot to cover today.”
“Coming!” She stumbled out of bed and dressed into the athletic gear provided. She tied her hair into a ponytail and exited the room.
Striding down the hallway, she gazed at the walls left purposefully stark. If the SS ever raided this place, there would be no clue or indication that its occupants were rebel sympathizers. She slid her hands along the wall as she approached the light emanating from a room ten meters away. She turned the corner and walked into a dining room filled with people crowded around a farmhouse table.
“Have a seat, Grace,” Miles said as soon as he noticed her.
Before she could look around for one, several young men offered theirs, vying for the honor.
“Thank you,” Grace said to one whose chair she accepted.
Miles and Jack sat across from her.
Jack gave her a lopsided smile which, though somewhat unrefined, struck her as charming. “Are you ready for today?”
“Are you?”
“I’m always ready, Princess.”
“I’ll bet you are.” Grace smiled and thanked a girl who slid a plate of pancakes in front of her. She then turned to Miles. “What do you suppose is going to happen?”
“Chaos.”
“Because of that visit to the Belegshaft, or because I left home?”
“You didn’t just leave, Grace. You joined the resistance.”
“Frankly, I’m surprised the SS hasn’t found and raided this place yet,” Jack said.
“Schroeder’s a methodical bastard,” Miles said. “If there’s any delay, it’s strategic. It’s only a matter of time”
Grace poured a bit of syrup and watched it spread across the top of her food. It inched across the top of the pancakes until it enveloped all of them. Staring at her plate, she wondered when exactly that had happened. “That doesn’t bode well. Shouldn’t we be moving along?”
“As soon as we can,” Jack said. “We’re making arrangements for safe passage. But until it’s secured, this is the safest place for you.”
“I suppose,” she sighed.
“You’re not thinking about going back, are you?” Jack plunged his fork into the halved hardboiled egg on her plate, and stuffed it in his mouth. “You gonna eat that?”
“Help yourself,” she replied, giving him a dubious look from the corner of her eye.
“By this time, the Führer’s probably facing some pressure to deliver our heads to the Kaiser on a platter. I’m afraid you’re stuck with us.”
She picked at her food but didn’t actually feel like eating. “It wasn’t as if I had a choice. He was going to have me…” For some reason, she couldn’t form the word “executed.”
Jack chewed, swallowed, and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Then you were already with us before you left.”
“Eat up, Grace,” Miles said. “You’re going to need all the strength you can muster today.”
#
SHE HAD RUN before, as part of her physical education courses, but never under such harsh conditions. The merciless sun beat down on her, baking the back of her arms and neck, until she, Jack, and Miles came upon a heavily wooded part of the field.
Jack handed her a canteen. “Last thing you want is to dehydrate out here.”
She took the canteen, opened it and poured a mouthful until it spilled out of her lips quicker than she could drink it. Wiping her face with the back of her hand, Grace leaned forward, nearly doubled over. “Is all this really necessary? I mean, you guys are the fighters, right?”
“That was just the first two miles,” Jack said, standing tall with a heavy backpack, yet hardly fazed by all the physical exertion.
Catching his breath, Miles looked into the woods and up the hill, which was more like a mountain in Grace’s eyes. “There’s no telling how dire things will get, now that you’re a rebel. So when it all hits the fan, there won’t be any other time to train.”
“I never thought I’d live to see the day that someone called me a rebel.” She straightened up, and stared at the steep hill, then turned to Jack. “What other kind of training will there be?”
He snatched the canteen from her and stowed it. Then to Miles, he said, “Honestly? I don’t think she can handle it.”
Miles shrugged. “She made it this far.”
“Hello?” Grace said, throwing her hands up. “I’m right here.”
Jack shook his head. “I mean, she’s just a kid.”
“I’m going to be eighteen next week!” Grace said.
“Wasn’t that long ago you were that age,” Miles said to Jack.
“There’s a big difference between twenty-one and eighteen.”
As the two men continued to argue, Grace could not get a word in. It was as though they were denying her very existence. She found it increasingly frustrating, but what really bothered her was that they were acting just like Hans Drexler—the Führer—back when she considered him her father. As if none of the choices that directly affected her, were hers to make.
“You don’t want to force this upon her,” Jack said. “She’s lived a soft life of privilege. It wouldn’t be fair to her.”
“Maybe so, but I still think—”
“HEY!” Her voice resounded through the hills. Jack and Miles stopped and turned to find her glaring at them both.
“First of all,” Grace said, “Neither of you bothered asking me what I thought.”
Jack smiled. “Now, Princess—”
“Second: If I am destined to lead an entire nation to freedom, you’re going to have to let me start making my own decisions.”
“Please, Grace,” Miles started, “Don’t be offend—”
“And lastly: What in the world are we going to train for up there, anyway?”
#
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, after a five kilometer hike uphill, Grace found herself strapped into a zip line, with no other protection than her clothes and her dignity.
Actually, not even her dignity.
She let out a blood-curdling scream as her entire body raced from the top of the hill, through the trees, and down toward an open field. “I’m going to kill you, Jaaaaack!”
#
FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS, Grace glowered at Jack every time she saw him. In truth, she had rather enjoyed the challenges that pushed her limits, and increased her capacity for stress, both physical and psychological.
In the days following, they added to the fitness and strength training, practice in firearms, martial arts, self-defense, and outdoor survival.
Everyone–not the least of whom, Grace—marveled at how quickly she became proficient. If Jack had been impressed, however, he never let on. The closest thing to a compliment he ever paid her was, “Getting better.”
He’d told her to meet him with Miles tonight at the summit of Wolf’s Head, where the half-moon shone feebly through gossamer clouds. This was to be—according to Jack—the most challenging part of her training.
“Any idea what it’s going to be?” Grace asked Miles, as they passed the tall black pine where they were to rendezvous with Jack.
“It’s best he explain it to you,” he said, uncharacteristically somber.
“Is something wrong?”
He shook his head and continued walking.
After a few more steps they came to the clearing.
No one was there.
Grace thought for sure he would be waiting; he was always early and never late. “He did say 21:30, didn’t he?”
“I believe he did,” Miles replied.
From behind them, a twig snapped.
“What if the SS had followed you?” Jack said to Grace, emerging from the shadows. “You think the Schutzstaffel would just step up, bow and announce themselves, like they used to?”
“I was expecting you,” she said, annoyed that he kept bringing up her ‘privileged’ background which, as was the case with her entire life heretofore, had been no choice of her own. Still, he was right. She should have been more careful. “Besides, if it was the SS, you’d save me, wouldn’t you?”
Jack grumbled and came around in front of her. “You’ve proven yourself capable in many ways, Grace. But there’s one area that you can never fully prepare yourself for.”
“And that’s why we’re here.”
He nodded over to Miles, who pulled a gun out of its holster.
Grace eyed it with suspicion. “More target practice?”
Jack took the gun, stepped back, inserted a magazine, and chambered a round. When he was done, he placed it in Grace’s hand, then started walking toward the black pine.
“What am I shooting?” she said.
With his back pressed up against the tree trunk, he said, “Me.”
Grace blinked and laughed before she even thought about it. “You’re joking.”
Jack didn’t answer, nor did he budge. That mischievous grin she’d grown to expect never surfaced. He just stood there, his countenance cold as the night.
“Miles?” Grace said, suddenly apprehensive.
Jack sighed in frustration. “Listen, Princess. It’s loaded with rubber bullets, all right? The point was to see if you had the nerve to actually look someone in the eye, and shoot them.”
“Rubber bullets?”
“Clearly, I overestimated you. Come on, Miles. Let’s—”
CRACK!
The gunshot ripped through the air.
Startled birds flew off in a frantic flutter.
That’ll show him just how much nerve I have.
As the smoke cleared Grace stood tall, pleased with herself.
Until Jack slumped and fell on the ground at the foot of the tree.
“Jack!” She dropped the gun and ran over to him. “I thought they were rubber bullets! Can they kill?”
“I don’t know,” Miles said. “I didn’t think so.”
When she arrived, she fell to her knees, unzipped his jacket, and searched for a mortal wound, her hands running over his ridged abdomen, chest, and shoulders.
Then, he groaned.
“Jack?”
“I would think you’d at least take me to dinner first.” His eyes barely opened, but a tiny smile at the corner of his mouth broke through the grimacing pain.
“What?” Grace didn’t know if she was going to laugh or cry in relief, or beat this dolt over the head. “You’re simply horrid!” With an open palm, she thumped him in the center of his chest.
“Ow! That’s where you shot me.”
“Serves you right!” She stood and straightened up. Relieved and incensed, she marched back over to Miles.
“You could have at least given me some warning.” Jack got to his feet. “What if you missed and hit me in the eye?”
“Do you think the Schutzstaffel is going to give you any warning before they shoot at you?”
“Well, that’s—”
“And I hit you right where I meant to. Be thankful it wasn’t half a meter lower.” She turned to Miles. “So, what do you think?”
He flashed her smile. “I’d say you passed, Grace.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
A FRIGHTENED CRY FILLED the house, the moment Eli Marsden’s body hit the floor. The old farmer was hiding something, Sergeant Baum knew it. “I want this place turned upside down,” Baum said. “No one leaves until we’ve torn it apart.”
Baum picked up his phone and called Director Schroeder. “We’ve found the safe house.”
“What about Grace?” Schroeder said, impatiently.
“No sign of her yet. But there are more people here. We’ll find her.”
“I’ll be there shortly.”
#
THIRTY MINUTES LATER, Schroeder walked through the door of the safe house. He removed his gloves and stepped over the old Jew’s body, identified as one Eli Marsden. Schroeder knelt down and raked his index finger through the blood spattered on the wall. Slowly, he raised his finger to his nose and sniffed.
Then he wiped his finger off on Marsden’s shirt. “Nothing quite like the fresh blood of an Infekt.”
Schroeder stood up and roamed the house until he found Baum. “The girl?”
“Not yet, sir. But we did find these Infekts huddled behind a false wall.”
“I’ll take it from here.” Schroeder motioned for him to leave. He shut the door and began to inspect the prisoners.
He paced back and forth before the people bound in front of him. Two young teenagers—a boy and a girl—and two elderly women, huddled tight, their heads hung low.
“What are your names?” Schroeder said, with as congenial a tone as he could affect.
Not a sound. Only the girl’s sniffling laced the silence.
“Oh, come now. This isn’t a trick question. Once again: What are your names?”
Complete silence.
Schroeder fired a few shots into the air, adorning the ceiling with three gaping holes.
The boy called out. “All right!” he stammered, head still down. “Just don’t hurt them!”
“Look at me, young man,” Schroeder said, his voice now cold as it was menacing. “Tell. Me. Your. Names.”
The boy looked up. “I’m David, and this is Esther. And those ladies are Mary and Celia. We don’t want any trouble.”
Schroeder knelt down, pulled his hand back and smacked the boy in the face with his glove. “I am not interested in what you want, Infekt.”
He stood and glared at David, leaning into the huddle.
“Now, I only have one more question for you. You’d best answer the first time, or there will be grave consequences. Where did Grace Drexler go?”
Not a sound, save the nervous crying of the girl from the cluster of prisoners.
“Last chance,” Schroeder said.
Still nothing.
Schroeder pulled out his pistol, aimed it at one of the elderly women, and squeezed the trigger.
The bullet ripped through her skull.
She collapsed to the floor amidst the hysterical screams of the others, a crimson puddle expanding around her head.
Schroeder spoke calmly, with a pleasant smile, “Sehr gut, who’s next?”
“Please,” David said. “We don’t know anything about Grace.”
“I’m sorry, wrong answer.” He fired another bullet at the second elderly woman. Her body fell on top of the other lady.
Schroeder paced slowly around the room. “Well now, this has become an unexpectedly amusing game of ‘Who’s Going to Talk and Who’s Going to Die?’”
Unable to control herself, Esther wailed, heaving as she sobbed. Her cries filled the room.
“So, Infekt. Where is Grace? You’ve got three seconds or Esther is next. One…two…”
David threw his hands up. “Okay, okay! I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
“Much better. Now was that so hard?”
The boy shook his head tightly.
“Where is she?”
“Th…There’s a stairwell underneath this room. It leads to a tunnel that goes beneath the wall. That’s where they went.”
“And where exactly is this stairwell?”
The boy scooted forward a few feet and looked up at Schroeder. “Right behind me.”
Schroeder leaned over the top of the boy and found a handle attached to the floor. He tugged on it and it pulled upward.
“Get in here now!” Schroeder yelled to his men. Then he returned his gaze to David. “Very good, Kleine.”
Several guards stormed into the room. Schroeder regarded them with a snarl. “They left through this tunnel. Find them, and don’t return without Grace.”
They acknowledged and descended into the passageway immediately.
Schroeder scowled at David. “You Infekt rebels are so weak-minded. No principles, just a hollow cause.” He pulled his gun out and trained it on the youth’s forehead.
To Schroeder’s surprise the young man didn’t cower. Instead, he held his head high, stared right back into his eyes, and scoffed.
He had to grudgingly admit to some perverse admiration for this boy’s brash courage. “Something about a gun to your head amuses you, Infekt?”
“No.” His smile became a clenched jaw. He looked back to Esther, whose eyes met his. Then, with a tear rolling down his cheek, he sneered at Schroeder. “It’s just that your days are numbered.”
Schroeder laughed heartily. “Is that right? Well, yours have run out. So, how does it feel, knowing that you will die having betrayed your own people?”
David gritted his teeth. “Why don’t you tell me?” He then pulled a small device out of his pocket.
Schroeder emptied his clip into the two teenagers before him.
But not before David pressed a small button.
Immediately, an explosion rocked the house and the entire property grounds.
The floor splintered.
A pile of falling debris and rubble came down over Schroeder.
Flames lapped skyward in the early morning air.
Within seconds, the entire structure collapsed.
To be continued...
-------------------------------
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