War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 132

Chapter 16

K

atrina and Richard returned to their usual routine, working the small farm. They had quotas to fill and sell to the Germans, feed themselves, and feed a group of resistance fighters hiding in the woods. Food was never enough, money was always scarce.

But they had each other, and despite the threats of doom hanging over them, they held on to the moments of happiness like holding on to dear life itself. The gift of a wildflower could brighten Katrina’s face and earn Richard a kiss that made his insides melt and stirred his desire for her. As long as a whisper of hope remained, they would not succumb to the drabness of war.

Several days later, a bedraggled Stan staggered into the farmhouse at dusk without saying a word. Katrina led him to the kitchen table and filled his mug with hot herb brew from the stove. He sipped the liquid and stared with blank eyes at the wall.

“What happened? Where’s Jarek? Did you find out about Agnieska?” she asked, full of anxiety, but he wouldn’t answer.

Richard recognized the lethargic, subdued look in Stan’s eyes and feared the worst. He motioned for Katrina to stop asking questions and prepare dinner instead. She had saved meat from two squirrels Richard had trapped the day before, and added a generous portion to the potato and carrot stew on the range. After finishing his food, Stan buried his head in his arms and sobbed. Katrina rushed to his side to cuddle him like a crying baby.

Not wanting to embarrass Stan, Richard snuck out of the kitchen to busy himself in the backyard, herding the hens into the chicken coop for the night. He’d just securely locked the door against human or animal intruders when a high-pitched scream ripped through the silent night.

Richard dashed into the kitchen and saw a distraught Katrina pummeling her fists into Stan’s chest, before she sagged into the armchair by the cold fireplace with puffy eyes.

“Jarek is dead,” Stan explained.

Richard closed the distance and hugged the weeping Katrina, which earned him an ugly stare from her brother, but he couldn’t care less. He held her in his arms, until she stopped crying and wiped her face with the back of her hands.

“What do we do now?” she asked in a low voice.

“Jarek found out that the rumors about closing the ghetto are true. The factories are training forced workers to take over the tasks of the Jews.”

A shiver rolled down Richard’s spine. Like everything in his country, even the extermination of a race had to be done according to a meticulously followed plan. The poor souls were forced to train their replacements before they would be sent to their deaths.

“We need to rescue Agnieska, we owe it to Jarek,” Katrina said between sobs.

“Please don’t act in haste,” Richard advised. “The Ghetto is heavily secured and–”

“Who asked you, German swine?” Stan shouted. “Shut up. It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for your maniac Führer, Jarek would still be alive!”

“Richard is just trying to help.” Katrina burst into tears again.

“Get him out of here, before I strangle the Hun with my bare hands.” Stan stood up with clenched fists. He pierced Richard with his hatred while his body trembled with rage.

Richard raised his hands and backed out of the room. “Hey, calm down. I understand your pain, but I’m not the one who killed your brother.”

“Doesn’t matter. One German is as good as the next to pay for the sins of the many.” Richard preferred not to respond and disappeared upstairs to his room. Much later he heard first Katrina and then Stan go to bed. Then he tiptoed downstairs to use the outhouse in the backyard. When he returned inside, he saw Stan standing in the kitchen with a grim face.

“I want you gone. I won’t stand by and watch how you disgrace my sister,” Stan said.

“I’m not–”

“Do you think me stupid? I see the way you two look at each other. Don’t get up your hopes, bastard.”

Richard felt the anger boil his blood. Stan might be hurt and grieving, he might feel justifiable hate for everything German, but that didn’t give him the right to spew his verbal vomit at Richard’s feet. “Watch out. That’s not your decision to make.”

The next moment Stan’s fist connected with his jaw, and Richard groaned with pain. “Shit,” Richard muttered and let his fists fly. He didn’t think as instinct took over. Instinct and incessant training. An in-close fight man-to-man was the last thing any soldier wanted, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t prepared for it. Over the buzz of adrenaline in his ears, Richard unleashed his pent-up emotions. Guilt, frustration, anger, hopelessness, fear. He embraced the madness and kicked, elbowed, punched, and struck, until he tasted blood.

The metal taste brought him to his senses. Stan wasn’t the enemy. He dodged the next uppercut and yelled, “Stop it, Stan! I love your sister!”

Stan stood perplexed for a second, giving Richard the opportunity to put the large wooden table between the two of them. They circled each other around the table for a minute or two, when a drowsy voice yelled, “Both of you. Stop it now.”

Katrina entered the kitchen, using herself as a human barrier between the brawlers. Richard glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, while he kept his focus on Stan, whose shoulders sagged as a whoosh of air left his lungs.

“Sorry, Kat,” Stan mumbled and made to leave the room.

“You stay.” Her command cut through the room like a knife through butter and both men snapped their heads toward her. For a moment, Richard feared Stan would go berserk against his sister and readied himself to launch at him. Katrina though wasn’t in the least fazed and asked with a stern voice, “What on earth were you fighting about?”

Both of them shrugged, unwilling to tell her the truth.

Katrina waited and when no answer came, she said, “Well then. Don’t tell me. But here’s what I tell you. Both of you. Listen well and if you don’t agree, leave my house–”

“It’s my house, too,” Stan objected.

“Shut up. As long as you have a bounty on your head, this is my house and mine alone. So if you wish to come here, you get along with Richard. Whether you like him or not, I don’t care. But you will show him the respect any human deserves.” She looked at Richard. “Same rules for you. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Richard said with the most serious voice he could muster. She was too cute in her role as head governess scolding two dreadful boys.

“Whatever,” Stan growled and went upstairs, slamming the door to his room.