War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 202

Chapter 16: Stan

I

mpenetrable fog clouded his vision. Voices reached his ears but he couldn’t make out the words. Straining his ears, he recognized his brother’s voice and a woman. The nurse.

Piotr’s wife

.

She’d come to take his brother to Berlin. He wanted to scream, tell them to stay. But at the same time he knew it was selfish. His leg wasn’t getting any better and at the rate his condition was worsening he’d be dead before Christmas.

He wasn’t afraid. The past five years with the partisans in Poland had taught him to cope with the fear. It came, washed over him and settled deep down in his stomach, reminding him to be alert. Keeping him on his toes and never letting him feel invincible. The fear had often been his lifesaver, and had prevented him from becoming reckless.

Now he was past fear. There was nothing he could do. Death wasn’t something he was afraid of, not anymore. Jarek waited for him on the other side, his parents, and so many of his friends.

Piotr and…Anna. They were talking about him. She was crying. He could hear the sadness in her voice. What had happened?

The fog thinned out. Two shapes at his bed. Two men. Where had the nurse gone?

“Stan? Are you alright?” Peter asked with barely concealed worry in his tone.

Alright? Here? Now?

He couldn’t form words. He couldn’t even move his head to nod. So he batted his eyelids to signal that he’d heard.

“Thank God. I’m so sorry. It was my fault, I shouldn’t have...”

Where was Anna? And why was Piotr still here? Who was the other person?

“Your brother saved your life with a blood transfusion,” the Polish doctor said.

A

blood transfusion?

In a

prison camp

? He must be hallucinating. This wasn’t possible.

“You can stay here until the morning,” the doctor said. “Keep him warm. If he’s still alive in the morning, he might just survive.”

“Stan. I’m sorry. I won’t ever leave your side. I’ll stay here and take care of you,” Peter said.

Stan slowly moved his head, blinking several times to clear the haze. It was only the two of them. The doctor had left. He cleared his throat, but still no sound came out. Peter put a cup of water to his lips. After a few sips he cleared his throat again.

“Why are you still here?” he whispered.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“That’s stupid. Go after her and tell her you changed your mind. You won’t be able to save me, but you can at least save yourself.”

“That’s where you are wrong.” Peter cast him a grim stare. “We’re both going to survive this bloody war.”

Stan made an attempt to protest his brother’s stupidity but he was too weak to even shake his head. Seeing the stubborn glint in Peter’s eyes he knew there was nothing he could say to change his mind anyway.

“Thanks, man.” He closed his eyes, determined to prove his brother right and survive.

When he woke up in the morning, Peter lay crouched by his side and a warm feeling spread through his body.

I’m a lucky bastard

. Just looking at his brother gave him a sliver of hope.

Moments later, Bartosz sneaked into the hospital barracks. “Hey, here you are. The nurse is back. I heard rumors she’s taking some famous prisoner to Berlin. A cousin of Stanisław Mikołajczyk.”

“Our prime minister? You sure? If one of the lads were his cousin, we’d know.” Peter rubbed his beard.

“Yes, that’s what’s kinda strange. But they seem convinced he’s someone super-important and will take him to Berlin with them.”

Stan looked from one man to the other. This kind of action was highly unusual. At least he’d never heard about such things happening. But if this Polish prisoner really belonged to the upper crust, the Nazis might want to keep him separate from the rest.

They grew silent, each one alone with his thoughts, when the door flew open and Anna entered the room with a man in SS uniform in tow. Stan could barely hold back a gasp, glancing at Peter and Bartosz, who seemed as surprised as he was.

“What does she want here?” Peter whispered.

“No idea. But we need to leave for roll call,” Bartosz answered.

“Go. I’m not going anywhere.” Stan waved them both off, trying to make it sound like a joke for their benefit, but inside, he was sure that his time was running out fast.