War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 39

Chapter 13

L

otte watched them until they had disappeared in the dark and then turned to Uwe. “Now what?”

“Come with me,” he answered and set off into the forest.

Lotte followed Uwe deeper and deeper into the trees, crawling up inclines or sliding down ravines, but constantly moving into foreign territory. She soon lost orientation, but every time fear snuck up on her, she glanced at Uwe’s broad shoulders in front of her and felt safe. By now, her new birthday dress was covered in dirt, as were her plimsolls. They turned out to be a blessing, protecting her feet from the sticks and stones that littered the forest floor. Just when she wanted to drop down in exhaustion, Uwe stopped in front of a small hut in a clearing that Lotte had never seen before.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Deep in the woods. No one but my father and I know about this place, so you should be safe here.” His big hands hung loosely from his arms, his face a crooked smile.

He opened the door and lit a candle so that she could step inside. “It’s the best I could come up with.”

“It’s perfect.” Lotte smiled, although she was terrified at spending the night alone out here. Memories of the fairy tales her mother had read her when she was a child assaulted her brain. Hänsel and Gretel. Alone in the woods, tricked by the wicked witch. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Persecuted by the evil stepmother.

Why is the villain in the fairy tales always a woman, when in real life we have to fear the men? Men like Hans, his father, the SS men, Hitler himself.

The sound of Uwe clearing his throat brought her back to the present.

“Thank you for everything, Uwe. I guess you should return before anyone realizes you’re gone.”

“I can’t go back. Who do you think Herr Keller will blame for helping the prisoners escape? Not his men. They were too happy about their catch, talking about recognition and praise.”

Hot and cold shivers ran down her spine as the momentousness of Uwe’s sacrifice dawned on her.

“I…I didn’t want to get anyone in hot water. It’s all my fault.” Tears started slipping from her eyes, but she stubbornly rubbed them off her face.

“It was my own choice. Nobody forced me to help you. Might as well get comfortable for the rest of the night.”

A distinctive tension lingered between them, and for once, Lotte had no quick-witted answer. She looked around the small hut in the dim light of the candle. Huddled in the corner was a straw mattress. She laid it on the floor and plopped down, her hands around her legs, her head buried deep between her knees. Oh, how she wished to rewind time and make things right.

After a while, she sensed Uwe sitting down beside her. Close enough to feel the warmth of his body, but too far to touch.

“I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.”

“You thought I turned you in,” he stated – not a question, just a fact.

“I didn’t know what else to think when I saw you at my aunt’s farm with Hans and his father.” The mention of her aunt threatened to start her tears anew. She sniffed. “You were the only one who knew I’d found the orphans.”

Uwe sighed. “Hans had been following you for a while already. I intercepted him and his father on their way to your aunt’s farm and tagged along, hoping I could somehow warn you.”

“I don’t know that it would have made any difference. Rachel and her siblings were going to leave at midnight anyway.”

A long silence ensued between them until Uwe spoke up again. “Hans had set his eyes on you, and every time you pushed him away, he became more determined to conquer you.”

Lotte shivered at the memory of Hans’ violent kisses. The way she’d felt defenseless and vulnerable in his steely grasp. Her eyes locked with Uwe’s baby blue ones, sending electric tingles rushing through her body. She wondered what it would be like to be kissed by a boy she liked.

She didn’t have to wonder for long. Uwe hesitantly reached out a hand to touch a loose curl, tucking it behind her ear. Instinctively, she leaned towards him until his hand cupped her chin.

“I want to kiss you,” he said.

I want to kiss you too.

Lotte nodded and closed her eyes as his lips met hers. His lips were soft and accommodating, no more than a whiff of sweet touch. After a few seconds, they both drew back, the wonderment on his face mirroring her own emotions.

They settled back on the mattress, putting a few inches between themselves.

Uwe took several breaths and then murmured, “I’m a deserter now.”

“But you weren’t supposed to report for duty until the day after your birthday,” Lotte objected.

“It won’t matter. Apart from that, I’m also on the run for helping five prisoners escape.”

Lotte reached out a hand to put it over his. “They were going to send Rachel and her siblings on a deportation train in the morning.”

“I know. I overheard the mayor talking to Hans. I couldn’t let that happen.” He took a long breath. “My two older brothers died at the front. We have no news from my father…but whenever one of them was on furlough, their eyes would tell the truth. They never explicitly told me, but I put two and two together. After the

Wehrmacht

has occupied a town, the SS is sent in…” Uwe’s voice creaked. “Having witnessed firsthand the cruelties Hans’ father and his SS friends have committed, it wasn’t difficult to imagine. I used to like the Nazis and thought Hitler was doing good things for Germany. That the war was a necessary evil, but now… I hate the atrocious things they do.”

Lotte opened her mouth, but he anticipated her question and shook his head. “Don’t ask because I won’t tell you. The SS like to boast about the inhumane things they do. It makes me sick.”

She nodded, and silence filled the small hut once again. After several long moments, she spoke quietly, “I’m sorry about your brothers. We haven’t heard from either my father or my brother in almost a year. Nobody seems to know where they are, or if they are even still alive. For all I know, they might be prisoners of war in Russia.”

“Is that where they were sent? The Russian front?” Uwe asked and wrapped an arm around her shoulders when she started to sob. “Shush, try to get some sleep. We’ll figure things out in the morning. Close your eyes and rest.”

Lotte believed she would never be able to sleep in her life again, but the security of his arm around her shoulders and his voice providing comfort soothed her into an exhausted slumber. Already dreaming, she sensed how he laid her down on the mattress and snuggled up beside her.