War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 60

Chapter 5

“F

räulein Klausen, have you met everyone?” The professor waved an arm to encompass the members of their small group.

“No, I’m sorry, I have not.” Anna shook her head.

The professor clucked his tongue and immediately set about introducing her to several high-ranking Nazi officials and their wives, and everyone was nice to her. As the evening wore on, her earlier worries about being underdressed – which she clearly was – faded into the background and she enjoyed mingling among the guests. The luxurious attire and sparkling beauty of the guests in attendance were such a welcome respite from the walking dead she had to deal with on a daily basis.

She bit into a delicious hors d’oeuvre and wondered when she’d last seen such an abundance of food. For some people, rationing didn’t seem to exist. She overheard the wife of a general complain about the recent lack of oranges.

Recent? I haven’t seen an orange in years

.

Several times throughout the evening she had the chance to converse with Professor Scherer, and he was clearly flattered by her interest in and understanding of his research.

Late in the evening another guest made his appearance. Anna found her eyes continually drawn to him and wondered why nobody else took notice. Despite his nondescript black suit his presence filled the room, and a readiness lurked in his eyes that said he meant trouble with a capital T.

The man had the build of a wrestler: tall, broad shoulders, strong neck, and hands at least double the size of hers. His dirty blond hair was cut into a military short style, giving him a dangerous look emphasized by his dark beard and mustache. When he caught her staring into his glacial blue eyes, heat broke out in her body. His glance transfixed her and she had the disconcerting thought that he saw right through her carefully administered façade.

“Wolf!” The professor’s voice pulled the man to attention.

“Yes, sir?”

“Have you seen that the automobile is ready?” the professor asked and the man nodded.

“Who is that?” Anna asked one of the women standing beside her eating canapés at a high table.

“Who?” the woman, clad in a royal blue evening gown and a sparkling diamond necklace, asked.

“The man talking to Professor Scherer.”

“Ahh…that’s Peter Wolf, his right-hand man. He acts as driver, assistant, and security guard.”

Anna nodded, wishing to come up with something else to ask, but her mind drew a blank. The women didn’t skip a beat, and continued their previous conversation as if the man truly didn’t exist.

Doesn’t anyone see how dangerous he is?

Peter Wolf lingered at the professor’s side, seemingly not taking part in the conversation. But every time Anna hazarded a glance his way, she noticed him listening intently. Studying. The few times their glances met, she felt like a lightning bolt seared through her. This Peter Wolf was indeed a disconcerting man.

Doctor Tretter sent her a dark stare from across the room and she hurried to his side, hiding a yawn.

“Fräulein Klausen, you look tired. Let me have my driver bring you home,” the professor offered.

A rush of excitement coursed through her veins, but Anna knew better than to take him up on his offer. She shook her head saying, “That is very kind of you Professor Scherer, but Doctor Tretter will deliver me back home in due time.”

“I was about to suggest to Nurse Anna that we should bid our goodbyes, since she needs to be at her work before dawn,” T the devil said with a hidden glint in his eyes. Anna’s stomach flipped over in fear. “Professor, thank you for a lovely evening.”

“It’s been my pleasure. We will be in touch about your conclusion in the gangrene research.” Then Professor Scherer turned to Anna and kissed the back of her hand once again. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Fräulein Klausen. I could use someone like you on my scientific team.”

“Don’t you have enough nurses at university clinic to care for the health of you and your team?” someone asked, and the entire group laughed at the joke.

Anna didn’t let the ridicule bother her and answered nonchalantly, “It would be an honor working for a renowned scientist like you, Professor.”

On the drive back, a tense silence crackled inside the car. Doctor Tretter cursed a few times as the automobile skidded on the dark and icy road. The dim reflections of the moon and stars in the snow provided the only source of light. Wafting wisps of mist doused the landscape with eerie shadows.

While T the devil focused on the road, Anna clung to Professor Scherer’s words to fill her soul with hope for a better future. It didn’t matter whether he’d merely been polite or had really meant it. His compliments shone a ray of light on her otherwise dark existence.

Doctor Tretter drove past the nurse’s dormitory and parked in front of his building. From the outside, both buildings looked the same, but of course the living quarters of the ranking officials consisted of more than a single room with a shared bath.

Anna sighed, every muscle tensing with dread.

He would rape her tonight again.

For a few hours she had forgotten about this perpetual nightmare, and even deluded herself that she could get away from all of this. But now, she followed him into his living quarters, hung her greatcoat on the coatrack, and put her purse, gloves, and hat on the table in the living room. Hugging herself to keep her arms from shaking, she stood there waiting for his orders. Doctor Tretter strode into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of wine, before he returned to look at her.

“You’ve been good tonight, Anna. The professor was quite smitten with you, and this will surely help me in my quest to receive the professorship at the Charité. So now it’s my turn to be

good

to you.” His greedy leer made her toenails curl. Anna didn’t know what was worse, when he showered her with all his sadistic cruelty, or when he was intent on making her

enjoy

the abuse. “Now get undressed, and wait for me in bed while I finish my wine.”

Anna nodded and crossed the sitting room. She hesitated a split second, but the feeling of T the devil’s stare boring into her back made her cross the threshold to the room where she’d endured the most awful ordeals.

Tonight would be no different.

Anna’s soul left her body, and she returned to the soirée and the delightful conversations with Professor Scherer.

I could use someone like you

. She smiled and thought about all the possibilities and the hope the professor had planted in her heart and mind. Her mind engaged in a vivid dispute with him about the latest research into bacteria and possible anti-bacteria, and she burned with pride as he praised her for her good work.

“That was good, wasn’t it?” Doctor Tretter’s voice and a painful pinch into the delicate skin of her breast interrupted the dream. She didn’t remember him coming into the bedroom, and she certainly didn’t remember what he’d done to her body. She nodded to avoid further correction.

“Now get dressed and get out of here.” He rolled to his side and started snoring within moments.

Anna stirred herself back to the present and pushed herself up on the bed, holding back the moan of pain that threatened to escape her mouth.

The man is a monster, and yet I let him rape me day after day.

For a fleeting moment, she considered stabbing a knife into his carotid artery, but she couldn’t do it. She wasn’t a cold-blooded murderer.

Several minutes later she slipped out of his apartment and hurried to her own room on the other side of the yard. This late at night, the entire camp was silent. Silent enough for one to ignore its mere existence. To pretend that the living nightmare wasn’t real. That thousands of prisoners didn’t suffer every day. That the annihilation of entire groups of the population was just a morbid notion.

But it

was

real.

And she knew it. And in the morning she had to face it all over again. She wasn’t the driving force of the machinery, but she still played her part as cog in the wheel, and that weighed on her conscience.

Anna wept tears of regret, wishing she could flush out the guilt that lingered over what she’d become. She eyed the phone and considered calling Ursula to share the brighter events of the evening with her. But it was way past midnight, and if Ursula wasn’t working, she would be fast asleep.

No, it was better to kindle the flame of hope within her heart, and not risk having it ripped apart by sharing it with another person.