War Girls Complete Collection Chapter 81

Chapter 26

P

rofessor Scherer received the

Kriegsverdienstkreuz

for his outstanding merits in the war effort. The Cross of Merit was the highest award a civilian could receive. To honor the work of his research team, he invited the entire staff to a small celebration in the auditorium.

Anna sneaked into the room after everyone else, because she’d wanted to finish her calculations. Professor Scherer had almost finished his acceptance speech, thanking everyone on the team.

“…will assume the professorship in internal medicine by the end of this month. Please welcome him to our team.” The position had been vacant for a few months and as far as Anna knew there had been a number of applicants.

She weaved her way through the crowd to congratulate Professor Scherer, and give the new professor a warm welcome. But she froze in her tracks, and felt the blood drain from her face when she recognized the man standing beside Professor Scherer.

Professor Scherer noticed her before she could slip back into the crowd and motioned her forward saying, “Doctor Tretter, you remember Fräulein Klausen? She’s my head of bacterial research, and may I say she’s one of the best students I’ve ever had.”

“Nurse Anna. It’s a pleasure to see you again.” Doctor Tretter shook her hand with a repugnant smile.

Anna’s knees became soft as jelly, and the bile rose in her throat as she stared at his hand grasping hers. The image of sticking a knife deep into his hand brought some relief, and she found the strength to breathe again. She withdrew her hand and turned towards the professor saying, “Congratulations for being awarded the Cross of Merit.”

“Thank you, Fräulein Klausen, but I could not have had this success without my team.”

She smiled and stepped aside to let others congratulate him. But Doctor Tretter wouldn’t let her go that easily. He followed her and grabbed her arm, leering at her. “It’s been a while. I’ve missed the fun we had together. I look forward to catching up.”

Anna curled her hands into fists, fear moving like molasses through her veins, as the memories of his past torment assailed her. She shook her head and backed away, her eyes wide with terror and her heart missing a beat or two.

When she hit the wall, she put a hand out to ward him off. “St…stay…away from…me.”

“Oh, I don’t see that happening. Do you? You haven’t forgotten that it takes only one word from me to have you executed?”

Anna couldn’t move. Panic held her rigid with an iron grip and paralyzed her body. When she didn’t answer, he continued, “Perhaps you should give me a tour of the facility. I’m sure we can find an unused room for a few minutes.”

She blinked, hoping he’d disappear. But this wasn’t one of her harrowing nightmares; it was T the devil in the flesh. Anna knew without a shadow of doubt if she gave into his demands today, he would control her forever. She wouldn’t survive if he raped her again. No, she couldn’t allow that to happen.

“Anna, here you are,” Peter said, appearing out of nowhere, registering the situation with a single glance. “I need to talk to you.” Then he sent a menacing stare at Doctor Tretter, who showed no intention of letting her go. “Please excuse us.”

Anna ducked around Doctor Tretter, ignoring his threatening glance, and made straight for Peter, who ushered her into the hallway grinding his jaw. “What was that all about? Are you alright?”

“I am now, thanks to you.” Anna sent him a small smile. This wasn’t the place or time to reveal her secret, so she said, “Walk me back to my laboratory?”

“You’re not staying for the celebration?” Peter asked.

Anna shook her head. “I already congratulated the professor and I have several experiments going that need my attention now.”

“I’ll walk you over.” He took her hand and they walked in silence, the ghost of Doctor Tretter hovering between them. Anna knew she should tell Peter, but right now she was too agitated to hold a conversation.

She leaned against Peter and kissed him. “You should get back to the celebration, or the professor will be wondering about your whereabouts.”

“I’d rather stay…”

“Peter, we both have our work to do and I can take care of myself,” she said, although she wasn’t sure if she could. Not if T the devil showed up again.

“I’ll kill him if he ever touches you again,” Peter growled, and by the look in his eyes she knew it wasn’t an empty threat.

“He won’t.” Anna exuded a confidence she didn’t have, and turned to walk into the vacant laboratory with a queasy feeling in her stomach. But she couldn’t let Peter get involved in this. His situation was dangerous enough as it was; he didn’t need the added risk of dealing with someone as perfidious as Doctor Tretter.

A half an hour later her hopes were dashed when Doctor Tretter walked into her laboratory space. Since he didn’t shut the door, Anna was sure he merely wanted to intimidate and scare her into compliance. But that didn’t make him less harrowing.

“What do you want?” she asked with all the strength she could muster, grateful for the laboratory table full of glass and potentially dangerous solutions physically separating them.

He smirked and lowered his voice to a menacing growl: “I wanted to make sure you knew that I won’t have you sleeping with another man. If you have any thoughts of giving that lousy scum what is mine, I promise you will both regret your betrayal.” Then he turned on his heel and left.

Anna clasped the edge of the table to prevent her knees from buckling. She’d been afraid before, but now, she was petrified. By the time Anna finished her tasks, she had worked herself into a full-blown panic.

Afraid to be alone, she went straight to Peter’s place. He greeted her with a huge smile, but after one glance at her face, he pulled her into his arms and carried her to the armchair, where he held her until she stopped shaking.

After a long while, Peter spoke, “Sweetheart, it breaks my heart to see you terrified like this. Please let me help. Tell me what’s going on.”

She nodded and hid her face against his chest, inhaling his unique scent, gathering the courage to come clean. “That man…he was the head physician in Ravensbrück. He’s a horrible man – no, man is too kind a word. He’s a monster. The things he’s done…”

“Shush. He can’t hurt you here.” Peter stroked his hand across her hair like her mother had done when she was a little child.

“But he can. He’s threatened to have me executed if I don’t do what he wants.” Anna broke out in sobs, wetting his shirt with her tears.

“I must have missed something. Start from the beginning. Why does this man think he can have you executed? What is it he thinks you’ve done?”

“He knows I’ve done it. He was there.” She took a deep breath and then told him the details of the story how Ursula and she had rescued their sister Lotte.

“Clever girl,” Peter murmured in approval and then he asked the question Anna dreaded to answer, “What did he want?”

Her entire body tensed and trembled as memories of that day came rushing back, and she couldn’t form a word if her life depended on it. Peter muttered a few Polish curses and rubbed his hands up and down her back in a soothing gesture. “Don’t answer that. I get the picture. He’s the one who raped you?”

“How did you know?” Anna whispered, afraid to look at him.

“I’m not stupid, Anna. I could tell that someone had abused you, but I didn’t want to add to your distress by asking questions. I figured you would talk about it when you were ready.”

New tears flooded her face and she threw herself into his arms. Peter simply held her while she cried. For herself. For Lotte. For his other victims, the

Króliki,

human guinea pigs

,

at Ravensbrück who’d had to endure the most excruciating medical experiments at his hands. When she had no more tears to cry, she lay against Peter’s chest, his shirt soaked with her tears, and said, “He’s promised to continue where he left off.”

“Over my dead body,” Peter growled, squeezing her fiercely against his chest.

“But…but…what can I do? What can you do?”

“For now, nothing. But trust me, I’ll cut off not only his hands should he ever reach out to touch you again.”

“You can’t do that!” Anna pushed away from him to look into his scornful blue eyes. “The Gestapo would happily make minced meat out of you. There’s no way I’m going to allow you to do this for me!”

Peter chuckled and pressed a kiss on her cheek. “That’s why I love you so much, because you’re such an undaunted young lady.”

“Peter, I’m serious…”

“And I’m serious too. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t protect the woman I love?”