Page 36 of Winter's End
“But this time, unfortunately,” Daan paused. “There were only a few battle-worn American divisions stationed there – mostly troops who were there to rest and recover. It appears the Germans are having an easy time breaking through.”
Zoe shook her head. “But we were so sure the Normandy invasion was a turning point – that the Allies were breaking through – “
Daan’s mouth twisted. “We were wrong, Zoe. Hitler was not so easily deterred. His objective now, we think, is to drive through to the coast of the English Channel and split the strength of the Allied armies.”
“Can the Allies rally, do you think?”
“We can only hope so.”
Zoe sighed. “Will there never be an end to this war?”
There was a long moment of silence before Daan rose. “Well. There is work to be done tonight, as you well know, and if all goes well, we will at least have food on our tables. I am on my way now with Pieter to the target area.”
Zoe, who had watched Pieter loading explosives into Daan’s old British built Austin, was prepared and anxious. She looked at her watch. “I’m right behind you,” she said. “God be with us.”
...
It was dusk by the time she parked her bicycle against an oak tree in a clearing near the railroad tracks, some twelve kilometers out of Haarlem. She bent to inspect her bicycle’s wheels, which had behaved a bit oddly, and cursed silently, noting the wear and tear on the tires.Where in this world of shortage and want was she to find new rubber tires to replace them?
A sudden wind howled, and she looked up to realize there were patches of snow here in the deep woods. She buttoned her hooded jacket to the neck and wound a woolen scarf around her head.
In the dim light, she saw Leela Bakker and her husband stamping their feet to keep warm. Behind then were bicycles fitted with high-sided wooden carts. She waved, and Leela ran toward her, pulling her wool cap down over her ears.
“There are fifteen others here with carts like ours waiting to get into that train,” she said. “Is it on time, do you know?”
“I do not, Leela.” She could see her breath. “But we will all know soon, I hope. Once the train blows up, there is a good chance there will be more of us than of German survivors. But we will have to be quick to grab up the cargo and be out of here before the Germans are able to dispatch more troops.”
She paused. “Our people have studied the map, yes? They know to spread out on the way back to Heemstede, to look out for possible roadblocks?”
Leela hugged herself for warmth. “These are smart people, Zoe – and they are angry and hungry. We will do what needs to be done.”
...
It was just after dark, sitting on the cold ground in the silence of the woods that Zoe felt, rather than heard, the train approaching – a low thrumming deep in the earth that slowly gave way to sound. She prayed Daan’s calculations were correct.
In moments, she heard the train drawing near, could almost see it rushing forward beyond the clearing in a rush of wind that rustled the treetops. The sound was nearly past her before she heard the blast, a great, thunderous splitting of the air that lit up the sky and turned the world red and hot.
She brought a hand up over her nose and mouth, ducking down as far as she could, bringing one arm up to protect her head, and listened as the ear-splitting sound and the eerie light gave way to intermittent rumblings and occasional small bursts of flame.
Finally, as the smoke and the acrid smell began to clear, Zoe pulled her scarf up over her nose and mouth and ventured toward the tracks.
Nearing the scorched earth nearest to the mangled train, she took in the mass of torn and twisted metal, felt the hot breath of the still-smoking wreck spread-eagled over the rails.
She thought briefly of the lives lost in the blast, the Germans who had been beating and starving and killing her countrymen for years, and stealing crops from their farmers. She marveled at the sheer power of the explosives that had produced the twisted wreckage and blessed the precision of the crew who had placed them.
Slowly, as the smoke began to clear, she saw men and women cautiously approach the track, leaving their carts and wagons to inspect the ruins and assess the best ways to manage their assignment.
One by one, they clambered aboard the rubble of smoking box cars, and there were low-throated shouts and frenzied gesturing, and the carts and wagons began to fill. Zoe moved close enough to see cartons of powdered eggs and dried beef, and crates of winter cabbage and beets.
She cheered silently. The bounty would feed hundreds, including the displaced Haarlem families and the children in hiding at the hospital.
From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a slithering form coming toward her in the darkness. Her blood quickened. She did not have a pistol, and would not know how to use it if she did.But lieve god, was that the barrel of a rifle?
“Shooter!” she screamed, praying to be heard above the chaos. “Shooter! Look to my left!”
She looked around, searched for a boulder, something large enough to stop the advancing form.
Then she heard it – a shot that pierced the air, so close that it echoed in her ears, and she fell to her knees.
