Page 32 of Hearts of Resistance
‘We have to get out of here,’ he said grimly.
‘I know.’
The overwhelming love she felt for Alex right now was immediately overshadowed by everything else. Her mother was dead. Her father didn’t believe she was innocent, otherwise he wouldn’t have sent those men. Everything she did from this step forward could put her life and the lives of others in danger, could jeopardise their entire network.
She wanted to do more, needed to do more, but for now she needed to figure out how to get them both out of Berlin.
Sophia had never been so scared in her life. For the first time, she’d chosen to use her false identity papers during the day, terrified of using her real name now that she was under suspicion by the Gestapo. She’d fled with Alex in tow the night her apartment had been raided, knowing that if anyone recognised her, they’d both no doubt be killed. Twenty-four hours later, she was even more terrified than she’d been then.
She ran her fingers through her short hair, refusing to get sentimental over the fact she’d chopped her long blonde locks off to above her shoulders. Before, she’d looked just like her mother, but the rough cut made her look the complete opposite now. She rubbed her thumb over her ring finger, finding comfort in the weight and feel of her mama’s ring resting there.
‘What do we do now?’ Alex asked, his collar turned up to brush his jaw but doing nothing to disguise his face.
Travelling at night and hiding in the shadows was slow, but somehow they’d so far managed to go undetected.
‘We keep walking,’ she said, knowing there was nothing else they could do but keep moving. They’d been walking for hours and Sophia’s feet were rubbed raw, but she didn’t know what else they could do.
‘You don’t need to do this,’ Alex muttered, glancing at her. It was so dark but with the moon high in the sky she could just see him. ‘I don’t want you risking everything for me.’
She shook her head. ‘Enough. Keep walking.’
Sophia kept replaying snippets of conversation over in her mind, remembering the person who’d collected the young Jewish man saying that it would be another few days before he was on his way to Sweden. She had to believe that they would be putting him on a train, like she’d done with others in the past. Getting Alex on that train was the only way she knew how to save him, and she’d guessed that tonight had to be the night. She just hoped the meeting point was still the same.
They kept walking, on and on, Sophia pausing only to take some food from her bag and pass half of it to Alex. She nibbled at the small piece of stale bread. Her stomach was growling with hunger, but she didn’t have a lot on her and so didn’t want to eat too much. It could be days before she was safe and had more food to consume.
When they reached the edge of the woods, Sophia recognised her surroundings. She’d escorted two small groups there before and walked them in, then walked back out to ensure they hadn’t been followed. She knew it was the right place.
‘This way,’ she whispered, touching Alex’s shoulder.
He followed her, then they fell into step beside each other again. Sophia knew they would surprise the others lying in wait, that they could be mistakenly killed by their own people, but as far as she could see, she and Alex were as good as dead anyway.
‘Hurry,’ she hissed, worrying that they might have already missed the train.
She roughly remembered where there was a small shack, and when she finally caught sight of it in the moonlight shining above them, she had to bite back tears. She reached for Alex’s hand and held it tight for a moment, before holding both her hands up. He did the same, copying her, and they kept walking forward.
‘Friends,’ she whispered, leaning into the old, falling-down structure. ‘We are friends,’ she repeated.
They were greeted by a silence that seemed to stretch for ever, and just when she was about to give up hope, certain they were too late, a rustle sounded out in the bushes behind them. Sophia kept her hands held high.
‘What are you doing here?’
She recognised Horse and dipped her head. Tears of relief started to fall then. ‘This is my Alex,’ she whispered. ‘I need to get him on the train.Please.’
Horse waved to them both, and they disappeared into the woods with him, hiding low behind thick bushes. She quickly explained what had happened to them.
‘Is there any evidence of what you’ve done for us in the past?’ he asked.
She shook her head. ‘No.’
‘You’ll lead them straight to us if you stay in Berlin,’ Horse muttered. ‘You need to get out.’
Sophia gulped. ‘I know. That’s why I came tonight.’
Alex’s deep, gravelly whisper took her by surprise. ‘Can she come with us?’
She looked frantically between the two men. ‘I have my papers. I can get out of Germany on my own.’
Horse grunted. ‘No, he’s right. You go with them tonight. We’ll have to move fast to make enough space, but we can do it.’
