Page 64 of Hearts of Resistance
Hazel gasped. ‘You want to turn up on the doorstep of some farmhouse and hope they take us in?’
Sophia squeezed her hand, a warmth in her touch that Hazel hadn’t felt before. ‘No. I want to find a farmhouse that has a barn, and sneak in for somewhere warm to spend the rest of the night.’
Hazel breathed a sigh of relief.
‘It’s a good plan,’ Rose said. ‘It’s too dangerous to stay out in the open, but I think we’ve put enough distance between us for now.’
They kept walking, silently trudging along, and when they finally came across a farmhouse in the distance, they moved more slowly, cautious of where they were and what they were doing. It was impossible to know where was safe and who they could trust.
‘Look, there’s a barn or something there. It’s close to the house, but if we move quietly I think we’ll be fine,’ Sophia said, using her torch to look ahead before quickly turning it off again.
Hazel was thankful to follow Sophia’s orders. It was easier than trying to think for herself while she processed how close they’d been to dying only hours earlier.
‘We can hide by the cluster of trees there, then move in one by one.’
Nothing further was said as they made their way closer. Hazel’s breath hiccupped in her throat as she tried not to make a noise. Sophia held up her hand for them to wait, and she darted across the short expanse of field from where they were hiding. The creak of the barn door sounded deafeningly loud in the dead still of night, and Hazel half expected the farmer to come running from the house or enemy fire to ring out, but nothing happened.
Rose went next, touching her shoulder before darting off after Sophia. And a few minutes later, Hazel pushed off from the tree and ran as fast as she could. Within seconds she was in, too, pulling the door behind her and finding them in complete darkness. She rummaged for her torch and quickly turned it on, hands still quivering, at the same time as Sophia.
‘My torch won’t...,’ Rose started, banging it against her hand, but her words fell away.
At the same time as Hazel locked eyes with two goats, the smell of animal filled her nostrils. It wasn’t awful, but it was unfamiliar to her, and she supposed it was a mixture of their hair, the hay and the dung on the ground. She looked over her shoulder, wondering what other animals she was about to find lurking, but one of the goats butted at her arm and distracted her from her worries.
She smiled and scratched his head, and the goat stretched his neck out as she moved her fingers under his chin.
‘I think he likes it,’ she whispered.
‘He?’ Sophia scoffed. ‘Try she! Now you hold her still and I’m going to see if we can milk her.’
Hazel grimaced, putting her arm around the goat and cuddling her as Sophia passed her torch to Rose and got down on all fours. Within moments she had milk squirting out and the goat couldn’t seem to care less.
‘Do we have a bottle still, or did it get broken?’ Sophia asked.
Rose pulled out the bottle that had contained their water and held it while Sophia milked the poor goat. If they hadn’t been so parched and desperate, it would have seemed funny.
When she’d finished, Sophia held it up and took a sip before passing it to Rose. Then it was Hazel’s turn and she sipped the warm milk, grateful to have something liquid in her dry throat even if it wasn’t a taste she was used to.
‘We need to rest,’ Rose said. ‘I’ll take first watch and you two take a nap. We need to be gone before dawn.’
Hazel nodded and bedded down in the hay. The goats seemed unsure what was going on, but finally the one they’d milked came over and lay down beside her. It started to chew on her hair and Hazel pushed it away, keeping her hand on it for a moment as she fell instantly into a deep slumber.
‘Wake up.’
Hazel jumped, heart pounding as she pushed up, disorientated and sore. The night before came flooding back to her and she realised she’d been snuggled up close to the goat. It was probably the only reason she was so warm instead of frozen-to-the-bone cold.
‘My radio,’ Hazel croaked at Sophia. ‘I need to see if I can get it working.’
‘No.’ Sophia shook her head. ‘We already know it’s damaged from the fall yesterday. We don’t have time to fix it and the last thing we need is to be tracked to here when we’re so close to the chateau. Let’s go.’
Hazel pushed her hair from her face and stood, reaching for her satchel and pulling its strap over her shoulder. The weight of the radio was familiar, almost comforting, even though it pulled her shoulder down uncomfortably with it.
Sophia shook Rose awake, and Hazel ignored the growl of her stomach as they dusted themselves off and followed Sophia’s lead out the door. There was no farmer holding a gun waiting for them, nothing but the steamy, misty morning air as they shut the door quietly behind them and hurried off. Soon they would be at the chateau. Soon they’d be far from the explosion, far enough to be as safe as anyone could expect to be in the middle of occupied France.
They walked in silence for a long time, and Hazel wondered if her friends’ legs burnt as hard as hers did from their gruelling run the night before.
‘I’m sorry I slept through my shift,’ she said, feeling guilty about sleeping the entire time.
‘You deserved it,’ Sophia said firmly.
