Page 8 of The Secrets We Left Behind
She dropped to her stomach and crawled beside Adelaide to the foot of the stairs, her stomach scraping along the ground as she squirmed across the floor. They stood only to run, taking the stairs two at a time as the house seemed to shake with the constant booms.
“The bath?” cried Adelaide. “Will we be safe in there?”
“We won’t both fit,” Elise said. “Let’s go under the bed.”
They dropped low again and crawled to their parents’ room. Elise waited for Adelaide to crawl under first before following her, shutting her eyes for a minute as she caught her breath and fought against the intense claustrophobia she was feeling the moment they were beneath it.
“Where’s Oscar?” Adelaide cried.
Elise’s eyes flew open as she heard barking, and her hand automatically shot out to stop her sister from going straight down to find him. Instead of moving she whistled, short and sharp, just like Louis had, and within minutes the little dog was darting across the room toward them. She reached to grab him, hauling him under with them as they lay silently, listening to the cries and shouts of men, and the incessant sound of shelling.
“What are we going to do?” Adelaide asked, as they lay on their stomachs, shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh.
“We stay here until it stops,” Elise said, surprised by how sure her voice sounded. “With any luck, they’ll move on as quickly as they arrived.”
Or more than likely, they’ll stay. She pushed the thought away, not about to let her imagination take hold.
“And if they don’t?” Adelaide asked.
“Then we cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“It’s stopped.”
Elise lifted her head, groggy and tired from lying in the same position for so long, listening to the fighting. She’d resorted to pressing her hands tightly to her ears to try to block the sounds out, the anguished cries as men were injured or maybe even killed too much for her to stand. But now, after hours or maybe not even that long, there was suddenly silence.
“Should we look?” Adelaide asked.
Elise took a deep, shuddering breath. “Yes.” She should have said no, but she needed to look, needed to see to know what they were dealing with.
Were they going to have to run? Were they in danger? Or would no one care about two women living alone?
She pushed her body forward and wriggled out from under the bed, crawling slowly, as if she were in danger of standing on a mine. She raised a hand to the curtain, holding it open slightly. Adelaide was at her side, leaning in, both peering through the same gap, squinting as the light faded, night starting to creep across the sky.
Elise gasped as they watched the German soldiers, rifles raised, their steps slow and deliberate as they inched toward the barn. The big wooden doors were shut and there was no sign of movement; no sound, nothing.
“What do you think is happening?” Adelaide asked. “Why did the shooting stop?”
“I don’t know,” Elise replied. “Where did all those British soldiers go? Are they still in there?” She didn’t understand what was happening, and she’d expected to see German soldiers dead, not still advancing.
“If they’re in there, why aren’t they still shooting?” Adelaide asked.
Fear danced through Elise. Something wasn’t right. It was hard to see and she squinted as she stared into the fading light, but the barn was on the adjoining property and it was hard to make out what was going on.
Adelaide moved closer, nudging her aside slightly as they pulled the curtain back further. Maybe they shouldn’t be watching, but Elise couldn’t have dragged her eyes away if she’d tried.
“Addy, they’re surrendering.” Elise gasped as one of the big doors opened and something white was thrust out. She pressed her nose to the glass, transfixed, realizing it was a rifle with something fluttering on the end, possibly an undershirt.Oh no.“The British soldiers are surrendering.”
“Why would they do that?” Adelaide asked. “Why would they just surrender to the Germans like that? There were so many more British than German troops!”
Elise shook her head. All she knew was that something had gone horribly, horribly wrong.
She blinked away tears as she watched one soldier step forward, holding the makeshift white flag high, his movements slow and steady. Even from such a distance, Elise could almost feel the tremble of his knees, and the rapid stammer of his heart as he faced the enemy in defeat.
Another soldier followed, and they watched as one of the Germans marched forward, yelling something and gesturing. And slowly soldier after soldier filed out of the barn, their hands all raised, no weapons visible as they gave themselves up.
“I don’t understand!” Adelaide cried beside her. “Why are they doing this? Why aren’t they fighting back?”
“They must have run out of ammunition,” Elise whispered, her voice catching, not letting herself speak any louder. “There’s noother reason they’d be walking out without guns.” Or at least no other reason she could think of.
