Page 77 of The Pianist's Wife
‘After that,’ Hans said, ‘it will be up to you and Fred. I can only help you leave the camp grounds. Then? It’s up to the pair of you to stay alive.’
Amira didn’t have a chance to ask him anything else, because before she knew it the door to the hospital barracks was being swung open, and Hans was telling a guard to take her through to the doctor for an examination.
It’s up to Fred and me.She blinked away tears.
That was the part she was worried about.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Amira clutched Fred’s hand as they crouched on the ground beside their bed and bunched up whatever they could beneath their sheets, in an attempt to make it look as if they were in bed when the guard walked past and flashed his light over them. Panic rose in her throat as she squinted at their handiwork, not convinced at all that it was going to fool anyone and praying that the others in the room didn’t wake up.
‘What else can we use?’ she whispered.
‘There’s nothing else,’ Fred said. ‘This will have to do.’
It was dark outside now, which meant that almost everyone in their barracks was either asleep or resting, and they knew that now was their chance. The guards had already done their early evening rounds, and if they didn’t go now, they likely wouldn’t get another chance.
‘Are you ready?’ Fred murmured, reaching for Amira’s hand.
‘Yes. As I’ll ever be,’ she murmured back.
They walked as quietly as mice, barely lifting their feet off the ground as they tiptoed through the barracks and towards the back door. Fred had the key, and she stood behind him as he put it in the lock and turned it. The sharp sound made her cringe and her skin flush hot, certain someone would come running, looking for whatever or whoever had made the noise, but thankfully it had begun torain outside, and the sound on the roof must have disguised what noise they’d made.
Fred carefully opened the door, slowly so as not to make a creak, and they both slipped out, shutting it behind them so that no one would notice it had been used. They left it unlocked, having decided earlier that they’d rather leave it that way in case anyone else ever wanted to escape and discovered it, but not locking it also meant less noise.
Outside, the wind was much colder than Amira had expected, and even though the rain was light, it soon soaked through her blouse and coat. Fred was only wearing a shirt and trousers, having used his jacket to help make the bulges in the bed, and she couldn’t imagine how cold he was already.
They pressed their backs to the barracks and stood, both looking around, waiting for their eyes to adjust. The watchtowers were easy to spot as they had large floodlights positioned beside them, with guards manually moving the beams around the camp to check the perimeter. Amira and Fred began to move in the shadows. When they reached the edge of the barracks and had to run across to the next building, Amira’s heart almost stopped.
‘We’ll have to cross here quickly,’ Fred said. ‘I’ll go first and you follow.’
‘No,’ she said. ‘We go together. I don’t want to be left behind, even for a second.’
‘Very well then,’ he said, taking her hand once more. ‘We count to three, then run.’
Amira counted silently in her mind and then they ran, her with her other hand beneath her stomach for support.
‘We did it,’ she gasped. ‘We actually did it!’
‘Now we have to get over there,’ he whispered. ‘That concrete building is the crematorium.’
She nodded, her breath still ragged after their short run, but she kept following Fred, determined now that they were going to be able to do this. They just had to keep moving and avoid the light.
Minutes later they were faced with the same challenge, waiting to run again. They counted to three and then moved as quickly as they could, but this time the light passed nearby, sending them diving to the ground to reach the shadows in time. Amira was breathing heavily, a pain in her side making her nauseous as she crawled on all fours.
But it wasn’t her pain that threatened to give her away. Fred’s hand closed over her mouth as her eyes widened in horror, the pile of bodies beside them making her want to scream and run back in the direction they’d come. They were like ghouls; their mouths open, their eyes staring, their cheeks so hollow they were more skeleton than human.
And the smell. She doubted she’d ever forget the smell for as long as she lived. Bodies that had desperately needed a wash well before death had taken them; emaciated men and women who had deserved better than the suffering they had faced. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that she couldn’t ever imagine shutting her eyes again without seeing them.
‘We need to climb in,’ Fred said, but he’d barely gotten the words out before he was bent over being sick, which only made her stomach churn all the more.
But she nodded, knowing that they had to get on with what needed to be done. These people were gone, and they had been prisoners too, which meant she knew they wouldn’t think ill of them for using the bodies they’d left behind to hide in. Or at least that was what she wanted to believe.
‘How long until Hans is here?’ Fred asked. ‘What did he say?’
‘He didn’t. He just said to wait.’
They had no concept of what time it was, no idea of how long they would have to lie in wait, hoping that Hans was able to come. They had no choice but to trust him.
