The Cuckoo's Cage

Chapter Nine

Anna had already put Eric to bed by the time Ernst had stopped working. He seemed grumpy and exhausted, barely acknowledging anyone as they sat down to their supper. Oskar babbled away to him, and all he could do was nod. Anna always capitalised on moments such as this; it was so easy to manipulate him when she had soothed his angst. She wished she could just leave him be as it would give her a much-needed reprieve. But she needed to do this for Elli. After dinner, she put the children to bed early, apologising to Freda. She explained that Ernst needed her, and Freda seemed to understand. When all was quiet, she wandered back downstairs, nearly running headfirst into Maria. As was usual now, the two women said nothing to one another, Maria simply pushing passed her. It broke Anna; she missed her friend so much.

Anna didn't bother to knock, simply going quietly into Ernst's office where he had hidden himself away. He looked up angrily at first, then seeing it was her, softened instantly. She smiled, closing the door behind her and going to his drinks table. He sighed heavily as she poured him a drink, stretching as she came over to him and handed him the glass.

"You always know what I need," he mumbled, taking a sip before he placed it down. His arm wound around her waist, pulling her close so that he could bury his face into her.

"Hard day?" she asked, stroking his hair. It must be terribly tiring murdering so many innocent people.

"You have no idea," he sighed. She glanced at the papers on his desk. It was a map of some sorts, with tens of X's over it. He noticed her staring at it, so she looked away quickly. "Curious?" he asked.

"Sorry," she gushed, "I don't mean to pry."

"Nonsense," he said, pulling her onto his lap so that they could look at it together. "It's a map of the camp complex. This here," he said, taking her hand in his and pointing it at the largest X, "is the main camp." Then he moved her finger to a red dot. "This is our house," he continued, "and these are the satellite camps." Her stomach churned.

"I had no idea there were so many of them," she said, her tone hushed.

"The outer ones are only for those that are sick or dying but can still work. They're further out because of the various jobs the inmates do." Anna didn't want to ask what the jobs were. She didn't want to hear about the other camps. She wanted to throw up. She tried so hard not to squirm whilst sitting on his lap, his growing excitement pressing into her upper thighs. Was he aroused by the thought of their suffering? Or was it simply because she was sat on his lap and it had pained him not to fuck her since last night? Maybe she should try to show an interest... perhaps he would like that.

"What do you do with the bodies that far out?" she asked, the horrific words tumbling from her mouth before she could stop them.

"Burn them," he said, a sense of pride in his voice. "I hear the inmates like it. Keeps them warm for a few hours." He chuckled, Anna forcing herself to as well. She really hoped he tripped and fell into one of those bonfires one day and died a slow, horrible death. Then she heard his stomach rumble. She looked at him in confusion as he laughed and patted his stomach.

"Are you hungry, my love?" she asked.

"Yes," he admitted, "supper wasn't exactly very filling."

"Shall I ask Maria to make you something?" she said, getting to her feet and going to the door.

"You are so thoughtful," he smiled, stopping her. He got up and pulled her onto the sofa instead, sitting her so that her legs fell over him so he could stroke her thighs. "But, no, it's all right. We have more than most, we should be thankful." More than the thousands of inmates he was denying basic necessities, that was for certain. But he couldn't mean them. "Germany is in a terrible state," he sighed, looking at her furrowed brow. "The people are starving. There is so little food to go around. Particularly out in the country, away from the cities. It's only getting worse the longer this war drags on."