The Life That I Have

Chapter 8

When Anya came round, she found herself in a stiffly lying in front of a large oak tree in the outskirts of the woods. Looking around her, Anya saw a large flask of water and a brown paper bag were lying next to her. Gently sitting up, she looked inside the parcel. Sandwiches. That man, whoever he was, must have left them for her. Without thinking, she immediately started to stuff the bread and cheese into her mouth, washing it all down with the water. It was then she remembered Tippy. Glancing around, she saw Tippy, happily gnawing a stick, a boot lace attached to her collar, which was tied to a tree. Contentedly sighing, Anya laid on her back and watched the gentle breeze rustle through the green leaves above.

  Suddenly she heard a a twig snapping, and the sound of heavy boots. Before she could decide about what to do, Luc appeared.

  "Anya, what are you doing here?" he asked.

  "You said if I was ever in trouble, I should come here," she replied easily.

  "What kind of trouble?"

  "The Gestapo kind."

  After exhaling slowly he said:

  "Well, we've moved on, thanks to your friend."

  "Friend?" It was Anya's turn to be quizzical.

  "Rudi Hein, formerly of the Luftwaffe," Luc said, slightly amused.

  "Oh, him. He's not really a friend. So you've decided to trust him?"

  Luc nodded. "The whole Maquis cleared out last night to what is called a Cave, but really is a sort of Catacomb about six miles away. I'm watching here to see if there really is going to be a siege."

  "But how do I–" Anya was interrupted by Luc, who was shushing her urgently.

  Anya listened. In the distance, she could hear the faint rumble of engines.

  "Tanks." Luc said. "Look, when you get near the Cave, you'll probably be picked up by a watchman. Just whistle this tune." He whistled a simple, cheerful tune.

  "That will tell them you're on their side. Tell them–"

  The first gunshot ripped through the air. Anya felt a strong push in the small of her back, and she fell down heavily. She hugged Tippy close to her. She then looked around for Luc.

  Her search was interrupted by another gunshot which ricocheted off a tree. Burying her head in her arms, Anya desperately tried to blank out the volley of machine gun shots that where flicking up bits of old leaves all around her.

  Then there was silence. Cautiously looking around her, she saw Luc was lying flat in a similar position to her.

  "Luc," she whispered, "Luc I think they've gone. Luc?"

  On getting no reply, Anya looked more closely at him. There was something wrong in the was he was lying, his arms where bent at a funny angle under him.

  "Luc?" Anya crawled over to him, and gingerly rolled him over.

  The look in his eyes told her that he was in great pain. She could see his hand was shakily clutching his stomach.

  "Have you been hit?" she asked gently. He nodded slowly, wincing.

  Anya looked over her shoulder. She could see the tanks now, a long line of them rolling up the hillside.

  "We've got to get out of here!" she said urgently.

  "No...no...you go."

  Anya was not in the mood for leaving him.