The Life That I Have

Chapter 18

It was new years eve. Anya awoke early, cold and stiff. She decided to go for a stroll.

  When she was out of the cave, she looked around her. It was so peaceful. You would never guess there was a war going on up here, in the mountains. The long green grass and the trees... she felt nothing bad could happen up here.

  It was then she saw a man running towards her, wearing a large overcoat, gun in hand.

  "Tanks!" he gasped. "About thirty of them! About two miles away!"

  "Tanks?! You mean enemy tanks?!"

  "Yes! Get everyone!" he shouted.

  Running back into the cave, Anya grabbed the large bell Jean-Marc always kept by the entrance for emergencies.

  "Everyone! Quick! Tanks! Quick!" she screamed at the top of her voice as she rang he bell as hard as she humanly could.

  Suddenly, people were running from all directions. There was no need to shout anymore, everyone knew.

  Anya felt someone grab her arm.

  "Anya, help me get the wounded men into the truck!" Denise said desperately.

  Running, Anya ran and started to haul Derek out of the cave, despite his endless flow of 'What's going ons?'

  Someone had pulled up the little red van outside the cave's entrance where Denise and Anya started to bundle in the wounded or sick men.

  "I'll stay in the back with them. Jean-Marc's telling everyone to go to Saint Catherine's!" Denise told Anya as they piled the lsat man in.

  "Take Tippy," Anya handed the little dog to Denise.

  "Aren't you coming?!" Denise called to Anya as the van stared to drive off.

  Anya saw caught sight of Paul, who was looking desperately looking around, clutching his radio.

  "Paul! Paul! Over here!" she waved at him.

  "How do you get to Saint Catherine's?" he asked her.

  "Here, take my map. It's on there!" she thrust the map into his hands. After all, she knew the way.

  On the hilltop, Leon was distributing shotguns and machine guns to the rush of men that were passing him, even though he knew it was useless. His thoughts were broken by the sound of German guns firing. He could see the tanks now. It was hopeless! They were just picking off the men one by one.

  "Retreat! Retreat!" he shouted. It was the last thing he ever did.

Dominique drove the overcrowded little car furiously along the narrow country lanes, trying to get as much distance as possible between them and the Germans.

  Unexpectedly, she heard the rat-a-tat-tat of a machine gun, and the car nearly swerved out of control when the windscreen shattered. But it would take more than that to get Dominique into a panic.

  "Get down!" she called to her passengers, most of whom had already done so.

  The car screeched around a hairpin-corner. Safe. For now.

Anya gripped her machine gun tightly. Even though the last thing she wanted to do was to use it, she knew deep down it was either them or her.

  Crouching behind a large rock, she waited until she could see the large line of Nazis marching towards the cave. She closed her eyes and fired. She looked up and saw there was one less man. She fired again. There was a swift reply of bullets which ricocheted off of the stone.

  It was time to make a run for it, Anya decided grimly. She gave a quick look behind her. There were some trees quite near, but the little distance between them and her was all open ground. It was now or never.

  She sprang up, and faster than she ever had run before, she sprinted across the dead bracken. She could feel the earth flying up around her ankles as the volley of bullets hit the ground just inches away from her.

  After what seemed like hours, she was finally safe in the woods. She didn't stop running until she reached the point where she could no longer hear or see anything German.

  She collapsed by a large oak tree, rasping for breath. For a moment, she almost went to sleep, but she snapped wide awake when she heard dogs barking, deep and gruff like an Alsatian.

  The river! It ran through the woods near where she was! 

  Groaning as she stood, Anya half jogged, half ran until lo-and-behold– the river!

  Almost sick with joy, she clambered down the slippery bank into the brown and muddy waters.

  Ugh! It was freeing! And deep, too. She'd have to be careful of weeds. She heard somewhere about a girl who had drowned getting tangled up in river-bed weeds while she was out swimming.

  The water was above her waistline now, her tight skirt was weighing her down and her heeled utility shoes were sinking into the muddy riverbed.

  She stopped and listened. She could hear rustling footsteps and the sound of a dog panting.

  Anya trudged quickly over to a place where the bank overhung the river, creating a shelter. She could hear twigs snapping underfoot, almost directly above her head...

Paul and Rudi stumbled up the steep hill, occasionally sliding back down it. Rudi was constantly looking back.

  "Come on!" Paul shouted at him.

  Rudi turned and started running back down the hill.

  "What are you doing?!"

  "I'm going back!"

  Paul started to run after Rudi.

  "You damn fool! You can't go back there!"

  Rudi ignored him, and Paul grabbed him and hit him hard in the stomach.

  "I'm sorry, son. But it's for your own good," he said as he dragged Rudi back up the hill.

Jean-Marc gasped as Dominique made the little car fly over a large pothole.

  "I feel sorry for those poor devils who didn't get away," he said quietly. "I should have stayed with them."

  Dominique sighed.

  "We've already been over this. I'm sorry Jean-Marc-– but you are by no means a young man. You have a wife and children. We need you to support the survivors."