Staying In The Shadows

Chapter 9

Since the Soldiers with the dogs, Peter and Julia made no more dangerous encounters on their journey.

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They had decided it would be a good idea to visit the inn at Dresden and collect Max and Lena and take them to Switzerland as well. The children were not too safe at the inn and it would be a lot better if they were all in Switzerland.

After a few weeks more of walking, they reached Dresden. Peter and Julia had to stay hidden in some laurel bushes until dark, when it was safe to emerge.

Peter rang the bell of the inn. The innkeeper's wife, Lisa, came to the door.

"Hello, if you're planning to stay here... you should book by telephone. I'm sorry but we have no space for any more at our inn at the moment." Lisa said, apologetically.

"Ermm, no Lisa, we are actually coming here to collect our children. Max and Lena." Julia said.

"Stefan! Come here a moment please!" She called to her husband.

"Yes Lisa?" Stefan suddenly appeared coming out of the kitchen. "Oh. Do we have new customers here? We..."

"No Stefan." Lisa interrupted, "It's Julia, who's children... ermm..." She turned to Peter and Julia, "They never turned up that night. Quite some time ago now."

"Never turned up?!!!" Julia screemed in horror.

"Ermm, well... we were up all night that time and they just never turned up." Explained Stefan.

"We wrote to you the next morning and the few mornings after that. But you never did write back." Lisa said.

"So what happened to them then?" Stammered Peter.

"We don't know." Lisa replied.

That was when Julia started to cry, so Lisa took her inside. Peter and Stefan followed.

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"Peter, will you be on your way to Switzerland without them then?" Stefan asked later.

"Yes. We will - we'll be leaving now in fact."

"Shouldn't we go find the children first?" Julia said.

No one answered. Julia then started to realise, with growing fear, exactly what could have happened to her two dear children.

"Would you like a lift in my car down to Munich. We have to hurry though. So I can be back by midnight. We should get there in two hours, around tenish."

Julia jumped out of her seat, suddenly forgetting her miseries. "YES PLEASEE!!!" She shouted.

"Lisa, I should be back just before midnigt. Maybe a little later." Stefan said.

Stefan kissed his wife just before they left.

"Good luck everyone! And make sure you come back in one piece Stefan!"

Peter and Julia couldn't believe their luck. Going by car all the way down to Munich. Completing what should take weeks - in hours!

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Munich, Lena thought - was even busier than Dresden. Still - it wasn't as busy as Berlin.

Lena found that she actually quite liked Munich. Apart from the fact that their were more Swastikas hung up everywhere than she had ever seen before. If this how many Swastikas there were in Munich - how many would there be in Berlin?!