Have Faith

Chapter 23: Breaking In

Seeing the lake and knowing that safety was so close was tantalizing, but we still had a problem.

"But how do we get across?" I asked. "We can't swim that far!"

"Do we have to walk around the entire lake?" Sophia asked. "I don't think that's possible. Even if it was, we would definitely be spotted."

"We might not have to," I said. "What's that building over there?"

Sophia and Abby both looked. It was a small building in the distance, but it seemed like our only hope of finding something useful for crossing the lake.

By the time we reached the building, I was out of breath.

"Kayla, what's wrong?" Abby asked.

"Nothing," I responded. "Just have to catch my breath."

"Why are you out of breath?" Sophia asked. "We haven't been walking for that long."

"It must be the pregnancy," I said. "That could be a serious problem." What if we were spotted and had to run? I'd never make it.

"Anyway, let's check out this building," Abby said.

We snuck around the back, sure that the building would not be abandoned. Sure enough, there was a man inside. We could hear him talking on the phone.

"Yes, this is Roger's Rowboats," he said into his telephone.

"Did you hear that?" Sophia said excitedly. "Rowboats! That could be our ticket out of here!"

"We'll have to wait until he leaves for the night," Abby said. "Then we'll see if we can get one of those boats.  While we're waiting, let's try to form a plan."

* * *

Several hours later, we were climbing the back of the building.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sophia asked.

"Well, it worked once, didn't it?" I answered.  I was the last one to attempt the climb.  To my dismay, I found that I was now carrying too much weight to use the tiny holds in the wall.

"You guys will have to go through the plan without me," I told them.  "Once you get in, just unlock the door for me."

"Are you sure?" Sophia asked worriedly.

"Yes," I answered.  "I'd probably be no use anyway."

"Okay."  With that, Sophia retreated onto the roof.  I watched from the ground as she and Abby attempted to pull the thatching apart and get into the shack.  It took them awhile, but eventually, they had pulled enough shingles off to create a hole big enough to get through.  With that accomplished, they quickly slid through and into the building.  

"Hey!" said a voice.  "What do you think you're doing?"

I gasped, but the voice had come from inside the shack.

"These boats don't belong to you!" the voice continued.  "I'm calling the police!"

My friends needed my help! Without another thought, I rushed forward and tried to open the door. It was locked, so I began pounding.

"Leave them alone!" I yelled, furiously attacking the door. I was at it for a few minutes before the lock clicked, and I almost fell over from the leftover momentum.

"Another one, eh?" Roger looked me up and down. "Jews, from the look of it."

I looked behind him to find Abby and Sophia had been tied up.

"Come here, scum." He grabbed me and dragged me over to my friends. "You're not moving until the police get here," he said, tying me up as he spoke.

"We have to get out of here before the Nazis show up," I told the others, trying to be as quiet as possible. "Does anyone have anything sharp?"

"Yeah, actually," Sophia said, sounding just as surprised as Abby and I were.  Her arms were tied, but she managed to wriggle enough to get to her pocket.  Roger had his back to us, on the phone with the Nazis.

After a few minutes, Sophia got to her pocket and pulled out a jagged rock.  "From the slingshot," she explained.  "I forgot I still had it."

"Okay, well start sawing," Abby said.  "We also have to come up with a plan.  We can't just break out and run."

"What if we hit Roger with the rock?" I asked, suddenly inspired.  "That could knock him out, and we could escape!"

"Okay, that will work," Abby agreed.  "Who's the best shot?"

"You are," Sophia and I said in unison.  Unfortunately, that made it a little louder than it would have been ordinarily.

"What was that?" Roger snapped, turning to us.  "Not getting chatty, are we?  I can fix that."  He retreated into the back room and came out with three pieces of cloth.  I immediately understood, and my stomach began turning even before the disgusting thing was forced into my mouth.  Sophia hurriedly hid the rock as Roger got to her.

"There.  That's better," Roger said as he admired his handiwork.  "The police are on their way.  I hope the three of you have enjoyed the outside, because you won't be seeing it again for a long time."

Suddenly, I felt the ropes give, ever so slightly.  There was a pause as the rock was passed to Abby, and then we all stood up.

"What the...?" Roger stuttered.  That was all he got to say, as the rock Abby threw hit him squarely in the forehead.  He fell over unconscious.

"Abby that was great!" I exclaimed, having forced the gag off.  "Now let's get out of here!"

But we still needed the boat.  We quickly began to search for one in his back room, and once we found one, we began to drag it outside.

As we passed Roger, I turned to look at him and received a shock - the body was gone!

"Guys, we have a problem!" I yelled.  The others dropped the rowboat and turned to face me, but before I could say anything, another door burst open.  Roger was standing in the doorway, and he had a gun.

"You rats think you're so clever," he sneered.  "I think I'll just kill you all, starting with the one who just gave me the biggest headache of my life."  Before any of us could do anything, he pulled the trigger.

"Oh," came softly from behind me.  I whirled around to see Abby, sinking to the floor, with a blank expression and a bullet hole squarely in the center of her chest.