فصل 23

florian

“Leave! Go away!” I was annoyed. Angry. Why wouldn’t she leave? Walking clearly exhausted her.

“I follow far behind. You don’t see me,” she said in her broken German.

“I can’t protect you.”

“Maybe I protect you,” she said, her face earnest.

“I don’t need protection.”

“Then why you’re not taking the road?” She kicked at the snow that had turned to ice overnight. “Road is much faster. More chance of food. Countryside prettier, but takes longer. You don’t want to be seen?” She pulled her pink hat farther down over her ears.

What I didn’t want was to waste time. I turned from her and resumed walking. I heard her speaking Polish, talking to herself. Eventually she would get tired and have to stop. Her weary body wouldn’t carry her far. Thoughts of my younger sister pecked at me, and finally, I turned. As soon as I stopped, she stopped, lingering to rest against a tree. I reached into my pack and retrieved the Russian soldier’s gun. I walked back to her.

“Take this. If you need to use it, hold it with two hands when you pull the trigger. Do you understand? Now go away.”

She nodded but I was certain she didn’t understand. The gun looked huge in her knitted glove.

I walked away. Was I crazy? Three steps back was a Pole with a Soviet gun, following me—a Prussian carrying enough secrets to blow up the kingdom. My wound cried out and so did my judgment. If I didn’t report to a checkpoint soon, it would all be over.