by Mark Spaid
“They weren’t the first to hate the Jews?”
“No, in the middle ages during the plague the Jews were blamed for all the people dying.”
“But it wasn’t their fault.”
“No but people get an idea in their head and it’s hard to reason with them sometimes.”
“What did they do to the Jews?”
“Many countries, not just Germany gathered the Jews in the towns and burned them alive.”
“No!”
“I’m afraid so. The Catholic Church condemned it and told people to stop doing it but they ignored the Pope and did it anyway.”
“That’s terrible, Little Wolf.”
“It sure is, Miss Belinda.” She sat for a moment thinking then sighed and shook her head.
“But why did Hitler hate them?”
“Germans have always looked at the Jews as a problem. They blame them when anything goes wrong in Germany or any part of Europe. Hitler began his dislike of Jews as a young man. His mother died of cancer when he was young and her doctor happened to be Jewish.”
“But it wasn’t the doctor’s fault.”
“No, it wasn’t but to Hitler and his kind there was no using logic.”
“What else?”
“When he was young and living in Vienna, he was very poor. He saw many Jews who were successful and he resented that and began to hate them even more. He began to say that Jews were not Germans. Then he applied to the Vienna Academy of Arts; he wanted to be an artist. He was turned down because his paintings were uninspiring. Some of the professors and administrators at the Academy were Jewish so, in Hitler’s mind the Jews were out to get him.”
“Ridiculous.”
“Sure, but Hitler was not rational as I said. His hatred began to grow as he got older but I should add that most Germans resented and hated the Jews. Thus, it was easy to promote anti-Jewish feelings in Germany.”
“And they put them in those camps and killed them?”
“Yes, Miss Belinda, they did.”
“How many?”
“Close to seven million.”
“Little children too,”
“Yes.”
“Just because they were different?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s terrible, Little Wolf. I feel bad but I feel worse because I didn’t know this. I should’ve known if I weren’t so empty-headed.”
“Maybe you don’t know history but you make up for it with your heart. You care about people and that makes you special.” Belinda turned with wet eyes and smiled.
“I’m glad you’re my friend, Little Wolf.”
“I feel the same way, Miss Belinda.”
“Is the history lesson over?” Tatiana asked.
“For now, until there’s something else I don’t understand,” Belinda said.
“There’s a town coming up,” Tom said. They’d been walking for about three hours and a village appeared as they came over a hill. After the Gestapo passed by they’d moved off the road and across fields. A couple of farmers gave them the eye when they crossed over their property but said nothing.
“Let’s be cautious,” Tatiana said. They worked their way into the outskirts of the town that had a population of two thousand on the city limits sign.
“There’s a café? Do we dare?” Tom asked.
“Looks harmless,” Captain Shellhause said.
“Let’s be quick,” Little Wolf added and they went inside trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible.
“Here’s a table in the corner,” Tatiana said and they sat. A waitress came and Captain Shellhause ordered in German.
“I hope you like cheese sandwiches and beer,” the captain said.
“I don’t like beer,” Belinda said then put her hand to her mouth and her eyes widened. “I’m not supposed to complain. Sorry, I forgot.”
“We’ll forgive you this time, Lind,” Tatiana said.
“No one even looked at us when we came inside,” Tom said.
“Good,” Tatiana said.
“Here we go,” Captain Shellhause said and thanked the waitress who brought their food and drinks. They ate quickly and swallowed the beer for the sake of nourishment. Belinda made a face but finished most of her glass. Tatiana laid out money for the waitress and they got up to leave but as they did two men came in the door. They were SS officers and they gave the once over to the group. They had revolvers in their belts and there was no telling how many men were at their disposal and within the call of their voice so, by all means they needed to be on their best behavior. They began talking and Captain Shellhause answered them. “They want to know why I’m the only one speaking.” Belinda came over to Captain Shellhause and turned around so the two officers could not see her face. Then she began using sign language and whispered softly.
“Tell them I’m a deaf mute and slow mentally. Tell them I was raped and the others are also suffering trauma. You are the only one who can communicate.” He did that and the two men talked to each other and to Captains Shellhause.
“They want to know where we’re headed.”
“To the mountains,” Belinda mouthed while she signed.
“They want to see papers,” Captain Shellhause said, “I told them you read lips.” Belinda unbuttoned her shirt and pulled her breasts out as far as was possible. Then she turned and smiled at the officers who were immediately drawn to the vista in front of them. There are men, military men who are trained to ignore any visceral stimuli but Belinda reckoned that perhaps these two, were men first and no man could resist her charms or her wares. They smiled and she nuzzled up against both of them. One put his arm around her waist and she slid her knee along his leg as he shivered. Then she gave a pathetic simpering look and that did it. They talked to each other then, to Captain Shellhause. “We can go, they wish us good luck and they’re glad they met you, Ms. Fanelli.” Belinda smiled at the officers then they left quickly and walked down the street.
“Let’s get out of this place while we still can,” Tatiana said.
“Hey, look,” Tom said and a block away was a bicycle shop. “That could be our ticket.” And, it was…a half hour later they were cycling their way to Berchtesgaden and the Berghoff where they would intercept their targets. They were on backroads some of which were little more than dirt paths. Little Wolf was a half mile ahead to scout and for three hours it was smooth sailing. Then he came back and they stopped to listen.
“The SS are up ahead.”
“What’re they doing out here in the middle of nowhere?” Captain Shellhause asked.
“I don’t know but they’re here for a reason. Maybe they found a nest of resistance. There was more of that than people realized. There were many good people in Nazi Germany but they were shouted down and shot down before the world could hear them,” Tatiana said.
“Come on, let’s look,” Little Wolf said and they pushed their bikes through a wooded area until they saw people about two hundred feet ahead.
“Look, the SS has some people under guard,” Tom said. There were about twenty men women and children held at gunpoint by six SS guards and a major in charge. Orders were shouted in German.
“They’re telling them to lie down next to each other,” Captain Shellhause said.
“There must be a large grave already waiting for them,” Tom said.
“We can’t let this happen,” Tatiana said.
“What can we do?” Tom asked.
“Plenty,” Little Wolf said. I’ll sneak behind. You guys flank them. When I start shooting, they’ll turn to me then you hit them hard.” The men who wanted to attack them in Munich were armed with four guns; Little Wolf, Tatiana, Tom and Captain Shellhause each had one. Why did they use knives in that warehouse? Probably to keep it quiet and not send an alarm that would bring the police and ruin their plan to rob their victims. “Little Wolf and Tatiana ended that idea and the guns were the spoils of conflict.
“But…” Tom started then saw that Little Wo
lf was gone.
“Let’s move up fast and stay low,” Tatiana said and they crept to within about fifty feet and were still concealed. Little Wolf was very fast and was already behind the guards. They raised their guns ready to fire on the signal from the major. Little Wolf didn’t wait; he stepped from behind a tree and shot two guards who fell dead. The major turned and fired striking Little Wolf in the left arm. Little Wolf shot the major in the head. The rest of the guards had turned to find the source when Tom, Tatiana and Captain Shellhause opened fire. Three were killed but one was running away. It wouldn’t be good for him to escape and tell what happened. Captain Shellhause, the marksman took aim as the guard reached the top of a hill. A shot rang out and the guard fell back and slid down the hill dead. Tatiana, Tom and Captain Shellhause ran to the bodies to checked if anyone was alive. Tatiana shot one in the head.
“He was alive,” she said.
“They’re all dead now,” Tom said.
“Hey, Little Wolf’s hurt,” Belinda said as she’d seen him hit. They ran to him and Tatiana knelt.
“Hit in my upper arm. It’s near the surface; not much bleeding so it didn’t hit anything vital.”
“You’re right but I need to get the bullet out,” Tatiana said.
“Hey, Tom, is that blood on your pants?” Captain Shellhause asked.
“Yeah, I guess it is…maybe…oh!”
“You were hit,” Belinda said pointing.
“I hope you’ll forgive me ladies,” Tom said and dropped his pants.
“Yeah, it just scraped the skin, probably why you didn’t feel it,” Tatiana said. “I’ll bandage you then we have to get the bullet out of Little Wolf’s arm.” They were so busy attending their wounds that they didn’t see the people who’d been the targets walk up to them.
“Who are you people?” A man asked.
“Just passing through and we hate all Nazis,” Tatiana said.
“Are you commandos of some kind?” A woman holding a baby asked.
“No, we’re just friends of the oppressed,” Captain Shellhause answered.
“You’re Jews I take it,” Little Wolf posed.
“Yes, we were hiding in a barn…we’d been there for three years. They killed the farmer and his wife and took us away for execution,” the woman said.
“They were good people and they died to save us,” another man said.
“I’m sure there’s much of that going on around Europe,” Tom said.
“Where will you go now?” Belinda asked.
“Across the Austrian border then along the northern frontier to Switzerland,” a man said.
“What’re you doing in Germany?” The woman holding the baby asked.
“We’re trying to save the world,” Tatiana replied.
“Good luck,” a man said and they left and disappeared quickly.
“Can you ride, Little Wolf?” Tatiana asked
“It’s my arm, Miss Tatiana.”
“I mean will you get light-headed.”
“I’m fine.”
“Good, now, let’s get far away from this place before more SS arrive,” Tatiana said and they took off at a brisk pace. Tom was hurting slightly but he kept moving and they were five miles away before they stopped in a grove of trees.
“I have a pocket knife I took off one of those thugs in Munich,” Little Wolf said and handed it to Tom. “Build a small fire to sterilize it.”
“Who’s going to take the bullet out?” Belinda asked.
“Miss Tatiana,” Little Wolf said.
“I’ve never done this.”
“You’ve watched Mr. Dave. You can do it and it’s near the surface. I can feel it and it’s all but sticking out through the skin already.” Tatiana looked at Little Wolf and grinned.
“You could probably do this better by yourself,” Tatiana said as Tom handed her the sterilized knife.
“I can’t, I’m left-handed.” Tatiana gave Little Wolf a look and a grin as she prepared to cut. It was very near the surface as he’d said and came out easily. She used bandages she’d brought along in her back pack and put on a tight wrap.
“Done, sorry I don’t have antibiotics.”
“Well, infection won’t kick in for a few days and by then we’ll either have succeeded and be back through the portal or we’ll all be dead,” Little Wolf said then cringed thinking of Belinda’s reaction to adversity. They all looked at her and she laughed, shaking her head.
“I know I’m an emotional headcase sometimes but I also know this is just short of a suicide mission anyway and if we die then I won’t have to fix my hair and make-up anymore. That’ll be a relief because looking stunningly beautiful every day is a pain sometimes.” Little Wolf and Captain Shellhause were chuckling and Tatiana shook her head and grinned.
“We need to rest before we ride,” Tatiana said.
“Not very long, we need to get moving,” Little Wolf said.
“We can wait a couple of hours,” Captain Shellhause said.
“No longer,” Little Wolf said and laid his head down to rest.
“Can you ride, Tom?” Captain Shellhause asked.
“I’m fine but Little Wolfs going to struggle with his arm,” Tom said.
“We’ll make it and we have two days left,” Captain Shellhause said. They all laid down to rest except for Tatiana who was up wandering and checking on any sounds she heard. There were planes overhead and she suspected the bodies of the SS men had been found. They’d have to be more vigilant than ever because the SS, Police, Gestapo and perhaps other groups would be looking for whoever killed the guards and freed the prisoners.
“Let’s go,” Tatiana said after just an hour and they were moving very quickly. They made it to a dirt road and started towards their goal. They were cautious because of the patrols. Fortunately, it was getting dark so the air search wouldn’t be a problem. They bypassed three small towns to avoid the authorities and kept to the country.
“How far away are we?” Belinda asked.
“A sign said forty kilometers to the Austrian border,” Captain Shellhause said.
“How many miles?” Belinda asked. “I don’t know anything about those kilo things.”
“A little less than twenty-five miles,”
“Everything’s so different over here in Europe. We are in Europe, right?” Belinda asked.
“Yes, Lind, we’re in Europe,” Tatiana said.
“Well, the money is strange, no one speaks English. What’s the matter with them and now they don’t even know what miles are? This place is weird.” Tom and Captain Shellhause looked at one another and rolled their eyes.
“You know, Lind, that many Europeans would say the same thing about America,” Tatiana reminded her.
“But what’s not to like about America?” Belinda asked.
“It’s not that they don’t like it but they have their way of doing things and they’re not about to change to please us in 1939 or 2020.”
“Oh, well, I can see that. I guess I’ll have to find a way to make things work.”
“We all will, Lind,” Tatiana said. They kept moving through the night and closed in on The Berghoff.
The Berghoff was built on a mountain in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria in Germany right on the Austria border. It was Hitler’s retreat during the war and where he met and planned many of the actions of the Nazis. Most of the top Nazis and administration officials were there as well. That’s why the four went to The Berghoff to meet Goering…they knew he’d be there.
The sun came up and they were three miles away. The building was visible from its height on the mountain. Cars were coming and going as they turned up the road that led upward to the Berghoff. Others came down to take people away. Supply trucks also were frequent as they plowed upward to deliver everything needed to satisfy the two hundred people that usually were present to fawn and bow to Hitler.
“What do we do now?” Belinda asked. They were all hunched down behind some bushes off a side road waiting for what; t
hey weren’t sure. Making plans as to what to do when you go back in time eighty years in a foreign country that’s not even friendly to its own people is a crap shoot at best. They didn’t know what to expect when they got to the Berghoff. They knew there’d be traffic but they weren’t ready for this many people and vehicles.
“I don’t know…I wasn’t expecting this. How do we get past all of these people and get up there? Or do we need to go up there?” Tatiana said. We need to talk this through.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Alright, so we’re all on the same vehicle but how far will we get driving a pink bus before some authority figure stops us…if nothing else for driving a pink vehicle?” Justin asked as he sat across from Dave and Jozette.
“A point not without merit,” Dave remarked.
“Well it’s a cinch we can’t go into Bloomington,” Jozette said.
“So, what should we do?” Ariel asked.
“I have an idea,” Sol said as he was looking at a cell phone.
“What?” Dave asked.
“I have to say, it’ll be very dangerous.”
“What is it, Sol…danger has never stopped us before,” Justin said.
“The news; you know they’re still taking hostages until someone spills the beans who wiped out the North Patrol Station.”
“And?” Jozette asked.
“They have twenty-five fifth graders from the Emanuel Lutheran School for girls.”
“How can they do that?” Ariel asked.
“They can do anything they want,” Dave said.
“What does it say on the news?” Jozette asked.
“If the perpetrators aren’t found by tomorrow at noon, the children will be executed,” Sol answered. They sat in silence for a minute thinking. What could they do? There’d be an armed escort to the field where they’d conduct the execution. How many men would they bring? Who knows? Twenty maybe. They couldn’t deal with that. If they tried anything, they’d all be killed and what good would that do? No, that’s a cop out…an easy way to avoid an unpleasantry. Whatever they decided, they were all thinking the same thing right now and it was this. No matter what they did, the one thing they couldn’t do was…nothing.