Mo shrugged.
‘Perhaps,’ he replied. ‘But life teaches me this too. Fate brought us together, Joelle, and gave me a duty. I accept it with gratitude.’
‘What will people think of a French girl and an Indian man travelling together?’ I asked.
‘They will think whatever they choose,’ he said. ‘It is of no consequence.’
‘But what of the details?’ I added. ‘Where to live and school, and such things…’
‘One step at a time,’ he told me. ‘There is no other way. These are unusual times, and we are victims of circumstance.’
Neither of us spoke again until Beatrice returned, a smile across her face.
‘Thomas has promised us transport,’ she explained. ‘A small truck to get us towards Lille.’
I frowned.
‘Won’t that make us conspicuous?’ I asked.
‘Perhaps,’ she replied. ‘But our journey will be faster. Besides, we can take country lanes and steer clear of German patrols.’
I wasn’t so sure, and Mo said nothing. Beatrice smiled again.
‘Get some rest,’ she told us. ‘We leave before dawn.’
We bid Thomas and Jean goodbye in the darkness, setting off towards the north once more. The vehicle was an old farm truck, with a flat bed and crude suspension that jolted our bones as we trundled over rutted tracks. Thomas had given us a rifle and ammunition, and food for the journey. As light broke, we were well advanced, and Beatrice seemed to enjoy the drive. She’d handed me a crudely drawn map, with various towns and cities pinpointed in pencil – Chauny and Cambrai, Lens and Lille. Written below was a warning to avoid any major roads.
‘The Germans will not patrol the country lanes,’ Beatrice repeated from the previous evening. ‘At least, that is my hope…’
‘And if they do spot us?’ I asked.
‘Then we fight,’ said Beatrice, her face set.
I explained what had been said to Mo, and he nodded.
‘We have no choice,’ he said. ‘We go where fate takes us.’
Fate seemed to smile on us too. We made great progress and soon passed Chauny, the first of our markers. Bar some well-meaning locals, we saw no one and sensed no danger. It was almost pleasurable, like a scenic drive towards a summer vacation spot.
But it did not last…
FIFTEEN
‘GERMANS!’
I awoke with a start, having dozed off earlier. Beatrice swore and swerved from the road, between some trees. I hung on as the truck shuddered to a halt, using my arms to brace myself.
‘What now?’ Beatrice asked in English.
‘They will have seen us,’ he replied. ‘We need to get out and hide.’
I was still dazed and stumbled out behind Mo, who had grabbed Thomas’s rifle and some ammunition.
‘I fell asleep,’ I told him. ‘Where are they?’
‘About a quarter of a mile away,’ said Mo. ‘A roadblock with two jeeps. Three or four men at most.’
Beatrice pointed to the road.
‘Wait here,’ she said.
I watched her edge towards the treeline, right where we’d left the road. She crouched by an oak tree and peered towards the roadblock. Suddenly, she turned and sprinted back to us.
‘They come!’ she shouted. ‘Quick!’
Mo took my hand and pulled me away, into a thicket. I was immediately reminded of our first meeting. Already, it felt like a lifetime ago. We pushed through the bushes, Beatrice right behind us.
‘Hurry!’ she called.
Only, we were almost past the thicket. Any further and there would be no cover for us. Beatrice drew her pistol and tapped Mo on the shoulder.
‘We fight?’ she asked.
Mo glanced my way, his eyes full of resignation and sadness.
‘You must hide here,’ he told me. ‘Do not come out; do not watch what happens. And cover your ears, Joelle. This is not for you.’
I wanted to protest. To say I was not a child. But that is exactly what I was in that moment. A scared child faced with yet more loss.
‘Don’t fight,’ I begged them. ‘You will be killed, and I will be left alone.’
‘We must,’ Mo insisted. ‘If they find us, they will not spare us. You know this.’
‘But…’
Mo embraced me for a moment.
‘Please, Joelle,’ he said.
I nodded, wiped away tears and did as he asked. Beatrice kept low, the pistol ready, and went to the left, deeper into the trees. Mo went right, using the rifle to push past thick undergrowth until he was hidden. I heard German voices and then two of the soldiers appeared in the clearing between my hiding place and the treeline protecting Beatrice. Each held a rifle at shoulder height as they scanned the area.
I closed my eyes and covered my ears, but not for very long. Curiosity is a strange thing – so intrinsic to our being as humans that even fear can be overcome. I simply could not ignore what was happening, much as I might regret it afterwards. Only, I had grown immune to such things since my parents’ death, or so I thought at the time.
I opened my eyes and uncovered my ears in time to hear the first shot from Beatrice’s pistol. One of the soldiers screamed and fell, and then the other began to fire wildly. His shots were aimless, ripping into tree trunks but finding no foe. With his concentration on Beatrice’s position, he did not sense Mo, who also fired. More screams and then Beatrice appeared and finished the job, and my stomach grew tight and swirled with knots.
‘GO!’ she called, as more Germans entered the fray.
Mo was already in hiding, and I watched Beatrice sprint around to flank the newcomers. She was not stealthy enough and the soldiers spotted her. They began to fire too, and Beatrice yelped and then fell into the undergrowth. I screamed then, giving away my position, and the soldiers turned to me. I watched in horror as they raised their rifles, ready to fire indiscriminately.
Suddenly, Mo appeared behind them. He aimed and fired, and the lead soldier fell. The other turned too slowly and Mo’s aim was true once more. With both men down, he rushed towards me, diving into the thicket.
‘Hurry!’ he gasped. ‘We must get back to the road.’
‘Beatrice!’ I screamed.
I
