Bright light suddenly pierced through the blackness, arching down from above and sweeping back and forth a few feet in front of them. Looking up, she saw several tall figures illuminated on a ridge far above them. Her heart surged into her throat and she watched as several more bright lights joined the first, searching for the source of the unnatural noise in the night.
Peder’s hand closed around hers and squeezed warningly and Evelyn turned to see more lights coming from the trees behind them. These were on the same level as them, and they were closing quickly. She looked at Erik just as one of the lights above illuminated the suitcase laying on its side at the base of a tree.
The lights from the German soldiers showed the ravine only a few yards below them. In the spring, it would be flooded with water from the melting snows above, but now it was dry, covered with only a dusting of snow. The trees on the banks above it offered some protection from the hills above, and Erik motioned towards it as a shout echoed from above. The Germans had seen the suitcase.
“Run for the ravine!” Erik gasped, shouldering his rifle and turning to take aim at the ridge above them. “Marlene, go! Protect them in the ravine!”
As soon as Anna, Evelyn and Peder began half-sliding and half-running down the mountain towards the gorge, Erik and Philip began firing. Within seconds, gunfire lit up the mountainside, deafening as it echoed around them. Evelyn didn’t remember running for her life, she only remembered the terrifying feeling that the next shot she heard would be the last. Gripping her rifle, she dodged between trees and around underbrush, gasping for air as she ran for all she was worth. Anna was a few feet to her right, ducking behind trees as they heard the ping and thud of bullets spraying around them.
Diving behind a thick tree, Evelyn stopped to peer around it, looking back as she tried to catch her breath. Erik and Philip were behind them, returning fire from behind the cover of trees as enemy soldiers were sliding down the mountainside after them. The Germans were far enough away that Evelyn had no doubt that they would make it to the ravine before them, but she also knew they weren’t the only SS soldiers. There had been at least one group on the same ridge as they were when all hell broke loose, and those were the ones that she knew could stop them.
Almost as if fate had heard her, a burst of rifle fire erupted from her right and she saw several shadows moving a few yards away in the trees. Looking over her shoulder, Evelyn saw that Anna and Peder had reached the bank of the ravine. She jerked her head in the direction of the ravine, shouldering her rifle.
“Go!”
Anna looked at her and nodded, her eyes wide with terror. She turned and leapt off the bank with Peder close behind.
Erik and Philip were pinned down a few feet behind her by gunfire coming from the soldiers to the right. Unable to leave their cover, Evelyn knew they wouldn’t last long. She turned and aimed at the closest enemy shadow to Philip and braced herself, firing. The shadow ducked back behind a tree and she fired again at another shadow close to him. A cry of pain echoed through the trees and she knew that her bullet had found its mark.
It’s just an animal, they’re just animals, she told herself as she aimed again. They’re not people. They’re not men. You’re just out hunting, and Dad always said you could hit anything. Just take the shots. Don’t think about the people. Just take the shots. If you don’t, Erik and Philip will die.
Evelyn repeated the words to herself over and over again as Erik and Philip made a break for the trees where Anna and Peder had been moments before. As they ran, Evelyn fired again as a tall SS soldier emerged from behind a tree with a machine gun. The lights from the soldiers rapidly descending from above flooded over him and Evelyn watched as her shot went into his chest. She caught her breath as he was thrown backwards, a crimson stain spreading across his uniform under his open coat. She stared, paralyzed, as he fell back to hit a tree before sliding into the snow, the machine gun falling out of his hand. Something akin to shock rolled through her, crushing her chest and blurring her vision, and she felt rooted to the spot, unable to move.
Oh my God. I just did that. I just killed a man!
The thought broke through the haze in her mind and her empty stomach rolled over as a wave of nausea gripped her. She was frozen, still staring, when a strong hand grabbed hers. She stumbled as Erik yanked her towards the ravine.
“Move!” he commanded harshly. “Let’s go!”
With that, he gave her a shove over the side and Evelyn felt
