“Behind you Philip!” Peder yelled as they approached.
Philip spun around and fired just as a tall shadow on the top of the bank let loose a stream of bullets. Evelyn reached Anna and turned as a German soldier tumbled into the ravine, blood pouring from a wound in his stomach. She forced down a strangled cry and heaved the rifle up to her shoulder as a row of enemy soldiers appeared on the bank, their rifles aimed at them.
“Run!” she cried over her shoulder as she, Erik, and Philip began firing.
Bullets rained down into the ravine and she stopped breathing as she fired repeatedly at the shadows above. She hit two of them before Erik got her moving again. She had been in one spot for too long and a bullet whizzed by her head, narrowly missing her and hitting the opposite bank instead. She gasped and turned to stumble along the gorge before resolutely turning to take aim again.
Before she could get her shot off, there was a cry behind her and Evelyn turned to watch in horror as Peder stumbled and fell.
“Peder!” she cried, running towards him.
He had dropped his radio case and was clutching his thigh, writhing in agony.
“It’s my leg,” he gasped as she dropped down beside him.
Evelyn pulled his hands away and stared at the blood pouring through his pants. A gaping hole in the fabric left no doubt as to the extent of the injury and she shook her head, her eyes filling with tears.
“No, no, no!” She shook her head and began to pull the scarf from around her neck. “We’ll tie it up. Philip or Erik will help you.”
Peder took one look at her face and shook his head, reaching out to still her hands.
“No. I can’t walk, and you can’t stay,” he said, his voice surprisingly firm. “I did what I could. Now it’s up to others. My time is done.”
He reached for his radio and shoved it into her hands.
“Take it. Leave me. Don’t let them get that,” he said urgently. “Use it and get home!”
Erik dropped down on his other side. He took one glance at the leg and looked at Evelyn.
“He’s right. He can’t continue,” he said. “We’ve stopped them for now, but the rest are coming. We have to move.”
“We can’t just leave him here!” Evelyn protested.
“You must!” Peder looked at her and smiled tremulously. “It’s been a pleasure, Marlene. I would have loved to continue working with you, but it’s not to be. It will be up to Kristian now.”
Erik reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pistol, pressing it into Peder’s hand.
“Here. It’s loaded and primed. For God’s sake, don’t shoot yourself.”
Peder let out a strangled laugh and waved them away.
“Will you get out of here?” he demanded. “Get Anna and get away while you still can. I’ll do what I can to slow them down.”
Erik pulled Evelyn to her feet.
“Come. We must leave him,” he said urgently. “We haven’t much time.”
She nodded and stared down at Peder, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry, Peder,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry I got you into this.”
“I got myself into this,” he retorted. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Now go!”
Erik grabbed her hand and pulled her away, turning to run along the ravine bed. Philip had gone ahead and caught up with Anna and, as they ran towards them, she turned and saw Peder still on the ground behind them. She let out a cry and tried to run back but Philip grabbed her arms, stopping her.
“No, we must leave him!”
“We can’t leave him!” she cried frantically. “Oh my God, Peder!”
“He can’t walk, Anna,” Erik said, not ungently, as they joined them. “It was his choice. He wants us to go on.”
Anna looked at Evelyn and saw the tears pouring down her face. She gasped and looked back at Peder, her own eyes filling with tears. As if sensing the struggle he couldn’t hear, Peder raised his hand in a wave, then made a motion for them to go.
“We have to get out of this ravine,” Philip said urgently. “They’ll be sending troops ahead as well as coming after us. I told you this was a kill box. If we stay here, we die.”
Erik nodded in agreement and motioned to a bend ahead. “There.”
They sprinted to the bend and rounded the corner, out of sight from their pursuers. Erik led them for a few yards, scanning the steep bank, then motioned for them to climb out. He stood guard until they had all reached the top, then scrambled up after them.
They stood in dark and silent trees for a moment, and then he began moving again. Evelyn followed numbly, her rifle hooked over her shoulder and Peder’s radio clutched against her chest. Suddenly, through the silence, they heard two pistol shots, one after the other. Evelyn gasped and stopped, listening. After a second of silence, the unmistakable sound of machine gun fire responded.
It lasted only a few seconds, then silence fell again. Erik and Evelyn looked at each other and he reached out and took her hand, squeezing it tightly.
“If I know Peder, he just took at least two of them with him,” he said in a low voice.
Evelyn’s throat squeezed shut and she nodded mutely, clinging to his hand, shaking. Anna wrapped an arm around her shoulders, tears again flowing down her face.
“God took him quickly,” she whispered brokenly.
Erik allowed the two women a moment to grieve, but then he gently turned them towards the trees.
“Come. We must move before they pick up our trail. Peder
