Yvette’s eyes widened like two saucers. She gasped for breath, burst into tears and then threw herself at Fitz, wrapping her arms around her neck and holding on so tightly, Fitz almost lost balance. Gently she prised Yvette’s hands from around her.Yvette moved back and studied Fitz’s face. She lifted a hand and her fingertips lightly touching the bruised cheekbone. ‘What happened to your face?’
Fitz realised she must look a frightening sight with her injuries. She smiled reassuringly. ‘It’s all right. It will soon get better.’ She wiped the tears from Yvette’s face. ‘Don’t cry now,’ she soothed. ‘Everything is all right. We’ll stay together.’
Chapter 26
Eventually and after much effort, they managed to get enough pieces of wood under the wheels enabling the truck to gain traction and lurch forward out of the boggy hole.
When everyone climbed back into the trucks, Fitz made sure Yvette came with her.
‘There’s not enough room,’ complained the woman next to Fitz.
‘She’s only little,’ said the man opposite. ‘Swap places with me if you need more room for your behind.’
The woman glared at the man and begrudgingly shuffled up so Yvette could squeeze in next to Fitz. The man gave Yvette a wink. ‘Merci,’ mouthed Fitz to the man. This little act of support gave her hope that all was not lost for humankind.
The track the convoy drove along was no better than it had been the day before, with more flooding it was hard to see where the road ended, and the grass verge began.
They had only been travelling ten minutes or so, when the truck Fitz was in suddenly lurched to the right and everyone was thrown to one side of it as the cab landed in the ditch, causing the rear of the vehicle to jack-knife and topple on its side. Screams and cries were swallowed up in the chaos as the truck hit the unforgiving bank with a thud. It took Fitz a moment to realise what had happened. She was trapped under a tangle of legs and arms. She could hear people shouting in French and German voices. People were trying to free themselves from one another, others were groaning. Water had filled part of the truck bed but fortunately the size of the vehicle meant that it was wedged only so far in the ditch.
Someone shoved their foot in Fitz’s face as they clawed their way out. She frantically looked around for Yvette, pushing people off her as they scrambled to get out of the overturned truck and climb up the bank of the ditch.
‘Yvette! Yvette!’ Fitz could feel the panic setting in but then spotted a little hand clasped around a teddy bear. She scrambled over to her, shoving people to the side so they didn’t trample on the child who was half under the bench seat. She pulled Yvette out backwards by her ankles and thankfully she seemed all right. They clambered out of the truck and jostled their way up the bank and away from the overturned truck.
People were still calling for help, crying out in pain, while others tried to free them. The guards were barking orders, trying to make themselves heard above the growing frantic shouts and cries from the prisoners.
There was a sense of disorder. One young-looking German soldier was shouting and waving his rifle around, trying to get people to move away from the trucks, while another was shouting equally as loud, sending them back to help. At one point the two soldiers were shouting at each other.
The prisoners were scared, not knowing what to do or who to listen to. A shot rang out in the air, causing everyone to scream and take cover, holding their hands over their heads in futile protection against a bullet. More shouting from the soldier on the bank ensued. The regular German soldier hadn’t had the same education as that of an officer and didn’t have the benefit of another language. It was obvious not many of the prisoners understood German and were terrified, having to guess what they were being ordered to do.
The frustrated soldier lifted his rifle and jabbed the butt between the shoulder blades of an elderly man who fell at his feet. The soldier was standing over him, shouting at him to getup. He kicked out at the man and when someone else tried to get the man to his feet, they too were jabbed with the rifle.
Fitz pulled Yvette in towards her, wanting to shield her from what would happen next. Another shot. Fitz flinched. The man had been shot in the head at point blank range. More screams and cries from the nearby prisoners as they scurried about trying to obey the confusing and conflicting orders.
It was only then as Fitz took a moment to survey the chaos before her, she realised that the urgency from the guards was because the driver and another soldier were trapped in the submerged cab of the truck.
It was clearly becoming a desperate situation as frantically, the soldiers themselves joined in with trying to free their comrades. One of them shouted across to the two soldiers watching over Fitz and the rest of the prisoners.
One of the soldiers ran over to the submerged truck cab, joining in with the efforts to free the men before it was too late.
Fitz looked around, her eyes scanning the situation before her. The remaining soldier was by her side, but his attention wasn’t on her or the rest of the prisoners, it was on the cab. He took a few steps closer, craning his neck to get a better look, glancing momentarily at the prisoners before his attention was back on the frantic rescue bid.
Fitz squeezed Yvette’s hand. ‘Very slowly, move back a little,’ she whispered in her ear. In unison, they shifted themselves away from the main group of prisoners. One shuffle at a time as one step at a time, the soldier guarding them moved towards the truck.
The guards were shouting and yelling at each other and to the men trapped in the cab. It was all looking very desperate for them.
Fitz checked and double-checked no one was watching them. If they could make it to the other side of the road and through a gap in the brambles she had spotted, then they could disappear into the woodland. It was the only chance they were going to get.
‘Hold on tight to your teddy,’ said Fitz. She couldn’t risk another cock up like before. ‘When I say go, we’re going to run around to the other side of the truck. And then across the road.D’accord?’
Yvette nodded. ‘Oui.’
Fitz made a final check that everyone else was preoccupied. She got to her feet and took Yvette’s hand. ‘Ready? Go.’ They sprinted around to the side of the truck. It only took seconds but it felt like minutes. Fitz was waiting for the hail of bullets. But none came. They had made it without being noticed. There was no time to lose. ‘And again. Run. Now!’ she whispered, the desperation in her voice was clear.
Yvette didn’t hesitate and they both bolted across the road, charging through the gap in the bushes. They kept running, into the forest.
Running as fast as they could.
All the time Fitz was listening out for shouts or gunshots, expecting the Germans to be hunting them down. She didn’t look back. She kept hold of Yvette’s hand and was almost dragging the child off her feet as they ducked and swerved their way through the trees.
