Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray(130)

And what did the message say?

That under torture, before his execution, Leon had finally confessed. The SS now had the names of his Die Eichel coconspirators in Kleinwald: Karl Schmidt. Sophie Muller. And Hanna Schmidt. There is, I confess, a sliver of satisfaction I feel when I picture Herr Jaeger’s face the moment he realizes he has been duped by two schoolgirls and a simple mechanic. None of us trained in espionage. Not professional spies but ordinary teenagers. How his leaving must have sent a ripple through the people: Where is Herr Jaeger going and so quickly? Why does he look upset? What has happened?

But this little bit of satisfaction is gone like sun behind clouds. Because of what happened next.

I am sorry. I must have water. My mouth has gone dry.

Even now, here, a lifetime later and a world away, the memory is a gloved hand at my throat.

Here is what happened: Herr Jaeger summoned Oskar. He interrogated him, realizing rather quickly that Oskar had no knowledge of our involvement. Oskar was a good soldier. He was shocked about Karl. Not so much Sophie. But me. He insisted I could not be a traitor.

“No. That cannot be. Not Hanna. She is loyal! A good German!”

He kept saying this. Perhaps because he loved me. Or perhaps because my disloyalty was a disloyalty to him as well. He would’ve had to accept that I had not really loved him. Or perhaps … all of it.

“She is a traitor. Maybe you are a traitor, too, Oskar?”

“No, Mein Kommandant. I am no traitor.”

“We shall see.”

He had Oskar come with him to confront Karl where he stood in front of the commandant’s car, which had not a thing wrong with it. But Herr Jaeger knew that, of course. I could imagine my brother, desperate to get to us in the forest, saying to the commandant, “It is all in working order, Herr Jaeger. I’ve checked it.” He was a very good mechanic.

They beat him. They beat my brother until he spit blood and teeth across the castle flagstones. Herr Jaeger smashed the butt of his gun against my brother’s mouth and even as it filled with blood, he would not give us up.

“Where are they?” the commandant demanded.

“Tell us, Karl!” Oskar said. “I will take care of Hanna. I know she is innocent.”

Where were we as this was happening? Probably at the very edge of the forest. Thinking only of the forged traveling papers hopefully waiting for us inside the oak—for Sigrid, Greta, and Jorgen, three Swedish students from Stockholm. The cold bit through my too-thin coat and nipped at my skin. I worried about the baby; I was hungry all the time. As if she knew, Sophie reached into her coat pocket and brought out an orange. What a glorious miracle! An orange. Like a flame against the night.

“You must eat, my darling.” She smiled at me.

Yes, she looked just like a film star.

But you want to know about Karl.

Chance is a cruel thing. Sometimes, it rewards our hopes. A winning lottery ticket. A quick detour that avoids the terrible accident. But other times, it seals our fate. On this night, chance was in a foul mood. For as Herr Jaeger dragged Karl toward our house, at that very moment, Lotte happened by.

“Tell us where we can find Hanna and Sophie,” Herr Jaeger demanded. He was ready to strike again. But Karl said nothing.

For all the times Lotte had been powerless, now, she held so much of it in her little fists. “I know where they went.”

“Lotte, this is not the time for one of your games,” Oskar said.

“I do know! I saw them leaving the village!”

Herr Jaeger was not a natural with children. But he had charm. And chocolate. And Lotte had not had much of either in her brief life.

“What a clever girl you are.” He offered the chocolate. “Go on. Take it.”

I can only imagine how delicious it must have been, the rich chocolate and the satisfaction of every pair of eyes on her, for once, the star. To be seen at last—and by the most important man in town. Oh, poor Lotte. She had a taste of power and it cast its terrible spell.

“Tell me, little one. Where did they go?”

“They went into the forest,” she said, the rich flavor of chocolate still on her tongue. “For their secret club, Die Eichel. They told me not to tell. They are always going off to the forest in secret.”

“The tree,” Oskar said then. “The Bridegroom’s Oak.”

“That’s how they are communicating,” Herr Jaeger said, piecing it together at last. “Miss Lonelyhearts.”

The hunter grabbed his rifle. “Then we will go after them.”

I have wondered from time to time what must have gone through Oskar’s mind as they drove in Herr Jaeger’s Kommandeurwagen. Was he thrilled to sit up front with a man who could have been a father? Did he feel important? Was he worried for us? Did he still suppose me to be innocent? Guilty?

We knew none of this as we made our way through the forest. The air was crisp. It turned the evening sky as clear as a photograph. Our flashlights made ghosts of the trees. At one point, my beam found the eyes of a deer. It froze, then scampered away. I tried not to think of my parents. Of Egon and Leon. Of how long Karl would take to reach us. I knew Sophie worried for her father.

“Karl and I will marry when we get to Sweden. He and I will both get work. You will have the baby and we will help you care for it.”

I let her talk. Her voice was like a lullaby. I was so tired. The baby making me sleepy. Every part of me was cold and aching.