The Cuckoo Bird: Say The War Had Never Happened...

Hiatus Special - Three

Chapter Five

The sun hung lazily in the sky, seemingly reluctant to begin its ascent. Anna sat on the bench in the tiny compound, staring at the sparse cloud that wandered across the horizon. September had finally arrived, though it had brought no reprieve from the heat. Even now, in the early hours of the morning, Anna could not enjoy a welcome chill. Instead, she sat with her shoes off, pressing them into the cool damp of the wooden bench. At least it was peaceful. Mornings were the only time it was truly quiet here.

The days seemed only to merge into one never-ending workload. Anna had been in the camp little over a week now, but since the first day not much else had happened. She'd barely seen Keller, and even when she did, all she got was stolen smug smiles. Most of the time, he was clearly distracted. In fact, all of the guards seemed twitchy, constantly looking over their shoulders.

Margot had overheard some of them talking about it when she was ordered to help unload an officer's belongings. She'd taken great delight in regaling her tale as the women gathered around the bench one night. 'It's that new Sturmbannführer. He has very strict standards. You should have seen the way he spoke to them! Put the fear of God into them the moment he stepped out of his office.'

'How does that help us?' said Miriam.

'He was sent here to keep up their training for the front, and says their attitudes are awful.'

'And?' asked Miriam as she slumped back against Anna.

Exasperated, Margot rolled her eyes. 'He's going to be watching their every move.'

'He was the reason those two stopped the other day,' said Hannah, her excitement clear.

'Exactly! As long as he's around, we're safe.'

'We're never safe,' said Anna, resting her head on top of Miriam's.

That comment elicited a glare from Margot. 'You know what I mean. If we keep our heads down and don't give them cause to, we might even escape beatings.'

'Something tells me it's only the illegal activities he's concerned about,' said Miriam with a sigh, nestling further into Anna. 'This new Sturmbannführer would probably encourage beatings to keep their spirits up.'

The women fell into other conversations, all choosing to cling to that small ray of hope rather than face the stark truth.

The murmurs of her fellow inmates rousing from their sleep began to sound. Her alone time was nearly up. Anna was at least grateful that this man's presence seemed to have quelled the other guards, even if Keller still found some way to lurk. She hated that no matter where she was, she was terrified he'd appear. It created a constant queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Miriam trudged out of the bunkhouse, shooting Anna a smile. 'Day dreaming again?'

'That's all there is to do here.'

'Not sure the guards would agree with you there,' she said before she helped herself to some water. 'It's nice and quiet, isn't it?'

Anna could only smile in response. The other women began to pour out of the bunkhouse. Stretching, Anna tugged on her boots and got to her feet. No sense in dawdling any longer.

As they lined up for morning inspection, Anna was sure there was a change in the air. The guards seemed chirpier than of late, which set her nerves on edge. Thankfully, Keller wasn't running the inspections this morning, but Fischer had taken the lead. Whilst he let the other guards inspect the lines, he hovered by her work group, his weasel like face contorted into a hideously smug grin. Anna truly hoped that one day it would be wiped off his face for good.