Tuck Everlasting, The Continued Story.

Chapter 11

A/N: Thank you guys so much for getting my up to 130,000 reads!!! I am so excited!!! Thank you!

Winnie leapt to her feet, the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Miles was down the ladder in an instant, with Winnie and Jessie following. As they ran to the end of the hallway, they nearly crashed into Andre, who was walking out of his bedroom with a somber look on his face. He was carrying a small gun. He met their eyes and gave a small nod, as if to say that he was ready. Erik suddenly burst from the same room, bumping into Andre. Andre shot him an annoyed look, but Erik just grinned. He slung his rifle over his shoulder, and adjusted his cap.

The heavy sound of Cheri's approaching footsteps came from the stairway, and suddenly her plump figure appeared. She froze in her tracks when she took in the sight of everyone gathered in the hallway, preparing for battle. Her face turned red, and her nose flared as she looked accusingly at Andre. 

"What the devil is happening!" She shrieked. Andre looked at his feet, resembling a child who had just been caught trying to steal a cookie.

"Cheri," he said cautiously, "Its for the resistance." She began to huff and puff, and Andre put his hands on her shoulders. "Please try to understand. We are doing this for your safety." Winnie held her breath, bracing for more shrieking, when Cheri surprised her.

Cheri buried her head into Andre's shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably. Andre cradled her head, soothing her. He looked around awkwardly, and Erik stifled a laugh. 

"I just worry about you." she sobbed. He ran his hands along her hair.

"I will be careful. I promise." he said softly. A hard knock at the door quickly stopped her crying, and everybody looked at the door as if it might spontaneously combust. "Go go!" Andre whispered fiercely, as he herd everybody into his bedroom. He whispered something to Cheri, as she wiped her tears away and nodded.

"Henri!" she called. The boy ran up the stairs, and Andre lifted him into his arms and carried him into his room with the rest of them. Cheri wearily glanced at Andre before descending down the stairs to answer the knocking.

It was the first time that Winnie had been in Andre's room. It was small and resembled the rest of the house, with a large bed on the other side of the room. However, it might have only seemed so small because six people were crammed inside. Everyone clustered against the wall, straining to hear what was happening downstairs.

They heard the door open, and low voices spoke to Cheri for about a minute, before the door was slammed shut. They heard Cheri quickly run up the stairs, and open the door to the bedroom. Everybody was upon her, asking to know what happened. She shooed them away with her hands and plopped herself on the bed. They gathered around her like school children, waiting for her to speak.

"There were two Nazi's at the door." She finally said. "They were French citizens I think. They want everybody in the village to gather in Town Square for an important meeting." Miles and Andre exchanged a glance, and Winnie felt like they were keeping secrets.

"What do we do?" Jesse asked. Winnie knew that he was directing that question to Miles, and Miles sighed because he knew it too.

"Erik, Andre, and I will meet up with some of the resistance. I think that you all should go to Town Square to see what they want. If anything goes wrong, you know the drill." He looked at Jesse and Winnie, and they nodded.

Everybody exited the bedroom and walked down the stairs. Jesse stood next to Miles "I can fight." he said. Miles placed a hand on Jesse's shoulder.

"I know you can." he replied. "But I think you should go with them." He saw Jesse's face fall, then quickly added. "To protect them. Plus, I think you should be with Winnie." Jesse looked at Winnie. Contemplating, and then nodded to his brother.

Cheri pulled Andre in for a huge kiss, and then Andre kissed Henri on his cheeks. He, Erik, and Miles then began to file out the door. As Miles was leaving, he looked back at Jesse and Winnie, and quickly said, "Go in disguise." The nodded in unison, and Miles left to catch up with the others.

Cheri didn't question why they needed to go in disguise, but she quickly wrapped a scarf around Winnie's head, hiding her hair and part of her face. Then Cheri took one of Andre's hats off of a hook, and placed it on Jesse's head. It was a large fedora that fell just above his eyes. Cheri nodded her approval, she handed everybody their coats, and then filed them out the door into the cold.

They followed Cheri along the winding cobblestone streets. Henri tugged at Cheri's coat until she relented and carried him the rest of the way. The town square was a large square space of cobblestone with a statue of the village's founder in the center. Houses, some shops, and the church surrounded the square. When they entered the square, villagers were gathered in the center, listening to the Nazis.

Winnie looked up, and saw that they had placed Nazis on the roofs of some of the houses with guns. It made Winnie feel uneasy, so she linked arms with Jesse and moved close to him. He smiled at her, but his eyes showed fear. "It will be all right," he whispered. She nodded. She needed to be brave.

"Good people!" a man yelled. They turned to see that a Nazi officer had positioned himself on the base of the statue. The man was short and stout, with blue eyes, and a blemished face. He waited until the crowd quieted down, and then he raised his hands. "Thank you all for meeting with us!" he shouted. Winnie bit her lip. 

"As if they had a choice." she thought.

"We do not plan to be here long, and we can assure you that we will let you return to your own daily lives. However, we will leave much sooner if you cooperate with us." There were a few murmurs in the crowd, and he waited to speak. 

Winnie saw him strain to hear another officer, who was at the foot of the statue, and then he continued his speech. But for a moment, Winnie didn't hear a word he said. Her heart skipped a beat and her blood turned cold as she locked eyes with the other officer. 

Von Kliest. Then, as quick as she met his eyes, she looked away, hiding her face. Had he seen her?

She looked back cautiously, but he wasn't looking at her. She realized she had been holding her breath, and she let it out. She nudged Jesse and whispered, "That's Von Kliest!" She nodded her head toward the statue, and Jesse squinted.

"The fat one?" he asked. She shook her head.

"The one on the left." she replied. He squinted his eyes again, and then shook his head.

"There is no one on the left." he said. Winnie looked back to where Von Kliest had been standing, and saw the Jesse was right. He was gone.

Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest, and she looked around frantically for him. The fat officer continued his speech, and Winnie ignored him until something caught her attention. 

"We believe you are hiding someone," The officer said.

Winnie and Jesse exchanged a glance, and then looked back at the officer. "A young man in his late twenties, and a young girl in her late teens." he said. "They are American, both serving in the American army. And, we believe them to be a threat to the Third Reich. If you hand them over, we will leave immediately."

Winnie suddenly felt many eyes fall on her, including Cheri's. "Winnie?" she said cautiously. Jesse grabbed her hand, and they began to step backwards together, trying not to make a scene. She breathed heavily, but tried to keep it hidden. She and Jesse made it to the edge of the square, and Jesse leaned close to her.

"When I say run," he said. Winnie nodded and braced herself. They kept stepping back.

"That's them!" A shrill voice yelled. Winnie didn't know whose voice it was, but she wasn't about to stay to find out.

Jesse pulled on her hand, "Run!"