CHAPTER 24

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       We were woken up with a loud rattle at the cell door. We weren't given breakfast, instead taken by truck to a huge factory. Walking in, I could tell what the factory was producing. Ammunition. Machine gun ammo to shells for warships. We were going to make the weapons that killed our own people. Michael and I were put next to each other where I operated a press that compacted gunpowder into bullet shells. He then took it and put it on a conveyor belt I watched each time as the press made another bullet.

       Then I got an idea. When the press lifted, I took the bullet and put it in my pocket. I looked at Michael and winked. We were blowing our way out of prison. With gunpowder. I took three more bullets over the course of my shift. Any more and it would be suspicious. When we switched, I told Michael to take one when I touched his hand. That meant nobody was looking. We managed to get another six bullets.

       But we needed another thing to escape. A gun.

       "Could you put a gun together if you had the right pieces?" I whispered.

       "Yes. How can you get one though?" He replied.

       I looked to where guards were stationed. They protected a rack of guns behind them.

       "We can use the powder to make an explosion. They will be confused and disoriented. Then we can sneak up there." I replied.

       There was a pipe that took from big fifty gallon basins of gas to fuel the machinery. If we could get them on fire, it would be mass panic to get the fire out. But we would need lots of powder to make a boom. On five minute lunch break which consisted of one piece of bread and some water, I walked over to the gas tanks. One was dripping gas from someone doing a bad job of connecting the pipe. I walked around some more until I saw guards. There were two of them, smoking. One threw his cigarette on the ground and followed the others as they walked away. I pulled out my four bullets and emptied the gunpowder. I made a little path leading into the pool of gas. The cigarette was almost out, and I slowly pushed it towards the powder.

       There was a tremendous boom that threw me back. There was a ringing in my ear, but I moved fast. Michael was at the bottom of the steps leading to where the guns were kept. We ran up and grabbed a pistol. I recognized it as German-made. We disassembled it like we were cleaning it out. I put the magazine in one pocket and the barrel in another. Michael took the rest. We ran back down as the guards put the fire out. Everyone was ordered single file for a "quick talk" about the fire.

       "When we catch who did this, they will be killed slowly but surely. You can guarantee that! Now back to work!" A guard said.

       We went back to the press. We had a gun and a source of ammunition. We only grabbed four more until the day was over. We finished with ten bullets and a gun. Not bad for one day. Not bad at all. 

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