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Life on Mars
Published: 2009-07-21 00:20:46 +0000 UTC; Views: 7484; Favourites: 292; Downloads: 128
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lights that last foreverthe surface was sublime,
you had to touch it
to really connect
with what I was trying to lay down
it's all spilling out lately,
she just called it spillage,
and once said,
βnot everything you say or think
have to be seen or heard.β
think she could be right
there is no doubt she fit the bill
otherwise she would never have spoke
lights that last forever
into the slippery wetness,
I watch the river soar by
at times it slows unplanned
untold tales of the river,
like Painted Woods below the tree-line
from the days remains
like the deeds undone
and what the eve will bring
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Comments: 197
and this was the first time we heard
The Rustling
i started, shivering
was it something i had heard?
i looked at sarah
and met her scared gaze
"what is this?"
we were sitting in utter silence
none of us dared to move
there - again
the most frightening, unearthly sound
like dry leaves moved by a violent gush of wind
or snakes in distress
but different still
and all our courage collapsed
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the wind whipped up the sounds
like growls from some unearthly creature,
their presence was all about us
and we could feel there were creatures
in our midst,
human or animals we could not distinguish,
Sarah and Elizabeth grabbed their weapons
and stood,
I held my arm up
and my finger to my mouth for quiet,
we listened and felt the cold air about us,
like a scene from above we were encircled
by them and we knew we were outnumbered,
dragging sounds across the earth
and metallic jingling sounds,
but who and what were they and what did they want,
a fight or to maybe just scare us,
the darkness hid them, yet we knew they were just meters
around our encampment,
I held my bow near my thigh
drawing a quiver from the sheath on my back
placed the arrow in position pointing downward,
my sisters readied their blades
Sarah pulling out yet another shorter long knife
and held that behind her back,
the sweat rolling down my neck down my chest
my breath made clouds,
wisps of smoke drifted up from the untended fire at my feet,
we moved slow towards each other
and circled and went into position
as our father had taught us in battle,
a triad with our backs to each other
until we were standing in one unit almost
as the Romans had done in a battle against Carthaginians
so many years before,
I finally realized it was time
now or never and I could feel them coming in on us
you could feel their body heat, and whoever they were,
some were going to hell before light of day,
"Ready yourself, if they come in fast, strike low to center,
cut them deep and go onto the next, kill as many as you can"
as the heat percolated and the night shimmered
my legs ached with anticipation
my muscles so tight and my hand gripped the bow,
I raised it and arced it toward what i felt was the coming horde and pulled back the string tight and held it,
knowing i could get off one shot and then reach my blades
in seconds on the ready,
Elizabeth said,
"What are they waiting for?"
waiting
waiting
I knew not a thing to say,
suddenly a voice came out of the dark in a language I did not understand
not even a language, more an alien feel garble,
a word interrupted by moans and then more words
till finally new words sounding different and then new sounds
until i heard a familiar word and i reacted and they reacted with more words that I understood,
"Ahh she understands" one of them uttered,
I released the arrow and relaxed a bit
I stared at my sisters and knew no one
was going to say anything unless prompted,
I groaned and decided,
"Who are you and what do want?"
and then the rustling began as they moved into view
and the light from the fires shone their faces,
lizard like warriors, taller than any man i had ever seen and
all holding weapons I had never seen,
One moved towards me and said,
"Put your weapons down, they are useless against us anyway, we are not here to hurt you, we are here to guide you down through the valley, across the Great Plain, you will be dead by the next unless you trust us"
I looked at them and started to speak but no words came out, and they saw that and laughed or what seemed like laughter,
I showed my displeasure and they stopped,
Sarah grabbed my shoulder
"Steady girl, this is no time for that"
I swallowed and spoke again,
"Who are you?"
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"There will be time enough for us to become acquainted" the one who had spoken first replied.
Although he, or rather it was clearly understandable now, i could not make out the source of its language. Could a mouth like that produce human sounds? well, obviously they were able to make conversation somehow and that was a comfort. they didn't seem to be overtly hostile, had even offered us to lead us across the plains.
and still i felt extremely uneasy, looking at those scale-clad greenly shimmering creatures.
Another, smaller one started to say something, introduced by the uncanny rustling again:
"You are humans - very clearly so - more specifically female humans. You are on the run from your horde. You don't really belong here but into another time in another place. Our interest in you is getting to know how you were displaced in time and space. We can dislocate ourselves but we have never seen others do it, especially humans didn't seem to be able to do so. But now that we found you, we will do all in our power to get to know your secret and therefore we will guide you safely through all upcoming dangers."
This was a statement. No indication that our opinion would be asked in any way, less be of any importance to them. I looked at my sisters.
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We were not sure of all of this. Back home I had spent time in the cafes and heard the tales from the old farmers that dug the deep crevices in the sides of mountains I had never heard of or probably thought I would never see.
These sun soaked old timers talked slow about the creatures they saw on the 3rd moon in the late winters in the High Country.
These men would walk the thin slit paths along the jagged rocky cliffs and come across the camps with tall 100 meter fires blazing away all night with no sign of what was burning. everyone knew there was not a tree for 300 meters that high in the snow-banked peaks.
They watched these men in groups practicing dance-like maneuvers and strange sounds would float over the canyons. Then by the approaching daylight the farmers scared for their lives left and went home and drank and drank till their fear was gone and their wives wondering why they were so quiet and trembling. But they never spoke of what they saw.
The next night like curious children they went back and watched them again till this repeated four nights and on the fifth night they returned to find no trace of the camps or the fires.
All that remained were large metallic tubes buried deep in the side of the mountain, no rhyme or reason for any of it.
Perplexed the farmers just went home and never mentioned it again to anyone, not to even each other.
I wondered were these the same men, the same creatures with their fires burning on unknown fuel, were these the same, were they devils, ghosts from the bowels of the earth or were they from somewhere I could not imagine.
There was no clue of what we should do, resisting seemed fruitless as they would cut us down rather quickly if we dared to fight, and from what they say, they were here to help us.
But help us from what, were we really in danger, what did they want.
These questions lingered as one slithered up rather quickly near Elizabeth, a smaller creature then the rest and nestled his snout near her shoulder, hissing a sound that obviously startled her, but she did not turn towards him, just slowly reaching for her short blade, bringing it up fast and holding it to the creatures neck,
"Make another move and I'll slit you open like a Sardine."
She meant it and the leader called off the creature, it slinked off embarrassed and hid behind a rather large form off in the shadows.
"Do not mind him, he is just a child" he said.
Lizzy glared at him, "Just keep away from me, anyone comes close and they will be sorry."
He laughed at this.
I had finally had enough.
"Lizzy, shut up and put that damn knife away, you fool,they'll kill us all if you do not behave."
With that she calmed down a bit and sheathed her weapon.
We were at an obvious impasse and finally the tension that was thick in the air began to subside.
I smiled a fake smile and said,
"Well it is your call, what do you want us to do?"
He moved towards me and motioned to the camp.
"Let us stay here till dawn and then we will be off in the morning. My men will start fires and you can get accustomed to us a little better, we are not as scary as we look my dear."
With that the men went about their work and we sat down and looked at each other.
Sarah waited and them began talking in an slow whisper,"What shall we do? It seems we are always controlled by men, if you can call these ugly beasts men?"
I smiled and wondered what father was doing about now.
"Well I think we should go along with them until they prove otherwise untrustworthy, at that first sign, we will have to make decisions."
The men fired up tall blazes along the ridges and I wondered why they would do that if they were worried about the tribes down in the valley
"Are you crazy," I said,"these fires can be seen for miles."
He laughed again, which seemed his way of dealing with things.
"No one can see the fires,these are not fires you have ever seen before, only our people can see them and they are far far off. They know what they mean. Do not worry, we have done this many times before."
I gave up and smiled a real smile back, "Well if you have done this before, burn them bright for I have to think on the morrow you are bringing us someplace we have never been before, and that right there makes tonight our last night in the High Country. I will not miss this miserable place. The fires make it seem bearable."
He laughed again and walked off into the group of his men that had assembled near the middle fire.
I watched the men and thought, what strange creatures. The three of us viewed the spectacle with keen interest. The men went silent as the fires raged and the stars turned in the sky a golden yellow.
I smiled as I had never seen anything so beautiful.
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and that was the moment
i later remembered so often
in its incredible absurdity
suddenly time seemed to stand still
i watched the stars in the sky
but there was no movement anymore
these strange fires were lightening up the night
but with a steady glow
no flickerings, no dancing shadows
just columns of liquid gold
perfectly illuminated transparency
i hardly dared to breathe
i forced my memory to absorb all of it
to be able to recall it
whenever i needed
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it was then on that very eve
I began to see them,
my first introduction into a world
we were being hurdled into
whether we wanted to or not,
I sat stunned, feeling slightly woozy,
my sisters both grabbing my arm tight
at the very same time,
and there it was in the arena of light
in our very last season as we were,
for no ominous tales would ever told
of the Kings of the Trees
Lords of the Conquistadors, The Aztecs and The Incas
gods that no man had ever seen before,
before us in a hallowed glowing shrine
where Buddha and Mohammad mere spectators,
in the enraptured countenance of my last conscious thought,
there in the low brush all that we knew no more
dutifully forsaken, we were taken,
their swooping down in a deep blue purple glow
a transparent vibrating cylinder
that shot to the heavens and came down to the earth
hovering over us,
the men in columns now
4 in a row
three deep
the leader in the center
in a deep silence,
I could tell in some way he was possessed,
his eyes closed and his lips silently talking,
the gods before our eyes
caretakers of the universe deflowered,
looking down on us they smiled,
as time stopped, the heavens unfurled
a deep blue sky appeared
the valley below became a calm sea,
starlit thundering pounding motions,
a school of dolphins arced out of the water,
water shooting up in rhythmic repetition
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the water's greenish hue
mixing delicately with the sky's powerful blue
i had no notion of time anymore
nor could i have said where my body was
everything within me dissembled into
this former outside
of light and sound
a silent rhythmic humming
a blue tinted emotion
no boundaries
perfect permeation
my sisters forms were still to be seen
but glowing from within
emanating the same blue
i could feel in and around myself
a human cloud of sorts
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I shifted in my seat a bit,
that side to side motion, trying to get comfortable,
to find that perfect place where i felt secure, where I felt there,
or here wherever I was,
the permeating lights of the visions that burnt into my thoughts
shifted as I focused on the clock on the wall
it ticked slow and steady as 5 o'clock approached,
and the smoke coming from a man's cigarette
I looked around, surroundings so familiar
yet I did not know where i was
if this was real or a dream,
was I back home or forward somewhere,
was it before or after or during all that had transpired
out on the killing fields,
was I alone in this mass of humanity
I found myself,
"Madame, is every alright?"
I looked up at the blank face of the young man
in a white shirt and apron.
"Madame do you need my assistance?"
I could barely mutter the words
as I stared at him hoping he knew,
"Where am I?"
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"Well, the Savoy in Berlin, of course. Would you like me to serve your coffee now or will you wait till your husband gets back here?"
Husband? Berlin?
I took a look at my surroundings. Elegant draperies filtered the afternoon light and the faint hum of traffic from the outside. Some couples at small tables all across the spacious room, muffled conversations. Nobody I recognized, none of my sisters, though.
My stomach made unmistakable sounds of hunger and I realized that at least I had a sense of self again. Very much so.
"I'll take my coffee right away, thank you. And would you be so kind and get me a piece of .... erm ... Sacher cake as well, please."
The waiter indicated a slight bow of his head and hurried of.
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I sat there looking around at all the people, wondering what to do.
Berlin I thought, what the hell was I doing in Berlin.
I could barely believe I was no longer in the encampment watching the fires
with my sisters. Where were my sisters, and how did i get to Berlin. I recognized no one.
Everyone in the room were talking in small groups at tables, some drinking
and smoking, all darkly dressed, all dark in mood it appeared.
There were soldiers laughing in the corner, their black brimmed hats and shiny
lapels glistened from the wall lights that shone down.
They were drunk and talked loudly, and seemed rude and arrogant. One caught my
eye and lifted his glass in a smart-ass toast. I looked away.
A man with a woman sipping drinks near my table, leaned over and whispered.
"Please, you should not stare at them, it will only cause trouble."
He then held the females hand tight, and smiled at her as she spoke,
"The times are strange, as a single woman you should be careful with those men."
I thanked them and just sat and thought.
"Why don't you sit with us, it will be better."
I moved my chair and faced away from the soldiers.
The man began talking calmly and tried to make us both laugh. He told a story of his
father in the country and an old horse and day he learned to ride.
It felt odd sitting there.
The waiter brought my coffee and i stirred it to keep my hands from shaking.
The woman looked at me oddly and said, "My husband and I are leaving the city soon,
we hate it here, life has changed so much. I am afraid all the time. So, where do you live?"
Not knowing what to say, I looked blankly at her and finally asked,
"I really don't know where I live and I don't even know how i got here, but one thing I need
to know is, what is the date."
The man looked surprised and said August 31st.
Then I stared at him straight in the eyes and asked,
"The year, but what year is it?"
He laughed and said,
"You don't know where you live and you don't know how you got here and now you say you don't
know what year it is, you are an odd woman."
I smiled and agreed with him, but asked again,
"The year, what year is it?"
He looked over at his wife and then back at me, "It's 1939 my dear, August 31, 1939.
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"So, it is my birthday", I thought, only that I won't be born until 120 years later ... "Might as well have another Sacher Torte then."
Dislocation in time and space. A phenomenon that started to occur more and more often at the beginning of the 21st century so that in my time (what a strange expression this seemed right now) noone was looked at strangely when they found themselves in unknown places or centuries but as I knew from books and reports, in 1939 poeple would hardly have heard of it, much less believed in its existence. I knew I had to be careful. The first thing to do is mingle with the locals, trying not cause any uproar by your clothes or behavior. I decided to look for a mirror and got up from my armchair.
"Excuse me for a minute, please, I need to go to the ladies' room."
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I walked slowly to the back having to slide by the soldiers table, an unfortunate turn of events
I assumed. They had taken over three tables and seemed quite drunk, but no one seemed to
even notice, though it appeared maybe more out of fear than anything else. A waitress was
standing in the aisle bringing the men more drinks and I tried to inch by, but the soldier that
had previously noticed me grabbed my arm tight.
" Hello, young lady, join us, your beauty would upgrade this motley crew."
I pulled my arm free and kept going, as he stood obviously embarrassed as the men heckled
him like schoolboys.
"Come back here!" his voice cracked as he shouted out at me. I'd met men like this little zero
and knew a forceful approach always better than the other. I turned and walked up to him close,
so his alcohol breath was inches away from me,
"Is that anyway to talk to lady you little man, you are a boy in grown up clothes, touch me again, and I'll send you back to your men neutered."I had noticed his blade in a sheath on his belt. My hand hovering near it, and if he had only known how close he had truly come.
He swallowed and literally seemed to shrink before my eyes.
" Be careful Madame, you have no idea who we are" as he sat down in his chair, obviously too drunk to stand much longer, he sat there looking up at me. I was so tempted to tech him a lesson, but i was indeed a bit out-numbered and unarmed.
"Who are you? You think you are someone, all I see is a boy hiding behind a bottle and who could no longer defend himself
if his life depended on it, and your life could depend on it, so be careful, and if you do not mind,
I would like to continue onto the ladies room, and you can get back to your drinking and leave me the hell alone."
One of his friends grabbed him just in time, and told him to shut up and apologized to me.
I smiled and said, "That is better, you boys go back to your fun."
I took a last look at the men, sizing them up,
all so young and unprepared, but drunk thinking in a group they were something.
I walked away and entered the ladies room, bolting the lock behind me. I walked to the water-basin and turned
on the water and let it run as I looked up into the mirror and stared.
I glanced at myself but the clothes and shoulder length hair were not mine, or mine
from just what seemed again just a few minutes before at the camp with the fires blazing and everyone in rapt
attention at the ceremony that was at hand. I realized I had to go along with this until I could figure things out, as
this had happened before, but this time I ended up in a bad time, Germany was not the place to
be in the early mid 20th Century. I was in the middle of a catastrophe that was just seconds away it appeared.
I needed to get out of Germany and back to Florence, before Europe exploded, but i had no papers and no
money.
I shut the water off and stood their to get my wits together, and unlocked the door and opened it. I needed money
and finally I realized the young soldier might be helpful after all. I walked out into the main room and
headed for my target, the young solder who had no idea what dread was about to befall him.
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"I feel I need to apologize", I said in my finest subdued voice "I didn't mean to put you down. But you see, times are a bit hard for a lady in my position. With all the hardships and rumours...". I flashed him a smile and walked on to my table where the couple was still sitting, now looking quite nervous.
I felt the looks of all the soldiers in my back. Obviously, they were not used to be talked to like that and I knew my bait had been properly fixed.
"You should not have drawn more attention to yourself" the man at my table said. "You probably don't know what consequences this could have."
"Don't worry about me", I hesitated and then added in a lower voice "if you want to help me, I'd be glad to borrow a little amount of money from you. I can assure you to return it as soon as I have secured my private funds which, at the moment, is denied to me." From their riddled expressions I saw that I had not made much sense to them but also that they were willing to give my suggestion some thought.
At the same time I heard some movement behind my back - and sure enough there he was. With an effort to stand up straight and not to blur his sentences, the young soldier addressed me.
"My lady, I will accept your apology and would like to offer you my arm for a little walk in fresh air."
"Why, sure!" I said smiling up to his flushed face, "let me just say farewell to my friends here and will gladly join you outside in a minute." He nodded and turned away.
"Listen, please give me your address and some 20 Marks, you must believe in my good intentions. I will explain everything to you and contact you before the week's end."
The man shot a glance at his wife who gave a quick nod. He opened his wallet and handed me a crisp 20 Marks note while she scribbled some lines onto a scrap of paper. I thanked them and put everything in me pocket. Then I made my way to the exit.
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As I walked towards the door I looked over at the other soldiers, all lost in conversation and drink, doubting I would ever see them again.
I felt bad for the couple I had met, for they surely wondered what on earth I was doing. The young officer was waiting on the sidewalk, now nervously pacing back and forth and smoking a cigarette. I stepped out into the cool eve and walked over to the young man,
"So you better introduce yourself before I wonder if you have any manners."
He smiled, and came to mocking attention.
"May I introduce myself Madame, I am Corporal Maximilian Hesslein, but please if you would, call me Max."
I smiled at the boy, maybe 7 years my junior, yet in many ways like my brothers, young with so much energy to spare.
"Ok Max, my name is Katherine."
He stamped out his cigarette and put out his arm out at his side for me to grab and we started walking down the street.
"So Max, where are you taking me?"
He stopped for a second, hesitating and then continued on.
"Well I thought we would get that cup of coffee I noticed you never got to finish, plus i could use some to clear my head, even though it looks like I am a drinker, I really am not, just had to keep up with my men, or they might think less of me."
I laughed and made a gesture for him to lead the way. I was not sure what now I planned, as I could not at this point harm this boy, yet I needed papers and I needed to get out of Berlin and mostly get out of Germany.
He walked us into a tiny cafe on the same boulevard, not far from a large Baroque building.
There were squads of armed men everywhere, lines of men at attention at the main doors of the building and I began to become uneasy.
"What is going on Max, why are there so many men out there?"
He looked out the window and pulled out a cigarette and offered me one, I declined and he put them away without taking one for himself.
"Oh that, there is troop movements constantly in the last week or so, we are on the move it appears, but no one knows anything specifically, at least they are not telling us. I am stationed over in Konigsplatz at the commissary and we've been supplying the troops since July.
All I know is something is about to happen."
I looked at him sharply and tried to hide what i knew.
"Yes, there is a horrible something coming, and you will be lucky if...."
I trailed off before I said anything stupid.
He looked surprised at what I was saying,
"What do you mean 'a horrible something,' do you think it war and what were you going to say about me being lucky?"
I got the waiter's attention and motioned him over trying to cover my mistake.
Max saw that and apologized for not doing that himself. We ordered coffees and then both became rather quiet. I watched all the activity outside and realized Max was staring at me.
"What?" I said.
"My instinct is to say how beautiful you are, but truly I need to know why you did not answer my question. What do you know, do you work for the Reich? Are you a government worker, and I would like to know, as I have to tell my mother where I may be stationed. She worries about me and I try to calm her by telling her what I can."
I felt sorry for him as he spoke about his mother and realized the chances that he would ever make it through the next five years were slim to none. I felt an opening and decided to take a chance. What could I lose.
"Max, do you have high hopes of being a hero, fighting for the Fatherland, do you want to be a leader of men or would you rather get through all this and go home to your mother in one piece and live a decent life doing whatever it is you desire?"
He looked stunned.
'What are you saying? Are you calling me a coward, I may be young, but i will do my duty whatever that will be, but you talk funny, you say these thoughts, like you know things. What department do you work in? What do you know? I have to..........."
Just then the coffees arrived and Max became quiet, looking almost afraid. When the waiter left I leaned over to Max and began,
"Look Max, what I know makes no difference, it's all in motion, nothing can stop the inevitable. I did not mean to startle you. Let us just enjoy our coffees and get to know each other."
He took a sip of his coffee and set the cup down.
"I insist you tell me now what you know, we can not go on unless you tell me something. I hate what has been going on, so many men are leaving heading east, but I do not know what will happen, whether I will be dragged in whatever is about to happen. So please, if you could tell me something, anything, I would be indebted to you."
I looked at him and decided I would take it farther and maybe he could help me.
"Well Max, I will tell you, but you must promise you will do something for me, something that may be difficult."
He nodded like an expectant student about to hear if he passed a test.
"I can only tell you this and you can tell no one."
He nodded again and I smiled knowing I had him at least peaked with interest and that might enable me to leave Berlin with his help.
"Max, what is about to happen is something that has been in the works for years, and we are at the precipice of its beginning. A war is about to start,and this war will sweep across Europe like locust and inevitably sweep to places on the other side of the world. The world you knew will be no longer, and the world that is about to come is beyond the pale of imagination. Nothing will be the same as you know it for a long long time. You will be dragged into this fiasco most likely very soon and the outcome is something you can not imagine. What will happen will change everything and what will finally happen I can not tell you, but what I can tell now, here, is to pray you survive, along with your mother and your whole family and all your friends.
Berlin in the end will not be the place to be. What I ask you to do is help me get out of the city. Can you do that Max, are you prepared to help me now.
Can you trust me?"
He looked dazed and I held his hand, but he pulled it away.
"What you say is insane, how could you know any of this? How could anyone? I must be insane to be talking to a woman like this."
I wondered if i had made a mistake, but continued.
"Relax Max, I am sorry, I said too much. I was just trying to say, that things are changing, and maybe you are ready to change with it. Can you manage to get a car, maybe we can take a drive somewhere."
He was looking younger as the moments went by.
"You are an odd woman, you speak of all this so calmly, like you can see things I can not see, and then you simply say, maybe we can take a drive somewhere, yet you are intriguing and beautiful, but none of this makes any sense. An hour ago you were threatening me and now you want me to take you out of the city. I truly wonder what all this means, but i can tell one thing now, you are no government worker, at least not of this government. You are like no one woman I have ever met before, or for that matter, you are like no one I have ever imagined. I can sense things from you, similar feelings when i met older soldiers that fought in war, that were touched with death and seemed different. I feel I have to ask you, should I fear for my life being with you?"
I laughed at his intuitiveness. I stared out at the action out on the streets, the trucks driving by, the streetcars buzzing along on their tracks and all the passer-byes. At that point, I figured either he might help me or get as far away from me as possible.
"So, I need to leave the city soon, in the next few days, do you think you might be able to help me? Soon the borders will be closed down and no one will be going anywhere without.........."
He looked at me with his intense blue eyes and waited for me to finish. I couldn't yet he waited.
"Papers, I have no papers, barely any money, except the money that couple in the bar loaned me. I have only me here with you and if i can get home, I can
maybe be safe. If I stay here in Berlin, problems will occur. Bad things will happen.
Max looked serious and surprised me.
"Bad things you say? You have I bet quite a story to tell me sometime. What the hell, I am on a weeks leave, now I know why they gave me this time to visit my family. A week to say goodbye and then who knows. I think I know where I can get a car, but it will take a day or two."
I sat back in my chair and looked at Max, who looked older and far more confident than he had all the time we had been together.
"Well, one thing I can tell you is, it's going to get a lot more interesting from here."
With that we sat and talked till midnight, until Max said he had to get back to his mother's place and told me where i could stay that evening.
We would meet up in the morning and make plans. The night grew darker as the fog rolled in down the street making it hard to see the soldiers outside busily proceeding with their plans for their travels to the east and the impending invasion.
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We slowly walked down Unter den Linden, in the direction of Max' mother's home. By now I knew that she lived alone, supported only by his small pay as a corporeal, in a two room apartment in the central part of Berlin. A neighbour had a spare room as her son had already left town, heading east. There I would spend my first night in this century.
Our steps echoed from the walls of the high, bourgeois buildings along the boulevard. We had not spoken for some time now and the silence began to get a bit oppressive. I was wondering what to say but everything I could think of seemed to be so out of proportion ...
"You know", Max suddenly said, "I think you should tell me more about yourself. I mean, I provided you with lodgings and a way to escape without knowing the least bit about you. Where are you from? How come you are here all alone and without means to support yourself?" He looked at me with interest.
"Max", I replied, "Trust me. I really can't tell you a lot - you would not believe me anyways. It is a long and complicated story which involves things you have not even dreamed of. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to imply I don't trust you but I have to think things over. In any case, I want to thank you for your help so far and I'm sure I will be able to pay you back one day. Believe me."
We had reached his neighbour's house and he quietly opened the door and started walking up the dark stairway. It was an old wooden construction, the wood making strange noises under our feet. When we were just turning the bend to the third floor I froze in mid-step.
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Before I could react one of the soldiers from the restaurant was walking impatiently straight at us and talking fast.
"Max where have you been? I've been looking for you all over, we report tonight, all leaves have been canceled. Our time here in Berlin is over.
You better go in and say goodbye to your mother."
Max looked at me and then back at him incredulously.
"You have to be kidding, I can't leave now, not tonight."
I stood there watching and wondering what I should say, if anything at this point.
The soldier looked at me with disdain and said, "There is no time for this whore, you need to get a grip, this is it, we are....." As the words were slipping out of his mouth,
I had heard enough and reacted fast, I pulled the knife out of Max's sheath and side-kicked the solder hard, knocking him off balance, then pulled him violently towards
me and then back away, he was like a rag doll at this point, then I slammed him into the wall, pulled the knife up against his throat, drawing a slight bit of blood from the
pressure of the blade on his neck. "You be careful who you call whore." I then pulled back and hit him high on the right cheek, he crumbled down the wall to the ground.
Max stood there with a half a grin on his face and half a shocked look.
"My God Katherine, don't hurt him, Joseph is an idiot, he's just acting tough, he has never been with a woman in his whole life, he wouldn't know a whore from his Sunday
School teacher."
I leaned down, my knee pushed hard between Joseph's legs, and stuck my face close to Joseph's nose, "Well remind him he should be a bit more polite to a lady." He
grimaced as i waited for him to say something. Painfully he said, "Ok ok, I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were Max's girl, I didn't mean anything by....." Suddenly the door down
the hall opened and a middle aged woman stuck her head out. "What's all the noise, I will call the authorities if you....oh Maxy you are here, thank goodness, I was so worried."
I stood up quick and slipped the knife under my blouse, Max seeing this, giving me a look, as he started walking towards his mother.
I held out my arm to Joseph and helped him up, he looked perplexed and maybe a bit scared. I put my fingers to my lips and shooshed Joseph from saying anything, as Max
walked up to his mother and hugged her. "You know you should not worry about me, I always come home."
I straightened myself up a bit and Joseph picked up his cap and dusted himself off, I helped with his collar, as he looked at me with surprise as i whispered, "Relax Joseph, I
wouldn't hurt you anymore, just be quiet now, let max talk to his mother, no more talk about all that soldier nonsense." Joseph looked like he was going to run, and I grabbed his arm tight and walked him towards Max's mother, "Be good Joseph and you will get out of here alive." Joseph stiffened, "Alright, alright, I'm sorry, I panicked." I quieted him again with a look as we reached Max and his mother.
"My goodness Maxy, who is this adorbale creature?" Max looked at both of us and smiled the best he could, "Mother this is Katherine... Katherine this is my mother."
"Call me Hannah my dear, come in, and you too Joseph." Max picking up on my look, said, "Joseph has to report back to the unit, he will be going now." Joseph coughed and excused himself, "Always nice to see you Mrs. Hesslein, Max is correct, I have to report back to the barracks, I wish you and the young lady a pleasant eve." Joseph clicked his heels and bowed to Hannah, avoiding looking at me and started backing way.
With that Max pulled Joseph down the hall a bit and though I could not understand, what he said, understood it to be a stern warning. Joseph ran down the stairs and Max
returned to us and said, "Ladies, let's go inside and my mother can make us some tea."
I thought about Joseph, and reading my mind Max came close and spoke in my ear, "Don't worry, he will say nothing, he will cover for me." Hannah then asked me into the kitchen to help her. I followed as Max grabbed the telephone and began dialing, looking at me, "I'll take care of things, go with my mother, she wants to check you out, he smiled at that, I'm calling headquarters to see what is going on."
Hannah was at the doorway, "Come young lady, we must get to know each other." I felt safe inside, looked around the cute apartment and followed Max's mother into the kitchen. I could hear Max talking on the phone in the other room as Hannah asked me if i knew how to make tea, I smiled and nodded yes and we prepared the cups while the water started to warm on the stove.
"So Katherine, where did you meet my Maxy, I mean Max, he dislikes Maxy, but I can not help it, I have been calling him that since he was a baby boy. So, where did you and
Max meet?" I knew telling her I had met her son only 4 hours before would sound strange. "Well we met awhile back in the neighborhood, I was with some friends at a restaurant and he introduced himself. He is such a nice boy." She looked at me strange and I realized maybe it was when I said boy. Hannah started putting things on a tray and said rather quietly, "He really is quite mature once you are around him, he has really been the only man of the house since his father was killed in the war in 1918."
I pulled the teapot off the fire and started pouring the water in the cups. "You are right, when i first met Max i have to say he acted like a boy, but since then he has been
nothing but a very kind gentlemen."
She smiled with pride. "That is my Maxy, he is the kindest and most thoughtful and would help anyone. Though put a drink or two
in him and he becomes......" Max walked in smiling, "So you two been talking about me? Let's sit down and have that tea, I need something to warm me up."
We sat down at the kitchen table and Hannah poured tea. It was nice to be sitting there with these two. I found out how the two ended up in Berlin and how Hannah grew up in England and how she met Max's father just after the turn of the century in Scotland, while both were studying art. It all seemed odd to be sitting in that flat in the center of Berlin just months before the start of yet another war. It was getting late when Max blurted out, "This will come as a surprise Mother, but I just got orders that I am to be transferred to the border of Czechoslovakia. The army will be on the move by late Summer, this gives us just enough time to leave Berlin." I looked more surprised than his mother. Then he looked at me, holding both our hands and then looked over to his mother and calmly continued, "Katherine had said something earlier in the evening about what was coming, I knew what she was talking about but i could not let on, but after talking to my Sergeant awhile ago, I now know she is right and I will not be part of any of this madness any longer." He was talking faster now and had our attention. "I have a car arranged and in the morning we leave the city." I watched his mother digest all this information and realized she knew more of things than she let on to me earlier, who I thought her as just the poor mother of a soldier.
The room went quiet until she looked at him and said, "Leave the city now, but you said, we could wait for......for what I realize, we have waited so long, nothing will change, you are right, we have known ever since the government changed and they came into power. They will drag us into another terrible war, they are mad, simply mad! But where will we go?" He smiled and like he knew all along and said, "Well mother, I think it time we go back to see where you were born, I've always wanted to see Britain, if things go right we will be in Paris by weeks end and London soon after."
I had been quiet for awhile and had to say something. "I think I underestimated both of you." Max pulled out of the cabinet above the sink a bottle of liquor and poured three small glasses and passed them out to us. Still standing he said, "We will pack tonight and leave in the morning and a toast to the three of us and our last night in Berlin."
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later that night, when i tried to get comfortable on hannah's narrow couch in the living room, i heard max and his mother talk excitedly in the next room. i wondered if i should tell them more about my strange condition of being a dislocated person, actually thought i might have to. but on the other hand i was not sure at all if they would be able to believe and understand me. also, thoughts of my sisters came to me like ghosts. i saw them on the night of the first rumbling, next to the blue columns of fire, at the lake side, on the killing fields. where had they gone?
i was woken up by the smell of coffee. how long had it been that i could perceive something similarly peaceful?
astonished i realized that i had let down my guard, had let a feeling of domesticity creep into my thoughts. stop it - don't be fooled by these illusions ...
i quickly got dressed and walked out into the small kitchen. hannah had already packed some crates of provisions and a suitcase that was standing next to the entrance. max was nowhere to be seen.
she noticed my glances.
"max has gone out to fetch the car. he will be back in half an hour. take a seat and have some coffee, dear."
i sat down at the tiny table and poured myself a cup of strong, black coffee. what a smell!
"thank you, hannah. i guess you are wondering where i come from, how i really became acquainted with your son. i can only tell you that my story will be far from anything you have heard so far but i am willing to share it."
she just nodded. and so i started from the beginning. i told her about florence, about the days of art and painting, about my sisters and their sudden resolve to leave that favourite town of mine. about our involvement in the fight for santandor's freedom in the green cave and the resulting escape to mars. and finally about my dislocation to berlin.
hannah didn't seem to be very amazed at that. in fact she just nodded time and again. when i had finished she got up and slowly walked to a chest of drawers under the window. she opened the top drawer and pulled out a small, velvet-clad box.
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(note-I had to make a slight change, as I figured she would have packed this box and not leave it behind, as it will be now important to the story)
When I felt I had told her enough, she got up and slowly walked to one of two medium sized traveling cases in the hallway that she had readied for the journey. I thought, a life's worth of
belongings in just two cases. She opened the lid, where I could see four drawers, two of either side. She slid the top drawer half way out and pulled out a velvet-clad box. It was old and the
size of a jewelry case, but it was dark and clear stones were imbedded on the outside in the shape of an inward turning spiral. Hannah held it out in her hands towards me and brought it back to
the kitchen table and set it down. Looking at it she smiled. You know Katherine, when Max was a boy, he used to go with his friends down by Potsdamer Platz, near the old library, that only
the University intellectuals could study at. He got a part-time job there, cleaning and helping out the librarian, he was so proud to bring home a few Deutsch Marks every so often and would
put them in this box. It was after the war, but country was sinking into debt and by late 1920s, there were three million out of work. Germany's debt was immense. After the stock market crash,
the American banks desperate for finance, gave Germany ninety days to start their repayment of all the loans after the war. Bankruptcies were increasing, the farmers were hurting, almost everyone was.
The middleclass feared sliding into the lower class. The lower class had no where to go but the streets. And some in the middleclass blamed the economic decline on the unemployed
people accusing them of being unwilling to work. Hunger was widespread. So it was not shocking when in 19330 the German government fell apart, and new elections were held. The
biggest winners, and I must say I knew it then as I knew it now what trouble they would bring, was Hitler's National Socialist Party. Mass rallies were being held in squares and town halls
all over Berlin. Often they became violent, and they hated the Jews, and the intellectuals and the artists and about anyone with any sense. A that time I was employed by a hotel that was used by
the military often in the early 20s. For awhile I was the manager and brought home enough for Max and myself. I had no pension after my husband was killed. So times were difficult, but Max and I
did well enough. One day while Max was working at the library, a terrible fire broke out that was intentionally set by the NS party The fire spread quickly. Outside there were hundreds of screaming
men and my Maxy inside. He was terrified and the Librarian grabbed him, handing him some papers and two small boxes. The man then took Max around back and helped him slide down a light-well
into a back alley and away from the building. At that point Max ran home and waited for me. By the time I got home to hear all this, Max was just sitting in the living room seemingly very calm
After he told me what happened he kept saying everything would be fine. I had no idea what he meant. I later found out that the library was burnt down, the librarian escaped
along with the rest of the students that were studying there that day. So here now I have in a way waited for this day to would. For inside this box was a message that never
Max or myself. She handed my an envelope and as i opened it i found a set of three keys, all tagged. One had a tag saying, Bank of France, the second an address in Paris and the third, said simply,
For Katherine."
I felt stunned and asked, "What does this mean and who is Katherine?
she smiled and said,
"I think it is you my dear."
I shook my head, wondering what she meant, we had only met yesterday.
"Ok, so if I believe that, where do the keys fit and where is the second box you mentioned Max had brought home?"
She took the keys and placed then into envelope and back in the box and closed the lid.
"What else is in the box Hannah?"
She took it back to the original case and stored it away and turned and spoke very quietly, like someone might be overhearing.
"The other box is in a bank vault in Paris and the one key marked Bank of France opens that, the other two keys will be used after
we have gone and opened the vault to retrieve the second box."
I almost laughed at all this.
That sounds intriguing, but still you have not said what it means.
Max was unlocking the door and stepping into the apartment and froze when he realized his mother had shown me the box.
Hannah spoke as if to both of us,
"What it means is, we are going to Paris to find out why you are here in Germany at this particular time, and we will also meeting your sisters."
I gulped and said, "What? My sisters?
She came over to me and help my arm.
"Yes your sisters are waiting for us, and soon all this will come clear. They have been waiting a long time for you Katherine, don't you think it time?"
Max walked over to his mother and kissed her.
"Have you been scaring Katherine?"
Max looked at me and winked.
"Not at all, I have just been enlightening her, and in some way preparing her for what she will be doing in Paris."
I sat down and contemplated everything, then looked up at them both, they were staring at me, like two owls, just waiting for me to speak.
"This is pretty unbelievable to me, you do realize? I have been through a lot ion the last couple years, and I am prepared for most anything,
but right now, I have only one question, who are you two?"
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The older woman looked at me with a puzzled expression but then, as if she had suddenly remembered the strange circumstances of our meeting, her face somehow unwrinkled and she was smiling.
"You know, I still have to get used to being older than you, dear. ... So you want me to tell you what Max was like as a child", she said between chuckles. "Well, let me tell you he was a very loving child. He admired and looked up to his father but his mother was his one big love. He very early developed this special charm that only few kids have. In a way he has always seemed more adult, more serious in his emotions than all the other children. His sisters - "
"Wait a minute!" I grabbed her arm. I felt dizzy from all the news contained in what Hannah had just said. "First of all, what do you mean, you being older than me? I thought this was obvious?" An uneasy pricking went up my spine as I looked at Hannah's face which had suddenly started to look much younger than just a few moments ago.
"Well", she answered, "you of all people should know that things rarely are what they seem, right? Just as time, the concept of age for us is a bit ... let's say arbitrary, depending on where and when we are at a given moment. Or did you think there could be some constancy in it? No love, we are not subject to the smooth flow from past to present. You see an old woman when in fact I might be your daughter or your grandmother. On second thoughts it is even foolish to apply these expressions of relations as they are quite heavily relying on a false perception of the flow." She fell silent and I sensed that that was all she wanted to say for the time being.
"Max!" I was nearly shouting and took myself back a bit. "Max, please explain. Who am I and who are you and Hannah?" But the moment the words were escaping my mouth I already knew that I had to accept the fact that I'd have to do some serious thinking for myself. No one else would be able to answer that for me - or so I thought.
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Max ignored me, maybe a smart move as he studied his maps.
I realized I was tired. What was obvious was not always so. What one could prepare for seemed a mismatch with reality. I felt safe with everyone in the car and felt somewhat comfortable about the journey ahead, but to be where we were at this time, all i knew about now was what I could recall from what i leaned in the past.
The outcome of all this would determine so much for the future, yet i wondered if this world was really my home or just a jumping off place. Was home the memory i sought or the continued dreams i had at night.
To be a protector, to protect something from what I thought. It seemed an endless journey. To make sure things went as planned or as the time shifters planned so lang ago. I tired of it all sometimes, but was motivated by the secrets I held onto.
Though this particular time seemed so brutal and wrong. But to change the course of today was maybe dangerous, not necessarily for me, but for people not even born yet. So many that grew to do something significant and the many that did nothing, but lived lives.
But here I was now, at the axis point of a place in a particular time, traveling at 100 kilometers an hour down a highway partially created by a madmen. Time was the issue and time we seemed to have little of. So many waste it and so many oblivious to it. The message I carried from ones i have never met, from those who may have been in the past or the future. None of it mattered now.
To keep this big round marble in the universe on course. Sitting here next to Hannah, who now more seemed my age than the older lady i had first met yesterday and with Joseph driving and Max staring down at his map,
it all seemed like a good group. Maybe home was here for now with these three, maybe I thought.
It was getting dark and Joseph slowed, pulled off the main road and then down a small street out to what appeared like nowhere. Then the car rolled into an open space with two dim lights hanging off a short pole. A small restaurant came into my sight with a few cars parked outside. Joseph turned and looked at me and said, "I think we need some food and rest from all the driving. I know the people that run this place, we will stay here tonight, it is all arranged. It will be safe. The military never come here and the few government goons that do are usually with their girlfriends hiding away from their wives in a dark corner booth."
A rest from the drive sounded good to me.
"The food better be good Joseph or we will never come back to this establishment" I cranked with a smile.
"I don't think there will be a problem, and this maybe will your last meal in Germany. We will celebrate our exit from the Fatherland."
I got out of the car, stretched and followed the others. I could see into the window and few couples and glowing lights from candles. I couldn't recall the last time i sat down to a dinner. Joseph opened the door and stood waiting. "After you my friends, let us enjoy ourselves tonight, for in the morning we will back on the road, and i think some drinks are in order."
With that we all entered the restaurant and Joseph talked with the young lady that walked up to him. He handed her something as she motioned us all over to a table. "I have a nice table with some privacy."
We followed and I looked around room, it was nice and peaceful. I caught up to Joseph and holding him by the arm as we walked to a corner table. "I agree Joseph, I could use a drink or two."
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Joseph - I had hardly thought about him or the strange air of security he exuded. "Like a father", I caught myself thinking. But then I felt too exhausted and starved to pursue this line of thought and with a sweet feeling of rest and the prospect of food and alcohol, I let myself drop onto the soft cushions that covered the bench alongside an old brick wall.
The tables were of raw wood, polished blank by generations of visitors, people as hungry as us, from all times and ages. The place was of ancient simplicity, without any unnecessary decorations or embellishments but neat and inviting nonetheless. The lights had just the perfect brightness to be able to see your table mates but leaving the rest of the room undistinguished.
I must have sighed quite heavily as the others looked at me with some kind of benevolent amusement. Joseph probably had ordered drinks right upon his entry because the waitress appeared carrying a tray loaded with four giant stone ware mugs. She placed one in front of each of us and I just knew it would be one of my favorite drinks. A cool mug of drafted beer. I didn't even have to look - I lifted the mug, cheered to the others and after a clonk we took a first delicious sip. Bittersweet memories - that's what it felt like.
We did not talk but we felt at ease with each other and our situation. A feeling of mutual trust and respect - absurdly so, considering the political and geographical implications at that moment.
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The moments passed slow and easy. I felt relaxed and started getting lost staring into the nothingness of my glass when Joseph caught my eyes as I tried to look away, then drifting
around the room. He smiled at me and broke the ice from the silence at the table.
"The beer is from a local brewery my brother used own."
"Used to? That sounds mildly unfortunate."
"Ohh it was just a very unfortunate misunderstanding."
"Really, just a misunderstanding? What happened?"
"Misunderstandings happen in this day and age." Joseph glanced over to Hannah who sat across from him at the table and she looked down and then he continued.
"Ones that start from government controls and end very suddenly and unfairly. But it is time now to enjoy ourselves and drink to new friendships. Do you enjoy the beer Katherine?"
"I am sorry, I was being nosy, the beer is perfect, I can't recall the last time a drink tasted so good. It's been so long since I had a moment like this."
"You weren't being nosy, I mentioned him on purpose, my brother Peter. You'll be meeting him in Paris. A few years ago when the NSP
took over they began sending their agents into German businesses to spy on them and determine their political alliances. Inevitably a work mate of my brother
turned him in to the Gestapo. He was accused of being an agent for the British, they took his company and he was deported."
"Deported to France?"
"No, to Switzerland, where our family lives."
The waiter arrived with plates of food and I smiled at Joseph. He was grinning proud of the moment.
Max and his mother were talking and enjoying themselves. Everything seemed quite nice, even the others in the room ignored us like we were any group of friends enjoying an evening out.
Joseph stood and raised his glass after the waiter had left. He looked around and spoke quietly.
"To our friend Katherine and the journey ahead. We leave Germany soon and what we leave behind we hope someday to return to."
After the toast Joseph sat down and we began eating. We discussed nothing in particular, mostly they asked me questions and I answered them the best I could. Feeling the start of getting to
know this knew group of collaborators better. But there was something that bothered me about someone at the table. As the evening dwindled away I drifted away from those thoughts.
After dinner and many drinks Joseph led us out back to the rooms we would be staying in for the eve. We all settled in and Joseph, the great host of the evening came by my room
to say goodnight and tell me he would be waking me at 7am and we would be leaving by 9am. He was pleased I was alright and just before he left, he began talking like a proud older brother
about Peter. He missed him and looked a bit glassy eyed on the prospect of seeing him in the next few days. Just as he was leaving my room, he turned and said.
"Peter would be very pleased you enjoyed the beer from his brewery."
I nodded.
"Of course, I have kept you long enough, till the morning then."
He backed out of the room and began walking down the narrow way to his room. I followed him with my eyes and then he was gone. I looked into my room and then back to the stillness
of the night. It had been so long since I had been alone. I wondered if i could even sleep, but knew I had to try. I looked up at the night sky, stars spread out across to the horizon and a crescent moon slid slightly over the restaurant chimney. I could
easily be anywhere at that moment. The evening air felt good as I went into the room and closed the door.
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i undressed and lay down on the narrow bed.
things felt strange somehow. although the evening had be pleasant enough, i could not shake off a slight unease, a nervous flicker in the back of my mind. trying to get to the core of it, joseph's face kept reappearing and the name of his brother - peter.
peter. i floated back (back?) in time to florence once again ... pietro. it had been the first time i had fallen in love so completely, unconditionally with someone the least "suitable" for me at that time. later it had happened again and again that i chose people from different strata of life than mine. pietro. a goldsmith and bead-maker. utterly poor and much older than me, the educated girl from an old aristocratic family. but he could show and explain to me the ways of metal, its features and reactions to other materials. much later (?) in another time and world this knowledge had proven vital to me, when i had to build a weapon from literally scratch.
in florence i had often visited pietro in his small, dark workshop on the banks of the arno, just a few steps from the old bridge. i was excited by the smell of burnt things, the glittering scraps of gold leaf and the sticks of glass which he so artfully blew and turned into the most exquisite beads to be found in the whole city. and although the nobility was crazy about his jewellery, he never seemed to get out of his financial straits. every scudo he earned immediately went into new endeavors, materials and his dearly loved old manuscripts. yes, pietro. i sighed heavily.
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I could see him so clearly, standing by the window, beams of the sun pouring in, illuminating him in copperish light as he turned and smiled at nothing in particular. He just always seemed so content and happy.
There I was sitting near the corner work table, where I had sat so many times before helping Pietro in his work. The view out onto the river and the buildings and the park I used to play
in as a child just down below. I was a young girl when I first met Pietro, he was the youngest teacher at the academy I had been enrolled in. One Summer I was taken on as his
apprentice in his Atelier. My parents had agreed and it seemed so exciting to be with Pietro and learning a trade.
Many young women slipped through his life in those early years, all rich daughters of local businessmen. Then one night 4 years after i had first started apprenticing
on my 21 birthday, Pietro asked me to stay after work. Things started very slowly until the following Spring when I moved in with him. It was a charming life filled with art and music until that day everything changed
and Pietro disappeared leaving me with everything. Then one year later I too in a way disappeared with my sisters into the lower regions in the far countries. My training changed from art to weaponry. Ten years
have gone bye since then and here i find myself in Germany under the darkest of clouds, after dozens of adventures in time and memory.
The name Peter as Joseph spoke this evening just rang in such a familiar tone. It probably mean nothing.
I don't know if all that was a dream or what, for before I knew it I must have fallen asleep, a deep sleep, so soundly that before I knew it Joseph was knocking on my door. I woke and looked around, the room was half dark.
Joseph knocked again and called my name.
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"Alright, I'll be just a minute."
I got up, quickly threw some water into my face, dressed and headed down for breakfast.
Max, Hannah and Joseph were already sitting at the table, big mugs of steaming coffee in front of them. I sat down and immediately sensed that something was wrong.
"What is it?" I asked, scanning their faces.
Joseph was the first to speak.
"We have to hurry. A group of German soldiers arrived late at night and bothered the landlady with questions about four travelers, two couples in an old car heading west. She denied having seen us but the sniffed around in the garage and she could just so prevent them from searching all her rooms. So they left again but we must be alert and I suggest we take some back roads instead of the autobahn. - So when you're ready, let's go."
We collected the bits of stuff we had brought in from the car, said goodbye to the hostess and hit the trail.
The driving was uneventful, if somewhat more bumpy and uncomfortable than the smooth going on the highway the day before. All of us were brooding in their own silence. What did this intrusion mean?
When this became too oppressive, I cleared my throat and carefully tried to get Joseph to talk about his brother Peter. By that time we had traveled nearly half the distance between Berlin and the border to France.
"To be honest with you, Katherine," he said after a while, "I don't feel like talking about him for a number of reasons. It's not that there are secrets, at least not more than the usual amount when it comes to the four of us, but knowing more about him might unsettle you and distract your focus from more important things at hand."
I looked at him incredulously. What did he mean? Was there really a connection to Pietro? In the morning I had half convinced myself that this parallel had been the wishful thinking of my lonely mind ...
"I doubt that, Joseph." I caught his eyes in the rearview mirror. "Nothing unsettles my mind more than speculations."
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The sky was filling up with a stormy fullness, gray dark clouds were coming in off the horizon to our right as we sped through the tall trees and the straight highway.
Joseph looked away and then stared back with intense eyes, the slit of the mirror making him look ominous, yet he said nothing.
I met his eyes and decided I should just give up.
"Time for all that down the way I suspect, no reason to continue this conversation is there?"
"I should say not, seems we have bigger problems up ahead."
He started talking fast to Max and I peered over the seat to see a roadblock way up ahead. Joseph slowed down and drove cautiously, obviously trying to decide what to do.
I pulled the revolver out that Joseph had given to me, six shots in the chamber and I held it in my hand at my side. Max passed Hannah a Luger from the front seat and Joseph
reached his hand down between the front seats where a short barreled shotgun sat. He pulled it up and cocked a round into the chamber then laid it across his lap. Max slid the chamber open
on his Browning. It seemed we were ready for something.
We simultaneously all looked at each other and Hannah squeezed my hand.
"Don't worry dear, Joseph will most likely take care of this, if not we'll do what we have to."
I laughed a bit.
The car drove up in a slow pace to three soldiers, two on the left standing close together talking near a motorcycle with a side-car, and the one on the right, half sitting on another motorcycle.
They were armed but looked fairly casual at first glance. Blocking the road, we slowed to face the music, no other way to avoid them, other then turning around, which would just draw unnecessary attention.
I asked Hannah to roll her window down. Both Joseph and Max did the same.
Feelings flooded my mind, my grip tightened on my revolver and then sudden doubts this would end well when when i realized i had no identification papers. A problem that had no way
around solving.
The first soldier on the left walked to Joseph's window as we stopped in front of the one motorcycle in the middle of the road. I saw the insignia of a Corporal on his arm as he leaned in and looked
around staring first at Max, then Hannah and finally on me, smirking. Was he flirting with me as he stared like I was a piece of meat hanging in a butcher's store? I smiled back and let him see a tiny bit of my calf
as I shifted trying to hide my gun better with my skirt.
The other soldier stood nonchalantly looking at the car. I kept a keen eye on the third soldier on the far right side.
"Where are you coming from?"
"Berlin."
"Where are you going?"
"We are trying to make Frankfurt by this evening, is there a problem Captain?"
The Corporal smiled as he noted he was not a Captain, then became serious and said.
"Not unless you cause it. Let me see your papers, and your passengers also."
The soldier was young, maybe 21, the others about the same. Joseph handed him his papers and the soldier straightened and began leafing through them.
"The rest, I want to see everyone's papers. Now!!" He bent down so his head was almost half way into the car, inches away from Joseph's face.
The soldier on the bike stood, legs spread, his machine gun over his shoulder, and the third started to circle around to the front of the car, his rifle rested across his folded arms.
Stupid soldiers I thought.
Max leaned over Joseph peering at the young man. "I have to go to the trunk to get my papers, do you mind?" The soldier motioned him to do so. Max opened the door, stretched and nonchalantly
pulling out his Browning, then quickly pointed it directly at the soldier in the front of the car and fired 3 quick shots into his chest. A shocked look crossed his face, he looked down in slow motion at himself and then
up with a quizzical look. Max fired one more shot and soldier crumpled where he stood, dead. I pushed Hannah back in her seat and leaned across her, pulling my revolver level with the window, the
soldier already in motion near the motorcycle attempting to pull his gun off his shoulder, it got tangled on his arm. I pointed out through the window and fired one round into his head, he too looked surprised,
blood dripping down his forehead as he arced back, slamming across his motorcycle and slumped there backwards spread eagle and motionless.
I looked to my left into the front seat and Joseph had his shotgun under the jaw of the first soldier. He stood there motionless, frozen, his eyes bugged out. He looked petrified.
"Move and I'll send you back to the Fatherland, headless!!"
He didn't move.
Hannah and I both got out of the car, and i looked around, no other cars, no one was near-bye, except an old farmhouse maybe 1000 meters away, but it looked deserted.
Max came around the car and pulled the soldier away from Joseph and hit him hard across the face, the soldier went down.
"Stay there and don't move."
The soldier was dazed and swore at Max.
"You better shut up." The soldier grabbed Max's leg and pulled him down and they started rolling on the ground. Max raised his gun and fired into the air. The enraged soldier hit Max hard and jumped onto
him trying to grab the gun.
Joseph was getting out of the car, as i turned but before i knew it Joseph had pulled out a small handgun out of his inside jacket and raised it towards the soldier and fired two shots into his back, he slumped over Max and was pushed
off just as quickly. The soldier lay on his back in the dirt on the side of the road eyes staring straight up into the heavens.
I stood there in awe at this, speechless. I walked over and joined Joseph staring down at the dead soldier. Max was up brushing himself off.
"Thanks Joseph, he was indeed a strong brute."
Hannah went over to the other soldiers one by one kicking them, checking their pulses. By the time she got over to the second one in front of the car bending down, she turned and said.
"They're both dead."
"So is this one, very dead."
Joseph walked behind the car and looked down the highway from where we came, then back to the front of the car and looked down to where we were headed.
"Let's get these bodies off the road. Max, roll those motorcycles off the road and dump them down that ledge into those trees. Hannah was already yanking the one off the motorbike,
dragging the soldier, leaving a trail of blood along the way, towards the opposite side of the pavement into the ditch she intended to leave him.
"We need to get everything back to normal, and by the time they find them, if they ever do, we will be far on our way."
Joseph looked over to me.
"Nice shooting, I had no idea how Max was going to take them both out."
"The least I could do, everything was moving so fast. But i had to figure you two had a plan."
With that he smiled.
I helped max move the one motorbike and pushed down the embankment, it rolled and ended up in some brush below the trees that laid out dark shadows. I started thinking no one
would find the dead soldiers and their bikes.
I stood and looked at the pools of blood on the road. There was a lot of blood. Joseph noticed and then walked over as Max disposed of the last body. Hannah lit a cigarette and got into the car.
Joseph momentarily lost in thought, looking like he was calculating if everything was set. Then he glanced up at the dark clouds pouring in and the wind picking up, which was blowing my hair about.
A storm was brewing.
"Let's get going, let's put some miles between us and this place."
He opened the door for me, and as I paused before I got in, Joseph said. "Katherine, I think the rain will wash the blood away."
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It was not as if she hadn't killed someone before, because she had, of course, and she had also seen her share of blood - and not only the red variety of terrestrial life forms. It was something in the whole scene that kind of shook Katherine to the bone.
On the one hand a memory of film posters she had seen in Berlin just recently - some gangster movie involving black cars very much like the one she was sitting in at the moment, inevitably racing on to another dangerous destination. On the other hand it was this strange familiarity with those people again. The smooth operating in a moment of undeniable fierceness, like a machine with all the cogs and springs in the right places, well oiled and maintained.
She wondered for the thousandth time if Joseph, Hannah and Max were really relatives of hers, displaced in time and place just like her, or maybe soul mates, war mates from all the different lives she had lived so far. Did they feel the same? Well, obviously they knew more than she did and had no reason to wonder anymore.
She cleared her throat.
"I must insist", she said "for you to finally tell me all there is to this story. I'm not stupid and can figure out most things. But I'm sick and tired of it. Why not just get it over with and tell me, for God's sake!"
She had spoken louder and was more engaged than she would have liked to and she caught Joseph's glance in the rear view. It was a not completely unattractive mixture of amusedness and annoyance.
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Joseph sped up as we left the scene. Looking back I felt for all intents and purposes it resembled any lonely part of any highway in Germany. No one would slow down enough to find anything, and then again I really did not even care, we were on the move and none of that mattered, just whatever lurked in the future.
I began to realize things would occur in the order destined to us, whether we were in any control of the outcome or not. But I needed to know where we were going and what waited there and I sat looking at Joseph intently. He knew it and sighed lightly. I gave him a look, which started everyone in the car to laugh. Maybe a break from the tension of the past 30 minutes. Either way, I knew less than i believed and more than I cared to.
"You will see this will all make sense. I hastened to burden you before. Our detour to Nurnberg will enlighten the situation enough as time goes by."
"Detour? I doubt that. You know exactly what you are doing all then time it seems and for me to question you might be useless......well you know, you said we were on the way to Frankfurt."
Joseph disregarded this and continued.
"I had to say something, and Frankfurt seemed a good place as another. Obviously Nurenberg means nothing to you yet? I still had contacts to make along the way about what the final plan will be. So Nurnberg is where we are going, as we are going on what maybe could be called a recovery mission, or maybe something of an abduction." Joseph waited for a response, I think I was becoming predictable.
"I think the car is pretty full, don't you think Joseph, any more passengers and some one will have to get in the trunk."
Joseph turned the car radio on.
"I'll explain the details. The Nazis have stolen from the Kunsthistorisches Museumin Vienna the Crown Jewels of the Holy Roman Empire, the most valuable collection of artifacts in all of Europe. Hitler, in his quest for world domination had Himmler remove them from the royal treasury in Vienna, once Austria was recently annexed by the Reich. Hitler's plan for years are to have them return to where they once were in the 17th Century, in Nurnberg. The Kingβs Robes and the imperial vestments worn by the great soldier-kings of medieval Europe from Charlemaine to Fredrick the Great and even Napoleon sought them as he too rode through Europe in conquest.
The imperial sword that many a conquering knight has carried into battle, sometimes referred to as the βMauritius Sword" as it was named in honor of a martyred Roman centurion and legendary commander of the Theban Legion. The crown, scepter, and jeweled encrusted orb had been the property, among others, of King Frederick Barbarossa, the fearsome monarch who had once held court in the Nurnberg Castle and finally losing his life during the Third Crusade to the Holy Land. And finally the ancient Roman spear known as The Holy Lance, or the Longinus Lance and the Spear of Destiny, the weapon that pierced the side of Christ at the Crucifixion and as the centuries passed subsequently had been carried into battle by Emperors Constantine and Charlemagne. The thing is, Hitler and Himmler truly believe there are ancient powers in these treasures and their possession will enable them to legitimize their rule of Europe and beyond. They plan to install the collection in the newly crowned nation's ancestral capital, Nuremberg, the city which will be a pilgrimage site for millions of Germans and their conquered. And like the soldier kings that came before them, Hitler will reconvened an ancient guard of the Romans, the Teutonic Knights, that will dedicate with their very lives the protection and preservation the new kingdoms holy treasures from invading armies. But the fact of this belief in possessing the treasures will justify the Reich's quest to conquer the western world. This in their twisted minds will explain and justify their authority to commit the atrocities for which their henchman have been undertaking. The continued disappearance of the Jews and the slaughter of countless Gypsies and undesirables to the 3rd Reich will only wake a sleepy world too late. There will be no historical distortion greater of power than one man's belief that his actions, however heinous are directed by no other than God. Even when they fail in the end and millions have died, if the treasures are secured away from the Allies, their very existence in the hands of Hitler's living followers will be fuel for the creation of a possible 4th Reich that Himmler is already planning with his SS."
I knew some history and I had heard wild stories before, but this one indeed paled them all in comparison. Odd how feelings can be suppressed causing silence and wonder.
I sat there listening to what to many seemed a contrived tale of a young 24 year old art student in Vienna dreaming of the day he would assume power and return the Holy Lance back to Germany and carry it into history, in many ways giving him some kind of divine godgiven power to create something like a modern day Roman Empire. Madness and dreams would lead this man to succumb to the evil he would perpetrate on the world, taking with him millions to their deaths, all in the name of the very Centurion, Longitis, whose revelations after Jesus crucifixion, may have enabled him to be thought of as the first Christian.
"What you are saying is we have to get this collection before Himmler and the Wafen SS can."
"Well they have it now, it will be on a train from Vienna to Nurenberg this week. Once we have them will be taking them to Paris and then eventually to Britain. King George VI awaits in London as does Chamberlain and Roosevelt. This will only slow the war down, but it is important. With the Holy Lance in Hitler's hands, he will in his mind have the very historical weapon that will be the key to all his plundering and destruction.
In just a few days upon their arrival in the city they will be presented personally to Hitler."
I looked at Max for some comfort.
"This is a tall order I must say. Maybe it would be easier to kill Himmler, or even Hitler himself. If he feels these items will enable him to have supreme power, why not make the cut at the heart of the matter?"
Max smiled glancing at Hannah sitting quietly in the corner seat next to me. She removed the dark wig she had been wearing, showing blond hair and yet again she seemed to lose 10 years. She was my age and beautiful.
Max laughed, "I think it maybe appropriate to introduce you to my wife. I must say our charade was amusing, but maybe it is time you know the truth. History awaits our actions in the next few days."
I was staring at Hannah, beginning to look a bit familiar. One of the most unusual women I have ever met.
Joseph added.
"Kill Hitler? Well that may not be completely out of the question. At this point, from what we hear, Goebbells, Boorman, Streicher, and Himmler along with Hitler himself will all be together in September in Nurnberg. Like rats on a ship sailing into hell we hope. The plans have been in motion for years. It just takes time to catch up with history. I was a History teacher for years in Heidelberg before the Brown Shirts scared off some the professors and I decided to return to the fold. We are a merry pack of time bandits I often say. And now, right here you must realize the shift is occurring as we speak, recalling from the past, things transform into place, in their own order. Take a look, would you not say Hannah resembles someone?"
I turned to Hannah. The blond hair, the healthy cheeks and full formed attractive body.
"Who?" I asked like the answer might surprise me.
Joseph laughed as we cruised along blurring the tree as we passed.
"Eva Braun."
"Joseph you keep surprising me, now I can see things will continue getting interesting by the time we hit the city limits."
I sat there, starting to realize I rather liked this band of killers. The clouds were dispersing and the light from a setting sun was casting incredible shadows along the highway, some resembling strange animals and creatures. It was like we were speeding past the images of the past and quickly catching up to the events that will twist and turn the future. I laughed out-loud and said.
"Eva Braun."
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We had driven for six hours in a go and Joseph began yawning every few minutes.
"Why not stop for something to eat and a few steps in fresh air", I suggested and Max and Hannah/Eva nodded. So Joseph exited the highway at the next sign and we were driving into a small town in this hilly, wooded landscape. Our position was 150 kilometers from Nuremberg in the mountain range called "Fichtelgebirge" - halfway between Berlin and our temporary destination.
Joseph steered the car slowly through the narrow, cobbled streets, with all of looking for the welcoming sign of an inn. When we reached the market square Max spotted a small, crooked timbered house with lightened windows and a sign saying "ReichsschΓ€nke".
"Well, it doesn't sound too promising but if we stay alert we'll be able to grab a bite without drawing attention to our identities. What do you all say?" Hannah (I just couldn't get myself to saying or thinking Eva) looked from one to the other.
"Alright" Joseph said, but it was obvious he didn't like the idea very much. I also had a very bad gut feeling when we had parked the car and were slowly walking across the square, drab in an early evening twilight. But my limbs were aching from the long sitting and i gratefully stretched and tried to erase all feelings of premonition.
When Max opened the door, the loud, squeaking noise of a VolksempfΓ€nger greeted us. The guest room had six small tables all set in red-and-white checkered table cloths, five of them vacant, whereas three soldiers in brown uniforms were sitting at the sixth, attentively listening to the blaring device on the shelf beside the bar. One of them obviously was the superior of the others as his uniform was decorated with medals and numerous stripes.
The innkeeper looked at us in a half suspicious, half expectant way.
"Guten Abend" he said and noticing the stern look of one of the soldiers, added "Heil Hitler!"
"Guten Abend" Hannah said in a low but slightly raucous voice, beaming a smile at all the men in the room. "I think we have come to the right place," she said in perfect German to Joseph, "here we certainly get some good German food at last." And with a relieved sigh she slipped behind one of the tables, tapping the seat next to her for me to sit down. "Finally! You won't believe what they offer as food in other places like yours," she said looking at the innkeeper, who diligently hurried out from behind his bar to hand us the menus.
"Of course you can get a decent meal here. It's not by chance that my humble establishment has been chosen by most of our local military as their regular dining place." He proudly nodded in the direction of his other guests. Max shot me a quick glance. "Of course," he said. "We'll be honored to dine here as well."
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As I sat down next to Hannah I could see we both had the complete attention of the three soldiers.
Whether a good thing or not, we both felt we would know soon.
With the innkeeper standing there beaming now, like an expectant father he bellowed out.
"So my new friends, would you all like some drinks?"
One of the soldiers stood and sauntered over eyeing Hannah, but then looking straight at me.
"I would like to buy the beautiful brunette a drink."
Hannah bumped my leg and spoke first.
"My dear young man, how do you not know that the gentlemen with us will not be the ones to buy us drinks."
This only slowed him down for a heartbeat.
"I was not talking to you, but to the brunette."
I'd heard enough.
"Be careful who you are rude to, but i will say, of course you can buy me a drink as long as you ask my father here if that is alright.
You can do that I'm sure."
By then Joseph had stood, maybe a foot taller than the soldier.
"I don't know, this young soldier looks too young. What do you think Max?"
Max looked him over.
"I think the soldier should return to his table and leave us alone. That is what I think. What do you think Corporal?
Do you think you should leave us alone?"
Both Max and Joseph looking at the shrinking soldier while he stood there stupidly frozen, his friends laughing behind him. He peered at Joseph towering over him, then glanced at Max, then at me. He swallowed slowly.
"Excuse me will you, I think I will return to my friends."
With that he was gone and Joseph sat down.
It seemed ironic wherever we went, we ended in similar situations.
"It seems the four of us attract the wrong people."
They all laughed while the drinks were set before us.
I wondered what it would have been like here, maybe 10 years before. A quaint little restaurant where Pietro and I could have easily dined and talked about art all night while the wine flowed and the laughter filled the evening. Not a care in the world, nothing to think about but the 'now' and the 'here.' How times change.
I cast my eyes onto the walls and wandered my gaze down a bit looking at the old photographs of the Alps and tiny villages.
Joseph caught my eye and motioned my attention to the soldier in the corner standing alone, while the two other soldiers left and got on their motorcycles and drove off. The remaining soldier picked up a phone on the ledge near the waiters station and started dialing and looking over at us.
"I'll be right back." Joseph said as he stood and walked directly to the soldier who immediately hung up the receiver and disappeared into the back of the restaurant.
The three of us began talking about the Holy Lance that through the centuries holding such mystical powers. Emperors' taking it into battle and then passing onto the next and the next through the millenniums.
Max excitedly said, "I once saw it at the very museum in Vienna that Hitler stole it from. It's appearance is nothing special, but the stories made it seem spectacular. To think it the very lance that was held by the Roman Centurion at the Crucifixion. The very blood of Christ dripped down that blade and fell into the Centurion's eyes and the vision he had subsequently caused him to wander along with Christ's follower's. He was considered the first true Christian. The lance's powers have been considered immense and in the wrong hands it can be even used for true evil all hidden by some mythical permission. Evil that even the Crusaders would wilt before. It's powers may even corrupt us if we get ahold of it."
Joseph came from around the back and headed back to the table.
"What did you do with that poor young soldier? I do hope we can at least have dinner."
"He left through the back, he is working with us, and he'll meet us in Nuremberg."
He sat down and looking at no one in particular started talking.
"As the season's bleed into the next, the road one takes is determined by the actions one beholds as the sun sets and then dawns the next day. Nothing can disrupt the forward progress of our plan. What we have here now is only another moment. Moments pass and like nature it encompasses us all. We are the mere providers of truth. Here we must find the truth and make no excuses for what we have to do to enable it's existence. Truth will only come in time. We will follow the story that was written for us. We will seek what we must and set it free. Tonight we begin what has been waiting us all along. The key turns and we enter into the arena. Tomorrow will lead us farther along the path into the realm of evil."
I was not only surprised but intrigued by Joseph's monologue.
"I take it you know our next step. The soldier must be another ingredient in the intrigue you seem bent on creating. Either way I am ready. Each step just gets more interesting. You mention the story written. But who knows the end of all this."
Joseph waited a few heart beats.
"The end of this begins in Nuremberg. We''ll be ready for whatever comes in our path. The centuries ahead may breath a bit better if we are successful."
With that the Innkeeper returned, standing over us and said.
"So what would you like this evening?"
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so, after all this commotion and emotional turbulences, we finally had a well-deserved meal, realistic german hausmannskost washed down with an excellent regional white wine. after some very quiet minutes of eating, each of us minding their own thoughts and tastebuds, a comfortable feeling of satiation and satisfaction found its way into our tired limbs. if it weren't for the peculiar circumstances of our being there and then, it might have been one of the most enjoyable evenings in a long time.
katherine stretched her legs out under the table, feeling tiredness getting a hold on her. she suppressed a yawn, being aware of joseph's eyes on her.
"i know you must be tired, dear", he said. "and i think we should all be reasonable and go to bed soon. tomorrow will see the last leg of this part of our journey and we should be able to reach nuremberg by early afternoon. we must, under all circumstances, be alert and attentive to each and every detail. a lot is at stake."
he solemnly looked at max. "yours will be the crucial part in this", he said. "you will be the one to take the lance before anyone else will have a chance to do so. I'll brief you on the details tomorrow in the car. tonight, we have two double rooms. you will stay with hannah, while i will settle down with my dear daughter."
katherine felt a strange stab in her chest. did joseph want to come on to her? it was not that she would mind a lot - she still felt strangely attracted to him. on the other hand something in him reminded her a lot of his brother pietro, who still had a special place in her heart. anyway, she was too tired and comfortable to let these thoughts become anxieties, and so she just nodded quietly.
the inn keeper handed them their bill and then showed them to their rooms on the second floor. one by one they climbed the creaking wooden stairs, winding their way upstairs. he stopped in front of a small door and opened it with a single key. "madame, sir."
joseph and katherine stepped inside a tiny chamber furnished with a desk, a wash stand and a relatively wide but single bed.
"thank you very much, sir", joseph said, putting some coins in the inn keeper's hand, "and good night."
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They walked in and the innkeeper slid the door shut, and stood outside silently, waiting and listening maybe. He wondered what he might hear but caution mixed with curiosity led him away,
back to find Hannah and Max and showed them to their room.
Inside Katherine looked around and sat on the edge of the bed, Joseph taking off his coat.
"When all this started I never expected to ever be alone with you, especially in a room like this."
"You mean with a bed?"
"Yes, I do."
"You know Katherine, I am not really old enough to be your father, even though I do like the feeling."
"You mean of having a daughter or having me."
"A bit of both I think, but now, more the having part."
She sat there, thinking what it would be like, how odd this could happen, yet she knew she wanted him, she could feel it, she became wet and looked straight at Joseph.
Joseph walked over to Katherine and pulled her up to him and held her close, she reacted and kissed him.
Standing there looking at him she began to unbutton her blouse, he looked at her smiling, taking his shirt off, towering over her. She undressed, standing there naked, grabbed his hand and held it as they kissed again,
then bringing it up slow as it brushed up against her belly, then to her breast. He brushed against her erected nipple and kissed her again, then down to her neck and then to her breast, sucking gently.
She pulled him back down to the bed, wrapping her legs around him, she sighed as he found her wetness with his fingers and rubbed her gently.
She squirmed and spread her legs a bit as they laid there entangled in heat. She could feel his fingers working her, she tightened up as he slid his fingers deep inside.
He pushed slowly into her tightness, her gasps multiplied as he held her, kissing her neck.
"My god Joseph, that feels so good." He stroked her and the room reverberated. Joseph pushed her up near the head of the bed, her head on the backboard as he moved slightly above her and pushed his hardness
into her slowly. Minutes passed this way as she took him inside then out, trying to muffle her loud moans to sighs as he kept at her till she could feel it, feel him coming inside her. It went on like this back and forth till
around three in the morning, when finally exhausted they ended up tangled together, sweat dripping off their bodies and both fell asleep at the same time.
The morning light hit about the time she felt him roll on top her and slide into her yet again, this time he came so quick and hovering above her looking unusually sheepish.
"I'm sorry"
"No matter, I enjoyed it. It was sweet. Something I might have expected last night."
He grinned.
The knocks on the door came just as Joseph was beginning to speak again.
Max yelled through the door, as Katherine pulled away and grabbed the sheet to cover her body.
"Joseph, open the bloody door, we have to talk, things have happend, you must open the door."
Katherine got up and ran into the bathroom with her clothes as Joseph put his pants on and walked to the door and opened it.
"What is it?"
"The Gestapo are on the way, I heard the innkeeper call about 15 minutes ago. We must leave now. Grab everything and meet me in the back, Hannah is waiting in the car."
"Couldn't you have stopped him?"
"I did, but it was too late, he had already gotten the call through and talked to someone. His call ended suddenly though."
:Good."
Joseph knew what that meant. He turned and Katherine was there standing dressed.
"Looks like our merry little crew has chalked up another victim. I'm ready, lets go."
Joseph dressed as Katherine followed Max to the car.
"What did you do to that old man, Max?"
"I locked him in the wine cellar, he's alright, just a bit dazed."
They reached the car and got in as Joseph was exiting the room. Hannah had the car warmed up and Joseph jumped into the back seat with Katherine and they were off.
Katherine looked at Joseph and smiled and grabbed his hand.
"You know this is all getting to be a bit of fun, seems we are always on the run."
Joseph chuckled and patted Max on the back.
"Good job, it's too bad about the Innkeeper, he seemed like a nice old gent."
With that both Katherine and Max stayed quiet as they drove, wondering if the old man would tell the Gestapo anything. Did he know where they were going, had he overheard anything.
Max seemed uneasy, but quickly tried to forget the mistake he may have made.
Katherine pulled a bit closer to Joseph as they sped along the Autobahn, Hannah keeping an unusually fast pace. She was in hurry, they had a place to be and time was running out.
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... and though they had this place to be
and this mission to fulfill
and time seemed to be running out,
things turned out differently than anyone would have thought.
one moment she was holding his hand in the backseat feeling cozy despite this frightening future ahead,
the next moment her ears filled with a thundering sound
her sight was blinded by fiery reds
and then
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the car swerved hard, fishtailing back and forth, almost becoming airborne, slid sideways across the road, then back again weaving crazily down
the center divider. Max holding onto the wheel tight as he brought the car back under control. Everyone with surprised look on their faces held on
waiting for a possible crashing end. They had come upon a convoy of German troops and vehicles. Max sped up trying to pass the line
of armored trucks with hopes of not being stopped. Soldiers jeered as they passed, but the line of tanks and troop carriers
kept going on their way. Max fearing the worst from the seeming endless parade of power, veered off the main road and
searched for an exit to the trouble slowing fading into his rear-view mirror. Katherine and the rest began to relax as they left the Germans far behind.
"Nice driving Max." echoed throughout the car.
Katherine leaned forward and patted him on the back.
Then the car slowed, catching them by surprise. Max pulled over near a grove of trees, turning his head back and forth, looking in all directions and said.
"Not so fast, look what's up ahead."
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{it has been a month now and i can't bring myself to continue this ... thought it is not bad for an ending?
i have very much enjoyed this! maybe we'll do a sequel one time ... it might after all be a UFO ...}
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no worries
i lost interest after such a long time
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They both looked at each other, then at me with serious faces, Max approached and spoke first, Hannah seemed quiet and heeding to her son to explain.
"The truth is Katherine, we have been waiting for you all week, actually we have known of your arrival for quite some time, and it was no mere accident our meeting last night. Though you were supposed to show days before and my inebriation was because of those idiot soldiers. I had to make for appearances sake. Though as I was sitting there last night I thought if you did not show, all our plans would have to change, as I knew quite well, our time here was reaching at end, we had to leave Berlin no later than today."
Hannah added. "Everything is in motion beyond any thoughts I could imagine, I am so glad you are here." Hannah then busied herself making last minute changes to their traveling cases near the door.
"Who we are?" he looked at his mother maybe for some confidence, "let us say for now, we are your friends and the ones that will take you farther on your journey. Things are about to get quite interesting, and I can possibly expect you may not really be all that surprised of any of this. From what I understand you have been maneuvering your way around time
like a bird in flight."
I laughed at that, which caught them a bit off-guard. "I knew something was odd here, now I can get my mind around all this. Landing here in the middle of a world
crisis is just about as bad as where I came from. I had so wished to be home, back in that quiet place, here is like landing in a nest of wasps."
Hannah came near. "We all will be home someday, you just have to be patient."
I made a weak smile. "Patience and waiting through a World War it seems. You do realize it is coming unless someone can stop it, there is very little time before things will start and once that happens, the course will be set. I seem to be at the hottest spot on the planet right now. Hell is going to break loose soon, where to be for safety will not be easy."
With that Max pointed to the door, where a rather large man in a dark suit stood in the doorway.
"Katherine, let me introduce you to our friend Joseph."
He was forced to bend over slightly to pass through the doorway and said, "I had thought from all the waiting you were more a fable than a real woman, and I see you are indeed quite a stunning young lady."
I walked over to him and shook his hand. "My my Max, your friend here is a mountain of a man and already flirting."
Joseph smirked. "I don't flirt that often, but it is till nice to meet you. I will be your driver, and I think it is time we leave."
Max and Joseph grabbed the bags, I had nothing but the clothes I was wearing.
"I think we will have to stop somewhere for me to pick up a few things if you don't mind."
We headed downstairs to where the car sat off to the side under some large trees. The streets were fairly deserted, an old man across the street stared our way, Joseph turned and gave him a frozen look and the old man went back inside his house.
Joseph turned back to me. "I know a place where we can stop once we get going and Katherine, stay close to me when we are out in the open, and here put this in your pocket." He handed me a small revolver and I did like he suggested.
"Now I can see why Joseph is your friend, think he will come in quit handy."
Max finished loading up the trunk said nonchalantly. "Joseph always comes in handy. He'll take care of most things rather delicately and if the occasion comes also rather suddenly."
Finally we were all in the car and on our way, Joseph slowly steered the car out along the quiet street and made a turn down the block and easily flowed into the morning traffic. We were off through the streets of Berlin. Everything seemed gray and depressing and I leaned over to Max. "You know Max, last night I nearly killed you. You were so smug and arrogant and when you grabbed me....." I trailed off as Hannah gave me a stern look. "How did you know something bad would not happen?"
Joseph picked up speed as we entered onto the highway. "You wouldn't kill someone for being rude would you?"
I smiled, "Well I have killed men for smiling at me the wrong way."Max gulped. "I see, glad to know you are on our side."
I looked at Max closely. "Our side? Well maybe a bit more explaining on all this will be needed." I was tired and at this point really did not care about the details. Just moving along in the car gave me comfort and I soon forgot all about those thoughts.
Joseph turned his head slightly and said."All in good time, all in good time."
The back seat of the car had plenty of room, like a touring car from some old movie. I felt at ease and tired from everything. Hanna and I sat side by side as the German cityscape was giving way to country side as we slipped ever so speedily along the Autobahn. Everyone was quiet, looking out the windows, as if we were on a Sunday afternoon cruise to the seashore. I leaned back into the comfortable seats and looked up and closed my eyes. I must have drifted off, and i came to as we were turning off the highway and settling on a side road that darted back and forth, some what straddling the main road. I looked at Hannah who was sat calmly staring out the window. "So tell me Hannah what was Max like as a child?"
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didn't notice you got another DD...congrats!!! 
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yea....that was cool...maybe two weeks ago.
always fun
thanks fer the congrats
maybe you should mess with the polaroids
do some collage work
combine 1 0r 2 or 3
see what happens
I keep everything
never knowing what can be used someday
now gonna go looksee at your place
maybe watchya
it be time
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i try not to throw things away...and that's why i have 5 under-the-bed boxes FILLED with random things i've wanted to incorporate into some sort of crafts project! 
btw, i think is IS about time! 
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Ohh I can totally understand
I have ohhhh yes.....BOXES
nuff said
one reason i have a warehouse
but there is a point where I stop collecting
they might not end up being boring
IS
was time
i know
bout time
they say
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I love the abtract and colourful look.
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color is starting to take over
thanky
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Hello. Your work has been featured here: [link]
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let me take a look see
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You know, when you see something and you just want to stare at it all day because it hits you that hard? Your amazing piece makes me feel like that!
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that is a hell of a compliment
thanks
I do love this piece
maybe my best
appreciate you saying something like that
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ahhhhh that is nice
on this one will agree
wish i could shoot them like this everytime
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wow 
um, may i use this as a background for a drawing?
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