Beyond the Shadow of Night(54)

“Just crawl through,” he said.

Asher watched, barely believing his eyes, as first her torso, then her legs disappeared from view.

The match went out. The gunfire was getting closer. Asher turned and saw the moon shadow of the other man, standing in the doorway, shooting further down the alleyway.

Then Asher felt his arm being grabbed and he was forced down, his head entering the blackness of the oven. He felt his head thump against the back panel, which gave way. He continued crawling through, soon falling a few inches onto soft earth.

As soon as he got to his knees he felt his hand being grabbed and pulled to one side.

By the light of a single candle he saw Rina. He turned to look at where he’d just come from and saw a hatch. It flipped open once more and Josef fell to the ground. He’d hardly rolled out of the way when the other man appeared, and Josef gave a quick tug on a piece of string. There was a noise that Asher recognized as the catch to the oven door. Then Josef placed a piece of wood across the hatch, preventing it from being opened again.

“Not a sound,” he whispered, then spat on his finger and thumb and reached for the candle flame. Asher heard a faint fizzle as the light went out.

In the full darkness, with his sense of hearing heightened, Asher heard muffled noises through the wall. He understood no words, but knew what was happening: the guards were shouting and running back and forth, then shouting some more, then asking questions of one another. Eventually, after more angry discussions, there were groans of frustrated acceptance, and the noises faded away.

For a minute or so there was silence in the darkness, and Asher might as well have been alone. His senses turned to the damp mustiness of the place. A match ignited, providing his eyes with some reference, and then its fire was transferred to a candle.

Josef lit another two candles. “It’s okay now,” he said. “We can speak.”

“So speak,” Rina said. “Tell us what’s happening.”

“He told you,” Asher said. “He worked at the brick factory.”

“I was also a part-time resistance fighter.” Josef shrugged. “Since the factory closed I have more time for those activities.”

“But how did you know where we were?” Rina said.

“Your papa got a message to me while he was waiting at the meeting point.”

“And what are you going to do with us?”

“Now you’re in the resistance too,” Josef said. “That is, if you want to be.”

Rina looked at Asher, who nodded. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, we do.”

Josef smiled. “Good. Welcome to our bunker—your home now.”

They all got to their feet, and Asher looked around.

It was a strange room, so narrow he could touch both walls, but so long that the far end wasn’t quite visible.

“There are no doors or windows,” Josef said. “The hatch is the only way in or out.”

Asher looked up to see a few ventilation grilles, then behind him, where a shelf displayed packets of food. Two beds—in reality no more than small mattresses on the floor—were arranged end on end halfway along, against the wall.

Rina eyed up the two beds. “The four of us are going to live here together?” she asked.

Josef shook his head. “One more. We can sleep in shifts on the beds.”

“Oh.”

“You know, most resistance fighters are living in the sewer system, or even in shallow underground pits. This is a hotel by comparison.”

“Of course,” Rina said. “I’m sorry.”

Josef pointed to the opposite end, where a rusty bucket lay on the floor, and something else was jutting out of the wall above it. “And we have a water valve over there.”

Rina’s face still held a worried frown, but she nodded. “It’s good,” she said. “Perfect. So we fight from here?”

“One of the many locations across the Jewish district.” He wagged a finger at her. “And listen, we need all the hands we can get. I want you to know you’ll be safe here—well, as safe as any Jew can be in this city. The toilet facility is right at the end, beyond the bucket. You, uh, cover it with earth.”

Asher and Rina peered beyond the makeshift beds, into the darkness at the end of the room.

“If you need privacy just ask. But . . .” He let out a little laugh. “. . . I can’t vouch for the spiders.” He looked at the other man, who smiled back at him.

“Never mind spiders,” Rina said firmly. “Do you have guns for me and Asher?”

“Do you know how to use one?”

She glanced at Asher. “We can learn.”

“Good,” Josef said. “That’s good. And I’m sorry, we need a bit of humor here to while the hours away.”

“Humor is good,” Rina said.

“You like humor?” Josef pointed to the other man. “This is my friend, and your new brother-in-arms, Adolf.”

Rina cracked a rare smile.

“And yes, before you ask, he speaks very good German.”

“How do you talk to each other?” Asher asked.

Josef leaned across and patted the man on the back. “Adolf speaks good German and a little Polish. I’m Polish but speak a little Russian, as well as Yiddish. And you?”