Flight

by Vanessa Harbour

  Jakob glanced down. There was a crimson stain spreading across Herr Engel’s breeches. He knew he should examine him. Taking off his sweater, he rolled it up. ‘Here put this under your head.’

  Herr Engel lay back. His face was pale and sweating. He stared at Jakob then across to Monte. The stallion lay on his side, his coat dark with sweat and blood. ‘You know what you’ve got to do, don’t you?’

  His guardian’s meaning sunk in slowly.

  ‘I can’t…’ Jakob whispered.

  ‘You must. It’s the kindest thing to do. There’s no one here to help us. Hurry up!’ He looked up the mountain. ‘See if you can find my saddlebag and bring it here. It must be up there somewhere.’ His head fell back onto Jakob’s sweater. His eyes closed.

  Jakob stood up and scanned the mountain. In the distance he saw Kizzy leading the stray horses back down. He walked up, collecting all Herr Engel’s belongings where they’d fallen in the scree. Most had survived unscathed, including his saddlebag. He headed back with a heavy heart.

  By the time he got back, Kizzy was sitting with Herr Engel. She spoke first.

  ‘The others are all right, mainly. They have a few cuts and grazes where they slipped. I looked at Raluca. His knees are grazed as well, where you fell.’

  Herr Engel and Jakob glanced at each other and then between Kizzy and Monte.

  ‘What?’ asked Kizzy. She looked across at Monte too. ‘No! Can’t we do anything?’ She ran across to the stallion and knelt down, stroking his neck. ‘Oh Monte!’

  She looked at Jakob. ‘Do it quickly.’

  He felt sick.

  ‘She’s right,’ said Herr Engel. ‘But first you need to take the other stallions further down. Make sure they are tethered securely and can’t see what’s going on. They’ve had enough upset.’

  Kizzy and Jakob collected all the stallions together. They were all on edge, prancing around. Raluca called out to Monte. Another lost friend.

  They led them down the mountain until they found a perfect place, an area slightly further on, where there were more trees, and where the two children could tether the stallions just out of sight.

  ‘Now be good, back soon.’ Jakob rubbed Maestro’s flank as they walked away.

  ‘Do you think they know?’ asked Kizzy.

  He nodded. ‘They understand everything.’

  When they got back to Herr Engel, he handed Jakob a revolver.

  Jakob looked at it, shocked. ‘I didn’t know you had one of these. I’ve never used one.’

  ‘It’s kinder. You know we can’t heal his broken leg, certainly not up here.’ He looked round. ‘The shotgun would just fill his brain full of pellets. It’s ready to go, just point and pull the trigger. Be careful.’

  Jakob walked over to the stallion. The horse seemed so helpless. He looked back to his guardian. ‘I don’t know how to do it.’

  ‘I’ll do it then.’ Herr Engel tried to stand again. He let out a mind-shattering scream and fell to the floor, breathless. ‘It’s no good. You have to. Think how Bauer did it. Aim straight for his forehead.’

  The girl let out a sob.

  ‘Come here, Kizzy.’ Engel held out his hand towards her.

  Jakob closed his eyes. He didn’t want to think of Bauer. But choice didn’t come into this. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes slowly.

  He stood in front of the stallion. He lifted his arm and pointed the gun straight at the horse. This time Monte didn’t even try to raise his head. His eyes were rolling. ‘I’m sorry, lad.’ For the briefest moment the horse seemed to lock eyes with Jakob before closing them. They both knew it was time. His hand trembled. He steadied it with his other hand. Kizzy quietly sobbed; he could hear Herr Engel, with a very weak voice, trying to soothe her. Holding his breath, his finger found the trigger and squeezed it.

  The sound of the shot resounded around the valley. Monte twitched then sighed. He’d gone.

  Jakob gazed at the dead stallion. His blood had splattered all over the daisies that struggled to grow in the sparse grass. It mingled through the flea-bitten colour of his coat. He couldn’t hold it in any longer. Bile from his stomach filled his mouth. He dropped the gun down, vomiting and sobbing as he crumpled to the floor.

  He wasn’t sure how long he’d been there before he felt Kizzy shaking his shoulder.

  ‘Herr Engel says we need to get a move on.’

  ‘Shouldn’t we bury Monte first?’ asked Jakob.

  His guardian leant up on his elbow. ‘No time. Cover him with branches and make sure you take the tack off. Tie it on Theo. I’ll ride Maestro. You lead Santuzza.’

  Jakob glanced at Kizzy but said nothing.

  The two children worked quickly and quietly, lost in their own grief. Soon Monte was covered and all the horses sorted again and ready to go.

  ‘Now let me look at your leg,’ said Jakob, worried about the size of the crimson stain. ‘It’s bleeding. I’ve got to cut your breeches.’

  ‘If you must,’ said Engel grudgingly. He lay back on the floor, still pale and sweaty.

  Using his knife, Jakob cut through the material and exposed his lower leg. The cut wasn’t as bad as he feared, but the bone was out of alignment. He checked with Kizzy. She raised her eyebrows. Jakob went blank for a moment, then had an idea.

  ‘Right, Herr Engel, I need to straighten it.’ His guardian paled visibly. ‘If I pull it straight, Kizzy will tie splints on.’ He glanced around for more inspiration. ‘We could use branches, couldn’t we? That’d be all right?’ he asked, doubting himself. The others nodded.

  Kizzy jumped up and ran to the trees. She came back moments later with a long, straight piece of birch. ‘Get a move on, help me strip and split it.’

  They pulled the leaves off and Jakob used his knife to split it in two. He ripped another of his shirts into strips. ‘Are you ready?’

  Herr Engel nodded. He was positively grey now.

  ‘Here, bite on this.’ Kizzy took a shirt strip and tied it into a knot. Engel put it in his mouth.

  Jakob took hold of his leg and pulled. He felt the bones shifting. There was a loud crunch as it straightened. Jakob swallowed a mouthful of acid. He knew how tough Engel was, but this was unbelievable. He held the leg taut, so the bones didn’t move, while Kizzy fastened the handmade splints to his leg.

  ‘I’m sorry if I hurt you.’ She glanced down at Herr Engel as she tied the shirt pieces as tight as she could. He barely nodded, sweat pouring down his face. When she’d finished, Kizzy gave him the last of the water and wiped his face. ‘You’re amazing.’ She kissed him on his forehead.

  ‘Phuff, stuff and nonsense,’ said Herr Engel. Kizzy looked hurt for a second, until Jakob saw him take hold of her hand and squeeze it.

  His guardian got his breath back, then he and Jakob stared at the map together. ‘I think we should aim to get here.’ Jakob looked at where he was pointing. It was another clearing by a river.

  ‘It seems relatively easy to get to, not too far,’ said Jakob.

  Herr Engel nodded. ‘Now, you need to help me get up onto Maestro. You must ignore my screams. I’ve got to get on him, otherwise you’ll have to shoot me too.’ He winked weakly before pulling himself up. The very last bit of colour drained from his face. ‘Come on, we need to get going.’

  Jakob said nothing as he acted as a crutch for his guardian.

  ‘Bring Maestro up here, Kizzy, please. But leave the others where they are for the moment.’

  The girl brought the black stallion to Herr Engel.

  ‘Hold him still. Jakob, go the other side and hold onto the saddle.’

  Using the saddle, Engel lugged himself up onto Maestro’s back. His broken, splinted leg hung down, useless. ‘You two will lead the rest. I can’t do it.’ He stopped, struggling to catch his breath.

  This was the first time in his life that Jakob had heard Herr Engel use the word ‘can’t’. He turned to Kizzy, wanting reassurance, but she appeared as frightened as he felt. Jakob knew it was
up to him to get them to Sankt Martin now. No time to feel sorry for himself.

  ‘Don’t worry, Herr Engel. You concentrate on staying on. We’ll keep it slow.’

  They led him down the mountain to the other horses. Jakob leapt on the back of Raluca and grabbed the four lead reins of his horses. They were all prancing around still, pulling at his arms. He felt exhausted. Staying on would be hard for him too. His guardian followed and Kizzy brought up the rear with her four. It took quite a while for them all to settle down again.

  The forest took them away from the mountain, but it was slow going. Every time Jakob looked back, Herr Engel would attempt to smile. His smile was getting weaker and weaker though. He rolled in the saddle.

  ‘There’s got to be a better way for him to travel, surely?’ Jakob asked the wind. ‘Hurry up, Raluca, we need to get him there as soon as we can or he won’t survive.’

  It took two hours of riding in silence to get to the agreed spot. Even the birds were quiet.

  ‘We’re here!’ Jakob led them into the clearing. He let out a sigh of relief. Not only were they tucked right away, but there was an old woodman’s hut where they could shelter. It couldn’t be better. No one could even stumble across them, he felt sure. The mountains towered behind them. Trees surrounded the clearing, which was quite wide, a few tumbled logs strewn across the stretch of grass. He slipped off Raluca’s back, letting the horse walk off to the river to drink with the others. He moved over to Herr Engel.

  ‘Right, let’s get you down.’ His guardian said nothing as Jakob eased him off Maestro’s back.

  ‘You’re burning up. Are there any Aspirin in your bag?’

  ‘A few, I think. I managed not to forget those.’ His voice was barely a whisper. The pair collapsed onto the floor and his guardian groaned.

  Going through the bag, Jakob found the pills. He filled a cup with water from the river. ‘Here, take these. They’ll help.’ Herr Engel was too weak even to hold the cup. Jakob lifted it to his parched lips.

  Jakob slowly helped him into the woodman’s hut and settled him down. His eyes closed as soon as his head hit the rolled sweater pillow.

  Stretching, Jakob walked over to Kizzy. ‘He’s so ill. I’m not sure he’ll last another day’s riding. We need to think of something.’

  She was busy pummelling herbs for poultices again. She spoke without looking up. ‘There’s an old Roma way we could try?’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘We build a sled-like thing from wood. We can pad it with blankets and one horse pulls it.’

  This seemed a wild yet sensible plan. Jakob could think of no alternative. ‘What do I need to get?’

  This time Kizzy stopped and concentrated on him. ‘It’s a bit like a triangle. You need two very long, straight branches and several medium-length ones. If you get those, I’ll get the fire burning so I can boil water for these poultices. I don’t want any of those cuts or grazes to get infected.’

  Jakob bent down and put his arms around her, giving her a brief hug. She was so thin. Before he could stop himself, he kissed her on her cheek. ‘Thank you.’ She flushed pink.

  Chapter 16

  It took Jakob longer than he thought. By the time he’d found and cut down as many straight branches as he could, Kizzy had set the fire and cooked a fish stew and put the poultices on the stallions’ cuts. He found her kneeling by Herr Engel, helping him sip the stew.

  ‘Is that enough?’ he asked, pointing to the pile he’d made.

  She peered past him and nodded. She rested Herr Engel’s head back down. He went straight back to sleep with a groan. ‘Think we should eat then start. I’ve redressed Herr Engel’s cut, putting a poultice on it first. You’re right, he’s very weak.’

  Jakob stared at his guardian. His skin was like parchment, while his breathing was rapid and shallow. Jakob sighed. ‘The faster we get him to Sankt Martin the better. Let’s get on and make the sled. Sleep can wait.’

  She nodded.

  Once they’d eaten, Kizzy picked up a reed and waved it under Jakob’s nose. ‘Look what I’ve found. I’m going to make twine with it.’

  He swatted it away. ‘Gerroff!’ He picked up one of the branches. ‘Should I strip it?’

  Kizzy gazed at him, eyebrows raised. He shrugged his shoulders, trying hard to suppress his irritation. Why couldn’t she take anything seriously? ‘I was just asking.’

  He worked with his knife, stripping all the twigs and leaves off. ‘Is this right?’ He held it up again. It was as tall as him and as wide as his arm.

  Kizzy was too busy constructing an intricate plait of reeds. Jakob noticed that the tip of her tongue was poking out of the corner of her mouth. He smiled, wondering if she knew she did that.

  ‘Ow!’ She sucked blood from her thumb. ‘Stupid reeds keep cutting me.’ She still didn’t move.

  Jakob tapped his fingers against the branch, trying to squash the ever-growing knot of tension in his stomach. When she finally got to the end, she glanced up and smiled. ‘Yes, that’s brilliant, but you need another one like that.’

  ‘Thanks – I’d never have guessed!’ Jakob’s laugh was hollow. Kizzy gave him a look. They both knew how serious this was.

  They worked on in silence.

  After several hours, Jakob said, ‘I’m done. You?’ He walked over to where Kizzy was sitting.

  ‘Yes, me too.’ She spread out several long lines of twine. ‘Let’s lay it out on the floor and then tie it together. See if I can remember how it works.’ She rubbed her eyes and yawned. ‘I’m so tired.’

  ‘I know, but we’re nearly there.’ His words were swallowed by a yawn too.

  Between them, they tied all the branches together, making the triangular frame just as Kizzy described. When they’d finished, she stood back. She put her bloodied hands on her hips. ‘Lift it up and let’s see if it is wide enough to fit round a horse.’

  Jakob picked up the two long branches. Immediately several of the smaller branches fell to the floor. The twine that Kizzy had spent hours making just wasn’t strong or long enough. Her face fell. She threw down the rest. Stomping towards a log, she kicked it, not once but repeatedly, getting harder and harder. Chips of bark flew everywhere.

  Jakob dropped the branches and ran to her. The last thing he needed was another injured person. He pulled her round to face him, but she wouldn’t look at him. He could see her eyes were glassy with tears.

  ‘Stop, Kizzy, it’ll be all right.’

  She snapped straight back, eyes hard and dark now, ‘No, it won’t. Don’t you see? I messed up. He’ll blame me. We’ll never get him there without it.’

  She tried to snatch her arms away. Jakob wouldn’t let go, gripping tighter, hoping he wasn’t bruising her.

  Engel groaned in his sleep but didn’t wake.

  Jakob knew Kizzy was right, but there had to be a way. ‘Will you stop it!’ He shook her slightly, knowing he sounded harsh. Kizzy looked shocked. Jakob softened his voice. ‘Of course Herr Engel won’t blame you.’ Then he spotted the answer. ‘Would it work if we had rope?’

  ‘Course it would, but we haven’t any, stupid. Unless you want to go back to Leizmann and buy some. I’m sure those Nazi soldiers would love to see you.’ She pulled away and wiped her sleeve across her nose.

  ‘But we do. Look!’ Jakob pointed at the leading rein attached to Raluca’s halter. ‘We have twelve of them, plus extra, I’m sure. We could use the reins to lead them just for tonight, couldn’t we?’

  Kizzy jumped up and kissed Jakob smack on the mouth. ‘You’re a genius.’ She ran to Raluca, taking off his halter.

  Jakob was taken aback. He touched his lips with the tip of his fingers. Had she really just done that? He knew his ears were blazing red.

  ‘Don’t just sit there!’

  Jakob came to his senses as she began letting the stallions free. ‘Kizzy, stop! Don’t take everything off. We only want the ropes. We need the bridles on so we can tether them using the reins.’
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  She stopped and looked at Raluca, who now had no halter or bridle on. The stallion threw his head back, rolled his lips back and blew, whinnying.

  ‘He’s laughing at you!’

  ‘Damn!’ she said, trying to grab Raluca. No chance. The stallion pranced to one side before standing behind Jakob, resting his muzzle on his shoulder, watching Kizzy.

  ‘Hello, lad,’ said Jakob as he slowly put his arm round the stallion’s neck. ‘Pass me a bridle,’ he whispered under his breath.

  Kizzy’s face was beetroot-coloured and she wasn’t in the mood for subtlety now. ‘Harrumph, let’s get on with it. It’s getting late and we don’t have much time.’ She flung the bridle across to him. Raluca tossed his head into the air, startled by the low-flying tack.

  ‘Careful!’ But Jakob was laughing on the inside, even more so when Raluca nudged him. ‘That was wicked. You’re such a tease!’ he muttered under his breath, slipping the bridle back on.

  Before long they had collected all the ropes. Jakob wished he’d thought of it earlier; it was much easier making the frame with them, despite his cold hands. Best not to say that to Kizzy though, he decided, after she’d worked so hard on the twine.

  When they finished for the second time, the sun was low in the sky and the light was fading rapidly.

  ‘Shall I try it again?’ asked Jakob.