Yuki and I did, but Alice needed some more help. Eventually we all saw them. Totally transfixed we watched this group. I counted twenty-one people. All walking in single file along the forest.
“It looks as if the ones in the front and the back are carrying a gun, or what do you think?” Nin wondered.
“Yes, I think so too.” Yuki replied. “But what are they doing?”
“What worries me more is that they only have to glance over to the radio antenna to see us!” I interjected. “Don’t you think we should immediately get down and run for cover?”
“Yeah.” Nin replied, but without lowering his binoculars. “We will go presently; they’ll walk around that corner there and be out of reach of our binoculars anyway in a minute or two. Look, they are heading for the forest.”
“Who do you think they are?” Alice whispered.
I was about to answer her when something strange happened. The entire group stopped and three people stood away from the others. The two who had walked in front and the person who had brought up the rear. They all raised their guns and fired. At the other people!! It took several seconds for us to hear the shot as they were at least three if not four or five kilometres away from us as the crow flies.
“What the heck are they doing?” Nin wondered just as we saw the people in the group falling, one by one!
They were shooting these people!!
I quickly lowered my binoculars and grabbed Alice by the shoulder, taking away her binoculars. She let me, she was totally shocked and seemed dazed. She had just witnessed how people were being shot!
And we had to leave this platform!
Immediately!
We were in grave danger up here, exposed as we were.
As I scrambled to my feet, pulling Alice along, Yuki and Nin woke from their shock and hurried down behind us. Alice stumbled and I grabbed her up in my arms and tried to run down the stairs as fast as I dared. We only stopped when we reached the bottom of the stairs. Gasping for air, rattled to the core, we frantically looked about us.
“They shot these people, didn’t they? They killed them, didn’t they?” Alice’s anxious voice cut right to my heart.
Why, oh why had we come here today!! I’d give anything to be able to undo the last half an hour. Why had my darling sister had to witness such a crime, such a horror?
“Yes.” Nin answered her hesitatingly. Taking her from my arms, he embraced her and held her tight. “Yes, Alice, darling, I think they killed these people.”
“I want to go home! I am scared! Will they come for us? Lia! Yuki!” Alice broke out in tears.
“We have to get home as quick as we can, but our car is standing in a spot which can probably be seen from their side. We have to think very carefully now!” Nin answered, helplessly patting her back as she sobbed, burying her head in his neck.
Looking at Yuki and me, he went on. “I think that it is safe for us to walk toward the car through the forest, along the road. But we must be super careful now. Hell! If only we hadn’t come here! It’s about the worst spot to be in.”
At this Alice sobbed even harder and we all hurried to calm her down a bit.
“Shh, Alice, shh! We’ll make it! Don’t you worry! But you have to be quiet now, we all have to be. We need to be able to hear far.”
I stroke her hair while talking, hoping that my words would get through to her. She was in shock. Hearing my words, she calmed down a bit, it was an effort but she managed and I felt proud of her.
Then we started the walk toward the car. Walking up had taken us an hour, for the way back we needed only twenty minutes, we ran almost all the way, Nin all the while carrying Alice.
“What now?” Yuki demanded when we reached the parking lot and our car. We didn’t walk toward it but stayed under the cover of the nearby trees.
“If we follow that dirt track inside the forest we’ll come out north of the hill. They won’t be able to see us.” Nin said pensively looking back from where we’d come. “We would have to circle way to the North and East, but we would eventually get back to the village where we got the binoculars and from there we could head home. But it would take us a long, long time. And through terrain that I am not really familiar with.”
“Do you think that they can see us from here?” Yuki anxiously inquired.
“I don’t think so, no! Let’s move over there and have a look.”
Nin gestured us to follow him and we slowly and carefully moved over to the southern edge of the trees bordering with the parking lot. From there we had a better view of the valley below us and the hill across it where the killings had just happened. Still remaining under cover of the trees and bushes, Nin and Yuki trained their binoculars in the direction of the hill where we’d seen the group of people before. Meanwhile, I held Alice tight in my arms. She was still weeping, silently, trembling all over, her breathing ragged. It was horrible to hear and witness. I planted kisses on her hair and held her tight, gently rocking her back and forth. But she didn’t react to this, just kept on sobbing silently.
We had to get her home, quickly, she might go into shock and we had to get her into the safety and warmth of the sub-basement!
“Can you see anything?” I whispered.
“Yes.” They replied in one voice.
“They are heading back the way they came from.” Nin went on to explain, all the while keeping his binoculars trained on whatever he was observing.
“I can see where they left their vehicles. It’s over there, a bit back from where they came from. A personal car and a lorry. Can you see them, Yuki?”
“No, I am still watching the three men. I assume they are men. They are walking away from the dead people. They just left them there!! Did you see that!!!”
“Nin, I think the best thing for us would be to head straight home. This journey you are proposing is far too long and hazardous. And we must get Alice home quickly.” I pleaded.
“I think so too, Nin.” Yuki agreed. “We can watch them and see where they’ll go. Then we just head the other direction. Once we are down in the valley, we can speed home without being seen.”
“Wishful thinking and you both know it.” Was Nin’s curt reply. “We can’t leave straight away. Far too dangerous. For now, the best thing is to observe where they are going. Then we can decide what to do.”
“But we must hurry! Alice needs to get home!” I kept rocking her gently back and forth. And she still hid her face in my chest, weeping silently, trembling, saying nothing!
It took the men fifteen long and endless minutes to reach their vehicles.
We held our breath when they started the cars and drove away.
“Yes! Just where I want you to go!” Nin suddenly whispered.
Yuki lowered her binoculars and explained.
“They’ve taken the road that leads to Berne. You know, that one which will take them into the outskirts North of Berne. They are definitely heading away from where we will have to pass.”
“Wait, don’t jump to premature conclusions. We have to watch them as long as we can.”
Nin kept his binoculars trained on the cars and followed their every move. Several times he lost them in the maze of houses they passed, but always found them again.
“Yes!” He finally exclaimed. “They are definitely heading to Berne. I can’t see them anymore but the road that they were on just before leads to the other side of the river Aare and the villages North of Berne.”
He turned around on his heels, touched Alice’s back and added. “We wait until dark and then we’ll drive home.”
“What!” protested Yuki. “We can’t wait until dark! Alice must be brought home now!”
“But it’s not possible now!” Nin’s voice was adamant. “It’s way too dangerous to drive down the hill in broad day light. We could be seen for miles around. We were mad to have come here in the first place. Now we have to be very careful, otherwise, we’ll have to walk all the way home.” He turned back and checked once aga
in for the cars, but they had disappeared out of sight.
Thinking it over, I knew that he was right. There was no alternative but to wait.
But it was no good for Alice.
We huddled together under a tree, out of sight from the road and tried to reason with Alice.
Though she didn’t complain much, she wouldn’t lift her face from my chest or answer any of our frantic attempts to make her talk. She just clung to me without ever releasing her tight hold for one second. She wasn’t weeping anymore, but her breathing was still irregular and her utter silence was frightening as hell!
We tried everything we could to make it easier for her, to prompt her out of the corner into which she had retreated, but to no avail. I wished Mum were here, she might have been able to get a reaction from Alice. And, it would have been so comforting to have someone here with lots more experience in dealing with people, children especially. I felt so helpless!
Please, please, let her feel better once we reach home! I whispered to myself. And, please, let us reach home soon and safe!!
Three agonizing hours later, the sun had disappeared behind the hills to the West and it got darker by the minute, Nin finally declared it safe to attempt the journey home.
It felt awful to climb into the car and start driving.
We were so exposed!
I was convinced that we must have been spotted the moment we left the parking lot.
Yuki had climbed in the back with me. Between the two of us we held Alice and tried to comfort her. She still wouldn’t say a word and refused to lift her face. We couldn’t do much now. We needed to get her home first.
Nin drove without the lights on, he knew the way well enough. But he could drive only slowly that way as it got dark quickly now. It took us a good ten minutes to reach the foot of the hill and the main road; and from there another twenty minutes until we reached the junction to the farm-house.
We had driven in quite a circle toward home and we were by then pretty sure that we hadn’t been found out. After all, nobody could see us, unless they used night vision goggles.
Still, it was with an awful feeling of being totally exposed that we drove toward the barn. Nin jumped out of the car, opened the barn and quickly drove inside.
Once he’d locked the barn door, he came and tried to lift Alice from my lap. But she wouldn’t let him. She started to whimper and pressed herself even tighter into me.
“Let her. I will carry her.”
It was a bit difficult to slide out of the car with her in my arms. But I managed and started toward the path leading to our tunnel.
Yuki quickly followed and we all headed back through the grove, using our flash lights to find the way. But we were careful and put them off as soon as we were near the edge of the grove and the tunnel entrance.
Nin had to fumble a bit to unlock the door, but finally he managed and we were inside the tunnel, bolted the door and headed up to our home.
Had it not been for Alice we would probably have celebrated this close shave and escape.
But there was no room for joy; Alice’s state was alarming by now.
She wouldn’t talk and she refused to even look at us. And she refused to let go of me. We tried everything we could think of. But nothing helped. Neither Piglet and Malinda, nor a hot drink or something to eat or anything else. She refused all communication, but wouldn’t allow me to move a millimetre away from her. When Nin and Yuki positioned themselves around us, this seemed to help Alice. But still, she wouldn’t talk.
Finally, we decided to sleep in the big room all of us. Yuki and Nin pushed the sofas together so that we could all settle there, like in a big communal nest. They brought over our pillows and blankets. We made a nest for Alice and I held her close with Nin and Yuki on either side. Piglet and Malinda were also there. My arms hurt but I couldn’t move them much. Whenever I loosened my hold a bit, Alice would whimper and press herself even closer.
It must have been hours later that she finally relaxed a bit and that her breathing indicated she’d fallen into an uneasy sleep.
Nin and Yuki had fallen asleep, too, by then, but I couldn’t. I was too worried for Alice. Every now and then the events of that day flitted through my mind and I wished for about the hundredths time that we hadn’t gone there, hadn’t seen what we’d seen.
Please, let her be okay! I kept whispering to myself, mantra-like.
Like that would help.
Alice woke up several times that night, screaming, but since we were always close by and immediately soothed and caressed her, she always calmed down and managed to get back to sleep.
I thought, I’d never be able to sleep. I was so worried about Alice. But obviously, we three must have fallen asleep eventually, because we all awoke with a start at Alice’s voice.
“Why are we all sleeping together like a pack of wolves here on the sofa?”
“Alice! Alice! You are talking again!”
Nin lifted her into his arms and fell back onto the sofa with her. Yuki reached over and gave her a passionate kiss and I just beamed at them all.
Alice seemed alright, but we would have to watch her.
“Why? What do you mean?” She wanted to know now.
Didn’t she remember?
“But Alice …” Nin started; then he quickly bit his lips as Yuki poked him in his side.
Suddenly everybody looked at me.
“Good morning Alice, will you give me a hug, too?”
I stretched out my arms for her and she willingly climbed over to me.
I held her tight. She breathed at ease and her body didn’t feel tense. She seemed okay.
“You slept well?”
Nin and Yuki just glared at me.
“Ah, Lia, I can’t remember any of my dreams. I think I didn’t dream at all last night.” She squirmed around in my arms and I let her go. She glanced at all of us.
“But you haven’t yet told me why we have been sleeping all together like that.”
Help! What was I to say now?
“We just thought it fun, that’s all.” Yuki leapt in to safe us.
Alice accepted this explanation.
The whole thing was very queer indeed! Frightening actually. Did she suffer from amnesia? Why was she so cheerful?
It was frightening, but we played along. For now.
But it didn’t take long. Her happy mood lasted until we had breakfast and talked about what to do. As soon as Nin mentioned that we might go outside, she cried out, collapsed on the sofa and started sobbing uncontrollably.
I was relieved and so were Yuki and Nin.
Throwing herself on my lap and hiding her face in my chest, she cried and cried and cried. We let her. Every now and then she uttered words, but they were intelligible. I just sat and held her. It took her an hour to calm down a bit. Several times she seemed calmer and her crying abated a little, only to intensify again. It was as if she couldn’t stop anymore; not before all the horror had been cried away. Finally, the worst was over and she just lay in my arms, limp and exhausted, hiccuping from all the crying. I continued to caress and kiss her and eventually, she dosed off and fell asleep.
In order not to disturb her, I lay down on the sofa with her and Yuki covered us with a blanket. It was good. Let her sleep a bit. It would do her good.
At least she was no more in denial mode.
Everything else would heal with time.
If we had to stay indoors for some time so much the better. We really had taken too many risks recently. We’d behaved like careless idiots, too cock-sure about our situation, too convinced that we were the only ones around.
It could have ended really badly yesterday. It had been a very close shave. We needed to refocus on ‘safety first’ and everything else thereafter.
Nin and Yuki had gone to the fitness room and I heard them talking together quietly.
When Alice finally woke up, she looked at me for a moment and then said imploringly. “It was horrible, Lia! They killed
those people! And I saw it. I don’t want us to go out anymore. Never again! I am scared!”
I embraced her tightly and kissed her fervently.
There were no words to describe the relief I felt.
She was talking again!
And she remembered!
No trauma or temporal amnesia because of the horror she had witnessed. There would be scars, mental scars, of course, and we would have to tread ever so careful with her now. But she seemed to have gotten over the worst.
“We won’t, Alice, we won’t! We all need to take a rest and stay indoors for a while! You will not be forced to do go anywhere you don’t like!”
Nin and Yuki appeared in the door frame, they had heard us talking.
“What’s wrong, Lia?” Yuki’s voice was worried.
Only then did I realize that I was crying.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just that Alice is not only talking again, but also remembers everything. Oh, I am so happy I could kiss you all!”
They came over to us and we huddled together again, finding safety and comfort by being close. It would take a long, long time for Alice to fully recover from the terrible thing she had witnessed. But the first step had been made and we would help her every other step along the way!
She would also find the courage to go outside again. In a few days. Of that I was certain.
But not now. Now we were just happy that she had snapped out of her cocoon of shock and horror and was back with us.
We spent the rest of the day in the main room, talking, playing some board games, drinking tea and enjoying each other’s company. Nin left twice to check the weather outside. But really he went to see whether someone had prowled around our house. We were anxious while he was outside. But he came back every time to report that the coast was clear and the weather actually very nice.
He couldn’t tempt us, however.
Both Yuki and I thought that it was time to spend several days mostly indoors. We agreed that it was okay for Nin to go and check the situation or the weather several times a day, but otherwise we wouldn’t venture outside for now. We needed to recuperate and Alice needed time to digest the terrible scare we had all had.
Lia's files 1_Presumed extinct Page 35
