by Mark Spaid
“It worked too,” the judge added.
“Are we going to die?” A young man asked.
“I think that’s a given…it only remains to find out who goes first but they’ll get us all eventually,” Mayor Miles said. They sat in fear the rest of the night.
* * *
“Hey, there she is,” Lexi said as Ariel returned.
“I see you made it,” Justin said.
“Is that blood?” Julieta asked.
“Yes, but not mine.”
“What?” Dave asked.
“I was walking through the woods when two SS officers stopped me. They were going to take me in and that wouldn’t have been good for you guys.”
“What’d you do?” Andy asked.
“I feigned light headedness and they put their guns away, figuring I was no danger. One of them leaned down to help me and I stabbed him with a hairpin I had secreted on my person. Then I grabbed his gun and shot the other one.”
“But the bodies?” Andy wondered.
“That part of the woods is littered with crevices and deep holes. Maybe it was primordial seismic activity…I don’t know. I dragged the bodies, slid them down one of those deep openings and covered them with leaves and limbs.”
“You did well, kiddo,” Tatiana said as she put her hand on Ariel’s shoulder and smiled at her. Ariel returned a big grin
“I’ve been home and Theresa and Robert are preparing the house for all of us. It’ll be dark when we get there, which is perfect.”
“Then let’s go,” Tatiana said and they left. Sol was moving gingerly but the terrain made rapid movement difficult anyway. It took about two hours and they arrived at the woods just behind Ariel’s house.
“I’ll check on things first,” Ariel said and made her way along a hedge to the back door. After a few minutes she emerged and waved everyone inside.
“Hello, Theresa,” Belinda said as they made their way to the dining room where food was laid out for them.
“Hello, Ms. Fanelli.”
“Get something to eat then your rooms are ready for you. You’ll all be on the third floor. You must stay out of sight. No one can go outside or even be seen at the window. We may be under surveillance…I don’t know but we have to act as if we are,” Ariel said.
“Thanks for all this, Ariel,” Jozette said.
“I’m glad to do it; besides we’re all in this together.”
“I think I’ll head downtown and try and find out what’s happening,” Janet said.
“Is that wise?” Jozette asked. “To go by yourself?”
“In my case, yes. My whiteness is an advantage but my somewhat light skinned Latino boyfriend is still at risk with these guys. There are Latinos and Latinas in the city but they stay out of sight, work at menial jobs and do what they’re told. But, at a time like this when the SS is paranoid, Mario is at great risk. Besides I’ll be in disguise.”
“Okay, but be careful and come back and tell us what’s happening,” Jozette said.
“I will.” Janet went to the bathroom with her purse and came out a different person. Blonde hair, different make-up, etc.
“Wow, I’m not sure I would’ve recognized you, if I hadn’t known,” Jozette said.
“It’ll serve my purpose…I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Janet left by the back door and slid along the property line, came out to the sidewalk from the neighbor’s yard and made her way downtown. There were people standing in front of shop windows in small groups talking.
“What happened?” Janet asked.
“Where’ve you been to ask that?” A woman asked.
“I’ve been camping for a week…no phone, radio or anything.”
“Ah, well, then we can tell you that prisoners massacred all the people at the North SS Patrol Station. They got away and now the SS has taken hostages. If the killers don’t turn themselves in or someone doesn’t say who and where they are then they’ll shoot all the hostages then take more,” a man said.
“How many were taken?” Janet asked.
“Twenty-five,” another woman said.
“Is there a deadline?” Janet asked.
“They weren’t clear…I’m sure they want leeway but I think they’ll start shooting soon. There’s a new colonel in town and he was sent here to get results, I bet,” a man posed.
“Makes sense…do they know who did this?” Janet asked. This was a casual crowd but they seemed to know things.
“The names are posted,” A woman said and pointed to a poster on a utility pole. Janet read Sol Isaacson, Dave and Tatiana Swanzy and an unidentified man and woman.
“Should be easy to find these people if they know their names. Do they know their addresses?”
“Who knows; there’ve been SS crawling all over the city,” A woman said.
“I guess we’ll know something in a day or two,” Janet said.
“I’m afraid so,” a woman said.
“Where will they do the executions?” Janet asked.
“They haven’t said but I’d guess in or outside the SS station itself,” A man suggested.
“Well, I have to say this is sobering,” Janet added. Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course,” A man said.
“As I said, I was camping when a sudden wave or impulse came over me and seemed to engulf everything around me. Then I get back here and things are different than I remember.”
“What do you mean?” A man asked.
“When I got back, Swastikas were everywhere. There was an SS. I didn’t remember any of that.”
“You too, huh,” a woman said as she looked around, seeing if anyone was listening...the SS for one.
“Yes, have you talked to anyone else?” Janet asked.
“I have and the funny thing is that some of us, like you and I remember the time before; but I’ve also talked to people who don’t know what I’m talking about. They think things have always been this way.”
“How do you explain that?”
“I can’t; I’ve talked to people I work with at the University and they can’t explain it either. I teach chemistry at IU but now it’s called Indiana Teutonic University. Nearly all of the faculty, staff and the students go along like the country has been Nazi since the late forties when Germany invaded us and dropped atomic bombs on our major cities.”
“Have you checked the history books?” Janet asked.
“I have.”
“And?”
“Mixed results. Most of the books follow the time line that we have now. Germany won the war and spread Nazism all over the world.”
“But not all?”
“No, I found books, right on the shelf with the others that have Germany surrendering in 1945 like I know they did.”
“How’s That possible?”
“All I can think of is that when that wave or whatever it was hit, the original history books were in place; the ones that are correct as you and I remember it.”
“You think the staff has been placing the new version on the shelf?”
“I don’t know. I mean some things like literature, math, most science haven’t changed so those books would remain the same.”
“But history would definitely change. The library probably gets dozens or hundreds of new history books every week. Those would reflect the changes in the Time Frame. They would’ve been written recently,” Janet surmised.
“That’s all I can think of as an explanation.”
“I’m sure eventually those older books will be removed and burned.”
“I have no doubt.”
“Do you have any ideas as to what can be done?”
“Nothing that I can think of; this is the way things are. The Nazis won and The Greater Reich is here to stay. It sickens me but I can’t see any way to reverse it. My grandfather died on D-Day, rushing the beaches. My grandmother has the posthumous silver star he won. It hung over her fireplace mantle for fifty years. It was the center of her life in many ways. She was pregn
ant with my father when grandpa went off to war. She always had a picture of grandpa and her on the mantle. They were standing in front of the little house that her parents had bought for them when they got married in 1939. My father gave me that picture just before he died. It sits on my nightstand by my bed. Well, enough of that, I guess. My grandfather died for nothing. Life goes on and we make the best if it.”
“I’m sorry about all of this,” Janet said.
“I think we all are or at least some of us…the ones who can remember before the change.”
“My name is Janet.”
“I’m Margo, glad to meet you.”
“Me too and good luck with whatever happens.”
“Yeah, see you around.” Janet left and headed down the street to check out the SS station. Along the way she saw four SS patrol cars whiz by. One slowed down to look at Janet but then pulled away rapidly. “Well, there it is,” She said to herself as she stood in an alley about a block from the station. It was busy as patrol cars were coming and going non-stop. She could see inside to the front desk and it was a mass of people. SS men in uniform and many others in suits and ties. They seemed important and parked on both sides of the street were limousines. These men must’ve been from party headquarters in Chicago or even New York. If they were resorting to shooting hostages then they were obviously taking the raid on the SS station very seriously and of course they would. She moved on to the lab. It was about ten minutes away. She stood behind a hedge and watched. The building was dark, so no one was inside working. There were cameras all over the outside…a result of what happened the other night. Only two guards watched the place. “That was surprising after the break in. “Well, I guess all their attention is on the SS station and constructing the weapon. That could work to those two physicists’ advantage and the group that’s going to try and reverse what has happened.” She thought as she left the lab and walked downtown again stopping in a bar for a drink and listening and observing. Everyone was talking about the raid and the SS response. After twenty minutes three SS officers walked in and everyone went silent. One of the officers stood on a chair in the middle of the bar to speak.
“You all know who we’re looking for and how important it is that we find them. If anyone can give us any information that could direct us to their location, you need to tell us now.” No one spoke, most out of fear and some if they knew anything remained quiet so they wouldn’t be dragged down to the SS station and be forced into getting involved. “Very well, we’ll leave you now but if you do find out something then come to the North SS Station as soon as you can.” The meaning was not well veiled. If they didn’t catch these guys soon then the hostages would die. Janet never touched her drink as she spent her time eyeing the crowd trying to divine their purpose and attitudes. Of course, like most people anywhere in any Time Frame, they come to a bar to drink and maybe hook up. So, she saw plenty of what she’d seen before the Time Skew but she was looking for any signs of untoward behavior. For her at this moment it meant if anyone had designs on her, not as a sexual conquest but as political capital. There certainly were Nazis in this bar; true believers…people who’d gladly turn in the killers of the officers at the SS station. Did anyone recognize her? She worked or had worked at a hospital as an orderly. She quit to attend classes at IU. These were mostly young people in their twenties. Some of them if not most probably attended IU. If they did know her and if anyone had seen her and Mario with Dave, Tatiana, Little Wolf and Julieta then they might surmise correctly that Janet knew where the fugitives were. After ten minutes she didn’t see anyone looking her way and she was about to leave when she saw a man at the bar lean back so he could see past the shoulder of the guy next to him and he was looking right at Janet. “I’ve been had,” she said to herself. “How do I get out of here?” She went to the bathroom but there were no windows. She waited until three women came in and she slipped between them and down the hall towards the rear of the bar. There was a back door where people were carrying out trash and standing outside in the alley for a smoke. In a jiffy she was down the alley and running along a side street. Three blocks away she stopped behind a light pole and saw that same man looking frantically for her, she was sure. “That bastard was going to turn me in for the reward and let the SS beat the answers out of me. This Time Frame gets worse by the minute.” When he left and was out of sight, Janet walked briskly all the way back to Ariel’s house.
“I see you made it,” Mario said as Janet came in the back door.
“What’d you find out?” Justin asked.
“The SS station is crawling with people…officers and guys in suits. Several VIP limousines. The lab’s lightly guarded but they have cameras all over the outside now. Only two guards that I saw and it’s dark inside.”
“That’s good,” Dave said.
“I talked to people on the street and the hostages are on a short leash. I was in a bar and three SS men came in and asked for any information about you guys but no one said anything. The people seem to be terrified to speak. I know it’s only been a few days since the Time Frame change but it’s like it’s been in place their whole lives.”
“Maybe in their minds it has been,” Justin said.
“That’s just it, I spoke to several people…the ones on the street, not in the bar and some knew exactly what had happened and others, the majority I think, behaved as if nothing had changed and there had always been a Nazi America.”
“Why is that, Dave?” Jozette asked.
“I don’t know…Sol?”
“Impossible to say, I mean we’ve never experienced anything like this. changing the past and then the future or our present. We can’t be certain what to expect. In time some of the people who know what happened could forget and be like the rest. And, people who think this is the way it’s always been, could suddenly remember. We don’t know what could possibly happen and that’s why you guys made the packets for everyone including the detective and the captain. Who knows, without the information that Warren gave us we all might’ve fallen in with the rest,” Sol said.
“If we could only find something in common for all those who know something happened,” Dave thought.
“Was it mental, or was there something physical that impeded them perceiving there was a change,” Justin posed.
“We may never figure it out,” Dave said.
“I think some of the people in the bar knew but I can’t be sure. There were those who were laughing and having a good time and then there were a few who had sad looks on their faces and they seemed to be watching the ones having a good time. It’s like they knew something was wrong.” Janet paused and looked around at everyone.
“There’s more I take it,” Jozette said.
“Yes, in the bar one guy seemed to recognize me and when I left, he followed. I ditched him but there are other people out there who know me. I wonder if he saw me with you guys. Your pictures are all over the city.”
“That’s right and I wonder how long it’ll be before they connect all of us with Ariel. They know she’s married to Warren,” Andy said.
“You better stay in the attic tonight,” Ariel said.
“All of us?” Lexi asked.
“I had Robert make beds up there for all of you. I wanted to be prepared. They’re cots but they’ll do for one night,” Ariel explained. They all went upstairs to the third floor then Ariel led them through the back of a closet and a secret door that was unrecognizable. She hit a hidden button, the door opened and up they went. Indeed, there were cots made up all over the attic.
“Cozy,” Andy said and Jozette rolled her eyes.
“Well, you know you’ve come into the modern world when you have a Jew hiding in your attic,” Sol said and there was laughter.
“We’re all being hunted now, Sol,” Dave said.
“Exactly and now you know how my people have felt for four thousand years.” Tatiana patted Sol on the shoulder as she made her way to a cot and laid down. They were very tired
and in no time, they were all asleep.
“Miss Tatiana,” Little Wolf whispered. He’d made sure he had a cot right next to her.
“Yes,” she whispered back.
“We need to act quickly.”
“I know but this might be too soon. They’re still on heightened alert and will be until they find us.”
“That’s just it; if they capture Mr. Dave and Mr. Sol then we’re sunk because I don’t think Mr. Warren can get out of their sight.”
“Yeah, I know and I’ve been thinking.”
“And what?”
“Ariel’s right, we can’t stay here. We probably need to leave tomorrow and head for the woods again.”
“What about the little girls?” Little Wolf asked.
“We’ll take care of them. Lind will keep Gabby by her side and Beth will be with Jozette and Andy,” Tatiana said
“And the other girls?”
“They’re all adults now and besides I think they earned their mettle in the jungle.”
“Yeah, I guess they did.”
“We need to see Tom and Captain Shellhause before we leave and set up a rendezvous time and place.”
“Right, well I think we better send someone other than the ones who attacked the SS station.”
“Justin and Andy?”
“No, they’re faces are all over the paper,” Little Wolf reminded her.
“Lexi?” Tatiana posed.
“She’d draw too much attention…you know a beautiful six-foot blonde.”
“Yeah, you’re right…okay, then who?”
“She’d be perfect for the job. She could slip in and out without being noticed,” Little Wolf said as he grinned. Tatiana wasn’t following him at first then it hit her.
“What? She can’t go anywhere without being noticed. That’s her mantra.”
“I know but in the right costume and with the right make-up she could pass as non-descript.”
“Aright but who’s going to tell her?”
“Who do you think?” Little Wolf said as he turned and smiled at Tatiana.
“Wish me luck.”
