Chapter Eleven
I woke up with a start in the morning, dressed in a fresh uniform, and hurried downstairs to grab a quick breakfast of porridge and milk. God had given me inspiration for how to use the grenade. The other Girls trickled into the dining room, sleepily dragging on their blouses and slowly swallowing their breakfast. I hurried to eat mine, as the rally was at noon, and it was already seven o’clock. My plan had to be in action by noon. As soon as I had finished, I jumped up and hurried outside to the front yard area in front of the hotel. It was small, but I had seen a couple berry bushes lining the sides of the hotel, and they would go perfectly with my plan.
I had slipped the grenade into my blouse pocket as I was dressing, and planned to use it soon.
I picked a couple of the berries, sitting down in the grass and pulling my foot onto my lap. I squeezed the juice onto my big toe, feeling satisfaction when a blood red juice splashed my foot. I squeezed enough juice onto my foot for it to look real enough, before pulling a handkerchief from my pocket and placing a berry right in the middle. When I pressed the hanky onto my foot, the berry exploded under it, leaving a red stain that looked like blood.
I then hobbled back inside, clutching my foot and biting my lips hard enough to make my eyes water as though I was about to cry. Sophie saw me at once, and hurried over. “Oh my gosh, what happened? Are you okay?” She asked, already turning to the Gruppenfuhrer. “Gruppenfuhrer Winter, something happened to Emilia!” Winter rushed over, gasping when she saw all of the “blood”. The others hurried over as well, and soon everyone was crowding me.
“What happened, Emilia?” Winter looked frightened. “I–I tripped outside on my toe, and it started bleeding really hard,” I gulped, my eyes watering harder as I chewed my lip so hard it started to bleed. The Gruppenfuhrer shook her head. “I don’t think you can go to the rally – a pity, since this big one only happens once a year.” Just what I had hoped she would say. Sophie looked sad. “But–”
“Sophie, I can’t go. A shame, but with my toe… I don’t think I will enjoy it very much. You guys best be going now. I’ll go to my room for a while, I think. Try and stop the bleeding.”
I hobbled in the direction of my room, ignoring the whispering that started among the girls.
* * *
I stuffed my belongings into my briefcase, tucking an extra roll of cash from Winter’s suitcase into my bag, just in case.
Sitting down on my bed, I waited until I heard the hotel door slam shut, before I hurried to the balcony not far from my room. I would drop the grenade and roll down the hall, before taking my things and me and jumping off the balcony to safety. It wasn’t a very far drop. Then I could catch the next train back home, and tell my parents the tragedy. The accident shouldn’t kill anyone, but it would provide a needed and satisfactory distraction.
I pulled out the grenade, ensuring that no one could see me before gripping my briefcase in one hand and pulling the pin of the grenade in the other. It rolled down the hall, but I had jumped and ran fast before I heard a satisfying boom! Debris flew everywhere, and I ran harder, hoping no one could see me. I should be running harder.
My legs killed me, but still I ran. I heard screaming behind me. Hopefully no one was still in there. My lungs heaved, but I ran on. I was close to the train station. I ran to one of the booths. I snatched the ticket from the ticket man’s hand. I dashed aboard the train. The ride was a blur of motion and noise. I stepped off the train at some point. I hurried up the five blocks to my house. I dashed into the house, ignoring my father and mother. I ran up to my room, locking the door and slumping against the wall.
I felt dizzy. My stomach lurched. My head hurt. I gasped for breath. It was hours later, but I still couldn’t breathe. My vision was blurred. A knock sounded at my door. “Emilia? Why are you home?” I didn’t answer. Simply laid my head against the cold hard wall and stared at the locked door.