A.N- This is a story I've had in the works for a while now. In case anyone's wondering, it's set in 1942 for the time being, though it will take place over a two or three year time period. There isn't much else I can say about it right now, since I don't want to give anything away. Please read and review! As usual, I don't own the characters or setting.

Chapter One

"Do you really have to go?" Feliks asked his mother for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. She was preparing to go out somewhere with his father. They'd been doing that a lot in the last three years, and he knew he should be used to it by now. Still, he couldn't help but feel uneasy whenever they left. The fact that they wouldn't tell him where they were going just made it worse. Mother turned and smiled at him, sensing his discomfort with the situation.

"Yes, dear. Don't worry, though, we will come back. We always do, don't we?" she sounded so confident, it almost made the nervous feeling in his stomach fade to nothing. Almost.

"Yeah. I wish you would tell me where you were going, though. I mean, I'm sixteen, I think I'm old enough to know now," he hated the fact that they were keeping this a secret. Didn't they trust him? His mother sighed.

"I know that. I wish I could tell you where you where we're going, but I'm worried that if I do you'll follow us, and get into trouble. The whole reason we're doing this is so that you and any children you have in the future can live in a free Poland, without Nazis or Russians. I'm not going to put you in danger now," she pulled on her coat, not saying any more. He wondered what she meant by that- what was so dangerous about his parents' activities, and what did they have to do with freeing their country? He was just about to ask what she was talking about when his father, who had been pulling on his boots, spoke up.

"This will all be worth it in the end, you know. We won't have to live like this forever. Besides, if we don't do anything, if we give up and accept this, the Germans might as well take everything. This is still our country, no matter what they say," Feliks was quiet for a moment, trying to process it all. This was the most he'd ever been told about what his parents actually did every week, and he wanted to know more. His head was swimming with questions, but before he could ask them his mother had already unlocked the door.

"When we come back, we'll talk about this. Right now, though, there isn't time. When we get back, though, your father and I will explain everything."

"Alright. I'll stay here," he really didn't want to, but it seemed there was no other choice. As he watched them go, he couldn't help but feel a deep sense of foreboding. He couldn't say where it came from, though. If he'd known the cause of it, he would've done more to persuade them to stay. As it was, all he could do was smile, wave and pray that he was wrong.

He waited several hours for them to come back. Eventually, he realised that this was probably one of those times when they wouldn't be back until morning. Feeling too tired to stay up any longer anyway, he decided to go to bed. He went up the stairs, and had just entered his room when he heard a knock on the door downstairs. Immediately he froze, panic gripping him. His parents never knocked when he was the only one home, and he couldn't think of anyone who could possibly be knocking on the door at this time of night. Unless… no, that was impossible. His family hadn't done anything wrong! The Nazis wouldn't come for them, surely? He'd heard stories of people who disappeared, but no-one knew why they were taken or what happened to them. Still, he had to check somehow. Fortunately, his bedroom window looked out onto the street below. As quietly as he could, he crept over to the window, trembling already. He heard the knock again from downstairs. With a shaking hand, he opened the curtains just a little and peered outside into the darkness. He couldn't hear anything suspicious, nothing to indicate that there was a truck or car outside. He'd heard that when the Nazis went to take someone away, they never came on foot. Why, he didn't know, but it wasn't something he was very keen to dwell on. The apparent absence of a vehicle made him relax slightly. Maybe it was someone else. Trying to keep quiet, he left his room, crept down the hall and about halfway down the stairs. There was a shadow in the window of the door, but he couldn't tell who it was. The shadow knocked again, and this time he heard whoever it was speak.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" Feliks frowned, not sure what to do. He recognised that voice, it belonged to one of Father's friends. Normally he'd be nervous about opening the door, and he'd only do it if he had to. Right now, it seemed like he would have to. Maybe he'd find out what was happening where Mother and Father were. Perhaps they'd decided to let him come along after all. He made his way towards the door and opened it. Standing there was Daniel, one of his father's friends, who'd come to visit a few times over the last three years or so. Both Mother and Father seemed to have made quite a lot of friends over the last two or three years, many of whom came over sometimes to talk in hushed voices about things he wasn't allowed to know about. Feliks stared at Daniel, wondering what he wanted. He could remember that Daniel was one of the nicer ones of his parents' new friends, as well as the only one he knew of that wasn't Polish. He was a little taller than Feliks, which was annoying, but he had kind green eyes and dark brown hair.

"Do you want something?" he asked. The way the taller man was watching him was starting to creep him out. What on Earth was happening?

"There's something I need to tell you. It's about your parents," the flat seriousness of his normally cheery voice made it clear he didn't bring good news.

"Alright, come in," he opened the door properly with a shaking hand, hoping Daniel wouldn't notice it. Leading the way into the main room, he sat down in one of the chairs, and gestured for Daniel to sit in the other. "What's going on?" Daniel looked very uncomfortable, and he didn't meet Feliks's eyes.

"I'm not really sure how to say this… I didn't think I'd have to say this tonight," he paused, for a moment, as if he was genuinely struggling to find the right words. After a minute or so, however, he continued. "Feliks, it's about your mother and father. They aren't coming back. I don't know all the details, I just know that someone tipped us off, and the Gestapo found our meeting place. I was able to escape, but Maria and Thomas… they weren't so lucky," Feliks stared at him, confused. What was he talking about? What meeting place? What did the Gestapo have to do with this? It felt as though the world was collapsing around him, and he wasn't sure how to stop it. Right now, it seemed the only thing he could do was try and get as many answers as possible, then hopefully things might start to make sense.

"Um, what do you mean, the Gestapo found our meeting place? What's going on?" Daniel frowned. For a moment, he was silent, but then he continued.

"I should've guessed. They never told you, did they?"

"Never told me what?" he was starting to really wish Daniel would just tell him what was going on and not be so cryptic. He could barely breathe right now, let alone think.

"Your parents have been involved in the Resistance for about three years now. They have been fighting for this country's freedom since the krauts stole it from us in 1939. Until today, they were lucky. However, now it seems that their luck has run out. I'm very sorry," Feliks couldn't think of anything to say. This was the explanation he'd been waiting three years for, the explanation his parents had meant to give him tonight. His head hurt trying to think about it, but he forced himself to wait until later to do that. Right now, he needed to decide what to do next.

"So, what should I do now?" he asked, as calmly as he could. At this moment, he wasn't sure he could do anything, but still, it couldn't hurt to know what his options were.

"Well, that's up to you. My advice would be to leave here and find somewhere else to stay. There's no guaranteeing that the Gestapo won't come here, or that they won't harm you if they do. Even if they don't come, you should probably leave anyway. You'll feel better for it, I think," that seemed very unlikely, but it was better than staying here. He nodded.

"Alright, I'll leave. There should be somewhere I can go, so don't worry about that," he looked up at Daniel for the first time since he'd come in. Putting on a smile, he stood up, leaning on the chair for support. He shakily made his way to the door, gesturing for Daniel to follow him. He managed to get there without falling over and held the door open. Just before Daniel left, he paused.

"Your mother told me to give you this," he said, handing Feliks a small brown pouch. He took it, not daring to open it just yet. If he saw what was inside, he might break down, and he couldn't afford to do that now. There was too much that had to be done first. After Daniel left, he closed the door and tried to think of a rational plan. It was hard to think through all the pain and fear that was currently gripping him, but he managed it just enough to come up with a plan. He just hoped it would work.

It took him a moment to get his thoughts and feelings in order, but once he did he started to put his plan into action. The first thing he had to do was pack his bags. He got two fair-sized suitcases, figuring it wouldn't arouse too much suspicion. Nobody would be able to see him, after all, not with the blackout in place. He filled the suitcases with clothes and valuables, knowing full well what would happen if he left them behind. Before long, he'd filled one of them, and the other was about half full. He walked through the house one last time, checking each room, looking for anything that might be needed. His sketchbook, a hairbrush, an old scarf that had belonged to his mother. Nothing big, because there wouldn't be room. Just the smaller things, things he could carry. By the time he'd finished, there was still a lot of things he hadn't been able to fit in. He sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do about that now. The two suitcases he had were already very heavy, and it would be unrealistic for him to try and carry any more. With one more glance around the hall, he opened his front door and left.