Chapter Fourteen

Two weeks had gone by and they were all in Romania, again. But things looked different this time. There was hardly any sign of German troops, they had all retreated back towards Germany as Russian Allies were advancing into Germany and liberating towns and cities on their way. It would still be a while before they and the Americans coming from France would meet up and the war would be over. There would still be a lot of killing and it would be just as dangerous for them.
The resistance had managed to aquire a train, nobody asked how and they had their own people running it. The plan was to go from Szegad in Hungary, to Budapest, up to Zilina, branch off at Ostrava and on to Theresienstadt, where there was a lot of children. However on the way they would pass some death marches and if they could they would pick up children from there.

"Are you ready for this Ardeth?" asked Alex "You look...I don't know..."

"Scared?" said his friend "I am. Probably for the first time in my life, I am scared to do this but I have to. Too many children have died because of this war and after what I saw at Auschwitz, I can't let any more die than neccessary."

"But you think you can save them all, you can't, we will be lucky if we get fifty out. Some of us will die trying, we all know that. You have to be realisitic"

"I am being realistic Alex. I know we can't save them all but a few...God we have to save a few"

He leant on the table, his head down. Alex went over and put a hand on his shoulder. He knew some of what his friend was going through but no-one could know all of it. They were leaving the next day for Szegad, where they would meet the resistance train. Ardeth looked at Alex and nodded, then walked out of the room.

"Father Shandor, I need to ask you something" said Evy.

"Go ahead, what is it you wish to know?"

"I don't know much about your religious order but are you allowed to marry people?" she asked.

"Yes, i have that previledge, why do you ask?"

She went and sat down on the chair by the fire and leant forward.

"I want you to marry me and Ardeth before we go on this journey. If anything happens to either of us, I want us to be married. Would you do it?"

Father Shandor took her hands in his and smiled.

"Yes my child, if that is what you and Ardeth want, I will marry. I take it you wish it to be today"

She said yes and thanking him went off to find Ardeth. She hoped he would agree. it wasn't exactly what he would have wanted but they could do it again when they returned to Egypt, if they returned. She found him in the grounds of the monastary.

"Ardeth, I have had a word with Father Shandor and if you agree, he will marry us today. Let me finish. If by any remote chance, we don't make it back, I want to die as your wife."

"Evy, we will make it back, you don't have to do this" he said.

"Ardeth, I love you. i didn't think I could love anyone as much as I did Rick. In a way I still love him but we have gone to far in opposite directions to make it work. I want to be your wife, I love you so much, please say yes"

Ardeth took her in his arms and kissed her, saying he would be glad to marry her that afternoon. But he wanted a better wedding when they got back, with the Med-jai being there. She agreed and they went off in search of Alex and told him what they intended to do. They still were not sure he would except them being together but he assured them that he wanted it.

"I love dad, I always will but I know it was finished between you two a long time ago. I want you and Ardeth to be happy, please. I will have the perfect family then"

By 4pm, they were husband and wife. Everyone there were pleased to have a wedding before they embarked on their journey. There would be no time to have a party, they would have to leave at 5pm, to reach Szegad by 6am the next morning.
Gathering all the stuff that they wanted to take with them, they got into the trucks that would take them over the border. It should be safe enough until they got on the train. They would be seen and heard for miles and would have to be on the alert 24hours a day.

"Is this it?" said Alex "Are you sure this is going to blend in?"

They thought the resistance were going to get an ordinary, small train but instead they had aquired one that had ten carriages. No wagons that people would be used to seeing but an ordinary passenger train.

"This will be better. Any soldiers will assume it has ordinary passengers on board. Some of our people will be sitting in the carriages so that they can be seen. If we had one with the wagons, soldiers would be stopping us every few miles and it would be too dangerous" said Emile.

He was the head of the resistance and showed them onto the train and to where they could put their things. Only one carriage had been altered in any way. It had been stripped of the seats and canvas beds put in so they had somewhere to sleep. A galley had been put at one end, only the basics but something they needed. At the other end were crates that contained guns, ammo, grenades and dynamite.

"Do we need all that?" asked Evy.

"We could end up using all of it if we run into trouble. We have to be prepared for anything. Now we leave in ten minutes and have to try and keep to the timetable that has been given us. Our people will be at the points and junctions, so that we should be on time for Theresienstadt and arrive there in five days barring any snags"

"Father Shandor said there could be some death marches on the way there, where do you reckon they could be?" asked Ardeth.

"Well I think there could be oone or two about here, near Ostrava. If there are then we are going to have to be extra careful and may have to stop for a while. If this happens, I have a man who will go one foot to warn the others"

Father Shandor came in and heard what they were saying. He looked at the map and and then turned to Emile.

"Is there any way we could get some of the children away from the marches without putting ourselves in danger?"

"No way, there will be soldiers guarding them all the way. It would be impossible to get any of the children away without the parents or friends helping them giving the alarm. Some will not let them go easily"
"But we have to try" said Ardeth "We have to try"

He walked out of the carriage and into the next one. He was nervous and Evy had heard him pacing again at night when they had stopped. She went after him while Father Shador explained to Emile what had gone on.

"If he tries to get any children from the death marches, he could get us or himself killed. It will virtually impossible to do that. You must persuade him not to do anything stupid"

"I will talk to him, but I doubt if I can change his mind" said Father Shandor.

"You have to. Our lives are at stake if he doesn't listen"