Thanks for the reviews so far, please sir could I have some more.

Freedom

Magnus swung his feet out of bed and walked to the window, he opened it slowly and silently trying not to wake anyone, a single icicle hung from the low guttering outside. He hadn't realized it till then but he was extremely thirsty, he broke the icicle off and it felt cold on his hand, he raised it slowly and pout it in his mouth, the coldness hurt his teeth but it felt so good against his throat he didn't mind.

He walked silently as he possibly could towards the door, he crept past the empty bunk from the man whose shoes he had stolen, he didn't know if the man was in solitary or dead "Dead I hope" thought Magnus before he stopped in his tracks, his thoughts startled him he had never noticed but now did in the silence of the bunk, he had changed, the years in the camp had changed him, it both scared and exhilarated him but he didn't give it much more thought as he crept towards the door.

He stood out on the steps and stared off into the east "If this is my last morning I will enjoy it as much as I can" thought Magnus as he began to watch the beginnings of a beautiful sunrise. "Magda" thought Magnus as the thought of his love passed through his mind, "This is all my fault…She'll die because of me and there isn't anything I can do for her…nothing at all".

The sun slowly rose over the horizon casting more light onto the surroundings, he thought Magda again as the light illuminated the noose which had been moved into the main exercise yard during the night.

"I will not give them the satisfaction" growled Magnus to himself as he stormed back up the steps before dropping his body down hard on the edge. Of the steps, the wood was splintered and fractured from the constant trudging up and down, Magnus gripped the edge hard, his knuckles turned white as he gripped with his full might before yanking. He gasped as with a final crack the wood splintered off in his fist. He glared down at the long shard which came to a point, his hand was bleeding from a few minor cuts he had reopened but none of that would matter in a second.

He moved the shard closer and closer to his neck, the point dug into the soft flesh of his throat, he felt the cut and he felt the hot trickle as blood began to form at the entry point and bleed out. He was just about to end it with one final thrust when there was a sudden explosion.

The bang seemed to shatter the silence and shake the ground, Magnus dropped the wood and stood immediately to his feet and squinted towards the rising sun where the noise had came from. He couldn't make out the faces but he could see two figures approaching him fast one seemed to soar over head with a single leap, the sun glinted off something he was carrying which temporarily blinded Magnus.

Magnus was suddenly swept from his feet as an arm grabbed him into the air and held him tightly "You're going to be okay" said a voice in a bad German accent. "Run…You're free!" barked the man in his bad German into the hut where Magnus had spent the last two years, he heard the scramble as people jumped out of their beds, just as the hut began to come into focus Magnus was once again being dragged out into the yard. The man carrying him moved quickly but finally came into focus as they sprinted away from the hut, he was short and stocky, he had dark black hair and when Magnus looked at him images of animals in the wild he knew as a child sprang to mind. The man shifted him into a more comfortable position which allowed him to look over the mans shoulder back into the camp.

Chaos seemed to spread through the camp, smoke billowed over the huts from explosives that the other man who was quickly sprinting up behind him, he was dressed in blue with the star spangled banner of America across his chest, he carried a circular shield with a giant star in the centre. The prisoners of the camp ran toward the hole in the fence which they themselves where about to pass through, some had tackled attacking guards and were presently making sure no others got close to the prisoners. He smiled as he saw all the prisoners he had known escaping, his heart stopped for a second as he saw a thick lead pipe hurtling through the air, it had been thrown by a guard a split second before he could be stopped, Magnus "No!" screamed Magnus as he stretched his hand towards the pipe bomb. Every muscle, fibre, cell and molecule of his body pushed towards the bomb which still hurtled closer. The split second before it hit the bomb sailed in the opposite direction and exploded on impact with the floor.

Magnus was bundled into the back of a van which was quickly becoming packed with the prisoners escaping the camp, the man hoisted Magnus in "Good luck kid" said the man in a low gruff low voice which sounded almost like a growl. The tuck was packed in a few more seconds and it's driver who ever it was began to pull away from the camp. Magnus stared out of the back through teary eyes at the camp, smoke rose from the buildings and most of the people were fleeing, his heart stopped as he continued to look. The women's camp seemed un touched…no smoke, no fleeing women, some stood watching the commotion but their fences were still up they couldn't escape…Magda was trapped.

"Get out of my way…Move" screamed Magnus as he fought through the packed van to the very back, only a small barrier separated him from the camp "I have to save her" thought Magnus as he began to heave himself over but was caught by numerous hands.

"You're free…Nothing you can do…he's delirious…knock him out" came several cries in several voices but still Magnus kept struggling. With one final surge he felt the grips loosen as he dropped out of the van onto the hard road. He rolled as he hit the floor and spun into the dirt by the side of the road. He felt his arm was injured as he stood up, blood trickled from his head and shoulder as he began back towards the camp.

"I cant leave her" he thought to himself, he trudged along the road and in no time seemed to be at the male camp, no soldiers other then the bodies could be seen and the area was deadly silent but still he carried on through keeping a constant look out for anyone. He found himself at the separating fence between the camps in no time at all, his arm and cut on his head were numb but he wasn't worrying about that he quickly searched along the perimeter fence, "any hole, any gap, any loose chain" he thought to himself as he searched. "It's still whole" he thought to himself as he sunk to his knees, his hand holding one of the holes between the mesh, he gave a gentle tug and the fence moved and strained in the floor. He wiped the tears from his face and pulled again harder, the fence struggled "I'm not even trying" he thought as the fence moved again, he rose to his feet with minimal difficulty and began to breathe deeply. A crowd had gathered watching him on the woman's side and Magda pushed to the front, he saw her eyes "Hope" he thought to himself, he closed his eyes and pulled as hard as he could on the fence, it buckled and gave way with almost no resistance.

The women surged through the huge gap knocking Magnus to the floor, they trampled over him till all was silent, he weakly lifted his head only to see Magda still standing there not fleeing for freedom. She smiled as tears filled her eyes, she crouched and wrapped her arms round him before struggling to get his body to his feet, the two hurried as fast as they could in total silence towards the hole to freedom in the mans camp, their bodies screamed in agony, Magnus's from his injuries while Magda's weak body cried out because of Magnus's extra weight.

"Going somewhere dogs?" asked a familiar voice from beyond the smoke, Magnus and Magda stopped and stared through the billowing grey as a man came into focus. Vonstrucker the man who had sentenced them to death grinned evilly, his gun was drawn and pointed towards the two. "When I sentence death…I expect you to die" cried the man as he fired a shot, the bullet stopped in mid air before them and seemed to hover before it turned and fired back where it had came from. The bullet pierced Vonstruckers shoulder and dropped him to the ground in agony. Magnus and Magda continued towards the hole. "I knew you were special boy…I will have you…and if I can't have you I will kill you" growled Vonstrucker but Magnus did not hear.

…

Night came quickly as the two slept silently, they lay in a ditch on aside road about fifty miles from the camp, they had begun to head east as quickly and as silently as possible, they had collapsed about fifteen hours after their escape and now lay covered by long grass. Magda woke up first, she lay her body across Magnus and listened to his heart beat "I know you're awake!" she said about three hours later.

"Wont you just let me enjoy this for a second longer" he sighed as he wrapped his arm round her. He had never been as happy as he was in that moment, when in the camp he thought he would never know the happiness of his childhood again but this eclipsed everything because you can never appreciate freedom till it is taken and you can never truly appreciate anything in life until you worry that it will be gone.

"I would never try to move you… but it has been many hours since a patrol past us, perhaps now would be a good time to move" she sighed as she kissed his hand.

"Ah smart as well as beautiful" laughed Magnus slightly as he strained to get up, the pain shot through his arm but he ignored it as he got to his feet.

"What do we do now?" asked Magda as she helped Magnus support his weight.

"We head east, it can't be more then a hundred miles to the border, the USSR is under allied control, once we cross the border we are free" smiled Magnus at the very thought of it. The two began to walk in the light of the full moon they could see at least half a mile down the road in both directions.

"Magnus have I ever told you…I love you" said Magda after a few minutes of silence.

"Never in words but in other ways" smiled Magnus as he remembered certain expressions Magda showed but most of all he remembered how she had waited to save him when she could have escaped the camp.

…

Morning came just as the two walked through a village square, the town was the last one before the border which was still about sixty miles away. "It shouldn't be much longer" said Magnus with a smile, he looked at a sign that pointed the direction and started to walk. Magda had been getting visibly more tired from carrying his weight so about an hour before he had taken it upon himself to carry himself, it was easier then he originally thought but Magda was still looking tired.

"Tell me again what it'll be like" said Mada with a weary smile, Magnus had told her stories all through the night of the farm that the two would set up once they were in the USSR, they would be free and they would start a family.

"Maybe later" smiled Magnus "now we rest." He wanted to press on but he knew it would be better in the long run if they rested now. Magnus carefully cast a few glances around and ushered Magda into an alley way, the two settled amongst a pile of refuse bags and it wasn't long before both drifted away into slumber.

Magnus was the first to wake this time, night had came again, they had slept through the entire day undisturbed. "Magda, wake up, we must go" said Magnus as he gently rocked his love, she woke slowly and smiled at her love.

"I had such a wonderful dream…we were free and happy in America" she smiled as she spoke, Magnus kissed her and hurried her to her feet. She wobbled on her feet holding her head before crumbling to her knees.

"Magda are you okay?" asked Magnus worried as he also dropped to his knees in front of her.

"Just a little weak…and hungry" she added as her stomach rumbled.

"Then we shall eat" smiled Magnus as he walked across the alley and opened one of the refuse bags, he raked through the bag for a few seconds before bringing out half a loaf of bread, it was green and mouldy on one side but Magnus simply pulled it away and threw it on the ground revealing normal bread below it, "People throw away perfectly good food we would have killed for in the camp" smiled Magnus as Magda began to eat. Shortly after the two began to walk.

…

Morning came again as they approached the border, few patrols had passed during the night and they had managed to successfully avoid the few that had by hiding. They approached the border and luckily it seemed that the guards were busy talking as the two crept silently past, they had to make it another hundred yards to the border patrol in the USSR before they were out of Nazi authority. The USSR and Nazi soldiers had come to an uneasy truce at the border that allowed some people to pass, soldiers were soldiers no matter what country they came from. Magnus and Magda sprinted and were a few feet away from the USSR soldiers before the German guards began to shout, the two slammed on the brakes hard as the USSR soldiers stopped them.

"I need to see your papers" said the guard.

"I have lost my papers"

"What are your names?" asked the guard.

"I am…I am…Eric Lehnsherr" said Magnus as he thought quickly of his old friend in the camps, one of his parents was from the USSR so he had a fifty fifty chance of the name being recognised, "This is my wife Magda Lehnsherr" if the guards believed you were supposed to be from their country they would probably allow you in with the minimum amount of fuss. If it was up to many of the soldiers they wouldn't even man the border and anyone who wanted to could cross the border to freedom, but a war was on and they had to monitor the movements of refugees.

"I too am a Lehnsherr…from Kiev" smiled the guard, he waved to his companion who raised the barrier. He smiled again at Magnus and Magda who crossed past the divider and began to walk without looking back, tears filled their eyes as they walked because for the first time in many years, they were free.

To Be Continued…