In the clutches of evil II.

II.

The next day David woke up in a foul mood. He didn't really know how to treat Martin now. But he was still as friendly as before. The next few days passed as slowly as they can in prison. Nothing special happened, except the intake of new prisoners and the transfer of local ones to other prisons. But then something happened that changed everything. An escort came for Martin and took him away, supposedly for questioning. When Martin came back a few hours later, he was startled and didn't speak. David tried to get out of him what had happened, why he had been taken away and what they wanted him to do, but he wouldn't talk about it for a while. Finally he turned to David and said only one thing. "I'm in. Looks like they want to keep me here for I don't know how many more years. They told me I was facing another ten! Ten years for nothing! They've made it all up and they want to frame me. I don't know how to fight back, what can I do? What can I do?!" David didn't know what to say. In fact, he hadn't learned anything at all. But the fact that Martin had changed his mind pleased him and gave him inner courage. "Look," she said to him. "I don't know exactly how to do it yet, but we'll do it, I'm sure of it. Everything will be fine. I can already think of a few ways, but it's still not 100%, the way I'd like it to be". "It never will be", David replies dryly, now completely out of sorts. "Wait, either you believe it or you don't. Otherwise it's no use. It's a hop or a skip, you know! You can't get out of the way once we get going!", David nervously paces the room, trying to encourage Martin. He sits down next to him and says quietly, "I've got something. One prisoner who might be able to help us. He's on my side, you see. He would arrange through his friend in the kitchen for us to pass out food. When supper's over and we bring the jars back to the kitchen, then's our chance. They can smuggle us out in a car that carries provisions. The driver is scared. He'll know about us, but we can't be in the cargo hold. If we're discovered, he doesn't want any trouble. So we hide in the undercarriage. We drive through the prison gates and then after a while he stops us. We'll jump in the back and he'll take us as far away as he can. They'll drop us off and the rest is up to us. What do you think?" Martin raised his eyebrows, "What about the guard who will be with us the whole time we're carrying the food?" He hit the nail on the head. "Yeah. That's the only thing that's still bugging me about it," David seemed to think out loud. "And about the line, don't worry, I know which way. I used to serve there before the war started", he adds immediately with an impish grin.

Only a few days passed and Martin was called in for questioning again. He came back two hours later, but this time as if he wanted to laugh. "Look, they really want to give it to me. And they say it doesn't have to be ten if I don't confess myself", he smiles stupidly and sits down on a simple wooden chair. David looks at him in puzzlement until he finally asks, "What are you laughing at? You think it's funny?" "Oh, it's not funny! Sit down. Because what I'm about to say...whatever, it would make you sit on your ass anyway", Martin smiles mischievously and it's obvious he's up to something. David sits down next to him and he whispers in his ear "I've got a security guard". David jerks and jumps like he's burnt his arse on a hot stove. He stares at him in disbelief and all that comes out is, "What?" "Well, I do. I know him from civilian life. I met him in the corridor when I was being led away from the interrogation. They must have put him in here as a new guy because I've never seen him before. And I'm telling you, he recognized me. He didn't show it, but when he looked at me, he squinted his eyes a little, like he wanted to say hello. He'll get us out of this, I tell you. Our families have always helped each other, and his father was saved once by my uncle when he was in big trouble, my friend. That was a long time ago, but we're still connected as families," Martin finishes, his eyes burning. David seems to be seized with nervousness at that moment. He had to sit up at that. The news hit him like a hard chin lift. So they'd done it after all. They'd actually done it? "And when, when, when are you going to finish?", he asked eagerly. "Well, I don't know, I'm telling you, this is the first time I've seen him. But I'll do it as soon as I get the chance", Martin smiles, tapping the table rhythmically with his fingers. That night David fell asleep as sweetly as he had in a long time. The feeling that he could be free again and do whatever he wanted filled him with happiness like nothing else. He was so full of joy that he was unable to sleep. He tossed and turned constantly, with many thoughts running through his head. Happy, sad, full of fears and hopes. How will it turn out, will it be a victory or a defeat? What if we get caught, what if we get shot? Or crippled for life? Or what will my house look like out west? Will I find a wife there? I'm sure I will, and she'll be beautiful and kind. A cat, hmmm. We'll have a bunch of kids and live happily ever after. She falls asleep with a smile on her lips at these thoughts. It's Martin, he sleeps like he's been thrown in the water.

The very next morning there was a prisoner count. Together with Martin, they stood in front of the cell and waited their turn. "Fifty-nine, sixty, sixty-one", one of the guards hollers into the area, touching each of the prisoners lightly on the chest with his baton. "Ninety-two, ninety-three", he comes straight to them. "Ninety-four", he taps David with the baton, then turns to Martin. "Ninety-five". "I'll talk to you later today", he says between his teeth to Martin, who says nothing and just continues to stare straight ahead. The bachar moves on until he counts the required number. Satisfied with the result, he then announces, "Everybody back to your cells and now, let's go!". All the prisoners return to their cells and the massive prison doors close behind them with a bang. "What was that all about?", David asks Martin just after theirs slams shut behind them. "Well, what would? It was him!", David replies and continues to make as if nothing happened. At that moment, the light goes on for David. It's the one he knows. And he definitely wants to talk to Martin, to see how he's doing, what brought him here, and all those things you ask when you haven't seen the other person in a long time. Especially when he sees him in jail. Great, so he wasn't lying! No sooner had he realized it than the cell door opened again. They both stood at attention and there was the guard, Martin's acquaintance. "The chaplain will come with me", he said in an officer's tone. Martin took two steps into the corridor, the guard locked the cell door again and took him somewhere.

David had been pacing the cell like a caged lion during the whole time Martin was out of his presence. Safra, safra, it's going to be a mess, it's going to be a terrible mess. He's sweating and his heart is pounding wildly. He understands that now the bread is breaking. How will this play out, what will happen when the prison room door opens again? He hasn't waited long. If it's been half an hour, that's too much. The keys rattled in the lock and Martin stepped inside. The warden is leaving. "Well? Did you ask him? What did he say, tell me!", David burns with impatience. Martin smiles slightly at him and just nods his head. "And what, when or how? Do you know anything yet?", David continues. Martin speaks slowly and quietly. Jarda's been here six months, but he worked in a different department. He told me himself that he had to pick the best service when he got to know a little better the other guards he didn't know from before. He's got to go over our route and count the times and so on. It's not just that, mate. But one thing's for sure. From tomorrow we'll be delivering the food!" David is as tense as he's been in a long time. Finally, something has moved. And he's also going to look somewhere, because he hasn't had any outings all this time and that really doesn't do one person any good. If it wasn't for Martin, how much more complicated everything would be. He realizes how glad he is that fate has thrown him in his path and that he can count on him.

The next day, right after the count, they are taken to the kitchen, where they are given food, which they then distribute to each cell. Being here for a longer period of time will bring one considerable benefits. You talk to the cook, you give more to this one, you smuggle something to that one, and you don't have to feel bad. But that's not the point. The goals have been set very, very high now. When they first walked their new route, David realized that escape wasn't going to be easy. The locks they needed to get through were a bit more than he'd imagined. Then again, if they had help from the inside, that wouldn't necessarily be a problem. And most importantly, they should be almost free to walk all the way to the kitchen. From the kitchen to the yard, it's just two doors, one with bars, one plain. Another thing they found out was that the vats don't hold as much food as is supposed to be for all the prisoners. So they had to go back to the kitchen twice more. They had to take that into account when they planned their escape. But that's what they were here for. To feel, see, remember and think of possible combinations. Now that's the game that will occupy their brains in that otherwise grey, ugly, boring, unfair and harsh world - prison. But no matter how many different sides they ended up discussing, there wasn't much new to come up with. The plan was basically figured out, and now there was nothing to do but wait for them to get more of the information they needed. "Let's go over it again," Martin says to David when it's past curfew one day and they know that the guard will be making his rounds in an hour at the earliest. In a whisper, Martin replies slowly into the darkness, "Your friend is coming. He will accompany us to the kitchen. He will take us to the back room of the kitchen when we go to return the trolley on the last round. There he will unlock the last door to the ramp for us. He'll give us the keys One of us will punch him in the face or the head and then he'll go lie down in the back of the pantry like we knocked him out and hid him there. That's where they'll find him at the latest. Meanwhile, we lock the door behind us and break the key in the lock. We'll jump down behind the ramps, find the undercarriage of the car and let ourselves be driven out." David finishes. There is only a satisfied, this time half-voiced "Yeah" from the other side.

"So today is the first of August, my friend", David smiles at Martin. "Yeah? And?", he looks at her uncomprehendingly. "It's my birthday today", David continues to laugh. "Yeah like this. Well, I wish you the best mate!", Martin shakes his friend's hand and pats him on the shoulder. "That's to give you a present, eh?". "Well you should, hehe", David teases him back, because they both know very well that there will be no present. Unless Martin lets him have his lunch today, which he wouldn't be grateful for anyway, because as he not infrequently says, he'd rather eat one turd than two. Otherwise it's a day like any other, morning roll call, then breakfast delivery, back to the cell, followed by lunch delivery and back to the cell. In that respect, yes, but other than that, they're both in a great mood today. Maybe it's the nice day, maybe it's the fact that they're both seeing each other somewhere else. "Spring flowers smell, it's a gift for her. And that's all I can tell you for now," David sings his favourite song by Gotchik. As dinner time approaches, David is just looking out the barred window. It's a hot, dry day. A guard stands on the tower with a machine gun, and here and there the sun's fading rays reflect off the barbed wire, throwing lots of little pigs against the opposite wall. Not much of a sight, he thinks, as Martin approaches him quietly from behind, "I have a present for you." David lets himself be pulled away and is already laughing, "Yeah? Go on then", he can't keep from smiling because he really doesn't know what Martin has in store for him. He just smiles weakly and says "Today". "Today what?", David continues to ask, laughing, but not understanding. "Today is the day", says Martin, now without a smile but with slightly widened eyes. David's face immediately becomes serious. He licks his lips, "You mean like?", and without finishing, "Yeah I mean like", Martin quickly finishes for him. "Are you kidding now? Why didn't you tell me before?", David asks uncomprehendingly. Then he starts smiling again, "Wait, you're joking, right?" Martin remains serious, "I'm not, mate, it's true. I've known since breakfast. I've had my work cut out for me. I didn't want to make you nervous on your birthday. At least you had a good time. We didn't both need to know and be nervous. But now we're in this together," Martin finishes. David is only now fully realizing what happened. She looks up at him with sparkling eyes that are full of determination, "We can do this. We just. Well, there's just no turning back, is there?", as if convincing himself that there's no turning back. "So mate...", he doesn't finish and hugs Martin tightly. Then he goes to sit on his bunk, his eyes scanning the room. Perhaps as if to say goodbye one last time to this musty hole he has been in for so long that he knows every stain and crack on the walls, ceiling and floor. Martin, too, sits down on his pellet and puts his head in his hands. He thinks. A few minutes later the keys jangle in the lock and they both stand up. Jarda, the guard, is standing in the doorway. "Let's go," he commands, and steps out of the doorway into the corridor so that the two men can pass out. David and Martin take one last look at each other. Then they step out of the cell into the darkened, prison-like corridor.