How Augusto hated to turn in the man who had brought the book, but the message had clearly stated "Away he is taken, for the devil he must endure. He will live or he will die. Do not burden yourself for you will see him one day, in shackles or in robes of white linen" Augusto had never called the Gestapo before.
Adalhard coughed his wretched deep cough, he had not been allowed to go home as the Gestapo had promised he had not even been taken to the Gestapo station, but to a prison. His back still ached from the whipping he had endured and he had definitely had lice. From the prison him and twenty other prisoners had been taken, by truck to a concentration camp. It was a rats hole, Adalhard's room was shared with thirty-two other men. They were given barley enough food to survive and their water wasn't water it was brown and tasted of sewage. Several of the other men sharing his barracks had typhus, but did the soldiers in charge care? No, they laughed at the men and pushed them down only to whip them to get back up again.
"Wake up!" shouted a soldier.
Slowly Adalhard moved out of his top bunk.
"Hurry up you!" commanded the soldier as he pushed Adalhard the rest of the way out of bed.
Adalhard landed on his arm with a crack. Adalhard cried out and rolled to his back and cradled his arm.
"Get up you fool and get your self to the nurse!" commanded the officer and he lifted Adalhard by the other arm.
Adalhard picked himself up and hobbled over to the infirmary. One other man went to help him but was pushed away roughly.
Adalhard's arm was set, and he was sent off to work again. Adalhard felt alone and in despair. he wished only to huddle up into a ball and sleep a dreamless sleep for the rest of eternity. He felt nothing, he was numb to the feelings of the world, he couldn't even weep anymore.
Adalhard glanced at one of the men working beside him, as the tall man worked Adalhard saw his lips moving and heard slight muttering under his breath.
"What do you say?" asked Adalhard numbly, as he lifted and extremely heavy rack.
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil:my cup overflows..."
Adalhard was oddly relieved by hearing those words. They brought him back to his bed as a child with his mother. Adalhard could hear the warm words of him mother, and even feel the softness of her breath on his forehead as she spoke those exact words over him.
"Why did you ask me about those words?" asked the man, drawing Adalhard from his pleasant thoughts.
"I asked you because you never seem to lose...you," Adalhard attempted to explain.
"What is your name?" asked the dark haired man.
"My name is Adalhard, and yours sir?" he asked in reply.
The man smiled, "I have not given myself a name in years, I can hardly remember what they called me. But you may call me Peter," he answered.
"Everyone stop! LUNCH!" came a booming voice of one of the office.
Adalhard heard one of the men next to him say, "You can hardly call it a snack, let alone a meal."
Adalhard winced as the guard on duty hear the comment and looked straight at Adalhard.
"You should be grateful for the meal!" he shouted in his face.
"I am sir," Adalhard answered giving a quick angry glance at the man who had made the comment. The glare must have been icy because the small man shrank back.
"Since you are not grateful for the generosity we show to you, you shall eat nothing for the rest of the day, and tomorrow. And any man seen giving this man food will join him in his fast,is that understood?" called the soldier.
Heads nodded.
Adalhard sat down on a rock he had just moved and watch as all of the men went to get their meal.
"Oh no!" said th guard as he walked up to Adalhard, "You will not waste this precious time, work!"
Adalhard obeyed and began working.
Hours later Adalhard was famished, in a need of a barrel of water, and pouring sweat. He saw a great commotion near the front of the camp.
Adalhard approached the guard who was watching him build, "What is happening?"
"Didn't you know what you've been building?" he asked rudely.
"No," answered Adalhard.
The soldier laughed, "You have been building the women's camp. That," he said pointing to the crowd, "is the first shipment of women."
"But their camp is not finished!" protested Adalhard.
"Then finish it you fool!" commanded the soldier gruffly.
So Adalhard turned and worked as quickly and as hard as he could to get the barracks for the women finished.
"Why are you working all alone?" came a soft voice from behind Adalhard.
"Because all the others are eating their lunch," answered Adalhard.
"And have you finished your lunch?" inquired the feminin voice.
"No, I cannot eat lunch," stated Adalhard.
"Oh," it said.
Adalhard turned around to reach for another board to nail against the frame of the building. He looked into a plain face of a woman. She had dark eyes and dark curly hair.Her nose was a little too big, but Adalhard liked her appearance. She had a softness about her.
"You! Get over here!" ordered one of the women guards.
There are women here, not good, thought Adalhard as he nailed the last nail into the board, and picked up some white wash.
