something now, but it looked as if neither of them had the words.
Ira was almost relieved to hear the low rumble of an aircraft engine heading their way until she remembered that it meant the enemy was making a serious effort to find them. Which meant the Germans suspected they were still alive.
"Get down!" Ira said, grabbing Dounia's arm and rushing them under the cover of the nearest clump of evergreens.
"How far do you think we are from the burn site?" Dounia whispered, even though there was no way for the enemy to hear them from all the way up there.
"Not far enough," Meow growled, bristling. "And we haven't covered our trail at all since then."
Ira winced. She hadn't been wiping away their footprints since they stopped at the small cave after they crashed. That, and making the splint for her arm, had drained all her energy, and it was all that she could do just to stay on her feet. Pure exhaustion threatened to drag her down with every step, but they had to put distance between them and the patrol they'd killed.
"Can't," Ira said, and even getting enough breath in her lungs to talk was draining. "I'm just about done right now, and if I covered our trail, you'd be carrying me right now."
"I wouldn't mind," Dounia said.
"You need your hands free in case we run into another patrol," Ira said. "We can rest later."
"I just wish we knew how far the front lines were," Dounia said.
"It can't be that far, we've been walking all night," Ira replied, trying to calculate where they might be.
"We haven't been going very fast, what with your arm and the snow," Dounia pointed out. "I know you're the navigator, but it's pretty hard to do anything without a compass, or even a map."
"Not that I can see anything above the trees anyway," Ira said glumly. "If I could just make out some landmarks I might be able to triangulate our position, but I can't see a thing from here."
The plane above them started flying back and forth in an obvious search pattern, and the three of them huddled together, very still under the cover of their patch of trees. Eventually, it flew off, and Ira peered out from under the branches to watch it go. Its flight path was very close to the one that Ira and Dounia were walking.
"We must be going the right way," Ira said, looking around.
"Must be," Dounia repeated, and they all came out from under the trees and continued their trek across enemy territory.
It didn't feel like enemy territory until they came to the edge of the forest and looked out upon a burnt and blackened landscape, dusted neatly with a layer of snow. The jagged, black ends of what had once been trees thrust up through the snow, the only remains of what had once been a dense forest.
There was a long, black-on-white corridor of destruction, grown cold now, but Ira could imagine what it looked like all aflame. She'd seen it herself from the cockpit of her plane.
"This was the front line," Dounia said, scanning the horizon with her eyes. "They've advanced even further than I thought."
"Do we have to cross that?" Meow asked anxiously. "It's very out in the open. If that plane flies over again while we're crossing it, they'll see us right away."
"And anyone on the other side would see us coming," Ira said grimly. "But the fact stands that we have to cross. We've bombed the hell out of this area, and going around would take us days."
"We don't have days," Dounia said, shaking her head.
"We have no food or water," Meow said. "Or any survival equipment."
"I can't even start a fire," Dounia said. "Not if the enemy might see the smoke."
They all looked across the vast, empty space in front of them, littered with the remains of the destruction they'd rained down only weeks ago.
"If we cross it in the dark, they might not see us," Ira said, squinting across to try and see if she could see the other side. It was all just trees, with no sign of where the enemy could be.
"True," Meow said. "I really don't like the idea of us crossing in
Ira was almost relieved to hear the low rumble of an aircraft engine heading their way until she remembered that it meant the enemy was making a serious effort to find them. Which meant the Germans suspected they were still alive.
"Get down!" Ira said, grabbing Dounia's arm and rushing them under the cover of the nearest clump of evergreens.
"How far do you think we are from the burn site?" Dounia whispered, even though there was no way for the enemy to hear them from all the way up there.
"Not far enough," Meow growled, bristling. "And we haven't covered our trail at all since then."
Ira winced. She hadn't been wiping away their footprints since they stopped at the small cave after they crashed. That, and making the splint for her arm, had drained all her energy, and it was all that she could do just to stay on her feet. Pure exhaustion threatened to drag her down with every step, but they had to put distance between them and the patrol they'd killed.
"Can't," Ira said, and even getting enough breath in her lungs to talk was draining. "I'm just about done right now, and if I covered our trail, you'd be carrying me right now."
"I wouldn't mind," Dounia said.
"You need your hands free in case we run into another patrol," Ira said. "We can rest later."
"I just wish we knew how far the front lines were," Dounia said.
"It can't be that far, we've been walking all night," Ira replied, trying to calculate where they might be.
"We haven't been going very fast, what with your arm and the snow," Dounia pointed out. "I know you're the navigator, but it's pretty hard to do anything without a compass, or even a map."
"Not that I can see anything above the trees anyway," Ira said glumly. "If I could just make out some landmarks I might be able to triangulate our position, but I can't see a thing from here."
The plane above them started flying back and forth in an obvious search pattern, and the three of them huddled together, very still under the cover of their patch of trees. Eventually, it flew off, and Ira peered out from under the branches to watch it go. Its flight path was very close to the one that Ira and Dounia were walking.
"We must be going the right way," Ira said, looking around.
"Must be," Dounia repeated, and they all came out from under the trees and continued their trek across enemy territory.
It didn't feel like enemy territory until they came to the edge of the forest and looked out upon a burnt and blackened landscape, dusted neatly with a layer of snow. The jagged, black ends of what had once been trees thrust up through the snow, the only remains of what had once been a dense forest.
There was a long, black-on-white corridor of destruction, grown cold now, but Ira could imagine what it looked like all aflame. She'd seen it herself from the cockpit of her plane.
"This was the front line," Dounia said, scanning the horizon with her eyes. "They've advanced even further than I thought."
"Do we have to cross that?" Meow asked anxiously. "It's very out in the open. If that plane flies over again while we're crossing it, they'll see us right away."
"And anyone on the other side would see us coming," Ira said grimly. "But the fact stands that we have to cross. We've bombed the hell out of this area, and going around would take us days."
"We don't have days," Dounia said, shaking her head.
"We have no food or water," Meow said. "Or any survival equipment."
"I can't even start a fire," Dounia said. "Not if the enemy might see the smoke."
They all looked across the vast, empty space in front of them, littered with the remains of the destruction they'd rained down only weeks ago.
"If we cross it in the dark, they might not see us," Ira said, squinting across to try and see if she could see the other side. It was all just trees, with no sign of where the enemy could be.
"True," Meow said. "I really don't like the idea of us crossing in
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