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Everyone froze where they were, like they had suddenly turned into one of the plants that surrounded them and grown roots into the earth. Aleksy, Casmir, and Edgar nearly collided with Maria on their seventh rotation around the house and Rose immediately released the breath she had been holding. After everyone had finally melted from their spots, the whole group was soon barreling for the door with Maria frantically ushering them in.

Thankfully Maria had not only made sure that she was prepared, but that they were prepared as well. They had practiced drills nearly every day on what to do if they suddenly had to hide. Maria guarded the door as the two oldest, Aleksy and Ruth, pulled aside the couch and the rug underneath to reach the hidden trapdoor that blended in almost perfectly with the floorboards.

Rose, Edgar, Brigitta, Friedrich, and Sabine ran to the two bedrooms that they all shared and gathered their mattresses and personal items to throw into the bunker. Thankfully they did not own much so it did not take long. After this task was completed, Rose, Edgar, Brigitta, and Sabine quickly scrambled down the ladder into the bunker but Friedrich remained topside.

"Come on, Friedrich," Ruth hissed, still holding the trapdoor open.

Friedrich looked to Maria nervously. "I don't want to leave her by herself."

"I'll be okay, my darling," Maria smiled and swept aside a few tears as she strode over to Friedrich. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her chest, stroking his golden hair. "My strong man, you must take care of the others, yeah?"

Friedrich pulled away to look up and meet her face. His face was soaked with tears and his lip trembled as he spoke, "I'm scared."

"You want to know a secret?" Maria smiled down at him with her own tear-stained face. "So am I."

The sound of rustling trees beyond the property alerted the remaining four to their incoming company. While he was distracted, Maria pushed Friedrich towards the bunker and Ruth and Aleksy grabbed him by his arms. Aleksy covered Friedrich's mouth to prevent his screams as they shoved him into the bunker kicking and flailing. Maria gave Aleksy and Ruth a stern nod before they took their turns lowering themselves down into the bunker and snapping the trapdoor shut.

Maria rushed to push the couch and the rug back into place before the Gestapo arrived. A knock on the door appeared at the precise moment the couch thumped back into its spot. Maria brushed the fabric down on her skirt and gave herself a moment to collect her thoughts and take a deep breath before answering. With a confident click in her step and her head held high, she pressed a smile onto her face and opened the door to meet her enemy.

"Hello gentlemen, what brings you all the way out here?" Maria's soft voice leaked through the floorboards and into the children's ears below.

"Ah ah, let's not skip the formalities, Frau Wagner," the deep voice of one of the Gestapo officers boomed. "Heil Hitler."

"Heil Hitler," Maria responded after clearing her throat.

"What are they saying?" Casmir whispered to his underground companions. Several hushes answered him before Aleksy quietly agreed to roughly translate for those that didn't speak German.

"Are you home alone this evening?" the Gestapo officer asked.

"Yes, my husband is off at war and my children are away at school."

"Frau Wagner, we received a report from one of the vendors at the market in town that you've been making frequent trips all by yourself and stocking up on way more food than a delicate lady of your stature can eat by herself. Nobody has ever seen your husband or children so they've been made to assume that the food is for someone else..." the Gestapo officer explained. They could hear the clicking of his boots as he let himself inside and their eyes traced the ceiling as they followed his trail.

"Well, you see, I live so far out of town and I don't have an automobile or any other form of transportation so I walk. Because of this, I like to stock up so I do not have to frequent the market often," Maria explained.

"You've been three times this month," the Gestapo officer responded immediately.

The children could feel the weight of Maria's pause upon their shoulders, but were impressed when she responded with confidence. "Tell me, Herr Schuster, has your wife been pregnant?"

"Well, yes...she's brought three proud German boys into the world," the now-named Gestapo officer, Herr Schuster, explained.

"Did she experience intense cravings and an increase in appetite?"

"Um...I believe so..." Herr Schuster answered hesitantly. "Are you meaning to tell me that you are pregnant, Frau Wagner?"

"Is it not obvious?" Maria retorted. The children below had to stifle laughter at Maria's boldness and Herr Schuster's stupidity. Maria was a slim woman and could definitely not be mistaken for pregnant unless she was in the very early stages, but it was clear to everyone that Herr Schuster was completely clueless when it came to women and pregnancy. They could almost envision the look of befuddlement on Herr Schuster's face.

"A congratulations is in order then," Herr Schuster answered at long last with an uncomfortable cough. "But we will still need to search the vicinity."

"Be quick about it," Maria huffed. "I can feel another mood swing coming on and they get quite intense. Lots of wailing and sobbing."

The quickened pace of the officers' steps told the children that they believed Maria's words and did not want to stick around to experience her "womanly emotions". They listened with bated breath to the clunks, thumps, and screeches of furniture being moved around and drawers and cabinets being opened.

"Sir, I think I found something," an officer called from one of the bedrooms to the living room. Seven little heads followed Herr Schuster's footsteps across the house. Clomp, clomp, clomp.

"Frau Wagner," Herr Schuster called as his boots took their sweet time clunking back into the living room. "do you mind explaining to me why you have a French matchbox? Matchs de Deuxième Chance?"

Sabine felt all the air rush from her lungs and goosebumps crawl across every inch of her skin. She was suddenly very aware of how clammy her palms were in the absence of the matchbox.

"It was from a trip we took to Paris years before the war. I didn't even realize we still had the silly little thing," Maria chuckled nervously. Maria was good at coming up with quick responses but her confidence wavered this time and Herr Schuster picked up on it.

"Hmm..." Herr Schuster pondered her answer. "Or could it be a trinket of sympathy to our enemies?"

"No--" Maria began to answer when Herr Schuster cut her off.

"Perhaps we should light one of these pathetic French matches and set this whole ungodly home ablaze," he smirked. "If you really have nothing to lose, then you'll step outside and let us burn it down."

"Nothing to lose?" Maria scoffed. "What about my home?"

"A proud German woman like yourself would not hesitate to give up her material items for the betterment of the country."

"I--"

"Unless there are other people in this house that you're not telling us about?" The creaking of the floorboards accentuated the tension in the air as both parties stewed in their own silence. Down below, the children could hear the beats of their hearts exploding in their ears. When the silence was nearly deafening, Herr Schuster spoke again, "Kraus, Mikaelson, remove Frau Wagner from the premises."

"NO!" Maria screamed as her feet dragged across the floorboards, her heels leaving a deep scar in their wooden veins.

Rose immediately broke down in sobs and Aleksy rushed to cover her mouth before they floated through the ceiling. Next to break was Friedrich, who fell to the ground and began hyperventilating as Ruth crouched beside him to try to get him to calm down. Brigitta, Edgar, and Casmir gripped hands together and began mumbling prayers in their own tongues. The blending of foreign words sounded like a mismatched melody. And Sabine...

She knew what she had to do.

Sabine scrambled for the ladder and latched on tight when she felt something grab onto her ankles halfway up. Sabine looked down to see Aleksy trying to yank her back down. Rose was finally stunned into silence as everyone's attentions diverted from their current breakdowns to Sabine.

"What the hell are you doing?" Aleksy hissed. "You're going to get us killed!"

Sabine looked deep into Aleksy's hazel eyes, noting the specks of light that poured in from the cracks of the ceiling and turned them golden. "No, I'm going to get us saved," she snapped back.

Aleksy was so surprised by Sabine's answer that he loosened his grip and took a step back. The rest of the kids watched in silent solidarity as Sabine climbed the rest of the way to the ceiling. She shut her eyes and mumbled her own prayers as she placed her hands against the trapdoor and pushed. Thankfully one of the Gestapo officers had moved the couch in their search and the trapdoor creaked open.

Sabine hoisted her body out of the bunker and crawled on her hands and knees towards the door. She arrived just in time to watch the presumed Herr Schuster flick a match against the strike pad and toss it through the open front door. Maria struggled in the grasp of two Gestapo officers behind him, crying out Sabine's name. Herr Schuster made eye contact with Sabine as the match soared through the air in slow motion and a creepy smile etched across his face.

The golden flame erupted into a red haze as it struck the floor and climbed the walls and ceilings like vines. Sabine was soon engulfed in a bloody blaze and she shut her eyes as she waited for the telltale clap that would transport her to god knows where. The last thoughts that ran across her mind as her body disappeared into the scarlet smoke were the names of her new family:

Edgar. Casmir. Ruth. Aleksy. Brigitta. Friedrich. Rose.

Maria.

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