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He returned to what he felt was now an endless routine until long into the winter of 1918 On a mild, dry day there burst upon the prisoners’ cars a volley of shots and the sound of a brief struggle Wladek was sure that the Polish army had come to rescue hihtful inheritance When the Ger eons, the inmates remained in terrified silence huddled in the lower roorns Wladek stood alone at the entrance, twisting the silver band around his wrist, triu for his liberators
Eventually those who had defeated the Gerue, familiar from school days, which he had learned to fear even ed unceree with his retinue The prisoners waitedi then were cursorily inspected and thrown back into the dungeonsThe new conquerors were unaware that this twelve - year - old boy was the ue Their orders were clear and not to be ques
tioned : kill the enereement of Brest Litovsk, which made this section of Poland theirs and send those who do not resist to camp 201 for the rest of their days The Germans had left meekly to retreat behind their new border while Wladek and his folloaited, hopeful of a new life, ignorant of their ieons, Wladek resigned hi that they were to be incarcerated for another long spell
The new guards did not speak to him at all, a reminder to hian to realise that discipline had at least becoht
On theof the third day, ed out on to the grass in front of the castle, fifteen thin filthy bodies Two of the servants collapsed in the unaccustohtness his biggest proble to shield his eyes frorass and waited for the soldiers’ next uards made them all strip and ordered them down to the river to wash Wladek hid the silver band in his clothes and ran down to the water’s edge, his legs feeling weak even before he reached the river He ju for breath at the coldness of the water, although it felt glorious on his skin The rest of the prisoners followed him, and tried vainly to remove three years of fifth
When WIadek cauards were looking strangely at Florentyna as she washed herself in the water They were laughing and pointing at her The other woree of interest One of the guards, a large ugly rabbed her arm as she passed hiround He then started to take his clothes off quickly, hungrily, while at the sarass Wladek stared in disbelief at the man’s swollen erect penis and flew at the soldier, as now holding Florentyna down on the ground, and hit him in the middle of his stomach with his head with all the force he could muster
The man reeled back, and a second soldier jumped up and held Wladek helpless with his hands pinned behind his back The couards, and they strolled over to watch Wladek’s captor was now laughing, a loud belly laugh with no hurnour in it The other soldiers’ words only added to Wladek’s anguish ’Enter the great protector,’ said the first
’Come to defend his nation’s honour’ The second one
’Let’s at least allow hi hihter interspersed the remarks that WIadek couldn’t always comprehend He watched the naked soldier advance his hard, well - fed body slowly towards Florentyna, who started screa desperately to free hirip, but he was helpless in the aruard The nakedher and slapping her when she tried to fight or turn away; finally he lunged into her She let out a screauards continued talking and laughing ain,’ said the first soldier as he withdrew hihed
’You’ve just uard
More laughter As Florentyna stared into Wladek’s eyes, he began to retch
The soldier holding on to him showed little interest, other than to be sure that none of the boy’s vomit soiled his uniform or boots The first soldier, his penis now covered in blood, ran down to the stree as he hit the water The second man undressed, while yet another held Florentyna down The second guard took a little longer over his pleasure, and see Florentyna; when he finally entered her, she screaain but not quite as loud