Oscar Read Online Free Page A

to get the boy to Dartford. His parents have been arrested and I can’t run the risk of him falling into the hands of the patrols—they would kill him.’
    ‘I know about these patrols. I’ve heard they’re brutal.’ she replied.
    He nodded by way of a reply.
    ‘Please, come, bring the boy.’ she said, welcoming him. ‘My home is your home for as long as you need it to be.’
    Sam called his young charge over. ‘It’s safe, Oscar—come.’
    He ran over to him and wrapped both of his arms around Sam’s waist. Sam pulled him in close, squeezing him reassuringly.
    ‘We’ll be fine, little man.’
    Everybody moved out of the darkness and into the safety of their procured dwellings, with their welcomed guests in tow.

CHAPTER FOUR
    J anna Saracen was beginning to question why she was still alive. She had been subjected to all manner of torments during her brief stay in labour camp three. Beaten and bloody and almost raped to death, she was looking for a way out of her miserable existence. The thought of killing herself had crossed her mind more than once, but she couldn’t find the courage to carry out her plans. Mentally, she had no more strength left. Physically, she was barely hanging on.
    The three men who had come to her rescue in the beginning had quickly turned on her, and were now part of the problem. She hadn’t foreseen this. She was now totally alone, with no one left to protect her.
    ‘Come and get it, boys.’ she shouted at the top of her lungs, flinging herself on her bunk. One by one the male inmates ravaged her again, and she begged for any one of them to put her out of her misery once and for all.
    ‘Someone end this!’ she screamed, waiting for her final breath to arrive in the form of a mercy killing.
    No sooner had the next inmate laid on top of her than the door swung open.
    ‘You, get off of her.’ The guard growled. ‘Come with me, Saracen, it’s your lucky day.’
    Janna didn’t understand.
    ‘What? Where am I going?’ she asked, apprehensively.
    ‘We are putting you with the women,’ he explained. ‘The guard who put you in here has been dismissed.’ She was visibly shaken and confused. This guard was being far too nice.
What was really going on?
She was about to find out.
    This seemingly nice guard took hold of her and cuffed her hands behind her back for the journey to the women’s enclosure. He wasn’t rough, but rather as gentle as he could be. This made her feel a little uneasy.
What are his intentions? Does he really have any? Am I reading too much into the situation?
These and many other questions rattled around in her head.
    #
    The guard had done as he had set out to do. Much to her relief, he had taken her to the women’s enclosure. He walked her up to the third hut in the line of five, slowly uncuffed her and opened the door wide.
    She was faced with a room full of terrified women. The guard was not all he seemed after all. It was obvious by the looks on their faces that they had been made to do things that they didn’t want to do. Several women had beaten faces and bruises up their arms, which she put down to being manhandled.
    The guard had now replaced any niceties with the traditional brutality that he had been accustomed to carrying out. He pushed her through the door and cackled maniacally to himself as he shut it behind him.
    ‘What the hell?’ she said hysterically. ‘What is this place?’
    One of the women approached her and placed her hands on Janna’s shoulders, looking deeply into her eyes for a single moment.
    ‘You are right to be scared,’ she told her sternly. ‘This is what the guards refer to as the rape room. This is hell on earth, my dear.’
    Janna took hold of the inmate’s hands and removed them from her shoulders. Slowly, she made her way over to the only bunk left and lay atop it, looking wearily at the faces staring at her. A sense of relief washed over her, but it wasn’t long before the door swung open again, and at least