Wednesday, December 14th, 1941

Dear Annelise,

I know about Pear Harbor, and yes, we've been warned about the Americans. I would bet that they're going to try and liberate Norway.

It is getting colder here, and our uniforms aren't very warm.

Love, Alexander

.

Annelise held the letter close to her chest, halfway hugging it. It was snowing outside, almost a blizzard. Astrid and Roy had begged to play in the snow despite the fact that you couldn't see three feet in front of you.

Allies coming to liberate Norway? The thought filled her with hope. She wouldn't have to lie to her parents. They didn't know that she was in the resistance along with Jon and Nils. She attended meetings and brought secret information to other towns. There was supposed to be a meeting tonight, but that didn't seem possible from looking outside.

Jon and Nils were sitting in her room, talking. Nils had been trapped at their house because of the snow.

"Another letter from that soldier boy," asked Nils.

Annelise nodded. "He says that he thinks Allies are going to liberate Norway."

Jon scoffed. "He's German. He could be lying."

Annelise shook her head. "He isn't lying." She couldn't blame Jon for being skeptical, though. She was skeptical herself.

"I've heard that the British are flying secret missions into Germany, and they're flying over the Netherlands," Nils said.

"If they're so secret, how would you know," asked Annelise in a teasing voice. In her mind, fireworks went off. Alexander was in Amsterdam, and a member of the Luftwaffe. If he was sent into the skies...

She pushed the thoughts away. The British were good pilots, and wouldn't go over Amsterdam. She hoped she was right.

"I know because I am very smart, actually," said Jon in a joking tone. "I'm a genius!"

"I would object," said Nils. As the two boys laughed, Annelise shivered. She walked to the window and made sure it was shut completely.

"We'll be busy tomorrow," said Nils. "I think we should go to bed."

Annelise and Jon nodded. She opened the door for them. "Goodnight, you two," she said, smiling. She closed the door, put on a nightgown, and snuggled under the blankets, still shivering.

In the morning, when she opened her eyes, the first thing Annelise saw was sunlight peeking through a crack in her curtains. She got up, rubbing her eyes, and looked outside. Everything was white, and the snow was almost like sugar, the was it sparkled in the pale, early morning light. There were a few people outside. Instantly, Annelise remembered something Jon had told her yesterday, and quickly put on a white blouse and grey wool skirt. The green one she had worn several days ago was the only colored skirt she had left.

She grabbed her blue coat, something from before the war, and a grey scarf. She brushed her hair, and braided it down her back. Moving as quietly as she could, Annelise walked through her house, tiptoeing.

She opened the door, cringing when it creaked. The noise seemed deafening in the early morning. She stepped outside, pulling her scarf around her nose and mouth, and closed the door.

Annelise made her way through the quiet town, knowing exactly where she was going. She stayed near the sides of buildings, hiding, because it was before their curfew ended. She reached into her coat, and felt relief wash over her when she felt the cold metal of a pistol.

Hurrying, she half-ran into a small, empty pub. She felt goosebumps all over her skin. Feeling slightly bold, she jumped over the bar and ran through a hidden door in the back.

She went down a set of stairs, and knocked a certain rhythm on a door. After a moment, it was repeated to her.

"20-1-4 mystiker," she called. The door was opened for her by Jon. When Annelise saw him, she hugged him tightly, before taking her scarf off. She walked into the room, and Jon closed the door.

There was a round table, and nine people sat around it. Nils, Jon, Anna, Lukas, Sara, Oskar, Emil, Charlie, and Mathias. Annelise made ten. They were Lillehammer's Resistance. Jon was their leader.

"Thank you all for coming," said Jon. "Although, we don't exactly have a choice." That earned a laugh.

Annelise sat between Emil and Sara. They were two of her friends. They had become more like family in the one year she had been in the Resistance.

"I'm sure you have all heard about Pearl Harbor." When Jon said it, it sounded more like a fact than a question.

Everyone nodded.

"I have a cousin who went to America," said Anna quietly, fidgeting with her brown hair. "I think he was in Hawaii, but I don't know if he was in Pearl Harbor or not."

Everyone muttered apologies to Anna.

"This means that America will be in the War now," Jon said. "Annelise has told me that the Allies may have plans to liberate Norway."

"And her source is that German," asked Oskar sarcastically.

Mathias elbowed him. "Give Alexander a chance," he said, with a grin, even though it was not the sort of thing you said with a grin.

Mathias had been one of Alexander's closest friends when he lived in Norway. He, Lukas, Alexander, and Nils had been inseperable. Hearing stories of war from his friend through Annelise had broken him more than he cared to admit.

Jon forced back a remark about Alexander, before saying, "We will hope the German tells the truth. In the meantime, Lukas, what do you know about the arrests?"

"They've started targeting whole families," he said in his quiet monotone. "Even children."

Lukas was the Resistance's spy. Annelise had no idea what he was talking about. As he spoke more and more about people being deported and relocated, she was lost. Until it hit her.

Jews. The Germans were taking Jews.

As soon as she thought that, there was the sound of the upstairs door being knocked open. Everyone in the room froze in fear before jumping into action. Mathias and Nils moved the table and rug to reveal a trapdoor. They opened it, and everyone hurried in, Anna holding all their papers. Annelise was the second to last one in, followed by Jon, who had put the rug in a position for it to fall over the trapdoor when it was closed. The table had been moved over them. Annelise and Lukas yanked him into the hideaway only seconds before the door was broken down.

Annelise didn't move. She wasn't even sure if she breathed. She grabbed Jon's hand and held it tightly. They were all in a concrete room, with just enough room for them all. As he eyes adjusted to the dark, she saw Lukas next to her, and Mathias next to him. The two exchanged glances in the dark, and Lukas edged closer to Mathias.

Annelise wanted to scream when she heard the click of soldier boots above her head. She felt hysteria in her chest, making her want to scream and cry and stay frozen all at once. Her nails dug into Jon's hand. If they found her, she would be killed.

Stay alive, stay alive, stay alive, she told herself. Be quiet and stay alive.

The sound of boots stopped right above her. She reached her other hand into her jacket very slowly and grabbed her pistol, ready to use it if she had to.

She heard German muttering, and a muffled order. She couldn't make out the words, but she did hear traitors and curfew. And then a word that made her blood freeze. Jews.

The footsteps came again, and moved away. They became quieter and quieter until they were gone. No one in the room dared to relax. It could be a trap, waiting for them.

Annelise didn't know how long she waited in the basement, but it felt like a lifetime. She clung to Jon the entire time. She could faintly hear Lukas breathing into Mathias' coat, terrified. Anna was sitting in the corner, hugging herself. Emil was holding Lukas' hand. Annelise still held the handle of her pistol, ready to shoot if the door was opened.

Eventually, Nils moved silently across the room, and opened the trapdoor. It squeaked, like Annelise's front door, and she held her breath as Nils walked into the empty room. He closed the trapdoor, mouthing the word stay. They were engulfed in darkness again.

There were several tense moments in the dark, as Nils was gone. Annelise could hear Jon quietly whispering a prayer. Stay safe. Stay safe. Please let him be safe.

After an age, the trapdoor opened again. "It's safe," said Nils. "Come out."

Annelise followed Jon up the ladder. Behind her was Mathias, Lukas, and Anna. She froze when she saw the room. The table was overturned, and papers were strewn across the floor. Her scarf was ripped and spit on.

Her scarf! Now they would know someone had been in here. She wanted to cry.

"Nei," whispered Lukas, picking up a map of Lillehammer, torn in two. An X was drawn over the pub in red marker. Annelise's heart felt like it would jump out of her chest.

"We have to meet somewhere else," said Mathias. "They know we're here."

"Not we," said Oskar. "We could've died! I'm not coming back. I am done with the Resistance."

Jon's face fell. "What?"

"I am leaving," said Oskar. "I have a family. I won't burden them with my death."

"Would you rather be taken away by the Nazis? Put in one of their Ghettos? Become a slave or whatever they do to us? Is that better than fighting and dying for your country?" That was Mathias. "Coward."

"I won't take any chances. This is war," hissed Oskar.

Lukas walked up to Oskar, their faces inches apart. "If you want to leave us, then do so."

Oskar nodded. "I'm glad you don't care. You won't be seeing me around anytime soon."

Annelise glared at Oskar. "We almost died together just now. All of us! Now you want to leave us to die? We may be the only people who have a chance at surviving this war! You can't leave!"

"You'll find that I can, and I will. Goodbye."

Anna and Sara stepped beside Annelise. The three women had looks of fury on their faces. Nils and Jon looked betrayed. Lukas, Emil, and Mathias looked ready to kill Oskar with a look.

As Oskar turned to leave, Lukas grabbed Oskar's collar and spun the man around until their eyes met.

"Lying bastard," spat Lukas.

Oskar yanked himself away from Lukas and walked quickly out of the room.

Annelise watched him walk up the steps. "I hope the Germans kill you," she yelled after him, before slamming the door.

As she crumpled to the ground, Mathias came to her side, and put an arm around her. Jon followed, and Nils, Emil, and Lukas. Eventually, all nine of them were together, holding hands.

"We will stick together," said Jon. "We're family now. We always have been." Annelise nodded.

Her heart felt like it was being grasped by icy fingers when she remembered what the soldiers had said. They were taking away Jews.

She was a Jew.