The Rat

France

Saumur

19 June 1940

Enzo Allard threw his tin cup at the guard who was frantically trying to get a hold of his superiors over the radio. The cup smacked the guard right at the back of his head with a loud clang. The angry guard slammed the radio’s mouthpiece on the table and swung his entire body around. The guard pointed his index finger at Enzo.

“Stop that criminal or I’ll shoot you right here, right now.”

“Answer my question you stupid ape, what’s going to happen to me?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. But nobody’s responding over the radio.”

Enzo tapped the side of his head with a balled fist.

“Think you moron the Germans are bombing this place to dust. Your so called superiors are probably dead. You and I are the only ones left alive in this police station. You need to make a decision.”

The guard rubbed his chin for a moment.

“You’re a thief. According to your file you’re supposed to go away for a very long time, the infamous Rat of Saumur.” The guard scoffed.

Enzo’s eyes squinted slightly as he stared the guard down for a moment.

“The Germans are invading; I’m sure you and all the other French officials above and below you have more important things to worry about than me. Let me go or I’ll die in this cell. I’m a thief not a murderer, I don’t deserve to die.”

The guard approached Enzo’s cell slowly. A bomb could be heard going off in the distance. Tiny tremors shook the building, small streams of dust crawled out of newly formed cracks on the walls.

“I’m not letting a criminal go just because the world seems to be coming to an end. Even if the Germans conquer France and become our new masters they’ll still regard you as a criminal. So my options are either to shoot you or leave you to your fate.”

Enzo stared at the burly guard then slowly lifted his hand up and pointed a finger straight at the guard’s face.

“I don’t like you.”

The guard burst out in hysterical laughter. He turned around and walked over to his dust covered desk.

“It’s a pity we won’t be able to fix that my friend.”

The guard gathered his things and promptly exited the office. Enzo rested his head against the jail cell bars. In the distance the sounds of war seemed to be creeping closer. Suddenly a massive explosion rocked the entire building. A massive tremor knocked Enzo to the ground and his cell was filled with thick grey dust. But as soon as the dust settled he realised the explosion didn’t occur as close to him as he thought. Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. The explosion knocked some of the concrete out that was holding one of the jail cell brackets in place. Enzo smiled. He grabbed the cell bars and shook them with all his might. After a few proper jerks the cell bars caused more concrete to crumble apart and the resulting hole was big enough for Enzo to climb through. But there wasn’t time to celebrate, the war was definitely coming closer, Enzo had to get out of the city. As he made his way through the abandoned police station he tried to formulate a plan of escape. He wouldn’t have too much trouble getting out of Saumur, but then what? Rumours were circulating that the Germans were all over France. Leaving the country would be much harder. While Enzo was deep in contemplation his foot caught something and he tripped. He quickly got up and dusted himself off. Then he saw him, covered with concrete and debris was the ape of a guard that had abandoned him.

“Fate is cruel my friend.” Enzo said as he mockingly saluted the dead guard.

In the evening gloom Enzo could see figures in the distance running in different directions as bombs exploded all around Saumur. Enzo hoped that it wasn’t too late and that the Germans hadn’t encircled the entire city. If they had it would make the rat’s escape that much harder. He also had the problem of avoiding the French authorities. Enzo felt like a desperate animal caught in a brush fire that was burning at both ends. Enzo carefully navigated heaps of rubble that used to be attached to the police station, he ran south down the road and came across a group of buildings that were filled with French soldiers. They were engaging a large group of Germans that were pushing for a breakthrough a few kilometres further down the road. With no more road signs left in Saumur Enzo had a difficult time figuring out exactly where he was and which route out of the city would be the safest. He crouched behind a small shop a few metres away from where the French were making their stand. Bullets whizzed past his head as he peeked around the wall to try and find a safe route. The fighting was intense. The Germans were laying heavy fire on the French that were desperately trying to hold their small piece of land. The buildings that they were using for cover were riddled with bullet holes; their stand was brave but ultimately hopeless.

‘If a tank were to roll up the street right now they would all be history.’ Enzo thought to himself.

The Germans were slowly inching forward while using shops and restaurants as cover from the French who were contesting their every step with rifle fire. Enzo glanced over to the south east and saw a building that had a small tower on the roof; if he could get to it he might have a better view of the neighbourhood, and a way out. He waited for a break in the fighting; only a few seconds were needed for him to break for the tower. When he got his chance he bolted. Bullets nipped at his heels, at one point he was sure he felt a bullet graze his left shoe. He reached his destination safely and quickly jumped through one of the windows. The small building was deserted but rubble and iron bars almost filled the inside from floor to ceiling. Enzo realised, what he thought was a building with a small tower on the roof was actually a small office that used to be a part of a larger office building. The tower was a centre support beam that was stripped of all its concrete flesh. Enzo quickly navigated the maze of rubble and made his way to the centre beam. He carefully checked the integrity of the beam then proceeded to the top. Enzo now had a very good view of his surroundings, even though it was getting dark he could still manage to see most of the city. Small yellow flashes would light up buildings in every direction. Sometimes the clatter of machine guns would seem to go on forever. Enzo evaluated every option but there didn’t seem to be a safe route out of the city. The Germans had managed to encircle Saumur after all. Enzo was skimming over an area to the north east when he saw a small aqueduct that he instantly recognised. It was an old drainage system that helped to convey excess rain water out of Saumur and prevented flooding in the eastern suburbs. The drainage system was no longer in use but the tunnels that conveyed the flood waters to north east were still intact. Really good thieves, like Enzo, would use the tunnels to sneak in an out of the city. Before the war the authorities had clamped down on the so-called ‘Thieves Highway’, but Enzo figured that the authorities had bigger problems on their hands. Enzo heard a loud commotion in the streets below. The Germans had finally overpowered the small French position down the street. Enzo’s attention was suddenly drawn to a soft yet sharp whistling sound that resonated high above his head. His sudden flood of dread was replaced by a determent urge to jump. He fell for about a second when he stretched his arm out and grabbed an iron bar. The moment he let go of the bar to drop down to the rubble inside the small office an explosion disintegrated the support beam. Enzo huddled himself into a ball and covered his head as chunks of concrete showered down on him. He waited for a few moments before he got up and dusted himself off.  He was relieved to see that the piece of roof that was still intact took most of the force from the explosion.

‘Lucky again Enzo.’

Enzo was startled by a series of coughs and intense wheezing. He turned around and saw two French soldiers huddled together and covered in dust.

“Are you fellows the survivors from the battle down the street?”

The two soldiers got up slowly and dusted themselves off. One of them extended his hand to Enzo.

“Oui, my name is Erwan Bonnet and this is Samuel Fay.”

“I’m assuming you’re not planning on taking on the Germans by yourselves?” Enzo asked with a sombre tone in his voice.

“No, we were thinking of re-joining another French fortification.”

Enzo shook his head slightly and chuckled softly.

“Bad news friend, there aren’t a lot of those left in Saumur, trust me I had a good view from the roof. Besides, you’ll probably die from extensive lead poisoning before you reach a fortification.”

Erwan slammed a wall with his fist as he cursed the Germans.

The rumbling sound of battle outside was getting louder. Samuel looked through one of the windows and saw a group of German soldiers making their way to the ruined office building.

“The Germans will be here any moment.”

“Look I have a way to slip out of the city. If you want to, you two can come with me and decide later on if you’re still keen on fighting the Germans.”

Erwan took a moment to weigh his conflicting options.

“Very well, lead the way.”

The three men quietly made their out of the ruined office building and headed north east in the direction of the aqueduct. Enzo’s mind couldn’t help but churn at the slightly ironic situation he found himself in, he was supposed to avoid authority figures at all costs now they’re helping him to escape Saumur. But the Germans were gnawing away at Saumur, soon there wouldn’t be any place to hide, it was a desperate situation for everyone.

Enzo lead the two French soldiers down an alley that headed east. The alley was littered with trash from the surrounding buildings, empty crates, broken bottles, chunks of concrete and thousands of bricks hampered their progress. Enzo suddenly froze in his tracks, he gestured for the soldiers to find cover. Three Germans were making their way up the alley from the east, their rifles at the ready, looking for enemy soldiers. Erwan and Samuel took cover behind two heaps of rubble; Enzo dove through a nearby window. The Germans were startled by the sounds of the French soldiers scurrying for cover. They shouldered their rifles and proceeded towards Erwan and Samuel’s position. Erwan assumed that Enzo ran off and abandoned them. He quietly signalled to Samuel to hold his fire until the Germans were close. Every inch the Germans moved forward seemed to increase Erwan’s level of anxiety, but he forced himself to remain calm. The Germans were almost on top of Erwan when something on the roof above the Germans caught his attention. He saw Enzo fiddling with the roof’s gutters, then he gave it a swift and hard kick. Roof tiles rained down on the Germans. They were caught completely off guard. While they desperately tried to cover their heads and protect their faces from the falling tiles Erwan signalled for Samuel to shoot. A volley of rifle fire ended the Germans’ before they could see where it came from. Erwan waited for a few moments before getting out of cover. When the Germans stopped squirming and moaning he moved over to make sure they weren’t breathing. He looked up at Enzo who was sitting casually on the roof with his legs crossed.

“Shall we get going?”

“That would be a good idea.” Erwan said.

“Can you see the aqueduct from up there?”

Enzo got up and surveyed their route.

“Things look clear, we have to go down a street to the east for a few blocks then head north. I don’t see any Germans but it is dark and I could be wrong.”

“That’s comforting.” Samuel snickered.

Enzo crouched forward, with one fluent motion he threw his body off the edge of the roof. He jumped towards the opposite building and grabbed a ledge, he hung there for a few moments before sliding down a drain pipe. He joined Erwan and Samuel who looked at him with a very puzzled look on their faces.

“What did you say you did for a living again?”

“I didn’t say, but since you’re asking I’ll have you know I’m the best chimney sweeper in all of Saumur.” Enzo said with a very unconvincing look on his face.

The three men used hidden side streets to navigate to the north eastern suburbs of Saumur until they were a block away from the aqueduct. The old aqueduct had a small marsh forming all around it. The rat and his companions hid inside a partially destroyed shop for a few minutes to make sure there weren’t any Germans around. The marsh was quiet, every now and then a frog might croak and a few fireflies floated around aimlessly. Far in the distance the sound of battle was starting to fade away. The Germans were in control of Saumur and there wasn’t much resistance left. Enzo spotted slight movement in some tall grassy bushes that edged along the marsh. He closed his eyes and focused his hearing on the sounds, silent whispers and muffled sobs.

“There are people hiding in the bushes by the marsh.”

The two French soldiers readied their rifles but Enzo shook his head slightly.

“I don’t think they are German soldiers.”

“How do you know?”

“They’re crying.”

Erwan and Samuel looked at each other for a moment while exchanging quiet debates. Erwan turned his attention back to Enzo.

“We have to make sure.”

Enzo quickly and quietly slipped out of a window and made his way to the marsh.

“Bonjour?”

Enzo didn’t get a reply so he gently brushed some tall grass and reeds aside. He saw three young children huddled together and shaking profusely, either from fear or the cold evening breeze, maybe both. Enzo removed his coat slowly and wrapped it around the frightened children as best as he could. He whistled in Erwan’s direction and waved for them to join him. The two French soldiers didn’t take long to join Enzo, they were curious.

“This is unexpected.”

“The aqueduct drainage system is right there between those two trees.” Enzo said as he pointed north.

“We should hurry, it won’t be long before the Germans find this aqueduct and clean it out with a few bombs.”

The two French soldiers helped the children to their feet and followed Enzo as he made his way through the shallow marsh towards the drainage inlet pipe. The drainage pipes were only big enough for them crawl through on their hands and knees but it was a welcome path to safety none the less. It was very dark and the cold water trickling down the pipe quickly soaked everyone’s clothes. But the fear of getting caught kept them warm enough. Enzo would stop every few hundred metres to make sure they didn’t go down a branching tunnel that would take them back to Saumur as the drainage system had several tunnels joining each other. After crawling for about twenty minutes the group came to a section in the pipe that split in two. Enzo removed a lighter from his pocket and flicked it a few times before it lit. He moved the lighter up and down slowly as checked the pipe from top to bottom, he stopped when he came to a series of carved markings that were etched into the pipe. He smiled then led the group down the fork in the pipe that veered to the east. Nobody said anything and faithfully followed Enzo, their hands aching from the cold water. After an hour they finally saw a dim light in the distance. They instinctively increased their pace and reached the exit. Enzo carefully checked the exit first then led everyone through it. They were all relieved to be out of Saumur and in one piece. Enzo walked up to Erwan.

“This is where we part ways monsieur.” 

Erwan and Samuel shook hands with Enzo and thanked him for helping them escape. Erwan took a small piece of paper out of his pocket then wrote something on it before handing it to Enzo.

“This is where you can reach me if you ever need any kind of help, just be sure to eat it if you get caught by the Germans.”

“Be safe Erwan, look after our little friends.”

Enzo headed west down a dirt road that snaked through a small wooded area, he moved casually but still paid attention to his surroundings. He froze immediately when he heard twigs and branches snap and crackle in the bushes around him.

“Bonjour Rat.” A voice growled in the darkness.       

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