Chapter 26
Lotte lost track of time as the wagon rattled and bumped over the ground. She clenched her teeth, digging her nails into her palms to keep from struggling as she was dumped into the pit.
She heard the undertakers say a quick prayer over the dead bodies of their fellow prisoners, and the sound of the wagon being wheeled back inside the camp. Lotte lay there, a dead body draped across her legs, another splayed on her back. Somehow, she’d managed to turn as the wagon was dumped and had landed on her stomach, protecting her face and airway. The air was fetid, the smell causing her to gag, but her survival depended upon pretending to be dead.
She feared she would go mad as the hours crawled by, but she remained perfectly still until she could safely crawl out of the immense grave.
