Chapter 16Vermok, February 26, 1943
Track Three
Stanislaus Lis could feel the repetitive thud of the turbine as a dull throb in his breastbone. At first it had been hard to pick out the sound over the swirl of the wind and the roar of the waterfall, but now it filled the air, overwhelming, inescapable, signaling the journey’s end.
This would be the journey’s end. It had to be. This would be the success to redeem all his failures.
Every muscle trembled as he hauled himself out of the gorge and onto solid ground. He had been right. Where trees could grow, a man could climb. Beneath his shivering belly was the rock ledge on which the railway ran straight into Vermok’s yard. He had to take a moment to breathe.
Once he had his breath back, Stach got carefully to his feet. History had not r
