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.Zannis heaved again,Pavlic's body moved.He could see an orange flicker now and then, and could feel heat onthe skin of his face.Was Pavlic alive? He peered down, found his vision blurred, realizedhis glasses weren't there, and was suddenly infuriated.He almost wanted--for an instant ascared ten-year-old--to look for them, almost, then understood he was in shock and hismind wasn't quite working.He took a deep breath, which burned in his chest and madehim cough, steadied himself, and dragged the body out of the building, the back ofPavlic's head bouncing down the steps that led to the doorway.Immediately there wassomeone by his side, a woman he recognized, who worked in the post office across fromthe school."Easy with him," she said."Easy, easy, I think he's still alive." She circledZannis and took Pavlic under the arms and slid him across the pavement.With one bare foot, and unable to see very much of anything, he headed backtoward the school.As he entered the building, a reservist came crawling out of thedoorway, and Zannis realized there were still people alive inside.But the smoke blindedhim completely and the heat physically forced him backward.In the street, he sat downand held his head in his hands.Not far from him, he saw what he thought were thecaptain's boots, heels apart, toes pointing in.Zannis looked away, tried to rub his ankle,and discovered his hand was wet.Blood was running from beneath his trouser cuff,across the top of his foot, and into the gray powder that covered the street.Very well, hewould go to the hospital but, when he tried to stand, he couldn't, so he sat there, holdinghis head, in front of the burning school.He wasn't hurt so much.They told him that later, in a dentist's office where thelightly wounded had been taken because the town clinic--there was no hospital inTrikkala--was reserved for the badly injured.The reservists lay on the floor of thereception area, the dentist had tried to make them comfortable by putting the pillows ofhis waiting room couch under their heads.Zannis could hear out of one ear now, a woundin his leg had been stitched up, and there was something wrong with his left wrist.Hekept opening and closing his hand, trying to make it better, but motion only made thepain worse.As dusk fell, he realized he was tired of being wounded and decided to seek outwhatever remained of his unit.In the street, people noticed him, likely because a nursehad cut off the leg of his trousers.Zannis met their eyes and smiled--oh well--but thepeople looked sorrowful and shook their heads.Not so much at a soldier with a bare legand one shoe.At the bombing of their school and the men who'd been killed, at how warhad come to their town.And it wasn't done with them.And they knew it.Two days later, Zannis went to the clinic to see Pavlic.Some of the wounded layon mattresses on the floor, but Pavlic had one of the beds, a wad of gauze bandage tapedto one side of his face.He brightened when he saw Zannis, now fully dressed.After theyshook hands he thanked Zannis for coming."It is very boring here," he said, then thankedhim also, as he put it, "for everything else."Zannis simply made a dismissive gesture: we don't have to talk about it."I know," Pavlic said."But even so, thanks.""Here," Zannis said.He handed Pavlic three packs of cigarettes, a box of matches,the morning newspaper from Athens, and two magazines.German magazines.Pavlic heldone of them up to admire it; Brunhilde, naked, full-breasted and thickly bushed, had beenphotographed in the act of serving a volleyball.Pavlic said, "Modern Nudist.Thanks, I'llshare these.""You should see what we have in Salonika.""I can imagine.What becomes of you now?""Back home, so they tell me.I've lost the hearing in one ear.And they say I mightget a little medal if there are any left.And you?""A concussion, cuts and bruises." He shrugged."I have to stay for a few days,then I'm ordered back to Zagreb.I suspect they don't think what I was doing was soimportant.They'd rather I keep the police cars running.""Marko," Zannis said.Something in his voice made Pavlic attentive."I want toask you to do something.""Go ahead."Zannis paused, then said, "We have Jews coming into Salonika now.Fugitivesfrom Germany, in flight.At least some of them have disappeared on the way.Where Idon't know.""I thought they went to the port of Constanta.""Some of them do," Zannis said."But the way things are going in Roumania these days, it may be easier for themto get away if they try from Greece.""As long as I'm there, it will be.And we have more ships, and more smugglers.For Europe, it's like slipping out the back door [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]