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to converse. She had not been noticed. Along the edge of the barbed wire, down on her knees, crawling, she felt for the opening in the fencing that she’d seen earlier in the day. As she did, she felt a stinging pain in her hand as the sharp wire sliced into her knuckle s . Once her bloody fingers found what they sought, Petra lifted the line and struggled underneath to freedom. Quickly she stood, and as the snow fell from her clothing, she ran with her heart racing faster than her feet could move.
    Could that be the search light she saw? Only another fifty feet to the edge of the forest - r un! Dear God, help me ! Please ! I am running for my life ! I am running to save my baby! Run ! Run!

Chapter 4
     
    S
    he could not catch her breath. With fewer than fifty feet to the safety of the forest, Petra prayed she would not be spotted. Never looking back, she kept her eyes fixed on the freedom that lay just ahead. Her ample belly swung back and forth as she ran. An aching in her overly-sensitive breasts made her wince as she dashed across the field. Then a pain shot through her side, doubling her over, but she did not stop. At first mild, the throbbing grew stronger as she forced her feet forward , clutching her side. She knew that she must keep going.
    If the guard in the tower saw her, he would ring the bell and then the dogs would be released. If the dogs did not tear her to shreds, she would be forced back to Heim Hockland . In the distance she could see the trees, dark and dense, promising refuge if her feet would only move fast enough to get her there. An animal, perhaps a wolf or a fox, howled as she finally gained the shelter of the forest and hid behind a tree, and for a moment escape seemed as dangerous as prison. She bent over, gasping for breath. She had to stop for just a little while.
    As she sat, trembling, she assessed her situation. In her youth she’d loved fairy tales, and therefore had always feared the woods. Now the gnarled trees casting evil- looking shadows in the moonlight reminded her of her night terrors. Grimacing, she realized she must wipe such thoughts and fears from her mind if she meant to survive.
    She must travel on foot as far away from the Institute as possible. Then it might be safe to seek out a town or village. She began inventing a plausible story. She would need one when the time came to ask for help. Petra decided she would calmly inform those she encountered that while on her way from Mu nich to visit friends in Denmark , she had left her handbag, all of her money and her papers in a café where she had stopped to dine. When she ’ d returned to look for her things, no one claimed to have seen them. Perhaps some kind souls might be sympathetic to her plight and assist with food and water, and should good fortune favor, even a ride, as she made her way back to Norway . Distance would be the key. If she could get far enough away from Heim Hockland , no one would suspect she had escaped from there .
    The cold sliced through her. Then reality set in. She realized she could never get home walking in this frigid weather. How far could she get before she froze to death?
    Again she wished she had asked Hans for his parents’ address.  In the darkness the forest seemed like a dark , endless void, one that might swallow her.
    Han s had sent her a few reich s marks when he’d sent the admission papers to Heim Hockland . She might have enough money f or a ticket, but she knew it would not be safe to take the train back to Denmark. She must keep her papers hidden. If the authorities saw them and realized where she had come from, she would surely be returned to Heim Hockland .
    Even worse, she knew if she were caught she would suffer severe punishment for running away. Over the short time she had spent in Steinhoring , she’d learned that the Nazis could be cruel, very cruel. Individual lives had no worth, only their precious Third Reich was of any value to them. And she knew firsthand that