Annelise hadn't gotten a letter back from Alexander since she wrote to him a week ago. It was the 20th of December. The Resistance still hadn't found a place to meet safely. The papers that held all their information were entrusted to Anna and Sara. The sisters were not Jewish, and the Resistance had figured that they were the least likely to be caught.

Lukas was gone, on a mission to spy on the Nazis somewhere. Mathias was the only person who knew where he was. The less people that knew, the safer Lukas would be. Annelise had a suspicion that he was in Germany.

She was terrified for Alexander. She knew that war zones made it hard to receive letters, but this was the longest it had ever taken.

She watched the rain on her window. It would probably turn to snow later that day.

There was a knock on her door. Annelise jumped up from her seat on the couch and opened it. Mathias and Jon stood there. They were both soaking wet and dirty.

"Come in," she said. "What happened?"

"Found a place to meet," muttered Jon. "It's a house. Abandoned. There's a basement underneath it, though."

"Are you both alright," she asked, looking at them. They looked like they'd been fighting.

"That is a relative term," said Mathias, somehow keeping a grin on his face as usual. "I think I sprained my ankle."

"How?"

Jon sighed. "He was being an idiot. Though soldiers were coming and started running as fast as he could away from the house, and tripped on a tree root. The lights he saw were just a car."

Mathias laughed, with a grimace on his face. "If it had been Nazis, I would've saved us all. And the rain made me slip. Not my fault."

Annelise sighed, amused at Mathias' antics. She went into the kitchen and grabbed a towel, and turned on the sink. It would take ages for the water to get warm.

"Any word on Lukas," she asked.

Both of them shook their heads. "No," said Mathias. "I've heard nothing major. And I can't tell you what I do know. His little sister is scared to death, as are his parents. They think he was captured. We've been telling them that he is delivering medicine to a friend who lived out of town."

Annelise nodded. Lukas' little sister, Erika, was the same age as Roy and Astrid. She had ashy-white hair, different from Lukas' light blonde hair. They both had dark blue eyes.

"Any news from Alexander," asked Mathias.

"No," said Annelise, keeping the fear out of her voice. "I have heard nothing. I think-" She stopped, not wanting to put her thoughts into words. "I think he has gone into battle.

The three were in silence for a moment. Mathias broke the silence by saying, "At least he's a good pilot, right?"

Annelise nodded. "I hope he is."

Night was falling as she took the towel from under the hot water. She wringed it out and handed it to Mathias. "Wrap this around your ankle. It's the best I can do right now."

Just as she handed it to Mathias, there was another knock on the door. Annelise pointed to a spot behind the couch. Hide, she mouthed.

She opened the door, knowing that her pistol was tucked in the waistband of her skirt.

Two German soldiers entered the house. "We have come to search this place for Resistance members. Do you know what the Resistance is?"

Annelise was offended that he thought she was an idiot, and terrified because she was a Resistance member. "Yes, I happen to know exactly what that word means. No, you will find no members here, sir."

The soldiers glared at her as they walked through the house. They touched the furniture with their gloved hands, and scoffed when they saw Astrid's drawing on the table.

"Is this supposed to be some sort of message, to throw us off your trail," he asked, sneering. "Women of every age have better things to do that draw pictures." He ripped it in half. Annelise was furious.

"I hear that the Eriksens are Jewish," the other asked.

Annelise nodded. "We are, and we are proud of that fact."

The two men looked at each other for a moment, before turning back to their search. They walked into the living room, and Annelise froze. She couldn't move.

Suddenly, an idea crept into Annelise's mind. She walked up to the soldier and said, "Sir, why don't you check upstairs? Our windows overlook a tree, where someone could climb and hide in the house. Of course, I'm just a woman, so you don't have to listen to me at all-"

She wasn't surprised when the soldier slapped her across the face. "Idiot. We were going to check up there anyway." She could tell that, through his harsh face, he and his partner considered her words, and wouldn't have gone upstairs otherwise. They turned and walked up the stairs.

When they left the room, Annelise motioned for Jon and Mathias to come out of their hiding place. Jon tried to fuss over her cheek, but she pushed him away and pointed to the door. They opened it slightly, and it did not creak. They left quickly, the rag still tied around Mathias' ankle. All of this was done in silence.

When they were gone, Annelise walked up the stairs to find the soldiers in her room. One of them held her Norwegian flag in his hand. "Did you sew this," he asked.

"No. It was a gift." She watched as he dropped it on the desk again. Annelise was suddenly very glad she had hidden her letters to Alexander in a loose floorboard underneath her bed.

She snuck a glance in her mirror. A red, hand-shaped area was appearing on her cheek. She still felt the sting. Had Alexander done this to any civilians?

They turned to her. "We have found no Resistance fighters here," they told her. "If you come across one, know that they are dangerous and to be avoided at all costs."

Annelise nodded. "Yes, sir." She laughed internally. I guess I'm a danger to myself. That's no surprise.

They left the house quickly. When they were gone, Annelise collapsed at the door, tears falling. She was angry and scared. Why did these men have to be here? They knew she was Jewish. They would come for her. How would she explain this to her family? They would suffer and be taken away, like all the other Jews, and she would be to blame.

Annelise stood up. Crying wouldn't solve anything. She jumped as she heard a loud crack of thunder. Her parents were at work, and her siblings were both at friends' houses. She was the only one home. Jon and Mathias were who knew where, and Lukas was in Germany.

She made herself a small dinner of 'soup.' Boiled water with a slight chicken flavor, and mashed potatoes. She ate it quickly, the thunderclaps growing louder, and the rain pounding her windows. How would her parents get home?

As she thought that, the door opened. Fredrik and Lovise Eriksen walked in. Annelise felt a weight come off her chest. "Mama!" She dropped her bowl and ran to her.

"Annelise, what's with you? Where's Jon?"

"Jon is..." She thought for a moment. "Jon is with a friend."

"Why is everyone with friends except Annelise," asked Fredrik.

"Because I don't have any," Annelise commented.

Her mother shook her head. 'Yes, you do. You have Anna and Sara, and Lukas, Nils. You go see them all the time!"

Annelise nodded, for her mother's sake. "I do."

When they asked about the rapidly forming bruise on her face, she said that she fell down the bottom stairs. She wasn't going to make her parents worry and more than they already did.