Okay lovelies, so three votes was good enough for me as I have all the patience of a frenzied bull and don't want to leave you hanging any longer. So, without further or do, here are the first of the rewritten chapters of the original Cuckoo Bird. This is a very sneaky cheeky preview of what will eventually be published. When my hiatus is over, I will be taking them down, so read while you can!

I will also give you a couple of random.. shall we say... amped up scenes from the original trilogy. One will be a redo of a scene you already know. The next will be a brand new change to the original plot.

Happyish reading my loves!

Chapter One

The monotonous thrum of the train did nothing to soothe Anna. It had been her constant companion for days now, the persistent whirr forever embedded in even the furthest corners of her mind. She counted herself lucky that her family had a spot by the one small window of the cattle cart. At least there was a little fresh air as they sped through cityscapes and fields alike. She barely felt the pain in her legs and feet now; so long had she been stood in her spot that they had grown forever numb. The tightly packed bodies of her cargo companions kept her upright anyway.

A small cough drew Anna's gaze downwards.

Elli was cuddled into her older sister, her deep brown eyes hooded with sleep and fixed on the flashes of greenery from the barred window. Anna buried her nose in Elli's tangle of black curls, her hand absentmindedly rubbing her back in circular motions. Elli gave a sleepy grumble and nestled further into Anna' chest. Usually so brilliant and bright, the dank circumstances they found themselves in made Elli seem far younger than nine.

Anna didn't want to focus on that. Instead, she glanced up at her mother opposite her.

Her stomach dropped.

Rachel was leant against the wall, her face screwed up as tears dribbled down her cheeks. She had her arms wrapped tight around herself as her fingers dug into the star of David crudely sewn onto her coat sleeve. Her mother had always been so private, even in the ghetto. Clearly, this final train journey had worn her resolve too thin.

Reaching out, Anna's fingertips brushed lightly against her mother's arm. She was startled back to their cruel reality, her watery eyes focused on her eldest daughter's. Rachel and Elli looked so alike; same hair, same gaze, same slightly kinked nose. Even now, Anna felt a pang of jealousy. It made sense that she looked nothing like her family, but sometimes the obvious reminders felt as if they were being shoved down her throat.

What foundling wants to remember that they shouldn't belong?

As if reading Anna's thoughts, Rachel tucked her hand in hers and drew it to her lips. Her damp cheeks pressed against Anna's hand as she held it for a long kiss. Anna tried her best not to tell her mother of these intrusive thoughts. It would do no good.

'I miss Papa,' croaked Elli's voice.

Anna felt her mother's sharp intake of breath against the back of her hand, her own breathing uneven and strangled.

'Me too, sweet girl,' Anna managed. Of course she missed her father; he was the sunshine that nourished them all. Yet, it would be a lie to say there was not some small part of her that was glad of his absence. It meant he was not here, in a cramped, dark cattle cart of a train that could only be taking them to a place of no return. If anything, she envied him a little.

'Mama?' said Elli. 'Don't you miss Papa?'

'Every moment of every day,' said Rachel, the words stunted and pained.

Elli turned as best she could and cuddled into their mother, Rachel nearly knocked backward by the force of her embrace. Rachel's gaze locked on Anna's.

Anna wanted to avoid the regret in Rachel's eyes. She knew it was aimed at her. She knew her mother wished she wasn't there. She knew that her mother wanted her to have made another choice.

Because Anna, unlike every other lost soul on this train, had chosen to be here.

Rachel and Joseph had tried to keep Anna safe one last time. Anna's Aryan heritage had always felt like a burden to her; she hated that her last name was different from her family's as much as she did their difference in appearance. Ultimately, it was the difference between life and death. From the moment they had taken her in as a six year old girl, they had loved her completely. She had always felt like their child, even when Elli came along seven years later. It was why Anna refused to say goodbye. Following them to the ghetto had been a ridiculous risk, but she could never bring herself to regret it. Love would always win out over life.

As if unable to stop herself, Rachel tugged Anna forward so that her arms wrapped around both of her daughters. Anna gripped her in return, suddenly in need of her mother's strength. The three of them shared this small, secret intimacy in a train of so many others. Anna concerned herself with no one else but them and no one looked on in anger. All throughout the carriages, families and friends surely created meaningful final moments of their own.

The train began to slow.

Anna's attention turned to the window, her face pressed against the bars. The train had lost enough speed for her to distinguish the passing colours as huge, looming pine trees.

'What do you see girly?' asked one of the men over her shoulder.

'Forest,' Anna replied. She strained to look as far ahead as possible. 'It seems to be clearing though.' The train whistle sounded, a mutter of surprise passing through the carriage like a wave. 'I think I can see a platform.'

'Brace yourselves,' warned another voice.

Everyone shifted and prepared themselves to move. Anna wriggled her stiff limbs in an attempt to get the blood flowing properly again. Rachel had shut her eyes again, as though to block out the inevitable.

'Mama,' said Anna, eliciting a meek look in response. 'It's time.'

Rachel gave a small nod that had no conviction.

Letting out a long, steadying breath, Anna took Elli under one arm, and her mother's hand in her other.

As the train came to a complete stop, the entire vessel jolted, it's passengers slammed into the front end of their hold. A murmur of apologies hurried through them, made silent by muffled shouts that rang out from the platform. It was a flurry of instruction, all in Anna's native tongue. Wherever they had ended up, those in charge were German.

The voices grew closer, now paused just outside of their carriage door.

'We stick together,' said Anna firmly, her mother and sister giving her a nod.

Piercing light flooded the carriage as the door was flung open. Everyone surged forward, people spilling onto the platform like water over a fall. Anna prepared herself to jump down before Elli, so that she could catch her. Her thigh muscles squirmed, her knees searing through the pain of inactivity. Ignoring it, she leapt into the throng. Anna turned and caught Elli as she toppled into her arms, bumping into the people behind her. Undeterred, she held her hand out to her mother, helping her down again before the door to their cart swung shut again.

The three of them huddled together as the crowd carried them further away. It was noisy, and dusty on the platform; a shock after the quiet claustrophobic atmosphere of the train. The crowd seemed to stretch on for miles in either direction, wooden huts and barbed wire fences only just visible in front of them. Past the train stretched more tall trees, as if to hide this strange place from the outside world. It was as though a malevolent sculptor had carved out a small section of this forest simply to house this new hell in which they found themselves.

'Men to the left! Women and children to the right!' yelled the men in uniform.

It was SS uniform. Her mind swam with memories of the ghetto; of smug, arrogant faces under neat caps; of pistols tucked into leather holsters atop smart grey jackets and fingers that lingered eagerly on top of them.  It was as bad as she feared.

Anna pulled them all to the right hand side. As the three of them had been at the far side of the train, they now stood near the centre divide. They watched as the guards shoved and pulled people about, categorising them.

She looked at the men across from her. They looked as exhausted as she was, all of them staggering to their places. Flies swarmed the new arrivals, the heat sweltering as they all stood in the coats they were too afraid to pack into suitcases. Anna squeezed her mother's hand tighter, her knuckles white and taut.

'I have your papers,' said Rachel as loud as she dared. Anna and Elli looked to their mother.

'My papers?' Anna said in disbelief.

'They might help you now.'

'Mama, nothing can help us now.'

A foul, musty smell permeated them, the noses of the inspecting guards wrinkled in disgust as they patrolled nearby. They seemed to search the female faces in the crowd for something in particular. Occasionally, they pulled women out to inspect them further. Sometimes they shoved them back, sometimes they added them to a new, very select group.

Two of the guards were doing it together and had created a little group of three of their own. They paused in front of Anna.

They were staring right at her.

The shorter of the two reached out, his nails dug into Anna's arm as he wrenched her from the women.

'Please, no.' The words barely escaped Anna's mouth.

'Quiet!' The guard held her arms so that he could survey her properly. He stood so close that his breath was hot on Anna's cheeks, his body almost pressed against hers.

The urge to glare at him coursed through her; a chance to show some final stand of defiance. She could only muster the suppression of her tears. Never had an officer come this close to her. The guards in the ghetto only ever ventured near when they were beating you. She'd always escaped it before. Perhaps she wouldn't this time. She clenched her jaw, her breath trapped behind the pressed line of her lips.

Nodding in disdainful approval, the guard added Anna to their group of three across from them and left her to stand, stranded from her family.

Summoning her nerve, she dared to look at the other women in her group. They stared back with the same, empty expression she knew must be etched on her own face. A small sob drew her gaze back. Elli had begun to cry, her lip trembling as she gazed longingly at Anna. Rachel pulled Elli tight against her, her own eyes flitting between her two daughters.

Anna cleared her throat. 'It's all right-'

A backhanded slap to her face cut her sentiments short. 'I said quiet!'

Hanging her head, Anna pressed her hand to her inflamed cheek. She would not cry. She refused to cry.

'Mama?' It was Elli.

Her attention recaptured, Anna glanced up at the new commotion. Rachel stood between her two children, clearly unsure of which needed her more.

The guard strode up to her mother. 'Back in line!'

Rachel pushed forward, Anna's papers in her hand. 'She's not a Jew!' she pleaded, her voice shrill and shaky.

'Get back!' he shouted, his truncheon in hand.

Anna tried to get to Rachel, but the taller guard pushed her back.

'She's not a Jew!' Rachel clutched the guard, the papers thrust in his face. 'Her papers! Please!'

He shoved her back, his truncheon drawn before he struck Rachel in the stomach.

'Mama, no!' cried Anna, hunched over as though she herself had been hit.

Winded, Rachel was undeterred. She stumbled forward, falling to her knees in front of the guard. She grabbed his trouser leg in desperation. 'Please,' she managed. He hit her again, this time across the face. Rachel's jaw crunched on impact and the pain overcame her. 

Bile bubbled in Anna's throat. She had to get to her mother. 'Please stop!'

The other guard only just caught Anna as she surged towards Rachel, his arms vicelike around her to hold her still.

Ignoring her daughter, Rachel looked up at the guard, staring him in the eye. She was determined, holding the papers up to him as he struck her again. She fell to the floor, a cry of agony on her lips.

Anna's breathing grew shallow as she watched the blood gush down her mother's face, the world falling silent as he beat her again...

And again...

And again.

Chapter Two

The guard let Anna fall to her knees and watched her as she crawled across to her mother's lifeless body. Unable to contain her sobs, Anna reached out a trembling hand to her mother's face. She turned her over, in some vain hope that she was still breathing. Instead, she recoiled in horror.

Rachel's eyes were glassy and dead, one of them barely visible where her skull had caved in. Her mouth was open and bloody, her jaw askew.

That wasn't her mother anymore.

Anna tried her best to hold her, in some way say goodbye. There was no way to lift her without disturbing the mess before her. The woman that she loved was gone, and all that remained was this mangled, empty shell. Anna felt hollow, the sounds around her dulled as though she was under water.

She barely noticed the guard lean down and snatch the papers from her mother's clenched fist and look them over with a furrowed brow.

His comrade wiped his truncheon on Rachel's skirt before he too came to look.

'She really isn't a Jew,' said the first guard.

The second shorter guard snatched it from his hand. 'Interesting.' He peered at Anna over the top of the papers.

'We should tell someone,' said the first.

The second raised an eyebrow at him. 'No sense in that,' he said. 'I've a much better use for her.'

'But she's one of us?'

'Look at how she's crying over that,' said the second. 'You really think she's one of us?'

The first fell silent.

'Get the others ready,' said the second, putting the papers in his pocket. 'I doubt we'll find any more.'

The first nodded to the other three terrified women and gestured for them to move. The second guard now grabbed Anna's arm, his nails dug into her flesh.

As though waking up from a dream, Anna could hear her sister crying. She shot up and tried frantically to run to Elli. The guard held her back. Anna and Elli strained towards one another across their mother's body, desperate for comfort.

From within the opposing crowd, a woman surged forward, grabbing Elli. She pinned her little arm down, whispering something in her ear.

Still crying, Elli's arm dropped, their eyes locked for a moment. Elli gave one small wave and turned away from Anna into this stranger's embrace.

Screaming Elli's name, Anna fought with all her might to get away from the guard that subdued her. He grabbed her by the hair and forced her gaze downward. At the sight of Rachel's face, Anna fell silent as the urge to vomit swirled in the pit of her stomach.

'Do you want to end up like that?'

No words escaped her as he pushed her face closer to the gore and viscera.

'Then be quiet,' he snapped and pulled her to her feet.

Anna allowed him to haul her away, a final glimpse of Elli's sorrowful little face firmly in her mind before she blended into the sea of others.

The guard dragged Anna to meet their party, who had walked a little way ahead. He got her to stand up straight at the back of the line, a glared fixed on her.

'Will you cooperate? Or do I have to strike you?'

Anna nodded making sure to avoid his gaze.

He gestured for the strange procession set off again and maintained a solid grip on her arm the entire way, as if she might slip away at any moment.

They were led around the back of a long wooden hut, piles and piles of suitcase spread carelessly across the platform, almost barring their exit. So this is what happened to their belongings. Unkempt women in tatty civilian clothes and Stars of David hurried between them, ferrying to cases to and fro in some sort of order Anna didn't understand. They were aided by several men all brandishing Stars of their own, some of which bore strange items of a striped pyjama set. Not a single one of them looked up from their task at the new arrivals. If anything, they actively avoided them.

A small gangway led the bizarre group through a high metal gate, Anna suddenly aware of many eyes watching them intently. Where she was lost and ignored on the platform, she now felt the subject of intrigue. She didn't look up, and instead stared blankly ahead.

Soon, they were thrust into a small room, the guard finally releasing Anna's arm as the women huddled together. The interior was a pokey, wooden hut. It didn't have the finesse of a log cabin, more a garden shed thrown together with random materials.

'Undress!'

All of them obeyed hurriedly and without question. One of the women's quiet sobs filled the small space. Anna's eyes flicked up quickly to monitor the guard's reaction. He did nothing but stare at them, clearly enjoying the power he held over four, frightened, naked women.

'Through there,' he ordered as he shoved Anna in the back with his truncheon.

He herded them towards another door at the far side of the hut. It led to a small, covered patio which overlooked a wire fence and dusty trail beyond. The pavement felt cold on Anna's feet, a strange contrast against the warm, late summer sun.

It jolted Anna awake. Is this where she would die? Would they line the four women up and shoot them? No, that made no sense. They wouldn't have singled them out just to murder them separately. Maybe they chose them purely to humiliate them? Maybe it was just good sport. Whatever the reasoning, Anna became resolved that she wasn't going to show any fear.

The four women lined up in front of the wall, staring out at the fence. The faraway cries of other prisoners carried to them from some distant torture. Anna's eyes closed as she prayed that Elli was not among them.

Suddenly, cold cascading water hit her back. She spluttered in shock, her hand over her mouth so as to not make any sound.

'Clean yourselves. Now!'

After a panicked search, Anna found a bar of soap behind her against the wall. She scrabbled to get it, eager to wash herself for the first time in weeks. One of the other women got their first. The two of them paused, each waiting for the other to snatch. Anna acquiesced and waited as patiently as she could to be passed the small, grubby morsel.

The moment it was in her grasp, she turned her back on the guard, not wanting to catch him staring at her. Her shaking fingers undid the long plaits by her shoulders, her scalp grateful for the release of tension.

'Quickly!'

They rest all obliged him and stood outside of the water to demonstrate compliance. Anna hurried through her wash, aware that she was the reason they were waiting.

Surprisingly, the guard became patient, but only because he was watching her. Intently.

Rinsing herself thoroughly, Anna too joined the women in their shivering line.

The guard shut of the water, the tap squeaking to affirm it. 'In!'

Back inside the hut, Anna's wet feet slapped against the floor as she trailed water inside. She stumbled into the woman in front, who tried her best to catch her. Anna nodded gratefully. It was a strange circumstance to be so instantly comfortable touching another naked body. Desperation was a powerful driving force.

The guard stood over their things. 'Get dressed.'

They lunged for their clothes, tugging their specific items from the tangle. Her arms filled with her only possessions, Anna began a frantic search, acutely aware that she was missing items. Her thick woollen socks lay not too far away, stranded form her. It seemed silly to want them in this heat, but her mother had wanted them to be prepared for all weathers, so made her dress in layers. Trying desperately not to think of her mother, she made to grab them.

The guard stepped in front of her reach. Anna looked up at him, and he bent down to meet her eye line. She breathed heavily, unsure of how to react.

He smiled slightly and lifted her brassiere up to her somewhat mockingly. 'This can only be yours.'

Anna didn't respond, further pressing her clothes into her bare chest.

His eyes scanned her. 'Is this what you were reaching for?'

'Socks,' Anna managed to choke out, her outstretched fingers just touching the woollen material.

He nodded, standing so that she could snatch them. 'Better take this as well.' He threw her brassiere so that it hit her in the face. 'Can't have you looking indecent now, can we?'

Her skin crawled beneath his probing gaze. Anna dressed hurriedly, strangely relieved that she had clung to this small promise as she stuffed her feet back into her heavy, oversized boots.

The women were soon lined up again, standing close to one another for protection and comfort.

'Out,' he ordered, holding the door open.

As always, Anna was the last in line. He placed his truncheon across the door as she made to leave; the truncheon he had beaten her mother to death with.

It sickened her to have it so close to her face and her whole body shook as she fought off impending tears. She watched as he pulled a pen from his pocket and scribbled on something. It was the back page of her identity papers.

He smiled as he handed them to her. 'Give this to Obersturmführer Keller,' he said as he pushed her out of the door to join the other women.

They were marched across a dusty courtyard, surrounded by a conclave of huts and a hive of activity. The suitcases had clearly journeyed here from the platform, piled high with their contents strewn across the floor. Around them, more women carried large piles of clothes into the huts. Others stacked shoes together as a few in the striped pyjama bottoms threw empty suitcases into piles.

The four women were herded towards a small group of soldiers and two of them listened intently to one, clearly, more important officer.

This man was still young, perhaps in his late twenties, with an angular face and broad shoulders. His officer's hat almost hid his white, blonde hair. He turned to look at them as they approached and his icy eyes surveyed each of them in turn.

Anna's breath hitched in her throat. His beauty was jarring, especially in this vile place. His eyes unnerved her. She imagined they were as cold in colour as the soul was that lay beneath them.

'New ones for you Obersturmführer,' said the guard from behind them.

'Very good,' he said, his voice soft and lyrical. He stepped closer to them, his expression neither excited nor disgusted. Scrutinizing them, he seemed to make some sort of assessment that only he was privy to.

Anna turned her gaze downward as he came closer to her. She didn't want to make any sort of impression that might single her out again.

'Those two over there with the others.' He gestured to the two women on Anna's right. 'These two...' He pointed at the sobbing woman and Anna. 'Will do for goods and valuables.'

One of the soldiers pushed the other two women towards the piles of suitcases. The other officer came forward, gesturing to Anna and her partner in a bid to follow him, but the guard behind her stopped him. He prodded Anna in the back, to spur her into action. She handed Keller her open papers, making sure not to look him in the eye.

Keller took it curiously. 'Better than two packs of cigarettes?' he read aloud and looked up at the guard behind Anna.

'Look on the back.' Her captor was clearly eager to impress.

He turned the papers over. 'Very good!' agreed Keller, a slight inflection in his voiced hinting towards something depraved. He lifted Anna's head so that she looked at him.

His gaze made her whole body tremble, as though something cold slithered down her back.

'She even has blue eyes.' Keller looked at the rest of her, his lascivious gaze licking every part of her body. 'What a treat.' His grasping fingers pinched her chin a little harder; a deterrent from avoiding him.

The more she stared into his eyes, the more untethered Anna became. She was in his world now, where she had no more control over her life than a puppet pulled about by strings.

'So, are we even now?' asked the guard.

It broke the moment. Keller released Anna and tucked the papers into his pocket. He nodded, allowing the soldier to lead Anna and the other woman into the hut.

Anna glanced back to see Keller shaking the other guard's hand. What kind of deal had just taken place? And what was her part in it? She focused forward again; it would do her no good to dwell on it.

Inside the hut was just like the one they had come from, except for a large crate shoved haplessly into the centre. A guard perched on it as several women sat around him, all sorting through piles of clothes and smaller suitcases.

'You are to sort through all of the items and categorise them,' said the guard behind them and pushed them further into the room. 'Any valuables you find must go into the box in the middle. The guard will watch you to make sure you don't steal anything.' There was a small pause. 'Get to work!'

Falling to her knees, Anna immediately began this mindless assignment. She heard the soldier's footsteps fall away and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Whatever Keller wanted with her would thankfully wait.

So... as another little treaty poo, AmonsScaredGirl has made some AMAZING edits of the main cast of characters. Follow the links to watch them because they're definitely worth seeing!

They're all on her page but I will post specific links to specific characters with each hiatus 😘

Anna
https://youtu.be/bua5Ima8Dts

Mathias
https://youtube.com/shorts/e63szYNHtUY?feature=share

Tune in next Monday for chapters 3&4