Nathan Rieck
The Price of Escape
Peter Jonberg was spiralling down blindly in his plane. He had been shot. He was heading on a collision course with disaster. He heard another explosion behind him before he fell unconscious.
Two days later Peter woke to find himself in a small, dark, grey cell with bars all around. He assumed he was in a French war camp, captured and taken there after he hit the ground in his German bomber.
Life in the camp was dirty, horrible and very strict. Meals were served at 7:00 am, 12:30 pm and 7:00 pm. During the first days there, Peter Jonberg learned the routine well and made friends with the warden.
Fortunately his friendship with the warden worked in well with the escape plan Peter had been working on for three months. According to the warden they were about 10 miles south-west of the Merne Canals, and from there it was a further 60 miles to the German border.
Early one May morning, Peter waited just inside the door to his cell and as the warden entered, he knocked him out. Having then stabbed the warden, Peter Jonberg removed his clothes and disguised himself in the warder's uniform.
Three and a half hours later, he was free. Since he'd murdered the warden, he'd been running, looking for an escape exit. Less than ten minutes out of the camp, the alarm sounded warning of an escapee. Soldiers raced out ready to shoot, but Peter Jonberg ran away safely.
That night he made it more than halfway to the canals, and slept in some bushes. The next nigh5t he made it to a farm near the canals and there, kind-hearted Monsieur Javet gave him lodgings for the night, mistaking him for a French soldier.
While at the farm, Peter Jonberg woke during the night, stole what he could and ran. Next morning soldiers raided their house, found signs proving that they had hidden the prisoner so the Javets were both shot.
The next night was dark and moonless, so he took the opportunity to9 break into the local corner store and steal some provisions before he continued on his way. For the second time in as many days he was almost caught by the passing French patrol.
When these small amounts of provisions began to run out, he was in dairying country so under the cover of darkness he took some eggs and small amounts of vegetables from the vegetable patch. All this he placed in a small net bag he found by the entrance to the barn.
Travelling by night and trying to find somewhere to hide for the next day was taking its toll on Peter Jonberg. But one stormy night he stumbled upon one rocky cave beside the canal that was not far from the German border. Tired and out of food he took shelter there for a few days catching fish in the net bag he had taken earlier, and cooking them over a small fire that was hidden from view by the surrounding small rocks.
One evening he woke to the sound of a passing French patrol. Fearing for his life, he mustered all his strength, dived into the freezing canal waters and swam to safety.
The first he knew he was over the German border was when he heard firing and German voices. He wondered why they were shooting at him so he called out to tell them who he was. It was then that he realised he was still in his stolen French uniform, but it was too late. The next minute Peter Jonberg lay dead. He had made it home only to be shot by German soldiers who thought he was a French runaway.
Nathan Rieck
8 Things not to do at a Formal Dinner
1. Lean over to grab salt and while doing so knock over your neighbour's drink.
2. Tell people to keep their elbows off the table but keep yours on.
3. While you are eating talk about spewing, being sick, etc.
4. Pretend to be Mr Magic who can take the table from under the plates.
5. Kick someone under the table and say it was someone else.
6. Slurp the soup.
7. Take someone else's glass and drink from it.
8. Start a food fight and blame some else for stating it.
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Andrew Bart, Kimberley Birt, Monique Cannell, Becky Christopherson, Emma Craggs, Hollie Crowley, Jennifer Eustace, Rebecca Evans, Alicia Eyres, Kieran Goulter, Mary Huntress, Robert Illingworth, Katie Kilpatrick, Siobhan Kranz, Kate Norsgaard, Samantha Ong, James Ramsey, Nathan Rieck, Ben Sielaff, Aleisha Sutton, Ruth Thomson, Michael Ward, Alex Wells, Jessica Weston, Kathleen Williams
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