Summary

Bagger and Arno reach Reis’s smashed dugout in the middle of the German assault and find the wooden trunk big enough to hold a body. When Bagger presses his ear to the slats, he hears the angel’s plea, and he and Arno batter the lock until it gives. They fling open the lid and pull the angel free, her blue cape and red dress spilling into the wreckage as her glow returns to the room. For a moment, Bagger clutches her to his chest and lets himself imagine that the three of them can become a family in the wreck of the war.

The moment collapses when Reis appears and attacks. He uses the newly restored strength of his right arm to beat Bagger with his walking stick, smashing Bagger’s face and hand until Bagger spits teeth and blood and loses...