The soldiers, as well as Roz, glanced down at her side. A small gasp escaped her lips. So that was why she was in such discomfort! Only why was the boy saying she had been hit by a car? She had no memory of an accident. She wanted to object, to say he had got it wrong, but as she examined her forearm swathed in bandages, she thought better of it. After all, something had clearly happened, even if she couldn’t remember it. As she continued to examine her injuries, she remembered her necklace and quickly checked to make sure it hadn’t come off. A wave of relief swept through her body as her fingers curled around the treasured gift from her parents.

Looking around, the soldier demanded to see her belongings as proof she had a right to be on the train.

Roz frowned. She assumed he must be referring to her suitcase, but seeing as she couldn’t remember boarding the train, she certainly couldn’t tell him the whereabouts of her belongings. Much to her relief, the boy came through for her again when he bent down and pulled out a suitcase from under the bench she was sitting on.

The soldier picked it up, flicked open the latches and looked inside, then tipped the contents onto the floor and stirring them with the toe of his jackboot. Having found nothing of interest, he stared at Roz in a derisive manner and barked at her to pick them up, before striding off with his accomplice, both of them laughing at Roz’s obvious discomfort.

Gasping in pain, she knelt down to gather her belongings, glancing shyly at the boy who had spoken up on her behalf.

He had sparkling dark eyes and they were smiling kindly down at her. She looked around at the other children in the carriage, all of whom were watching them with keen interest.

‘Do you speak English?’ she asked the boy, who nodded.

‘I don’t understand how I got here, or what’s going on,’ she explained as he held the suitcase open for her. ‘And I’d rather people didn’t know my business, until I know what’s going on myself.’

He smiled grimly. ‘I don’t blame you. I was there when they brought you into the waiting room at the station, and I rather suspected you’d be all at sea when you woke up. I was hoping you’d wake up so that I would have the chance to explain what was going on before the soldiers made an appearance. Rumours spread fast on the train, and I knew they were checking the carriages. It was only going to be a matter of time before they got to us.’

Roz snapped the clips shut and tucked the suitcase beneath her seat. She held out a hand. ‘I’m Rozalin Sachs, but you can call me Roz.’