War has begun. Most of Europe has fallen to dictator Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Many people are oppressed, and thrown into concentration camps. The Jews get the brunt of the mistreatment. Some go into hiding, such as the famous Anne Frank and her family, while others are either killed, or enslaved. Around the globe, the Allied powers of Britain, France, and Russia rally their troops to dismantle the German empire, and destroy Nazism for good. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, America has also gone to fight with the Allies.
Our tale begins in an American home during World War II, located in Northern Pennsylvania, in a small town known as Elwood City. A family of six prepares to send their sons off to war, as per Draft regulations. Arthur and Robert Read, the newest soldiers of the Allied Powers, gave their solemn goodbyes, as they walked out of the door, into a small Ford, and drove away to the nearest military base.
On the way, they stopped by a small, orange house, with dark red shingles on the roof. Arthur got out of the car. He walked up the steps, and knocked on the door. When it opened, he was met by a young woman, a little shorter than him, with puffy ginger hair. She smiled sadly at him, looking at his attire. Arthur wore a black jacket, with white cuffs, and black pants. He wore a marines hat, with a golden Eagle placed perfectly in the center.
"Sue Ellen," He started. The woman hugged Arthur, tears flowing from her eyes. Arthur looked inside of the house. Boxes were laying around in an otherwise empty house. He shook his head. Sue Ellen and her family were Asian, whether they were Korean or Japanese, Arthur couldn't remember. All he knew was, they were being sent to a concentration camp, a few miles from the city. Arthur returned the hug, and bowed his head.
"Oh, Arthur, it's terrible! You're being marched off to war, and we're going to prison! It's not fair! We didn't do anything!" Sue Ellen cried.
"I know." Arthur said. He and Sue Ellen were friends ever since third grade. They played together, they worked together, they fought together, they stuck together. Arthur lifted up Sue Ellen's head by her chin. Watery, soft brown eyes looked up him. He bent down and kissed Sue Ellen. The tears slowed. Pulling away, he said, "It'll be alright. I promise."
The car honked. Arthur reluctantly pulled away from the hug. "I have to go." He walked down the front steps. He turned around.
"Stay strong."
Francine Frensky
German controlled Austria, 1942, Three Years after the start of World War Two.
Francine Frensky cried as her father, Oliver Frensky, was shot and killed by German officers. The other Frenskys, Bubby, Laverne, Francine, and Katherine, were shoved into a prison van. Three heavily armed guards climbing in behind them. Francine sobbed as the van drove off. She was abruptly slapped across the face by a Nazi guard.
"Silence!" He shouted in German. Francine silently wept as the guard sat down.
The once beautiful, and busy country of Austria, had turned gray and cold with the Nazi occupation. What was once a happy place, had turned solemn, becoming the home of people with long faces, and grim perceptions. Francine had looked out through the window while being driven out to Auschwitz, seeing the sky turn from a light gray color, to a dark, almost black, gray. She wondered what a concentration camp was like. Was the sky a sign of how dark things would be while there? Francine hoped not.
Francine was a brunette girl of 18, who, along with her family, was Jewish. She had lived a mostly happy life, though because of the troubles in Germany, it had ups and downs. But, since the beginning of World War 2, her life had spiraled into darkness, due to the oppression she had faced as a Jew. When the Nazi's had occupied Austria, everything had gone to hell. Even after impossible restrictions had been placed on Jews, Hitler had eventually decided to genocide them. Concentration Camps were the primary tool Hitler used to carry out his plans. They were horrible places, places of death and despair, evil places built by evil people, and people had learned to fear the camps.
Oliver had tried to get his family out of Austria, but he had been caught, which resulted in the scene that happened no more than an hour ago.
Oliver had been carrying his family to take the train our of Austria, hoping to get to France, or some other country not occupied by Germany. He had been stopped on the way to the train, and Nazi officers had opened fire on him, deeming him a traitor, on top of the "offense" of him being a Jew.
Francine still cried. Why was life so unfair? What had they done to deserve such treatment?
Buster Baxter
Eighteen year old Buster Baxter got out of his dusty blue truck, slinging a duffel bag over his shoulder, and walking into the Crichton City Air Base. Buster Baxter was a Caucasian male, who had short, croppy, brown hair, with small traces of a beard. He had caramel eyes, which held an edge of determination and devotion.
Buster waltzed through the front doors in a determined manner, nodding to several people while on his way to the general. General Arnold Richmond was a chocolate haired man of fifty, with chocolate eyes, and a short mustache. He was one of the best military officers in the country, and had a high rapport among his associates. General Richmond sat in his office, looking through files, when a knock sounded at his door.
He looked up. "Come in." He said. The door opened slowly, as a brown haired kid peered into the office.
"Ah, Mister Baxter, come in." General Richmond invited with a smile. Buster cautiously stepped in.
"Do, you have a mission for me sir?" He asked hesitantly.
"Not yet. Just go the barracks, and meet some of the other pilots." The General said curtly.
Buster nodded. "Thank you, sir." He left the office.
Arthur Read
He was shocked at how big the base was. Arthur Read, or "Private Read" now, had been assigned to the second squad in the third platoon of the 101st Phantom Company. His brother, Robert, had been assigned to the same group. The two made their way to the barracks which held Zeta Squad, the group they were a part of.
Two guys dressed in green and tan camouflage stood outside the doors to Zeta Squad's barrack. Arthur smiled at them.
"Are you guys from Zeta squad?" He asked. The two soldiers, also around eight or nineteen, looked at each other.
Then one with the blonde hair answered, "Yeah. Why?"
"Cause we are too!" Arthur laughed. Robert shook his head, while the two soldier looked at each other again, worriedly.
"Anyway," The blonde one started. "I'm Jack. This is Cody." He pointed to the other soldier, a tall muscular guy with black hair, and auburn eyes. Cody just waved.
"I'm Robert." Robert spoke up. "And this is Arthur."
Jack shook hands. Cody shook hands after. "Nice to meet you guys. Welcome to Zeta Squad!"
Sue Ellen
The Japanese girl settled on the floor of her tent. She had only been allowed to bring some clothes, her diary, and a pen. She took out her diary, and wrote in it. It was only the first day of her "internment", but already, she was feeling awful. The food they had been served was poor, complete slop. Sue Ellen's stomach moaned for sushi, miso soup, and tempura shrimp, anything that would remind her of home. She hadn't eaten much, because of the taste, and now she was tired and hungry. She had been separated from her mother and father, and instead, and been placed with a girl named Koyo. So far, Koyo had been nice to Sue Ellen, giving the girl small comfort, and ingraining in her the hope that things would get better.
But so far, things sucked. Sue Ellen was crying as she recalled the events of the day, the tears staining the pages in her diary. She quickly closed her eyes, and closed the book. She tried hard to forget, bu the memories kept coming.
After she had been separated from her parents, she had been asked about her abilities. She said that she was a good cook, so they put her as a chef inside one of the food courts. There were so many people, so little food, and she couldn't keep up. She was yelled at, and rebuked for not being able to keep up. And her fortune had taken a turn for the worse. She had been pushed around all day, and Sue Ellen just wanted to go home.
But what she solemnly realized was, this place was her home. She remembered what Koyo had told her,
"Make the best of it."
Sue Ellen then sobered. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad. Though, she had a hard time believing that would happen.
A/N: Tell me if any of the history is incorrect. I was in a big pickle when deciding how Sue Ellen would be treated in the camp. If it's not historically accurate, TELL ME. So, R&R.