Face Your Demons

By: Beccatdemon13

©2011

Disclaimer: Please insert witty I-don't-own-shit here. Blah, blah, blah, don't sue me I'm broke…seriously it's sad.

Synopsis: While she had never really stopped to think about it three things could sum up her life: grief, pain, anger. It was a need for vengeance that kept her moving but deep in the back of her mind she knew that it wouldn't change a thing. That even if she found the man who destroyed her life and that of her brother's he still would've done it. Nothing they did could change the past.

Author's Note: Character concepts are posted on my profile. And I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that this will be seriously AU.

Chapter One: Lay to Waste

Judith Lehnsherr was a product of the environment she had been exposed to. When she was only three years old, the Gestapo came to the Warta, Poland. It was a medium sized town that had a nice Jewish population. The invasion of Poland in 1939 would change the lives of every single soul in the World. While Judith was only a toddler she did have memories of that night: cries of terror and people shouting orders, dogs barking, and the tight grip of her mother's hand as the Lehnsherr family stayed together.

The rundown apartment was filled to capacity with three other families. Space and food was limited but at least the three families knew one another from town. They were no longer allowed to worship or children were no longer allowed to go to school. Some of the elder members of the ghetto were defiant in the face of that, making sure that the younger generations would know their culture, their religion, and become educated in general.

The ghetto was filthy, food was sparse, and diseases ran rampant. When the first winter hit, a lot of people died. And, the survivors couldn't even mourn, let alone bury their dead. Feces and corpses littered the streets. One of the first memories Judith had was running through the streets after curfew and sliding through an opening in the brick to grab food from outside the ghetto and bring it back. If she had been caught, she would've been killed. But, they had to eat. It was a battle for survival.

The Lehnsherr family stayed in the Warsaw Ghetto for four years. In 1944, the entire family was taken from the ghetto and loaded into cattle cars. Nearly six thousand people were packed on that one train. It was a direct response to the uprising that was staged by the Jewish resistance. The conflict lasted nearly a month before the Nazis ruthlessly crushed it, killing thousands of people and shipping innocent bystanders: mainly women and children straight to Auschwitz. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising would eventually be known as the single biggest result staged by the Jews in the holocaust.

The conditions in the cattle car was terrifying for eight-year-old Jude. Filled with strangers and a disgusting odor, she didn't exactly know what to make of what was happening. People bumped into her, and she stayed glued to either her parent's or her older brother's side. If she were to be separated, she might never see her family again. There were no lights, so one could barely see their hand in front of their own faces. In those cattle cars, people panicked and fought. There were Nazis riding on the roof, to make sure anyone who tried to escape would be shot. That didn't stop people from leaping out of the moving train anyway.

When the train ground to a halt the doors were immediately thrown open. The first thing that greeted the people on the trains were fences and pouring rain. Floodlights illuminated the compound every couple feet. Smoke was heavy in the air. Soldiers were everywhere. Some were holding batons striking people to get them moving; others carried vicious dogs that tried to bite those who got to close.

"Come on!" The Nazis barked. "Quickly!"

"Stay together," Edie Lehnsherr whispered to her children. "Come quickly, now."

Both Lehnsherr children grabbed on another's hands after they followed after their parents. It was hard to walk the ground was muddy and people shoved one another trying to avoid the Nazis with batons and bullwhips. They were herded through a small walkway with fences on either side, barbed wire curled around the top. There were also watchtowers, holding soldiers with guns aimed at innocent people. One moment Jude was with her family, the next a soldier had swooped in and picked her up carrying her over to the side of the fence.

"No!" Jude screamed. "Mama! Papa!"

Jude's parents were trying to get to her but the movement of the crowd prevented them from moving. They yelled and tried to reach for her, despite her being too far away. Her mom was crying, as was Jude herself. When another Nazi took her brother, Jude ran over to him. He pulled her into his side and tried to get back into the crowd and thereby get to their parents. Edie, and her husband, Jakob, were turned around, but continued walking backwards, lest the crowd trample them.

Jude's older brother Erik pulled her to the side where she would be safe as he tried to run to their parents, his hand outstretched. Two soldiers quickly scooped him up, but they couldn't move him from his place. It was as though something kept him glued to the spot. When they iron fences began to bend, Erik slid forward with both soldiers. Even when more joined the fray Erik wouldn't move. It wasn't until he was bashed over the head sending him and the soldiers to the ground, that things seemed to stop.

The gate that held the walkway shut, however, was bent on itself, nearly completely broken. No one had touched it. With Erik sputtering in the mud, his face wincing as he struggled to stand, Jude ran over to him, dropping to her knees to see if he was okay. Even in obvious pain, he managed a small see-I'm-okay smile. When SS officers moved to separate the pair, Jude sprung to her feet, fire in her gaze.

Her hypnotic green eyes seemed fluorescent as she glared at the bigger men. One of them scoffed, making a move to pick her up. However, he never made it. When Jude raised a hand, the SS officer went flying into the brick of the building behind them. She turned once more to look at her brother to make sure he was all right. Unfortunately, that maneuver left her open for attack, which someone took advantage of knocking her into unconsciousness.

When Jude came to with a throbbing headache she was locked in a small room with bars on the window and a completely wooden door. There were two cots in the small room, along with a bucket for when nature called. Looking around she noticed that she was all alone, that thought sent her running towards the door, banging on it with all her might.

"Erik!" Jude screamed. "Mama! Papa!"

No one came to the young girl's aid, and she quickly tired herself out banging and kicking at the door. She threw herself to the floor and began to cry. Her head hurt, her clothes had been replaced with a threadbare dress that smelled like it had been washed in garbage. When the door opened, Jude tried to run out but she knocked into someone being shoved back inside.

"Erik!" Jude yelped, immediately fusing herself to her brother.

Erik rubbed her back put pulled away to lay on a cot. His actions confused Jude, even in the darkest times in the ghetto; Erik had made time to play with her, talk to her. Now, he was on the cot with his back to her. Jude froze where she was when she realized he was crying, his shoulder's shook as he tried not to sob.

"Erik?" Jude whispered.

"Be quiet, Judith," Erik ordered harshly.

Jude's lower lip quivered as she sat on her own cot, willing her brother to look at her. Almost no one called her Judith, unless she had done something wrong. Some of the older men in the ghetto called her by her given name, but they had done that to everyone. Which, Jude guessed was a right that they had afforded themselves being members of the few who took it upon themselves to teach the younger generations.

"What happened?" Jude tried.

For a moment, she thought that Erik was ignoring her. Instead he sniffled, rolling over and dropping something to the floor. Jude got up to pick it up a coin. She recognized the familiar markings of a the currency of their country and frowned at her brother. This coin, was what had her brother so upset?

Before she could ask what this coin had to do with anything, the door was thrown open. A burly SS officer strode in and grabbed Jude's arm harshly enough to leave bruises. She let out a small squeak of discomfort as the officer began to walk them to the door.

"Let her go!" Erik ordered sharply, attempting to pull her sister from the officer's grip.

"Don't try anything, boy," The officer sneered. "You do, and she'll be the one who pays for it."

Erik's eyes became steely, glaring at the officer. He wanted badly to protect his sister, but he knew that there were no such thing as idle threats. Not anymore. The death of their mother had been proof enough of that. Judith clamped her mouth shut, unwilling to acknowledge the fact that the soldier was hurting her. She also wanted to show Erik that she was okay. Jude maintained eye contact with him until the officer slammed the door. It was obvious that the man didn't care that Jude was half his size, and thus had to run to keep up with his long strides otherwise she would fall. She had a sneaking suspicion that if she were to fall, he'd just keep walking.

Just when Jude began to wonder exactly where they were going, they arrived at another door. The Nazi knocked and waited for the voice on the inside to respond. When that happened he opened the door, shoved Jude inside, and shut it once more. Jude skidded into the room, barely managing to stay upright.

"Hello, Judith."

Looking up she saw a man dressed in a blue pin-striped suit. His hair was gelled back and black glasses were perched on his nose. He was smiling at her, and while the smile seemed nice, Jude couldn't help but think that there was something lurking under that grin, something bad.

"That was quite the display you and your brother put on," The man stated. "I'm Dr. Klaus Schmidt. Head doctor here at Auschwitz."

Jude glanced around noting that the large room was split in two. One was an office and the other was a lab of some sort, though the lab was in disarray. Metal tools and the metal table were warped and on the floor. There were a few soldiers inside, cleaning up the mess.

"That was Erik's handiwork," Schmidt grinned. "His gift unlocked by experiencing anger and pain. I'm willing to bet that you'll be the same way. Though, I'll give you a chance to show off without doing that."

"What are you talking about?" Jude asked.

"You broke that man's ribs without even touching him," Schmidt continued. "You have a gift similar to Erik's. It makes sense."

"Sir, that was the first time something like this ever happened," Jude insisted. "I don't know how."

"Try," Schmidt cajoled. He placed at apple on the desk. "Move the apple."

This how conversation was one of the weirdest that Jude had in a while. Though, something felt different ever since that situation hours ago. It was beyond the realm of possibility but she felt different. Jude extended a hand, willing the apple to move. It would be nice for it to move in to her hand, maybe she'd get to eat it. Jude couldn't even remember the last time she had an apple. After willing the fruit to move, her shoulder's slumped forward, she couldn't get the fluke that had happened once to happen again.

"Such a shame," Schmidt tsked. "Your mother is dead."

"What?" Jude gasped.

"I shot her," Schmidt said easily. "When your brother failed to move a coin. Let's see if those abilities of yours can perform under pressure."

Schmidt's face merged from a friendly veneer to a scolding one. Like he had been forced to shoot her mother. Like it was Erik's fault, instead of the man responsible for pulling the trigger. Schmidt moved to ring a bell that looked like it had seen better days. Schmidt stopped, however, when he noticed the young girl in front of him. Her green eyes seemed brighter and bigger. Before he could move to ring the bell, the apple flew off the desk and into Jude's hand.

"Outstanding," Schmidt praised, ignoring the child's surprised look. "We're going to have a lot of fun you and I."