It was quiet at first, soft murmurings in the silence of the night but then it grew louder, the soft crunch of gravel as Bruno pulled at the soil, his dirty hands grabbing thick wads of it and throwing it behind him, a large hole beginning to appear as he worked. He was tired but he didn't care, his face set into a determined frown as he tore more clumps from the ground. It took a long time and by the time it was big enough the sun had come up and Schmuel came trotting over, looking with wide eyes at the huge hole in the ground. Bruno looked up at him, dirt smeared across his cheeks and chin and caking his hands. He smiled toothily and held out a slice of buttered bread which Schmuel took through the fence, still not saying a word as he devoured the small meal in seconds. Only once he had picked every last crumb from the jacket did he lift his head and speak.
"W-what is this?" The Jew murmured softly, eyes bright against the rising sun. Bruno pointed at the uneven piles of mud and grinned again.
"I want you to come and play with me!" Bruno muttered nervously. "We can help you escape from the camp! You can come and live in our basement, nobody goes down there and Mama can't find the key. Its okay though, I know where the key is!" Bruno said, speaking quickly in his sudden excitement.
"B-but the soldiers-" Schmuel started to protest.
"It doesn't matter about them, they wont know!" Bruno said softly. Schmuel looked worriedly back at the entrance to the camp, his hands trembling in excitement. He decided then to take a chance and to do it, he knew he was going to die eventually, why not live a little instead of waiting to die. With a smile, Schmuel slid under the gate and appeared on the other side, his eyes wide as he realized what he had done. He had escaped!
Bruno hugged him without thought and the two realized it was the first time the two had ever touched. Bruno quickly tugged him forward, darting through the tree's with practiced skill, though going slowly to make sure that Schmuel was following. The Jew seemed to get back his energy and act like a kid again, his face split into a wide grin as he ran around, enjoying himself for the first time. The two boys snuck easily into the house and Bruno set Schmuel up in the basement, giving the boy a copy of the key so he could exit in the night if he needed to.
In the months that followed Bruno's mother nor father never found out about the Jew living in their basement and it was only after the war that Schmuel emerged, slightly older and bulkier with a big boyish grin. It was 1946 when the two went to live in Britain, buying houses next to each other and staying friends for the rest of their days. Only Bruno's sister ever found out about Schmuel after coming to visit him once after the war, the girl found it funny and left while laughing loudly, her blonde hair dancing in the breeze.
Authors note: Something which I have been dying to write and really enjoyed. I hated the ending so the fact that I wrote this makes me feel better. This is more for my pleasure than yours guys but tell me what you think. I might write an in-between-y bit if you want, to continue the story slightly and show a few chapters of Schmuel and Bruno's interactions while hiding in a house full of Nazi's. Let me know!
Also, I know that I screwed up the timeline but I don't care, I wanted to save Schmuel =[