Flügel der Freiheit

Chapter 1: Captured

1940

If anyone were to ask me what my most peaceful memory was, I would probably speak about my father and the day when he came home with a bouquet of flowers for my mother and me. The sky was baby blue and the clouds were pearly white and puffy. The birds were chirping and taking a bath in the birdbath that father had built in the backyard. I saw my father through the window from the backyard and I ran inside to find the biggest smile on his face when he caught sight of me. "Little duckling!" He would call me. And he would hold me in his arms and throw me up in the air, filling the air with my laughter. Mother was standing in the background with the flowers in her hands, admiring the family moment. Those days... were filled with laughter and excitement... And it was the happiest times of my life.

A bucket of freezing water was dropped on me. I woke up in shock, screaming and shivering, my eyes wide and frantically moving around, the fresh bruises on my skin burning from the contact of the ice shards hitting against it. I was struggling in the wooden chair I was on. My hands were tightly tied behind the chair with rope and my legs tied to the front legs of the chair. I gritted my teeth in pain and continue to try and escape. "Good morning!" There was a woman in front of me with dark brown hair styled in a ponytail with two bangs on each side of her face. She wore large glasses to complement her brown eyes and she greeted me with a gentle smile as she threw the bucket across the room. The strange woman rests a hand on my head and began ruffling my hair. "Blonde hair and blue eyes, huh? You're really gorgeous!" I glared at her as she continued to ruffle my hair. She was then stopped by a man shorter than her by a couple of Inches.

"Hanji" The short man called her.

"Ah! Levi! Sie Sind sie heute bei uns? (Ah! Levi! You are joining me today?)" The man called Levi had short, straight black hair styled in an undercut. His eyes were the color gray and it was somewhat intimidating. He was wearing the usual Nazi military uniform only it was decorated with a white cravat.

"Tch, ihre experimente machen mich krank. Ich bin hier um sie zu beruhigen. (Tch, your experiments makes me sick. I'm here to ask you to calm down)" The man glanced at me, his frown growing deeper. "Ekelhaft... (Disgusting...)" I couldn't understand German well or speak it well but I understood that he insulted me. The look of disgust he gave me... He looked at me like I was a filthy animal, like I was lower than him.

"Häh? Beruhigen sie sich? (Huh? Calm down?)" The woman looked confused and a little bit disappointed. As the two continued with their conversation of whatever it was they were talking about, I started to nod off. I couldn't tell what time of day it was as they kept me in a dark room with no windows and the only source of light was a desk light shining directly on me. I was actually thankful for the light because it was the only source of heat that I was getting in this room. And after getting freezing cold water thrown on me, I could really use it. It's been a couple of days since I was captured and taken to one of these camps. The day that I was taken was a regular normal day. Mother was preparing lunch for our family. We had my aunt and uncle over and they were joining us for lunch. Most of my family was born in Great Britain and they decided to move to Germany where I was born. I didn't know so much German as we lived in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. I could only speak English as my first language and Hebrew as my second.

"Come, little duck! Join us!" My mother and my aunt just finished setting up the table. They invited me over to sit and everyone else as well. I smiled softly at the hot food in front of us. It wasn't enough food to keep us full but I was thankful enough to have it and to share this moment with my family. As we said our prayers, we began to eat and talk about random things. Mother talked about the new skirts she's currently sewing and praising me about me being the best model for them. My aunt was complementing my hair and asking how it got so long to the point where it rested on my chest. My father and my uncle were in their usual conversation, talking about the war that has been going on. Father was getting worried as he heard many Nazi soldiers raiding Jewish neighborhoods and slaughtering them or kidnapping them. He would often think about us leaving before the Nazi's reached over here but mother would shush him and say that our neighborhood is the safest Jewish neighborhood in Germany and saying how the Nazi's are just trying to scare us... I wished... We had listened to father.

As we were talking deep in conversation, father's hearty laughter was cut short. A screamed erupted from outside and a bullet crashed through our windows. All of my family ducked to the ground, screams coming from my mother and my aunt. My heart stopped as I noticed father was the only one who didn't duck. I heard another terrible scream only that it was coming from outside. Then another gunshot was fired and this time I heard a voice of a German soldier.

"Annie! Get up!" My uncle pulls me to my feet and there I saw my father, already dead with a bullet penetrating his forehead. I stared in horror as I watched the blood slide down the bridge of his nose, his eyes were rolled upward and his mouth was slightly open, showing his unfinished food. Mother screamed in horror as she caught sight of father, she shook his shoulder and called his name, the only response returned was silence. My uncle was quick to take action, he told my mom, my aunt, and I to hide somewhere before the Nazis appear but it was too late. They started banging on the doors, breaking our windows with their rifles. I felt a quiver of fear as their voices grew louder. My uncle grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me "Annie! Promise to take your mother and aunt to the other room! Promise me!" I couldn't reply to him. I was too distracted by the loud sobbing coming from mother and the repeated banging coming from the front door. It wasn't long until they bust the hinges off the door and shot my uncle in the head without hesitation. They pointed a gun at my mother, aunt, and I. A German soldier with blond hair and blue eyes spoke a bit of German to one of the officers. I glanced at where my mother and aunt was and mother glared at the soldiers, her eyebrows were furrowed and her frown was so deep it caused her skin to wrinkle up. She gritted her teeth and grabbed a kitchen knife from the table, screaming curses at the Nazi soldiers as she rushes towards them in anger. The blond Nazi soldier didn't interrupt his conversation as he pulled the trigger on my mother and then my aunt. He didn't even bother to look at them as they fell to the ground. My mother, she was so foolish. If she hadn't attempted to attack, she could've still been alive. My aunt was just unlucky; they shot her for no reason. My legs gave away and I dropped to my knees when he pointed the gun at me. "You" He spoke to me in English. I could hear a faint English accent in his voice. "You are a German, yes?"

"Ye-ye-ye-ye..." I had difficulty replying to his answer while trying to fight the fear I was feeling in my heart instead I nodded at him and he lowered his gun.

"But I know you are a Jew, you were just born here" He spoke again and I nodded in reply. Soon the soldiers behind him began shooting him with questions in German. It seems that they were a bit worried about something but then the blond soldier replied to them causing them to relax.

"Gehen wir roch einen in die lager (Let's take this one to the camps)" The man began to walk away, his soldiers surrounding me, grabbing me by my elbows, and pulling me up. I didn't fight back as I knew it would be futile. Five Nazi soldiers, all equip with guns, against one girl? It was impossible. So I allowed them to take me away and I refused to cry as they lead me to a carriage. At the time, I was sort of thankful for that Nazi soldier to spare me but I didn't know any better. I didn't know that death was a mercy when it came to these camps. That death was a wish that everyone wanted to be granted. Before they forced me on the carriage, they covered my head with a sack and threw me in. It took hours and hours to reach the destination on horse. There were other Jews with me as well. Most were them were crying, others were praying, some of them yelling and screaming. There were also children on board, crying from their Mommy. I couldn't help but feel fear swallowing me whole as I was lying on the cold wooden floor. I stayed quiet and awaited for us to arrive to where ever they were taking us. And when we finally arrived, they forced out of the carriages and pulled the sacks off our heads. The first sight I saw was a woman carrying something in her arms and running as fast as she can away from us. The Nazis reacted slow as she slipped past them. One of them yelled and was preparing their gun. The other one was running after her. I expected her to escape as she was headed towards the forest but a gunshot went off and she left to the ground. A baby was revealed in her arms as she dropped. The screeching cries of the baby grew louder as its mother's soul was exiting.

"Such a shame" The soldier who shot her spoke. The man who was named Levi. He had a faint French accent as he spoke and a frown was upon his face. He looked upset and bored. Like, he didn't want to be here. He glanced at the rest of our group and the soldiers near us instantly stood straight with fear showing in their eyes. "This is what happens when you don't pay attention, soldiers. Bring in the rest and line them up against the wall" He then turned around and walked through the front entrance of the camp. The rest of soldiers followed his command and lead us through the gates. I turned my head at the woman who they just shot, she was obviously dead but wasn't anyone going to take the baby? My mind was still on the woman's child as they lead us to a large court yard in the camp. It was filled with guards, most of them staring at us when they lined us up against the wall. Soldiers then lined up in front of us with rifles in their hands. I didn't realize what they were doing until they pointed the guns at us. Fear began to clench my heart and throat. My breath was growing heavy with every moment passing. The short man named Levi stood next to the soldiers. He held his right arm out and slowly began to raise it, a signal for the soldiers to get ready to shoot. I thought this was it. That this was the end. As my legs grew numb and started to shake, I closed my eyes and waited for death.

"General Levi" I opened my eyes to find a soldier with blond hair and golden eyes next to Levi. Levi turned to look at him, frowning at the fact that he interrupted him.

"Was, Braun?" He sighed.

The soldier named Braun saluted to him before speaking "Arzt Hanji sagte uns sie

braucht neue Testpersonen. Sie möchte, dass sie sammeln einige für ihre. (Doctor

Hanji told us she needs new test subjects. She wants you to collect some for her.)"

The man scoffed and placed his hands on his hips. "Die scheiß Arzt immer mit

meiner Beute ... Gehen Sie weiter, und nehmen Sie sie, bevor ich meine Meinung

ändern. (That shit doctor is always taking my prey... Go ahead and take them before I change my mind.)"

As the soldiers in front of us lowered their guns and looked at each other with confused expressions, a feeling of relieve calms my soul as it seems that they called off the shooting. The man named Braun continued to talk to the pissed off short man. It seemed that whatever that Braun guy said must've saved us. I looked down the line and noticed a teenage girl looking rather suspicious as if she was planning something. Her eyes showed determination and desperation as she looked towards the direction of the soldiers and then back at the gate we came from. I knew what she was planning. And I wanted to stop her before she leads herself to an early death. The teenager looked again at the soldiers and then at the gates and until she thought the coast was clear, she dashes out of the line, heading towards the gate. I covered my mouth in shock as she fell to the ground, a bullet piercing through her legs. She screamed in pain, clenching her leg as the blood began seeping through her clothes. The one who shot her was none other than Levi. He approached the screaming girl, placing his foot on her hips and forcing her to lie on her back. My eyes widen as I saw where he had pointed his gun. He pulled the trigger with no hesitation, the bullet tearing through her hips. Another shot was fired, ripping through her uterus. Another one was fire and another one and another. The girl's horrific screams echo around courtyard, begging, pleading for the soldier to stop. I looked away from the scene, her screams frightening to my ears, the hairs on my skin standing up. The soldier had stopped firing at her pelvis. It was only her cries of pain that could be heard. I peeked at the scene and Levi was now squatted on top of her.

"Hey..." He spoke in English. "Do you wanna leave? You know, get out of here?" He stared down at her, tears rolling down her cheeks and snot falling out of her nose. "Cause... I can help you, you know? It must be tough being a filthy Jew and all... You must hate it" More tears fell from her eyes as she nodded weakly at him, her breath growing heavy. She looked at him with hopeful eyes as he nodded in reply. But her hopeful eyes were replaced with shock ones as he placed the gun to her forehead. He pulled the trigger and blood was spattered all over the floor, bits and pieces of her brain can be seen on the dirt floor. I held my mouth in disgust, trying to stop myself from throwing up.

"You're welcome" Levi stood up from his squat and turned to look at us, his eyebrows were furrowed and his frown deepens. "Do you see this shit?" He pointed at the corpse under him. "Anyone of you who tries to escape will be in a much worse fate. I promise you, your deaths will not be fast..." The short man pointed his gun at one of the soldiers near him. The soldier flinched and held up his hands in fear. Levi tilted his head to the direction of the corpse. "Clean this shit up, will you?" The soldier rushed over to collect the corpse. The short soldier sighed and walked away from the scene as he commanded the soldiers to take us away. The soldiers began to yell at us, some of them pushing us deeper in the courtyard. All around us was soldiers busying themselves with their duties. Far away screams can be heard in the distance. Jews would be lined up against the wall and then shot at, the walls painted with their blood. They would fall on the floor, their skin growing pale as the life in their eyes would fade. There would be children taken from their mother's arms and thrown into large containers. Their muffled screams would be heard for a while but then it would die down. I looked to the floor and feeling sick to my stomach as the sounds of screams and gunshots filled the air. Soon the soldiers had leaded us to a building that contains empty cells. They started to fill us in, 2 in each cell. As I was walking in my cell, one of the soldiers pushed me in causing me to fall on my stomach. I then felt something pressing on down on my backside and the soldier cracked out a laughter. "You have a nice ass, Jew. I'll come back for you later" He purred as he took his foot off my butt. I quickly crawled away from him, glaring at him as I turned to look at him. "I like those eyes too" He commented before leaving. I sat against the wall, pulling my legs to my chest. There was a woman standing in the corner of the cell, leaning against the bars and folding her arms. She had tanned skin and freckles decorated her face, her brown hair was tied in a ponytail and her caramel colored eyes were fixed on the floor. She didn't have any particular expression on her face. She seemed tired, like, she didn't want to be here but she also seemed very relieved. We all thought we had escaped death. We all felt safe for a certain amount of time. But we shouldn't forget that we're still in the hands of the Nazis and that they can kill us without hesitation. I rested my head on my knees wrapping my arms around my shins. I didn't feel all that safe as everyone did. I didn't feel safe at all.

XxX

A/C: This is my new Beruani fanfic that I've been working on for the past few days. It's pretty dark and as you can see it's about WWII Nazi Germany and its takes place in a concentration camp. Please excuse my German as I know nothing about the language. The only words I know are Danke and Hallo lol. This fanfic has multiple pairings and it is not only Beruani. I would speak of the pairings buuuut then I'm spoiling the story. You'll figure it out as you read along.

Oh! VERY IMPORTANT! This fanfic is a little graphic as you can see. Please if you're not comfortable with this, don't read. Also, I know the history of the concentration camps but I had to mix up a few things to match the story so if you're a history freak and I get the facts wrong it's probably because I added my own little twist so don't yell at me.

AND FINALLY! Please review so I can read your thoughts about my fanfic, read about your feelings, your hates, likes, anything! Reviews keep me motivated so if you want the story to continue please let me have your support! Thank you so much guys!

DISCLAMER: AS MUCH AS I WANT TO OWN THEM, I DON'T OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS.