Ivan Braginsky was only fifteen when the war began. He remembered his older sister, rushing into the house and practically throwing him and his young sister into the basement. She was supposed to be out with her friends, on graduation night, but she had to watch her younger siblings. Little did she know beforehand, but that saved her life. All of her old classmates were hit by the bombs dropped early in the morning when the Nazis attacked Kiev. Their father worked at the factory and was tragically killed in the bombing as well, as they found out later. The four of them spent at least twenty four hours in the underground, crying and in hysterics. Ekaterina was the oldest, at eighteen years old, then came Ivan at fifteen and Natalia at thirteen. Once the bombing had ceased and it was dead silent outside, Ekaterina went outside to check. The sight that she was met with terrified her to the bone. Their entire village was in ruins, she didn't know who was dead and who was alive. With a shaky breath, she gave her siblings a signal to get out of the underground. They crawled out with the same expression on their faces.
"Katya, what's happened?" Natalia clutched Ekaterina's arm in fear and terror.
"It's okay. What matters is that all of us are together and alright." She stared into her sister's eyes with determination. The blonde nodded and they continued looking over the sight.
A shriek suddenly erupted from the neighboring house, or its remains, at least. They kept their eyes on the mass of wood until they saw a familiar blond run out of the house in a panic. The young boy, Ivan's age, collapsed on the ground and screamed again, sobbing.
The sight horrified the siblings and Ivan was the first one to do something. He began speed-walking to the boy with a worried look on his face.
"Feliks!" He yelled, and the Polish boy immediately turned his to face him, his green eyes red from crying. The two had been classmates and had only finished ninth grade. They hadn't been the best of friends, but they were neighbors for as long as they could remember, making them at least acquaintances.
"Are you hurt? What happened?!" Ivan finally reached the other. Despite the fact that he was kneeling in front of him, he was still taller.
Suddenly, Feliks threw his arms around Ivan and continued sobbing and Ivan hugged him back. It was a heart-wrenching sight.
"My mom... she won't wake up. I don't know what happened! I checked for pulse like they taught us in labor class and there's nothing. She's- she's dead, Vanya! I'm all alone in the world!" He continued crying and at this time, Katerina and Natalia sisters walked over. Their family was on good terms with Feliks's. His mother immigrated from Poland to the Soviet Union when he was only two years old. Since their children were around the same age, his mother and Ivan's parents were very good friends.
"Hey, it's going to be okay. We'll rebuild the house and we can continue living as usual. The Germans won't do anything to us- we're kids." Ivan had to admit that he wasn't the best at comforting people, but it wasn't like he could just be silent either.
"Are you serious?! The Germans don't care if we're kids! They occupied and bombed my country and killed all of my family that I had two years ago. And now they took the last thing I had. I don't know what pink glasses you wear, Ivan, but it's time to take them off." Feliks hissed, his face still buried in Ivan's shoulder, "I've got nowhere to go and no one to stay with. My mother wanted so badly to escape the war, and this is the result. When the Germans get here and find out I'm Polish, they'll shoot me on the spot."
Ivan wanted to look back at Ekaterina before saying this, but he wanted so badly to make his childhood friend feel better, "You can stay with us. I'll make sure myself that the Germans don't hurt you. Everything will be okay."
"Is that really alright with you?" Feliks pulled away from the hug and stared deep into Ivan's eyes. It was unusual to see him, a usually carefree person, act so seriously.
Ivan turned to his older sister who sighed and nodded. She had known Feliks since his family moved into the neighboring house, he was like a cousin to her.
"Thank you so much! I don't know how I'll ever be able to pay you back." He stood up along with Ivan.
So weeks had passed by and the four had fixed some of the severe damages of the house. Sometimes the Germans would come to the house and demand food and water. They couldn't ask for shelter since the house was practically in ruins. Ivan and Feliks would go out into the fields to take potatoes and wheat from the workers. They knew it was a bad thing to do, but that was the only way they could eat. The savings they had were destroyed in the bombing and the food in the underground was saved for the German soldiers. The latter, in return, did not confiscate the house. There was one soldier that stood out from the others. He was short with blond hair and brown eyes and always wore a smile on his face. He came in for the food, and ended up staying at the kids' house for a few hours. He told them stories of the front line and gave them milk and soap, despite Ekaterina's many protests. He said that it was the least they could do since they were only children. When he was leaving, he gave Ekaterina a kiss on the cheek and handed her his military coat. They never saw him again.
This routine lasted for nearly two months until one day changed it all. It was the dead of the night and the four had already gotten ready for bed. A knock on the door interrupted that process. Natalia went to answer the door and waited for another round of knocks before actually opening it. She cracked it open and glared at whoever was on the other side. She found it to be a boy around her age with a serious expression on his face. His silver hair and red eyes gave off a strange feeling.
"What do you want?" Natalia hissed, not opening the door further.
"Are there any Nazi soldiers in your house at this moment?" It angered Natalia that he replied with another question to her own, so she replied with a stiff "no".
"I would ask to come in to speak to your parents." He stated, irritating the blonde even further.
"I don't have parents. Now either tell me what you want or get out."
The boy sighed and cleared his throat, "My name is Gilbert Beilschmidt. I'm from the Soviet Partisan Resistance Movement. I'm asking for shelter, and, if you're willing to give it, food and water."
Upon hearing this, Natalia's frustration melted into confusion and curiosity. She's heard of the Partisans before, they were a group of regular people who opposed the Nazi forces. They were much like the regular Red Army soldiers, except they fought on their own will using their own skill or lack thereof. They endured hell on earth to defend their Motherland. Usually those fighters were the elderly and untrained, but Natalia had never heard of teenagers fighting in the Partisan forces.
"Come in." The door creaked as the girl opened it fully and stepped to the side, allowing Gilbert to enter.
"Thank you. It really means a lot." He gave her a smile.
"My siblings are getting ready to go to bed. You'll have to talk to them first. Although I doubt that they'll throw you outside." She pondered and led the boy into their shared room. It was dark, with the only light being an old kerosene lamp.
When they entered, the three in the room had immediately turned to look at them with confusion. Ekaterina eyed Gilbert with distrust, "Natasha, who is that?"
"This is Gilbert. He's from the Partisan forces." She stated, but the look on her sister's face didn't falter.
"Come over here." The woman motioned with her finger and the blonde stepped forward, without any doubts.
"Natasha, do you know what kind of punishment they give to partisan sympathizers? Execution. On the spot. Not to mention that he looks Germanic to me. If he's a Nazi spy, all of us will be in mass amounts of trouble." Ekaterina whispered frantically.
Gilbert spoke up before Natalia could respond, "I know you have your doubts and I know that all of this is dangerous, but I'm going to be here for only one night. You won't see me again after that, I promise."
Ekaterina stared at the boy intently before sighing, "It's too late at night to be starting disputes. You can sleep here, but know that I want an explanation early in the morning.
And if I find anything stolen, you and I are going to have a lot of problems."
"Thank you." He nodded and began preparing for bed as well. He took off his military coat and boots and began looking for a place to rest. In theory, even the floor would've been acceptable in his situation, but he noticed Natalia pulling a mattress next to her own.
"Soldier or not, you're a guest in this house." Was her explanation and Gilbert thanked her once again. He felt like Natalia was starting to get annoyed by his constant expressions of gratitude, but that was the way he was taught in military school. He couldn't let these people see his true wild personality just yet.
"Good night." He stated as the girl laid down on her mattress. She looked at him in confusion.
"Likewise." Natalia mumbled and turned to her other side.
Morning came quickly and Gilbert soon found himself sitting around a circular piece of wood, a supposed table, surrounded by the four. He had figured that these people would have suspicions. At least they hadn't thrown him out like the others before.
"We've done what you asked. Now, why don't you explain exactly who you are?" Ekaterina was, again, glaring at him. Gilbert got the feeling that she didn't trust or like him at all.
Nonetheless, he began.
"While I am of Soviet descent, I was born in Berlin. My younger brother, Ludwig, still lives there with my parents. When Hitler came to power, I was sent to the Soviet Union, and that's all because of the fact that I am albino. Both of my parents and my brother are blonde haired and blue eyed, meanwhile I look like this. Because my parents feared what might happen to me during the drafting for the army, they sent me away. But I think they just didn't want me to cause legal trouble for them. I lived in an orphanage. When I lived there, I met a pretty awesome Lithuanian boy, his name is Toris. He was also sent to the Soviet Union from Lithuania because he was the oldest of three siblings. We overheard the adults talking about partisan groups and how they would be created if the Nazis were ever to attack. We began stealing books from the library to learn about these groups. When the war began, we ran away into the forest to begin our own partisan group. It's tough work, but it's worth it. We set mines off under bridges, we make shelters for the Red Army, and the most fun part is that I can use my German to pass off as one of the Nazis. One time, I wandered into one of their camps and told them that I accidentally got on one of their trains. They kept me fed and warm and gave me clothes. At night, I would sneak off to Toris to give him all of those things. I lived there for about three months, then it was time for them to move their camp. I said that I would be returning to Berlin and they gave money for the train. In reality, I went to mine and Toris's awesome underground with all of those things. We still use them, and I'm planning to repeat that soon." Gilbert explained, boasting about his adventures.
The group looked at him with mixed emotion. Ekaterina was terrified at what dangerous acts this seemingly innocent boy had committed, Natalia, usually disinterested in most things, had her attention captured instantly. To her, brave countrymen who stood up to fight against the enemy were the true heroes of this world. Ivan was amazed by the adventures the German had been on. If he could break the routine to do the same, he would've done so in a heartbeat. Feliks, being the curious person he was, wanted to get to know both Gilbert and Toris better.
"Now that I've told you about myself, am I free of debt?" Gilbert smiled playfully and stood up. Natalia pulled him down by the sleeve of his shirt before he could do anything else.
"Not yet. Tell me more about your group. What do you do, how do you operate?" She asked as he sat back down.
"Well, we usually just lay low and help out the Red Army when we don't have any sudden missions. If we do, we plan everything beforehand, find out information about our enemies. We never go into battle unprepared. Basically, Toris is the brains and I'm the brawn, although we carry out our plans together. We sometimes get short handed, since it's only the two of us that have to do everything, but we work it out." Gilbert explained as well as he could, caught off guard by Natalia's sudden demand.
"Would you, perhaps, like some addition to your group?" Ivan quietly asked from the side. All of the teens were thinking the same thing. They were mesmerized by the German boy and his brave doings. In their young, Soviet pioneer minds, this frail albino was a national hero, and despite being born in the country that was now the enemy, he was loyal to his motherland. They could only dream to be like him, and now was the chance to fulfill that dream.
"Absolutely not. It's out of the question, don't even think about it." Ekaterina gathered the three teens and shook her head.
"Aren't you in the komsomol?" Gilbert suddenly asked Ekaterina, who furrowed her brows.
"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" She replied with another question.
"I could tell. You have the emblem on your shirt." He pointed to a bright red pin with the image of Lenin on the collar of her blouse, "Every woman in the komsomol should know and be able to use the battle techniques of the defense of the USSR, right? That's simply the code, I'm just saying."
"I know those techniques damn well, I just don't want to send me and my siblings to death's doorstep." Ekaterina glared, deeply offended by the boy's words. She was an excellent member of the Communist Youth Union, and was even awarded for her accomplishments. And now this little runt was pouring dirt all over that?
"If so, why are we shaking the air? My great thanks to you and your family for providing necessities to someone who is defending the motherland." Gilbert sneered and turned on his heel to grab his coat.
"Hold on just a second." This set off everything Ekaterina was holding back, "We'll come with you. Better than stealing from the farmers and living in a rundown shack." She was a child of Lenin, and a loyal citizen of the Soviet Union. If this was what she had to do to prove that, so be it.
"Katya, are you serious?" Feliks piped up with rising excitement and disbelief.
"Of course I am. Get your things, it shouldn't take long." She turned to the three who intently nodded and scurried off to their room to get what they had. They didn't have much: Ivan took the scarf he was given by Ekaterina, Feliks took his mother's hand clock, and Natalia took a trench that Ekaterina passed down to her when she received the German military coat from that one soldier.
In just a matter of minutes the teens were ready. Ekaterina put on the coat, put the family's savings, two hundred rubles, in it and the five set off, not once looking back.