The laughter of the children rang out down the hallway. Being confined in a ghetto, they had to find their own way of having fun. Old abandoned buildings had become the popular place for the kids to gather and play, especially since the Germans did not permit playing in the playground unless guards were present to watch over them. While the children did not understand why this had happened to them, it did not damper their spirits.
"Alright ready or not, here I come!" Mila shouted. Her friends had just scattered through the building as she had counted to one hundred. She began searching down the main hallway, which was littered with debris and posters. The building the children had picked today was an old hospital that was mostly out of the way of the German watch. She searched through various rooms and cabinets, but was unable to find any of her friends. She continued to make her way down the hallway when she saw a staircase through a partially opened a door.
"They must have gone upstairs." The young girl thought to herself. She began to make her way up the worn wooden stairs, trying her best as she ascended not to make a creek. She finally reached the top of the stairs and noticed a large glass window on the wall right next to the staircase. She decided to take a momentary reprieve and look out the window. As she peeked out, she saw the inhabitants of the ghetto. It was a sunny, warm day in Warsaw, and the people of the ghetto were out and about, attempting to live their lives as normally as possible under their circumstances. She watched as some begged for money on the street, while others were trying to haggle with smugglers for food and other goods. She hear a rumbling come from nearby and turned to look. S.S trucks sped in and the inhabitants of the ghetto stopped in their tracks, except for the few smugglers who were out trying to sell goods. They attempted to quickly hide their stolen goods, but to no avail. Mila looked on, her father had told her about the Germans and to never infuriate them, but she never understood why. Officers had surrounded them and seized them and brought them before the truck as the Lieutenant had stepped out of his truck. He motioned for one of his underlings to bring him the goods the smuggler was trying to sell. The Lieutenant laughed as the man tried to explain what he was doing. Without warning, he pulled his pistol from his side and shot the man in the head, shocking the Jews who had stuck around and watched. Mila screamed, unbeknownst to her, the window she was looking through was thin. Her scream was audible to those below. The Lieutenant turned his head to look at the window and saw the girl.
He began cursing in his native tongue. He yelled at orders for his men to enter the hospital and seize the girl. Three soldiers entered the hospital and began to make their way towards the stairs. Mila, in a panic, turned to the hallway away from the staircase and ran down it. She found a room that had a medical curtain still hanging from it. She moved the curtain and pulled it back across her, the sound of the chains moving was loud, possibly giving away her position. She began to sob as she heard the sound of boots stomping up the stairs. She closed her mouth to silence the noise that she had been making. She heard the three argue with each other in German before they finally gave way and separated to search for the girl.
The door swung open. The soldier entered the room, and closed the door behind him. He smirked as he saw the curtain before him.
"Hello, little girl. It looks like I picked the right room. Guess you could call me lucky." He chuckled to himself as he made his way over to the curtain and pulled it back, revealing Mila. She pushed herself back against the wall. Tears ran down her face as she shivered in fear.
"Now I have to ask, what are you doing in a hospital? You know this is a place where people come to die. So, why would a young child with so much life to live want to play in a hospital?" The soldier said sadistically. Mila remained silent as he paced back and forth in front of her.
"I guess you're just like the rest of the Jewish swine that just want to die. It's almost pathetic how none of you are willing to put up a fight." The soldier said as he stopped and readied his gun with his sights set on the girl.
"Let her go." A deep voice rumbled out from a corner of the room. The soldier looked back.
"What the hell are you?" He quipped before chains encircled his throat and lifted him from the ground. He dropped his gun and began to grab at his throat as oxygen began to escape him.
"Your worst fucking nightmare, you sadist piece of shit." The dark figure roared. He looked straight into the eyes of the soldier, his bright green eyes piercing the soldier's very soul.
"Please…please don't kill me. I'll let the girl go." The soldier pleaded.
"You see, there's this concept known as leverage, and right now, you don't have that. Now listen real well, this is my territory and I'm sick of you German bastards coming into my territory without my permission and preying on innocent people." The dark one spoke before the German interrupted.
"Please! I'll tell my Lieutenant. I will make sure we do not come to this area again." He cried.
"No, I'll tell the Lieutenant myself." The figure tossed him through the wall. The soldier's body broke through the concrete and flew to the earth before his Lieutenant. The Nazi looked up and found himself greeted by the same pair of bright green eyes. The eyes glared back at him before moving back into the room.
"Hey there sweetie, it's okay. I won't hurt you." The figure moved over to the young girl. She was terrified at what she had witnessed. She moved away from him. He sighed.
"I promise sweetheart. He was a bad man, who needed to learn how to treat a little girl like yourself." He said as he extended his hand out to her. His hand was dark with long nails, a horrid sight for most, but Mila had no choice. She placed his hand in his.