The kubelwagen kicked up a cloud of dirt as it trundled along the dirt road in the countryside. Inside the vehicle sat two soldiers and a driver, the youngest of the three, a sixteen year old blonde haired and blue eyed boy by the name of Elliot Nightray gazed out at the apple trees that lined the road as they passed. The fruits looked bright red and crisp, ready for the autumn time harvest. But Elliot had more on his mind than apples, today he'd accompany his elder brother, Ernest Nightray on a raid to a house suspected of hiding Jews. Anxiously he toyed with the rifle between his knees.
Elliot jumped when Ernest nudged him with his elbow.
"Are you nervous Elly?" He asked.
Elliot shrugged, tracing a finger over the barrel of the gun. "A bit"
Ernest just laughed. "Don't be little brother! Claude and I have both done this before, and most of the time the Jews are so skinny they can't even run. Its quite easy, so don't worry."
As Ernest spoke, the kubelwagen neared a small farmhouse. It was quaint, with blue flowers growing at the windowsills. Elliot recognized them as statices. A few feet away stood an old red barn.
The kubelwagen shuddered to a halt a few feet away from the house.
"Alright Elliot, you know what to do, just remember what you were taught" Ernest said as Elliot got out of the vehicle, before bending down to whisper in his ear "Also, don't forget, if it tries to run away, make sure to shoot at its legs to avoid killing it. It unnerves me, carrying corpses back to base"
Elliot gulped "I'll try"
Ernest grinned, and gave Elliot a pat on the back. "You'll make father proud for sure"
Elliot couldn't help smiling himself.
The blonde walked up to the front door, and knocked three times loudly.
"German soldiers!" Elliot yelled "Open up!"
Through the door he could hear frantic footsteps and urgent whispers. After a few moments the door opened a tiny bit, and an old man stood, half hidden behind it.
"What do you want?" He asked gruffly, but Elliot could hear a telltale shake in his voice.
"Sir, you've been suspected of illegally harboring some Jews. Please hand them over."
The mans eyes narrowed. "I don't know what you're talking about, its just me and my wife that live here. We're not-"
"Sir" Elliot interrupted. "We will conduct a search of your house, and if you lied to us and we do find a Jew hidden here, we will shoot and kill both you and your wife."
The old man went pale. "I-I'll be just a moment" he stammered, disappearing from the door.
From the doorstep Elliot could hear the hear the mans voice and a woman's, who he assumed was the mans wife.
"Annie, liebling, we have to give him up" came the mans voice.
"But Frank! He's just a young boy, he has no family, we're the only people he has left!"
"Did you not hear what that soldier just said!? That boy is not worth both of our lives! They'll kill us if we don't!"
There were a few moments of tense silence, followed by Annie's quiet voice. "Okay Frank...Okay.."
A couple minutes later The door opened wider and the man stood, holding a boy by the arm. The boy had long black hair that covered most of his face, and he was thin, he looked much younger than Elliot himself.
Elliot nodded. "Thank you for your cooperation, we will leave you and your wife-"
Before Elliot could finish his sentence the Jew wrenched himself free from the mans grasp and took off running across the field, heading for the forest that bordered the small farm.
"Hey!" Elliot yelled, he readied his rifle, aiming for the boy's legs, it was hard to aim while he was in motion, Elliot was top of his class in training but preferred hand-to-hand combat over firearms.
Cursing under his breath, Elliot threw the rifle at the ground and ran after the boy. With years of athletic training Elliot was fit, and caught up quickly. Elliot launched himself in a flying tackle that brought both of them to the ground. They wrestled, but he easily managed to pin the boy down on his back. Elliot sat there, with his knees digging into the young boy's sides and his hands gripping his wrists tightly. Some of the Jew's hair had been swept aside during the struggle, and Elliot for the first time saw his eyes. They were a deep black, sorrowful but determined and open wide in fear, for some reason Elliot found them alluring. Elliot shook his head in attempt to clear his mind and stood up, pulling the boy to his feet roughly.
"Come on" Elliot snapped, as he dragged the boy to the vehicle, tightening his grip on the boys wrist until he winced.
Back at the kubelwagen Ernest whistled, impressed. "Good job Elly! Wait til I tell pa! He'll be so proud of you.."
Elliot ignored his brothers praises, instead he stared at the Jew. There were a few scrapes on his cheek from when they wrestled, some of them were bleeding slightly. Ernest had bound his hands with rope, the knots were done too tight, Elliot could see the tips of his fingers begin to turn blue on his lap. Should he ask Ernest to undo his bonds and tie them looser? Even though he had been taught all his his life the Jewish were supposed to be treated this way, it didn't feel right. Elliot frowned, sympathy was for the weak, and he had gone through months of training to become strong, just like his father and his brothers. He wanted to bring honor to the Nightray name, not disdain. Elliot turned his attention away from the Jew's hands,focused his attention on the stretch of dirt road ahead and decided against saying anything,
