Disclaimer: I do not own The Book Thief.
Please note, The narrator, Death, writes in bold.
A/N: I didn't realize that I didn't upload this chap! I do read all of your reviews (Emperor Leo thanks!) and you guys make me smile. Thanks so much for following my story along the years. I temporarily stopped working on this one because I was focused on finishing my other fanfic "In an Eternal Ring." Also I just started school again and I still work/ go to school everyday and ahhh so overwhelming atm. I got my first apartment with my bf just a few months ago, leaving my toxic parents' house, a lot of things are changing for the better. I've also been feeling really depressed because my grandma is sick with cancer. I'm very close to her, much closer than I am with my parents. I've been wanting to write, but sometimes I need that little extra push to get out of my idk depression swirl lol. Don't be embarrassed to pm me or leave a comment about my updating otherwise I might not get around to it! You guys motivate me! (: I can't believe I've been working on this story since 2014! I really want to finish it! Haha, easier said then done, huh?
Love, Vix
A/N #2: PLEASE NOTE IN THIS FIC: LIESEL IS NOW 16, BETTINA IS 14, VIKTOR IS 18 AND RUDY IS 16 YEARS OLD!
Chapter 15: Devil
The next day, Rudy is taken to the Nazi School for the gifted. Liesel doesn't come out of bed to see him off. Rosa stomps up the stairs, she throws the door open. "Get up you lazy Saumensch!" Liesel pretends to sleep. This infuriates Rosa even more. She marches over, yanking the blankets off of her. "I should take this bed away from you!" There is malice in her voice. Liesel slowly gets up. "Yes, Mama." She follows her, preparing for her daily deliveries. She tosses on a random grey top and a red skirt that's seen better days. Viktor is downstairs waiting for her. "Guten Morgen, Miss Liesel." He says, uncharacteristically polite. It is all a sham though. She is just a slave to do his bidding. Her family is a lie. She herself is a phony. And Rudy... Liesel wilts at the thought of his name. She doesn't want to think of him.
"Where to today?" Viktor asks as soon as they leave the house. Liesel says nothing. "Hey, I'm talking to you. Don't think because I let you off easy yesterday that it's going to be-" Viktor trails off when he looks into her eyes. Her eyes say it all. "Was ist falsch? Sag mir. What's wrong? Tell me." Liesel cringes. She doesn't know why, but hearing Viktor repeat something Rudy has once asked her brings on an onslaught of tears. Viktor tries to hold her. Liesel pushes him away. "Don't touch me." Liesel gasps out, between sobs. She doesn't want to be touched anymore. Never again. "Did something happen yesterday?" Viktor asks, bothered she has pushed him off. Liesel shakes her head no. "Don't lie." He says, placing his finger under her chin, forcing her eyes up to his before she has a chance to shrug him off. Brown meets grey. Viktor's eyes are clouds brewing with something she couldn't identify. "I told him everything." Liesel admits, cringing at the memories flooding. "And?" Viktor wheedles. "He... hurt me." Viktor closes his eyes and finally asks, "Do you?" Liesel looks down. She knows he is asking if she wants to talk about it. "No." She whispers. Viktor opens his eyes again, looking away, his face unreadable. "Give me that basket." He commands. Liesel hands him the delivery basket without a word. They are nearing the Amper Bridge. When they arrive, Viktor pulls his arm back and throws the basket with all of his might. It lands with a splash into the river, sinking rapidly into the deep river sediment below. Never to see the light of day again. "We're going shopping." Viktor says.
"But there's no shops left. And we don't have any money." Liesel says, her voice deadpan. Viktor rolls his eyes at her. Gott, this girl was dense. "Correction. You don't have any money. Not we. And second, by shopping I mean robbing, duh." Stealing, huh? Liesel reminisces about her and Rudy's thieving shenanigans. No, I don't want to think of him. Stop it. As if sensing her depression, Viktor tells her to follow him. She follows blindly, trying to shake off last night. After awhile, she could see where they were headed.
***WHERE THAT WAS***
Frau Diller's "shop."
Now it wasn't exactly a shop per se, but an empty shell of it's former glory. She really didn't see what this abandoned hutch would have to offer for them. However, one thing was for sure, Liesel did not want to run into Frau Diller. That lady was the devil incarnate. She had these really huge glasses on her face and this evil, death glare that could cut anyone to the bone. Most likely to discourage stealing. As you can imagine, the old hag got uglier and uglier with time as the war progressed. She felt sorry for Herr Diller, if she even had one. The two come to a stop. Liesel eyeballs Viktor questioningly. Viktor looks down at her, his eyes like foggy mirror, she couldn't quite see what was beyond the surface.
"Isn't she a beauty?" Viktor spreads his arm out as if appraising a new housing complex.
"Who Frau Diller?" Liesel asks in confusion. Viktor's eyes scrunch up in disgust. "That's revolting even for a whore like you. I'm talking about the shop" Liesel perks a little at the insult, it had been awhile since she received such verbal abuse from a friend. Wait, friend? Viktor is a friend to me? When did that happen? Viktor and friend shouldn't even be in the same senten- before she could finish that thought Viktor smacks her on top the head. "Oww.. what was that for? And I said don't touch me." Liesel winces. What was I thinking he isn't a friend. He's the devil. Viktor's hand is hovering against her wisped, dirty blonde hair. "You didn't say I couldn't hit on you. I wouldn't have done that if you were listening to me, stupid." His hand gently strokes her hair. And her stomach is doing weird nervous jumpy things. What the? He is confusing. And was he cooing when he called me stupid? Was that a coo? Liesel felt like she was imagining things and it was finished before it even started. Before she could even pull away. She wasn't sure if it even began. Maybe she just has a stomach ache. Maybe he didn't touch her at all.
"Anyways." Viktor continues. "As you were ignoring, I was saying that were here to do some window shopping." Liesel looks once more at the abandoned shop as if she had missed all the store good on display in the window. Nope, there's still nothing there. She notes before she finally answers him. "Um... there's nothing there to window shop or rob or whatever you're even talking about." Viktor sighs disapopointedly. "I thought you liked to read books. That means you're supposed to have a good imagination." Liesel prickles at the comment, but says nothing. She liked to read books, but that didn't mean she saw things that weren't there. She could still tell the difference between fiction and reality. "Ugh, I guess I have to tell you everything. I thought you were smart." Viktor says in exasperation. Liesel rolls her eyes, "Thanks." She wasn't sure if that was an insult or a compliment. Ignoring her sarcasm, Viktor finally explains. "Listen what comes to mind with robbing is not only stealing, but breaking in. And if there's nothing to steal then why not just do the breaking in part?" It finally dawns on her. "Oh, by window shopping you mean to break windows?" Liesel says. Viktor's smile does strange, fuzzy things to her insides. "See, I knew you were smart." Yep, he was definitely complimenting her this time.
"Which one do you think is the best? A Dornier or a Heinkel?" The boy nudged him, rousing Rudy from his trance he had been in ever since they boarded the train. Rudy gave him a blank stare. Not wanting him to go on, but the stupid dummkopf didn't take the hint. He interprets Rudy's silence as encouragement to yammer on. "I, myself, am a Heinkel kind of guy. Something about the way they fly just makes me want to-" Rudy cuts him off, "Get your Arsch beat again?" The boys face reddens as it always did when he got embarassed. "Listen that last raid was just a fluke! Next time the Russians won't know what'll hit them!" The muddy brown blonde was known as Bernhard Trausch. Rudy couldn't stand him one bit, but didn't know why. Probably because his last name sounded like the word "trash." Rudy doesn't respond again, his mind wandering to Liesel. A dark anger flickers inside him. He wondered what she was doing... who she was doing at this very moment. "Jeez... someone sure is a Stinkstiefel this morning." Bernhard mutters. "What crawled up your arsch and died?" Rudy stares at him point blank. "You."
Something to the right of Rudy stirs. It was the third boy in their sorry bunch. Kolya Volker. And a handsome Aryan of the sort. He slowly sits up from from the bench he had been slouched over sleeping. "You two talk as if you were actually in the raid. It was just a bet you fucking degenerates." Rudy shrugs him off not in the mood to argue. He had already had enough of that this morning. Bernhard jumps to Rudy's defense, surprisingly, most likely stupidly. "At least we're on der Fuhrer's side." He shoots back angrily. Kolya all, but rolls his eyes at the idiot. "Listen Bernhard, there is nothing against me having a Russian name." At least not yet. Rudy thinks to himself. Bernhard looms over Kolya. Not too difficult since he was two heads taller than both of them. He was as dumb and tall as they get. Bernhard places one hand on top of Kolya's shoulder as if to placate him. "At least have a German name like Adonis or Mephisto."
***RUDY'S CRINGE***
Really, Mephisto? That's the best you can come up with?
Kolya brushes Bernhard's hand from his shoulder as if it were a speck of shit. "Adonis is Greek you fucking idiot. and I didn't name myself. Hmm. Let me go back in time and tell whoever my dad was fucking that week to name me something that's politically correct... that's fucking 17 years from now." Bernhard seemed unbothered at his mistake. "Well, the other one is a good German name isn't it?" Rudy finally looks over at him. "No, Jewish. And it means the Devil."
