Forbidden Love
by Duo's Chick
and
Star Kindler
Chapter Seven
Disclaimer: We do not own Gundam Wing, never have and never will.
Warnings: Yaoi, Violence
***
Heero watched with silence as a handful of inmates toiled in the clay pits of Sachsenhausen. Because snow still covered the grounds, the prisoners had to shovel the clay underneath it and wheel it up a steep hill with a wheelbarrow. The area was surrounded by a tall fence, and securely guarded by soldiers – inside and out. Any inmate caught five meters from the fence was instantly shot for "attempting escape." The clay pit was the most dreaded work area in the whole camp; and the guards inside did a good job of making the experience even more hellish. But the cold snow and strong, freezing winds made the experience far worse and only added to the torment the guards bestowed upon the inmates.
Officer Barton had ordered Heero to stand guard in that area for the day – not having much use for him anywhere else. Heero naturally complied with the superior officer's orders. Here, he knew he would not see Duo, still finding it hard to face him.
It had been few weeks since Heero had seen Duo. The last day was when he and Officer Chang had caught Duo lying in the snow. The young man knew that Duo had been beaten, probably by other inmates, but he convinced himself not to feel any emotion towards the situation. Deep in his heart, he wanted to see Duo. He wanted to take him in his arms and never let go, but that of course, was impossible. Besides, Duo wouldn't want anything to do with Heero, not after the horrible atrocity the young soldier had committed. But how could Heero ignore the unseen bond of love that connected him to this prisoner? Duo's fate was grim, and Heero had a future of prosperity under the Nazi government. Duo was a homosexual who was considered one of the lowest type people on the face of the earth. Heero was also, but not a soul knew. And if no one knew, he couldn't be hurt. Nevertheless, his heart could not deny the fact that he was gay, and he loved Duo Maxwell. No matter, however. His brain and his heart refused to correspond and unfortunately, his brain was overweighing his heart. He was not going to let anyone know his true feelings. He wanted to live.
"Hey Yuy!" Heero's thoughts were broken by a voice calling out to him. He looked up and saw another officer grinning wickedly at him, grasping a homosexual inmate's arm. "Wanna see something funny?" The soldier asked.
'Oh god… I don't like where this is going.' Heero thought, but instead smiled back inconspicuously. "Sure!" he responded.
The guard nodded and grabbed the cap from the young prisoner's head. With a laugh, he threw the hat against the fence.
'What the hell? Damn, that man is dead for sure…' Heero thought grimly.
"Go get it!" The soldier yelled at the man angrily. The inmate looked at him with terrified eyes.
"B-but sir, I'll be shot!" The man answered with a shaky voice.
"Are you refusing?" He shoved the man down and raised his whip. With a few quick moves, he had the man screaming from mercy.
"Please stop! I'll get it!" He howled and with tears streaming from his eyes, he stood wearily to his feet. The guard laughed evilly as the inmate crept over toward the fence. He reached his hat, picked it up and with a sigh of relief, turned and was about to make it back to his work area.
'No one on the other side noticed. He's actually going to make it…' Heero thought. But he was wrong. His cobalt eyes wandered away from the inmate and saw one guard on the outside raise his gun and pull the trigger. Instantly, the bullet punctured the prisoner's skull and he crumpled to the ground in a motionless, bloody mess; the white snow around him transformed into a crimson red.
Meanwhile, the soldier who started the whole ordeal stood back and laughed like a maniac. A few other guards laughed with him and even patted him on the back. Heero sighed sadly and turned away. That was predictable. The guards had power of life and death over all the prisoners. The soldier who fired the gun would not get in trouble. After all, in the eyes of the guard, and every other soldier in that camp, he just killed a lowly inmate who was "trying to escape."
Heero glanced over at the body. This was yet another homosexual prisoner who would be added to the death list. The young soldier made up his mind just to ignore it, and not let it get to him. If he valued his life at all, no emotion should be felt. He remembered something his father told him as a child; nothing is more important than life, and it should never be given up with out a cause. Those words were true, and even as he gazed at the prisoners, toiling away, he knew that he could not ever confess his heart's feelings. If he did, he would be laboring in the icy cold weather with those men, not knowing if death was just around corner. He understood that those people in that camp had no idea when the time of their demise was upon them. That is not how Heero wanted his life to be and if his heart allowed him, that is the way it would be.
At that moment a very young prisoner, around the age of seventeen or eighteen, collapsed in front of the cobalt-eyed soldier. Heero gaped at the exhausted young man – unsure of what to do. Then he glanced at the whip in his hand, and there was only one thing that could be done. With little remorse, he raised it, then cracked it across the man's back. Heero repeated the actions, and the inmate's body was thrown into a spasm with each searing crack of the whip.
Heero finally stopped, and gazed down at the bloody strips of flesh. "Get up." He ordered curtly; the man didn't move. "I said, get up!" He yelled fiercely; still, there was no movement, other than short, rapid breaths, and silent sobs. The only other option was to shoot the disobedient prisoner. That was the last thing Heero wanted to do, but did he have much choice? Suddenly, the sound of boots hurrying in the deep snow entered his ears and he turned, only to see Officer Chang.
"Officer Yuy, what is going on over here?" The raven-haired officer asked with an emotionless voice.
Heero looked down at the man. "He fell, but won't get up." He explained.
"Well, then what should you do?"
"I-uh…" Heero couldn't bring himself to answer the question.
"Look, Officer Barton still has a close eye on you, so don't screw up." He reached out, pulled Heero's gun out of its holster and handed it to him. "You know what to do with this."
Heero looked down at the gun for a moment, then at the prisoner. The young man was still breathing heavily, but was now sobbing loudly. He had obviously given up on his will to live. With a jolt of sadness, Heero pointed the gun down at the inmate, and without hesitation, pulled the trigger. The man's weeping was silenced forever.
Heero gawked at the body, unsure of what had just happened. The realization of the act he committed hit him with terrible force to his heart. 'Oh my god, how could I have done that? I've killed again. I've destroyed yet another human life…' Heero thought as a wave of sickness came over him.
"Good job Officer Yuy. You just got rid of a useless worker." Officer Chang said with a smile. Heero remained calm and returned his gun to its holster. The young soldier turned away from the body and nodded, unable to speak for fear it would come out as a mournful sob.
***
Duo quietly followed the other inmates into the barrack. The day had been laborious as usual, but basically uneventful. Thankfully, it had not been too bad, and it was finally over. But luck was not with him. As he approached the entrance, he missed the step of the bunkroom, and fell into the prisoner in front of him. Unfortunately, as he stood upright, and the other inmate turned around, he noticed this man did not have a pink triangle. Duo looked up at this other man who obviously was not too happy.
Terrified, Duo tried to explain. "I'm sorry – I just tripped. I didn't mean-"
"You tried attacking me." He smiled and threw Duo against the bunks. "So the fag wants to fight." He sneered.
"No, please, I don't want to fight!" Duo dodged a punch thrown by the larger prisoner, but the man reached out and took hold of his long braid. Duo gasped and tried to pull it away, but the grip wouldn't loosen. The other prisoners around them backed away and huddled about the doorway. The inmate pulled Duo close to him and raised his fist, but as he did, he was stopped by another prisoner.
Jack, the young inmate who informed Duo of Quatre's death, stepped in between the two. "He didn't mean to, so please, don't start anything." Surprisingly, the larger man let go of Duo's braid and went to his bunk on the other side of barrack, muttering something about 'worthless queers'. Jack pulled Duo over to his bed and forced him to crawl in and lay down.
"Duo, are you alright?" He asked, concerned.
The braided boy shook his head. "No, I'll never be okay until this is over – until my life is over."
Jack crawled in next to him. "You can't possibly feel that way."
Duo just turned over and buried himself under the blanket.
"Duo…your hands, they're under the blanket! Do you know what will happen if-" Duo turned and looked Jack in the eyes.
"I don't care. I'm cold, and I'm…scared." The terror was apparent in his eyes. "Please, Jack, I just want to go to sleep."
The other inmate said nothing more; it was obvious Duo was not willing to listen to him. Both he and the braided boy settled in. Duo thoughts shifted to the night before when he witnessed the prisoner attempting escape. That prisoner wanted out and he got his wish. Death ended his suffering – and perhaps death was the only way to truly be free. Besides, why live when no one cares if you are breathing or not; when you are considered worthless and below human standards? Duo sighed and huddled underneath the blanket, not caring what fate may await him.
***
Darkness fell over the countryside as a fresh snow began to quilt the grounds. Light snowflakes drifted lazily to the land while the young Kommandant headed off to his chamber in the soldier's area.
"Officer Barton!"
The high-ranking officer turned and gazed through the cold air towards the sound of the voice. Another officer quickly approached him.
"What is it?" Barton asked the man.
"Sir." He saluted. "There was a bit of a commotion at barrack number five. Perhaps you would like to investigate?"
Officer Barton nodded and headed off in the darkness towards the barracks with the other officer at his heels.
"What was the commotion?"
"There were prisoner's huddled around the entrance. I just figured something was happening and you should know."
Officer Barton nodded and the two reached barrack number five. Quickly he opened the door, only to see each prisoner in bed. Heads shot up as he stormed down the center looking over each prisoner. Unfortunately, Duo's back was facing the approaching officer and did not notice him. Officer Barton did, however, notice the young braided prisoner covered completely under a blanket.
"What do we have here?" Officer Barton asked with annoyance.
Duo's eyes shot open; he recognized that gruff voice. Horrified, he lifted his head, and shifted his eyes only to see Officer Barton directly above him.
"What are you doing? Do you know what we do with little queers who can't keep their hands where they belong? Stand up, NOW!" The officer bellowed. Without hesitation, Duo climbed out of the bunk and faced Officer Barton. Deep down, he didn't care what the merciless Nazi had planned for him. The Kommandant pulled his handgun out and thrust it against Duo's back. "Outside." He ordered angrily.
Duo obeyed. He glanced down at Jack whose face was twisted with sympathy. As he started down the long walkway toward the door, each prisoner reflected different emotions. On one side, the homosexual prisoners had a look of pity upon their face. On the opposite side, the other prisoners chuckled and mumbled vulgar comments as Duo passed. The braided boy ignored it and stepped out into the freezing snow, unsure of what new torment awaited him.
***
Got comments? We want to hear them! Please review! ~Star Kindler and Duo's Chick