Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, or WWII related places, etc.
Okay so thank you all so much for the reviews and the favorites and alerts, I am just gushing enthusiasm to anyone who will listen to me about how amazed I am at the amount of support this story has gotten and continues to get. I hope you've all enjoyed the story thus far and continue to stick with it. Thanks!
Especially thanks to aussieflugel for her help in fixing my historical inaccuracies! And to everyone else who has reviewed, you keep me writing so thanks! c:
Enjoy! Oh and please review, they have really been pushing me to continue this story and update in a more timely manner than ever before. So if you hate waiting for updates and are an impatient person, REVIEW! :) Again, thanks.
As January turned into February, Blaine and Kurt found themselves lucky to still be working in the crematory.
The three other pairs of forced laborers had been replaced. The last pair had been replaced only as recently as last week. The way Blaine figured it, he and Kurt only had a month, maybe two before they were replaced.
No one had to ask what happened to them once they stopped working here.
For a while Blaine felt bad about stepping forward that day, stepping towards the edge of a dangerous cliff where if one wasn't careful the ground beneath one's feet might just slip away. Blaine felt bad because he had hoped Kurt would step forward that day with him, and when he did, he'd been dragged along with Blaine to the edge of the precipice. All they could do now was peer over the edge and hope and wait for the best.
When Kurt found out about Blaine guilt tripping himself he decided to set the record straight. It was getting late, the sun had set an hour or so ago and Blaine and Kurt had just climbed into their bunks.
Blaine turned on his side to face Kurt like he always did and Kurt said quietly to Blaine, "Whatever happens...it's not your fault you know."
"Hmm?" Blaine asked, confused. He hadn't spoken a word of his worries to Kurt.
"With us being replaced. I can tell it's been on your mind since last week Blaine."
Blaine was about to deny it, but Kurt gave him a stern look that said, 'don't argue with me on this.'
Kurt heard Blaine sigh quietly in the dark before he said, "If I hadn't stepped forward, we'd be..."
"We'd be doing more strenuous labor over here. There's no point in thinking 'what if.' If we were gonna play that game, I'd say, 'what if Hitler had never been born?"
Blaine nodded but didn't say what he was thinking. Yeah, but at least on this side of the wall our 'job contracts' wouldn't be terminated so quickly.
Even with Kurt's reassurances, he continued to worry and while they worked Blaine kept his eyes wide open. He studied Kurt, looking for any weakness, any hint that Kurt was running out of time.
He took stock of himself, and made sure he never so much as stumbled or shook while he carried the bodies to the oven.
He kept an eye on the guards, looking for any displeasure from any of them, not just the one nearest to their oven.
When the guards murmured, Blaine strained his ears trying to listen in on their conversation.
As the end of February neared, more and more prisoners were getting sick. They were becoming infected with Typhus, transmitted by body lice. Ugly purple rashes, headaches, and fever were becoming more and more common, and in the worst cases delirium caused them to be unable to work.
With this added to the fact that they were the next due to be replaced in the ovens, Blaine almost drove himself crazy.
The first week or so of March, Kurt woke up sniffling. Blaine was alert almost immediately and jumped off his bunk to get a better look at Kurt.
"It's just a runny nose Blaine. No need to worry." Kurt brushed him off, jumping down as well.
"Kurt, what if it turns into something worse. You're sure you don't have a fever?" He asked worriedly, putting his hand against Kurt's forehead.
"Of course I'm sure. It's just the weather warming up."
They got their morsel of food for the morning and were hurried to the ovens, all the while Blaine keeping his eye on Kurt more often than before.
As distracted and worried about Kurt as he was, Blaine found it hard to concentrate on doing his job. He would grab a body and place it on the rack, then when he should've gone quickly back for another one, he would study Kurt's face and countenance.
When Kurt noticed this, he snapped Blaine out of his concentration and said, "hey, quit it. They're going to think you like me or something. Come on."
Blaine smiled and winked cheekily at Kurt quickly before turning around and grabbing another body from the stacks that were piled up like cord wood.
Kurt turned red and cast his eyes downward as he shut the oven door on yet another human being who hadn't had enough time to live.
He's just teasing me. Kurt thought, sniffing quietly so as not to alert the guards to his 'condition.'
The more Kurt thought about it though, the more he wished Blaine really did like him as more than a friend. But he wouldn't let himself think like that. He'd learned not to get his hopes up. So he continued on with his work, making sure Blaine didn't get distracted again.
The weeks went on and while it wasn't warm by any means, the climate was changing slowly. The snow was melting day by day and the winds were becoming drier and drier.
Blaine almost wished it would snow again though. The lack of moisture mixed with the cold winds chilled him to the bone and he was glad Kurt worked closer to the ovens than he did.
Kurt still didn't show any signs of typhus, but he was by no means as healthy as he could be. Everyday he looked more and more skeletal, more malnourished, more fragile.
In the mornings, Blaine would look around their barrack, searching out those with Typhus and attempting to avoid them. Eventually the guards would come around and quarantine those with Typhus in a barrack set aside especially for them. They couldn't afford to let their precious labor force become infected. So they separated the sick and waited for them to die. When the guards got impatient, they helped the process along a little.
Every night more moaning could be heard from the loved ones of those who were quarantined. The ones still left anyway.
With Blaine's mind working on overtime, he tensed up, and stumbled more often than normal. They were running out of time, out of space, and out of fuel for the fires. Their supplies of wood and coal were dwindling. Blaine didn't know what would happen to them when they ran out.
Kurt laughed when Blaine voiced his worry about the fuel for the fires. "Maybe we'll get to relax for once. Maybe we'll finally get to use some vacation time." Kurt smiled trying to get Blaine to agree with him and stop worrying for once.
But Blaine's somber mood wouldn't be pushed aside so easily. "Yeah Kurt. We'll get a vacation. One we won't return from."
Kurt sighed in frustration and swung the oven door shut. "We'll be fine Blaine. We'll make it through this. Together." He attempted a smile again, finding it harder and harder to accomplish these days.
"Yeah, or it will end. It will all be over." Blaine looked down as he grabbed another body.
Behind him Kurt sighed. "Yeah, it will end. It will all be over. My only consolation is...we'll be together at the end of it all."
Blaine stumbled as Kurt said those words and he looked over at the small, fragile boy before him. Their guard cleared his throat and stood up, giving Blaine a warning.
Kurt looked at Blaine imploringly, trying to get him to move and Blaine quickly took their hints, grabbing up the body he had almost dropped and hoisting it onto the rack.
That night, all Blaine could think about was what Kurt had said, those words repeating over and over in his mind, keeping beat with the rhythm in his heart. Together at the end of it all. Together at the end of it all.
Yay! Halfway through March and almost into Ap
ril. In the story obviously as it's June 2011 right now, lol. So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I wanted to show more of what Blaine was thinking, I know I showed some of that at the end of the last chapter, but I guess I just wanted to elaborate. The next chapter will probably be loaded with more action than this one. I can't wait to get that chapter written so I'll probably start working on it as soon as this one is up.
Anyways, thanks to everyone who has supported this story and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Liked it? Hated it? Cried? Or have any historical inaccuracies to point out? Let me know, and REVIEW! Kays?
Thankies,
OSK