He desperately grabbed Liesel's hand squeezing it painfully, not moving his eyes from the stranger in his bedroom. "It's alright Max, he's a friend" Liesel tried to calm him but she was scared herself now. Dr. Brugger approached the bed and sat down next to Max. "Don't be afraid, son. I won't hurt you" he said.
He carefully rolled up the sleeve from Max's shaking arm to feel his pulse. The old man sighed deeply at the sight of the small numbers tattooed on Max's wrist. He closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed hard. Then he looked at the terrified Jew and said "I'm not that kind of doctor"

Liesel felt the grip of Max's hand loosen up a bit. Confused as she was, she looked at him and the doctor and she was quick to assemble the puzzle. She could tell from the fear in Max's eyes that this was what he saw in his nightmares... All the sudden she felt nauseaus and she desperately wanted to cry, but she held Max's hand through the whole examination. Dr. Brugger had Max's temperature taken once more. It had climbed over 39ºC.
In the hall he spoke to Liesel, diagnosing a pneumonia. He refused to accept payment. "He needs to stay in bed for a few days" he explained "If you need anything you know where to find me". She thanked him and closed the door behind him.

At that moment her legs gave in and she crumbled to the floor. Tears streamed down her face and she bit her own arm to drown the sobs. She had heard horrifying rumours about medical experiments in the camps...