Run. Run. Run.
That's that I was thinking in my head as both Frank and I were running back to base. We were both the fastest in the group, and what we saw was beyond words. I was floored with my own eyes on the scene in front of me, my heart stopped beating and my own blood went cold. As we ran through the forest clearing and back on the dirt road that we started from. We had to find Winters, or someone that would be able to explain and see what was going on. No one knew what it was that we saw, nor did we know what to do. But when I saw the high wooden beams with the wired fences around the small compounded area and the stench of human flesh being burned, it was no good, not in my mind. It felt more like a nightmare as Frank and I were running, side-by-side.
"What in the hell was that?" Frank asked as we ran, helmets off and trying to breathe in and out before we could get back to camp. My mind was still on overdrive with what I saw and what I was breathing in. Was this something even human? My lungs were still hurting from the toxic fumes that were entering my nostrils and going through my body.
"I don't know but it's not good!" I replied in a huff as we saw the base right ahead of us. I then went into a sprint, running in front from Frank and we were so close to getting back to base and trying to find someone. I was already trying to find a Captain or even Winters before we even touched the grass and swallowed up by the trees and buildings around us. Jeeps were rushing by us as we then stopped in the middle of the square, soldiers are looking at us petrified as we were frantically trying to find someone, anyone, to tell and see what they are going to do.
"Have you seen Foley? Hey, guys! Anyone seen any officers?" Frank asked as I looked around to find someone with a rank. But I didn't find anyone, having me feel panic coming over my throat and tears coming down my face from the sheer image that was still implanted in my head. This was bad, real bad, and I had to make sure it was about to be fixed.
"Popeye, you seen any officers? Seen Foley?" Frank asked Popeye as I turned the corner and saw Joe talking to Webster and Lipton. They saw me there, Joe smiling at me as soon as he saw me. But within a second, he saw something was wrong, as well as Webster and Lipton. They looked at me in horror, since I looked like I was having a panic attack in the middle of a crowded street of soldiers who were not looking at me.
"Marley." Joe called out, jogging over to me with the other two behind me. As soon as they reached me, Joe looked at me up and down, maybe thinking that I was in pain or I got hurt from something on patrol. My eyes were on the brink of tears, my breathing was shallow and my hands were shaking.
"What happened? You okay?" he asked me, though I was trying to take a deep breath before he I could answer him. Joe looked over at Lipton now, worry on his face, "Get Doc."
"No!" I screamed finally, the three of them looking back at me and waiting for me as I looked at Joe now.
"I need to find Winters or an officer." I explained to him, my voice sounded so broken and out of place.
"What happened, Red?" Lipton asked me as Joe placed his hands on my arm to calm me down.
"We saw something on patrol….I don't know how to explain it, but I need to find Winters." I said out loud in huffs. I looked behind me, seeing Frank finally talk to Winters. Thank God, since Frank too looked out of place as he was trying to tell Winters why was going on. Winters was floored, but what was he being told. Looking back at the three men in front of us, I saw all of their eyes going big and filled with worry. Webster finally looked over at me, though I could feel Joe's hands on my arms tighten with confusion as to what was going on.
"What did you see, Marley?" Webster asked me, his voice was now laced with concern. I said nothing, since there were no words as to tell them what was going on. How was this going to happen? What were we going to do.
How was this going to happen? What were we going to do?
As we approached the compound, I could see all of the color on the Company faces go away within seconds as we saw it in front of us. It was a fenced off camp of some kind, with dark buildings and huts all inside. It was so bare, no life inside of it at all when it came to grass and trees. But it wasn't the buildings that were making me so lifeless, it was the people. There were people inside, wearing gray clothes and looking like death. But there was one bright piece of fabric on their shirts: a yellow Star of David. It shined in the contrasted jacket and faces of these poor souls. We were all frozen in the vehicles as they stopped in front of the main gates that were made of barbed wire and wood. These men looked like they were on the brink of death, no color on their skin and their bones showing clearly.
My God, I could think of so many medical diagnosis that were flooding my mind as I was sitting next to Doc. Doc was clutching my hand in a death grip, and Joe on my other side was looking just as dazed as everyone else. I didn't tell them exactly what I saw, but it was all because there were no words to use that would describe it perfectly.
We piled out of the vehicle as some of the soldiers with Winters were coming over to the front.
"Open it up." Winters gave the order as Doc and I waited, along with Spina, with the other men. The gates were being opened slowly, having us see the prisoners flooding the front to see the gate being opened. They were watching us with such confusion and admiration on their weak and gray faces, having me have a heartache for them as Christenson asked them to move back. They didn't know any English, which meant that they needed a translator.
"Any of your men speak German?" Winters asked Chistenson as we made out way into the camp, having me see the ill-fitted surroundings around us as the prisoners were going up to each other men in fear and amazement.
"No sir." He replied.
"I need Liebgott. Liebgott! Lipton, go get Liebgott for me." Winters said to Lipton as Doc and I walked through with the other Medics. These men, they were all coming towards us, staggering and limping. I felt as though we were walking into a graveyard and seeing all that was left behind. Our soldiers were being kissed and hugged from these men, others were witnessing the prisoned men mourn and cry in front of them, clutching their knees as they wept into the army jackets. This was all too real for me as I was then approached by a man myself.
He looked as if he was in his seventies though I could tell from his face and how his teeth looked, he was only in his twenties. Whatever happened in here, it aged them quickly. I could see bones on his body threatening to poke out from under the thin looking skin as he looked at me, eyes big and filled with pain as he then fell to his knees in front of me, clutching my own knees in his skeleton hand and weeping into my tummy. I was so frozen, not knowing what to do as I looked over at Doc. He was approached by another man himself, the man trying to talk to him as I hugged the man gently with my own arm, though I could feel the bones under his skin against my jacket.
Slowly I lowered myself down to his level, seeing him look at me with fear as I untangled myself from him, stripping off my jacket and holding it out for him. At first he was confused, not knowing what to do, but then I watched as he carefully took my jacket from me. I nodded my head at him, giving him a small smile. Carefully I helped him get it on since he was so skinny my own jacket was big on him and made him look like he was wearing a raincoat. He started to cry as I watched him, both of us were on our knees as I saw him weep in front of me. I only had my now shirt on with the pants and boots along with my satchel, the cool breeze coming through and giving me chills. But my now mind was on the man in front of me, which his knees looking like bulges. Oh god, he wasn't going to be able to get up now on his own.
"Babe!" I called out, still having my eyes on the man in front of me as Babe jogged over.
"Help me get him up, I don't think he can do it on his own." I said to him gently. Babe grabbed one arm, I got the other, and we slowly got him back up on his feet. He walked away, hugging himself with my jacket as if his life depended on it. I watched, dumbfounded on what just happened as well as Babe.
"What is this place." Babe asked me, having me look around me in horror. Everything that I knew was good and peaceful was gone now, having me feel as though I was stuck in a nightmare. But these men were stuck here for who knows how long.
"I don't know." I said back to him in a miserable tone. I walked on from him as he went over to Malarky. The huts were so small and look so unsteady, having me breathe in the stench some more. There was smoke rising from the back of the gated area, so I walked over and I could breathe in more of the skin burning smell. It was so strong back here, having me grab my bandana from my back pocket and wrap it over my mouth as I was looking right and left.
"He said the guards left this morning." I looked behind me, having me see Winters and Joe were talking to a prisoner, though Joe was translating for him as they were trying to figure out what was going on. I looked away, still hearing the conversation as another prisoner, who looked like he just turned 17 years old really, walked over to me and fell to his knees within a moment. I rushed over to him, getting to my knees and see him look at me with scared eyes.
"Can you believe this Web?" Malarky asked Webster as they walked by me, Webster saying nothing at all as he too was examining the place. But my focus was back at the man in front of me.
"Hey hey, it's okay," I said to him though I knew he wouldn't understand since I didn't speak German. I then pointed to the Satchel I was wearing, showing the Red cross on the front and smiling at him, "Let me look at you okay?" He nodded his head, seeing that I was good for him. I started examining him from my spot, looking at his eyes and feeling his pulse, Joe was still talking behind me.
"Some of the prisoners tried to stop them. Some of them were killed." He explained as the prisoner kept talking in a fast pace, "They didn't have enough ammo for all the prisoners. They killed as many as they could. Before they left the camp." I could feel the pulse under the man's throat being very low, he needed water and some of my food. Reaching into my satchel, I grabbed my canteen and gave it to him, seeing him drinking it as I help him by holding it up to his lips. He drank it as if he was tasting it for the first, which might be true.
"Will you ask them…will you ask them what kind of camp this is? What, uh, why are they here?" Winters asked, trying to find the right words to say as he too was trying to figure this whole thing out. My eyes were back on the man in front of me, though he looked more like teenager than ever. Hell, he was a teenager.
"Was its da heir?" Joe asked in his German accent. The prisoner kept talking as I got up from the floor with the prisoner, whom kept walking over to the front of the gates and I stood next to Webster and Luz, the three of us in stunned silence with the whole thing.
"Doctors…musicians…tailors…clerks…farmers…intellectuals. I mean normal people." Joe translated before I heard the one word that dropped the whole bomb.
"Juden…Juden….Juden." The prisoner said in a broken tone, having me loose my own breath and close my eyes with the reality. This all somehow made sense now, in a weird way. There was no real reason why this was truly happening, and I would never think this was possible and really happening under our own very noses. But no, this was a hard slap of reality in the face.
"Jews." Joe dropped the bomb in such a calm tone, but I could tell he was shellshocked, "Poles and Gypsies."
Webster, Luz and I were looking ahead of us in horror, since we saw a huge pile of dead bodies. all naked and all looking like skeletons. I felt as though I could scream from not only the horror that was in front of me, but from the sheer shock that humans did this to other humans. This was beyond moral, beyond sane.
"Wie biite? Was sagen sir?" Joe asked in his German, having me turn my head slightly to hear him better as the German prisoner talked to him, then starting to sob uncontrollably as Winters asked him what he said.
"The women's camp is at the next railroad stop." I cringed, wanting to cry then and there as I looked on with Webster and Luz. This was all a bombshell for us, having us feel as though we were in another kind of time and dimension. Jews were held here, worked to the bone, and then killed. Why them though? What was the point? Who in their right mind would do this?
"Hey Babe, look at their arms." Malarky commented, having me look over to the left and see Babe and Malarky at the dead bodies that were close to them. I couldn't look myself, having me feel as though I was stuck in my own spot. Two silent tears were down my cheeks, having me feel the weight of the world on my shoulders and death right in front of me. A part of me wanted to protect all them, even the ones who were still trying to walk, but too weak and falling to the dusty floor. This was all too much for me, far too much for any of us who just discovered. It made me think of how the world worked now, was it all ever going to be the same again?
Not even close. Not anymore
"This can't happen, not like this." Dr. Kent said to us Medics as we were waiting for his orders at the edge of the camp. It was later in the day, and the men were giving the now freed prisoners food from the truck, though they were trying to grab them all in a greedy state. Doc and I were ordered, along with the rest of the Medics, to wait for Dr. Kent for orders since he was our Head Medic as a regimental surgeon. he didn't like he was seeing, after us witnessing the vehicle coming back with piles of food and water.
"Sir?" Doc asked aloud, confused to what was going to happen next.
"They can't do this to them. These men are going to die if they eat too fast because of their condition." He explained to us as he was pacing back and forth in front of us. It was true what he said, how these men can get sick and die if they ate too fast.
"We need to find a way to help him, but this ain't working." He kept talking, having us seen then Winters and Sink talking to each other. Kent walked over to him, having me breathe in slowly and look down at my own feet as he talked to Sink about what need to happen. Doc rubbed his head in a frustrated manner, coming closer over to me as I tried so hard not to cry again.
"Who could do something like this to human beings." I muttered in pain, having Doc look over at me and having me see him give me a grave look.
"Hitler, that's who." Doc replied back to me in a low tone, sounding as if he could break too. I shook my head, trying so hard to keep that image out of my head as we then heard Winters and Nixon questioning Kent on what was needed to happen.
"You want us to lock these people backup?" Nixon asked, shocked from his spot as Doc and I looked over at him.
"We got no choice, Nix." Colonel Sink replied in gruff, having me hold my head in my hands.
"Oh shit." I said in a miserable tone, Doc wrapping an arm around me as Spina sighed in defeat.
"Oh God." He replied, miserable from the news as Doc ushered me away back to the vehicle.
"Come on, Marley. Let's sit." Doc urged me, having me say nothing as we walked. My own head and heart was hurting beyond words, no longer wanting to find some kind if happiness. I slowly got up on the vehicle, sitting on the bench and feeling as though I want to vomit from all that happened. Doc stayed next to me, one arm around me and the other rubbing my arm in a soothing motion. He was trying to comfort me, to make sure that I was okay since I'm having a breakdown from all that was happening around me.
"I'm sorry, Doc," I said in a miserable tone, "I didn't mean to do this." I must have looked like a fool, crying over this though it was affecting my heart so much.
"It's fine, gingembre." He answered me, having me close my eyes as I hear Joe in the distance, talking to the prisoners in German. He was telling them to go back into the camp, I knew it from the bottom of my heart that they didn't want to go back. Who would, since the place was a death trap for them and was waiting to kill them every day they woke up and went to sleep. I could not imagine what was happening in there on a day to day basis. And to hear the men cry out in defiance against Joe who was still trying to talk to them in a calm tone. This was beyond horrible, and as he finished, I could hear the other soldiers trying to get them back in the camp. I knew the majors and Colonel Sink was trying to figure out what to do with them, and this was the only solution for them. But it was also a stupid one to do, making them go back to the nightmare.
It made me want to wake up. I had to wake up.
I knocked on the door, poking my head in and seeing some of our men in the apartment, just sitting. After going back to the camp and getting the prisoners they proper food and being regulated under Kent, they were released and taken to the next hospital. Most of the citizens saw them and looked at them in horror as we escorted them in the hospital for intensive care, the doctors there were helping them out as much as they could with food and water. I got my now jacket back from the prisoner, whom gave it back to me and kept saying, "Danke." to me over and over with tears down his face.
After we did this, which took a good solid hour to get everything settled, we went back to our own quarters at the apartments with nothing to say or do. But it also meant that I haven't seen Joe since I broke down in tears in the vehicle with Doc. He was in a different vehicle coming home from camp, and he instantly went back to the apartments, not helping with the hospital. All of us were high sprung about making sure the citizens were okay, not even wanting to question the German citizens that were asking whom the prisoners were and why they were in their hospital.
Inside the room was Frank, Luz, Bull and Webster, all looking worn out and miserable from today. They all looked over in my direction, having me see them watch me with no smile on their faces and nothing see to do.
"You guys seen Liebgott?" I asked them all in a small tone, seeing some of them shake their heads. But Bull spoke up for me to answer the question. His voice was still rough, drained and almost broken.
"He's next door, not doing too good." He replied back to me, having me nod my head at him and he got up from his spot in his chair. He walked over, the heavy steps of his boots rattling the quiet room as we were standing face to face with one another.
"You need to check up on him. He's way out of shape ever since we came back from the camp." He explained to me in a low tone, having me hear the concern in his voice. I was now worried about him too since this would affect him the most. He was a Jew, and to see others like him with the same ethnicity and religion being killed because of who they are, that killed him. It would have killed me too.
"Thanks, Bull." I thanked him, seeing him nod his head once at me as I moved out of the room, walking down the hallway a bit to the next door that was closed. I could hear the others talk to each other in small murmurs, the conversations were not light but bitter. I couldn't blame them, but I had to find the one person who I knew would be affect by this the most.
I opened the door slowly, seeing only a lantern being lit in the darkness of the room. There was practically nothing in there: a small dressed and one queen bed that was stripped of pillows and blankets. There was a body on the mattress, facing away from me and almost curled in a ball. I could see the body was moving, breathing in and out slowly. It pained me, knowing who it was.
Joe.
From where I was, I saw him hugging himself and trying to breath, though it sounded so broken and fragile. His legs were tucked underneath, having me see his boots against the stained white mattress. I closed the door, not doing anything else for a moment before I spoke up.
"Joe." I merely said, having my voice me so soft and gentle as I walked over, slowly. He said nothing, doing nothing but lying there on the bed and just breathing. He didn't yell at me to leave him alone, nor did he show any movements towards me. As I got closer, I stood at the edge of the bed, looking down at him and feel my own heartache for him. Slowly and carefully, I got on the mattress and got close enough to hear him breathing. It was shallow, not even and not smooth. I peered over to se his face, and I noticed that he was crying. Tear marks were on his cheeks as he was staring at the wall in front of him.
Oh Joe.
I laid down behind him, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him close to me. Joe reluctantly wrapped his arms around my own in front of him, our fingers intertwining together as we just laid there together on the bed. I said nothing, I doubted he wanted to hear anything at that moment. Joe was slowly breaking apart at the seams from the incident today at the camp, seeing Jews who were on the verge on death in front of him. I nuzzled my nose against his neck, breathing him in and keeping the peace there as we just breathed together.
"I'm right here." I whispered to him in reassurance, having me hear nothing from him but feel him pull me closer to his body, having it look like we were molded as one body instead of two. My knees behind his knees, my front to his back and my head against his. Joe didn't know how to harness his own emotions and pain in the right way, and this was one pure example. I silently prayed that he would be okay, that he would feel me trying to soothe him and make him feel better about this. It was hard for me to watch him in his own personal Hell, seeing the pain in how he was staring at the wall and how he was curled in a fetal position. This was not the Joe that I loved, he was far away from me.
"I can still see their faces, Marley." Joe murmured in front of me, a scratchy voice coming out along with a teary one.
"I know, love." I replied back against his skin on his neck.
"It's haunting me…they're haunting me." He said now in a miserable tone, having me feel him about to cry once more in my arms as I pressed a kiss against his neck to show him that I was still with him, feeling his pain. I could still see them too, knowing that they too were haunting my mind constantly since we left the area.
"Come back to me, Joe," I whispered to him in a bold tone, knowing by this point he was crying and he was too far gone, "Please, come back to me. Don't leave me here." It was meant for him not to leave me here while he was suffering in his own mind. He couldn't do that, not to me. This time, it was him scarring me since he was shutting himself away from the others and not having a way to get out. I had to be there, to just hold him and show them how I was devoted to him and his happiness. The rest of the night was of us holding each other, saying nothing but being there for each other in the darkness of the night in Germany.
God, make it stop.
