Brooke's POV:
I woke up this morning to find 5 more people in our cramped up room. Getting up from my mat on the floor I quickly glanced around for my family. My youngest sister, Abigail, was sitting on the floor with my brother Charles.
"Where are mama and pa?" I asked kneeling down to them.
"They went outside. Pa wanted to trade his wallet for some food. Mama went with him" Charles answered.
"Okay well where's Gracie?" I asked.
Suddenly a man to the left of us started coughing hysterically. I could feel a frown cross my face as the man grasped onto the ledge of the wall. Then he bent over and puked. Dark crimson poured out from the man's mouth. I quickly threw my arms around my brother and sister in an effort to somewhat protect them. The man then face planted onto the floor and into his vomit. I cringed at the sight. Within a few seconds a revolting smell filled the room. I turned my head away and looked at my brother. The whole room stared at the man.
"Where's Gracie?" I asked again.
My brother's green eyes were glued onto the motionless man on the floor. I bit my lower lip and hit his arm. He quickly looked at me.
"I-I Don't know where she is." Charles replied.
"What the fuck do you mean you don't know where she is?" I asked.
I quickly looked around the small room. There were at least 17 people in the room. Not one of their faces was my oldest sister.
"Fuck." I muttered to myself.
Yesterday my family and I were taken into a contained community area in a part of Poland. People around here called them Ghetto's. I soon came to realize that we weren't the only ones stuffed in a room full of people we didn't know. All around the Ghetto everyone was forced into small rooms. The small towns were contained with barbed wire. Guards watched the gates at night and day.
I sighed and sat down next to my brother. We were both 17 years old. My younger sister was 9 years old. My sister Gracie was 21. My father was a blacksmith and my mother was the finest seamstress in Poland. We lived in a big house just a couple of miles from Warszawa. The Nazis had brought me and my family here after they had forced us from our home. The Nazis had told us the Russians were planning a secret attack on Germany and that they needed our home. They stuffed us on a train and brought us here. They promised us that once they were done with it, we could go back home. All we had to do was wait. Things were changing. Deep in the pit of my stomach I knew something was not right. Rumors were going around that the Nazis were secretly killing Jewish people. I didn't believe any of it. I mean what no one would ever let that happen. No one!
My brother started shifting in his position and started standing up.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
He ignored me and made his way over to the man on the floor. Immediately I stood up and grabbed my brother's arm.
"Don't!" I warned him.
My brother eyed me like I was crazy.
"Do you not see him Brooke? That man could be hurt. Do you not care?" he growled at me.
I drew back by his sudden response.
"It's not our place Charles. That man is sick. We don't even know him!" I replied.
"That's the difference between you and me Brooke. I care. Even if I don't know this man, I need to make sure that he's ok." And with that my brother pulled from my grasp and walked to the man. His light brown hair knelt down as he carefully placed his hand on the man's back.
"Sir… Are you okay?" Charles asked as he tried lifting the man.
No answer. Suddenly the whole room started to quiet down, their attention focused now on my brother and the motionless man.
"Sir?" Charles repeated once more before flipping the man onto this back.
I cringed as the man's entire face was covered in blood and vomit. The revolting smell hit the back of my nose with a fierce punch. Charles pressed his head against the man's chest. After a few seconds he lifted his head back up and looked at me with wide eyes.
"He's dead." He uttered.
My jaw dropped down as I looked down at the dead man. A man in the room began shaking his head.
"What do we do?" Charles asked out loud.
"There's nothing you can do." The man who was shaking his head spoke up loudly.
Charles rose to his feet. "What do you mean?"
The man closed his brown eyes and scratched his short beard. "He's dead already." The man responded.
"So were just supposed to leave him here?" my brother replied.
The man began to chuckle out loud. "So young and naïve."
I scratched the back of my head as I slowly pressed my back against the wall. The smell from the man's body began to disturb my stomach.
"What does that have to do with anything?" my brother questioned.
"Kid do you see what's happening out there? Have you not heard the rumors of what those Nazis are going to do with us?" the man spoke.
"It's lies! All lies! They assured us we'd be going home soon." My brother threw back.
The man chuckled. A woman in her late 20's stepped closer to my brother.
"The old man is telling the truth. Nazis have built death camps for all Jews. They already took my mother and father." The woman spoke.
I let this new info seep into my skin.
"B-b-bbut they can't get away with this!" Charles stammered.
"They already have, and still are." The man nodded.
A slight shiver ran down my body. No… No way this just can't be true!
"Then we need to get out of here!" my brother nodded.
"There's no escaping. You don't think people have tried? Well listen up son, they have and they died. Those soldiers out there will shoot you without any hesitation. This is a live or die world now. Survival… Make sure you get it down quick or you will die too." The man zoned out.
"Stop it! Just stop it!" I raised my voice. "Were not going to die! This is all a bunch of nonsense!"
"If you really believe that, then I'm afraid you will not survive." The man chuckled.
Suddenly our room door busted open. 6 guards quickly started shoving and pushing everyone out of the door.
"OUT EVERYONE MOVE OUT NOW! THE RUSSIANS ARE ATTACKING! WE ARE MOVING EVERYONE TO A SAFER PLACE!" one of the guards shouted.
I quickly grabbed onto my brother and sister as we were pushed from our room and out into the dirty muddy streets. Chaos and confusion surrounded the streets as military cars lined up against the community. From what I saw everyone was being shoved into these large trains barred with barbed wire. Panic stirred in my chest.
"Where's ma and pa?" I asked to my brother.
"I don't know… I don't see them." Charles replied looking around.
People kept shoving and slamming into us. The guards pushed the three of us into one of the carts on the wagon. I stood crammed up against the corner of the wagon. I held on tightly to my brother and sister for dear life. More and more people kept coming into our wagon. The air around me got thinner and thinner. All the body heat began to quadruple within an instant. Then once the cart was full, the soldier slammed the wagon shut.
Everyone was standing shoulder to shoulder. No one had any room to move. No one could hardly breathe.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
Then the same man from our room spoke out loud. "They are taking us to Auschwitz."
I tried looking around the wagon for him but I couldn't see him. All I could see were other people's heads and shoulders in the way.
"And what's that?" I asked.
He chuckled lightly. "The death camp my dear. You will see the truth."
Fear shuddered down my body. I gripped harder onto my sibling as tears rolled down my face. Will I ever see my parents and Gracie again?