Brooke
It had been almost two weeks since I had last seen Nathan. After being called to the so called riot he never returned back for his post. A part of me hoped he was dead. And if he was it was all better for me. Another guard was posted in his place, the guard David.
With a heavy sigh I glanced across the large table to the blonde girl named Aurelia. Her green eyes quickly looked at me then shifted away.
"Alright ladies… it's time to sleep." The dark haired guard spoke.
All the women complied as we filed into the sleeping quarters.
"Lights out in 10." The man replied before closing the door behind us and locking it.
All the women went to their beds with ease. Some gathered in small groups whispering quietly to one another. As I reached my bed I glanced around the room for Aurelia. I spotted her by her bunk, getting ready for bed. Taking in a deep breath, I slowly approached her.
"Aurelia right?" I asked with a sincere tone.
She glanced up at me with a curious look. After a few seconds she responded by nodding her head.
"Was there something you needed?" she asked.
"No no!" I shook my head. "I was just wondering how you were doing." I replied, quickly glancing down at the floor.
Her face shifted into a blank face.
"I'm fine." She replied.
"Okay." I responded, not believing her answer.
"Was that all?" she asked.
"I kind of needed some info and I figured since you've been here longer than me that you could help me." I stated, glancing up at her.
A chocolate skinned girl snapped her head up at me. I glanced over at her. Her grey eyes stared straight at me with great intensity and attention. Her gaze automatically made me feel uncomfortable. I quickly looked back at Aurelia, ignoring the pair of eyes on me.
"I don't like where this is going." Aurelia replied.
"It's just a few questions." I pleaded.
"Fine what?" she asked.
"I need all the info on the guard Nathan Scott. I need to know when his post is and when it ends." I responded.
Her face fell into a frown.
"What do you want with him?" she asked.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help but overhear." The dark chocolate woman interrupted, the one who had been staring at me. A red headed woman joined her as they made their way over to us.
My eyes glanced over at the two new girls.
"My name is Genève and my friend here is Danielle." The woman directed to the red head.
"I'm Brooke and this is Aurelia." I answered.
"Very interesting questions you're asking Brooke." The red headed Danielle commented.
"And why would you be so interested in him?" Genève added in.
"I think the real question is; what are you planning?" Danielle asked with knowing blue eyes.
My face quickly drained of all color. I could feel my jaw drop slightly as my eyes shifted over to each of the girls. I closed my eyes as I sucked in a big breath of air. After a few seconds I regained control of myself. I opened my eyes back up and looked at the girls with determination.
"I'm getting my family and myself out of here." I responded.
All of their faces widened with shock and surprise.
"You're crazy!" Danielle immediately responded.
"It's suicide!" Aurelia jumped in.
"I'm not just getting my family out of here… I'm getting everyone out. And I don't care what you think. I'd rather die trying to save the people I love. I'm not just going to stand by and not do a damn thing." I explained.
"You don't really have much of a choice." Danielle commented.
"You seem very confident of yourself for someone's who's barely been here a little over a month." Genève replied.
"That's because I'm going to do it." I replied firmly.
"What does Nathan have to do with any of this?" Aurelia asked.
"He's the one in charge of Canada. If I can find out his shifts, it'll be easier to take him out." I stated.
"Take him out… you mean kill him." Genève's cold grey eyes shifted over at me.
"He's the only one stopping us from getting out of our sector." I responded.
"From what I know about him, Nathan doesn't take any breaks let alone change shifts." Danielle answered.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"If there's one thing I've heard is that, that man can work day in and day out without sleeping. He's always at work. He basically never leaves." Danielle finished.
"Really then where is he now?" I asked. "He hasn't been here in 2 weeks."
"I don't know. But I know someone who can find out." Genève replied.
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea for us to be a part of…. I mean what we're talking about is crazy! And if anyone were to find out about this… we will be shot on sight." Danielle responded.
"Well whatever your plans consist of, I don't think it's Nathan you have to worry about." Aurelia voiced.
My head snapped towards the blonde. Her green eyes narrowed in on me as I gawked at her with confusion.
"Why are you defending him? After what he did to you… You of all people should be on the bandwagon!" I expressed my frustration.
"Unless she liked what he showed her." Genève responded.
A faint blush erupted on the blonde's face. She quickly glanced away from us. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from shouting. This girl is naïve! A new feeling began to bubble up in me as I imagined Aurelia and Nathan together. Something began twisting in my stomach that made me want to gag. The more I tried pushing the image from my mind the faster they kept rushing in. A swirl of disgust raged in me as I looked at the blonde girl with anger and pity. Poor girl…
"What happened that day between you two?" I asked with an edgy tone.
Suddenly the lights went out. The whole room splashed with darkness. Through the shadows I refocused my vision back to the girls.
"I think it's time for bed. Goodnight ladies." Aurelia whispered before clambering into her bottom bunk.
I stared at her for what felt like years. She's hiding something..
"I need to know what happened." I stated firmly before moving past the two other girls.
I climbed into my bottom bunk and laid my head against the small pillow. Tomorrow will hopefully be another day…
Next day….
"The train is here. Ya'll know the drill. Line up!" David, the guard, announced out loudly.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and immediately began lining up. David looked up and down the line making sure everyone was in place. Once satisfied he allowed us to move out of the building. As we made our way out, two more guards joined us. Neither of them were Nathan. The guards walked us through the various barriers and down to the train station. I made sure to take note of every barrier and guards in sight. Not a soul was found on the platform. Tons of suitcases and other various possessions lay askew throughout the station.
"Don't forget to grab the cases from inside the trains too." David ordered.
All the women began to disperse. I searched throughout the platform looking for Aurelia. I spotted the blonde entering one of the wagons of the train. Glancing around, I quickly followed her into the wagon. As soon as I entered she gave me a glowering look.
"Leave me alone." She spoke with a heavy tone.
"I don't understand why you won't tell me what happened." I stated with a firm tone.
"Because this has nothing to do with you." She replied before grabbing a load of suitcases.
"It does now." I retorted.
"Nathan is not the guy you think he is." She responded. Then she quickly left the wagon. I bit my lower lip and stared after her. Anger and confusion settled in me as I glanced around the small cart. Flashes and images of my train ride to Auschwitz swirled in to my head. That's when I finally became aware of where I was.
A nauseous toxic odor invaded my nose, sending shivers down my spine. I pulled my hands to my nose and mouth to keep from gagging on the stench. Blood was smeared along the walls of the wagon. Feces and vomit littered the floor. My heart clenched as the memories flooded into me.
:Flashback to train:
My back was firmly pressed against the wall as other people began coughing hysterically. Many people were getting sick. I clenched my eyes as I firmly held onto Abigail. It was already on our 3rd day on the train ride to Auschwitz. The sun was out and alive, leaving us trapped in a sweat box. Many odors began filling the air as the train jerked roughly, slamming one man's head into the wall. A woman screamed, as the man fell against the others. Fresh blood trickled down the wall from where the man had hit it.
More people began to panic as they tried pushing the dead man away from themselves.
"Is he dead?" a woman cried out.
"What does it look like?" a man replied with a sarcastic remark.
More heat attacked the wagon, stealing any and all the air within. My heart started pounding as sweat rolled down my face. The very air from my lungs was being taken away, leaving me breathless. My head began swimming. I buried my head into my sister's shoulder, trying to block out anything and everything.
"Brooke?" Charles whispered.
My head rolled back effortlessly as my body began to collapse. My brother grabbed onto me with a tight grip.
"Wake up! Don't do this! Wake up Brooke!" Charles whispered.
My eyes fluttered open. Charles's green eyes stared at me.
"Stay awake. Stay alive."
Just then a woman to our left began shaking uncontrollably. We watched as foam dribbled down her mouth. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. The people around her began to scream as blood trickled down her nose. Then her body jerked forward as she threw up dark crimson. Fear erupted into my entire body as I watched the woman before me die.
"Oh God please…" I whispered.
:End of Flashback:
My knees began to wobble as I held onto the wall for support. Every part of me felt like it was spinning out of control.
"Brooke?" A voice from behind me appeared.
A pair of hands gently touched my shoulder. I jumped around in surprise. Both Danielle and Genève stared at me with concern.
"Are you okay?" Danielle asked uncertainly.
My chest rose and fell quickly as I tried to get a hold of myself. I placed my hands across my stomach as I pressed my head against the wall.
"I'm fine." I breathed.
"You're a lot paler than usual. You look like a ghost." Genève commented.
"Maybe she should see the doctor?"Aurelia suggested, appearing out of nowhere.
"Trust me, she doesn't ever want to see that doctor."Danielle replied.
"I'm fine." I stated, straightening myself up.
"Good. Cause I just found our girl." Genève replied with a small smirk.
"This is ridiculous!" Aurelia sputtered before walking over to me. "Were going to get ourselves killed!"
"Where is she?" I asked, completely ignoring Aurelia.
"She's going to talk with us tonight." Danielle responded. "Her name is Marcielle. She's an Italian woman who knows just about everything."
"Fine but we need to keep this group tight knit. No one says a word… or else. From this point on, there's no turning back." I claimed.
"I don't want any part in this." Aurelia stammered out.
"Well you've got no choice because you already know everything." Genève replied.
"No." She replied, before grabbing a handful of suitcases. "This is crazy. And as much as I'd love to get out of here, I' m not willing to sacrifice myself."
With that Aurelia quickly left the wagon. I rolled my eyes as I grabbed as many suitcases as I could.
"Can I ask you something?" Danielle asked, watching me closely.
"Sure." I replied, eyeing the red head.
"How did you get here?" Danielle asked.
"By train, like everybody else." I huffed out.
"She meant, how did you get on Canada?" Genève corrected.
"Oh." I sighed, lowering my eyes to the ground. "Well I was in line with the other women from my train. We were waiting to be 'ushered' into the camp until Nathan literally dragged me out by my hair from the line. He showed me to some guy and told him I'd be a great edition for this place. And here I am."
Both of the women's face's fell immediately. Their eyes widened as they both looked at each other with shock. Confusion filled me as I examined the looks on their faces.
"He pulled you from the line?" Danielle asked with big blue eyes.
"Yeah." I nodded before gathering more suitcases.
"He actually pulled you from the line?" Genève asked once again.
"Yes." I nodded with more confusion. "I don't understand what you're getting at."
"No one has ever been pulled from the line." Danielle replied.
"What are you talking about?" I asked with uncertainty.
"Wow…." Danielle sighed. "Look the fact is… no one hardly gets into Canada. It's restricted. The only way to get into Canada is by showing good behavior and talent from your sector which takes years. We only get 2 new girls every 6 months."
"So you're saying what exactly?" I asked. "That I wasn't supposed to end up in Canada?"
"No you weren't. If you had stayed in that line you would have gone to another sector like sewing, labor, cooking, or making shoes. With the thousands of other women here, I doubt that you would have ever been on Canada." Genève responded.
"Nathan pulled you from the line." Danielle repeated.
"He saved your life." Genève finished.
"So what does that mean?" I asked.
"I think Aurelia may be right. But there's only one way to find out. We need to find out what happened that day between Aurelia and Nathan. And we need to find out his info." Geneva smiled.
"What will that tell us?" I asked, getting curious.
Both of the girls smiled at me. "I don't know. We're just going to have to wait." Danielle chuckled before she and Genève jumped out of the wagon.
Thoughts?