The early 1930's, a harsh time for everyone across the world. Everyone was suffering under great depression as most jobs were gone, leaving lots of people without work and without any money. But this was becoming the least of their worries as a much bigger one had already begun.

A ruthless man known as Adolf Hitler was announced as chairman of the evil German empire, the Nazi Party. It had been decided that all Jewish were responsible for their past failures, along with politicians and a few other kinds of people that they thought were responsible. So, the Nazis decided one thing of justice for them, execution! So, they captured those people and put them into camps, ready for extermination. Only some were left alive to work until they were rendered too weak and disposed of while the rest were sentenced to their end immediately after capture and arrival by train. This was the beginning of a new era, a new and terrible era, the Holocaust!

Bavaria, Southern Germany, Northwest of Munich.

It was in the middle of 1938, in a Nazi concentration camp called Dachau. The camp had already been completed thanks to the work of their political prisoners. And now, they were bringing in lots of Jews from the country and beyond.

One of those jews was a young girl at the age of twelve with red hair and red eyes. She was among the Jews working in the camp while the most of them were sent to their end. And just like them, she didn't like being in this camp. She remembered many months ago when she was captured by the Nazis while her whole family was slaughtered in her house right before her very eyes. She was hardly given any food to eat or any water to drink and was growing weaker. She did her best, but each job was very tough and heavy.

One day, the girl had just finished a job and was headed towards her barracks when she noticed a huge group of Jews headed towards a long building from the death train unloading outside the gate. She went into it before, but only for a grueling job such as removing corpses from there. She wondered why they were in there and why these jews were going in, were they doing the same job? So, she took a peek inside and saw them undressing before going into what she described as a big chamber. But somehow, she recalled going into that chamber to remove bodies from there, so why would those people go in there?

"You there!"

Startled, the girl turned around to find a Nazi solder standing in front of her.

"The chambers are for military personal only unless told to do so!" he scolded.

"S-Sorry," she said sadly. "I was... coming to tell someone that I just finished my job, sir."

"Just finished, huh?" he said suspiciously. "Well, I'll tell you now that I have a new job for you, Izetta!"

So, he grabbed the girl by the wrist and pulled her away.

He brought her to her next duty, which was digging trenches with other prisoners. She didn't like the look of it at all. They were not only getting dirty but also wearing out and the soldiers were not letting them rest even in the slightest.

"This will be your next task," he said sharply. "We'll need some more graves to bury those low lives like yourself!"

Izetta hesitantly brought up a shovel and started digging, but she was only scooping up little dirt, unlike the rest of the people digging on the spot, which made the soldier even more annoyed.

"Come on, you maggots! Is this the best you all got!" he shouted before turning to Izetta. "Especially you, Izetta! Your digging's the worst! Do you know why we lost in the war to the British? It's because of people of your religion, just like the rest of those evil people out there!" he added. "They don't give a damn about the world or everyone on it! I should dispose of you myself, but we need you now! Understood?!"

The poor child paled at hearing those horrible words, hearing such words about her Jewish people. It wasn't true! They were never evil, she knew it! She certainly wasn't evil, and she would never consider taking a life. She never had once! But she just couldn't bring the words out of her mouth.

"Y-Y-Yes... sir!" Izetta quivered as she continued digging.

Seeing her wimpy state, the solider sighed. She was clearly not doing the best job out of all the workers here in the camp.

"Perhaps I should assign your shower next week instead of next month. Consider it a gift from the bottom of my heart," he grumbled as he walked away.

As Izetta continued to dig, she thought about what he had said. Why would he consider giving her a gift all of the sudden?

Over a week ago, Izetta had once a friend who worked in the camp with her and was ordered into the "shower." She saw her leave into the same building where she earlier peeked inside to find that chamber. She could assume that chamber was the "shower" the soldiers have mentioned. However, she never saw her friend again afterward. But then, she just remembered pulling bodies out from that same chamber! She put the two pieces in her mind together.

At that moment, it all became clear! It was never a REAL shower! That chamber must've emitted something poisonous from there, killing all those inside, which would include her friend! She was poisoned and killed! Whatever it was, it didn't matter! There was one thing on her mind right now.

Just hearing that soldier saying he was going to put her in that shower next week meant he was going to kill her! But she couldn't panic or scream it out loud, otherwise she would be dead on the spot. She tried to keep herself from hyperventilating.

"Hey, don't stop now!" said an inmate beside her, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Get to work or they're gonna kill us!"

Izetta did but knowing full well that whether they did work or not she would still die along with the rest of the inmates here, wearing these stripped pajamas, all skin and bone underneath. She was almost that weak herself from the lack of food she had. She didn't want to be here in this awful place anymore. And she certainly didn't want to wait until her death comes.

So, she started making a plan. Izetta was going to break out of this camp!

That night, all the prisoners were getting prepared for bed after another dreadful day at work with restless yet ruthless guards.

Izetta was in her cabin. She was stuffing the bed with lots of dirt she snagged with her from the trench she was digging before putting covering and the pillow with the sheet. Once that was done, she carefully slipped out of the cabin and ran towards the deep trench she and other inmates dug earlier and jumped in, hiding herself away.

She quietly watched as a guard marched towards her cabin, checking his watch showing 9 pm before slamming the door open.

"LIGHTS OUT, MAGGOTS!" he yelled before slamming the door.

Izetta watched the guard walk back to his quarters. He didn't even notice she had gone since going in there just to say that was all he could do. Once he was gone, she peered climbed back up the embankment and peered over the edge, looking around until she saw a truck.

She knew that truck was for carrying new prisoners for execution and always leaves empty for more. She saw some come in before and no guards were in where the inmates arrive. Without wasting any time, she climbed out and dashed for the truck. There were still no guards around as she reached it, climbed into the trunk and hid herself inside behind the tarps, staying as quiet as a mouse. It was after she climbed in when she heard two guards walked towards the truck and opening the doors, getting in. She'd hardly dare breath!

The man in the turned on the engine and started to drive towards the gate. When the truck reached it, one of the two guards on watch opened the gate to let the truck through and out onto the road.

Izetta waited a long while before she could quietly peer through one of the tarp's gaps, seeing she was now far away from the camp and riding through what looks like a small woodland road. She saw this as her chance to get out and she quietly climbed over before jumping out. The truck wasn't moving very fast, and that was lucky. She tumbled on the road behind the truck as it drove further on and left her behind. Poor Izetta suffered only a few scrapes from that reckless jump, but she was glad as she watched the truck disappear before dashing into the woods.

As she ran, some branches tore some scratches into her striped pajamas. But that didn't matter to her. The further she ran, the further her chances of freedom were. She didn't know where she was going to run, all she knew was that she had to get as far away from this country as possible.

It wasn't too long before she found herself at the end of the forest, where ahead of her was short woodland area, which was blocked by a narrow waterway in front of her, known as the Würm river. Seeing it as her best chance, she jumped in and began to swim to the other side. The water was cold, the river's current was strong. As Izetta swam, she noticed that her soaked pajamas were dragging her back, so she stripped them off and let them float away or sink to the bottom as she continued to swim to the other side in only her underwear. The distance wasn't far and was able to reach the other side, shivering as she stepped out. Luckly, she found a blanket on the other side and wrapped it around her before vanishing through the trees again.

It was hard running without shoes as her feet were getting bruised and scratched. But as she ran, she found herself running across another small roadway whereas a car was still running on the road towards her!

Izetta heard a horn, and when she turned and saw the car, she gasped and jumped back and clear just in time before it could hit her, hiding back behind the bushes. As she hid, she heard the sound of tires skidding on the road, stopping a few yards ahead of her. She hoped whoever came out of there weren't Nazi soldiers. She prepared for the worst as a door opened.

But when the figure stepped out, all Izetta could see what a young girl her age with long blond hair, dressed in a white blouse and green dress. She didn't look like a Nazi, but she wasn't sure. Regardless, she did look beautiful.

"Hello?" the girl called. "Is anyone there?!"

Izetta wasn't sure what to do. Should she answer or should she keep hiding? It might be her one and only chance at freedom, but then again it could mean her death. She started to hesitate and move back. But as she did so, twigs tugged on the blanket and she pulled back hard, falling to the ground with a soft BUMB!

The girl heard the loud noise and turned to see one of the bushes rustling before rushing over to look. When she reached the bush, she pulled away some twigs and branches, and that's when he saw a girl her age with short red hair and gleaming red eyes, laying on the ground dirty, weak and torn as she was wearing only a blanket and a pair of underwear. She watched her recover until she looked up at her gleaming purple eyes.

"Where did you come from?" she asked, astounded.

Startled, the girl let out a small shriek and sat up, backing away.

"Wait, I won't hurt you," she said, reaching out a kind and gentle hand. "I promise I won't."

Izetta stopped and looked up at the girl. She was still scared, but when she saw the other girl's other hand, reaching out as a kind and gentle gesture, she started to feel less scared. At last, she spoke.

"You're not... a Nazi soldier, are you?" she asked nervously.

The other girl laughed.

"Of course not," she said, smiling. "Why would I be? Those men are terrible!" she added before looking concerned. "What I wanna know is what a little girl like you is doing out here all alone and half-naked."

Izetta looked concerned and looked away, ashamed.

"You shouldn't be near me," she said sadly. "I'm a Jew! If I get you involved, we'll both go back to that camp!"

That's when the other girl gasped.

"You escaped one of the camps?!" she asked, amazed as Izetta slowly nodded. "Well, I don't care if you're a Jew, neither does my family! In fact, we were just on our way to the harbor to catch the ship to America."

Izetta's eyes widened. She had heard stories about America, being the land of the free. She felt saddened that she had no way of going there, but that thought wasn't about to last.

"Do you want to come with us?" the girl asked kindly.

Izetta gasped again and looked at the girl like she was some kind of angel. And when she saw her outstretched, gentle hand again, she found herself drawn as Izetta slowly lifted up her hand and grabbed hers. And, in return, the other girl pulled her up to her feet.

"My name's Fine, what's yours?" the girl asked.

"I-Izetta," Izetta answered shyly.

"That's a beautiful name," said Fine kindly. "Now let's go!"

And she helped her to the car where her parents and butler were waiting. They were surprised to see the girl their daughter had in tow. But when Fine explained the situation, they accepted Izetta immediately and they brought her in the car before driving off. On the way, Fine gave Izetta a set of her clothes from her bag and a few snacks to eat.

"It's lucky we found you, young lady," said her father. "When the news of the Nazis were taking people that are what they called, "deemed unworthy," we knew it wasn't safe in our hometown in Austria. We may not be jewing like you, but we still couldn't stay." he added. "So, we decided to escape to America."

"America?" asked Izetta.

"It's known as the home of the free," explained Fine. "It's where people can be safe from the Nazi's. It's far beyond their reach so, once there, those Nazi men can't even touch you."

"Really?" Izetta asked hopefully.

"We were on our way to our ship," said the mother, "until we found you that is."

"So," Izetta said shyly, "you don't mind? I mean... those men say that..."

"That Jewish people are evil?" scoffed Fine. "Well, we don't believe that at all. In fact, knowing that you were from a camp is all the more reason why we should take you with us, to make sure you're safe."

"But we first have to get you a passport and have it stamped before we can travel at all," added her father.

Izetta felt downhearted.

"I'm sorry to slow you guys down," she apologized.

"Never mind," smiled Fine. "There's plenty of time."

Izetta sure hoped so.

So, they stopped by a place clear of Nazi's where Izetta was given a brand-new passport, which was given a red J stamp on it. It was the only proof of evidence that shows security guards on her journey that she was a Jew escaping from the Nazi's. That only took about half an hour. But before they went on the road again, the family also made sure to telegraph the ship's captain that one extra person will join them. When they mentioned that it was a surviving Jew who escaped one of the camps, he agreed immediately and had one of the crew members give her the ticket on the pier when they arrived. To make the journey quicker, they got on a train at the nearest station to take them to the harbor.

It took around eleven hours until the train stopped at Cherbourg, France, where they got off and were taxied to the harbor. When they arrived, Izetta could see several steamboats, sailboats, and fishing boats until they got to the terminal, where Izetta saw their ship.

It was a huge Cunard ocean liner that rose up to twelve stories, had a British flag on it and spotless paint of black and white with three red funnels across the top deck, like some sort of crown or something. She was able to take a little look at the name on the back as they went by that was written in white, "QUEEN MARY, LIVERPOOL." She had to admit, it looked beautiful. And as promised, Izetta was given the ticket on the quayside from what she described as "a very nice man."

"How does your family do it?" Izetta asked Fine.

"Oh, my family is quite rich," Fine chuckled, rubbing the back of her head.

When all is said and done, Izetta and the family went with a bunch of people in a line and showed the crew their tickets and passports before climbing up the walkway and boarding the liner.

The moment she took her first step, Izetta was astounded by the scenery of the interior. So much wood walls carved beautifully in fine art. One of the crew members had even showed her the synagogue for Jewish people come to worship. She even took a moment to pray inside the place, thanking everyone giving her this chance at survival. The crew also promised her some Kosher meals during the voyage, even though she hadn't really requested it yet. Still, it made Izetta slowly begin to feel it like home, already starting to feel safe. To make things better, Izetta was given the same room as Fine. She liked that very much.

Izetta was told at what time the ship would depart. But when the time came, it didn't look like everything was ready. She wondered if the crew was forgetting something. Luckly Fine came and found her on the deck, looking over the railing.

"Is something wrong, Izetta?" asked Fine.

"Yeah, isn't the ship supposed to depart?" she asked anxiously.

"I'm sure there must be a reason for it," comforted Fine.

Their answer soon came when they all heard the captain's voice on the speakers.

"Attention all passengers, this is the captain. We are experiencing a six-hour delay in our departure for a Jewish family of four held-up at the Gestapo. However, they are on their way now, but it will take six hours before they arrive. So, in the meantime, hold on tight and enjoy your stay until they arrive. I promise immediate departure as soon as they board."

"Don't worry, Izetta," Fine comforted again. "It'll take days before any Nazi will find you here."

Then they heard a first class woman complaining nearby.

"This is absurd!" she said to her husband impatiently. "Why must the captain delay our voyage all for just one family? Everybody knows the crew aren't supposed to wait! They should just leave them!"

Hearing this offended Izetta, knowing that the family was jewish just like her and was just about to speak up when Fine put a hand in front of her, shaking her head, telling her now was not the time to start a conflict. So, Izetta calmed down and kept her mouth shut as the family went past. She felt bad about not defending her Jewish religion, but she knew that she musn't blow her only chance to escape the Nazi's.

So, for the rest of the wait, everyone did their daily activities onboard.

And six hours later, the family did arrive and quickly boarded. That was when the call for departure was ordered. The ship was unmoored from the pier and the tugs guided her out to sea.

Izetta and Fine were on the deck, watching as the French coast disappeared from sight, glad to see that still no Nazi men had come. It was at that moment; Izetta knew that she had really escaped from the terror of the Nazi's and was now finally free. She could tell now that even when the men back at the camp knew about her disappearance, she would already be long gone. And she owed it all to her new friend, Fine, who helped her escape and could now live a happy life. She felt like this was just the beginning of something new.