Chapter 4

Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! I apologize for the delay as I've been working on my other story and am also in the process of trying to find a job as well as struggling with a lack of motivation. Yet rest assured I am continuing this story. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far, you guys are so sweet. :) Please REVIEW and let me know what you think of this chapter and let me know whether or not I should continue. God Bless.

-Vegter999

Rupert's POV:

It was shortly after 9 in the evening when the prisoners had retired to their barracks to sleep that I finished patrolling the women's camp, where I had been supervising the female officers and making sure they saw to it that every prisoner went to their respective barracks and the camp would be secure overnight.

I was feeling particularly irritable and just wanted to get home and rest as it had been a long day without a moment to myself. Perhaps I would sink into a hot bath to ease the soreness of my muscles before retiring. The thought made me quicken my steps in the direction of the entrance to the women's camp, but before I could stride about ten paces a smooth feminine voice stopped me.

"Rupert?"

I groaned inwardly and turned to see Johanna Volkenrath standing there, a seductive smile on her face.

"What is it Johanna?"

"Are you going to leave without even a good-bye to me?" she stepped closer.

"I would like to get home Johanna. It's been a long day" I replied, straining to keep my irritation down.

She moved closer and began to massage my shoulder.

"Would you like me to come with you? Perhaps I could help you relax."

"Good night Johanna" I replied stiffly and moved away from her grasp, before abruptly turning and striding away. Thankfully she chose not to follow me. However, I knew she wasn't one to give up easily as she'd been constantly vying for special attention from me ever since I'd met her two months ago. What's worse was Father, who was already constantly pushing me to marry a woman of good family, had noticed her behavior and consistently urged me to make her my wife.

I was so lost in my thoughts as I trudged through the camp that I failed to hear footsteps coming closer until all of a sudden a young couple of prisoners, a man and a woman, who were grasping each others hands, appeared in front of me. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw me. However, before I could call for help and raise the alarm the man pulled out a knife and stabbed me in the side, covering my mouth to muffle my cries.

"Help me drag him to the back of that barrack over there so no one will find him until morning when we've escaped" the man whispered urgently to the woman. I felt weak as blood began to pour from my side, soaking through my shirt as they dragged me to the back of the barrack, setting me down against the wall.

"Here hand me those pieces of cloth" the man said to her. She pulled out two strips of white cloth from her pocket and he tied one around my mouth so I wouldn't be able to cry out and the other he looped tightly around my hands which he had forced behind my back. I was already beginning to feel weak from blood loss, one of my hands had become sticky with fresh blood from where it had been placed over the wound in a vain attempt to help stop the bleeding.

"He's already weak. The cloths won't hold him for long but I think they'll do until we can get out of here" he said to her. He took one last look and spat on me. Then they both hurried away.

I struggled to free my hands and thumped my back against the wall of the barrack while doing so. After a few more attempts I gave up as I began to slip in and out of consciousness and slumped against the wall in defeat.

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Lilla's POV:

My eyes flew open as I all of a sudden I heard a soft thump against the wall of the barrack, following by a soft moan. I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion and sat up, listening intently for the sound again. A few moments passed and another groan echoed lightly through the wall but this time it was weaker than before. It sounded like someone out there was injured. I made to get up and investigate but then I recalled that Volkenrath would likely punish me severely and perhaps all the rest of the prisoners as well if I was discovered to be outside past curfew.

Yet, what if the person out there was a fellow prisoner? Could I really live with the fact that I didn't at least try and help them on my conscience? What if they died as a result of my inaction? My resolve to at least investigate the situation hardened and I slowly rose from bed, tiptoeing down the aisle between the bunks and towards the door. I slowly pushed the door open and cringed as it made a slight creak. I quickly glanced back to see if anyone had noticed me but they all still appeared to be fast asleep. Once the door was cracked open wide enough for me to slip out I did so, the chill of the night air blasting me. I pulled the door shut behind me and started to creep towards the back of the barrack, keeping my hand on the wall to help soothe me as adrenaline pumped through my veins and my heart pounded so loudly I thought it was going to burst from my chest.

I expected any moment for a shout to ring out as I was caught, but the only sound was the breeze rustling in the night. As I reached the back of the barrack, I gasped at the sight before me.

There before me slumped against the wall was the male SS officer I had seen earlier that day at roll call.

As I crept closer to him I noticed blood welling out of a wound in his side and his hands were tied behind his back and his mouth was gagged. He'd obviously been attacked and left purposely to die by someone. I could tell he was still alive though because I picked out the faint rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, though granted the breaths he took were shallow and labored.

I felt anger boiling to the surface as I gazed at him. He and his kind had taken everything from me, my family, my home, and starved me and forced me to perform slave labor as if I was little better than vermin.

I could leave him and go back to bed right now and no one would ever know and neither I nor my fellow prisoners would be punished because of my actions while he would die and the world would be a little brighter tomorrow.

I turned to leave but the voice of God in my head stopped me.

Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. Bless those who curse you.

I closed my eyes tightly, warring with myself.

Saving the life of one person is like saving the life of all humanity and taking the life of one person is like taking the life of all of humanity.

I growled begrudgingly, having to admit he was right.

I turned around sharply and quietly stomped, if one could do that quietly, over to him. I was saving his life, but that didn't mean I had to like it.

I knelt in front of him and non too gently yanked the gag away from his mouth.

"Can you hear me?" I hissed. His eyes were drooped almost closed but he gave an almost imperceptible nod.

I stood up and reached around his back, untying his hands.

"Can you walk?" I asked.

"With...help" he managed to croak out, beginning to cough.

I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Why me?" I asked irritably, looking upward for a moment, before glaring back at him.

"Very well, keep your mouth shut and lean against me."

I slowly helped him up and he leaned on me for support as we trudged toward the entrance, keeping one of his hands over the wound.

"Who...are...you?" he groaned, sounding almost delirious.

"Like I would tell someone like you anything" I quietly snapped back.

As we neared the entrance I noticed two guards standing watch and facing away from us. I had to find some way to get their attention to the SS officer without alerting of them of my presence outside past curfew as I was not about to be punished again by Volkenrath. Besides given the state the injured SS officer was in plus the fact that it was dark out he probably wouldn't remember much about me if he managed to survive.

I gazed down at the ground and to my delight I noticed a small pebble. I helped lay the SS officer as close to the gate as I could where he would also be likely to be spotted. Thankfully he did not cry out or moan. I then picked up the pebble and hurried into the shadow of one of the barracks. With all my might I tossed the pebble, and it hit the gate, causing a loud clanging sound. One of the guards turned around and immediately noticed the wounded officer and called to his companion. They rushed towards their fallen comrade.

"I hope I've done the right thing Lord" I whispered, before sneaking away back in the direction of my barrack, not even realizing that I had left my shoe beside the wounded officer.

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Rupert's POV:

My eyes snapped open and I sat bolt upright, causing an explosion of pain in my head.

"Ow" I groaned, putting my face in my hands.

"Nice to see your awake son" I looked up and noticed Father sitting in a chair beside my bed.

"Oh my sweet son" Mother cooed, sitting on the bed and rubbing my back.

"Stop coddling him Elsa. He's a grown man" Father snapped.

"We almost lost him last night so I'll coddle him all I want thank you very much!"

"Where am I? What happened?" I interjected, still very much confused and not yet in the mood for my daily dose of parental argument and squabbling.

"You don't remember? Two of the guards found you on the ground by the gate. You were almost at deaths door and they rushed you to the camp doctor who attended to you and then we brought you back home."

"The gate? Wait how did I get by the gate?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Father replied, his eyebrows scrunching together in confusion.

"I remember when I was attacked, they dragged me behind a barrack. I was nowhere near the gate. Then someone came and helped me. A woman I think."

"Ahh was it Volkenrath?" Father waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"No, the voice wasn't hers."

"Do you remember what she looked like?"

"Not really. I was practically on the verge of passing out plus it was dark outside."

"Well we at least know who the two people are that attacked you. They were a husband and wife staging an escape. They're being searched for now. And believe me the moment they're found I'll see to it personally that they're sent to Mengele* for some special treatment."

A knock came at the door.

"Come in" Mother called.

One of the guards who I recognized as an officer who was regularly posted at the gate of the women's camp entered the room.

He saluted me.

"I see your feeling better sir."

"Rupert he's one of the guards that brought you to the doctor" Father explained.

"Then I suppose I owe you my life."

"Sir I may have found a way to figure out who it was that brought you to the gate. I overheard you say you were confused about that before I came in."

He pulled out a shoe of the type that was usually issued to one of the prisoners.

"This was found at the spot where you were lying. We didn't notice it due to the darkness and the fact that we were scrambling to get you to safety, but we found it this morning and I figured you would like to know."

He handed me the shoe and I turned it over in my hands before gazing at Father.

He grinned wolfishly.

"Well, well it looks like one of the prisoners has some explaining to do."

*Joseph Mengele was an SS officer at Auschwitz who helped select people to be killed in the gas chambers. He was also known as the Angel of Death for his exceedingly grotesque and harmful scientific experiments on Jews and other prisoners in the concentration camp.

Hey guys, wow was this a hard chapter to write as it really required attention to the details. I hope I did this chapter alright. PLEASE REVIEW and let me know what you think and whether or not I should continue. God Bless.