Chapter 11
Hey guys! I'm back with another chapter! I've had a tough month but I've beaten it because I have Jesus! Thank you so much for all your support and reviews! You guys are so sweet! PLEASE REVIEW and let me know what you think of this chapter! God Bless :)
-Innocentia999
Lilla's POV:
When we finally got the poor animal back to the Heim's the dog had apparently already passed out.
"Good thing he's unconscious, then at least I won't have to knock him out myself" Officer Heim murmured more to himself than anyone else as he set the dog on the cleared kitchen counter.
I stood quietly off to the side, wringing my hands and not quite knowing what to do.
After a few more inaudible words to himself and poking and prodding at the animal's gash Officer Heim glanced up at me.
"There's a medical kit under the sink behind me. Fetch it for me."
I inwardly rolled my eyes at his tone but decided to say nothing.
I strode behind him and knelt down, pulling the cabinet open.
After sifting through several other objects and feeling around, I finally spotted the kit with a big red cross on it.
I hauled it from the cabinet and placed it next to Officer Heim.
"I'll need to administer an antibiotic since infection has already seemed to set in and sterilize the wound."
I merely nodded, not knowing how or if I was supposed to respond or not.
"I have no anesthetic. You'll hold him down in case he wakes because of the injection or when I sew up his leg."
"How do you know all this?" I blurted out without thinking.
"I hardly think that matters" he replied, defensively. My curiosity was slightly piqued at why he seemed so determined to hide nearly everything about himself. Granted I was his prisoner, but I found that hardly stopped most people from boasting about how much knowledge they had and how they got it or where they were educated if it meant they could lord it over another and display their so called superiority.
"I was only asking" I grumbled.
"Well don't. Now help me."
I silently did as he demanded and went to stand at the dogs head, gently yet firmly holding him down in case he woke up.
Thankfully, he remained unconscious as Officer Heim sterilized the gash and sewed it up more quickly and adeptly than I expected.
After the antibiotic was administered, Officer Heim washed his hands in the sink, while I continued to stroke the dogs face as the poor creature was starting to stir and move his head.
"Shh it's alright little one, you'll be better in no time" I soothed softly.
He whimpered and was just barely able to lift his head to lick my hand in thanks for my comfort.
All of a sudden Artur came loping into the kitchen. He took one glance at our rescued companion and started barking so loud I had to cover my ears.
"Artur!" Officer Heim shouted over the dog's incessant protests.
Artur continued to bark and growl.
"Artur sit! NOW!" Heim snapped even louder. Finally the dog went silent and did as his master bade him.
"What's all this racket about?" Heim's father strode into the room.
My stomach tightened and I found my breathing becoming labored as he glared at me for a moment, as the night of his beating me nearly to death came to the forefront of my mind. I hastily averted my eyes and focused on the feel of the soft fur of the dog underneath my hand.
"This dog was lying injured by the road Father. I brought it back and the Jew held him down while I stitched him up. Artur then came in here and started barking."
Herr (Mr.) Heim glanced him over.
"No identification on him. He's probably a stray and he would be of no use to us here. You probably should've just left him there."
My blood boiled but I held my tongue.
"On the contrary Father, we could always use a backup guard dog for the house in case Artur is out with me don't you think?"
Herr Heim's eyes shifted to the poor animal once more, who by now was snoozing away on the kitchen counter.
"Whatever you think best Rupert." His eyes then lifted to me, and he grinned cruelly.
"I trust she has provided you with the level of amusement you hoped for."
"Oh yes she has indeed Father. In fact she will be staying with me tonight. Though I obviously have not transgressed the laws of *Nuremberg as I would not throw away my position for this rat, that doesn't mean I can't amuse myself through other means." Heim flashed me a twisted triumphant grin.
"And by the way Father if I may have your permission , I'd like to feed her until I am satisfied and wish her in my presence no more. She is getting a bit too skinny for my taste."
Herr Heim snorted.
"Well if she must have some meat on her bones to satisfy you I guess I shall hold no objection. Yet maintain control of yourself, you what will happen if you transgress the law of no sexual relations. The last thing we want is for any of these filthy animals to bring another one of their kind into the world."
"There is no danger of that Father. A rat is worth nothing after all, and a man such as myself does not throw away his command over a nothing."
Tears of humiliation and fear clouded my eyes at hearing them talk about me in such a way as if I was simply an object to be used at will.
Thankfully, Herr Heim soon left the room and the conversation was cut short.
I tried to hold my tears back as I felt Heim's eyes bore into me as I kept my orbs focused on the dog, tear drops falling into his fur.
"I trust you've learned your lesson and will think twice about insulting me next time" Heim said.
I glanced up at him, for once not caring that he could see my tears.
"What harm have I ever done to you? No one deserves to be treated the way you treat us, the way you treat me." I replied softly and tearily.
"Oh stop playing the victim and get the dumb dog upstairs to my room!" he snapped.
I slid my arms underneath the animal and practically scurried out of the room with Officer Heim on my tail.
When I reached his room and was inside he shut and bolted the door, leaving me in solitude.
I collapsed on the bed, the slumbering animal in my arms, the rise and fall of its body as it breathed temporarily soothed me.
I placed him gently on the bed and felt my hot tears once again rise to the surface as I got up from the bed and looked up at the ceiling.
"Where are you Lord?! Why have have you allowed all this to happen?!" I slowly sank to my knees crying.
"Don't you see me oppressed?! Don't you hear the cries of your people?! Why have you forsaken me?! What could I have ever done to warrant this?! I do not understand?! I can't do this! I'm just an ordinary girl please give me a sign! Something! Anything!" I cried, almost hysterically.
I fell forward on the floor, prostrated completely.
All of a sudden I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I scrambled away from the touch, by back ending up against the wall as I found myself gazing in into the eyes of Heim.
"What do you want?"
He said nothing for several seconds, his intense blue orbs unreadable, but gradually they seemed to soften and some sort of understanding flashed in them.
He tossed a a woman's nightgown and robe at my feet.
"Go clean yourself up, change, and scrub that dress of yours, it's filthy" he ordered, though this time his voice didn't carry any malice or sting.
I was too exhausted to argue back and simply took the nightgown and robe and headed to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind me.
It was then that I caught a glimpse of myself for the first time since I had been taken from Budapest and I could barely hold back a gasp.
The person gazing back at me was unrecognizable from the girl I had once been. My long thick dark brown locks were gone and only short hair remained in its place, which had probably grown back over the last couple months since my head had been shaved. My cheeks were hollow and much of the fat had disappeared from my arms and legs, making me appear almost like a walking skeleton. Dirt and grime marred my face and body and the number in black ink on my arm stood out in all it's ugliness, reminding me that I was no longer a human being but simply someone else's commodity to use as they saw fit.
As I stared I sobbed quietly. This horrid creature looking back at me no longer shined with beauty but was instead a pale shadow of her former self. This is what the Nazi's had turned me into.
Not being able to stand looking at myself anymore I undressed and stepped into the shower/tub.
As I scrubbed myself clean I couldn't help a crushing wave of guilt washing over me as I thought of all my fellow prisoners back at camp who were not able to feel the luxury of clean warm water running over them.
When I was finished I dressed in the nightclothes I was given and proceeded to start scrubbing my grimy dress with all the strength I had left in my frail arms.
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Ruperts POV:
Her sobs could be heard through the doorway before the sound of running water. Despite myself it tugged at my heart, reminding me of my mother's sobs I was always privy to growing up after she'd had a particularly nasty fight with my father.
You acted just like him down there I felt a voice in my mind say. I shook my head. It was probably just my imagination. Yet, the words still struck me to the core. Was I truly like my Father? Had I become like the man whom I'd loathed whenever he'd struck my mother when I was a child?
I recalled her face, those tears, and eyes full of pain.
No one deserves to be treated the way you treat us, the way you treat me.
In that moment, I had to admit that how I had behaved downstairs was exactly what my Father would do to my mother, talking about all the terrible things he would do to her if she stepped out of line right in front of her face, just as Father and I had done in front of the Jew. I would NOT be my Father. Just then the Jew stepped out of the bathroom and I realized for some reason that I'd never even asked her her name.
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Lilla's POV:
When I set foot outside of the bathroom, I found Officer Heim gazing at me intently, his eyes as usual unreadable.
He was probably thinking about the best way to insult me about how much I looked basically like a dressed up skeleton.
Instead he lifted himself from his chair and placed a full plate of food on the bed, which consisted of cheese, fresh bread and citrus fruits. The aroma wafted over to me, tempting me and making my stomach growl.
"Eat" Heim commanded.
"I cannot eat while my people starve out there."
I expected him to start yelling, but instead he simply tilted his head slightly to the side.
"Do you ever think of yourself for once? It is not wrong to do so."
"It is in this case" I replied, for lack of a better comeback.
"You have an opportunity, take what you want."
"Is that what you do? Take what you want and not care who you betray and hurt?" I replied, exhaustedly.
He didn't respond to my inquiry but instead shocked me with his next statement.
"You eat and take care of yourself and I'll make sure your friend Edith is taken from hard labor and put with the sorters." I recalled the sorters were the one's who sifted through the belongings taken from the new arrivals at camp to see if they could find anything useful to use for Hitlers army and regime and dispose of anything that wasn't.
"How do you know about..."
"Nothing happens in that camp without me knowing about it" he interrupted.
"I'll bet it doesn't" I stated flatly.
He narrowed his eyes at my response but thankfully said nothing.
I pondered his proposal for several seconds.
"How do I know you'll keep your word?"
"You don't" he stated softly.
I glanced over at the plate, deciding to take a chance for Edith. Besides I hardly had anything to lose anymore. I plopped myself on the bed and started to gobble down the cheese.
"Eat only small portions at first. Your body needs to slowly get used to food again" Heim advised. "And make sure to eat some of the citrus, it'll help to prevent scurvy and keep your strength up."
As hard as it was to do so, I slowed down and only took small portions at a time, picking at the cheese and taking small bites of the citrus.
"I never asked you your name" Heim broke the silence suddenly.
I startled at his question inwardly before pulling myself together.
"You know my number sir" I replied, hoping he'd let the subject go at that.
"No, what is your name?"
I silently glanced up to meet his eyes.
"Call me by my number Sir, for that is all I will ever be to you."
I picked up another small chunk of bread and gobbled it down, as I was slowly beginning to feel drowsy.
Heim obviously noticed and spoke "You are tired. You may have the bed."
I gazed at him in utter shock as I'd expected him to force me to sleep beside him, but instead he placed our new furry friend, who had roused enough to lift his head and gaze around in curiosity, next to me. Heim meanwhile padded over to a comfortable looking mattress on the floor.
My head was spinning in confusion at this strange turn of events. Why was he being so kind to me? Perhaps this was all some sort of crazy dream that I would soon awaken from and be back in my barrack.
My friend lying beside me placed his paw on me and I couldn't help but grin softly and lye down, cuddling him close.
"I think I'll call you Kedves" I cooed, which meant kind in Hungarian.
Kedves plopped his head on my chest and almost instantly was snoozing away. Heim turned off the lights and I soon found myself asleep, and for the first time in months, my slumber remained untroubled.
*In Nazi concentration camps such as Auschwitz the Nuremberg laws forbade Nazi guards and German people in general from having sex with Jews.
PLEASE REVIEW and let me know if I should continue. God Bless :)