The Lonely Outcast

I'm gasping for breath. I can't go on, but I have to. I can't let them catch me. I will never give into the Nazis. I am a proud Jew and the Nazis cannot control me! I am running as fast as I can and I turn into a decrepit alley and keep going. Maybe that will keep them off my track. I better keep going unless I find a perfect hiding spot. It's hard to keep running as I gasp for breath, but I know I will be killed or tortured if I stop. I can never stop fighting. In the alley I see a dumpster. Maybe I could hide in one...no, it's too obvious. That's the first place they would look! As I desperately search for somewhere I could hide to trick my assailants, I see something awful. I can't.... At the end of the alley, there were piles of dead bodies. They were common to see in ghetto unfortunately, but did I really have the guts to hide next to them and pretend to be one of them? Sure, I've seen corpses on the streets here and there, but actually being so close to the accumulation of them was not a comfortable feeling. I hesitated, but this is a game of survival. I have to do everything I can to survive and I can't let myself join that pile. That mound of bodies gives a good idea of what issues are going on here in Germany and Poland. I hear the shuffling of distant footsteps and realize I'm running out of time. Now or never. I sprint to the trove of motionless bodies and act as if I am one of them. The overwhelming odor of rotting flesh was almost too much for me to handle, but I know that I am in a matter of life and death so I need to toughen up and go for it. As the scuff of the footsteps grows closer, I lie rigidly and mutely. I am barely breathing to give the illusion of the cold reality of death. I can feel the tense stares of the Nazis as they scan the piles of dead bodies. The Nazis finally give up and storm out of the alley while yelling to each other in German to confirm their lack of findings. I decide to wait for a while in case the Nazis were still near. I wait for what feels like centuries until I finally feel they are gone. I slowly crawl out from the mounds. I gag a bit from the scent of despair and rotting bodies, but make my way back out of the alley. I peek out to make sure it is safe to go find a place to rest. Everything seems clear so I start to walk away from the alley. It's starting to get dark and I'm hungry and exhausted. I can't do much about the hunger issue as an orphan on the streets so I decide to find a safe place to sleep for the night. As I lie down on the broken, crumbling, cold stone, I start to reflect on my life. I'm all alone. My past is a classic tale of tragedy. It all started one year ago.
Hitler rose to power and became Chancellor. He started an anti-Semitic movement which is fatal for Jewish people like me. Anti-Semitic feelings are the feelings of hatred towards the Jewish people. One day, my family sat down for dinner, but soon we heard some commotion coming from outside. My father told us all to stay still as he looked out the window to try and figure out what was happening. I turned to look at my father and saw his face go pale. I felt my heart pounding in my chest. What could he have seen? I managed to muster out a quiet, "Father...?". He looked at me quickly, still alarmed from what he saw out the window. He looked down as if he was afraid of something, then silently stared back out the window. My mother slowly stood up and made her way over to my father at the window. She softly rested her hand on his shoulder and looked out the window with him. As soon as she turned to look at the notorious sight that we all were craving to see. She immediately looked confused and concerned, but slowly her expression turned grave and timid. I spoke up to get their attention, but they remained completely silent. I couldn't take the uncomfortable silence any longer. I jumped up and ran to the window and looked out. What I saw was a very strange and unsettling sight. There were soldiers instructing lines of people. I recognized some of them as our neighbors and friends and pondered what they could possibly be doing in those big lines. I gave a puzzled glance to my parents, but they looked more upset than confused. I tried to ask them what was going on, but they just looked at me like something awful was about to happen. It turns out that that is exactly what did end up happening. They made their way over to me with slightly watering eyes. They looked at my siblings and me as if they would never see us again. They quickly scanned each other's faces then looked back at us. "We love you. We will always love you." They said sorrowfully.
"What?" I became very alarmed. Why were they talking like that?
"No matter what happens, remember us with love," They continued, now with tears gently streaming down their cheeks.
"Don't talk like that! Please!" I yelled desperately. "What is going on? What's happening?"
They said nothing for a few moments. Those moments felt like eternities. "Hug us tightly, then hide. Hide like your life depends on it. Never stop fighting. Do it if you truly love us. Alaina, hide Blanka and Joseph in the attic. They must be still and behind some crates that can hide them from sight. As for you, hide in the big cupboard and put a fake backing in front of where you're hiding. If it's opened, no one will be able to see you," We heard loud footsteps coming from outside. "Hurry! Go!"
"Mother! Father!" I was practically screaming at this point. "What's happening?!" They solemnly gazed at each other for a moment while still crying.
"They're coming for us. Goodbye, we love you so much," My mother choked out while my father stayed silent.
"Please..." I mustered.
"Just go! We are running out of time!"
"Goodbye...I love you both."
"...We love you too, Alaina."
I grabbed Blanka's and Joseph's hands and rushed them to the attic as clunky footsteps were approaching our home. I explained that they needed to be silent no matter what happened. They seemed afraid, but they listened and nodded their heads. I found some crates for them to hide behind and arranged them carefully. I quickly hugged them and reluctantly ran to my hiding spot in the cupboard in the dining room. I slipped into the cupboard and put a fake backing in front of me to give it the illusion of emptiness. Now it was just time to wait. I found a small crack to peek through and could see my parents sitting at the table, pretending to act natural as if no one was hiding. I heard sharp knocking on the door. My mother unwillingly stood up and opened the door. As she did so, the door swung open forcefully and a soldier appeared. "Come with me," He said sternly. "Now!" He yelled the second part. The bellow made me jump a little, but I remained still and silent through my worried tears. "Do you have children? You will be punished severely if you lie," He warned.
"No," My parents said shakily, yet confidently.
"Alright, get in that line like the rest. I'm going to personally escort you there so you can't try anything." They all exited the house, but the soldier told some of his comrades to search the entire house despite my parents' claims. The soldiers started to look around the dining room for signs of movement, but they didn't find anything. The soldiers all decided to move on except for one. He looked right at me. I could feel his stare pierce my very soul. He slowly creeped over to the cupboard and threw the doors open. Of course, he found nothing because I was behind the fake backing. One of his cronies saw what he was doing, and when he saw the empty cupboard, he dismissed the soldier.
"Alright, quit wasting time and let's keep looking!" He snapped. The first soldier grumpily obeyed the second. God I hope they don't go for the attic. After what felt like about 15 minutes, they came back to the dining room. Thankfully, my brother and sister were not with them. They reported their findings, or lack of them, to their official. The official asked if they checked for an attic or cellar. My heart dropped.
"Well...no," One soldier timidly started. "Not yet, sir!"
"Well, go then!"
"Yes, sir!" The men all chimed. Half of the soldiers invaded the cellar while the others headed for the attic. I waited with utmost dread in my heart. I waited in that nerving silence for what seemed like forever.
"Sir!" A soldier cried to the official. "We found two children hiding in the attic!" No...no! They found them.... My entire world crumbled beneath me.
"Bring them to the line," The man replied with an emotionless yet cold voice. I had to choke back my tears so I wouldn't be exposed as well, but was there any point to that? Now that my entire family is gone, why even go on? Is there even a point? I thought back to what my parents last said to me. They said that if I loved them, I would protect myself as well as I could. You know what? I have to keep going. For my family! The soldiers took away the rest of my family and I never saw them again.

...
Days passed. Eventually there was word on where those people and my family were taken. Apparently, they were taken to a concentration camp and immediately killed in gas chambers. Now I know for sure, my entire family is gone. I became very depressed, but knew I had to keep going. Soldiers would come back and inspect the homes to see if anyone was still there or had moved in so I decided I needed to live on the streets. That's where I am today.

...

As I drift into a restless sleep, the events of that cruel night play in my head. I wake up suddenly to a soldier grabbing my arm. "You're coming with me, you filthy Jew!" He hisses. I am about to protest when he forcefully pulls me up and throws me into a truck of other captured people. It is dark and cramped in the trucks. It took about 30 minutes for us to arrive at a train. We are thrown onto the train cars by a group of soldiers. People of all ages are crammed into these cars. I ask a woman if she knows where we are going. "To the camps," She says helplessly. As we ride into our destination, I see a big brick entrance that didn't look welcoming. The train suddenly stops and we all fall into each other. They yell at us to exit the cars and we have to wait in lines to get into the camps. The entrance was a big gate with letters that spell, "work will set you free". I shudder as I read those words and somehow I doubt them. Some people are being ushered to buildings while the majority of those left go to the work sites. "Where are those people going?" I ask a man behind me.
"I'd have to guess they're going to the gas chambers to be executed," He replies. My stomach sinks a bit. "That's where the weak and unwanted prisoners go," He explains. "For example, cripples and the disabled definitely get sent straight to the gas chambers." My stomach sinks even lower. My left arm is paralyzed due to an accident after I started living on the streets. I'm going to be killed after all my fighting. Just like that, I'm gone. I get to the front of the line and the soldier in charge notices my arm. He immediately has another soldier take me to a building with some other disabled and even some seemingly normal people. We are ushered into a building with...showers? The building is very aged and bare inside. There are half brick columns holding up the ceiling. There are metal bars hanging with small shower heads on both sides of them. These heads are far up by the ceiling and the showers must spray down chaotically. I am confused by why we are in showers instead of gas chambers until the room starts to fill with some kind of gas. It's getting harder to breathe and I see people around me start to fall to their knees. Soon, the entire room is completely filled with poison gas and I am on the floor. In my last breath I think of my family. Mother, Father, Blanka, Joseph...see you soon. I smile as I slowly drift out of consciousness and go on to my next adventure.