Through My Wandering Eyes

Chapter 5:Everything goes wrong but Asa is found

I spent my days swinging that poor dead man's pick to and from the earth and not making so much as a dent in the ground- It was frozen solid My breath flew around my mouth and evaporated in front of my face. My fingers stung from the bitterness of the cold. I tried rubbing my hands together, that just made it worse. My face also stung and my hands were blistered and bloody. With every swing the pick seemed to get heavier and heavier, my arms ached, my hands hurt, my pride and humanity had been stripped away from me. Tears froze on my face every time they fell. My body shivered constantly. People were dying here and there, one moment they were up and working their hardest- like us all- the next minute they had collapsed dead on the floor. Snow began to fall all around us as we worked and froze. Nazi guards marched around every hour. They would kick and make fu n of those who were still alive, whipped those who were weakening and slowing down and took the dead away. We were living inside a bully box. Everywhere we went there would always be one or more of those brutes just waiting for us. They beat us and all human rights had been wiped away from us.

I searched and searched for Asa but he was nowhere to be found. I missed him. I had no-one to talk to without him. I was beginning to give up hope and the dreaded thought that Asa hadn't survived popped up inside my head. I willed it to go away but with every passing death it seemed more and more likely, but then one particularly freezing day he was there, walking past with a pile of logs held in his arms. His face was all bloody and bruised horribly, his body seemed more like a skeletons than expected. I was horrified at his image but then again I probably didn't look any better. I raised my arm to wave at him. Hesitating for a second I scrubbed my boy cut hair. Asa wouldn't recognise me and I would be beaten for it. Asa walked further and further away, finally I yelled out to him "Asa!" I waved franticly, soldiers came running over but I didn't care "Asa!" I yelled again. He turned to face me slowly, in a confused manner he stared at me, a smile that appeared on my lips started to fade, then he smiled and waved back.

A rifle butt hit me with extreme force at the back of my head, I crashed face first to the ground and Asa left my view. A warm, thick liquid dribbled from the back of my head, my head felt like it had exploded, stars pranced around my eyes taunting me, I blinked once, twice and placed my fingers to my head. Red liquid stained my finger tips and dripped down the palm of my hand. It was blood. My blood. A leather foot kicked me hard in the stomach and ribs "Watch it..." he said the word I cannot repeat. The sound of laughter and footsteps came and drifted away I lay on the floor winded and bleeding. Eventually a group of girls with a couple boys came and helped me to get back on my feet. My blood had soaked through my grey bluish striped pyjamas and had turned the white snow to an interesting colour of scarlet. 

They took me to the med bay where the nurses tutted at me and grumbled about me making them do extra work but I didn't even notice. Everything was very surreal and I was dehydrated and confused. The doctors didn't do much. They cleaned the wound and put some kind of cream on it, my head burned and stung. Then they sent me back to work with a small cup of water in my hand. Eventually the colour came back into my cheeks and I carried on digging, still not knowing why I should work whilst injured.

 I never saw Asa again after that. I was worried about him but the group of children who helped me soon let me into their group. I liked them but what I really wanted was to see Asa again.