My Name Is Naomi

Chapter Fifteen

1941, Hamburg

Present Day

Naomi stepped through the heavy brush and into the open field, "Where are we?"

"We're almost to the town of Hamburg." Wolfgang said, holding his hand over his eyes, shadowing the intense sunlight that was hitting him in the face.  He gestured for her to move on forward. "Let's go."

Naomi carefully picked her way across the field, keeping an eye out for enemy soldiers.  She was almost at the tree line when she heard a loud gun shot.

Bang!

The birds in the trees flew up in a fury, fluttering around in the sky. Naomi immediately felt herself being shoved to the ground. Wolfgang hissed in her ear, "Stay down. And when I say run, I want you to get up and run as fast as you can for the treeline, you understand?"

Naomi swallowed the lump in her throat, "Wolfgang..."

"Run!" he said.

Naomi's feet obeyed his command. She shot to her feet and made a dash for the treeline, ignoring the sounds of gunshots following her.  She could hear the heavy, panting breaths of Wolfgang behind her.  Finally, they were hidden in the trees once again.  Wolfgang clutched his side, trying not to cry out in agony.  Naomi carefully pulled his hand away from the wound and gasped.  A gaping red, bullet wound spouted blood from his side.  Wolfgang hissed in pain, "That looks bad."

"Come and sit down." Naomi tugged on his arm.

"We have to keep moving before they find us!" Wolfgang insisted.

"We won't be getting anywhere until we have you cleaned and bandaged up." Naomi said, forcing him to take a seat.

"Be quick about it then! I didn't bring you all the way here just to have you captured by the Germans." Wolfgang winced as she dabbed his side with fresh snow.

Naomi gently cleaned away the excess blood and pressed his shirt to the wound until it stopped bleeding.  She then tore off a piece of her dress and lifted up the edge of his shirt. She carefully wrapped the cloth around his torso, tying the ends securely together.  She sat back on her heels, "There. That should last you temporarily. But you need to go see a real doctor."

"Yes, ma'am." Wolfgang teased.

Naomi rolled her eyes and held out her arm to help him up, "Let's go and find me identification papers."

As they walked towards the town, Naomi began to realize how attached to this German soldier she had become. And that was dangerous all in itself.  She didn't want to leave him behind when he was the only person in the world that she knew.  Maybe she could convince him to come with her? But when she looked at his face, she could see determination in his eyes. He was going to get her to America. And he wouldn't be coming with her, especially if he still had family here in Germany.

Naomi sighed to herself as they neared the village, Wolfgang leaning against her for support. Wolfgang pulled her closer to him, "I have a plan, but I need you to do some very good acting."

"Why?" Naomi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I need you to pretend that you lost your papers and you need to get your injured brother, me, onto a ship to Canada. Maybe someone will try to help, at least." Wolfgang explained.

Naomi nodded, her heart pounding in her chest as they set foot on the docks.  A soldier came up to them, "Papers?"

"I-I lost mine. But my brother is injured terribly and I need to get him help." Naomi explained in a weepy voice.

"He doesn't look like your brother." the soldier inquired suspiciously.

"She's illegitimate." Wolfgang filled in for her, hand the soldier his own papers. "Please, sir. Our family is waiting for my sister in Canada, and I desperately need medical attention."

The soldier looked over the papers and nodded to Wolfgang, "I see you were a part of the Hitler Youth."

"I was." Wolfgang said in a proud voice, though Naomi knew it was only a disguise.

"Well, any brother of mine is allowed entrance to our ships. You and your sister may pass." the soldier stepped aside for them to ascend the gangplank.

"Thank you good sir. I won't be making the trip with her, though. But might you have a doctor on board?" Wolfgang asked.

"Of course. Just ask one of the stewards." the soldier explained.

"Thank you." Wolfgang said again, steering Naomi up the gangplank along with the other Germans.

Naomi immediately grabbed him, to stop him from leaving,  "Wolfgang, I want you to come with me. Please."

"I have to take care of my mother and sister." Wolfgang explained, pulling her into a quiet hallway of the ship. His hand delicately cradled her cheek. "Don't make this any harder for me to leave."

"Then you care about me, too." Naomi said desperately, wanting him to stay.  Why couldn't he just stay? Why did he have to leave?

"Naomi..."

"Just admit it!"

Wolfgang sighed, pulling his bright blue eyes away from her gaze, "Alright. I do care about you. And I also care about your safety. You can't be seen traipsing around with a German soldier in America.  That definitely won't get you to where you need to go."

"Are you going to at least see the doctor before you go?" Naomi asked quietly.

"No, I need to get off of here as soon as possible before they figure out what is really going on. I don't want to jeopardize your only chance to get away." Wolfgang whispered. 

He began to slip away from her, but Naomi pulled him back, placing a kiss on his lips.  Wolfgang froze in shock, not responding to her at first, before he kissed her back. Naomi pulled away harshly, tears running down her face. She shoved at him gently, "Go on!"

Wolfgang hesitated, running his thumb across her wet cheeks before spinning around and leaving her in the dark hallways of the ship.  Naomi couldn't stop herself from standing near the rails, watching him as the ship pulled away.  Wolfgang lifted a hand to wave at her and Naomi did the same.

Suddenly, two soldiers came towards Wolfgang and grabbed his arms. Naomi's breath hitched in her throat. What were they doing?! One of them hit Wolfgang on the head with his gun and Wolfgang fell limply to the streets. Naomi felt a scream escape her throat, "Wolfgang! Somebody help him!"

But no one was listening to her screams.  A pair of hands were pulling her back away from the railing. A frantic looking woman was trying to keep her back. She probably thought Naomi was trying to jump, and maybe she was. Naomi sobbed, falling to the ground and the woman who was holding her stepped away.  Naomi covered her face, her tears dripping into her palms. Why did he have to be taken away from her like that? What would his family do without him to support him?

It was all her fault that Wolfgang was gone.  The soldiers must have followed them from the field to the ship. They caught Wolfgang in the act of trying to help a Jewish girl escape. And now he would pay for the consequences, even though she was the one responsible for all of this.

Naomi angrily clutched her coat closer to her body.  She would make it all the way to America. She wouldn't make Wolfgang's efforts worth nothing.

Copyright © 2017 by Rosanna Parker

All Rights Reserved

Hey! So I got two chapter up today for all of you Wattpadders! I hope you enjoy what little I have for now and remember to vote and comment! Thanks!

-Rosanna