My Story: World War II - German [COMPLETED]

33: Truths Pt. 3

(January 1941)

I sat with Booya, watching the guys clean their weapons and such. I leaned back against the crate and Booya gave me a look.

"You okay, Alaric?" he asked as I tried to get comfortable.

"The gun fight was too close for comfort, you know," I said and he nodded.

"I thought that you guys were going to retreat from the fight and leave me," he said. I shook my head.

"Of course not... At least I wouldn't," I said. We looked at Gen who was putting a blanket around Bernadette.

"I can't believe she is still with the coward," Booya said and I spat in his direction.

"Stupid French," I stated and Booya nodded in agreement.

"Helpless creatures," Booya stated and I leaned forward.

"How many people do you think are hiding Jews?" I asked. He gave me a look.

"Plenty but not enough to make sure that they will come out of the war with strong numbers," he said.

"Have you heard from you know who?" I asked. He gave me a look and a small smile.

"She is pregnant with my child, Tiny. She has no idea how she will be delivering the child in our friend's attic but she will make sure that our child is okay," he said as he drew on the floor with his heel. I patted his back.

"Congratulations," I said and he nodded.

"It only matters if she isn't found. Only God knows what the hell they would do to them," he said and I nodded.

"It is only a matter of time before they stop looking for them and they will be fine," I said and I realised what he was hiding. He was drawing the Star of David subconsciously. I pushed his foot with my own to mess up the star and he looked at me.

He was Aryan and I didn't even know that Aryans could be Jewish. It seems so odd that a blonde haired blue eyes German army regiment Commander would be Jewish and no one notice. He was the textbook model of Aryan male features.

"How long have you been...?" I asked and he sighed as he looked around the area to make sure that the guys and Bernadette couldn't hear what he was about to say.

"I was adopted by a Jewish couple when I was one. They raised me like their own and I didn't even know that everyone else that looked like me wasn't Jewish. People that looked like me celebrated Christmas, not Hanukkah. My parents told me that being Jewish wasn't a nationality; it was - it is a religion that I believed in and that is important. It's called acceptance," he told me and I nodded.

"You just have to be safe okay? If anyone else finds out, then you are in deep shit," I said. He slapped my back.

"Don't worry about me, Tiny. I am sure that you have your own secrets that you need to protect. I closed my eyes and sighed.

"Like I know where to get banned books without anyone else knowing that my brother and I have them?" I whispered. He looked at me and even his expression was equal parts shocked and excited.

"How? I thought the government raided all book sellers and check everything," he said.

"When they burned the books, I was in the front tow with my brother because of our youth group and when everyone left we each snagged a book. Once it got out of control, with Hitler trying to take over other countries and such, I told my brother to stop but he didn't. I only found out a week before I was sent here," I said and he seemed like he was having problems processing what I just told him.

"You have banned books," he said and I looked at him like he was insane.

"You tell me that you are a Jew and I didn't make comments like that," I muttered, upset. We both had knowledge that was reprehensible but he was drawing attention to the fact that I knew something that almost no one else did.

"I know but can you imagine what might happen after war if you have those books? Either they are going to be the oldest books of those titles in Germany or the last of those titles in Germany," he said. I realised what he was hung up on and tried to figure that out.

"If Hitler succeeds with what we think he is doing, then you might be the Jew in the world," I said and he looked at the ground.

"If only we could get this information to France or Britain. They have to know what is happening and what we know," he growled. I sat up straight and looked at him.

"We can. My sister is a spy for them," I said. He looked at me and laughed.

"I think your siblings and you want to be damned forever," he said as I dug through my bag for a pen and paper.

Dear Adeline,

The information that I am about to give you must be given to whoever you give your information to. I fear that-

I was about to continue writing when I felt a pain in my shoulder before I heard the gun shot. I grunted and Booya pushed me down. I looked over to see everyone scrambling for weapons and I tried to reach for my own weapon. They shot the wrong side to keep me from shooting.

"Tiny, stay down," Booya said and I just laid down, trying to keep my breath even. The world started to dark around the edges and I knew that I had to get the bullet out of my shoulder.

I crawled to behind the crates and attempted to pull the bullet out on my shoulder. I grunted in pain and leaned against the crate. I took a deep breath to try again and that time my finger tips wrapped around the bullet so I yanked it out. I took deep breaths as the world went dark.