PLEASE KEEP NOTE: I apologize in advance for any incorrect historical facts. I have performed as much research as possible into making this a realistic story. Also, this story is not intended to offend anybody, as this is a touchy subject. Thank you.
The heavy knocking on the front door of the Goldstein's house frightened all five family members who had gathered to murmur their prayers. There was a loud scuffle as each person scrambled to hide their belongings in the personal spaces they'd preselected. They had been suspecting this day for ages but neither the father, mother, sons, or daughter had expected today. Today.
"Mama..." Adelheid, the youngest and the only daughter of Inge and Josef, clutched onto her mother's dress. At only sixteen years of age, she had missed the chance of a normal childhood. Every day walking home back from school, rocks and hurtful names would thrown at her, teases this way and that way, jabs from here and there. She always ignored the hurtful comments but deep inside, there was a hole. An empty hole.
She had love from her family members - her mother, Inge, her father, Josef, her twin brothers, Klaus and Konrad, and their family dog, Schotzie. Schotzie was Adelheid's guardian angel, as were her other family members. But the threatening booms of the harsh knuckles thumping against their wooden door seemed to end the connection of love between each family member.
Josef hesitantly opened the door slowly, his gut filled with fear and dread. He was greeted by the butt of a German soldier's rifle and proceeded to crumple on the floor. There was an immediate uproar, cries of "Josef!" and "Vater!" and even the howling of Schotzie. The two soldiers who began marking their dirty boots within the Goldstein's house had a fair set of years' difference, both in their faces and in their outward personalities. The soldier who had dared to knock Josef Goldstein cold had fair wrinkles across his forehead, icy blue eyes, and a jaw so strong and immobile. His heavy movements and raspy voice suggested years of service. The second soldier was much younger. His eyes were deep blue and sympathetic, his yellow curls in small wisps visible underneath his helmet. His jaw was softly defined, his lips full and gentle, his nose prominently sharp and pointed. No words escaped his lips and he only shadowed his older companion.
"Shut that bastard up! Dreckschwein." The older soldier shoved the younger up towards the dog and tapped his rifle. He then carried on with his business of grabbing both the Goldstein parents, who struggled against his strong hold ("Mama! Vater!"), and dragging them outside to the covered vehicle. "Hurry up, Hollenbach. Shoot the damned thing!"
The blonde soldier, called Hollenbach by his older companion, slowly raised his rifle towards Schotzie's head tentatively.
"No! No, not Schotzie." Klaus flung himself in front of the dog, sobbing loudly. He was nineteen-years-old but always had a soft side for the dog who had been by his side since he was four-years-old. "Schotzie... I love him."
"Klaus!" Konrad hissed anxiously and attempted to drag his twin brother away from the dog. "You'll get shot!"
"Let go of me!" The younger of the twin brothers cried and wriggled himself free of his brother's grasp. He looked back up at Hollenbach, his eyes pleading and his hands shaking. "Please. Please don't kill Schotzie. He's harmless. He's - "
His shouts were drowned by the loud shots released from the older soldier's rifle who had returned to collect the twins. "Hollenbach! Just shoot the filthy mutt!" He gripped the two sons, twisting their arms behind their backs as he led them outside the house.
"No! Don't!" Klaus's voice was still heard as he was led outside along with his twin brother. Adelheid could faintly hear a muffled blow as Klaus was slapped across his head, the screams of her mother, and the silence of Klaus's words.
"Hollenbach!" The soldier with the grave face returned back inside their house and gave Hollenbach a stony stare. "Kill the dog and bring the last one in. Don't take your fucking time." His heavy boots left gravel on the hard wooden floor of the Goldstein house.
It was only Adelheid, who had been silent the entire havoc, and Hollenbach, who couldn't seem to pull the trigger, left. Adelheid tucked her near-black hair behind her ears and timidly stepped toward the soldier. "Please... sir. Please." She could see in Hollenbach's eyes the grief and pressure he felt. She almost felt sorry. Almost.
"I-I'm sorry." He shut his eyes tightly, his hands shaking, and slowly squeezed the trigger. Schotzie's howl was cut off by the loud ringing of the menacing shot. All that was left were Adelheid's sniffles and Hollenbach's heavy breathing.
"You bastard." She muttered, tears streaming down her soft cheeks. Adelheid angrily wiped off her tears and walked outside the door to the vehicle herself. She hiccupped softly and could feel her heart tighten in disbelief. This was all happening. This was really happening.
A soldier pushed her into the back of the vehicle where the rest of her family members were waiting along with other strangers who also seemed to have gone through similar struggles.
"Mein Baby," Inge murmured tenderly and pressed her daughter's head against her chest. Adelheid steadied her breath into her mother's warm bosom. She swallowed the lump that had been travelling up her throat for the past ten minutes and shifted her head to view their house for the last time. It was her home. Adelheid had been born on the first level of that exact house and ate, slept, and washed in that exact house for the past sixteen years. She sighed softly and gave the house one last overview. As she began closing her eyes, she made out a figure in the distance dragging a black body across the lawn into Adelheid's premade flowerbed.
That was the figure of Ernst Hollenbach, preparing a delicate grave for the first live creature he'd ever killed.
