Not alone - Erik Lehnsherr

prologue

France, 1943.

It was a dark, foggy evening when a young girl, merely nine years old, was abruptly awakened from her peaceful dreams by a loud sound from outside her wagon. She looked over at her older brother who was still sound asleep. Quietly, not to wake her brother, she climbed out of their shared bed and tip toed towards the entry of the wagon to see where the sound was coming from.

However, she would not have dared to think about what she would see as she looked through the small notch in the canvas.

The normally calm and quiescent site was now filled with panic and pain. The girl looked in horror as she witnessed her neighbours being forced out of their wagons by the German-flag-wearing soldiers. She heard the women yelling, whilst holding their children close, the men arguing, and fighting back, and the children crying.

Soon, she noticed the soldiers coming closer to her wagon. Her home. She quickly stepped back from the entry, worried that the soldiers might see her, but they already had. Or perhaps they hadn't seen her, but they definitely saw the larger figure of her father who was standing behind her.

"Tu dois partir. Chercher ton frère." The girl's father said sternly, whilst rumbling through the wagon. The girl did as she was told and ran towards her brother to wake him.

"Maurice, Maurice! Réveillez! Rapide!" She said, panic and worry in her voice. The older boy woke up quickly, looking tired and confused.

"Qu'est-ce que?" He mumbled, but before either of the two youngsters could say another word, three soldiers stormed into the wagon. The girl screamed, whilst she and her brother ran to the back of the wagon, bracing for what was to happen next.

And those next events happened rather quickly.

Two of the German soldiers struggled to get the man out of the wagon, and despite his best efforts, they succeeded. The other soldier roughly took both children by their arms and took them out of the wagon. The older boy tried to fight the German but had no chance, whereas the girl was too shocked to realise what was happening.

Once outside, the children were separated from their father and put with the other children, as the French man was forcefully put with the other men of the camp.

The once happy and eupeptic land was now controlled by the strange, foreign soldiers who were not afraid to cause pain and sorrow. Because this wasn't their first raid. They had been ordered to cause such pain for the past three years. For many it had become a habit. Something they would miss once it'd be gone.

The vehicles surrounding the area looked bleak as the beginning of the sunrise could be seen at the other side of the mountains.

A man, looking more stern and serious than the other soldiers, walked in front of the crowd, as the men, women, and children were forced to get down on their knees.

"Herzlich wilkommen. Mein Name ist leutnant Erlach und ich bin hier um dich zu deinem neurn Daheim zu führen." The man started, well-knowing that the majority of his audience could not understand a word he was saying. Despite this, though, the French inhabitants stayed quiet and listened to the man. "Ah, gut. Nicht jeder. Wir haben keine Verwendung für die Zigeunerinnen."

As on cue, the soldiers started firing their guns at the defenceless women, their bodies falling to the ground, losing lives by the second. The children started screaming, crying, moving. The men watched in shock.

They had all heard stories about the cruelty of the German soldiers, but hearing a story is different than seeing it, right in front of their eyes.

Within seconds after the firing, a man stands up from the now forlorn crowd. It was a man who was acting in the moment. Not thinking of the consequences, as he walked towards the lieutenant. The soldiers were too focused on the women they had just massacred to notice him and the thing he was about to do.

He took a small pistol from his pocket, aimed it at the lieutenant, and shot.

He stroke the German in his shoulder, and as the lieutenant grabbed his shoulder with his hand, his face pained, two soldiers got a hold of the man. They disarmed him and waited for further commands as another soldier tried to help the lieutenant.

The earlier noted girl widened her eyes, as she looked at the scene in front of her. Her own father caught by the soldiers, who had just murdered all those women so carelessly. What in the world would they do to him?

"Nein, nein, warum?" The lieutenant started, "Ich hasse gute Männer zu verlieren."

The lieutenant took his own pistol, aiming it at the man. "Non! Ne pas!" The girl tried, but the trigger was already pulled.

The lieutenant had served the army long enough to know exactly where to aim, and thus, as the brave man fell to the ground, his body was already becoming lifeless. Almost instantly.

The girl stood up and ran towards her father's body. She screamed, and cried. A few soldiers tried to take her away from the body, but she stood strong. And when they tried again, something miraculous happened. The ground underneath the young girl started to shake slightly, whilst the trees surrounding the camp started to move. Suddenly, there was a sharp, cold wind around the mourning girl, whereas the lighted torches near the wagons got bigger and bigger.

The soldiers immediately moved away, whilst the girl's brother started to move closer. "Méline?" He tried, in a timid manner, but the girl was too upset.

The ground was still shaking, and slowly big clouds started to form all around the mountains. The boy tried to get closer, but was pushed away by the strong winds.

Everyone watched in fear and shock. The soldiers had their weapons pointed at the young girl, but no command came. Everyone was too shocked to act.

At the same time, a smart-looking man stepped out of a car which had been parked near the site. He had been watching the scene from inside, not finding it particularly interesting until now. He walked towards the girl, and watched in admiration from a distant.

After a little while, the ground stopped shaking, the torches got back to its normal size, the surroundings stopped moving, and the wind and clouds disappeared. The girl's brother ran towards the girl, who was still sat near her father, head in her hands. He hugged her tightly. The boy was scared. Not of his sister, no, but of what he had just witnessed.

The man walked towards the girl and kneeled down next to her. She only noticed he was there when he started to speak. "I'm sorry about what happened to your father. But we must move on. My name is Dr. Klaus Schmidt and I can help you."

The girl looked up at him with reddened eyes. She did not know what the man had said, and frankly she did not care. If only she had cared, because this man, Dr. Klaus Schmidt, would become a vital part of her life.

Because from his day forward, Méline Devereaux would be seen as an asset. An experiment. A danger. Something too powerful to walk the earth.

And if the innocent nine-year-old had known what was to happen in the next years, she would've surely ran far, far away.

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Author's note:

Hi everyone and welcome to this fan fiction about the one and only Erik Lehnsherr. I know this first chapter is a bit sht but yeah, it might get better? I have never written anything on this website before so please bare with me. Anyways, I hope you liked it! I just wanted to say that English is not my first language so please excuse my spelling and what not. Well, see u next time (maybe)!