Empty Promises

Chapter 2

I could hear the loud roar of wheels rolling distantly, along with the constant sound of faint breathing that seemed to be muffled into a small space. Where am I?

I slowly blinked, observing my surroundings only to be met with a barely lit room with a wooden ceiling. What the heck? I could barely move any of my limbs which were all sore from staying in the same position for what must've been quite a while.

"Klaus? Are you awake?" I heard a weak, raspy voice say through the dim lighting.

"Edith? Is that you?" I responded with an equally raspy voice. When was the last time I drank or ate?

"Yes, it's me. I'm really sorry," she whispered.

"What's done is done. Where are we?"

"We're on a train. To Treblinka. We've been here for around two days so far," replied a new manly voice.

I sat up and looked around the room to see not one, not two, but over twenty dark figures all around the room. The room was only lit because of small slits of light that peeked in from outside through the rough wooden panels. What had we gotten ourselves into?

I heard a sigh. I turned to see Edith beside me, hugging herself, with dirt and cuts all over.

"After they arrested us, they decided to send us the Treblinka Camp in Poland as punishment. They decided we were "as bad as the lowly Jews there". They decided to spare us from Auschwitz because they thought it wouldn't be respectful to put a former Gestapo member there, traitor or not." she told me.

"Well, at least it's not Auschwitz. Maybe we have a chance to live..."

A tired female voice cut in, "Probably not. Treblinka is said to be the second worst camp there is. Also, it's an extermination camp so we would have had an equal chance at surviving if we were in Auschwitz rather than here."

At that moment, silence flooded the room as realization started to flood into every single person in the room. We were all dead men walking.

~~~~~

"Get out now or be killed, you scum!" shouted a loud voice as people started banging on the side of the old wooden train.

Everyone started to rush out, afraid for their lives. I trailed out behind Edith as I watched hundreds of dirty people streaming out of all the trains. This was Treblinka.

~~~~~

"And these are your chambers. If any of you step one foot out of line, you will be killed on the spot. Now, get in. " the big Nazi guard ordered, pointing a gun at anyone who dared to look at him for too long.

I stepped in, following twenty other individuals into the dusty chambers filled with worn out bunk beds just as the door was slammed shut behind me.

"Welcome to hell," someone said from a bunk. "Looks like you came at the right time."

"What's that supposed to mean?" , someone yelled out as they looked for a bed.

A few seconds passed as all the newcomers and I waited for an answer in confusion. What did that man mean?

"We're planning an escape set for tomorrow. You guys came just in time to leave." the man answered.

Murmurs suddenly erupted through the crowded space.

"Are you trying to get us killed?"

"That's impossible. This man is delusional."

"Quiet!" shouted the man. "I am Dr. Julian Chorążacki, a former member of the Polish army. I have been planning, along with any of the other prisoners who cared to listen, to take over the camp and escape."