Chasing Down Secrets

Chasing Down Secrets

Preface:

My feet pound the soft earth as I will my legs to go faster, so I can go farther; farther away from the injustice I had been forced to witness. They shot him. It seemed so easy for them. Lift the gun, pull the trigger and then bang, the earsplitting sound of the bullet puncturing the innocent skin. It is my fault, the voice in the back of my mind taunts; he is dead because of me. If he hadn’t been helping me escape he would still be alive.

My steps slow as I see the familiar clearing where we are supposed to meet after I broke free. Making sure to keep in the shadows I search for his familiar face. Had it all been for nothing? I can’t see him and I am too scared to leave my hiding place behind the bushes. He said he would be here. Maybe we got our locations confused. That must be it. He wouldn’t do this to me. But he might, the little voice says, he is one of them, after all, a Nazi. The fact I had been avoiding finally surfaced. This could all be a trap, some kind of plan to get me killed.

Then, I see him emerge from the dark. He is standing there; he seems to be alone. Now it is my turn to show myself. I have nothing to go on, but trust. He could easily murder me right here and now and no one would miss me. Not now at least, now that everybody thinks I am one of
them
. As I step out of my dark hiding space he turns and meets my eyes. It’s as if I’m floating when his blue eyes meet my green ones.

Chapter One:

Five years ago:

The sun beats down on my back as I stand in line next to a tall man with a large nose. I try not to look at him, but my eyes won’t stop staring. I try to look without moving my head at all. He looks like a normal man; there is nothing evil about him. How can people think he or anyone else here is evil? Do the soldiers look at me and see an evil abomination? They would be wrong, if they do, because I am not one of them. I am
not
Jewish. This is all a mistake, a complete and horrible mistake.

Sweat starts to drip down my face, but not from the heat. It isn’t even that hot out. It’s from my nerves. My heart pounds ferociously in my chest as the Nazi’s move down the line of people, asking-no, demanding for their names and age.

I can feel my tears run down my face but I don’t dare move. So, I let my tears fall and dry on my cheeks.

“Stop crying, Maria, stop. Think of mom. Be brave, Maria, be brave.” I murmur so quietly no one but the big nosed man beside me can hear.

My words do no good, I think as my lip quivers. I can’t be brave. My mother was just killed in front of me. I don’t even understand why I’m here. I’m not Jewish, I promise. Or, maybe I am, I don’t think I am, but we were hiding under the staircase in a closet when they came. Why would my mother hide us if we weren’t bad?

A man with crooked teeth stands in front of me, the man from my home, I recognize.

“Name and age,” he says gruffly.

“Maria Kaiser, thirteen,” I say as loudly as I can.

Two Years Ago:

Things might be looking up. There is this young man and he is
nice
to me, when we are alone, of course. But even when we are not alone, I can feel his gaze on me. He stares at me with an underlying protection only I can see. He makes me laugh. He makes me forget.

We met when it was his day to take us out to the fields. I slipped and fell right in front of him. He bent down and I felt myself flinch because I thought he was going to yell or hit me because his face was contorted with anger.

“Are you alright?” He had whispered in anger, probably to make it seem like he was scolding me in a low voice.

I nodded numbly before standing up. His face was cold but his eyes were sympathetic.

“I’m James,” he mouthed before he turned to address the rest of the people.

Now he still looks at me with that same hard expression, but I can always tell it’s an act because his eyes are kind. He has to do the night watches for my cabin, he stands right outside my window and we talk, very,
very
quietly. He barely moves his mouth when he talks. But I can hear him perfectly.

He believes me, too. He believes that I don’t belong here and he reassures me that the war can’t last forever.

Present Day:

“
Maria, come here darling, we have to hide.” The mother quickly ushered the auburn haired girl under the staircase.

“Why mom?” The confused thirteen old asked as she is quickly shoved under the staircase.

“The soldiers are on their way, please be quiet sweetheart.” The mother’s hand nervously ran through the child’s curls as the other one covered the girls’ mouth.

Heavy footsteps entered the house, they paused for a moment then a door was thrown open. Maria let out a small whimper, which was quickly silenced by her mother. The footsteps walked up the stairs which made dust fall down into Maria’s emerald eyes and onto her nose. A faint sneeze escaped from Maria’s mouth.

This time, the footsteps ran down the stairs and then the door is flown open, light pours into the tiny closet under the staircase. Suddenly, her mother is ripped away from Maria. She tried to hide in the shadows but she was pulled out. Her stomach scraped against a jagged piece of wood. Her mother started to fight and scream at them.

“Please! We aren’t one of them. Please, you’re making a mistake!” Her mother cried out as the soldiers struggled to get a grip on her.

“Then why you were hiding, eh?” One asked, he had greasy hair and crooked teeth.

He never gave her a chance to answer. Her mother’s feeble cries were cut off by a gunshot. Maria tried to run to her, to save her but another man pulls her back.

My eyes fly open as the intensity of the memory consumes me, sweat mats down my hair, it clings to the back of my neck and my mouth is dry. As my eyes adjust to the dark I see the familiar crowded room. There are beds everywhere and it is filthy. Looking out the window I estimate it is around two in the morning. My mind immediately begins thinking of him. Emmett. I wonder if he is on guard. He is the only thing that makes this place tolerable, well, James used to, but he doesn’t talk to me anymore, he won’t even look at me and I have no idea why. I’ve been here five years and they still refuse to believe that I am not Jewish. They keep me locked up here, and I don’t understand why they don’t do off with me the rest of the people who have been here forever. It smells horrible. I need air.

Carefully I swing my bare feet onto the cold, dusty floor, my feet glide across the floor leaving a trail. Slowly I slide the door open and the morning light enters the small living space showing dust particles floating in the air. It’s august, I think, it is muggy outside and there are lots of flies. The second my feet hit the cool sand a hand covers over my mouth and I am dragged into the shadows. I’ve done it now; they don’t tolerate sneaking out, even though I know that it has never stopped me from doing it every night. He is breathing down my neck, his one hand over my mouth the other securely wrapped around my waist. As I breathe in his scent a sense familiarity washes over me. It is Emmett. As we stand there the memory of us first meeting comes to my mind. We met a year ago, more or less.

Maria sat on the bench away from everybody else. It was another hot day. She looked down at her filthy uniform, the Star of David stuck out against the gray stripes. There was dirt on her knees. Suddenly, the sun disappeared. Maria looked up and saw a young man standing before her. His eyes were a piercing blue that reached down into her soul; his hair was a golden blonde color. He was the most beautiful person she had ever seen, but she hated him instantly. He stood there for a while before sitting down next to her. The tension practically rolled off of him, was she in trouble? Maria couldn’t handle another beating; she was still healing from the last one.

“I’m Emmett Ritter, what is your name?” He spoke in a smooth silky voice. He was studying Maria’s face intently.

“Maria Kaiser,” she said softly staring down at her lap.

“Why are you here, Maria?” This time Maria stared incredulously at him.

“What do you mean? You know, why I am here,” a cold edge crept into her tone.

“No, you seem different. You are different, I can tell.” He stated with authority in his voice.

“I shouldn’t be here.” Her voice was tainted by sadness.

“What happened?” Maria didn’t know whether she could trust this man or why he had to find out why she was here but, regardless, she told him how they mistook her for one of them and brought her here.

After Maria had told him her story, he told her his. He was nineteen, an only child because his sister had died, and joined the army after his father passed.

“You shouldn’t be out of bed.” Emmett’s playful voice says in a whisper close to my ear. I laugh softly as he releases me from his grasp.

“Were you waiting for me?” I whisper back with a huge smile.

“I see you come out here every night. I thought I might as well take advantage of this opportunity so I could see you.” My stomach swells with butterflies and blood rushes to my cheeks. “Are you blushing?” He chuckles to himself while raising a hand to caress my cheek.

“Stop laughing at me!” I pout which causes him to laugh more. “I’m serious!” I snap, slapping his hand away.

“My apologies, ma’am,” he says taking my hand and kissing it.

Maria sat in her hut on her bed; they weren’t supposed to be outside today. Maria knew why; it happened whenever the camp became too crowded. She kept wondering when her time would come. Each time they did this she was never picked. They always took the oldest people and the ones who have been here a while.

But that day was different. That day, Emmett entered her hut and beckoned her to him. He had a solemn look on his face. Maria got up and made her way towards him. She had probably jinxed herself. The moment the door shut behind Maria Emmett grabbed her hand and led her to a cabin where they could not be seen. The cool air blew through Maria’s fine hair as they walked.

“What are we doing here?” Maria’s voice was uneven.

“Maria, there’s something I need to tell you.” Emmett sounded uncertain and nervous. Slowly, Emmett sat her down on the bed. What happened next was a blur for Maria. He bent down on one knee and took both of Maria’s hands. “Maria Kaiser, I love you and I intend on marrying you when this is all over.” Emmett lifted her hand and brought it to his lips then continued. “That is if it’s alright with you, ma’am.”

“I should get back to bed.” I say reluctantly into the dark night.

“No, don’t leave.” Emmett whines pulling me into his warm chest.

He smells strongly of cigar but his breath smells of sweet mint. I hold onto him tighter, the sun is coming up and I know I have to endure another day of hell. We stand like that for a few more minutes before I finally break free.

“Goodbye Emmett.” I whispered.

“Goodbye, love,” he replies his blue eyes piercing into my soul as I gaze back with my green eyes.

No one was talking. No one looked at anybody. Maria shook with fear. She knew what had happened. Someone had messed up; someone was going to pay. But no one would fess up. She knew who did it. She could easily save herself from a beating for not telling, and get it over with. She almost did too, if it weren’t for Emmett. His crisp blue eyes sought her out from amongst everyone. He knew she’d want to turn the boy in. But he was
just
a boy. Ten years at the most. The soldiers marched in and stared each and every person down. No one said a thing.

“You, girl, I know you know who did this.” The same man who had killed her mother spoke in front of Maria’s face. She flinched slightly as the man’s gray eyes bore into her emerald ones. From behind the man she could see the little boy trembling in terror.

“It was me, I am very sorry, sir.” She stood slowly knowing she would be dragged off and given some horrible treatment. But her life was not as valuable as the boys; he had more life left to live. The man grabbed her arm and practically dragged her from the circle. Once they were in a more secluded area he flung her to the ground.