Cheap Thrills (6 Thrilling reads) (27 page)

Chapter Ten

Thirty-six Hours Earlier.

J
acob had just been thrown into his cell. He had suffered a beating at the hands of the Commander. The Commander was a big man, a man many people feared. Even the men he commanded had a constant fear of him. Jacob had the wounds to prove that the Commander was somebody you feared. A gash on his head was proof. The broken nose was proof. The fact that Jacob couldn’t walk was proof. And then a man entered his cell.

This man was different from the Commander. He had different traits. He looked the part, but sounded different.

“You’re in a lot of trouble, Jacob. The Commander told me you had something to tell me. Something that could end all of this pain you are going through,” the man said.

He had a thick American accent. It caught Jacob off guard.

“I don’t have anything to say. I just want to die. I just want to get it over and done with,” he said, clasping his bloodied hands together, shivering in the cold that was surrounding his damp, dimly lit cell.

“You will die. You will get your wish. All you need to do is tell me what I need to know. It will be painless that way. You won’t feel a thing. But if you don’t divulge what I am asking from you, then I’m afraid it won’t be painless at all. It will be the worst pain you have ever felt. We will feed you to the dogs. They will rip at your throat. They will thread your veins from your body and pull on them until every last bit of blood has escaped from them. And then we will leave your lifeless corpse to rot on the mound. The birds will come down from the heavens and wreak hell on your flesh. They will pluck your eyes from your skull. They will rip the flesh from your knuckles. They will have their way with you, Jacob, as will I if you don’t tell us what you know.” 

“I don’t know anything. I don’t know what you want me to tell you,” Jacob said, still shivering in the corner, trying to warm his hands up with his breath, but even that couldn’t warm him up.

Jacob looked up at the American standing in the doorway to his cell. The man smiled at him. His thick, country-looking face plumped with excitement.

“Guard, give us a few minutes. I’m sure I can rectify this situation,” the man said.

An arm popped around the corner and grabbed at the door. It shut both of them in. A head poked through a bar on the cell door and smiled at Jacob.

“Have fun,” the man said.

With that the American man undid his belt and pulled his trousers down.

“We will,” he replied.

Both of them were left alone while the guard whistled to himself as he made his way up the corridor and out of sight.

Chapter Eleven

The Rebel Compound

“
N
icht!
You may not pass!” one of the German solders said as we reached the top.

He smiled to himself as he saw the look on our faces. I could hear the pleasure in his voice as he stood tall, rifle to his side, and a grin on his face. The saliva gripped at my vocal chords as I tried to speak.

“But?” I managed to say.

“But nothing. You have been caught, Jew. You are ours.”

Suddenly an exhausted Jerry made his way up to the top where we were. Sweat was dripping down his face. He hadn’t noticed the German soldiers yet. He hadn’t noticed us, either. Following behind him was the bearded man, Jonas. He noticed the soldiers straight away. His reaction stifled Jerry from his tired gaze at the floor.

“What the fuck?” he screamed, pointing his handgun at the soldier.

The man just smiled. Behind him stood what seemed like the biggest army I had ever seen. In my desperation, I may have imagined such a presence. In reality, it was probably around thirty men. Thirty big German men, all pointing automatic machine guns at us. Jonas shook his head. He decided immediately to holster his gun and walked over to the soldier in front of me. He pushed me to the side, and I nearly lost my balance. I could see the anger in his eyes. He wasn’t impressed with the situation. I looked at Jerry; he couldn’t look me in the eye.

“What the hell is going on?” screamed Danni. Jerry tapped her on the shoulder, trying to comfort her.

“It isn’t of your concern, woman!” screamed Jonas as he momentarily turned his head to look at her, and then faced the soldier once more.

He leaned in and whispered something into the man’s ear. The soldiers behind him grunted as they overheard something. A few of them looked restless. A few more looked angry. All of them, on the other hand, were looking at me with a distinct hate in their eyes. A burning desire to have me killed. To do things to me not even the vilest could comprehend.

“I’m sorry, Jonas, but we have our orders. We will be taking the Jew, and we will be taking him now,” the soldier said as he took aim at me with his rifle, eyeing me up through the iron sights. 

“I’m afraid you can’t. Not now, not now we know what you were planning,” said Jerry from afar. He was standing near me.

I stood there, confused, as did Danni. It was only her, Jonas, Jerry, and me. None of the other rebels were to be seen. I felt uneasy. The only person in my midst who was a true rebel was Danni, and I wasn’t even sure if the rest of them knew that yet. If they did, wouldn’t they have killed her? I was starting to panic, and then my panic got stronger. Behind the thirty or so soldiers lay a pile of bodies. They were freshly killed. Bullet holes to the head, and they were all rebels. It was as if Danni had followed my gaze, and then she saw it, too, and let out a scream. She dropped to her knees. Not one of the soldiers blinked. Jonas was too busy playing Chinese whispers to take notice of Danni’s outcry. Jerry saw her drop to her knees and immediately knew their cover was blown. It was then he punched her in the face. She drooped to the side at the impact. He saw she was nearly out cold. He thumped her again, and she dropped to the ground.

“Take the bitch instead. You can do what you want with her, but let the Jew be. He is mine!” Jerry screamed.

Jonas turned around and looked down at the now floored Danni. “Why on earth did you go and do that?” he said in shock.

“She is dangerous. Better keep her subdued. I trained her. I know what she is capable of.”

“But still…hitting a damn woman is something not even the Reich would do, my friend.”

That was when I decided to intervene.

“The Reich? You are part of the German Army, Jerry? I thought you were a rebel. I thought you were helping my brother?”

Jerry looked at me with a calmness to his stare.

“I was…I am…. Let the Jew go, let him go! He is mine,” he said, visibly starting to get upset. 

Jonas turned around again, this time pointing his weapon. That was when everything went dark. The last thing I remembered was the gunshot. The sound still echoes in my ears to this day.

Chapter Twelve

Thirty-five Hours Earlier

“I
couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t. He was crying in the corner. He was covered in blood. How am I supposed to scare the living shit out of somebody who has had the living shit beat out of him already? There isn’t any way of doing that. It’s just not possible. He is past being scared. He just wants death. That’s something I can’t give him. Only you can, Commander,” Jerry said as he nearly groveled at the Commander’s feet.

The Commander was wearing pristine shoes. They were polished. Over-polished, in fact. They were the type of shoes no one would wear in such a muddy and dirty place. They wouldn’t last ten seconds, but he still wore them. He still forced his chamber boy to clean his boots every time he stepped outside. He wasn’t in the business of looking like a third-class citizen. The Reich demanded a certain appearance, and the Commander wasn’t going to deny the Reich that. The Commander’s pristine shoes matched his king-like robes, which went all the way down to his feet. They, too, would be scrubbed on the hour, every hour, by the Commander’s chamber boy.

“Boy, clean my shoes,” the Commander said to his chamber boy, who was looking on with a blank expression on his face.

Jerry was still on his knees. He didn’t dare get up, for fear of what would happen if he did. He knew the Commander wanted him to rape Jacob, but he just couldn’t do it. It was the first time Jerry had ever let the Reich down. He had served the Reich with complete diligence ever since the day he joined, fifteen years ago to the day. It should have been a pleasant day. It should have been the day the Reich gave him a promotion.

For months, there was talk of Jerry being made Captain of the Reich, a position that would assure his place in history.
There was talk, indeed
. But it never happened, and Jerry didn’t want it to be because of his lack of commitment. He knew what was expected of him, but raping men wasn’t on his list of things he felt comfortable doing. He knew that men did those things in certain circumstances, and it wasn’t the first time he was party to the knowledge of such things taking place, but he would be dammed if he put his penis in another man’s anus for the Reich, let alone anything else.

“Please, sir, forgive me,” Jerry sobbed at the Commander’s feet.

Meanwhile the chamber boy was hard at work on the Commander’s shoes. Jerry had to move to the side to let the boy do his job. The Commander would always keep his shoes on when they were being cleaned. Jerry was still on the floor, this time kneeling next to the Commander, looking up at him like a puppy would when wanting forgiveness from his master.

“You dare grovel at me like some peasant? You dare give me those stupid tears? You dare come to me with such trivial feelings? Where is your resolve? Where are your balls? Do you not have a heart? Do you not pump the blood of Germany through your veins? Are you not an agent of the Reich?” said the Commander as he stood over Jerry.

“Yes, sir, I am, and always will be.”

“Good. So you should get off your knees and stand up straight. You shall do as I say. You will go into the cell of that Jew, the last Jew, and fuck him good and proper. You should fuck him so hard that when you ejaculate, his eyes will thrust out of his head. You shall make sure the Reich will forever run through him until we put him to death. You shall do that and then report back for your punishment,” said the Commander. 

“But, sir, what is the point of this? How does me defiling the Jew accomplish anything?” asked Jerry.

The Commander’s eyes narrowed. He grabbed Jerry by the throat and yanked him to his feet. His gloved hand clasped at his throat, squeezing his voice box, nearly pushing it down Jerry’s throat. All Jerry could muster was a gargling sound.

“We want information. We want to know if he really is the last Jew. And we want him to pay for being the last Jew! You got that? Now get going, you mongrel shit!”

The Commander let Jerry go. He struggled for breath as he held onto his neck. The Commander’s eyes were lit with fury as he dusted his cape-like attire and sat on his desk. The chamber boy continued his work, not batting one eyelid at what had just transpired.

Chapter Thirteen

The Rebel Compound

I
opened my eyes to see Jerry dashing over me. He was holding a gun. I heard a few pops. They were harsh pops, like the sound of a car engine backfiring. It woke me up pretty quick. What first started out as a daze soon became reality in all its Technicolor glory. I saw him overpowering a few men. Jonas was one of them. It was like watching the Incredible Hulk. He was throwing men around like they were toddlers. He was angry. The angriest person I had ever seen, not counting old videos of Hitler I had seen before he died forty-odd years ago. I then heard some screams. A few of the army men had retreated. I found that strange. Why would they retreat from one man? What could Jerry possibly do to them? They were a small army. Jerry was only one guy. And then I saw them. I saw fifteen or so rebels join Jerry. They were opening fire on the Germans. I saw all of the Germans hitting the ground hard.

Machine gun fire was tearing their backs up. Small puffs of blood were hanging in the air for a few seconds after each shot. I shut my eyes tight with every shot that was fired, trying not to see what was unfolding around me. I was scared. Everything sounded chaotic. My head sounded tinny. And then someone grabbed me. I opened my eyes. I was being helped up to my feet. I felt uneasy, and unsteady. My head hurt real badly. I grabbed at it and saw blood. I must have been hit with something. And then everything around me became real. Smoke and ash filled the air. It confused me. What the hell was going on? And then I saw the bomber planes. Another bomb fell. It was around a hundred feet from me. Jerry turned to face me.

“Get in the bushes and run. Follow my lead, and you will live. Fall behind, and you will die!” He then ran off to my right.

All the rebels followed. Bombs were going off. They were getting closer. I looked around. I saw the dead bodies. I started to panic.
That could be me if I’m not careful. The Germans have come and they have come prepared.
I could see a mass of airplanes coming my way. They lit up the sky like unnatural lights. There were two planes in front and a few helicopters. The helicopters must have seen me. They opened fire, ripping up the dirt around my feet.

PUFF PUFF PUFF PUFF
.

The dirt kicked up to my face. I could feel the warm soil protruding into my mouth. I spat. I then saw Danni. She was still on the ground, motionless. That was when my adrenaline took over.

“Danni, get the fuck up! The Germans, they’re coming!” I screamed, to no avail.

She remained motionless. I grabbed her by the chest. Her soft skin touched mine. I grabbed her and heaved her up. She didn’t move. It was then I decided to scoop her up into my arms and put her on my shoulder. She didn’t weigh a thing. Either that, or I was Hercules for that moment in time. It was then that I made my way into the bushes. Machine gun fire was pelting leaves up into the air all around me and hissing past my ears. I could see Jerry in the distance. He had made good ground. All that surrounded us was trees, and with every passing second, I feared the helicopters were going to cut them down with their gunfire. It was then I heard the wailing sound approaching me. I knew what it was. It sounded as if two rockets were heading my way. And sure enough, I was right. They busted through the tree line and hit the stream in front of me. A huge splash of water and dirt exploded a
mere few feet away from me. That was when I slid to the right and ran as fast as I could, still holding Danni tightly as I made my way to the group.

As I broke through the trees, I saw the army truck waiting ahead. A few men guarded it. They were scanning the bushes. They nearly shot me, but Jerry ushered me over. I reached them, and he pushed me and Danni into the back with the rest of the rebels. He jumped into the back as well, and banged hard on the truck’s side. It was with that signal that we were driving off in our getaway truck at more than a hundred miles an hour, winding down the roads Jerry had taken me through a few days earlier. The only difference now was that we had two attack helicopters after us, and it didn’t look as if they were going to leave us alone anytime soon.