The Soul of the Unbroken

by Derrick Quick

  The next day we got up and the woman was making food for us. It was sausage and eggs. I have no idea how this lady managed to have such good food, at this point in the war when most were living off of scraps, but I was grateful she shared it with us. We were scarfing down our food when we heard a truck rolling up in the distance. “Go! Hide! She yelled to us. Eliza and I jumped up from the table. We were searching for any place to hide, but the house was so small, no place could conceal us. Out of the truck jumped two German soldiers. Not as many as I was expecting. I pulled my Luger from it’s holster and waited on the other side of the door.

  The door shook as the soldiers pounded on the door. “Open the door!” They shouted. I patiently waited for them to step inside. The lady cracked the door open and said, “Can I help you?” The soldier smacked her with the butt of his rifle and stepped inside. I pulled the trigger on my luger and sent a round through the side of his head. His body collapsed to the ground. Before his buddy could react, I sent a round into his head as well. With both of the soldiers down, I checked on the lady. She had a bloody nose, but insisted she was fine, as long as we left her house so she could be at peace again. I dragged both bodies to the truck and put them in the back. Eliza came out from where she was hiding. “I am going to dispose of the truck. Follow me in the car.” I instructed her. She got in the car and followed as I drove the truck far from the lady’s house.

  We brought the truck into the thick of a forest, and covered it with as much brush as I could find, to conceal it. Afterwards, Eliza and I jumped in the car and hurried off. Now that we knew soldiers were actively searching for us, the journey became much more stressful. Once back in the car we discussed what to do. “Do you think we should try and hide someplace again, or the only other option is to head west, and try to make it through Germany to an Allied occupied territory.” Without hesitation, Eliza replied, “Hiding never works. We need to make it someplace we don’t need to hide.” The choice sounded like a good one to me. We turned the car around and headed west back to Germany, and straight into the heart of the Nazis.

  Chapter 16

  1944

  It was a clear night. The sky lit up with millions of twinkling stars. Under different circumstances, Eliza and I may have laid out a blanket and cuddle together, looking at the stars all night. We would have pointed out constellations or made up new ones. We could have kissed again too, who knows.

  Fate decided that we weren’t going to enjoy the luxury of a beautiful night of stargazing. Instead, we were in a car zooming across a barren landscape, ravaged by war.

  Eliza had her head leaning against the window, her eyes closed. Once again, she was sleeping. The camp had taken a toll on her and she has slept most of the time since we left. I reached my hand over and put it on her leg. She was warm and full of life again. A far cry from where she was when I found her weeks ago. I smiled, knowing that her and I were going to be together forever.

  The tires of the car continued to roll across the ground, bringing us closer to the German border. My idea was to use my uniform to get through any checkpoints there may be but we would need to find another car. This one was marked as Bollenbach’s car and any soldier at a checkpoint would be out of there mind to let me roll through it in this thing.

  There was a big town ahead of us. I had no idea which one. Poland was still a very foreign land to us. I shook her awake and pointed out the town. “We can ditch this car and find another one there.” She agreed with the idea. We parked the car a little outside the town and started walking. “It feels good to stretch my legs,” Eliza said. I smiled at her. I couldn’t wait until we could take a night stroll like this, with no fear and nobody coming for us. Her hand intertwined with mine and we gazed up at the stars like I dreamed we would earlier.

  We got to the town and it was dead. There were no lights on. People were not outside walking the streets. It was peculiar, considering how nice of a night it was. It must have just been a stroke of good luck. The street had a few cars lined up alongside of it. The first two we tried were locked, but the third was open. It was a German Lorry. It must have been brought here by the military when they occupied the country. We climbed up into it and it smelled of mildew and sweat. No wonder it was left open. I felt around until I found the keys, which happened to be in the ignition already. Luck was falling our way at this point. I turned the key, the truck sputtered a little bit and revved to life.

  We pulled away from the parking spot and it was immediately evident, this was not going to be a smooth ride. We bobbed up and down, as the truck hobbled through the streets.

  Throughout the town, buildings, stores, and restaurants were lined with Nazi propaganda. One poster stood out to me. It was of Hitler, standing there giving a salute in his tan coat. A red banner with a black swastika billowed behind him, and in the distance was a city. In the corner rays of sunshine light up a blue sky. It made Hitler seem like such a great and cheerful leader, when he was entirely the opposite. I slammed on the brakes. “What are you doing?” Eliza asked. I didn’t respond because she would see what I was doing. I got out of the lorry and ran to the sign. I yanked it from the shop window and tore it to pieces. Then I grabbed another poster and did the same thing, and then another. Eliza jumped out of the truck and followed my lead. She ripped the posters with such fierceness. Then she threw them on the ground and stomped on them, releasing her built up anger.

  Within a few minutes the street was free from any signs of Nazis. We got back into our commandeered lorry, and rode away feeling chipper.

  A few hours after we left that town behind, we came upon a border checkpoint. We finally made it back to Germany. There were trucks on either side of the road and multiple soldiers waiting to check my papers. Eliza had already hidden in the back before we got this close.

  They waved me forward until I was even with them and their trucks. I rolled down my window and the soldier asked me to see my papers. I was in my uniform and I had my papers ready. The soldier snatched them from my hands and looked them over. “Your papers say you are assigned to guard duty at the Auschwitz camp.” The soldier said questioningly. I acted as surprised as I could. “What? Oberführer Bollenbach sent me to deliver some important documents to Berlin. He must have forgotten to give me the clearance for it. Please just let me through, and he will clear things up before I get back,” I said.

  “I’m sorry, but I cannot let you through without the correct documents,” The soldier responded. I would have to think of something good to get him to let me through. “Please. These documents are very important. I am delivering them to Hitler himself,” I said. Then I asked him to lean in a little bit as if I were telling him a secret. “I am not supposed to reveal any of the information about these documents, but I would like you to know the importance of my journey. These documents are about the American and Russian troops advancing on the eastern front. These documents have specific locations for Hitler to send troops to stop them.” While I was telling him this I flashed a few fake pieces of paper to show I had documents with me.

  “Can I see these documents?” He asked. I scoffed at the question. I cannot let just anyone read something of such high importance. I have already told you enough.” He thought about it for a moment before going over to speak with a couple of the other soldiers.

  The whole time my heart was racing, and my palms were sweating so bad I could hardly grip the steering wheel. After what felt like hours, the soldier came back to the window. “Next time, make sure Oberfuhrer Bollenbach sends you with the right papers.”

  “Of course,” I said with a grateful nod. He waved us through.

  We had to be careful at every turn now that we were back in Germany. It would be impossible for Eliza to blend in. Berlin was our next destination. I had hoped to find Hans on the way through so he could come with us. I had no idea where he was or what he was doing. It didn’t matter though, I was not leaving here without attempting to bring him with me.

  A few kilometers past
the checkpoint, I stopped to let Eliza back into the front of the truck. I got out of the truck and went to the back. I lifted up the potato sacks she was hiding under. She gasped for air and jumped out from under them. “That was awful. I could hardly breathe!” She had been under there for longer than I meant her to. “I’m sorry, the soldier almost didn’t let us through. It took awhile for me to convince him,” I said to her. She sat there for a moment catching her breath. ”It’s okay, as long as we got through,” She said. She was just so beautiful I couldn’t contain myself. I scooped her up and twirled her around. She giggled and laughed.

  I helped her back into the front of the lorry. “Next stop, Berlin,” I said, and off we went flying across the familiar countryside that I had grown up with.

  I could see Berlin in the distance and I was filled with a sense of familiarity. I had never been away from home for so long, and it felt good to be coming back, even if the city was taken over by the forces of evil. The closer we got, the more I realized that it wasn’t the same city that I had left. It was obliterated from allied bombs. Whole blocks were reduced to dust, there were no people outside, and it seemed as if the color had drained from everything. “Oh my…” Eliza gasped and put her hand over her mouth. “What happened here.” I continued to stare at the mess in front of us and said, “It looks as if Hitler isn’t as strong as he thought.”

  We didn’t have to worry about any patrols in the city. The army was stretched so thin every soldier was out fighting along a front somewhere. This made it easier for us to travel, especially since we could only drive the lorry at slow speeds, We had to weave our way through the maze of rubble that was along the streets. It was hard to even tell where we were because it was so much different than before.

  Our destination was the apartment I used to share with Aldo and Hans. I was hoping that Hans would still be there and he could come with us, and if he wasn’t… well I didn’t want to think about that.

  Our truck continued to bounce along until we made it to the block where the apartment used to be. However there was no apartment there. It was nothing but a pile of rock and dust. “Are you sure this is the right place?” Eliza asked. I wished I was wrong, but I knew this was definitely the place. I could remember it vividly, that day I was pulled away to join the military. The red brick, the black iron staircase that ran up the side, the big double doors that lead to the main floor. This was the right spot. “This is definitely it.” I said glumly. “Well Hans must be somewhere else then.” She was trying to cheer me up. He might have been, but I didn’t know where that place could be.

  A siren started to blair. “What is that!” Eliza yelled. “That’s an air raid siren!” I yelled back. I grabbed her hand and yanked her from where we were. We needed to find a basement somewhere.

  We started running as fast as we could. There was a building right next door. We tried to open it, but it was locked. The buzzing of planes grew closer and closer. We tried the next building and that was locked too.

  We kept running, jumping over rock piles, weaving through alleyways, trying to find some place to go. Then the first bomb hit nearby. It shook the ground and almost took our feet out from under us. Eliza stumbled, but I held her up. We kept running. Every building we tried was locked. Bombs started landing around us. The dust got into our eyes and made it hard to breathe. We couldn’t tell where to go.

  The bombs continued to rain on the city. Eliza started to hack and cough from the dust. She was slowing down. We needed to find somewhere to go and fast. I peered through the blanket of dust that was encapsulating everything. Only one block away, I saw a familiar building. It was the school Hans and I hid in with Viktor and his friends so long ago.

  “Come on!” I lead her to the school and yanked open the front door. We shot inside and went straight to the stairwell and started going down towards the basement. Someone from the basement yelled, “Who’s there?” Eliza and I froze in our tracks. “Uh, we are just trying to get away from the bombs. The door was open.” I said back to whoever was down there. “That didn’t answer my question,” They said. “My name is Eloy, Eloy Wolf.” Then a different voice, one that sounded familiar said, “Eloy? Is that you?” I knew that voice. “Hans?” I asked excitedly.

  Hans came running from the darkness of the basement, and flew up the stairs slamming into my chest and picking me up in a giant hug. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again.” He said. Eliza cleared her throat a bit. I forgot that her and Hans had never met. “Oh Hans, this Eliza,” I gestured to her. “And Eliza, this is my brother Hans.” She gave an awkward little wave, which made me laugh on the inside. “The Eliza? It’s great to meet you.” Hans said. The other voice piped up from the basement. “Now that the little family reunion is over, would you like to get down here away from the bombs.” I had completely forgotten what was going on just outside the walls of this school. “Of course.” Hans said, and ushered us down into the basement.

  I leaned over and whispered to Hans, “Who else is down here?” He chuckled a little bit, “That’s Aldo, did you forget who he was?” Aldo, how could that be? I thought he was dead. “I thought he was dead.” Aldo over heard me and said, “Not dead yet unfortunately.” Hans leaned in to me and said, “He is a bit more cranky than he used to be. Probably because a couple of Nazis chopped his hand off.” Aldo started talking again. “I’m useless. What’s a man supposed to do with only one damn hand.”

  “You get used to it.” Hans said.

  The bombing subsided and we went out to survey the damage. Looking around, the school we were in was one of the only buildings left standing. It was almost a miracle.

  “Hans, Eliza and I are making our way to the west. We are hoping to find American troops, and be safe from the Nazis. You should come with.” Hans thought about it for a moment and then answered, “I don’t know Eloy. Aldo and I are doing a lot of good stuff for the people here. It wouldn’t be right if I left.”

  “Please Hans, come with us. If we separate, how will I find you again? And We can’t stay because they will notice Eliza for sure.” I pleaded with him. “Don’t worry, we will find each other. Get Eliza to safety, and once the war is over you can come back and find me then.” I knew there was no use in arguing with him any further. He was always stubborn.

  I gave Hans a final hug and Eliza and I went to find a vehicle to commandeer. We were walking away when I heard a troop of soldiers approaching. “Cleanup crew” I heard Aldo say. Eliza and I ducked down into an alleyway, and watched the street. Aldo and Hans went the opposite way and hid in the alley across from us. The troop was walking down the street, looking for any bodies to clean up from the bombing that took place a little bit before.

  One of them, just a young kid, turned to make his way down our alley. Knowing he would find us soon enough, Hans popped out from his hiding spot. I screamed on the inside, “Hans you idiot!” I wanted so badly to run out there and help him, but I couldn’t because I needed to keep Eliza safe. The leader of the troop started to exchange words with Hans. I couldn’t hear what they were saying,. I could tell they were arguing however. Hans pulled some papers out of his pocket, and tried to show them to the leader. The leader took them from Hans’ hand and threw them to the ground.

  He and Hans continued to argue back and forth. Never one to be messed with, Hans’ anger started to boil over. He had enough. Before I could stop him, he reeled back and punched the soldier in the face, knocking him to the ground.

  I saw the soldier, angry from being punched, reach for his luger. It was like everything was moving in slow motion. I needed to save Hans but there were too many of them. I watched as the gun slowly rose up. The soldier’s finger pulled the trigger. BANG!

  Chapter 17

  1944

  At the last second Aldo stepped in front of Hans. The bullet ripped right through his chest. He went limp and fell back into Hans’ arms. The soldier, satisfied with what he had done, lead the troop in the other direction, marching away with a sneer.
When they were out of sight, I ran to Hans and Aldo.

  Aldo was barely clinging to life. Between each wheezing breath he spoke to Hans. “Get...away...from...here...go...with...Eloy.” Hans was nodding his head and sobbing. It was the first time I had ever seen him cry. “You’re going to be okay,” he was saying to Aldo. It didn’t matter though, his words couldn’t change fate.

  The life slowly faded from Aldo’s eyes and he went limp in Hans’ arms. We sat in silence for a long time. The only sound was Hans’ quiet crying. Then without saying anything, he picked Aldo’s body up and started carrying him away. “Where are you going?” I asked Hans. Hans didn’t answer but I realized soon enough he was taking him to be buried.

  We walked until we came to the outskirts of the city, and came upon the local cemetery. I broke into the tool shed, took a couple shovels, and Hans and I dug until we had a big enough hole. We gently laid Aldo down inside of it. “Thanks for everything,” Were the only words Hans needed to say. We filled the hole in and left, never looking back.

  1946

  Shortly after burying Aldo we left Berlin for good. We soon found American troops, and were taken to safety until the war was over. We decided we needed a fresh start, so Hans, Eliza, and I went someplace I never imagined we would be.

  In the spring of nineteen forty-five we stepped foot on to American soil for the first time. It was like nothing I had ever imagined. The lights, the sounds, the accents. It was a vastly different world from the one we left behind, but I couldn’t be happier.