Chapter Text
The day finally came.
The day they had feared for so long.
The Walkers were led down the stairs by screaming uniformed men, impatiently pushing them with weapons, ordering them to walk faster. They received less than five minutes to pack their belongings, and while they did it, it was under the constant pressure of shouting soldiers. Kit had quickly grabbed his violin, the object he cherished the most, while his little brother desperately put some of his favorite toys in his trunk.
They exited the building, and for the first time in many years, breathed fresh air. While the family was guided by the aggressive soldiers, they were greeted by many unfamiliar faces watching them curiously. As they walked to the military truck, Kit read all kind of looks on the faces of those who had agglomerated in the streets to watch another Jewish family be deported. Looks of fear, looks of anger and disgust, looks of pity and compassion, looks of triumph and arrogance. The young boy was shocked by how the world and its people had changed so drastically in less than ten years.
His eyes finally found the Marsh family. They stood on their door step, holding each other close, hand in hand, looks of agony and impotence imprinted on their faces. All these years they had helped the Walkers. They kept their hiding place secret, brought food and clothes, and made it possible for the four people to live in the small cramped attic above an old shop.
It pained Kit to watch his best friend's eyes water, while his remained dry. How he wished to call out for his friend, tell him he would be okay, and that everything would be all right. Even if he didn't believe it. But he knew he had to stay silent, and quickly broke eye contact with Stan. The consequences of such actions would be grave.
Kit was pushed inside the truck. The doors were shut right in front of his face. All source of light disappeared, and the space became darker than night itself. They travelled for what felt like ages and finally arrived at a train station. They were ordered to step outside and join the large mass of people congregated there. It was freezing outside, but the mix of fear and anticipation seemed to drive the cold away from their bones. The Walkers followed the orders of the angry officers that distributed them throughout the different train wagons. While they walked, Kit could hear his mother talk softly to Ike, pressing his little body against hers. He felt his father's hand on his shoulder and looked at him. His gaze was fixed on the screaming officer closest to them, expression one of alarm and concern, making him appear older. The man sensed his oldest son's stare, and met his eyes. His tense appearance softened a bit, while he looked at Kit sadly, full of love and regret. It was the look of a parent who knows his child's future is condemned.
The mob of the persecuted was forcibly pushed into the train's compartment. The great sliding door was shut. There were no windows, so they were again covered in darkness. The train started moving and Kit could not tell if the space was small, or simply packed up with too many people. Bodies were pressed against each other. The cold air was quickly replaced by an unbearably heavy, and sticky heat. The oxygen grew thinner. People were screaming. People were fainting. People were dying.
Kit closed his eyes. His ears ached from all the screaming. He tried to focus in his mother's soft voice singing a lullaby in his brother's ear. He tried to focus on the firm grasp of his father's hands around his chest, making him feel safe and protected. In the midst of his fear, Kit's thoughts ran back to the Marshes. He wondered how they were; he wondered how Stan was feeling. He wondered if they would ever see each other again. It was so hot. The air was heavy, and a nauseating stench filled the compartment. The screams were fading, people were starting to silence. He felt tired, his muscles were weary and aching from standing in the same position for many hours. The exhaustion slowly took over his mind and body. Unwillingly, he fell into a light doze. Kit completely lost track of time. They traveled toward an unknown destination. Not knowing what awaited them there. Only knowing they were heading to doom.
-_-
Kit suddenly opened his eyes.
The train stopped moving. The disgusting scent of sweat, vomit and urine invaded his nostrils. At the beginning of the journey people had been screaming in fear, but now it was the dread of anticipation that kept them quiet. Unbearable silence rang through the train's compartment. It was the calm before the storm. Kit could just barely discern men’s voices, but couldn’t figure out what they were saying. Someone in the compartment murmured, "What's going on." Soft cries were heard in the distance. The silence grew between the passengers as the tension increased.
Suddenly the sliding door was opened. The mass of people with meta abilities peered blinkingly into the harsh light of day. Soldiers started grabbing the startled people by the arms, forcing them to exit the compartment quickly, making many fall down onto the dirty ground. Kit felt the bitter cold hit his body like a wall of ice, and thought he was going to faint. But his indisposition faded quickly as adrenaline pumped into his veins. His eyes searched for his family, but instead, they met a big blur of chaos.
People were being violently dragged out of the train. Soldiers were yelling hysterically, hitting and pushing people out of the way. People were screaming in agony and panic as their suitcases were ripped from their hands. A soldier came out from nowhere, and pushed Kit hard to the side, making him lose his balance and fall on the ground. Kit watched in horror as the same soldier took his trunk and violin away, and threw them on a pile of suitcases. Kit got up quickly to retrieve his violin, but another soldier intercepted him. He was grabbed by his arm and violently dragged towards a mass of men. Feeling completely disoriented, Kit quickly looked around and felt panic grow in his chest. He had lost his family. Suddenly, in the midst of the confusion, he recognized his mother's screaming above all other voices. He followed her desperate yells, ignoring the shoves and collisions with the others. Kit suppressed his own scream when he saw a soldier forcibly attempt to separate his mother from of his father and Ike. He did his best to reach her, pushing people away from his path, wanting to rescue his mother from the horrible soldier. But before he had the chance, a second soldier arrived and the two men succeeded in dragging her away in the opposite direction. Kit saw tears cascade down his mother's face, while she struggled in vain to free herself, yelling her sons' names desperately. His own vision was blurred by tears, and he was going to run after her, when a strong hand pulled him back. He turned around furious and hurt, expecting to see one of the soldiers that had haunted his dreams since he was little, but was surprised to see his father.
"Kit, there's nothing we can do!" His father said, pale and devastated. "We have to stick together!" But Kit could not accept his words, this unfair fate, and tried to free himself from his father to save his mother. Gerald Walker pulled his son back a second time and Kit turned to him, revolted.
"They took mom!" He screamed, horrorstruck.
"Listen to me, Kit!" His father pled while he rested his hands on his son's shoulders. "I think they want to separate women from men."
Kit looked around, and what he saw bitterly confirmed his father's words. The soldiers were taking all the women away in a different direction. He saw other mothers being separated from their children, lovers divided by soldiers, young and old, with no exceptions.
"Where's Ike?" Kit shouted in despair.
"He's right here." His father gestured with his hand, and Kit saw his little brother was staring at him with big eyes from behind their father.
Soon, the group of males was amassed and guided by the commands of the soldiers. While they followed them, Kit noticed a strange sickening smell infesting the air. The group was lined up, and one by one had to stand in front of a man in a white lab coat. They had to undress completely, and were quickly examined by the doctor who checked mainly their eyes, mouth and hair. He would say something to the soldier standing next to him and the fate of the person would be decided. If he were sent to the left, he was requested to walk to a door, still naked and carrying his own clothes. If he were sent to the right, he received a blue and white stripped uniform. Based on the sounds of agony and desperation coming from those sent to the left, he prayed to a God he never really believed in to be sent to the right.
After the short examination, the three male Walkers received a tattoo on their left arm, close to the wrist. Kit hissed when the needle pricked his skin, and afterwards he read 24551 on it. They also received their own uniform. It was made of very thin material and Kit felt very cold in it. They walked through an open field. There, they saw hundreds of men in the same uniforms doing hard labor. Kit looked shocked and swallowed dryly at the sight of what the future had in store for his family. These men were unusually thin, looked weary and defeated as if all of life's luster had been stolen away from them.
They finally reached an area full of long wooden barracks. The soldiers ordered them to enter one of them, while they unnecessarily pushed the males inside. The room was quickly filled up and a tall blond man entered, followed by the two soldiers. Based on the man’s distinguishable uniform, and the respectful salutes from the other two soldiers, it was clear that he was a man of power. The blond officer gave everyone a look of pure hatred and then started reading off instructions with a hard voice:
"Welcome to the camp! This will be your home! Barrack D34 is now your residence! It's your responsibility to keep it clean and in order! You will wake up every day at 6.00 a.m., wash yourselves and eat breakfast! At 7.00 a.m you will stand outside for the calling. Then you will receive further instructions for your daily tasks in the camp! You will work till noon and lunch! Then you'll continue working where you left off! You'll work until 07.00 p.m. and then retire to your barrack! You are forbidden to speak while working, you are forbidden to walk around the camp after 09.00 p.m. and you are never to have any belongings! Do I make myself clear?"
Everyone answered in a broken, uniform, “Yes,” and the blond officer left the barrack. The soldiers followed him outside and guarded the entrance. There was a moment of silence and anxiety; everyone sharing looks of uncertainty and fear. After a while, Kit, his father, and his little brother explored the barrack. They found a large room filled with wooden tables and chairs. No doubt it was the common dining room. The following division had several lines of wooden triple bunks. Kit noticed they were too small for the average man. The mattresses were made of a strange material he was unfamiliar with. The toilets and bathroom were also communal, the compartments way too small for the amount of people living in it.
Kit laid on one of the beds and his brother went to join him, lying close to his body. Their father sat next to them, and proceeded to stroke his children's hair. They remained like this for what felt like a small eternity, in silence, ignoring the sounds of anguished mourning or exasperated anger that surrounded them. Kit closed his eyes. He wanted to forget where he was. He just wanted to feel the warmth coming from his little brother's body, and sense the comforting touch of this father's fingers in his hair. He wondered where his mother was, how she was, if he would ever see her again, and if any of them would get out of this place alive. Hot tears escaped his eyes as he stumbled upon the realization that this was Hell.
-_-
It only felt like a couple of minutes had passed by before he opened his eyes again. However, while he had closed his eyes and drifted to sleep, he had been jolted awake by the sound of a large explosion.
The air smelled of gunpowder as the sounds of bullet spray echoed in the air. It was chaos all around, as everyone around him was panicking. But alongside the fear and anticipation was an emotion that seemed even more dangerous at the time.
Hope.
“Oh god! All For One…” Kit heard a soldier shout in distress. He held his finger down on his gun, emptying bullets from his gun’s magazine into the night sky with the hope of one of the stray bullets hitting a target.
It was to no avail, as a man appeared from the veil of darkness, illuminated only by the fire he held in the palm of his hand. The bullets aimed at him seemed to only richochet off, not even grazing his skin before they bounced harmlessly to the ground below.
He approached the soldier and disarmed him by simply yanking the gun out of the soldier’s hands. The panicked soldier cowered in unadulterated fear, crouching on the ground with his hands held defensively out in front of him. The man paid him no heed. The soldier was unarmed now, and thus not a threat. There was no need to hurt him, so the man who stuck terror in so many peoples’ minds simply ignored him as the soldier ran away.
The man walked up to Kit and his brother, a gentle smile on his face as he knelt down to ruffle the hair of Kit’s brother who looked up at the man with a mouth wide open in unfiltered awe.
It was only when the man said one line that the stress began to leave Kit. That he began to truly feel he was safe again.
“Never fear, for I am here!”