No Escape
My ears were ringing, gunshots blasted my eardrums. My eyes felt heavy, and it took all my energy just to keep them open. I began to slowly lose consciousness as I collapsed onto the rigid ground. Masses of dust had been inhaled; every breath tortured my lungs. My legs had been crushed by debris; they trapped my frail bones and they felt like they were on the verge of snapping. I cried at the top of my lungs for assistance, aid, any form of help but the sounds of ammunition muted the sound of my voice. In the distance, a group of soldiers appeared from the thick smog. They walked quickly but in unison, they looked familiar but daunting, I could not pinpoint who they were. Their uniforms revealed themselves as I saw a distinct symbol: a cross with the arms twisted.
Right then and there I realised: they were the enemy. Shouting was all I could hear as my face gradually accepted defeat. My allies left me. All alone. Confusion and disappointment filled my heart. Before I knew it, I had been surrounded. Men towered over me, looked at me with disgust. Together they forcefully tugged my body out and my legs scraped along the rocks and fragments as skin peeled off my legs and I screamed in pain. They dragged me along the uneven ground as if I were a corpse, lifeless and hopeless.
The enemy soldiers threw me onto a decaying chair. The door slammed open as a general followed through. He sat down across the table with complete confidence. His smug face stared at me like a lion hunting its prey. He said some words in a foreign language, an order. I knew what was going to happen before it did. They continuously beat my face with a bat; a steady stream of blood was flowing out of my nose. I admitted the fact that I was going to receive constant torture, even death seemed like a better option than being with the Germans. A quick torrent of questions flooded me. But I wasn’t going to say a word. These disgusting pigs had taken everything from me, not even my pride remained but at the very least I would not betray my allies. After they had beaten me half to death, I thought they had given up as they hauled me away. That was until we reached a new room, the only thing inside was a table with a bucket on top.
Before I could process anything, they shoved me against the table and forced my head into the bucket. The freezing water stole my breath away and the cuts across my face screamed in agony, the pain was unbearable. I could not breathe, my arms were thrashing about in vain, there was no escape, maybe this was the end for me. Just as I thought I would finally lay at rest, even that was stripped from me as my head plunged out of the water. I gasped for breath and all that was heard were questions from the same deranged general. “What are your plans? Where are you striking next?” he shouted in English. My mouth stayed closed as I gave him the silent treatment. The general’s face gradually filled with anger and frustration.
My body had given up a long time ago, but my loyalty remained. I slightly woke up to the sound of alarms blazing. The whole building shook and guards were frantically running around. I heard recognisable orders and shouts and the familiar sound of gunfire filled the air. In my peripheral, I saw friends, allies, help and my heart filled with hope. But again, my consciousness slowly faded away. My eyes began to shut as my friends ran to catch my body. They grabbed my shoulders to support me, but they could feel my soul leave. I took my last breath as I saw my friends all together with me. Not alone.
