1943-Two

Second installation of the flashforward to the ghetto in 1943

1943

            After skimming the journal for a minute or two, Herschel shut the book and fixed his gaze again on the street below him. The situation hadn’t progressed much, the three of them still stood dumbstruck in the middle of the street, hardly saying anything. Hersch wasn’t sure if he was ready to join them (he was in enough trouble with the soldiers as it was without being caught on the streets at sundown), but it wasn’t long before he saw he had no choice. Erich had pulled a pistol and was pointing it at Jim.

            Down on the street the three boys just stared at each other. Gabe, unable to contain himself, had dashed down the street and thrown his arms around Erich who, as inexpressive as always, remained unresponsive for a long minute until he managed to grasp what was happening. When he did, all he could manage was to pat him on the back.

            “Gabe?”

            “Erich!”

            “What the f**k?” It was Jim, who they had only briefly noticed. They turned sharply to face him.

            “Jim?”

            Erich acted on his first instinct, reaching for his gun. “How the hell did you get in here?”

            Jim was stunned, but he managed to pull his own pistol out of his coat. “How the hell did I get in here? How the hell did you get in here?”

            “I’m a f*****g soldier!” Erich yelled. “And don’t think I don’t know why you’re here! I should kill you!”

            “Hey!” Hersch came flying out of the building behind them

            “Hersch?”

            “Hersch!”

            Hersch had appeared on the street, wielding his own gun. “Back off, Amery,” he growled. “You can’t shoot all of us.”

            Erich panicked. The Jews weren’t supposed to be armed. He turned to Jim. “Don’t point that thing at me. I’m not the one you came for.”

            That changed the tides and suddenly Hersch and Jim were pointing the guns at each other. “He’s right, Hersch,” Jim said angrily, “You know why I’m here.”

            Hersch gritted his teeth. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said in a tone that said her most certainly did.

            “Don’t give me that!” Jim said. “Where is she?”

            Hersch’s face darkened. He knew exactly who Jim wanted, and he would never give her up. “Get out of here, Jim. You’re not a part of this anymore.”

            “I’m not leaving until I see her.”

            They all jumped back when Hersch cocked the gun. “Try me.”

            Jim wanted to stand his ground, but of the four of them, Hersch seemed like the most likely to shoot. So he turned his gun on Erich instead. “You!” he shouted. “You seem to know a lot about why I’m here.  What about him?” he cocked his head towards Gabe, who had thus far stayed out of the fighting, “I’ll bet you know why he’s here, too.”

            Erich pulled his lip back into a snarl, and Jim knew he had said just the right thing. “Don’t you dare, Banhart. I’ll blow your f*****g head off.”

            “What’s Jim got to do with it?” Gabe asked angrily. They turned to see that he had pulled a pistol of his own. “That’s between us, Erich.”

            Erich swung his pistol towards Gabe. “That’s the past,” he growled.

            Gabe raised an eyebrow. “Is it?”

            “Oh, shut it, Moretti! Why else would you be here?” Hersch sneered, moving his eyes to Gabe but keeping his gun locked on Jim.

            Gabe turned angrily on Hersch. “You know why,” he seethed. “You know why I came all the way here for nothing.

            Hersch scoffed. “So what? You were just in the neighborhood? I don’t buy it for a second. Besides, I didn’t tell you to come.”

            “But you know who did,” Jim broke in. “The same person who got me here.”

            Hersch glared at them. “Don’t. You. Dare.”

            The four of them stood there in the middle of the street, pointing their guns at whomever they thought had wronged them most. They each had their reasons to be angry. The problem was that for every reason they each had to pull the trigger, they had equal reason to defend whoever got shot. So it wasn’t a question of who was angry enough to shoot. It was a question of who would be stupid enough to go first.

Author's Note

Again, these will be injected every few chapters, and I need to know what you guys think of the change of pace

Reviews

[Arianna]

i really dont like it...
i think you should do it at the end...
it would make a lot more sense, as of this i think it gives away information that i dont think it should.
and it makes your storyline more confuseing.
however its my opinion. still loveing the story!
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[Jake Donald Stephens]

Honestly, I'm not sure what the reason is for the flash-forward chapters, but I'm sure you know what you're doing. I can't wait to see how it all comes together.

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[hannah]

ooooooh hannah likey! what happened?!!?

[trish420]

I love it!!!! I'm SOOO confused and trying to make sense of everything but that's what's great, it will all make sense eventually. This seems like it is going to be one of those books that you have to read at least twice so that you can re-read everything with it making sense :-) I LOVE that! Good job