Pamela tried desperately to reason with her causal lover but he would not listen, he just stayed under cover and wept quietly. He was in no state to move.
“I have a horrible feeling Steve that they might search this area for survivors, I am going to go and raise the alarm. I can’t stay here with you… Steve can you hear me? I am going now. Stay safe.” She kissed his dirt-caked hand and then began to walk away from the carnage. She was gripped by a steely determination that those bastards were going to pay for their crimes.
Steven had drifted into an uneasy sleep that was plagued by nightmarish images of all of his friends being killed. He could hear their voices, but they were muffled like he was inside a casket.
Steven woke with a jump as the voices and footsteps in his head grew louder, he lay there, still covered by the corpses of his two friends and started to weep again.
The voices grew louder, the bodies to his left were kicked and moved slightly, the footsteps were all around him, he was not dreaming. The armor-clad soldiers were checking every single body to make sure they were actually dead; they kicked, punched and even shot at some of the bodies. The only noise was the groaning of escaping gas.
Steven started to panic, he had nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. He just had to stay still and pray that he was not discovered. The body of a middle-aged woman that lay directly on top of him was unceremoniously removed, it was kicked once and then chucked on a pile of other bodies.
The soldiers were stacking the corpses, ready to be moved.
‘What the hell do they want with the dead?’ Steven thought. ‘Will this nightmare never end!’ He tried hard not to scream in terror.
Another body was removed and the brighter light hit Steven’s face, it burnt his eyes through his closed eyelids, tears trickled down his face. Suddenly he felt a terrible pain in the back of his thigh. He tried desperately to hold it all together but as the soldier twisted the blade in his leg, his body trembled and he let out a scream in pure agony.
The soldiers pulled him to his feet, one hit him so forcefully in the stomach that knocked it the wind out of him.
The soldiers held him up while the device was put over his wrist, the needle pierced his skin and he dimly felt the pain. Steven had never felt this much pain before and he actually longed for it to end.
The read-out flashed a dull yellow, 52% Nordic DNA. The soldier laughed and then signaled to a colleague carrying a small metallic case, he opened the case and then they pierced Steven through the neck. He was quickly sedated and thrown onto a flatbed truck; he was led on top of the dead bodies that were to be transported back to Wright Patterson.
Captives
Wright Patterson was a hive of activity, in just thirty hours the base had been reinforced and multiple buildings had sprouted up. The soldiers had been busy; they were resourceful and had taken the materials from the buildings in Dayton. They took concrete, steel girders and any other usable materials.
A lot of the hangers had been converted into holding cells for the growing number of captives. They were separated into Nordic heritage, others and then finally a couple of hangers were being pumped full of freezing air to keep the dead from smelling.
Steven was sat near the front of one of the overcrowded hangers; the man next to him had died a couple of hours earlier after an allergic reaction to the sedative, his expressionless face lay motionless in a pile of sick. The smell had made quite a few of the other captives throw up.
The acorn device was at the center of the base and troops, machines and materials periodically poured out of it, illuminated in a brilliant indigo glow. Tanks of all different sizes gathered near the exit of the base, a large group of troop carriers lined up behind them and the troops moved into them with purpose.
“They are gathering for another offensive.” A young man said.
“What do they want with us?” A voice came from the back.
“Maybe they just want us in here to keep us from causing trouble and they will let us go when they have got what they want.”
A man laughed from near the back of the hanger, “Naïve little girl.” He said.
“Leave her alone, at least she has hope.”
The man shook his head, “Take a look around the base, they have set up a bridgehead, they have set up a strong defense and they have the advantage in technology…” He paused, “We are the slave labor, nothing more. They will work us to death or kill us after, if we manage to survive.”
“You’re wrong!”
“Yeah how the hell do you know?”
The man lowered his head, “My dad was in a German concentration camp during the Second World War, he used to describe the horrors he saw there in great detail. He said many of his friends were worked to death, hardly fed and kept in conditions just like this.”
The hanger went silent.
“I’m sorry.” The man said solemnly.
Steven was in a world of his own; his brain had nearly shut down and he was rocking slightly back and forth. He had not even noticed that a fresh batch of prisoners was being led through the compound.
General Sporrenberg stood just inside the entrance of the freshly built compound; he was generally pleased with the way things were going; although he did have a few concerns as he cast his beady eagle eye over the new captives.
“Advisor A come here!” He ordered.
The tall man with slick blonde hair and a thick blonde mustache slowly marched over to General Sporrenberg. He was wearing the black body armor that the rest of the troops wore but he did not wear a helmet.
“What is it General?” He spoke in a deep, booming voice.
“I have some concerns about the treatment of the Aryan prisoners; they seem to be being treated the same as the scum?”
“With all due respect Sporrenberg until we have the facilities to separate them completely we need to use them as a resource to get the building work completed. We are at a delicate stage of the operation. The population is extremely hostile towards us and it would be wise not to treat them differently until we are in a stronger position.”
Sporrenberg’s features darkened briefly but he nodded. “Yes you are right.”
The general’s features lightened as he spotted something that peaked his interest.
“Stop right there!” He ordered and he marched forwards towards one of the prisoners.
The column halted. Sporrenberg had his hawk-like eyes set on his prey; he walked around the young women in front of him. He placed his gloved hand on her chin and lifted her head; he stared straight into her dark eyes and noticed a fire still burning within them.
Sporrenberg smiled, “Have this one brought to my quarters, have her cleaned before had.”
The two soldiers hesitated, “Sir she is only two percent Nordic.”
Sporrenberg licked his lips, “Just do it!”
The soldiers dragged the women from the line but she dug her heels in and tried to struggle.
“No, get the hell off of me, I won’t do it, I’d rather die!” She shouted.
Steven snapped out of his trance, he would recognize that voice anywhere. He wearily got to his feet and looked out through the bars. To his horror he saw Pamela being led away from the line of prisoners.
“No leave her alone you fuck heads!” He shouted as he started to shake the bars.
“Steve, Steve help me.” She shouted.
Sporrenberg flew off of the handle, “Get that subhuman out of his cell and bring him to me now!” He screamed, his face was scarlet red.
“Get away from the bars.” A man said to Steve but he did not listen.