The Escape

“GET UP, SPOILED BRATS!!” our commander shouted. I got up and groaned. For five years I’ve been hearing this nonsense.

I got my shovel and drank my little cup of water I had. Every day, I’ve been digging holes, polishing rifles, taking out roots and the worst of all, making ships.

Now, we had to hammer all day in the hot sun and we only got scraps to eat. Me and Glenn, the blonde, always were assigned that every five days each week. It was horrible!

I was digging my shovel and made a small pile right beside it. I knew that wasn’t a good thing. It wasn’t big enough for when they could put a minefield there.

Glenn looked over at me, and I knew that I was okay. He saved me from being bitten by a scorpion. When bully Kiam came over to attack me, he fought Kiam to death. That, I wished I could do.

“IT’S BREAK TIME!” the commander said. I dropped my shovel and rushed to the water. I took off my shoes and soaked my battered feet.

Glenn came over and washed his too. “Hey,” I said, getting his attention.

Glenn looked at me. “Why did they capture us?” I asked. His thoughtful face turned downward. And his eyes started to look uncomfortable.

“I don’t know much but, I think it has something to do with land. Power, yes, power.”

I looked at him in confusion. “What power?” “The wealth. Things to make their country greater.” Glenn looked at me, straight into my eyes.

“Germany is the real enemy. They’re a small country, and they’re not feared or wealthy. Since, America was the best at the time so they want to invade it.”

Glenn put on his shoes. “I really pray for America.”

“Don’t we all,” I said. “But we never did anything to them!” Glenn stood up and looked.

“They’re are many bad people in the world, and they will do anything they want.”

He walked away, and I looked at myself. “One day, you will be a soldier of America,” Dad always said.

I stood up and accepted the fact. I want to be one, and fight for America. “Hey, wait!” I shouted. Glenn looked stopped and looked back.

“How about we join the Army?” I asked. Glenn shook his head. “These Japanese cowards won’t let us go and join the Army.”

“How about we escape?”

Glenn went to me. He whispered in my ear and said, “I like the idea.” I nodded.

“We should go to Gwen,” Glenn said. “Why so?” “Because, he knows what the guards do every night.”

We went to Gwen’s house, cabin 15. It was filled with a bunch of books on how to learn to shoot.

Glenn knocked on the door. “Why does she have those books?” “She has the same wish as you, apparently.”

“To join the army?” I asked. Glenn narrowed his eyes at me. “You know better.”

Gwen came out the door. She was red-headed, her skin was light and looked smooth. She had two freckles on each cheek. And she had a scar from her head to her ear.

I thought they were good friends. But her face changed when she saw Glenn.

“What do you want now?” she asked. I guess he asked for a lot of stuff. “I need to ask you something.”

“I’m tired of stealing supplies from the camp just to help that poor baby of—”

She looked at me. “Who’s this guy?” she asked, more respectfully. “‘The poor baby of mine’, Tyrant,” he said.

I’m just a person who had rough brown hair, all the way to my collar and with gray striped-dirty-loose uniform.

“Come in, quick,” she demanded and we went in. Her cabin was filled with pictures of two grown ups—I’m guessing were parents— and her.

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She had cabinets of food, I wanted to gobble them up so bad. “Here are some grapes that they grew here.” She got a watermelon bowl and stuffed a bunch of grapes in there.

I looked at Glenn. “She is pretty resourceful, I have to say,” Glenn said. I definitely agreed.

^

“So, what do you need from me,” she said. Her expression turned annoyed back again when she turned to Glenn.

“Well let me put it in this way,” Glenn said. “We have been here for almost five years, and we don’t like it...at all.”

Gwen nodded, not in the way if you agreed. I could tell Glenn was putting it in a way that she shouldn't get the picture of.

“Yeahhhhh,” she said. “And we have better things to do than being here,” Glenn said.

“What’s necessarily your point?” she asked. Glenn answered, “I’m saying, me and him want to escape.”

Her eyes brightened up. “How are you going to do it though?” she asked.

“Well, you know when the guards do their shift, after stealing food from the building.”

She looked at me, and I looked at her. She could tell I was begging for her help. “Alright I got a plan, I guess,” she said.

Glenn smiled and winked at me. “So the guards always have a break, so it’s only 30 seconds we can escape.”

“Oh really?” I asked. That was too easy. Gwen seemed to read my mind.

“It’s not that easy, trust me,” she said. “It’s only thirty seconds we have so we will have to escape to the lighthouse.”

“Oh,” I said, kind of disappointed. Really—I hated this place. “Now, we have guards that have snipers that could blow our heads off; we just need to be careful and blend in with nature.”

She took a handful of grapes. “After all, there are many scrubs by the guards, it’s just to make sure to escape before they put the light on you.”

This just had to be that complex. “After that, we need to turn off the lighthouse. It distracts the guard so we can escape.”

She looked up at the distance, “I don’t know when to start but when it gets dark we have to run.”

“Come on, slobs get back to work!!!!” the commissioner shouted. We got out of the house.

The commissioner came to us. He was a buff man with a dirty moustache that almost covered his mouth. He was wearing a black hat and a navy blue uniform.

“Hey you two, start building the ships,” he said. “Sir, can we please continue with our digging. I barely finished,” I said.

“You take it or you get lashed,” he said. I rolled my eyes secretly. We need to get out of here, we can’t survive here.

^

It was getting dark, and I was in the bush hiding and practicing my swiftness.

Glenn went to me, rushing with his face drenched with sweat. “Come on,” he said. “Gwen said it’s time.” I nodded.

We rushed to her cabin, tired with our legs wobbling from hammering. I always wobbled, because two years ago, I fell down from the ship.

Glenn knocked, and Gwen opened it and saw us. “Good let’s go,” she said. We crouched and hid in bushes. “Follow my lead,” Gewn said.

She looked more serious than ever, she ran barefoot, and her foot was as dirty as wet mud. We kept hiding until we reached the first checkpoint.

One was with average arms but his chest was more muscular than a bear. One was with high armor and muscular arms and had that hot breath.

The man who killed my parents.

I started to have that sad feeling again. But that sadness turned to revenge and hate.

“We can have the break time right,” one of the Germans said. “Yeah let’s have some food, man I’m beat hot and is starving.”

They left and the time started. “Go-go-go-go-go!” Gwen shouted. We rushed to the next scrub. The other guards came, and took over.

“Yes, we did that one,” I said. The flashlights went on. I sneaked out. “NO!” Gwen shouted whisperly. She pulled me back.

“Huh, who’s there?” one of them asked. Great I ruined it, now we will be lashed and I will have a scar for a lifetime!!!

They came and I kicked without thinking. “Hey, there they are!” one shouted.

We punched and kicked, I held the guy’s neck. It felt warm and greasy, and I quickly threw him down. I stomped on his neck and he stared blankly into the sky.

Gwen took away his gun and smacked him with it. He fell on the floor—knocked out.

“What were you thinking, you spoiler!” Gwen shouted. Gwen brought out her fist and pounded me. I fell, knowing that I was dead. She raised her fists again but Glenn held her tightly on the arm.

“We don’t have time for this,” he said. “Let’s go before others come.” We continued the path, we went behind the guards and we knocked them out.

All we needed was the lighthouse, I couldn’t mess this one up. We went behind a big bush covering ourselves in balls. Glenn tucked me under him.

“Hey, who’s there,” someone shouted. Then...they saw us. “Run,” Gwen ordered. We ran for our lives.

“We got people escaping! People are escaping!!!” one yelled. They started firing their rifles, and we covered our heads. “Get to the gate!” I shouted.

I ran the fastest I ever could, faster than running from Ashley and them. Gwen, for some reason, fell and she couldn’t move.

“Aaagh!!” shouted Gwen. “I’m hurt!” I picked her up and ran faster. But she was heavy though. Probably Glenn should’ve held her because she was taller than me.

We climbed up the gate but Glenn stayed. He fought the guards to death.

He climbed up later and we escaped. From the camp, from the work, from the suffering. We were free.”