Genesis Kaelin had loved the tranquil Brzezinka with its moss-veiled trails and shady glades since she laid eyes on it. Her home was an escape from the chaos of war that ensued around her. Her nose was almost always in a book, the smell of its old, leather bindings was something she found peace in. She would rather be lost in the pages than join a world that was lost in itself.
Once, before she had moved from Germany to Poland three months ago, Genesis had helped an injured bird that had lay on the road. She nursed it back to health and sent it on its way. That's just the sort of human she was. Kind and always put others before herself.
Curling her long, dishevelled chestnut hair around a finger, she peered out the window. Father was home, and she was not yet prepared for his arrival. When he came home, there was no escaping the real world. Her father was, of course, was one of the highest-ranking soldiers in the Nazi party or whatever they called themselves.
A gentle knock could be heard on the door, as Genesis' mother peeked around the door. They looked at each other with a soft, loving gaze until her mother became distracted by the three small boys running around her feet. "Elijah, I thought Mother asked you to change your shirt?" Genesis scolded her youngest sibling. Elijah looked up at Genesis with his sweet baby blue eyes, his frail 5-year-old frame shrugged and he simply pulled his two older brothers away.
Her mother laughed and placed a hand around her shoulder, guiding them to the bottom of the stairs to meet her father and his company.
"Who is it, Mommy?" Genesis smiled at her brothers Adam and Lucas, who spoke at the same time.
"I am Officer Schmidt" He seemed to loom over the children, emitting something that could only be described as sheer indomitable power. His dark eyes held no emotion as he peered down at the siblings. Genesis wondered if he treated his family in such a manner, the thought involuntarily pushed a giggle through her lips.
"Genesis, come with Officer Schmidt and I to my study" Her father announced, pride beamed in his voice and shone in his eyes. Genesis turned toward her mother, who stood with Elijah attached to her hip. Her mother sent a reassuring glance her way. So with her head down, she started down the hall to her father's study.
Officer Schmidt was the first to speak once they were all seated, quite uncomfortably, in her father's study. "We wish for you to come and help our organisation to run specific examinations on various test subjects. Your father tells me you are advanced in medicine."
Genesis simply nodded, she was astonished. Were they asking her to be apart of the advancement of modern medicine? It was an honour. She was to leave at once. This was all happening very abruptly.
Her mother stood very still and quiet as she watched her only daughter escorted into the back of a brown military van. She could not speak or breathe, for if she tried to warn Genesis of the danger she was facing, her husband would push the knife he was holding onto her back. Genesis entered the truck with a smile and waved at her family, watching them fade into the distance. Unaware that her family was not safe at home, but neither was wherever she was heading. The material roof was closed around her, and the world faded into darkness.
The journey was not long, an hour at most. They had stopped momentarily and Genesis could hear hushed voices and the creaking of metal as a gate opened. Peeking under the material of the truck's flimsy roof, she gasped.
The sky was grey, unlike the light blue it was back home. Four tall buildings loomed above her head, made of crumbling grey brick. The green cloth was unclasped around her and an older man in a white surgical coat stood to help her out of the truck.
"Pleasant journey I hope" The man questioned, and answered at the same time, asking to be polite rather than genuinely wanting a conversation. Genesis, however, was glad to have some human company after what was a truly dark and desolate ride, so she replied with a simple, "Quite."
"This way Miss Kaelin, you are to get straight to the medical centre. I do hope you enjoy your stay in Auschwitz." There was no time to reply, as the man turned on his heel and marched quickly into the building closest to her. Genesis stumbled forward, trying as best as she could to keep up with the man's ominous strides. They entered the building and it seemed to be as dull as it was on the outside.
The walls were a grey concrete, each corner and hallway she turned down was the same. They finally made it to a wall that was different from all the rest, there was a panel of glass right in the middle. A soldier stood guard outside the door, with his gun pointed to the ceiling, seemingly ready for anything. The brutality that Genesis was about to be exposed to began to creep into her conscious.
"Do you know why you are here Miss Kaelin?" This was the first time the man had spoken to her on their journey through the maze of concrete. She shook her head, to tell the truth, she barely knew anything.
"Inside this room is your first two test subjects. They have already endured a serum injection and a physical test to ensure they were still in perfect health to be tested on further, we want you to try and reverse these effects" Genesis nodded in recognition, they had done this at her school with all sorts of animals before, so it should be a breeze for her. Whatever 'these' were shouldn't be too hard a challenge, she enjoyed a good test anyway.
A feral snarl could be heard from behind the dark glass panel. Genesis jumped back slightly and yelped, not in all her 19 years of living had she heard such a noise. She had also never tested on an animal so large, so feral.
A cord was pulled next to her head and the bright white lights flickered on inside the room. She squinted into the brightness, as her eyes tried to adjust to the new colour, apart from grey. The walls of the room were white, stained dark crimson and brown in some places. The floor was the same dark concrete she could not seem to escape. A scratched, silver medical table was placed in the centre of the room. A small bird hopped around on top of it, it was almost so quiet she could hear the fluttering of its small heart.
"Where is the other test subject? Is it a dog?" The man laughed in Genesis' face as if she was supposed to know what the other test subject was.
The man walked behind her, taking her neck between his rough hands and twisting her head to the corner of the room. A small ball of brown was hunched over, slowly rising and falling as it breathed. "Lift your head!" The man's voice boomed, who now stood beside her once more.
The small ball then moved, morphing into the most heart-wrenching sight. Light brown hair cascaded around the figure and 'it' lifted its gaze to look directly at Genesis, its emerald stare made her stomach jump into her throat.
"A Jewish child. Scum of the earth. We tested on her and her sister for a while, but she wasn't cooperating, so we put a bullet through the other's skull. Figured we'd keep her around for a while longer, but it's time for her to go"
The blood splattering the walls and deafening noise disconcerted her. The sight made her whole soul scream that this was all just wrong. Who would ever see this as "bettering the understanding of modern medicine." How could her father ever send her into such a horrid place as this?
There was no way Genesis would test on an innocent child. "This is disgusting. I can not believe you think this is plausible, just because she is Jewish! Imagine this to be your daughter."
The man's features softened momentarily, before grabbing they astounded females hand and pressing a glass syringe into it. "Get inside the room and do what you are here to do. Or your father will be called in to discipline you himself, he would not be pleased."
Genesis was smart enough to know that these threats were not empty. For her whole life, Genesis had lived to make her father proud. She could not let her father be displeased with her, she was innocent. Then again, so was the green-eyed, adolescent dying in that cell.
Maybe she was doing the child a favour, taking her away from endless torture and pain. When would they let Genesis go? She could not think of herself at that moment.
Does she deliver death to the child, bringing her out of her misery? Genesis could not believe what she was trying to justify. She was not god, it wasn't her place to choose when someone should meet death. But this child, she did not know her. However, the death of Genesis' family would be something she would never want to live with.
She reminded herself of the innocence of both beings in the room. The bird and it's broken wings, unable to fend for itself. The child, whose identity was ripped from her, was dehumanised and was referred to as simply 'it' as if she was a caged animal. There were days that Genesis could compare herself to the injured bird, and its pain resonated with her at that moment.
She couldn't now compare herself to something so innocent when she had become so broken.
Maybe for once in her life, Genesis could be selfish. No choice that could be made that day, was for the greater good. Someone had to die.
Mia-lauren
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