The silence was echoing through the walls. The only thing I heard was my heartbeat. I held my breath as I stared at the ground. Bruises scattered across my arms. Drops of blood hit my pants. No one did anything. I silently counted the time between each drop 1...2...3. There’s another. A few minutes passed. A puddle was soaked through my pants. Rapid footsteps were faintly heard. They soon got louder and louder. The sound of someone crying and panting filled my ears. Suddenly the door swung open. I looked over and saw Emily. Her face was bruised. Tears mixed with blood on her face. I stood up and walked over to her.

“Help! Sandie is sick! I don’t know what’s happening! She’s choking on her blood. I didn’t see what they did to her. It’s awful!!” She said in between sharp gasps. I nodded and ran with her outside. We both ran to her house. The windows were smashed, and the door was wide open. We both headed inside. We both walked into the living room where her mother held Sandie in her arms. A small bucket stood not too nearby. I gently set my hand on Sandie’s forehead. She was burning up. She was pale and her short brown hair was messy. What caught my eye was the dark bruise on her throat. I lightly pressed my thumb against the bruise. I felt all around her neck. My stomach dropped. Suddenly she started coughing again. Emily’s mother grabbed the bucket and leaned her over it. Sandie coughed blood roughly into the bucket. Emily stood there unable to move. I looked at her for a moment then turned my attention back to Sandie.

“Give her to me,” I said in a low voice. Emily’s mother nodded and I picked Sandie up. Sandie gasped and coughed roughly. I lifted her head to a window. Emily sat next to her mother, both were sobbing quietly in fear. Sandie continued to cough and wheeze. Tension rose in the room. I was doing everything I could to help her but nothing seemed to help. I checked her throat again. My stomach dropped. Her windpipe was shattered. I don’t know how I didn’t feel it before. After about an hour, she stopped coughing. She didn’t wheeze or gasp for breath. The room was silent. “Is she okay?!” Her mother asked. “I’m so sorry… She’s...” I said. I felt like I couldn’t say anything. As if I had never spoken a word in my life. I walked back over to the two. My glim expression extinguished the small spark of hope they had.

Emily grabbed her, holding Sandie’s body close to her chest. The two sobbed. I didn’t know what to do. I stood there for a moment. “Thank you for being as brave as you were. Trying to help our little girl. We appreciate it.” Her mother said through her tears. I nodded. “I’ll take my leave,” I said before leaving the house. As I walked down the streets back to my family’s shop. My family makes a living by selling clothes. We live above the shop. Our business was much more successful before the holocaust. A few of my family members were sent to a camp when they tried to defend the business against the Nazis.

It’s a topic no one wants to talk about. As I walked down the streets the wind blew a card in front of my feet. I picked it up. It read ‘You have been visited by the Nazis’ A wave of boiling anger rose in me. We were being treated like trash for no reason. It burns me up when I think about it. I had just watched a 10-year-old girl die horrifically in front of me. Why wouldn’t I try to rebel? I tore the card in half and threw it to the ground. As I continued to walk I was thinking about how this could end. It didn’t seem like anyone was doing anything. Besides the soldiers. If I were old enough, I’d be a soldier.

A club!! I could gather Emily, Libby, Shawn, and Greg. We could all make a club, to fight against the Nazis. I soon got back home. My mother ran up to me, putting her hands on my face. “Did they hurt you more?” She asked worryingly. I had blood splattered on my face from Sandie. I shook my head and wiped my face off with my hand. I walked up the stairs and headed into the kitchen. My mother handed me a small piece of bread and a glass of water. When I finished eating, she gave me a wet cloth to clean my face off. I stayed up all night working on the club. I also wrote letters to everyone I hoped would join. At around 2 am, I headed to bed. Finally finishing the letters and plan.

The next day I walked to my friends' houses and delivered the letters. If they could join, they were supposed to meet at our little clubhouse we made in the woods we made as children. They should come at four o'clock. I went there at 2 o'clock to set things up. At 3:45 Greg arrived, Shawn following not too late after. At 4:10 Libby arrived. I didn't expect Emily to arrive after the horrid scene earlier. I started to discuss with the three. We talked about how this club should work. As we brainstormed, we heard someone climbing up the ladder. We got nervous. What if it was a Nazi? Emily arrived at my surprise. We greeted her but spoke nothing of her younger sister's death. After that, we continued brainstorming. We called our club the "Churchill club." We were going to aggravate the Nazis so badly it'd be a laugh riot...

A few years passed of the Churchill club being in session. It was the talk of the town for a while. No one knew who we were. I'm becoming a soldier now. I still believe in my harsh opinion against the Nazis and feel I always will. I write this down to show who were the young masterminds of this club. We've recently split up, the gang. But I hope to get in contact someday. For now, I'll fight in the war until it ends, or I die. Whichever comes first...

It's not my best nor proudest writing but it's something Sorry I don't post much I'll try to post more when I can

thank you!