The next morning was ghastly. Everyone must've gotten the equivalent of, at the most, three hours of sleep, until the guards and soldiers woke us up again. Bruno was reluctant to wake up, but I quickly shook him awake. I didn't care as much about the men I didn't know, but I couldn't risk Bruno's safety just because he wasn't a morning person.

He groaned, but eventually stood. The men began pushing us out of the door again, and I held tightly onto Bruno's hand. I could only guess that as this rate, I was the only person he would've had left. Because of this, I decided to take his safety into my own hands. I didn't have that great of a chance to make it out, but a younger boy did. If I was able to keep him safe for a little while longer, he'd eventually make it out of here.

We walked back to where roll-call was being taken. We stood in the same line, and I was forced to let go of Bruno's hand as the guards called out the numbers. I nudged Bruno when it was his turn, reminding him to call out 'Present!' or something to show he was there before the soldiers could get after him for not answering on time, or whatever excuse. The guards would use even the simplest of excuses in order to hurt one of the prisoners.

Eventually, when roll-call was over, I was exhausted. The rest of the men, Bruno, and I were all about to walk to the mess hall, until the soldiers stopped us.

"The only meal you get is dinner," he looked at us and spoke as though he was shocked that we'd even get the chance to have two meals.

The men glanced around at each other. We all knew we were supposed to be shocked, but none of us really were. After all, with everything else that has been happening in this camp, this was one of the least surprising things that had happened. No one spoke, just like before. Now, the prisoners had wised up a bit and knew not to speak out of turn- especially against what the soldiers said.

"You're going to be put to work," another soldier said.

Again, everyone was quiet. They listened to the soldiers for their instructions of what to do and where to go.

"We'll split you into groups. Your group will finish your quota of work by sunset, or else you will gain a consequence."

Everyone imagined that the consequence wouldn't be anything simple. The Nazis then split everyone as they had said. I was pushed into a group of four older men. Bruno was put into a group of some quite gruff-looking teenage boys who must've been near my own age. He was the only younger boy.

A Nazi directed us towards the outer-edges of the camp. There, we were instructed to dig fifteen trenches by sundown. Everyone was still surprised, like how they always were with the insane rules and policies here, but, like every other time, no one said anything out of the same fear of death.

There were still soldiers around us, watching us, just to make sure we weren't going to run off. The entrance was only a couple yards away.. It was so close yet so far. Every time I even considered the idea of running out of the gates, just to test my luck, I quickly stopped myself from fantasizing about it after I took another look at the gleaming, polished guns that each Nazi held.

All the men took hold of a shovel, leaving myself with a rusty, older one. I sighed as I took the shovel in my hands. When I examined it for a while, I realized it was leaving a rust imprint on my hand. I groaned as I saw the copper color, but quickly went quiet. Even though the soldiers hadn't mentioned a consequence for complaining about your work, there still probably was one. Why wouldn't there be?

I tried to push my shovel into the ground, but it would barely budge. I swore that that ground was made of cement. I tried pushing harder, jumping on the shovel to see if it would make a difference, but still nothing moved. I glanced around at the other men to see if they were having the same problem, but none of them were. They were all able to start digging, while I was still struggling to even make a small indent in the grass.

I could tell the soldiers were all looking at me, and I heard some of them chuckle. I tried my best not to focus on them, still determined to make at least the smallest slice in the ground.

I moved my shovel slightly to the side, preparing to jump again, until suddenly it sunk into the ground underneath me, which caught me off-balance, making me fall into the hole filled with mud.

I can hear the soldiers laugh, my cheeks heating with embarrassment. I look at everyone around me, and I even heard a few of the men I was with start laughing. I glare at the men, but keep my look away from the soldiers. I then stand back up, starting to dig where the shovel had sunk, but I was caked in mud and exhausted already. I eventually began to slow down, but one soldier came up to me, hitting me hard on the back of my head. I winced, trying to speed up again.

The entire day consisted of this torture. The only time we were allowed to eat was dinner, and it was the same madhouse as it was the first day. This time, Bruno and I both got our food stolen. There was no way of stopping the stealers, either.

Eventually, Bruno and I got our food stolen so often that we both became weaker and weaker. I was barely able to dig my trenches, and the soldiers were beginning to realize this, too. Because they were set on making me break, they pushed me harder and harder every day.

One day, I was close to giving up. Each day I prayed that I would fall asleep that night and never wake up. I was confused why in the world a teenage boy like myself had to go through this, and I was even more confused why Bruno, a growing boy, had to suffer through the camp.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I was in the middle of attempting to dig a new grave for those who had died, a good couple weeks after I had dug my first time, when the overhead speaker clicked on.

"Prisoner A09081, please report with the nearest soldier to Doctor Mengele's office." The voice then repeated, "Prisoner A09081, please report with the nearest soldier to Doctor Mengele's office." The speaker clicked off.

Everyone around me froze, all of us dead silent. I wasn't positive why I was being told to go to Doctor Mengele's office. Had I done something wrong? People looked at me as though I'd never come back again, which frightened me. I had never met Doctor Mengele, nor have I ever met anyone who's met him. Maybe there was a reason why I knew no one who had met him.

I glance at one of the soldiers, and he slightly nods. He then takes my arm, but this time his grip wasn't as painful. As we walk towards a rather large, pristine, white building, I realized it was the laboratory I had seen my first day at the camp. We also pass by the cement building with the billowing smoke chimney. I still hadn't learned what that building was, but I also didn't intend to.

The soldier knocked on the laboratory door, and the door slightly opened a crack. It then fully opened after the person manning the door saw it was a soldier. The soldier pushed me into the laboratory, and the person immediately shut the door afterwards. I turned to face the person who had shut the door on the soldier. It was a taller man dressed in a white lab coat. His blonde hair was slicked back, his bright blue eyes piercing my own.

"Two lefts and a right," was the only thing the man had told me.

I slightly nod, still a bit lost as I take careful, gradual steps. I hadn't had this much "freedom" since the last time I was walking the forest. I walk through the winding halls, following the directions he had told me. They all looked exactly the same, but I still found where I was supposed to be. I ended my path at a door labeled with a gold nameplate. It read, 'DR. JOSEF MENGELE'. The eerie silence of the halls frightened me as I knocked on his door, the knocks echoing.

"Come in!" I hear a man's voice yell from inside the room.