Destination Fear (Chapters 1 and 2)

Chapter 1: My First Day







A person appeared blurry, springing in and out of focus, followed by a soft voice that spoke, “He’s opening his eyes”. No memories could be recalled. Triton’s mind drew a blank at the moment. "I hope he’s OK," the soft voice spoke again.
"This is just what we need!" a second voice spoke in an angry sarcastic tone.
Continuing his attempts to open and close his eyes, trying to adjust his vision from the blurriness, he felt feverish and dazed. Snippets of the accident played back in his head, along with flashbacks of those he met afterward. The stench of hay and feces blew into his nose, causing him to cough twice.
The memory of the young woman telling him he had died rewound in his mind. He felt nauseous and like he had been hit by the biggest bus in existence.
"His eyes are opening," said the first voice.
"It's about time!" the second voice commented.
As a cow mooed nearby, the poor man’s heart leaped in his chest. When he opened his eyes, he saw a young woman kneeling over him. She had light skin with small freckles on her cheeks, and her reddish-blonde hair flowed down her back. Her smile was warm and genuine, and her blue eyes sparkled like the sky. She appeared to be in her early twenties, with freckles dotted across her arms and legs. She patted his forehead with a cold, wet cloth to keep him calm. His initial thought was, "Wow, she's stunning and looks like an angel."
"Am I in heaven?" he asked, feeling confused.
"Shh, it's OK,” said the beautiful girl in a calming voice. “I'm afraid you’re far from heaven, but you're OK.”
"So, it wasn’t a dream?”
“You-” she paused and looked at the other person. “You are very much awake,” she said, looking back at him and smiling. “It’s OK.”
“That's right,” he moaned, sitting himself up, and placing his right hand to his head. “I was told I had to go back to earth, I think.” All the previous events came back to him a little at a time while he made attempts to put the pieces together. "Oh, wait, who are you again?”
"I’m Lexi,” she smiled, continuing to pat his forehead with the cloth. “And standing behind me here is Valentine but we just call her Val."
He looked over her shoulder and saw a young woman standing behind her, who did not look like a happy camper. She had a look on her face similar to a person who was peeved because someone dropped by unexpectedly. The dirty look on her face intimidated the hell out of him. Though he found her as attractive as Lexi, he had a feeling her attitude was the opposite.
"Where am I?" he asked, looking around.
He noticed the inside of a barn. Hay covered the floor. Two dairy cows stood to the left of him, mooing. Across from his feet, a black stallion stared at him, eating hay from a bail.
“Um,” said Lexi, looking behind her at Val, who shrugged her shoulders with a blank stare. “Just rest for now.,” she said, patting his head with the washcloth.
He knew there was something she wasn’t telling him, but he felt too worn out to pressure her.
“Oh, wow, I feel weird,” he moaned.
“The others will be back soon,” she said. “Are you hungry?”
“I don’t, I don’t think so.”
“I have some bread here,” she said, taking out a loaf from the white case sitting beside her. “I know it isn’t much, but it’ll hold you over until the others come back.”
“I’m fine,” he moaned, shaking his head, and trying to wake himself up. “You said ‘The others. Are there more of you?”
"Well, Violet and Tyler aren’t here right now.,” she said, putting the bread back inside the bag. “They’re out gathering some supplies.”
“Did I really die?”
“Yes, honey,” she answered. “I’m dead, Val is dead, and the other people in our group who aren’t here right now. We’ve all been given a second chance. Just rest right now. You’ve just been through a lot,” she said, soaking the cloth in the bucket and ringing it out.
“Yeah, we wouldn’t want you to overstimulate yourself!” Val commented with sarcasm.
Meeting Valentine qualified as interesting. The first thought he had of her began with “This girl’s a control freak.” and ended with “She just met me and already hates me.” He saw her as this “No nonsense, I hate the world” type of person by the way she acted.
The girl looked neat and clean, her neat shiny black hair flowing a little past her shoulders and her clothes had not one wrinkle. When it came to her facial features, she had brown eyes and a fair complexion. Triton found her attractive in her dark blue and gray striped shirt, matching pair of dress pants, black dress socks, and black dress shoes. She appeared as a cute conservative girl. A sweet-smelling citrus scent blew off her.
Lexi looked dressed comfortably. The outfit she wore consisted of an emerald green shirt with white flower patterns, a matching green skirt that almost touched her knees, green socks to match, and a pair of brown loafers.
"I’m Triton, by the way” he politely introduced himself, putting out his hand for her to shake.
"It's nice to meet you,” Lexi said with a warm smile, giving him a firm handshake.
He put out his hand for Val to shake but she shook her head in frustration, looked at him as if he were contagious, and walked away. She made him feel uncomfortable and embarrassed.
“OK???” he said, looking away with his face turning a light shade of red.
"We have enough problems as it is!” she said. “We CANNOT afford to be dragging anyone else around!"
"I'm sorry, I can leave-” he paused. “If someone can tell me where we are,” he said, looking around in confusion. “Or how to get out of here.”
"Uh, no you can't! And by the way, we are hiding, moron! This one is REALLY smart!” she said sarcastically looking at Lexi and pointing at him with her right thumb.
"You don't have to be mean to him," said Lexi.
"We're in the middle of nowhere during World War Two, and we have Nazis looking for us, trying to kill us, so I think it's safe to say that he's just going to weigh us down!"
"It's not his fault,” said Lexi, turning to give him a look of sympathy.
“What???” Triton yelled out with his mouth dropping and eyes bulging out.
He thought, “Did I hear correctly?” Not one lick of this made any sense to him. The World War Two part and the part about Nazis sounded confusing, but the part about people trying to kill them, stuck with him like dust particles sticking to an old dresser.
Val appeared as this mean-spirited person who was full of spunk. Anger and spunk. She made him nervous.
“Don’t worry about that right now,” said Lexi. “You need to rest,” she said, patting his head with the cloth again.
"Stop looking at him like he’s a lost puppy dog looking for its owner!" said Val.
"Well, he's new to this and he has to be scared!”
"He's a man! He can take it!"
"Are you still being a grade A jackass?" asked Violet, walking through the barn door and laughing.
Turning to take a glimpse, the first detail Triton noticed about her was her exquisite goth look. The long flowing black hair with purple streaks, black eye shadow, black lipstick, blue eyes, which her pale skin and dark hair caused to pop out, and her thin build.
Her black shirt had a picture of a purple rose that matched the streaks in her hair. The skirt she wore ended an inch above the knees, and her black stockings showed just a little skin. The black leather shoes with silver-colored laces on her feet completed the goth look. In a few short words, he thought of her as sexy-hot and stunningly beautiful.
“Look at what the cat dragged in,” said Val with a small laugh while pointing at Violet.
“And look at what the dog puked up,” Violet chuckled. “You must have not agreed with the poor doggy’s stomach.”
Val gave a death stare while she approached carrying a small stack of firewood. Triton picked himself up and stumbled backward, feeling dizzy. “Careful,” said Lexi, grabbing his left arm as he was about to fall. “You’re still weak.”
“I’m OK,” he said, pulling away from her, and feeling embarrassed with his face turning a light shade of red.
“Is this him?” Violet asked, looking over at him.
“Yes, this is Triton,” said Lexi. “He just arrived.”
“I can see that,” she chuckled, walking over to him. “Mac told us you were coming. It’s nice meeting you, Triton,” she said, giving his hand a hard grip, shaking it twice and quickly. “I’m Violet.”
“Nice meeting you too, Violet,” he said with a polite smile.
“I want to apologize ahead of time for anything Val said, currently says, or says in the future,” she laughed, giving Val a wink.
“Keep that up and that thing that food goes into, and your dry humor comes out of is going to meet my fists!” said Val with an angry attitude. Violet let out a small chuckle and rolled her eyes, waving her off.
Triton wondered what their stories were and how they all died, but he figured in a good time. He couldn’t help but check Violet out, undressing her with his eyes. Her gorgeous goth look made his teapot steam up, though being around all three of these attractive females felt like heaven.
"Lexi is treating him like a baby!” Val commented, looking in Triton’s direction.
"So, leave her alone and worry about yourself, Val!” said Violet, staring her down like a mother staring down a child for misbehaving.
“Whatever!” Val scoffed.
Triton looked down at his clothes and another look of confusion stumbled upon his face. “What is it now?!” asked Val, noticing his confused look. This girl was not only starting to make him feel uncomfortable but added to his anxiety.
“I’m wearing the same clothes I died in,” he answered. “Same black shirt, same cargo pants, same shoes,” he chuckled, lifting up his left pant leg. “Same black socks even!”
“So???”
“I thought I’d be” he paused, trying to think of the right words to say.
“Naked?”
“No, not naked, I just mean, well, I, I’m not sure what I mean,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, feeling embarrassed with his face turning red and nervous sweat forming in his palms.
“Awe, Triton,” Lexi smiled. “Your clothes didn’t change because those are the ones that were on your body when you died.”
“Are you guys wearing the same clothes you died in?”
“No,” Lexi chuckled. “We can change clothes luckily.”
“Thank heaven for that one!” said Val. “Even though some of us dress a little more colorful,” she said, referring to Violet’s Gothic style, looking her up and down.
“Don’t start, Val!” Violet said in a steep voice.
"That’s nice then,” he said, not knowing what to say. “Can someone explain to me what's going on? And what’s all this about Nazi’s?”
The three of them looked at each other and then looked at him. They were all afraid to speak. He knew an important piece of information was being held back. Pins and needles flowed through his body. It felt like the kind of feeling a person gets when their foot falls asleep, but this feeling flowed throughout his entire body.
"You tell him since you’re so opinionated, Val!" said Violet.
"Why don't you tell him since I'm such a bitch?!" said Val, waving her hands in Violet’s face. “Vampire!”
“Control freak!”
The two stood there arguing for half a minute, calling each other every name in the book before Lexi stepped in between them to break up the argument.
"I'll tell him!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. “I swear, you two need some Adderall!” she commented, shaking her head and sighing in frustration.
"Tell me what?" he asked. “I just want some answers! Please!” he begged. “Someone please tell me what’s going on?!”
As Lexi approached him, she looked into his eyes. He already didn’t like where this was headed just by the way she was staring at him. At the age of ten, his puppy got out of the yard and got pancaked by a car. When his mother told him about the puppy, she had the same look Lexi had now.
"Everything is going to be OK,” she said with a caring smile. “I’m not sure how to break this to you,” she paused, looking at Val first, and then at Violet. “We’re in Germany during World War Two," she spoke in a calm voice.
This made no sense to him. He wasn’t sure if he should believe her story or believe she was crazy.
"Germany?” he laughed. “World War Two?” he asked, beginning to laugh hysterically. “I don’t understand."
Something inside him told him that she wasn’t lying, and this was far from a joke.
"Yeah, well, that leads me to my next point,” she said, looking back at Val and then at Violet.
The hesitation told him that they stood right there in danger’s home, and this was not a safe environment.
"What’s that?" he asked.
“Just tell him, Lexi,” said Violet. “He looks scared enough, and keeping information from him is only going to make it worse,” she said, looking over at him with sympathy.
He knew she was beating around the bush, and even if her intentions were to protect him from the truth, he wanted nothing more than to know that truth, and any other tidbits of information being kept from him. By the way Violet stared at him with her look of sympathy, it was obvious they were in the presence of danger.
"For future’s sake!” said Val, growing impatient. “We’re in 1940 Germany during the Holocaust!"
"Say that again???" he asked.
"You heard me!"
“Monday, November 4th to be exact,” said Violet.
A look of disbelief came over his face and at the same time, he knew she was serious. The confusion ran around his head like a hamster running on a wheel.
"I don't understand though,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “I was told I was coming back to earth to learn how to face my fears and conquer the obstacles that held me back."
"Yes, you are here for that,” said Lexi. “That’s what all of us are here for. We all died at separate times, in separate years. We’re here together to help each other learn how to face fear, tackle obstacles, and improve ourselves.”
"But I don't get it! How could I go back in time?! I mean, 1940?! Is this a joke?!”
Lexi and Val looked at each other and then looked at Violet. He knew there was even more to this. More at which he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to hear.
“I’m afraid it’s not,” said Violet, staring at him with sympathy. She didn’t just feel sympathy for him, but empathy. She remembered how terrified she was when she first came back to earth.
“I thought I was returning to my own time,” he said.
“No, the universe has other plans,” Violet explained.
“I know this seems hard to believe,” said Lexi.
“Why am I? I mean why are we back in 1940?” he asked, taking turns looking at each of them.
"We travel through different time periods to face fear,” Violet pointed out. “We’re sort of time travelers,” she chuckled and then paused, thinking. “OK, actually, that’s exactly what we are,” she laughed. “Mac once told me we travel through time to experience different ways of living and gain a better understanding of ourselves from the journey.”
"I don’t need to go back in time to do that," he chuckled.
"It’s like this ... when we were alive, we let our fears take control of our lives, which caused obstacles to fall in our way. Returning to earth, we are put into situations that require us to think strategically and use courage to conquer the obstacles that fall in our way.”
Portions of what she told him made sense, but he still had a mass amount of confusion. This was not at all what he expected. He had more questions than a game show host, and he knew there were going to be a lot more questions popping up in his mind, maybe some that couldn’t even be answered.
“Tyler’s not with you, Violet?" asked Lexi.
"No,” she said. “The little nutty acorn told me to come back here, and that he was going to get some more food. I offered to help, but he swore it was better if he went alone.” She sighed, thinking. “I wonder what he’s up to this time.”
“Great!” said Val sarcastically. "I hope it’s not more beef-"
"Stew, hot beef stew coming through," said Tyler, walking through the barn door while carrying a large steaming metal pot.
Triton knew right off the bat, like the others, this guy had a story, and by the way he walked in, it was probably a good one. His hair was messy, but his clothes looked nice.
He was wearing a navy blue shirt with a design of a little white boat in the middle, a pair of navy-blue windbreakers, and a pair of Converse shoes. The left pant leg was up a little, revealing silky black socks. His hair was dark brown, and he had hazel eyes with a sparkle.
"Where do you keep getting this?" asked Val.
"It's a secret,” he laughed.
“The gang’s all here,” Lexi smiled.
“And who’s this joining our gang?” he asked, noticing Triton.
“This is Triton,” said Violet. “Remember, Mackenzie told us about him?”
“I’m Triton,” Triton smiled, putting out his hand for him to shake.
“Cool beans,” he smiled, setting the pot down on a pile of hay, walking over to him, and putting out his hand. Triton gave his hand a firm shake. “Nice handshake, Triton!” he chuckled. “You got a nice, trusting grip.”
“Uh, thanks.”
As he headed back over to the steaming pot, Mac appeared out of nowhere. Triton couldn’t have been more happy to see her because she wasn’t as much of a stranger to him as the others were, even though he only knew her for a short time.
He noticed her wearing a different outfit than earlier. This time she wore a blue short-sleeved shirt with a black skirt, a pair of black stockings, and black dress shoes.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," she smiled, taking out a computer tablet from her back pocket.
"So, do you have anything to tell us about this place?" asked Lexi.
“Wait a minute!” Val interrupted. “First things first! What’s the deal with him?!” she asked, pointing at Triton.
“He’s joining your team,” Mac smiled, looking at him.
“Oh, NO he is not!” she said, shaking her head repeatedly. “We have enough problems of our own!”
“Val!” Mac looked into her eyes with disappointment. “I told you that someone else was joining you. Why are you acting so surprised?”
“Like I told you before, we don’t need another person to look out for! It’s bad enough needing to look out for the small-town girl who does no wrong!”-she looked at Lexi. “A girl who gets her makeup from a mortician!”-she glanced at Violet. “And a moron who gets his thrills from playing with matches!”-she stared in Tyler’s direction.
“He’s staying and that’s that!”
She scoffed as Triton looked down at the ground, feeling uncomfortable and like an outcast.
“This guy doesn’t even have a clue, Mac!” she said, looking at Triton with disgust.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Triton asked, walking over to Mac.
“Sure,” she smiled.



Chapter 2: One Cannot Hide Forever





Triton walked to the back of the barn and Mac followed. He wasn’t sure where to start and said the first thing that came to his mind.
“I don’t think this is for me,” he said, looking into her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asked in a comforting voice.
“I thought I was going to be facing everything over again. I mean I thought I would be going back to my old life,” he said before taking a deep breath and trying to stay calm. “And can you tell me who they are?” he asked, turning around to look at the other four and then back at her. “I don’t, I’m, I, I’m confused.”
Lexi had a smile on her face while Val had a frustrated look on hers. Violet and Tyler looked at him with full attention, knowing they were both talking about them, though at this point, he didn’t care.
“Triton, it’s OK,” she nodded, looking into his eyes. “They’re here to help you, just as you are here to help them.”
Obviously, she knew about his anxiety and anti-social problems, and what he couldn’t figure out, if she knew about his social anxiety, why would she insist he help others with their problems?
“That’s what they told me, but I’m not the best person to rely on. I have panic attacks, I freak out over the smallest of the small, and people just don’t like me! Please! Can you send me back to, uh, back to my real life? The one I had before. I promise I’ll pretend like none of this ever happened.”
She stayed silent for a moment, staring at him with a facial expression he was unable to read. As much as he hated his old life, this one appeared even more chaotically hectic. It felt like trying to solve a 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. Lots of pieces, but small chance of getting them together.
“It’s going to be OK,” she smiled, rubbing his right shoulder. “I know that you think you’re better off alone, but trust me, at some point in time, you’re going to discover that facing day-to-day challenges alone is going to be an even bigger challenge!”
He knew she wasn’t wrong, but accepting this whole situation was a bigger challenge to him than anything.
“OK, but then they told me I’m in, I mean we’re in, we went back in time? Is that right?” he asked, still confused.
“Yes,” she nodded. “You are here to learn how to face your fears and work on overcoming your personal obstacles.”
“One of them told me we travel through time to prevent running into people we know in our own lives. It would probably be easier running into people we know.”
“Well, Triton, that’s just a theory they’ve come up with,” she chuckled, patting him on the back. “After a while, traveling through time, you’ll start to learn more about yourself and what’s really holding you back.”
“I know I had problems, I admit that,” he said in an upset voice and then looked over at the others. “But I don’t think I fit in here,” he whispered.
“Why do you think that?”
“They’re not exactly thrilled about me being here.”
“You mean Valentine isn’t exactly thrilled about you being here?” she grinned and looked over at her and then back at him.
“I only told him the truth!” Val yelled in their direction.
“And what truth is that?!” she asked, walking over to Val. “The “Val” version?” she grinned. “Triton, ignore anything she says regarding your presence here. You are here because you need help overcoming your fears and this is where you belong.”
“Mac, this isn’t gonna work-”
“Enough!” Mac interrupted Val. “You need to learn how to work as a team! I’m telling you, Val! One day, you might have to rely on him! Look how many times you had to rely on the others!”
Val just gave her a fake smile and waved her off saying, “Whatever!”
“Now, let me see what I have for you guys,” Mac said, removing from her pocket what looked like a piece of rectangular glass. Taping on the glass with her index finger, a screen popped up. She noticed him staring at it with amusement. “This is a computer tablet. Quite advanced too,” she chuckled.
The tablet looked not much bigger than a cell phone. It was transparent on both sides, but when looking at the back, the screen couldn’t be seen. Triton peeped his head underneath the transparent device, watching her fingers hit the screen from the other side.
“That is an interesting tablet,” he chuckled with a look of amusement. “It looks like you're holding a rectangular piece of glass. I have never seen a tablet like that. It’s very compact. Are you texting someone?”
“No, Triton,” she said, taking her eyes off the screen and laughing. “With this tablet, I can pull up information on the places you visit. Historic information. Geographical information, as well as information of the people, places, and things from the historic time, and the events.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, she gives us information on the places we visit,” said Lexi.
“I can’t get over how much it looks like you’re holding a piece of glass,” he laughed.
“It’s called D.A.T.A, short for Data Analyzer Tracking Application Device’.”
“Oh, interesting.”
“Now,” she said, staring back at the screen. “It says here there’s a concentration camp two kilometers from here. This camp is known for starving its prisoners, torturing them, and even gassing them to death, and-” she paused, scrolling down the screen.
“Jeez!” said Lexi.
“In 1933, the Nazi party came to power. In 1935, Adolf Hitler announced the German Rearmament program. It started out with thirty-six divisions, and in 1937, two more corps were formed, and in 1938, four more were formed.”
“Now that we’ve had our history lesson-” Val chucked. “How do we get out of here?!”
“I’m your spiritual guide, Val,” Mac laughed. “I can only guide you. Not give you the answers.”
“We’re going to be starved, tortured, and gassed for sure!” she scoffed.
“Oh, jeez, what the hell have I gotten myself into!” said Triton, looking at the ceiling, and putting his nervous, unstable hands over his head.
“You’re scaring Triton, Val!”
“It’s OK, honey,” said Lexi, putting her left arm around his back and comforting him. “I know this is scary, but we’ll figure it out,” she said with a warm smile. “You’re not here alone, OK?”
“I don’t think I can do this,” he said, feeling nauseous.
Mac looked at her tablet and scrolled down with a look of amusement on her face. He stood there wanting to ask many of the hundreds of questions that formed in his frightened mind, but because of the confusion, excitement, worry, and fear, the burning questions were leaving as fast as they entered. Becoming forgetful was something that happened to him when his anxiety hit the roof.
“I’ll search for a map of Germany and see if there’s a safer place for you to hide,” said Mac. “You’re still on enemy territory here, so I wouldn’t stay in this barn long. I'll get back to you as soon as I can, and Triton?" she said, glancing into his eyes.
“Yeah?” he said, looking in her direction.
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help, OK?” she said in a caring voice.
“Um, uh, OK,” he said in an unsure voice.
She vanished into millions of light particles, which made his eyes bulge out. It freaked him out, seeing her disappear like that without warning.
"How did she do that?" he asked. “Is she OK???”
Now began his worrying.
"She's not in human form like us,” Lexi pointed out. “She can come and go as she pleases.”
He thought for a moment there that she had spontaneously combusted. Val tapped Tyler on the shoulder causing him to turn. She had a pissed-off look on her face.

"You didn’t steal that beef stew, did you?" she asked.
"Does it matter?” he asked.
"Yes, it does! You don't just find free food in a place like this. Now, where did you get it?"
Staying silent for a moment, he looked upward, thinking.
"Well, I got it from this house behind this store called, “The Stop”.
"The Stop?" Violet asked with a confused look on her face.
"That’s what I heard a dude outside calling it.”
"Back home, we had a store called “One Stop Avenue”, and they sold good stuff there, especially these chili dogs,” he said, patting his stomach and licking his lips. “Yum! So, I figured The Stop was a German version of it."
"Tyler?” said Violet with a worried look. “Please tell me it wasn’t the Gestapo?”
“Yeah, that’s what it was called!” he laughed. “That must be the German name for it!” he continued laughing.
"Did your mother stand too close to the microwave when she was pregnant with you?" Val remarked, staring at him as if he were an idiot.
“You better hope no one followed you-”
The barn door swung open and Nazi troupes dashed in, attempting to capture each of them as they scattered in panicking fear. Triton panicked, backing away as two soldiers approached him. Their uniforms were a light green, and on the left sleeve was a swastika imprinted on a red band.
“The Stop?! Really?!” Val scoffed, shaking her head. “Goddamn idiot!”
“Please!” Triton begged the two soldiers as they grabbed him. “I don’t, I don’t belong here!” he stuttered. “I’m from the year 2022!”
The two soldiers had confused looks on their faces as Triton tried convincing them he wasn’t from that time.
“Triton, no one’s going to believe you!” said Val, giving him a mean look.
“It’s OK, Triton,” said Lexi,
Pressing rifles into their backs, the soldiers forced them through the barn door and pushed them across the muddy grass outside the barn. The sun’s bright light made Triton squint his eyes. His body trembled with fear with his hands growing clammy, not knowing what to do or what to think. His hands shook and pins and needles tingled throughout his body.
The freezing temperature and the small drizzle of rain didn’t improve the situation. His body felt hot, but the cold weather gave him chills. He felt kind of like he had a hangover but without a headache.
The bright sunlight arched through an opening of the gray clouds. The soldiers dragged them to a truck parked on the muddy road, forcing them inside the back one by one. Triton tripped, stepping on the tailgate gate. The vehicle looked a little like an armored car. He didn’t dare make any sudden moves, fearing there would be a bullet with his name on it. Trees surrounded the area, making it difficult to see any other scenery.
He remembered learning about Jews being captured in high school and remembered how violent the torture was. A thought popped in his head regarding death. He wondered if he could die again since technically, he was already dead. Staring over at the others, he wanted to ask this question but feared he would sound stupid.
“We captured them,” said a soldier, closing the tailgate and locking them in.
“We’re running out of a room at camp,” said Commandant Hoss.
“We have a hundred more scheduled to be gassed tomorrow.”
“Good.”
The others stayed silent, listening to their whole conversation. This scared the living daylights out of Triton. The others had frightened looks on their faces.
The driver started the engine and when the vehicle began to move, Triton’s panic increased. During their ride, he hyperventilated, shook in a state of panic, and mumbled to himself. Lexi felt sorry for him, staring at him with complete sympathy, but Val stared at him as if he were an idiot. The smell of the exhaust added to the nauseating feeling in his stomach.
Violet glanced over at him, feeling empathetic, remembering how scared she was when she first arrived back on earth. Tyler looked down at his feet, feeling guilty about getting himself followed back to the barn and getting the others captured.
The vehicle entered a death camp, passing through a gate where a sign hung above. Arbeit Macht Frei. Barbwire fences hung all around and the ground was made up of mud. No grass. No flowers. Just cold, wet mud. A strong stench of death left a putrid tangy odor in the air.
Triton got a taste of disturbing when they passed by women and children inside the barbwire fences, wearing gray and white striped clothing. The look of sadness hung on their faces. No smiles, all frowns. If sadness had a place of birth, a person could swear this was that birthplace. Nothing looked more disturbing than seeing the children standing there, all skin and bones. They looked undernourished as if they hadn’t eaten in weeks. The children’s and the adult’s eyes watched as the truck drove past them.
The vehicle came to a stop and the tailgate slammed down, making a creaking sound. Triton’s heart jumped as a soldier grabbed his shirt, throwing him into the mud. The others were dragged off the back of the truck, with their shoes splashing through the muddy ground. A series of buildings stood in a row, like a series of buildings in a city, but smaller.
The soldiers dragged them into a small building on the right, pushing each of them inside the door. Commandant Hoss tossed five outfits on the ground. They were striped with a yellow star on the left side and smelled of body odor. An odor, like Italian dressing mixed with mildew, blew through the air.
Lexi covered her mouth, noticing where the putrid smell was coming from. She tapped on Violet’s shoulder, pointing with her head in that direction. Violet looked and saw exactly what Lexi was hinting around about. To the left of them lay a ditch with corpses. Naked flesh stacked up, one by one.
“Hey, Lexi, this might be too much for the new guy to see,” Violet whispered. “He looks like a nervous person as it is.”
“I agree-”
“I am Commandant Hoss!” the commandant spoke in his tall German accent. You will show me respect! You will do as you are told! Each of you pick up a uniform!”
Val grabbed a uniform at the top and threw it to Triton before grabbing the other ones and tossing them to the others. Taking one for herself, she sighed, feeling exhausted.
Stepping up behind Violet, Commandant Hoss stuck his nose against her cheek and sniffed her skin while grabbing her butt cheeks with both hands and giving them a firm squeeze.
“I find your death look appealing, doll!” he whispered in her ear while slapping her ass. Her eyes enlarged as she stayed silent, not knowing how to respond. “A gal like you could make a guy like me feel really good,” he laughed wickedly, stroking her hair and staring into her eyes.
Breaking eye contact, she looked at the ground as she grew anxious. Triton felt sick to his stomach with the strong stench of death blowing into his nose. The gang was separated, Triton and Tyler were placed into the building together, and the three girls were taken to another building.
Triton’s social anxiety kicked in overtime as he walked through the building with Tyler, and over a hundred people’s eyes were on them. The large room reeked of strong body odor and bad breath. The building the three girls were in was no better.
"Get dressed, you filthy whore!" Commandant Hoss demanded in his German accent, targeting Val.
“Excuse me???” she said, giving him a heated stare.
“You listen to what we tell you or we will break every bone in your body, starting with your jaw!” he yelled, pressing the barrel of his revolver into Val’s face.
Her anger built up fast and she couldn’t control herself.
"You better back off!" she yelled out, pushing him.
She looked away for a moment before loudly whimpering, feeling the bones in her jaw crack on the left side of her face as she fell to the ground. She moaned, putting her hands under her jaw while moving it around.
Looking up, she noticed a soldier holding an assault rifle with her blood splattered all over the handle. Her heated anger turned into regret.
"That dirty mouth of yours is only good for one thing!” Commandant Hoss yelled, giving her an evil eye. “Tie this filthy whore to the pole outside!” he said to the soldier. “I want everyone to see her die,” he said with an angry laugh his eyes growing big. “Slowly!”
Two soldiers grabbed Val and began dragging her to the door. Lexi cried out, "No, don't!" but their only focus was on Val.
The soldier dragged her through the door and Commandant Hoss followed. Staring into her eyes with hate, he wrapped a thick rope around her eight times, tying it around her wrists five more times before making a tight knot and yanking on it to ensure the tightness. She remained silent, afraid if she spoke again, he would shoot her, or even worse, torture her.
"You die tomorrow!" he said, spitting in her right eye. “You will stay tied to this pole until then, so others can see what happens when they disobey me.”
Blowing his whistle, he signaled for everyone to come outside. When Triton walked back outside with Tyler, Lexi grabbed Violet’s hand and lead her over to the two guys. They were both worried about Triton, noticing the frightened look on his face.
The Commandant circled around Val, giving her hateful stares. Her eyes glanced at the ground as she tried to ignore his stares, feeling intimidated by him. Lexi felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned, noticing a man standing behind her with his daughter.
"You’re new here, aren’t you?” he asked.
“Yes, how did you know?” she asked.
“I saw you and your friends when you came into the camp. My name is Ralph and this is my daughter, Eva,” he said, looking at his daughter.
Their bodies were skin and bone. His daughter couldn’t have been any older than eight years old. She gripped onto him like a magnet attaching to a refrigerator and had a look of sadness. Lexi grabbed his hand and gave it a small shake.
“I’m Lexi,” she said. “Is she OK?” she asked, noticing his daughter’s sad look.
“My wife, her mother was killed yesterday,” he said.
“I’m so sorry,” said Violet.
Violet had a soft spot for children, and when it came to a child losing a parent, it hit her hard. She didn’t know why. All she knew was that it made her feel empathetic.
“Thank you, miss,” he said with a small smile.
“How was she murdered?” asked Lexi.
“She disobeyed the commandant. He shot her in the head.”
“In front of-?” Violet paused, staring down at Eva. “In front of her?” she whispered with a look of shock on her face.
“Yes.”
Lexi felt emotional, trying to hold her tears back. Feeling sympathetic for the man and his daughter, she gave him a small hug. Triton wanted nothing more than this nightmare to be over. To end for good. Kaput. Lexi knelt down to put her arms around Eva but she buried her head into her father’s chest.
“Awe, she’s shy,” said Lexi.
“It’s OK, Eva,” Violet said with a warm smile, patting her head. “I was a shy child when I was little too.”
“My daughter’s shy around strangers,” he said.
“Oh, well, I’m Violet,” she smiled, grabbing Eva’s hand and shaking it while winking. “Now, we’re no longer strangers,” she chuckled.
Eva smiled, putting her arms around Violet. She responded by putting her arms around Eva.
“Aww, that’s so cute,” said Lexi.
“Let me introduce the rest of us,” said Violet, breaking the hug. “So, yeah, I’m Violet, you already know this is Lexi, and this is Tyler, and that big mouth out there tied to the pole is Valentine, Val for short, And this is Triton.”
"Hello,” said Ralph, shaking each of their hands.
Val had what she called a “No Names” rule. The rule states they don’t share their names with any new persons they meet. Violet found it OK to break this rule since she was tied to a pole outside. For Triton, this felt like being at a summer camp, only the homesickness felt more unbearable. Feeling awkward in the clothes he was forced to wear, he paced around, thinking coming back to earth to this kind of danger seemed a bit excessive.
A question burned in his mind, along with a dozen more. Commandant Hoss was taunting Val, repeatedly pressing a rifle into her stomach.
“Should I shoot a hole in your stomach, or should I leave you tied out here all night?” he grinned evilly, circling around her.
Lexi and Tyler were talking to Ralph while Violet was daydreaming. She reached down to scratch her ankle, and Triton found this as the perfect opportunity to catch her alone and ask her a question. He would have asked Lexi but with her talking to Ralph, he didn’t want to interrupt.
“Psst, Violet,” he whispered.
Her head turned and her ears perked up like a dog with eyes bulging out in full attention. She knew he wanted to talk to her privately. Walking over to him, she looked back to make sure the others weren’t looking.
“You OK?” she whispered.
“Isn’t Mackenzie going to help us?” he asked.
A small smile came upon her face, followed by a short sigh. By the look on her face, he knew the answer she was about to give wasn’t something he wanted to hear.
“Awe, Triton, we have to figure these situations out for ourselves,” she answered.
“But isn’t she our spiritual guide?”
The question was legitimate. A damn good one at that. Why couldn’t Mackenzie help? Wasn’t that her job?
“No, Triton,” Violet chuckled. “She cannot intervene. Her job is to observe us and guide us spiritually, but figuring it all out is up to us.”
“Great! A spiritual guide that is all spirit and no guide!” he chuckled.
“You crack jokes when your nervous, don’t you?” she laughed.
“Yeah,” he chucked with a surprised look on his face. “How did you know that?”
“Val does the same thing,” she chuckled. “Don’t worry! Free yourself from yourself and let your spirit fly free!”
Good advice he thought, but his anxiety held his free-spirited side back from flying free. One question danced around in his mind since he arrived at this camp. One he wasn’t sure if they would know the answer to, but so far, Violet had been doing a good job answering his questions. “Another thing that has my mind boggled is these Nazis speaking English. Am I the only one that finds that weird?”
Violet let out a small laugh, playfully caressing Triton’s shoulder. “Triton, this one may shock you the most, but as spirits who returned to earth, when we travel to different parts of the world, we can understand any language,” she explained.
“I don’t understand,” he chuckled. “How?”
“The Nazis are speaking Dutch, but to our ears, we’re hearing plain English, though their accents are still there.”
“That is… that’s… yeah… wow, I am blown away,” he chuckled again.
“I know. After I died and returned to earth, and first discovered that it shocked the hell out of me too,” she laughed.
“Do we have any other special powers?”
“Um, there are a few things different. You’ll find out as we go along.”
“I guess so.”
The two of them laughed together. “What are you guys yapping about over there?” Tyler yelled over, laughing at them.
“Nothing Tyler!” Violet laughed. “Nothing your feeble little mind would understand!”
“Yeah, yeah-”
"Bedtime!" Commandant Hoss interrupted them, walking past.
‘Bedtime?’ Triton thought. ‘I did not come back to earth to be treated like a child.’ With all the action his frightened eyes recently saw, he felt far from tired. Wide awake, more like it. Triton and Tyler followed Ralph and his daughter into the building. Walking through the crowded room, they saw all the cots were taken.
“Where do we sleep?” Triton asked.
"Just pick a place and lay your head," said Ralph.
Finding a place to rest their heads proved to be a challenge. The room was overcrowded and filthy. Triton slept cramped in between Ralph and Tyler. The door stayed open all night. From where he slept, he could see Val outside. He peeped out there every now and then, and watched her hanging on the pole opening and closing her eyes, attempting to sleep. It looked uncomfortable, but worst of all, horrifying.
Multiple times throughout the night, she licked her tongue, feeling dehydrated. Drinking a glass of crystal clear water overpowered all the other thoughts in her head. No thoughts of Commandant Hoss putting a bullet there. Just a nice, cool glass of crystal clear water. Even though she hadn't been the nicest person to Triton, he still felt her pain and felt a sadness in his heart for her.
The entire night he awoke every hour, and if he wasn’t having one horrible dream after another, he was having dreams from moments of his life. He thought to himself that if this was a punishment for him not being courageous enough to deal with his anxiety and facing his fears, then he would gladly go back to face them all.
A dream came to him that night, one about a night he spent at his grandparent’s house. He was seven years old and had the flu. Every weekend, he would stay there. His grandparents even gave him his own bedroom.


[]-[]-[]-[]



Sitting on the edge of the bed, his grandma was getting ready to tuck him under the covers. His bedspread had puppy dogs and doggy bones on it. The curtains had pictures of teddy bears. The walls were painted baby blue with pictures of yellow crescent moons and stars. The room smelled of lemon Pledge.
“You have to get some sleep, so you can feel better,” said his Grandmother.
“Grandma?” he said.
“Yes, hon,” she smiled, pulling the covers up to his neck and tightening them, making him snug as a bug.
“I don’t feel good,” he said in a sad voice.
His face looked pale and he kept coughing. A fever of 102.4 made him feel hot, but he also shivered from cold chills.
“I know, honey,” she said, putting the back of her hand over his head.
Even when he was a child, his mind raced. Anxiety wasn’t something he knew of then, but he did experience a number of problems with it. Putting his hands above the covers, he wiped his left hand across his nose, wiping snot. When it came to his parents, they were abusive, but at his grandparent’s house, he always felt safe.
“Grandma, are you going to die?” he asked with a sad look on his face.
Grabbing his hands and putting them under the covers, she tucked him tighter and planted a kiss onto his cheek.
“No, Triton, my little bumblebee, why would you think that?” she asked with a small smile.
“Because you were in the hospital last week.”
The previous week his mother took him to visit her in the hospital. At the time, she had complications from her diabetes. Her blood sugar numbers were elevated, and she was frequently making trips to the bathroom.
“Aww, honey, I was sick last week, that’s all. OK? I was sick, but now you’re sick, which means it is my turn to worry about you. You have to be starving. You didn’t eat anything all day, except two bites of toast. Do you want me to fix you a bowl of Rice Krispies?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“How is he doing?” asked his grandpa, peeping his head in the door.
“The poor kid is sick,” she answered. “I’m going to fix him a bowl of Rice Krispies,” she said, getting up from the bed.
“I don’t want anything, Grandma,” he said before coughing.
“Please eat something, Tri-”
“Awake!” a German voice spoke.
The room went dark, and Triton awoke to the crowded room inside the concentration camp and heard everyone chitchatting. Feeling groggy, he wanted this whole thing to be one enormous nightmare, hoping to awaken in his own bed. After rubbing his eyes twice, no such luck. Sadness sunk in as thoughts of his deceased grandparents were in his head. Tears fell from his eyes. Commandant Hoss stood in the doorway, waiting for everyone to follow him outside.
“Wake up, you lazy Jews!” he yelled. “Get your filthy asses outside!”
Triton followed the crowd outside, where he looked around for the other girls. With all the people there, it was hard to tell who was who. The dream about his grandparents kept popping back up in his mind. It felt so real.
Noticing Violet standing next to Ralph and Eva, he headed toward them. Tyler followed behind. When Lexi noticed the two guys, she approached Triton.
“How did you sleep, honey?” she asked, tapping his face lightly with her fingers.
“Not good,” he answered.
"Who wants to shoot that dirty, smelly, Jew tied out there to that pole?!” Commandant Hoss shouted out with an evil grin, interrupting them. Everyone stood there as he walked past with that grin.
“Does he know that she’s not even Jewish?” Lexi whispered to Violet.
“No,” said Violet. “Her hair is dark, and she has brown eyes, so they probably automatically assume,” Violet whispered back.
"I always knew that her mouth would get her in trouble one day,” Lexi continued whispering.
"Well, Lexi, we can’t say we didn’t see this coming.”
"We have a volunteer!" Commandant Hoss grinned, stopping dead in his tracks in front of Violet. He stared directly into her eyes like a teacher who just called on his student. "Grab her!"
Two Nazi soldiers grabbed her arms, bruising them as they dragged her toward Val. Her heart dropped, and butterflies made themselves at home, flying around in her stomach. As frightened as she was, she tried to keep it together for the others.
Commandant Hoss grabbed both of her hands, slamming a revolver into the palm of her right hand and slipping a grenade into her left hand. The voices spoke loud in her head. “Violet, do something! Shoot him. Kill him. Shoot him, stupid! You have a gun and a grenade! Do it! Hello??? Do it, Violet!”
"You have a choice!" he said, untying Val. "Shoot her and your life will be spared, or use the grenade to blow her filthy mouth off the face of the earth and I'll walk you out the gate myself!" he said, pushing Val toward her.
She thought to herself that this had to be a trick but if it wasn't, she would be free. One thing was for certain. Guilt entered her for even considering it. Taking risks had always been a challenge for her. A third option she considered was launching the grenade straight at the commandant. Commandant Hoss backed up a few feet in case she chose option two.
"So, I shoot her and live or blow her up and walk right out the gate, and still live?" asked Violet in a cocky tone.
"You are smarter than most of the Jews in this camp," he said, not getting her sarcasm. She knew either way she was screwed but she also knew her time to decide had expired. "Well???" he said, in an angry impatient tone with his eyes bulging out.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, blocking everyone around her out, along with all of her surroundings. Looking at the grenade and then at the revolver, she realized that just because you’re given two choices, that doesn’t mean there can’t be a third one. Like Triton, she was fairly new to all this herself, just having died a few months ago.
“I chose option three,” she said, turning to the others and winked with a smile.
Triton wondered what she was up to. From the look on her face, it looked as if she conjured up a plan. In a way, it made him feel safer knowing this, but the one question running through his mind was, ’Will her plan work if there is one?’
“I gave you two options!” Commandant Hoss raised his voice, walking in her direction.
She took a deep breath and gradually exhaled. Pulling the pin off of the grenade, caused Commandant Hoss to come to a halt. Ticktock. Time began running down. His face showed no fear but a look of curiosity and confusion.
Her palms were growing sweaty and the question ‘What if I fail’ played in her mind over and over. She noticed how frightened Triton looked, but her focus remained on Val, who had a bruise on the side of her face the size of a baseball. Val didn’t look scared but looked as if she wanted to kick someone’s ass. Ticktock. The ticks were coming closer to a kaboom.
“Blow that dirty whore to bits!” Commandant Hoss yelled in a state of panic. “Do it!” Ticktock. Time was almost up.
"I am so sorry if this doesn’t work out," Violet whispered to Val, giving her a look of seriousness.
Commandant Hoss walked two steps closer, but with hesitance, stopped.
"I hope you at least thought this through,” Val whispered.
Violet winked at her before tossing it behind Commandant Hoss’s back and yelling, “Stay right there!”
Commandant Hoss’s eyes popped out for second before he charged in the opposite direction, yelling “Take cover!” The Nazi troupes were already fleeing, running around like children in a bouncy house.
"Watch out!" a soldier yelled.
The explosion from the grenade blew a huge hole in the ground, blowing and scattering bits of dirt and mud in the air. The loud explosion sounded like a firecracker on steroids. Commandant Hoss headed in Violet’s direction at a fast speed. Now came the second part of her plan. The riskier part. She pointed the revolver at him and yelled out, “Don’t move!”
Stopping dead in his tracks, he put up his hands. The look of anger on his face intimidated her, but she tried to shake it off. “Drop the gun,” he said with an intimidating look. “There’s no way out of here. The gate is heavily guarded and the high-tension fence will electrocute you.”
Glancing over at the gate for a moment, she noticed two soldiers standing there with their rifles pointed at her. Weighing her limited options, she knew she had little time to come up with a big plan. Commandant Hoss being weaponless, could take him as a hostage and hope for the best, or fire aimlessly at the two guards and maybe cause a distraction causing them both to drop their rifles. ‘Choices, choices, what to do’, she thought.
“You will not make it out of here alive, you piece of shit Jew,” Commandant Hoss said, giving her a death stare.
The look of defeat was written all over her face. The gears in her mind kept turning though. She had no intentions of giving up so easily. She did have one advantage. He was dumb enough to give her the only weapon he had.
“Then I guess-” she said, grabbing his arm and jumping behind him, pressing the revolver to his head. His eyes bulged out of his head. “Now, the people I came in here with, let them go!” Not a great idea, but at least it would buy her a little time.
“That is not going to happen,” he said with a scared look on his face, breathing heavily from the sudden threat. “Let them go or I-!” she yelled, firing a shot at the ground that caused a bullet to ricochet.
She pressed the bun barrel back to his head, backing up, and dragging him toward the building. Every soldier in that camp had their eyes on the two of them, rifles pointed, and ready to fire. When she reached the door, she waved her the others.
“Come on, guys, let’s go!” she yelled.
“You listen-”
“They’re leaving with me!” she interrupted him. “Come on, guys!”
Feeling hesitant, Triton stayed put, but Violet and Tyler walked right up behind her, no problem. He thought they were used to situations like this and knew how to handle them better.
“Triton, come on,” said Violet, waving for him.
“Why couldn’t I have died and come back a bird,” he said to himself, stepping behind Violet. “Then I could have flown out of here… or a cute little puppy. No one can harm a cute little puppy… or a lion. Then I could have eaten my way out of here… or a”
“Triton!” Val screamed. “Shut your nonsense hole, huh?!”
Staring down at the ground, he gave a long sigh. “I know I’m nowhere near home,” he muttered to himself.
“Eva? Ralph?” said Violet. “You come with us too.” Ralph reached down and picked up Eva, walking up behind Triton.
“Uh, Violet?” Val whispered. “We are not taking them with us. Have you gone as cuckoo as Lexi when her blood sugar is low?”
“It’s the right thing to do,” she said. “Now, follow my lead.”
She dragged Commandant Hoss in the direction of the Gate with his feet dragging on the ground, and the others following at a slow pace. One wrong move and it was lights out, but she would not dare give up this far in the game.
Just twenty more feet and they would be free. Triton’s mind raced a hundred miles per second. I’m going to get shot. She’s going to get us killed. I just want to go home. My life sucks. The thoughts were coming in as fast as they were racing.
Reaching the gate, she signaled for the guards to open it, but they stood still with their rifles aimed at them, ready to fire any moment.
“Just do it,” said Commandant Hoss.
The guards opened the gate and Violet backed out, signaling the others to stay behind her. She noticed the truck behind her. “Where are the keys?” she asked in a low voice.
“I don’t have-”
“Where are the keys!” she screamed.
He grunted, reaching into his pocket, and pulling out a set of keys. She snatched the keys from him. “Go to the truck, guys,” she said. Triton hesitantly stood there, but the others were already heading in that direction. “Now!”
She pushed Commandant Hoss onto the ground, fired a shot into the air, and followed. Time was now precious, and she hoped her little distraction bought them enough time. The Nazis were distracted, running around, and gathering their prisoners, who were running in all directions, trying to escape.
Violet got into the driver’s side. Ralph and Eva hopped into the passenger side while the others hopped into the back of the truck. Violet found one little problem that posed a major problem. The truck was a shift stick and she had no knowledge of how to drive a truck with this type of transmission.
“Shit!” she yelled, pounding the steering wheel.
“What’s wrong?” asked Ralph.
“I don’t know how to drive shift.”
“Huh?” Guards headed for the gate and time grew even more vital. “I’ll drive! Get in the back!” he panicked.
She hopped out and headed for the back, jumping inside with the others. Gunshots were fired from behind. Ralph started the ignition, shifted it into gear, and headed away from the camp. The gunshots grew louder and more constant. Violet signaled for everyone to dunk down and keep their heads low. Triton panicked when he saw the Nazi troupes jumping into their vehicles. Putting his head down, he started hyperventilating.
“Shh, relax,” said Lexi, rubbing his arm. “It’s OK, honey.”
“Yeah, it’s OK, honey,” Val laughed, mocking her, and looking at Violet.
Violet’s focus was on the Nazis in their trucks catching up to them. Five trucks came up behind them, and Commandant Hoss was just twenty feet away, firing his assault rifle from inside his truck.
Ralph pressed slammed his foot harder on the gas pedal, pressing it to the floor. The truck stalled and slowed down as he changed gears. He pressed the gas pedal back to the floor and began to speed up. Bullets flew over their heads as they remained to keep their heads down. The other vehicles grew smaller in the distance but were still in sight. Triton exhaled, cupping his hands over his face and slapping himself lightly.
"That was an awful experience," he commented. “Wow!”
"Well, get used to it!" said Val with a straight face. “This is your new life!”
"I hope we make it-”
Bolts of lightning crashed down from the sky, and into the back of the truck, striking each of them. It wasn’t the feeling of electrocution or shock, but a feeling like a warm and gentle massage. A silence followed, and the road in front of them, the trees and grass, and all other scenery vanished from Triton’s view as a bright light blinded him. Little did he know, this lightning was what transported him into another time.