I was riding on a battered old school bus with about 30 other boys my age through the countryside of Germany. The road we were on wasn't much of a road at all--more of a path through the grass. Our bus driver wasn't much of anything anymore. He was practically a zombie, facing straight ahead and showing no signs of life other than the fact that his sweat was thick enough to make his t-shirt cling to him. Our escort stood beside the driver in the entryway of the bus in full uniform. He just happened to be Adolf Hitler.

I didn't know why I was there. None of us did, as far as I knew. We were all blonde and all had blue or green eyes. Not that we were any better because of that, but based on what I knew of Hitler's ideologies, that didn't make sense. All of us had been picked up along the streets at one point and, not knowing what we were getting into, told the armed guards our names. We were then issued ID cards and told to get onto the bus. That was long ago. I had been on the bus SO long that I didn't really remember how many days I had been there. We were all extremely tired and dirty.

The boy sitting behind me had a peculiar way about him. He didn't seem to be as defeated as the rest of us. Even after all this time, he was still moving around a lot in his seat and he still looked like he had plenty of life in him. He really stood out amongst the rest of us with our blank expressions and pale bluish faces.

When we reached a slightly wooded area, he reached over the seat and tapped me on the shoulder. He said "I'm going to start rocking the bus--when that happens, we're all gonna make a break for it!" I said "You've got to be crazy! Rocking the bus won't be a good enough diversion! And if you get caught out there, you'll be killed!" He responded with "What do you think is going to happen to you if you stay here?" I said "I don't know...he never said we were going to be killed." He looked at me with a grave stare and said "He's going to kill us. Trust me...I know him very well...he's my father. He's going to kill us."

He started shaking the bus. Other kids started shouting and moving around. Soon almost everyone was jumping around on the bus. Hitler turned around and yelled at everyone to sit down and shut up, but it was too late. Already, kids began running out the door (the back one of course) and into the countryside. Although so far during the trip the land had been mostly barren with only grass, this section had a collection of scattered trees, shacks, huts, and other things to break up the monotony. The grass was not the typical grass you'd find in a prairie-type setting. Rather, it was extremely short like a golfing green and it was very pale. There were kids running out in all directions through the area before us.

I was still on the bus. I didn't want to take the risk of running out there and getting caught. But I looked around. Already, half the kids were off the bus and the rest of them were on their way. So I decided to take the chance and I made a break for it. I began running to the west where most of them were going, but then I curved off to the southwest. I found myself running past many of my companions, as they were stopping and hiding. I tried to convince them to keep going and to get as far away from Hitler as possible, but they thought they were going to fool him. I kept running and I was pretty sure I was getting away. I turned around occasionally and saw how far back he was. I thought I might actually be able to escape. Then I heard the first gunshot. And the second. They kept coming. He was finding them. Their hiding places were doing no good. I heard at least 20 gunshots and maybe more.

I came to a small settlement and ran past it. I warned them that Hitler was coming. They didn't seem to care. I turned around to see where he was and I stumbled a bit. I ran about 50 feet past a small shack of theirs and stopped for a second to catch my breath. I peeked my head around the corner and almost fell back in amazement--Hitler was already to the house, and he was talking to the woman that I had spoken to just moments before. I couldn't figure out how he caught up so quickly, but I decided that if he could move that quickly there was no point to running.

The shed was raised off the ground by a short wall of cinder blocks, so there was a small space above the ground beneath the floor of the shed. I found the panel that led there, but beneath that panel was another. And beneath that panel was a hinged door made from chicken wire. Once inside, I was able to close the inner-two doors, but I couldn't get to the third. And if the third was standing open, my cover would be blown. Thankfully, a small child, presumably the son of the woman Hitler was talking to, crawled into the space between the outer door and the middle door and pulled the outer door shut. I thought I was saved. Through the cracks, I could see Hitler and the woman walking past. I was praying that they wouldn't think to look in here. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one who saw them walk by. The baby saw his mother, and of course said "Mama." She turned around and said "Honey, where are you?" I knew they were going to find us, and instead of having Hitler accidentally shoot the baby, I called out "We're in here--don't shoot." I climbed out with the child and handed him to his mother.

I turned to Hitler and said "I'm really sorry Mr. Hitler, I guess I got caught up in the moment..." I could see him start to grin, because he knew he had control over me. He knew that I was beginning to plead for my life because I knew that if I didn't, he'd shoot me down just like he had done with all the other boys. So I stopped begging. I decided not to give him the satisfaction. Not to mention the fact that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he _did_ spare me because of begging, considering he murdered the rest of them. I'd feel so dirty.

So instead, I just walked beside him and began talking with him in a casual manner. I first asked "So, Mr. Hitler, why me? Why was I in the group?" That question had been bothering me. As I said before, it wasn't because I felt more deserving to live than Jewish folk, it was because I just didn't understand his "reasoning." He responded "You're Catholic." Then I was like "duh..." because I couldn't believe that I had forgotten he killed Catholics too. So now that my question was answered, I just put my hands in my pockets and walked beside him. I figured he'd be shooting me any time now, so I wanted to give him as little satisfaction as possible.

The jerk didn't shoot me. He took me to his office building and sat me in a room with no furniture. It had light grey walls with charcoal grey carpet. Some sort of plant hung from the ceiling by the doorway. A girl walked in carrying a wicker basket full of gum. She asked if I'd like any, and though there was a stick of Juicy Fruit that looked extremely tempting, I didn't take it. I just sat and stared and acted as stubborn as I possibly could. I wanted the bullet.

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