“March you insignificant fools. March.” I could hear a loud voice command us to move forwards. I trudged on in the blistering heat and sighed. A large iron gate passed by us and someone chuckled at our fate. My warm brown eyes focused on the man in front of us. The badges on his dark gray uniform shone in blinding sunlight. His black hair was cropped short, barely showing under his hat. I tried not to look at his wicked smile; his shining eyes. I absentmindedly scratched at the yellow star emblazoned on my coat.

“Water. Mummy, I need water,” A small girl that looked around the age of six tugged on her mother’s sleeve. I looked closely and thought that I knew her but then decided not to worry about it. The mother slapped her hand and shushed her. It was too late. One of the uniformed men neared and glared at the two in front of me. He raised his gun and took aim at the little girl. The mother gasped and jumped in front of her child.

“Don’t kill her! Please!” she pleaded with a broken voice. The guard looked at the man in front of us who nodded silently.

I quickly shut my eyes as a sharp sound drifted to my ears. A small cry broke out and I risked a peek at the little girl who fell to her knees at her mother’s body. Her dark blonde curls seemed to deflate and her small body shuddered with silent sobs. I choked back a sob of my own as we moved past her. I tried to pay no mind to her anguished cries as I looked ahead towards the dark buildings ahead.

All of a sudden another shot rang out and I lurched to a stop. I turned and watched in horror as the little girl crumpled and fell to the ground beside her mother. Two guards hurried in and picked up their bodies to throw them away.

“Hey, you in front move it,” the man ordered pushing the barrel of the gun to my temple. When I didn’t take a step, he dug the barrel deeper into my skull. “I said move now.”

I cut my eyes to him, fire burning brightly in them, and frowned. “You’re never gonna get away with this. You can’t just murder people with no explanation. You can’t do that. The Americans are on their way and they are going to stop you.”

The man grimaced. “What are you, their defender? You couldn’t defend them from all of us. There is no way to do that.”

“You really think that? We outnumber you 20:1 and we will always outnumber you. We will accomplish what people think is the impossible. Never underestimate us,” I warned.

“Girl, a mouth like that could get you in some serious trouble,” another guard eased up beside us and snatched my wrist. I jerked away, just to let him grab a chunk of my hair. “Follow me.”

I was dragged behind him as he led me to a chair sitting below a rope. Two men were already standing in the chairs, a rope tied around each neck. The man forced me onto a chair and I looked out at my old classmates, teachers, and family. My eyes closed as someone tightened a noose around my throat and a tear trailed down my cheek.

“In 5….4….3,” someone started to count down and more tears followed. Just before they took the chair from under me, I remembered something. The little girl’s name was Marla. “1. Pull them out.”

The chairs disappeared from under my feet and the noose tightened. I gasped for air and prayed that my family forgave me. I wished I could have saved that little girl.

“No, Marla!” I howled and shot upright in my bed. The blankets were twisted around me in a cocoon and sweat poured down my face. I glanced at the small, opened book beside me and trembled slightly. My eyes read the small block lettering spelling the word Night on the front. Starting to rock back and forth I whispered, “It was only a dream. It was only a dream.”