I did mention that things are going to happen in this chapter, right?
Enjoy! :)
-----------------------------------------
"Was yesterday your birthday, Race?" Jack asks suddenly.
"...What?"
"Well, I've been in here since the fourth. That was twenty eight days ago. So today is November 2nd. Meaning yesterday was November 1st."
"Oh." A beat. "Huh. I guess it really was my birthday."
"Happy birthday!" Antonio exclaims beside him.
Race smiles. "Grazie, bambino."
He gets a happy birthday! from Kid Griffo and Chick Tucker as well.
"Thanks, guys. I mean it."
True, he would rather not have spent his birthday in a prison camp, but he really had no say in it. And he didn't start his birthday in a prison camp either, even if he had forgotten it was his birthday.
"Guess I'm thirty five now," Race marvels wryly. "That's something."
"You're old." Antonio smiles childishly beside him.
Race looks at him and ruffles his hair fondly. "And you're young. Practically a child."
"I've been an adult for years now!"
"So why are you acting like a child?"
"I am not acting like a-"
Race just raises his eyebrows, as if to say See? His point has just been proven.
Antonio sighs. "Okay, you're right."
"I'm not calling it a bad thing, though," Race puts in quickly. "I know you've grown up. But it's okay to still be a kid at heart."
I know I am, Race thinks. Sometimes it still feels like I'm a newsie, just barely sixteen, with everything that I ever wanted, ever needed.
Those days are so far away, though.
As much as Jack loves the sibling banter, though, he can tell that something is changing. He sits up a little, getting more alert.
Race notices. "What is it, Jack?"
Jack says nothing. But he watches the German officers walking around, getting ready to do something.
Then, they all stand in a line. The first one barks out an order, and then down the line they go in several different languages, so everyone would know what is happening.
Their accents are thick and the English isn't the best, but they still hear what the officers are saying.
Some of the prisoners are going to be taken away to a different camp.
Of course. There's not enough space here. It'll be easier with less people in here. So they're sending away soldiers, and they're organizing by division/regiment.
The 332nd Infantry Regiment is called.
The 77th Division is not.
"No," Race chokes out in alarm. He turns to Jack. "Jack, I can't leave you again."
Jack swallows, clenching his fists. "I don't want you to leave either."
Race wraps his arms around Jack. "Jack, I can't lose you. Not again."
Jack hugs back tightly. "You won't. I'll still be with you."
"How?"
"Because you'll have me in your memories and in your heart, just like you'll be in mine. And we will find each other again. We did it once, we can do it again."
"Jack, what if we don't?"
Jack hesitates. "We won't let that happen."
The 332nd Infantry Regiment is being led away.
And so, reluctantly, Race lets go of Jack. He joins his brother, and begins marching with the rest of them.
And Jack watches him leave. They may not have been brothers by blood, but they are brothers in every other way, every way that matters. So watching him go feels like tearing out a piece of a soul.
And there is absolutely nothing he can do about it.
-------------------------------------------
In truth, this prison camp is no better than the one before.
The only different is that there are a hundred people here maximum compared to literal hundreds at the other one.
Not that anyone is bothered to tell them the name of this prison camp.
What a great tactic for if someone miraculously got a letter out. What would the letter say? Help me, I'm in a German prison camp, but no clue which one? No, no one would send something like that.
Race just hopes that the food is better here.
He has no clue how Jack has been able to survive nearly a month in a prison camp, given the living conditions and the awful food. When they get food, that is.
The gate closes behind them. They are officially trapped here.
Not that any of them have the strength to escape.
Alongside the 332nd Infantry Regiment, there are other regiments and divisions sent here. That'll fill up some space. But right now, there might be just one division.
And apparently miscellaneous people.
Because, standing there right in front of Race, is none other than Ermal Moro.
His eyebrows shoot up. "Ermal?"
Ermal turns their head, their eyes widen with surprise when they see Race. "Ed?"
They run to each other and hug.
"Come stai?" Race asks.
"Credo che sto bene," Ermal answers, with vague hand motions as if to add, in spite of everything. "Come stai?"
"Sto bene."
When they pull back, Race brings Antonio over. "Antonio, this is Ermal. Ermal, questo è mio fratello, Antonio."
Ermal and Antonio shake hands. "Piacere!"
"Perché stai qui?" Race asks Ermal.
Ermal explains how they were a part of a small resistance, smuggling books and people and goods across borders. The Germans captured them, and brought them all here. Race in turn explains what happened when Ermal left, and all about fighting at Vittorio Veneto, and how they moved prison camps.
"Insomma, siamo in prigione inseme, no?" Ermal grins wryly.
"Sì, è vero," Race says.
They are stuck in prison together.
So they'll just have to see what happens to their dire situation together.
--------------------------------
Jack can't take it anymore.
He has to escape.
The sun is setting. He can wait until dark.
But he has to get out of here. Tonight.
Kid Griffo has noticed that Jack has something big on his mind. So he confronts him after they get their food. "What's up?"
"I'm escaping," Jack answers in a quiet voice. "Tonight."
"What?" Kid Griffo jerks back in surprise. "Tonight?" He talks in the same quiet voice as Jack. "How do you plan on doing that?"
Jack shakes his head.
Kid Griffo's eyes widen. "So you're just going to improvise an escape?"
Actually, Jack has several ideas, but he can't afford for someone to tell him that they won't work. He wants to hold on to his delusions that he can escape for just a little longer.
"You could come with me," Jack says. "Leave this place."
"What about Chick?"
"He can come too."
Kid Griffo looks around. "Can we ... talk about this with him?"
"Sure."
They walk over to Chick Tucker, and Jack explains that he wants to try and escape. Chick Tucker reacts similarly to Kid Griffo, but is more open to it than Kid Griffo.
"The odds are highly unlikely, but if it means getting out of here, then it might be worth a shot." Chick Tucker purses his lips, deep in thought. "But it's just so, so risky."
"We should stay," Kid Griffo urges him. "We can wait it out together. Just like you said."
Chick Tucker grabs his hand and squeezes it gently.
"If you don't want to come, that's okay," Jack says. "I'll escape tonight, and if you guys want to escape or try again a later night, that's fine by me."
Kid Griffo and Chick Tucker exchange glances. And then they nod.
"I'm going to miss you guys," Jack murmurs. He hugs them both.
"We'll miss you too."
"Please live," Kid Griffo begs him. Please, don't die.
Maybe trying to escape isn't the smartest idea. Maybe Jack will die trying.
At least he'll die doing something he believes in.
Finally, it's night.
There's a vehicle about to leave.
Jack can't get inside the back, but he can grab onto the axle underneath. And so as sneakily as he can, he does, and waits.
Until suddenly, the vehicle is moving, and they suspect nothing.
Jack shuts his eyes, ready to relax with relief, but can't, because he's terrified of what will happen if he lets go.
And so he holds on with all his might.
He doesn't know how long he waits. Three, four, maybe five minutes. Maybe seven. Maybe ten. Until he feels they are far away from the prison camp.
With one deep inhale and exhale, he lets go.
He lands on the ground with a quiet thud, and the vehicle keeps going.
And so Jack begins to run as far away as he can.
-----------------------------------------------------
So that was an interesting ending.
And this was more than 1000 words! :)
I wanted Ermal to come back, okay? I wish I didn't have them appear in a prison camp, but I couldn't think of anything else.
And I like the headcanon/possible-Real Racetrack Higgins-canon that Race's birthday is November 1st 1883, so that's why his birthday was mentioned.
So. Jack escaped. The next chapter is going to be wild.
Do you miss Mush and Spot's perspective?
What about David's?
Don't worry, you'll see them soon.
Please, no homophobia, profanities, hate etc in the comment section at all times.
Best,
~Your Beloved Author (who has a playlist of songs that definitely vibe with all these things in the story)