The world shook. Well, to the small 9 year old girl, it seemed like it did. She huddled in the corner of the small living room shaking with fear. She could hear screams outside of her house.

"When will the bombing stop, Mama?" She whispered in a strong German accent.

"Soon." Promised her mum. Gradually, the world slowed down, it stopped shaking, everything was tranquil, until a man strode into the house.

This man was the girl's father. He wore a black suit with a black tie.

"They are coming. They know where we are. We are not safe. I saw them." Her mother's eyes glimmered with fear.

"Abigail, pack a few objects, we must leave immediately." Her mother's stern gaze told her to do it as quickly as possible. She stood up, straightened her black skirt and quickly ran up the stairs to pack a few things.

She comes back down with one briefcase which contains clothes and her special doll, Emily. The doll was carefully made, it has button eyes and littles plaits made of wool. Her mother reaches around her neck and takes off a necklace. It has the Star of David on it. She puts it around Abigail's neck.

"Here, this is something passed down in my family. Don't ever lose it. Never take it off. It's your history and who you are." Abigail nods, taking in all of what her mother said.

The sun has begun to set and the three prepare to leave through the back door. Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. "Hurry!" Whispers her father. "We must leave!" They make it out the door just as the front door is smashed down. They get to the car.

"Abigail! Get in the car now!" Her mother yells. It's too late. The Nazi soldiers have found them. Her father bravely steps forward and tries to fend them off.

"Come on!" Whispers her mother. They run off until they are deep in the forest nearby. Just as they stop to rest, they hear a gunshot from the direction of their house. Her mother begins to weep, until she is full on sobbing.

"Mama, where's papa? Is he going to come?" Her mother stares into Abigail's big sea green eyes. She's unsure of what she should tell her daughter.

"He's not coming dear. It's just as two."

After a few days of hiking away from their home, they eventually find a small little shed. They creep inside, desperately trying to be quiet knowing that the Nazis were trying to track them down.

"I must go to find some food and supplies. Stay here. If I'm not back by sunset, go on without me. Never trust people with this brand on their arm." She draws a small sketch of the Nazis' logo on the dirt. "They are bad people. You must get away from them." Whispers her mother. "Goodbye." She leaves the shed and quietly makes her way to town.

It's been one hour, two hours, three hours. Abigail begins to worry, but she must stay positive. The sky turns to a light purple. Abigail peeks outs of the shed for a split second, but her mother was nowhere to be seen.

The door to the shed flies open and Abigail almost screams, until she sees who it is. It's not her mother, but it's a girl, who looks about 3 years older than Abigail.

"Who are you?" Asks Abigail.

"I am Marie." Marie steps closer to Abigail. "You?"

"I'm Abigail." Marie sees the necklace around Abigail's neck and sighs when she sees the Star of David.

"Where are your parents?" Asks Marie although she knew the answer.

"I think, they are gone, they are dead." Whimpered Abigail. She begins to cry.

"It's ok, you have me now. But, the Nazis, the bad people, are coming. We must leave." Abigail nods slightly.

They run away, back into the woods. "Marie, wait!" Gasps Abigail. The twelve year old looks at her, and takes a seat.

"Sorry, I forgot that you're younger than me, my old friends, umm never mind." She looks down, her mind filled with past thoughts. "We need food and water to survive, I know how to hunt and scavenge for food. I'll show you how."

Marie reaches into her jacket pocket and pulls out a small pocket knife. She then goes and finds a few long sticks that are a bit thick. Using the knife, she carves the top of the sticks to make them pointed and sharp.

"These are spears, they are sharp and can be deadly if thrown in the right spot." Says Marie as she shows Abigail the spears she had crafted. "Now look around for some berry bushes, I'll be up in the trees. Don't eat a single berry until you show me."

She starts to climb a tree leaving Abigail looking for berries. Gradually, Marie's careful eyesight spotted movement in the bushes down below. It looked furry and small, She throws a spear hard and fast.

It sails through the air and pierces a rabbit deep in it's heart. She scrambles out of the tree to collect her prize. She wraps it in a small plastic bag and goes off to find Abigail.

"Abigail! Abigail!" She screams. She begins to worry as she can not find her friend. She finds Abigail deep in the forest, tangled in some berry bushes.

"Don't ever disappear again like that!" Scolds Marie.

"Ok," mumbles Abigail. She lowers her head apologetically. She lifts it back up and says, "I found some strawberries though."

"Good job, now all we need is a river, and some firewood." States Marie.

"I saw a river on my way here. I'll show you." Abigail leads Marie to a small stream not far from the berry bushes. Marie takes out a few containers and scoops water into all of them. She then asks Abigail to wash the berries while she skins the rabbit.

She then grabs some wood, starts a small fire and begins to cook some of the rabbit meat.

"Smells good." compliments Abigail. Marie removes the meat from the fire and uses some spare containers as bowls for Abigail and herself. As they ate, the wind blew harder and slapped harshly at their faces.

"Come closer." Whispered Marie. Abigail snuggled into Marie's warm coat as Marie shielded her from the brutal forces of the night. She picks up a blueberry from the pile of berries which Abigail has collected and pops when in Abigail's small, freezing mouth. She chews it happily.

As Abigail falls asleep, Marie tries to calculate how long they could last in these circumstances. They did have enough food, but shelter would be an issue. Well, no matter what, she had to help the poor nine your old survive this experience.

"Marie, how long are we going to stay out here?" Asked Abigail curiously. She realises that she shouldn't have asked as Marie stares angrily at Abigail. Marie regrets her decision and quickly comforts Abigail.

"I don't know," mumbles Marie. She looks down at the ground. "Hopefully, not for much longer." They've spent about 5 days in the woods and it's driven them insane.

"Abigail, I hate to tell you this, but we can not survive like this." Says Marie as she looks at Abigail straight in the eye.

"What-what do you mean?" Stutters Abigail. She was previously fiddling with the braids in her messy, blonde hair, but her energetic fingers quickly stopped.

"I mean, without shelter, we can not last the treacherous forces that are attempting to drive us nuts." Whispers Marie. "We must find someone safe, where we can live as normal people, without having to worry about people who hate us and finding food by killing animals."

Abigail looks down. "So, what are we going to do?"

Marie was thankful that Abigail was so understanding and smart. "Well, we could either find help, which is risky, but also will probably end up better for us, or we could go on on our own." Marie hoped she could trust Abigail with a decision like that, but Abigail was different from her previous friends, even from her herself.

"Umm, are you sure you can trust me?" Asked Abigail.

"Yes," replies Marie. "Absolutely."

Abigail thought for a while. She looked up at the ocean-blue sky and the small puffs of clouds. She glances at Marie, who although is fairly clean, looks tired and almost at her breaking point. She sees how Marie's previously clean, smooth brown hair has become rough and untidy over the path of the past few days.

She then glances at herself. She, unlike Marie, looked perfectly normal. Her blouse and skirt barely had a visible speck of dirt. Marie had been looking out for her so well, that Marie had forgotten about herself. Abigail realised this.

"We must find help." she says. "We have done well so far, but you can only last so long."

"Ok," Marie smiles at Abigail, "I knew I could trust you."

They left the woods to find someone who could guide them through these tough times. They quietly crept through the small village, keeping their head down, hoping to avoid any type of attention.

Suddenly, they hear a scream. Abigail spins around to see an old man being tainted by two Nazi soldiers. The previously quiet village was no longer quiet, people ran around frantically, not wanting to see what would happen to the old man. Few stayed to watch.

"Please! Please! Have mercy!" Screams the man. The soldiers laugh, merciless. One slowly begins to pull out a gun and points it at the man. "I didn't mean to resist! I was going to-"

The man didn't have time to finish his sentence. Marie's frail hand covered Abigail's eyes a moment too late. She saw the trigger get pulled and the man was gone, forever.

Marie pulled Abigail into a side alley until things calmed down.

"Why did they do that to the man?" Asked Abigail.

"He's a Jew. Nazis don't like Jews. Some get sent to concentration camps, but some get killed on the spot." Replies Marie.

"Will-will he be okay?" Marie shakes her head. Fear takes control of Abigail and she begins to weep, louder and louder.

"Shhh, be quiet. We don't want anyone to find us." Snaps Marie.

"Because if they do, we will end up the same way as that man." Mumbles Abigail.

"Yes," says Marie. "We will."

CRACK! CRACK! Marie instantly turns towards the end to the alley. She hears footsteps appearing and shields Abigail from whatever may be coming their way.

"Stay behind me," whispers Marie. "Don't get seen until I am sure it is safe." Abigail huddles behind Marie closer. Slowly, a man in black appears.

"Don't worry," he stutters. "You can trust me."

"How?" Asks Marie suspiciously.

"I am the brother of the poor man who died out there." He says. Marie glances at him and sees certain similarities. Unlike the other man, he looks slightly younger, but the shaggy hair and dark sunken eyes are the same.

"Ok, I believe you, but what else proves that we can trust you?" Asks Marie. The man pulls out a necklace from his pocket, it's identical to Abigail's except it's made out of gold, not silver.

"I believe your friend has a similar necklace." Marie heard him say 'friend' with such distaste that her trust quivered for a few moments. "I know a safe place where I'm living with my brother's family, come."

He turns away and makes his way back down the alleyway. Marie hesitates for a few seconds, then beckons Abigail to follow her as she follows the man.

They keep their distance behind him when Abigail whispers, "Are you sure we can trust him?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure, but he's our best hope." Replies Marie.

Abigail nods, but her mind is full of concern.

"This way," beckons the man, when the girls finally catch up with him.

The two girls continue walking in front of him when he yells, "Stop!"

They turn around immediately and look for any danger.

"Here is the safe house." He pulls a well hidden latch and a doorway appears. "Ladies first." He whispers and Marie and Abigail step in.

"Now we can speak safely," he says. "My name is Jacob."

"Where is your family that you previously spoke of?" Asks Abigail nervously.

"This way." He replies.

They come to a small room where 5 people were in.

"This is your family?" questioned Marie. Jacob nodded. Marie glanced quickly at the small family of 5. They looked normal except for the drowned happiness which she could sense within the cold walls of the room.

She glanced at Abigail, who she saw was also staring suspiciously at the family. There was too much detail for Abigail to make sense of in the room, so she glanced deep into the little girl's eyes. Abigail could make out a faint shimmer of fear in the girl's eyes. But the eyes didn't look fearful of her, they looked fearful of Jacob.

"I'll go get some food for all of you." Announces Jacob. He leaves the room and slams the door behind him. Abigail hears the door click, telling her that Jacob has locked them in the room.

Marie instantly runs to the little girl. "Who is Jacob?" The girl looks Marie in the eye, but then looks down again whilst shaking her head.

"Marie, there's something wrong!" Shouts Abigail.

She points to the family. "The father of the family is still here. The man who died up there is not the father. Jacob is lying."

"Tell us who Jacob is!" Yells Marie. "Please."

Creak! Creak! They hear Jacob coming back to the room.

The little girl begins to stammer, "Ja-Jacob, he is a Nazi. That man whom I believe you were talking about, he was Jacob's brother. He-he and Jacob never got along. Jacob needed money and his brother refused to give."

CREAK! CREAK!

"Hurry!" Urges Marie.

"So, when Jacob's brother asked him for help to hide from the Nazi, Jacob happily obliged with plans to sell him to the Nazi. We are a family who got tricked into coming here like you. He will sell us today, but you two may have more time."

CREAK! CREAK! CREAK!

The girl glances worriedly at the door. "Here, we have no more use for these train tickets to Switzerland, take them and go when you can!"

Jacob enters the room. "You five," he points to the family. "Come up with me NOW!"

They follow him slowly. The girl mouths, "good luck" to Marie and Abigail and she continues walking sadly back outside.

"You still got that pocket knife?" Asks Abigail.

"Yes," Marie pulls out the knife. "Here." She hands it to Abigail.

Abigail walks over to the door. The door is made out of wood and seems fairly weak. "We can cut out a hole in the door. It's thin, with effort, we should be able to cut through the door."

Marie nods. She gets the knife back and starts cutting at the door. Squeak! Squeak! The knife rubbing against the wood makes an unpleasant noise giving them both chills down their neck. Eventually, she makes a small slit which goes through the door.

"Yes! I got a slit!" Shouts Marie.

"Good job," Congrats Abigail as she pats Marie on the shoulder. "Now keep going or we'll never make it out in time!" She commands bossily. Marie goes back to cutting the door.

Two hours, that's how long it seemed to take to do half a circle, and not a very large one.

"Marie, we'll never make it out of her at the pace." Explains Abigail.

"Well, you want to try?" Asks Marie angrily.

"No."she approaches the half circle which Marie cut, lifts up her leg and kicks around where the middle of a full circle would be. She makes a hole in the middle of the door, not exactly a circle and rather rugged.

"Good job." Says Marie.

"Thank you." Replies Abigail. She begins to squeeze through the hole and only just makes it through.

"I don't think you'll fit," remarks Abigail. "The hole's too small."

"Well, I've got to try." Marie tries to wiggle her way through the hole, but can't. "Ugh, I've got to get through!"

She tries harder and gets half of her body through the door.

"A little help?" Asks Marie. Abigail reaches forward and grabs Marie's hand. She then tries to pull Marie forward.

RIPPPPPP! Marie tumbles forward and does a roll on the floor.

"What ripped?!" Asked Abigail.

Marie glances at her right shoulder, then quickly looks away.

"Is it bad?" Marie shook her head, but Abigail could see the worry that Marie had.

"Let me have a look." She walks over to have a look at Marie's shoulder. Her rights sleeve had ripped and there was a nasty scratch. "It looks very deep, we must get it looked at."

"But, who can we trust?" Complained Marie. "That man, Jacob was going to hand us over to the Nazi!"

"I know, but you need to get that wound looked at." She scrunches her face as she sees blood starting to drip down. "You need it looked at soon."

They scramble outside, desperately searching for someone who can help.

"As soon as we find a doctor, we can leave for Switzerland." She takes out the tickets that the girl gave to her. "It's a pity we can't ever repay that poor family." States Abigail.

"Yes," replies Marie. "It is." She spins around abruptly, but winces as her shoulder aches with pain.

"Come! We must find a doctor!" Yells Abigail.

"Coming." Stutters Marie.

They race through the village, knocking on doors trying to find someone who can help.

"This is impossible! We've been through the whole village! No one can help!" Screams Marie.

"It's ok, it's ok." Comforts Abigail. "We probably missed a house or two. There's still hope."

"Whatever," Marie shrugs her shoulders. "Ow! I really need to remember about that cut!"

"Shhhh!" Whispers Abigail. "I see someone." She creeps forward, hoping to get a better glance at the mysterious person. "It's a man, we haven't spoken to him before, let's see if he can help!" She starts to run off to the man.

"Wait up!" Yells Marie as she hobbles towards Abigail.

"Sir! Sir! Could you help my friend? She has a nasty scratch on her shoulder!" Explains Abigail. She turns around and helps Marie make her way over to the man.

"Let me see," says the man. He kneels down and takes a look at Marie's wound. "It's rather bad, come inside." He heads off towards his house.

"Are you sure about this?" Asks Marie.

"Yes, definite." Replies Abigail as she marches off to follow the man.

"Ugh, whatever." And she trudges along.

"So, can u help us?" Asks Abigail as Marie slams the front door behind her.

"Yes, I am Doctor David and I can help your friend." Tells the Doctor. "Now let me look at that scratch." He peers at the cut and gently touches it to get a better look with his hand.

"Does it hurt?" Marie nods sadly.

Doctor David cleans the cut and applies a bandage to it.

"Keep it clean and change the bandage every two to three days." advises Doctor David.

"Ok." Says a Marie. She wiggles her arm then winces. "Feels better already!" She says cheerfully. Abigail rolls her eyes. "What?" Asks Marie.

"Now, let's go." Insists Abigail. "We will be late for our, uhhh, appointment." She stutters.

"Please stay, my wife can provide some food for tonight." Offers the Doctor.

"No, really, we must go." Urges Abigail. She pushes past Doctor David and stomps through the door with Marie trailing behind her.

"Abigail, why are you in such?" Asked Marie.

"Because, every second we waste is a chance for the Nazi to catch us." Says Abigail.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that we were trying to get away." Admits Marie guiltily.

"Well, we must find a train station." Says Abigail. She thinks for a few moments. "Do u know any train stations?"

"Yes," Marie looks around, "follow me." She walks towards some bushes and Abigail quickly follows.

"How much further?" Groans Abigail.

"Not much longer." Promises Marie. She continues to lead through the bushy grassland they currently in.

BOOM! BOOM! Thunder crashes in the distance behind them. They instantly turn around to see wind blowing harshly at the tall pine trees and lightning striking in the skies.

"Hurry!" Urges Marie, as she impatiently waits for Abigail to catch up.

"I'm coming!" Screams Abigail over the thunder.

She feels a drop of coldness on her shoulder. She looks up to see to rain starting to pour down.

"Marie!" Shouts Abigail.

"What?!" Asks Marie angrily.

"It's raining!" Says Abigail.

This time, Marie turned her head. "Oh no," she whispers. "Run!!!!" Screams a Marie and she and Abigail run to the station.

By the time they make it there, both girls are drenched. They are shivering. Their clothes are soaked through and would take forever to dry. They huddle together to try to gain warmth.

"What time is the train to Switzerland?" Asks Marie.

Abigail glances at the large clock above them, then at the tickets. Her eyes widen as she sees the times.

"It's in ten minutes!" Says Abigail quickly.

"We have to run!" They rush through the train station, trying to find their train, but are u successful.

"How much longer?" Asks Marie.

"About two minutes." Replies Abigail.

"We must find that train!" Urges Marie.

Soon, two minutes have passed.

"We must have missed it!" Shouts Marie angrily.

Abigail looks back at the ticket, then at the clock.

"Hold on, the train leaves in one hour. I must have read it wrong." Says Abigail guiltily.

"Seriously," Marie grabs the tickets harshly from Abigail. "Yep, the train actually leaves in an hour.

They eventually catch the train and begin making their way to Switzerland.

"Look!" Says Abigail as she points to landscape outside. Although it is dark outside from the earlier storm, they could make out fields of flowers and grass.

"Looks nice." Admits Marie.

"Are we almost there?" Asks Abigail for about the hundredth time.

Marie laughs happily. "No, we still got much longer."

"Oh," mumbles Abigail. "What's Switzerland like though?"

"It's better than here. We will be happy there and we will have fun." Promises Marie.

"Ok." Whispers Abigail. Her head nods down and she falls asleep on Marie.

Marie smiles, then also goes to sleep while the train speeds off to Switzerland.