[ CW ] `` Please tell me you 're here to do something about the dust . ''


 They did n't train us for this. 
 As I disembarked with the other soldiers, I felt an oppressive presence throughout the camp. 
 I could sense the ghosts that remained. 
 They floated on the air, 
 They made the buildings look gray and worn down. 
 I saw a group of prisoners walk past us in a line. 
 They were old and their shriveled and wrinkled hands were holding the small hands of children. 
 It must have been them. 
 They were the ghosts. 
 I could almost see through their paper skin and into the dark souls that were trapped inside their bodies. 
 An older man smiled in an attempt to comfort the little girl who was crying beside him. 
 Many of his teeth had gold crowns. 
 We were told that this camp was for the monsters; 
 The worst type of humanity. 
 But all I saw were spent, sickly shades whose feet barely left the ground as they were led into a building at the end of the street. 
 
 The train whistle snapped me back into the land of the living 
 And I saw the other soldiers leaving me behind. 
 We walked past the assembly lines and into the commandant's office. 
 `` Guten tag.'' 
 She was an angel with peircing blue eyes and dusty blond hair. 
 She was startingly beautiful, but something was missing in her eyes. 
 The oppressive force was oozing from her. 
 It was an effort to look into her eyes and snap the salute. 
 `` I am Oberstleutnant Riemann. Welcome to Camp XXX.'' 
 `` Who is the ranking officer here?'' 
 Realizing that that was myself, I weakly uttered, 
 `` Ah... That would be me. Sir!'' 
 `` Gut. We've begun dismissing the nonessential visitors to make room for the next shipment.'' 
 Visitors... 
 `` Please, tell me you're here to do something about the dust.'' 
 The dust; the haze that covered the camp and left a greasy film on any undisturbed surfaces. 
 I brushed some from my sleeve and replied with more confidence, 
 `` Ja, our orders are to relieve the housekeepers and assist in maintaining the camp's furnaces.'' 
 This seemed to please her. 
 `` Very gut. You will report to me every morning at 0700 hours and assist in collecting our visitors for their departure.'' 
 `` Since we've begun, we ca n't seem to keep the cleanliness of the camp in order. You have permission to have some of our more able-bodied guests assist you in keeping the barracks and offices clean. Take the sick, the children, and the elderly to the Facility for final departure. Leutnant Strummer will be able to answer any questions you may have. Dismissed.'' 
 
 I led my men back the way we came down to the building at the end of the street. 
 The ghosts were swarming around the foreboding Facility. A sweat broke in the small of my back and I brushed some more dust off my hand. It left a greasy smudge. 
 
 `` Leutnant Strummer, Leutnant Obermann reporting for duty. How may we be of assistance to you.'' 
 Strummer, a stocky, muscular specimen of a man, handsome even, barely looked up from the book he was reading at his desk. He pointed to some mops brooms assembled against the wall next to buckets and rags. 
 `` Sweep up Suites 1, 2, 4, and 7.'' 
 I was confused a little confused, but directed the others to do as we had been instructed. 
 We picked up the mops and brooms and followed the arrows painted on the floors to Suite 1. 
 
 The room smelled like bacon and... something else. There were mountains of dust on the floor that reached up to a meter towards the center of the large, cavernous room. 
 I divided the group into four squads and we began to sweep the dust in the corners towards the center of the room. 
 That's when I noticed the sound. Every step ellicited a soft crunch. This dust was not normal dust. 
 I stepped on something the size of a small marble. When I reached down to pick it up, I cried out in shock. 
 
 It was a gold tooth. 
 
 Then, it occurred to me that our dustpans were slotted. 
 Useless for collecting dust. 
 
 
 The'visitors' who had passed us earlier were not being'dismissed'. 
 The'dust' was not the dust that comes from years of inattention. 
 The others began to come up with more: gold teeth, jewelry, glass eyes, lockets... 
 
 As I held the gold in my hands a gust of wind kicked up a puff of dust and I heard what sounded like a child crying. But she sounded like she was a thousand miles away. 
 The ghosts were born here and they did not leave. 
 I knelt down and began to sob. I heard someone vomit. 
 
 *Mein Got. * 
 
 *They did n't train us for this. *
