Chapter 7 – The Stars go Out
Kyubey sits high on the branches of a tree, swaying his tail, his ears blowing in the wind as he watches Kiev burn. Huge plumes of smoke billow into the sky and curtains of ash and dust fall; blanketing the ground with a sickening carpet of grey. Cinders dance through the air as fire consumes the once beautiful downtown districts; their orange glow reflected like a mirror within Kyubeys emotionless, unblinking pink eyes.
Amid the destruction of the Soviet Union's third largest city Iryna stands within the blown out, charred and collapsed shell that used to be a popular department store. There’s nothing left as she looks down at scraps of ruined furniture and carpet coated in black steaming dust. Then, as she sifts her hand through the burnt remains she hears Anastasia call out for her from over a ridge of debris.
With a single bound Iyna clears the rubble to immediately assist Anastasia in lifting a huge piece of fallen masonry. It must be a crazy sight to see two teenage girls almost effortlessly lift such a large object and toss it aside; however both Magical Girls have been very careful to avoid drawing unwanted attention as they search the ruins for any survivors that may have been missed. Indeed below the collapse Anastasia has located the body of a man, caked in thick dust and dried brown blood, his clothes torn and burnt. They both quickly realise he’s long since dead, and there was almost certainly no chance they could have gotten to him in time. At the very least however his body might be recovered for his family, if they survive that is.
“Sorry Iryna, I thought I had one.” Anastasia sighs, sitting down in the ash against what was once a doorframe.
“It’s ok. I don’t know if we’ll find anyone else today. We did our best.” Iryna replies comfortingly, moving to sit by the side of her Russian friend. Ever since the war truly made it to the city both girls have been secretly working together to rescue and assist citizens under threat and in danger from the enemy. Now however that seems like a fruitless endeavour, as just a few short days ago Kiev officially surrendered to the German army.
It was almost two months ago that this terrible war began for the Soviet Union and since then Kiev has been subjected to daily bombardments and air attacks. Despite this however for most of those months; life within the city remained shockingly normal. The water and electricity was on until recently and even the tram service was running for a surprisingly long time. The city was incredibly busy though as thousands upon thousands of soldiers, police and even the naval infantry arrived on massive truck convoys and on every train. Anyone who wasn’t called up to fight or build defences in the city outskirts stayed doing their normal jobs however, something Irynas father Yosyp was pleased to do, as his position at the factory was deemed too important to leave.
In the early days many people were confident the invading army would be stopped, or at least slowed down by the USSR’s great defensive wall – The Stalin Line. This incredible network of fortifications, concrete bunkers, machine gun emplacements, minefields, trenches, barbed wire and tank traps stretched some sixty kilometres long in the Kiev Fortified Region alone and would deal a crippling blow to the German advance. At least that’s what people hoped. The enemy broke through the line in just four days.
Details about the war were understandably scarce among the population, information was withheld and state propaganda flowed loudly. Luckily however thanks to Anastasia's connections within the NKVD she was easily able to acquire knowledge no one else could. The fighting in western Ukraine was fierce and many Soviet lives had been lost. According to reports it was a constant back-and-forth, a relentless struggle for every inch of land as the Germans pushed forward.
The enemy crossed the Irpin River in July and took the city of Uman in August. Then in early September the Germans encircled Kiev itself, unable to enter the city due to Soviet forces destroying the bridges crossing the Dnieper. It was here that things truly changed as artillery shells blasted the inner city while fighting raged in the outer suburbs. For days both Iryna and Anastasia did whatever they could to help the war effort, without giving away their identity as Magical Girls. They ran ammunition, patched up wounded men and delivered messages up and down the line.
Even with battle all around them; the girls soon realised however that Witches don’t take a break to let humans destroy one another. In fact the number of Witches drawn to the suffering in Kiev only increased, thus it had been a very difficult time for the two lone Magical Girls as they fought both monsters simultaneously. If anything good had come from this ceaseless endeavour though; it had been the bonding of Iryna and Anastasia together into a firm team. Disaster makes for strong allies and any hatred the once-Tsarina held for her Jewish comrade had long since given way.
Nobody was quite sure how it happened, even Anastasia's informants, but the enemy somehow made it across the river into the city proper and after several days of brutal fighting the decision was announced to surrender Kiev. The Germans had succeeded in killing over 700,000 Soviet soldiers and capturing 600,000 more in the single largest military encirclement in history. The invaders soon went about claiming their prize as they set up headquarters and facilities throughout the city, including overtaking Anastasia's hotel home. Despite this however it would seem the strong and unbroken people of Kiev would never give in, and as soon as the first Nazi flag flew over the city so to did the first acts of rebellion begin.
It is because of these acts of sabotage and arson that the city still burns now, as partisan fighters and undefeated citizens attack the Germans at every turn. Only a few days ago did the enemy face one of the most spectacular act of resistance; when NKVD officers placed and detonated several gigantic radio mines within the city. The German rear headquarters was annihilated, along with Ginzburg House, The Dormition Cathedral and a huge swath of the city centre. Many lives were lost, both Ukrainian and German, however it was surely a grand sign of Soviet resistance and resolve even against impossible odds.
“It’s getting dark. We should head back.” Anastasia moans quietly. She's right; and it’s probably best not to be out after nightfall. So after getting up and patting themselves down of dirt and debris the teenagers clamber out of the ruined building to begin making their way through empty, destroyed streets littered with rubble and mangled vehicles towards the place they both call home now.
Irynas apartment building had been destroyed in an air raid some weeks ago, and while luckily most of her family was elsewhere at the time, her old grandmother was not so fortunate and perished when the tower collapsed. Since then the Solomiya family, as well as several others, and Anastasia have been living in a cramped cellar below an as of yet untouched post office.
Every now and then the girl hears the loud thud of explosions and gunfire going off in the distance. When the Germans took over many citizens of Kiev had been effectively enslaved by the invaders and forced into tasks of hard labour. The worst task of all has undoubtedly been the clearing of Soviet landmines from the ruins and these violent bursts which rattle the street as the pair walk, only signal another poor soul whose luck must have run out.
After a few minutes of hushed walking, sneaking through back streets and past observation posts the two girls reach home. It’s a far cry from the luxury Anastasia once knew but the dank and musky basement is at the very least large and stable enough to house plenty of homeless, helpless people and their belongings. Not that the Solomiya family has any belongings left, that is, they lost everything when their previous home was destroyed. Anastasia meanwhile only managed to save one thing of her own, her most cherished treasure; a chest containing over fifteen grief seeds. At least the Magical Girls won’t be risking their soul gems corrupting any time soon.
Upon venturing down into the underground hide away Iryna is met by her brother Melik and little sister Nina who are playing a game of chess, the boy had been teaching his sibling for a few months now and she’d become quite fascinated by it. Further inside the cellar rests at least twenty other Kiev residents, people Iryna had never met before they all took refuge below the streets. All about the cramped hovel rest people sleeping on sacks or drying their damp clothes. One man, the only non-Jew down here, shaves his beard into a dirty tin of water while his wife sobs in anguish in the corner. Among the crowd, clustered around a dimly lit oil lamp sits Diana and Angelina, cuddling for warmth as their stew cooks over a small fire nearby.
Despite their situation they are both, unsurprisingly, smiling. A somewhat unnerving sight to be sure which even puts Anastasia on edge. She understands why Iryna was so concerned when she first found out the consequences of her wish now. It’s disturbing how positive her family is even after their father’s disappearance. Soon after the Germans had captured the city they had ordered the arrest of all fighting age men and Yosyp, unfortunately was not one of the few who managed to escape. He hasn’t been seen since. Irynas sure he’s long dead by now. It's truly been a terrible time for everyone; however there’s nothing to be done now other than settle in for another cold, uncomfortable and fear filled night. Iryna and Anastasia take a seat by the furthest wall of the cellar overlooking almost everyone down here before they pull a tattered and threadbare sheet over their legs ready to get some rest.
“How did it ever come to this Anastasia?” Iryna asks softly.
“You talk to God, what does he say?” Anastasia replies with a slight cheeky grin.
“Ha! He’s been strangely quiet recently. Hey, what about Kyubey? I haven’t seen that fur-ball in ages.”
“Maybe the Germans shot him... Do you think they have any Magical Girls?” Anastasia questions; genuinely curious as she never really considered the possibility.
“If this whole thing is someone’s messed up wish then Kyubey really fucked up.” Iryna laughs with a smile.
“Oh Kyubey dear, please make Hitler love me!” Says Anastasia back in a mocking; overly feminine tone, gesturing wildly with her hands and closing her eyes tightly.
“I swear; that better not have happened. What did you say they are called again? Incubators? Ah, it’s just a sick joke at this point.” Laughs Iryna before the brief moment of levity fades away.
“Maybe… Let’s just get some sleep, yeah.” Sighs Anastasia with heavy, tired eyes.
Against their best efforts neither Iryna or Anastasia manage to find rest under their scratchy, horrible blankets, as not long after their arrival a great commotion begins somewhere across the basement hall, drawing their attention. It soon turns out that one of the young women living down here has found an intact case of expensive Russian liquor and she has begun distributing drinks around the crowd.
Before long, the cellar is practically bouncing with activity. It’s only to be expected that people want to drown their misery at this point, and the high quality alcohol is definitely assisting in that task. It would be wrong to call this impromptu gathering a party; but it does bring back strong memories to Iryna of listening to the people in her old village celebrating in the local tavern. Nobody here has saved any instruments, so there is no music; however after a while of sorrowful revelry, someone within the mass begins singing a tune out loud, soon joined by a chorus of other voices.
It’s an incredible sight to behold, Anastasia thinks to herself, as the basement is filled with the sounds of singing. It’s even more amazing to her when Iryna also joins in, singing softly, very quietly, almost whispering along to the traditional Jewish folk song “Hava Nagila”. It’s a merry song, something that sounds like it should be booming and energetic, and while the people across the way indeed belt the tune out boisterously, Iryna hasn’t the heart to do so. She can see her mother and sisters standing with the swaying crowd, only unable to dance due to the lack of space. Iryna can’t help but wonder if their engagement with the sudden merriment is only a factor of her wish or if they would have done so anyway. Does it really matter in the end?
As Anastasia watches the scene unfold; watches as men and women who have lost everything smile even at the very worst of times, she can’t help but feel incredibly ashamed. She sees no thieves down here, no parasites. These people who she was raised to hate so terribly are no vile monster at all. A wave of emotion rocks over the Russian girl drawing tears to her eyes. She has something to ask Iryna, something she’s been meaning to say for a while. Perhaps now is the best time.
“Hey, Iryna… Listen. I’m going to be leaving Kiev later tonight. I’d really like you to come with me.” Anastasia says quietly as to not draw any unwanted attention.
“What?! Where is this coming from? Why?” Iryna cries with shock. She had no idea Anastasia was planning such a thing.
“We’ve done all we can here. With our powers we’re wasted digging through rubble for the dead. We can get across the German lines and make a real difference, cause chaos in their war machine!” The young Russian explains.
“I can’t abandon these people?” Iryna sighs as she looks at everyone down here with them.
“The fastest way to end this suffering is to destroy the enemy. We can’t do that if we hide away underground.” Anastasia says confidently.
“Yeah… you’re right. I know that. But I can’t leave my family behind. I have to stay with them, no matter what. I’ll do what I can for as long as I can but… I have to stay. I’m sorry Anastasia.”
“Well… I had to ask.” Anastasia sighs as she takes hold of Irynas hand below the covers, a soft warm feeling growing between the pair. “I want to apologise. When we first met I was… very rude to you and your people. I was wrong. I don’t know what my mother was talking about all those years but… You never stole anything from me. You Jews are good people, Iryna.”
“Well I’ll admit; I never expected you to stick around. I thought the moment things got hard you’d take your money and run. I’m glad you didn’t. Then again you were protecting Kiev long before I got here so… you’re a good person as well Anastasia. Thank you.” Iryna replies softly. Both girls lean against one another, breathing gently as they watch the singing and dancing going on in the dimming light of the basement. They feel happy for maybe the first time since the war began and smile as they drift into a gentle sleep.
The following morning Iryna awakens slowly, her face illuminated by the still burning oil lamp sitting in the middle of the cellar. Anastasia is gone, having left sometime while Iryna was asleep. While Iryna feels saddened that she never got a chance to say goodbye, she knows it’s probably for the best that they parted so easily. She’s happy she made at least one friend in Kiev, and she knows wherever Anastasia ends up she will make a difference, as she said she would.
As the young girl's eyes slowly adjust she notices movement across the room. An elderly man shuffles past the sleeping bodies and piles of belongings on the dirt floor as he makes his way towards the stairs. He’s clearly struggling, with a pronounced limp and an unstable wobble to his step. He’s probably going to use the restroom in the post office above ground; it’s far too crowded down here for such business. Taking pity Iryna throws the blankets off her body and rushes to assist the gentlemen up the slippery cold stone stairs to the surface. He smiles kindly, warming Irynas spirit against the early morning chill.
Upon reaching the street however both Iryna and her elderly friend notice a gathering of people around the post office front door. They all look nervous, some shiver and cry while others comfort them, and yet more stare forward blankly in disbelief. Iryna doesn’t know what they are all looking at, but as she makes her way through the growing crowd she spots a notice posted on the office window which had been put up not long ago by the Ukrainian police.
“All Yids of the city of Kiev and its vicinity must appear on Monday, 29 September, by 8 o'clock in the morning at the corner of Mel'nikova and Dokterivskaya streets (near the Viis'kove cemetery). Bring documents, money and valuables, and also warm clothing, linen, etc. Any Yids who do not follow this order and are found elsewhere will be shot. Any civilians who enter the dwellings left by Yids and appropriate the things in them will be shot.” The notice says, written in Russian, Ukrainian and German. A shock overcomes Iryna as she reads the neatly typed up words, her grip tightening around the old man's frail, shaking hand. Maybe she should have gone with Anastasia after all. Whatever the Germans have planned can not be good, she worries.
Hours later, long after nightfall, Iryna slowly crawls out of the ditch that her body had been discarded into earlier that day. She claws at tufts of grass and roots as she drags herself over rocks and through churned up sludge pooled with blood, her naked body a patchwork of pale, ice white skin and thick clots of congealed muck. The smell all around is unbearable and an endless swarm of flies buzz about feasting on the countless carcasses that lay behind the distraught child’s sorry path.
Iryna eventually crests a small mound and rolls out of sight of the other edge of the large ravine, landing upon her back and facing up towards the empty, starless, pitch black sky. As she does so; her body wretches and heaves as her stomach gives out and she vomits up its vile contents, mostly thick brown blood but also her shining, undamaged and perfect soul gem, which lands in the stinking pool next to the exhausted girl. She had swallowed the ring in order to prevent the Germans from taking it. It was a desperate move, but it looks to have worked.
Across the open pit Iryna can hear the sounds of her would be German murderers celebrating, partying and drinking despite the horrors they had unleashed upon this place only hours before. The girl can not yet speak as a gaping wound in her neck is still slowly healing. Luckily she has since discovered that Magical Girls don’t seem to need to breathe, nor feel any pain. What Iryna does feel however; is despair, immense, all consuming, soul destroying despair.
Earlier this morning she had tried to tell her family not to listen to the posters, to run and hide, to do anything but obey the Germans. She begged them to the point of tears but, as she most dreaded, they could not fight back. They would not fight back, and so the Solomiyas, at least what was left of them, went with a smile, hand in hand to join the amassing group of Kiev Jews as instructed. Iryna remembers the scene well; a sea of faces without end. There were a few men here and there, but mostly the crowd was made up of the elderly, women and children. There were so, so many children, she thought. Most people cried, others merely switched off in disbelief. Some tried to run; they were shot.
It seems even their captors were surprised at the number of people who heeded their call as over 33,000 soon descended upon the designated meeting spot carrying everything they could hold. A rumour was going around that the Jews were to be re-settled somewhere out of the city, that they were just being moved and that was why they were at the train station. Iryna had heard several Germans passing by in a car call out to the crowd that the first train had already left and they shouldn’t be late. Quite upsettingly it seems Diana had believed this false statement and only quickened her pace, dragging young Nina and Noam along with her.
After a while the crying mass of people were led out of town into the forest where their Jewery was confirmed. Iryna saw a few individuals who were not Jews get turned away from the checkpoint, forced to return to the city. She wasn’t sure if she envied them or not, but it was at this point that she fully decided that she had to go with her family no matter what. It was increasingly obvious to her now that they weren’t going to be relocated. If after all this time this was to be Irynas punishment for her sinful wish; she must bear it and see it through.
It wasn’t long before everyone arrived at their final destination; a deep ravine cutting into the earth known as Babi Yar. It was all so incredibly well organised, overseen by both the invading Germans and collaborating Ukrainian police. The men were taken in one direction, the women in the other and that was the last time Iryna would ever see her brothers again. Even as she wept and shook with fear they went with a smile and a sickening jaunt in their young step. They never fought back.
From here all the women in her group, her mother and sisters included, were pushed by fellow Ukrainians wielding batons or holding back dogs towards several stations where they were commanded to hand over any possessions, any valuables and eventually; to disrobe all together. There were even separate piles for individual articles of clothing. It was such a crazy, unimaginable form of heartless, bureaucratic cruelty. Before long the entire clearing was an ocean of stark naked, shivering and terrified people, some covering what they could, others too afraid to even move. At some point; one of the German guards must have noticed Angelina as he picked her out from the writhing crowd and dragged her off into the bushes, far out of sight. Iryna wanted to reach out to her, to stop him, but she knew there was no hope.
Even if Iryna had transformed here and now, what would she do? She could kill a few Germans, free some of the prisoners, but then what? More would come, they would always come, and Iryna would have no way of protecting the tens of thousands of people being led to their deaths. She could run away, break out and flee, but just knowing that she’d left all these people to die was not something she could face. If the Solomiyas were to meet their end in the ravine Iryna would go with them.
And so after hours of waiting in line, of hearing gunshots ring out endlessly, of listening to soft quiet cries and painful wails of anguish, after watching her mother and sisters be laid down flat on top of a pile of already feted, stinking dead bodies at the floor of the ravine; it was Irynas turn. She was lain down like the others, face flat to the back of some poor woman’s shattered skull, and as she closed her eyes and whispered one last prayer to the Lord; her neck was obliterated by a single rifle shot, the man who had fired it only continuing on, walking literally on top of the layers of bodies to shoot the girl next to her.
Iryna wouldn’t be the last, far from it. In total the Germans had massacred somewhere over 20,000 people on this day and they still weren’t finished. Even as Iryna lay bleeding out, and being buried under the next layer of doomed victims she knew that this would never end, that tomorrow there would be more killing here, until all of Kiev's Jews had been exterminated.
Eventually Iryna would pass out, maybe from the pressure, maybe she just gave up, but by the time she awoke and began feeling the hole in her neck start to close she could no longer hear any gunshots, any screaming. All around her on all sides were the dead; her own naked body having long since been drenched in the life blood of countless individuals, of mothers, daughters and sisters, of the young and the old, of all kinds of people with only one thing linking them together: their Jewish heritage. Normal people, innocent people.
Hours passed before Iryna found the strength within her to begin digging past the rotting corpses of people she never knew. Her own family is buried somewhere along with them, deep in the mound, undetectable. Her male counterparts have surely met the same fate somewhere nearby. It takes all night before Iryna breaches the surface and by then the Germans and their Ukrainian henchmen have absconded to camps close by, waiting to begin tomorrow’s executions. Some of them are surely proud of their achievements here today, these hellish, evil achievements.
Iryna comes to once again, still laying on her back, her neck almost fully healed as she stares blankly up into the moonless sky. By her side her soul gem has grown almost as dark, with deep inky torrents of black and purple swirling around in the small stone, devouring nearly any hint of blue. Iryna hasn’t the spirit to even cry, there is no point. She’s unsure why she even climbed out of that pit having committed herself to perishing along with her family. There has to be a reason; instinct, self preservation, something deep down within her she ponders as her soul begins to tear itself apart.
Then, at the very last moment before Irynas soul gem shatters completely a shivering hand places an empty grief seed against its glass surface, absorbing all the darkness within and restoring the gem to its normal, vibrant blue glow. Iryna looks up with empty eyes to see Anastasia knelt down next to her. She attempts to speak up but only receives a quick shush from the crying girl in response.
“Don’t talk, they might hear us. Use your telepathy. Iryna I… I don’t even know what to say.” Anastasia says with her mental powers. “I overheard some Germans talking about what happened here so I came back as fast as I could. I’m so sorry. I should have stayed with you. We could have done something!” She continues; her face contorting as she breaks down over the statue still body of Iryna.
“There was nothing we could have done. Nothing… nothing…” Iryna sends back hopelessly.
“You’re wrong! There is so much we can do!” Anastasia cries within her mind as she looks out over the body filled ravine, a thick layer of mist creeping over the corpses as innumerous insects swarm all over. It’s a sight that almost brings her to vomiting as well, however her attention is suddenly grabbed when Iryna takes a steady hold of Anastasia's freezing left hand.
“What are we going to do? Where are we going to go?” Iryna begs.
“We… We’ll go wherever we’re needed… and we’ll make them pay for this. We’ll make people know what happened here. Iryna I promise you! They won’t get away with it!” Anastasia states with a powerful, determined tone, her eyes narrowing with burning anger and resolve. Indeed her fury even empowers the crippled and defeated Iryna. Having no reason to stay and die here, the pair might as well join forces once again and do whatever they must. If they have to defeat the enemy, they will, if they have to force people to remember this crime against humanity they will do that also. Whatever it takes, from here on out.
Gently Anastasia sits the nude Iryna up and uses her magic to summon a warm, embroidered blanket for the girl until she can bring herself to transform. After checking that the coast is clear she carefully and quietly leads the way into the woods and far away from the massacre at Babi Yar.