Marta hesitated, but eventually unattached herself from Ezra. She sat down in the chair Isiah pulled out and let him look at her arm. Just by the way her wrist bent, she knew it was broken. But Marta didn't care about that. She let her eyes rest on the mark that sat a few inches above her wrist. It was disgusting, a horrible mark that would forever live on her skin. Marta truly began to understand how Ezra felt with the same mark brandishing his chest. Marta wanted to rip her arm out from it's socket, just so she didn't have to look at it. Not being able to stand the sight anymore, she looked away. 

Isiah didn't have enough supplies to properly clean her wound, so he settled with pouring water over it, which even that hurt an insane amount and then wrapped it carefully in a piece of cloth he ripped from his shirt. By that point, there was a knock at the door and Marta practically jumped out of her skin. She quickly returned to Ezra's side, fearing what was to come next. They were here to finish the job of torturing her. And they were undoubtedly going to punish Ezra. She clung to him, willing them the ability to become invisible in that moment. 

As Dan and a few other men entered the room, Marta's heart beating in her chest. She didn't know what was going to happen, but so far, only words were being thrown around. No one was ripping her from Ezra's arms, or holding a piece of iron hot metal to her skin. But she still couldn't trust a single soul in the room except Ezra and Isiah. When the men began to speak about Ezra becoming their new leader, Marta looked at Ezra. He seemed to be in as much shock as her. This was not the reaction he was expecting either. He probably assumed they would drag him from this room and shot him in the head for betraying their people. But they spoke as if what he did was the right choice. Marta didn't know Jeremiah was dead, but when she heard the news, she felt her blood run cold. She was unsure how to feel about his death. Marta didn't wish death on anyone, except Hitler and Oscar, and some days she believed she wanted Jeremiah dead. But now hearing that he was, it was confusing. He did help rescue them, but somehow it shifted and he became the enemy. Marta realized in that moment, this was almost part of Hitler's plan. He wasn't going to just destroy the Jewish people himself, he was going to watch as they did it to one another.

Marta knew then that Ezra needed to stay and be these men's leader, but not in the way they were hoping. He needed to help them realize that the battle would not be won with weapons and fists, but rather with intelligence and compassion. They would always be outnumbered, and the Germans would always have  the better weapon, so in order to win this, they had to fight back differently. They had to save whomever they could, create a path to freedom. Marta remembered learning once about a thing called the Underground Railroad in America. A time when people would help the African slaves escape and be free, hiding them in basements and small closets until they were safely in the northern states. This is the battle Ezra needed to create.

When Ezra encouraged her to get her arm checked, Marta hesitated. But she figured if they were going to hurt her or torture her, they would do it no matter what. So either it happened then or it happened later, so she walked over and let someone look at it. They first started by sanitizing the branding, Marta had to bite down hard on her tongue as the rubbing alcohol was poured over it. She almost passed out from the pain, but after a few moments the pain turned to a bit of relief. Next the man carefully wrapped her arms, using gauze and series of medal rods. He mumbled something about her needing to get a real cast, but by that point, Marta's focus shifted.

She heard Ezra begin to call out her name and she looked over and saw the panic in his eyes. He was becoming lost and Marta needed to go help him. She wouldn't let him lose the internal battle he was sure to face over the next few days or even weeks. The guilt would torture him, he had to come to terms with killing two men. Marta tried to pull away, but the medic wouldn't let her go until he finished with her arm. She was with horror as Ezra finally passed out. Finally being let go, she quickly ran over to Ezra's bed, kneeling down and using her good hand to run her fingers through his hair. She paid no attention to the looks the men in the room were giving her. They just couldn't understand how Ezra would choose a non-Jewish girl, but the sight before them started to make the picture become clearer.

Once they were alone, Marta got up from her knees and carefully crawled onto the bed, She lifted Ezra's head and placed it in her lap, much like the first night they met and Ezra had a panic attack. She slowly ran her fingers through his hair and hummed a song, not entirely sure of what song it was. She leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Come back to me" she whispered, it being the last thing she said to him on her birthday.