“Easy now, tough guy,” said Abelard. “They always fight, but they never win. You’ll be no different from the rest.”
Abelard continued applying the liquid as he and the other soldiers laughed derisively.
“They say it’s less painful if you don’t fight it,” he added. “Yet to be seen. Anyway, as always, the pleasure will be all mine,” he added, and there was more laughter.
Günter started sobbing and whimpering in desperation and resignation.
“So, I’d suggest you relax,” he said, grabbing hold of Günter’s butt cheeks with both hands, “and enjoy yourself.”
More laughter erupted. And the last string of Günter’s will snapped. The floodgates to the deepest recesses of his psyche opened. He relived his worst nightmares and deepest fears a thousand-fold in a flash. His day turned to night, his strength to weakness, his anger morphed to calmness and his resistance to surrender. In that moment, he felt dead to his past and future. He felt dead to his beliefs and ideologies. He felt dead to his purpose in life, and life felt dead to him. Günter was now a new creation. He had experienced a complete rebirth; not the fake kind the church teaches, but one that was true. In that instant, he was a man torn down and rebuilt. He had just gone through his crucifixion, just like the one he once called his Lord and Savior. And just like the one he once called his Lord and Savior, he had resurrected as a new person with a new mind, a new heart, and a new purpose.
“Yes,” he whispered.
Dr. Klaus held up a hand for Abelard to halt.
“What did you say?” the doctor asked.
“Yes,” Günter repeated, “I will join you.”
The doctor inched his face closer to Günter’s. He lifted Günter’s chin so that he could look at Günter in the eye. He saw what he was looking for. These were not the same eyes of the soldier who was captured more than a week ago. These were the eyes of someone who had been broken down and reborn into a new world.
“Let him go,” Klaus ordered the soldiers.
“But Herr Dokter, are you sure you want us to-” one of the soldiers began saying.
“I said let him go… NOW!” Klaus barked again.
The soldiers obliged and stood a few paces away from the table. Klaus was still on one knee in front of Günter.
“Give me your pistol,” Klaus stretched out a hand towards one of the soldiers without taking his eyes off Günter.
“Dokter-” said the soldier.
“Damn you, soldier! I will not repeat myself again!” Klaus’ voice was nearing anger.
The soldier unstrapped his holster, removed his weapon and handed it over to Klaus. Klaus took the luger, checked the magazine and handed it to Günter, who was still hanging off the table. Günter looked from Klaus, to the gun and back to Klaus. Klaus took Günter’s left hand, placed the gun in it and stood up. Günter held the gun in his left hand, with a finger on the trigger. Then, after a few seconds, Günter spun the gun around to hold it at the barrel. He was too weak to lift his hand and return the luger, but Klaus understood the gesture. Klaus took the luger from Günter and returned it to the soldier.
“Get him cleaned up and taken him to the infirmary!” Klaus instructed and left the chamber.
Günter was then taken to a bathroom, and two nurses gave him a long warm bath. He was then clothed and fed. His wounds and injuries were tended to, and four days later, his strength began to return. He was now one of them, one of the Nazis. He was still unsure of why they had gone through all that effort to turn him, but that was irrelevant. On the fifth day, he was lying on the bed, resting but not sleeping and one of the nurses came in to let him know he had a visitor. This nurse was his favorite. On two separate occasions, she had provided other services to him that were not exactly on her list of daily duties, he believed, and those services were greatly appreciated.
Günter half-opened his eyes and heard the visitor thank the nurse as she held the door open for him. He thought he recognized that voice and it made his jaw drop. Günter bolted upright and sat on the side of the bed. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind at the same time. It was impossible! They said he was dead! They said there was no way he could have escaped. But here he was, standing in front of Günter in the flesh with the same smile he had seen over a decade ago.
“Hello Günter,” said Fr. Andrew. “Congratulations on making the right choice!”
And then, Fr. Andrew’s eyes glowed.
***
Günter pushed himself from the car and rubbed his temples. He still had the coin in his right hand. He paced slowly along the car to increase blood flow to his lower limbs. Günter glanced at his watch. His supremacy and confidant should be coming out any moment from now, he thought. He resumed flipping the coin. His supremacy was, no doubt, an enigma. Fr. Andrew, and Dr. Klaus had tasked him to accomplish. Günter was ‘the best of his kind,’ Fr. Andrew had said, and he had no intentions of disappointing Fr. Andrew.
He turned around in time to see one of the priests by the entrance to the building make his way towards him. The priest stopped in mid-step as he realized that Günter had seen him coming and gave a thumbs-up. Günter returned the gesture and struck an erect posture facing the door, waiting for his boss and confidant to emerge from the building. But only his boss came out. The priests standing guard gave curt nods as Father Supreme walked past them. Günter walked around the car just in time to open the door for his supremacy to smoothly slide into the back seat. He closed the door and quickly walked back to the driver’s seat.
“Where to, your supremacy?” Günter asked when his boss stayed silent.
More silence followed until his boss said, “To the base!”
“Aye, boss!” Günter replied and started the car.
It was just the two of them in the car, and he wrestled with the idea that this could be a perfect opportunity to execute his orders. Günter was confident he could take on his boss. The man, Günter assumed, must rusty after being away from the field for so long. They were of about the same height and build. But Günter thought it was going to be an unfair fight. And, of course, by unfair he meant it would be cake walk for Günter.
Günter also entertained the possibility that it could also be a trap. Four of them came to the building, and only two of them were heading back to the base. He felt panic started to well up inside of him, but he forced himself to calm down. It could not be a trap! They would not let the most powerful man in the underworld ride alone with him, just to lure him into a trap. The order had more efficient ways of exposing a rat than this. So, no! It was not a trap, meaning his cover was still intact.
“Sir, may I ask you something please?” Günter almost stammered. Good show, by the way, he thought.
“Speak, son!” replied his boss.
“Is everything alright?” Günter asked. And who does he think he is calling me ‘son’? he thought. The man does not even look like he is past forty-five and he calls me ‘son’? How disrespectful!
“Why do you ask?” his boss asked calmly.
“Well, sir, the four of us got to the Vatican, and now it’s just the two of us leaving. Plus, you want me to take you straight to the base,” Günter proceeded cautiously. “It just aroused my curiosity, and that’s why I asked. I mean no disrespect, sir and if I’m speaking out of term, then I deeply apologize,” he added.
“You are right, Günter,” his supremacy said after a few heartbeats and Günter was certain he detected a hint of warmth in his boss’ voice. “It is odd! Good observation, by the way. I could not have expected any less from one of our best.”
“Thank you, sir,” Günter pretended to beam with pride.
“That is why you and I are going on this mission!” his boss added.
Günter almost lost control of the wheel.
“Sir,” he began, but his throat felt dry, and he could barely contain his excitement. And opportunity comes a-calling, he thought to himself.
“Yes?” his boss prompted.
“I
cannot find the words, sir,” Günter could genuinely not contain his excitement.
He was going on a mission with the most powerful man in the underworld. Finally! Talk about the perfect scenario! He would go on a mission with his boss, finish the task and his boss would be caught in an unfortunate and tragic accident. Word on the underworld streets was that his supremacy had never failed in any mission and had never lost a soldier under his command in a mission. Except for just that one time that he lost someone very dear to him.
“I would choose no other, Günter,” he said.
“Thank you so much, sir!” Günter replied. “So, what are we taking out, your supremacy?” he asked. “Sinisters?”
“No,” replied his boss.
Günter did not know the basics of the mission, but he thought he might have an idea. He would have to adapt. He could let his boss and their enemy wear each other out before jumping in for the kill? Yes! That was it. He would become an even bigger hero in the Order and who knows, many years down the line, he could even become Father Supreme. By that time, the Nazis would be ruling, not just all of Europe, but the whole world. He smiled at the thought but had to mentally slap himself back to reality and focus on his driving.
They hit the long country road towards Milan where the base was located. A small jet, fully equipped to take on the latest military jets and could fly at top speed, was already prepped and waiting for them. Father Supreme issued some orders to the base commander, who thought Father Supreme was a cardinal from the Vatican in need of some discrete services from the O.R. Fifteen minutes later, Günter and his boss boarded the private jet and took off for France.
CHAPTER TEN: AMBUSHED
The flight into France was smooth. They landed in a small village in Cote d’Or located in the Bourgogne region. The full moon hid behind thick clouds, but the pilot was good at his job. Günter and Father Supreme had replaced their cassocks and shirts with black tee shirts and black, bulletproof jackets. Günter packed some toys in his bag but noticed that his boss had no weapons on him. This mission was getting stranger by the minute, he thought as he heaved his backpack over his shoulders while the plane taxied to a stop.
“Refuel in Paris,” Father Supreme spoke to the pilot as he opened the door to jump out of the craft. “We’ll meet you there in about an hour!”
“Yes, Sir!” replied the pilot.
Such confidence! Günter thought.
Günter wondered how they would get from Cote D’Or to Paris in two hours, even by car! They were over a hundred kilometers from Paris. He shrugged off the thought, reminding himself that his boss would not be making it to Paris anyway. The pilot waited for both men to walk away from the jet before going airborne. Günter and Father Supreme were left in near-pitch blackness, with no sign of life or habitation for as far as the eyes and ears could fathom in such darkness. There were some trees scattered here and there, but the rest of the area was covered with grass that was about thirty-five centimeters tall.
“This way!” ordered his boss.
Günter followed him into the field, away from the road, and towards a small cluster of trees. They walked for about six minutes before his boss suddenly stopped. Günter nearly walked into him. Father Supreme scanned the area with his eyes and cocked an ear in the air as if listening to something in the wind.
“He’s here, isn’t he, sir?” whispered Günter.
“Get ready!” his boss ordered. “They’re here!”
“They?” Günter asked, still in a whisper and then realized what his boss meant.
Günter dropped his back pack to the ground, opened it and dug in. He pulled out two silver pistols fully loaded with silver-nitrate-tipped bullets and stuffed the guns in separate hip holsters. He then took out four more clips, each containing two dozen silver-nitrate-tipped bullets. Upon impact, the bullet tips would explode, releasing its contents into the victim. Holy water was useless against the Bright Eyes. Günter then took out two daggers, each with silver six-inch blades and strapped each knife to his each of his outer thighs.
Günter contemplated on what to use in taking out his boss: a knife in the back of a neck or a bullet to the brain? He knew he was safe from the Bright Eyes. They had orders not to harm him. If it came to it, he would have to kill a few of them to protect his cover. It would be a very small price to pay for such a great victory and Fr. Andrew had agreed. Father Supreme looked at his phosphorescent hands of his watch.
“Now,” he said, sitting at the base of a tree and leaning against it, “we wait.”
Günter joined him and sat facing the other direction. While they waited, Günter’s mind drifted back to the day Fr. Andrew had joined him in his room at the Nazi camp.
***
“Fr. Andrew?” he stammered and swallowed. “But… How come? I thought…”
“I was dead?” Fr. Andrew asked rhetorically.
“Yes,” Günter spoke almost to himself.
“Yes, Günter, I died,” Fr. Andrew said. “I did fall off that cliff, but that wasn’t all.”
He stepped further into the room and Günter backed away from him. Fr. Andrew raised his hand, to indicate that he meant no harm, and sat on a chair across from Günter. His smile never left his face.
“But you’re a Bright Eye!” Günter almost spat out.
Instinctively, Günter switched to kill mode. He thought this was another phase of his torture.
“Before you try anything stupid,” Fr. Andrew said, “remember I designed the training techniques to kill… us.”
He paused to let the implications of his statement sink in and for Günter to adjust mentally to the fact that Fr. Andrew had used the word ‘us.’
“I work with the Nazis now,’ he continued. “My death was not an accident, and we have a mission for you if you can spare me a moment of your time?”
Günter felt as if he was back in prison and Fr. Andrew was recruiting him again.
“You do know how to find your way to a man’s mind, don’t you Father,” Günter smiled, relaxed and let his legs hang freely over the edge of the bed.
Günter still had a lot of respect for Fr. Andrew, Bright Eye or not. The man practically was his savior.
“Better than the alternative, right?” Fr. Andrew said.
“And what would that alternative be, Father?” Günter asked a little puzzled.
“Forget I said that,” Fr. Andrew replied, brushing off Günter’s puzzlement.
“As you wish,” Günter replied, smiling at the same time and then he added. “It’s good to see you again, Father!”
“It’s good to see you too, Günter,” Fr. Andrew replied, and both men stood up and hugged each other before returning to their seats.
“So, what do you mean by your death was not an accident, Father?” Günter asked finally.
“You know how Father Supreme and I go on missions sometimes, right?” he asked.
“Yes, I do,” replied Günter.
“So, we both went on this mission. We had some intel that the lair of the sinisters’ leader had been located; somewhere near Stonehenge of all places. Four of us went to check it out, but we were ambushed on the way by ten Bright Eyes. Easy number for the four of us to handle, right? We did take care of them, but here’s what happened. During the fight, we, your boss and I, stood at the edge of the cliff together. The plan was to lure the remaining creatures to the cliff’s edge and let gravity do the rest. Besides, sunrise was due at any moment. Do you know what Father Supreme did at the very last moment?”
Günter thought he detected a glint of anger in his eyes.
“He pushed you off?” Günter asked nonchalantly.
“That would’ve been too obvious,” Fr. Andrew replied. “A luper leaped for him. But instead of just stepping off the luper’s path, he synced with the luper’s momentum. That is, he caught the luper by the neck. He dropped to the ground but not before placing his leg on the luper’s hip. He knew I was right behind him. So, as he flung the luper backward. I was too
slow to react as the luper’s body crashed into mine. A chuper was attacking me at the same time. The three of us fell off the edge of the cliff. The last thing I remembered before I blacked out was sharp fangs piercing my neck and a deep sense of loss.”
He paused to calm himself before he continued.
“I won’t bore you with the details of my transformation. But I will say I have never felt more alive and stronger!”
Fr. Andrew’s eyes flashed as he said this and Günter had to admit, now that he was not afraid anymore, it was amazing seeing his recruiter’s eyes flash like that.
“My God!” Günter exclaimed silently, staring as if hypnotized by Fr. Andrew.
“And now, the kiss of death,” Fr. Andrew broke the spell with those words and when he saw how confused Günter looked, he burst out laughing. “I just mean now I bite you and turn you into a Bright Eye,” his smile returned.
“I like your new sense of humor, Father,” Günter said.
“Come!” Fr. Andrew motioned to Günter. “I must brief you on your mission now.”
Günter got up from the bed and followed his former recruiter. They made a left turn and walked along a corridor that had labs on each side and a few people, most likely scientists, who seemed to be engaged in some kinds of experiments. They then made a right turn and stepped into an elevator. Fr. Andrew hit the B5 button, and the elevator jerked to life, making a slow but steady descent.
“We’re working with the Nazis to build an army of Bright Eyes,” Andrew explained.
“But you can’t survive in daylight,” interjected Günter. “So, does that mean you’ll be fighting the war only at night?”
“It is true that daylight is our biggest weakness and we could fight the war only at night,” answered Fr. Andrew. “But there is an even greater problem. Our numbers cannot exceed a hundred and forty-four; that is, seventy-two lupers and seventy-two chupers. For every Bright Eye that dies, a new Bright Eye can be spawned. But once the threshold is reached, no Bright Eye can be spawned.”
The Bright Eyes (The Soulless Ones Book 1) Page 8