by Lee Rudnicki
You could hear a pin drop. The men were transfixed by his story. Especially Dieter.
“One fateful morning, we loaded wounded men onto transport planes at our last airfield, the Stalingradskaja flight school. Stretchers were laid out all over the frozen runway when the artillery barrage hit. It was terrible. Men were blasted to smithereens. There was no cover, so I put my life into God’s hands and kept loading wounded onto the planes. When Axel saw a young grenadier get cut down, he jumped out of his plane and took the rifle out of the dead boy’s hands. Then he started shooting at the Russians as fast as he could pull the trigger. He went full all-out berserk.”
“Full all-out berserk. Whoa.” Dieter was visibly impressed. He had a mental picture of the brave pilot standing on the wing of his aircraft and taking out his enemies with perfect aim from very far away.
“He fired his rifle at the Soviet artillery?” Wolf asked just to be sure he correctly understood the story.
“Yes. He shot like a madman at artillery that was nearly a kilometer away—it would have been easier to shoot down the fucking moon! That didn’t matter to Axel, he was too angry—a berserker in the true sense of the word. He proved that Luftwaffe pilots don’t have good brains or good aim. He shot me!”
The men were stunned.
“But it was a magic bullet—I had become one of the wounded men who we were trying to save. On 23 January 1943, Axel flew the last plane out of Stalingrad. And I was on it!”
The men gasped. Dieter clapped, as if he was at the theater. “That’s amazing,” he said.
“The truly amazing thing about a near death experience is that it changes your perception of the world forever. You suddenly appreciate the little things, the big things and everything in between. When we touched down in Germany, I felt as if I had been born again. Like I had been given a second chance at life.”
“That’s incredible, Pop,” Dieter said, visibly awed. He hadn’t heard this story before—it was the best one ever.
Then the old man’s expression became grim. “The men we left behind in Stalingrad were not so fortunate. The Russians marched 100,000 of them through the snow to Soviet prisons, most of them probably never to be seen again. Hitler publicly labeled Generalfeldmarschall Paulus a traitor for surrendering, but Paulus had no choice, you see. We were starving to death.”
“Axel saved your life,” Wolf said.
“He shot me in the ass!” Klaus replied, and the men roared with laughter.
32
Mysterious Ways
Sebastian aimed his rifle up the tunnel and listened intently. He breathed a sigh of relief when didn’t hear anything but the thump of his own heartbeat. He had lost his squad and he had lost Eva; but he had also lost the vampires.
A tap on his shoulder startled him. He spun around and instantly lowered his weapon. “You really need to stop doing that,” he said. “That’s the second time I almost shot you tonight.”
Eva smiled. Then she silently took his hand and led him down the tunnel. He was separated from the rest of the men, but he felt eerily calm in her presence. He didn’t exactly feel safe, but he trusted her.
Their journey ended in a large underground cavern that was filled with strange crypts. Haunting stone gargoyles and other winged creatures adorned the tombs.
Sebastian took a closer look at the mysterious blood-red writing that covered the walls. When he was a kid, his father had taken him to an ancient Egypt exhibition in Munich. This was definitely not hieroglyphics, but the writing looked strangely familiar, as if he had seen it before in a dream.
Two identical black marble statues of a woman with her arms outstretched dominated the center of the cavern. The statues looked remarkably like the twin vampires they had just killed. Or tried to kill. That’s when Sebastian knew what he was looking at. These weren’t human crypts—they were vampire. The creatures live underneath Berlin Cathedral.
Sebastian contemplated this discovery as he unscrewed his canteen. “Do you want some water now?” he asked.
Eva just stared at him.
Sebastian shrugged. As he raised his canteen to his parched lips, Eva moved fast and grabbed it out of his hands. Water spilled and he felt intense pain.
He could only stare in disbelief at the smoking red blisters that now covered the back of his hand.
33
So Much for Dying
The murky water seemed dangerous, but no one was of that opinion more than Klaus. He almost drowned as a kid and had been deathly afraid of water ever since.
“It doesn’t look that deep,” Thor said.
Klaus folded his arms. “Screw that. It’s far too dangerous. The floor could give way at any moment.”
“This is the way out. Unless you want to negotiate a peace treaty with vampires,” Wolf said.
“And Russians,” Sebastian added.
Thor waded into the water. “Hold on. I’ll check it out.” The one-armed soldier tried to appear brave, but he was scared shitless underneath the bravado. When the water went no deeper than his knees, Thor looked back and cracked a smile. “Hey, old man! You can stop building the ark and collecting pairs of animals—the water isn’t going to kill you!”
“Very funny,” Klaus replied.
But when Thor tried to move, his left foot was stuck on something. “Shit!” he yelled.
After a minute of watching Thor try and fail to free his foot, Wolf went into the water to help him. A noise in the tunnel brought the rescue efforts to an end. Everyone went perfectly still.
Suddenly, like a tornado from hell, a thousand black bats flew down the tunnel and swarmed them!
Thor panicked and swatted the creatures away as he fell backwards into the water. The other men ducked or took cover against the tunnel wall as the bats flew harmlessly around them.
When the bats flew off, a very embarrassed and wet soldier picked himself and his MP-40 out of the water.
“Are you okay?” Dieter asked. “Do you need new underwear?”
“Thanks a lot, smart-ass. Now get me out of here,” Thor replied. One last bat flew above the men. Thor fired a quick angry burst at the straggler, but he missed.
“Put the gun down,” Wolf shouted. “You’re wasting ammo!”
Suddenly, the bat turned around and flew straight at Thor. Before he could react, the creature slammed into the pool in front of him with the force of a cannonball, sending a spray of water all over the place.
A split-second later, there was Rodika. “Beg for mercy, soldier,” the vampire said. “I want to enjoy this kill.”
Thor panicked and desperately tried to free his foot as she closed in. Just before Rodika got to him, he raised his machine gun and let her have it.
The squad grabbed Axel and took off running. Thor was able to hold Rodika off just until his gun jammed—then she tore his arm off and pushed him under the water. Red bubbles quickly replaced the agonizing screams of a soldier who was destined to suffer the same horrific injury twice in one war.
With her victim dying beneath her, the highly trained vampire assassin peered down the tunnel in the direction that the others had run.
It was time to hunt.
34
Defiance
As they walked through the vampire crypts, Eva stopped and stared off in the distance. Sebastian felt a slight breeze and instantly knew they were in trouble. He grabbed her hand and sprinted across the chamber as the wind grew to a roar behind them.
Then something hit them in the back, hard.
Eva hit the floor face first. Sebastian flew through the air, hit the ground and rolled back to his feet. He pulled out a pistol as Zina and Dumitra closed in.
“Are you going to shoot us?” Zina laughed.
Sebastian looked at his pistol and smiled. “I’m pretty sure that this pea-shooter won’t do much good against two pissed off vampires.”
“Very perceptive. Now, are you ready to die?”
“Fuck you.” He threw his pistol at Zina, but she caught
it in front of her face and tossed it to the ground. Then she punched him in the throat.
Sebastian collapsed from the force of the blow and tried to breathe. He crawled away as blood poured out of his mouth. Dumitra picked him up by the neck, his feet dangling in the air. “She asked you if you were ready to die.”
“And I said ... fuck you,” he gasped.
Dumitra slammed him against the wall in a rage and he dropped to the floor lifelessly.
“Stop!” Eva shouted. The girl was back on her feet and looking for a confrontation. She flicked her wrist towards the twins. The vampires both turned sharply, as if they had been slapped.
Dumitra angrily pointed right back at her. A blue ball of psychic energy flowed from her fingers and struck Eva in the chest, knocking her to the ground. “Don’t play with us, little girl. You are not ready.”
Sebastian’s voice rang out behind them. “I am ready.”
The twins were mystified that Sebastian was still alive. They could smell their own kind, but they had failed to detect the vampire blood that now flowed through his veins; he had yet to fully transform.
35
Trapped
The squad sprinted around the dark corner. Unfortunately, they didn’t see the dead end until they crashed into the wall and one another. When they got to their feet and turned around, their worst nightmare had been realized.
Saliva dripped from Rodika’s razor-sharp fangs. She had her prey cornered. She savored the moment.
The terrified men aimed their guns at the vampire. Dieter dropped to his knees and prayed. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Rodika laughed. “Prayers will not save you, punk. Stand up and fight like a man.”
“... Amen.”
With his prayer done, Dieter’s terror gave way to rage. He aimed his Panzerfaust at Rodika.
Rodika’s eyes widened.
“Eat snot!” Dieter shouted. The men dove for cover as the kid squeezed the trigger. The cavern filled with a roar, a plume of flame and a tremendous explosion.
Wolf was knocked onto his belly, his arm curled around his MP-40, his mouth full of dirt, his ears ringing. He closed his eyes as rocks and debris flew through the tunnel.
As the dust settled, Wolf looked up. A trickle of blood came out of his left ear, but his eardrums were still intact. Rodika was gone. Vampires can’t be killed with bullets, but a Panzerfaust is something else, he thought. If it can knock out a tank, maybe it can kill a vampire.
Klaus slapped Dieter on the back. “Nice work, kid. You disobeyed an order and wiped a vampire off the face of the Earth all at once. You might make a good soldier yet.”
Dieter shook his head and pointed at Rodika as she emerged from the smoke. She was not happy.
“Get away from us, you evil bitch!” Klaus screamed. “Get the hell out of here! Leave us alone!”“
“I will feast on your heart, old man,” Rodika hissed. A loud rumble stopped the vampire assassin. Her eyes nervously darted around the cavern as the walls shook.
“Uh-oh,” Klaus said.
Suddenly, the ceiling collapsed!
36
Thirst
The vampires stopped in their tracks as the floor shook. When the earthquake stopped, Sebastian unscrewed his canteen.
“Thirsty?” Zina asked.
“Not so much. But before you kill me, maybe you could use a nice cool drink.”
Zina and Dumitra exchanged confused glances.
Then Sebastian threw the canteen at them as hard at as he could. Zina caught it in midair, but water flew out of the canteen and went all over her. She screamed as the side of her face melted.
Suddenly, the floor gave way!
37
Death of a Vampire
There was silence after the tunnel collapsed. Men and weapons were scattered all over the place. There was a hole in the ceiling and a huge pile of rocks and debris nearly sealed the west end of the tunnel. At the top of that pile, Zina was buried up to her neck. She was in bad shape; her half-melted face was still smoldering. Dumitra was nowhere to be seen.
Klaus panicked when he didn’t see Dieter. A second later, he saw boots sticking out of the dirt. “There he is!”
Zina taunted the men as they frantically dug through the rocks and dirt to save Dieter. “Nazi devils—you must kill the girl!” she yelled. “The Fourth Reich will be the End of Days! Even for Germany!”
The men ignored the vampire’s insane tirade, but Wolf seriously considered putting a hand grenade into her mouth. Then Sebastian jumped down through the hole in the ceiling. Klaus and Wolf noticed him, but they were too busy trying to save Dieter for a reunion.
“Listen to me! Kill the girl!” Zina screamed.
“You know what, bitch? You are really starting to bother me,” Sebastian said. He climbed down the rock pile, took Wolf’s canteen, and climbed back up.
“You must kill the girl!” Zina screamed.
Sebastian moved in close and examined her half-melted face. “On another topic, I think the right side of your face should match the left. It’s called symmetry. “
“You don’t understand!” she cried.
Sebastian held up his canteen. “This is full of holy water. Do you understand?”
Terror showed itself on the vampire’s face. The creature had little to fear in the world, but holy water burned vampires just as strong acid would burn a human. “Stop! Please! Listen to me!” she screamed.
“This conversation is over,” he said as he poured the water over the vampire. Zina’s face smoked and melted into a bloody, formless mess that folded in on itself. For the coup de grace, he jerked her head to the side and cut her throat with his bayonet. What remained of her head rolled down the rock pile and disappeared in a burst of flame.
A few meters away, Klaus yelled jubilantly as they pulled his grandson out of the dirt by his feet. “We got him!”
The kid coughed as they scooped the dirt out of his mouth. Dieter’s first concern amused his mates. “Pop, I lost my helmet...”
“Don’t worry about it—it didn’t fit your pea-sized head anyway,” Klaus teased.
Then, without warning, a voice came from behind them. “They are coming for me.”
The men exchanged nervous glances as Eva beckoned them to follow, but only Sebastian moved. “Let’s go,” he said. “She’ll show us the way out.
“There’s something wrong with her,” Klaus replied.
“I agree. She’s been traumatized.”
“There’s more to it, my friend. You’re asking us to follow someone who is being actively hunted by vampires. Ask yourself—what did she do to piss them off? Whatever that was, I bet it isn’t good for us.”
“She is the only reason that your sorry ass is still alive. Let’s roll,” Sebastian said. The argument continued for another five minutes. Eventually, Sebastian convinced the men that Eva was their best—if not their only—chance to get out of the tunnel system alive.
As the men followed Eva, it didn’t take long for Klaus to second-guess his decision. “How can you be sure she’s not taking us to the Russians? Or to be eaten by the vampires?”
“That’s not likely,” Sebastian replied. “They all want her dead.”
38
The Cemetery
The heavy iron door creaked as it opened. The occupants of the mausoleum went perfectly still and listened for any sign of the enemy.
Slowly, quietly, the men crept out of the stone building and peered through the fog. In front of them, beautiful gravestones and gothic statues were illuminated by moonlight and the glow of distant fires. None of them had known that such a fantastic place existed in the heart of Berlin. Klaus stared at the white stone angel that towered above the cemetery. “Incredible,” he said, running his hand along the bottom of a smooth wing.
“Don’t be so astonished, old man. We’re not out of this shit
yet,” Wolf said. As if on cue, flashes of light appeared on the horizon, followed by the thunder of distant big guns.
“Do you think we’re going to make it, boss?” Dieter asked as they moved down a stone path.
“We’ll make it,” Wolf replied. He was trying to build his squad’s confidence in the face of overwhelming odds, but point of fact, he wasn’t sure they would make it. “Let’s rest for a few minutes and re-distribute the ammo.”
Klaus pointed to a cluster of dead German soldiers. “Dieter, see what they got on them.”
As the kid searched the bodies, Sebastian put his head in his hands. “Christ!” he laughed. “After a treacherous journey and all sorts of crazy supernatural shit, the oasis we find in the middle of the destroyed city is a graveyard. Michelangelo couldn’t have painted a better picture.”
“At least they won’t have to take our bodies far,” Klaus chided.
“We aren’t dead yet,” Sebastian replied.
“Young man, I’ll be surprised if we live to see the morning sun,” Klaus said.
“Yeah,” Sebastian added. “Me too.”
Dieter was excited to find a Panzerfaust under one of the bodies. It was a single-use weapon, so he was always on the lookout for another one. He wasn’t so excited by his new helmet, however. He put it on and grimaced.
“Don’t worry about it, kid. He doesn’t need it anymore,” Wolf said.
“And you finally got a helmet that fits,” Klaus added, eliciting a chuckle from everyone, including Dieter.
Suddenly, Eva got up and walked off by herself into the fog. Sebastian jumped up and followed her.
“Let her go,” Klaus implored. “We don’t need her.”