by Lee Rudnicki
Secret Service agent Michael Jones stuck his head in the door. “Mr. President, we can’t get to Berlin Cathedral via limousine. We’ll have to go in via helicopter.”
“Helicopter? Why?” President Duarte asked.
“The roads are blocked.”
“Blocked with what?”
Agent Jones pointed a remote control at the television. The monitor came to life and displayed a surreal scene. Thousands of points of light surrounded Berlin Cathedral and filled the roads and sidewalks in East Berlin. The lights were candles.
An excited reporter gave the play by play. “What started out as a trickle has become a torrent. In the wake of Professor Gerhard L. Richter’s unexplained death at Humboldt University, thousands of people are pouring into Berlin from all over Europe. The rumors concerning what caused Richter to fall out of the sky onto a police car range from the absurd to the fantastic. People want answers! The scene is incredible—it’s reminiscent of the fall of the Berlin Wall!”
An hour later, Berlin was in total lockdown. Bomb sniffing dogs investigated cars as two Czech radiological and chemical weapon detection teams monitored sensors that were discretely placed all over the city. Three hundred German Kommando Spezialkräfte soldiers were deployed around Berlin Cathedral to keep the growing crowd away.
Inside, hundreds of people who were lucky enough to get a seat held candles; many also clutched photos of Professor Richter or a copy of Pyramids and Aliens. What started out as a World War II memorial had transformed into a full-blown media circus as news of Professor Richter’s unexplained death spread. Television crews from all over the world jockeyed for position. On stage, nervous delegations from seven countries waited for the German Chancellor.
The photos of Professor Richter that were sprinkled throughout the crowd made President Duarte nervous. “What’s the chance that this could get ugly? Turn into a riot?”
“We’re fine. There haven’t been this many soldiers protecting this building since 1945,” Waldon replied.
“And we know how that ended.”
The crowd grew quiet as Chancellor Hilde Gottlieb took the podium. In the front row, Michael “Zig” Zigmund sat next to his very excited friend, Julia Heckmann, and took pictures with his phone.
“On this solemn occasion,” the Chancellor began, “we pause to remember those who lost their lives in the Second World War at the hands of the Nazis. Many of the victim’s names will never be known, but we remain eternally grateful to those who lost everything in the battle to defeat the forces of evil. We will never forget the sacrifices that they made so future generations could live free from Nazi tyranny.”
The Chancellor raised her candle to the sky and said a silent prayer. She prayed not only for those who had perished in the war, but also for forgiveness and understanding from the people of Germany for the decision that she had made shortly after Professor Richter’s untimely death.
Suddenly, President Duarte made a loud and inappropriate comment. “Son-of-a-bitch. I knew I was going to have a front row seat.”
The Chancellor stopped speaking for a second and there was a nervous murmur throughout the cathedral. World leaders and audience members alike were startled by the rude outburst from the American delegation. Waldon leaned over. “What are you doing, Mr. President?”
President Duarte pointed stage left.
Waldon’s heart skipped a beat when he caught a glimpse of the two world leaders who the Chancellor was about to unexpectedly introduce to Germany and to the entire world on live television.
Sebastian and Eva.
The end.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
To my family, including Rumiko, Maureen, John, Chris, Cabrini, Veronica, Buzz, Lynne, Mike, Patrick, Margaret, Jason, Herbie, Linette, and Knox and his family; thank you for your undying support in everything that I try to do and sometimes fail at. I love you all.
I would like to say thank you to West Chester University philosophy professor Paul Streveler for teaching me to think outside of the box. To USF law professor Robert Brownstone and UCLA screenwriting professors Scott Gorden, Bennett Cohen and Hal Ackerman, for teaching me how to write. To Junichi Suzuki and Ko Mori for Death Ride, the film that changed everything. To Chris Nalls for twenty years of fantastic creative collaboration. To the 1993 Santa Clara Vanguard and the 1999 San Francisco Renegades for teaching me to persevere. To Jerry Rice #80 for his inspirational work ethic. To my professors at Trinity College, Dublin and Charles University, Prague for teaching me how to appreciate the rest of the world. To Dennis Mancini for his amazing visual artistry that helped bring the world of My Immortal to life.
To Aaron Woolfolk and his family, Al Murray, Al Yeh, Alan Chu, Alex Bloom, Alexa Brooks, Amy Walp, Anne Powell, Ben Lyon, Ben Martinez, Betsy Johnson, Billy Rhodes, Bob Morrison, Brent Turner, Calix Reneau, Carolina Thunder 1999, Cassie Van De Graaf, Chaz, Chris Correia, Chris Rodriquez, Chris Thompson, Chuck King, Chuck Simchick, Crunchy Frog, Cozy Baker, Dan Day, Dan Vannatta, Dan Hudson, Darryl Coleman, Dave Cooper, Dave Gambal, Dave Gary, Dave Gibbs, Dave Glyde, Dave Leon, David Powell (FNG), Dave Watrous, DCA, Dean Houck, Deb and Doug Peterson, Dianne Good, Diavola and Lolita (Anthrax Ripple), Drum Corps World, Earl Brown, Ed Teleky, Eddie the Rat, El Guapo, Fair Witness, Frank and Shirlie Dorritie, Gabe Kangas, Gail Imamura, Garfield Cadets 1986, Garry Parker, Gil Silva, Gis Montreal, Glen Crosby, Glen Hazlewood, Glen Johnson, Glitter and Mary, Greg Gilman, Gus Fjelstrom, Hanover Area, Harry Eldridge, the evil Heckmann brothers, Herbert Brindl, Irina Doliov, Isaac Ho, James Logan Drum Line 1987-92, James Peterson, Jan Huffman, Jay Lee, Jay Murphy, Jeff Ream, Jen Arnst, Jeni Paulson, Jerry Stewart, Jim Jackson, Joe Baranoski, Joe Wilt, Johanna Miller, John Bender, John Miliouskas (both of them), John Muscanero, John Orland, Jim McFarland, Jim Verdeur, Jon Liggett, Judi Johnson, Julia Witt, Julie Leidtke, Karimah Day, Kelley Houpt, Kelli Giles, Kelvin Ward, Ken Sherry, Kent Cater, Kevin Monahan, Kevin Murray, Larrie Dastrup, Lake Lehman, Lech Walesa, Lisa-Lisa McIntyre, Lucky Dime, Madge Sanchez, Mark Metzger, Mark Thurston, Martine Jean, Mark Aceves, Mark Allen, Martine Jean, Mav, Maximum Indifference, Melitta Fitzer, Mel Stratton, Mike Andrews, Mike Bertram, Mike and Vickie Braga, Mike Brett, Mike Foster, Mike French, Mike McCool, Mike Nash, Murray Gusseck, Myron Rosander, Notabando, New York Skyliners, Paul and Chris Marr, the Potter Brothers (assassins), Punky Brewster (Deb), Radost FX, Ralph Hardimon, Ray Sanchez, Rebecca Hu, Red Corso, the Renegades, Rhonda Jeffereies, Rich Duarte, Richard Gatmaitan, Rick Seidel, Robbie Robinson (both of them), Roxie and the honorguard, Rueben the Jackal, Rusty, Ryan Turner, Sam “sword-fighting” Signorelli, Scott Johnson, Scott Kubitz, Scott Slater, Scotty Sells, Sean Glyde, Sean Holton, Silvia Gallini, Skee Derr, Slinky, SoCal Dream, Stephen Darmofal, Steve Burstall, Steve Keifer, Stuart Miyasato, Su Lerwill Jaeger, T. Michael, Tammy McDaniel, Thom Hannum, Thom Shearer, Thom Willett, Thu Powell, Terri Ducay, Todd Mitchell, Tom Aton, Tom Peashey, Tracy Coogan, Trevor Terrill, Trevor Pyle, UCLA screenwriting, Veronica Flores, Vladislav Marsavin, Wayne Downey, Wendy Crouse, Wendy Tran, Will Chen, With Josh Powell, Wolf Kramer, Zach Hubbard, Zak Morton, everyone who complains about the single use of a narrator in this book, and a whole lot of other people who I couldn't fit on this list including about 1,007 Renegades; thank you for your support of my various creative endeavors over the years. Seven.
RECOMMENDED READING
For those of you who are interested in the Battle of Berlin, here are a few great books and a film that you might enjoy.
The Fall of Berlin by Anthony Read and David Fisher. A historical and literary masterpiece.
The Fall of Berlin 1945 by Anthony Beevor. A best seller by the author of Stalingrad.
The Bunker by James P. O’Donnell. The classic tale.
The Third Reich at War by Richard J. Evans. The final book in a well-researched trilogy about the Nazis.
After the Reich by Giles MacDonogh. This book tells the heart-wrenching story of what happened to the German people after the war. Not for the faint of heart
.
Downfall – The award-winning film, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. The portrayal of Hitler by actor Bruno Ganz is unbelievable and frightening.
1945 by Robert Conroy. This book answers the question of what would have happened if Japan hadn’t surrendered after the atomic bombs. This is a different theater of war than described in My Immortal, but it’s a great read and an inspiring approach to historical fiction.
PRODUCTION NOTES
Hello again. Thanks for reading My Immortal: The Vampires of Berlin. It was an honor to share the adventure with you.
You might be interested to know that My Immortal actually started out as a screenplay that was written in the UCLA Professional Screenwriting Program. One evening, professor Hal Ackerman asked us to write the first scene of the script that we would work on for the first sixteen weeks of the program. Ready, go. I had just finished Anthony Beevor’s book about the Battle of Berlin, and that’s probably why the first image that popped into my mind when I put pen to paper was that of a trapped squad of German soldiers awaiting their fate in Berlin.
That seemed like a good start. Ten seconds later, it dawned on me that I had just picked the motion picture world’s universal bad guys to be the heroes of my screenplay. Not such a good start.
For whatever reason, I decided to stick with Wolf and Sebastian as the two “anti-protagonists.” Ultimately, the act of pounding a square peg through a round hole, so to speak, became a great creative catalyst and the German war story transformed itself into a vampire tale. My Immortal went on to win the Claw Award for best theatrical length screenplay at the Terror Film Festival and inspired the San Francisco Renegades vampire-themed show that competed at the DCA World Championships, complete with levitating coffins designed by Jed Roach and Rich Atcheson’s translucent backdrops of photographs taken in Prague’s Vyshehrad cemetery, the location that was the inspiration for the cemetery battle scene.
My Immortal has a mysterious way of drawing you into its world. After finishing the screenplay, Rumiko and I ventured to Berlin and Prague to visit the locations described in the script, much like Professor Richter does in Act 1, minus the CIA assassination plot. Then, what started out as inspired notes scrawled on a legal pad in an East Berlin apartment roared to life and transformed itself into this novel that you now hold in your hands.
Truth be told, writing a novel turned out to be a much more difficult and time-consuming experience than I had anticipated. Frankly, there were a few times when I wanted to throw everything out the window. However, fighting through the difficulties and exploring the new twists and turns that the My Immortal plot took as the novel took shape was a fantastic creative experience that I highly recommend to anyone.
If you get a chance, please visit the My Immortal website (vampiresofberlin.com) or Facebook page and say hello. You can also check out the song As the Blood Flows, by the San Francisco band Trip Device, which is the first official release from the My Immortal soundtrack. If you have any questions or thoughts to share about the story, please feel free to let us know at [email protected].
In any event, thank you again for reading My Immortal: The Vampires of Berlin. I hope you enjoyed the journey.
Lee Rudnicki
Los Angeles, CA