Dark Tales From the Secret War

by John Houlihan

  The two soldiers ran for the entrance of the temple as Rapata effortlessly hoisted the professor over his shoulder. The group spilled out of the building, the soldiers’ weapons raised and pointed toward the beach. They saw smoke rising from that direction and a lone sailor from the M/V Copperhead appeared from between the boulders.

  “Hold fire!” Calvert shouted, waving the man over. “What’s happened?”

  “A patrol boat, sir,” the sailor gasped. “We couldn’t see it because of the fog. It was on us and firing before we even knew it was there.”

  “How bad is the damage?” Lieutenant Calvert asked.

  “They didn’t sink her, but they tore her up pretty bad. I was on shore and came to find you.”

  “How many soldiers on the patrol boat?”

  “I didn’t stick around to find out. It’s a big ship.”

  Calvert advanced with Austen following. They reached the boulder-strewn field at the edge of the beach, and took up defensive positions. They had just settled in behind smaller boulders that provided good cover, when a shore party from the patrol boat pulled up on the beach in rowboats. Calvert could hear them barking orders as they moved over the sand. There was no mistaking it — the voices were German.

  “Professor, wake up!” van Garrett cried, as Rapata laid Blackburn on his back beside the temple. He still had the strange grapefruit-sized sphere clutched in his hand. The flowing, iridescent protoplasm that surrounded it encased his arm halfway to the elbow. Her brow furrowed as she studied the orb. She didn’t know how to treat the man because she didn’t know what was wrong with him. His vital signs were all steady and strong, and he just appeared to be unconscious. But the alien thing stuck to him — was it some sort of parasite?

  Rapata turned toward the shaken sailor. “Remain here and help her. I must help the War Chief.”

  The sailor nodded dumbly and Rapata ran toward the beach, spear in hand.

  Looking at the professor’s arm, the sailor asked, “What is that thing? It’s… beautiful.”

  Van Garret shook her head. “I’m not sure. The professor picked it up and immediately passed out.”

  Then, with a lurch, Blackburn sprang up and gasped, blinking rapidly in the sunlight. The sailor staggered back in alarm, and the doctor yelped in surprise.

  “My God, the sea is deep,” Blackburn said dazedly.

  “Professor, are you all right?” asked van Garrett. “What happened?”

  “Amazing, Doctor. I feel amazing. When I touched this, it was as though I became part of the sea, and the sea became part of me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I think it controls water. I had visions of beings using it. It looked like they were either chiefs or priests, or both, but they used it to bend the sea to their will.”

  “Professor, that’s insane. What do you mean ‘beings’? That thing can’t really control water, can it?”

  “Well, let’s test it.”

  Blackburn headed for the nearest large puddle of seawater. As he dipped the sphere into it, the water drained out of the puddle and into the orb. The unearthly ball darkened slightly, but did not change in size at all. It was as if it had drunk all the water. The doctor was mystified. “I don’t understand. Is it… organic? Alive, even?”

  “I’m not sure,” the professor said. “I think it might be, but I also think it might be more than that too.”

  Finding another puddle, he stood over it, extending the blue orb, and concentrated. A moment passed. Then the water began streaming up into the sphere as if from a faucet, but going up instead of down. The sphere continued to absorb the water until the puddle was dry. Van Garrett’s mouth dropped open in amazement again.

  The professor grinned. “Fascinating. Like calls to like, as they say. Let’s try one more.”

  He went to another puddle and focused again. This time, instead of streaming upwards, the water formed an amorphous blob and moved out of the small crater in the rock. Concentrating, the professor began coaxing the water around. White crystals began dropping out of the blob like tiny eggs. After a few moments, the professor bent down and touched his lips to the blob of water. He slurped at it a few times and stood up, a boyish grin on his wizened face.

  “Not very dignified, I know, but this is incredible! Did you see? I just pulled all the salt out of that seawater! It’s regular, fresh water now!”

  “How does —” van Garrett began, but was interrupted by a burst of gunfire. The doctor dropped to the ground, pulling the professor down beside her. They exchanged glances then moved towards the beach where the gunfire was coming from.

  Lieutenant Calvert saw smoke rising from the M/V Copperhead, and noticed that much of the superstructure was pockmarked where it had been raked with cannon fire. As it was a converted fishing vessel, selected for stealth rather than combat, he wasn’t surprised a cannon could cause that much damage. He thought she might be listing to one side, but couldn’t tell for sure.

  His attention was drawn to a small boat pulling up to the beach. It was clear the occupants didn’t see Calvert or Austen, who were keeping a low profile behind the boulders. The two commandos were close enough they could talk to each other in low voices and be masked by the sound of the surf. Austen took aim just as the first two men jumped into the surf to pull the boat up onto the sand, but Calvert told him to hold his fire. Calvert watched intently. He needed to know exactly who he and Austen were facing.

  The men from the boat were a mix of German stormtroopers in the standard green wool utility uniforms of the SS, and Japanese marines in khaki tropical uniforms. As they drew closer, Calvert saw that those in the SS uniforms were indeed Caucasian. There had been no credible reports of these two Axis powers working together directly in theatre, but here was absolute proof.

  This information could be more valuable than that blue trinket we found.

  His mind turned to the fight ahead. Between the stormtroopers and the Japanese soldiers, there were eleven of them. He didn’t fancy those odds, but if they could whittle their numbers down while they were exposed on the beach, they’d stand a much better chance of defeating them.

  That thought fell aside when he saw the last figure climb from the boat. His dress was similar to that of the stormtroopers, but far more elegant. He wore tall black leather riding boots, and his uniform was a perfectly-starched light grey, setting himself off from the green — and khaki-clad men with him. A number of ribbons adorned his chest, and an iron cross hung from a red ribbon around his neck. He was large, fit and handsome, and any knowledgeable observer would correctly guess he came from an aristocratic, military family. A sturdy cavalry sabre hung from his left hip, and a Luger pistol from his right. He looked like a knight with his immaculate uniform and sword, and strode confidently through the water.

  Calvert had a reputation for cold steadiness, for waiting until the appropriate moment to strike, and for not letting his nerves get the best of him. This was why high command had taken the unusual step of granting an officer’s commission to an enlisted man.

  It was also why it was such a shock to Private Austen when Lieutenant Calvert whispered, in a voice tinged with panic, “Wipe them out!” before throwing a grenade.

  It bounced between a stormtrooper and a marine, who both struggled to get away through the wet sand. They were too slow, and the deafening explosion ripped them apart as the others either dived into the sand or sprinted for cover behind boulders.

  Austen began shooting, making full use of the Garand’s semi-automatic fire. A handful of Japanese marines and stormtroopers fell under the sudden hail. The empty clip ejected, clanging off a nearby stone. Those not struck by the initial salvo reacted immediately, returning fire as they dashed for cover. The knight, for that is what Austen thought of the mysterious German officer as, ran with them. He moved with the loose, graceful gait of an athlete, his Luger in his right hand as his left steadied the hilt of his sabre, preventing it from slapping against his thigh.

 
The Axis soldiers darted into a field of rocks on Austen’s flank, forcing him to crawl halfway around his own boulder to maintain line of sight on them. He was rewarded, dropping two more of them before they got off the expanse of beach and disappeared from view. He turned to Lieutenant Calvert. The open beach had given them a great advantage, and they had used it well to whittle down their enemy’s numbers, but their foes had gained the high ground and still outnumbered them.

  Austen was about to ask for orders when he heard a high-pitched scream, and saw Rapata dance backwards from a boulder, his spear red and dripping.

  Not as outnumbered as we were a moment ago, Austen thought.

  Dashing forward, Austen joined Rapata and fired a volley at the remaining Japanese marines, who had revealed themselves in chasing down the Maori who had brutally speared their comrade. The Japanese retreated behind some rocks.

  Calvert called his men back, and, keeping an eye on their enemies’ hiding place, Austen withdrew to the boulders. There he found Calvert conferring with the doctor and professor, who now looked hale and hearty, the shimmering blue sphere in his hand.

  “Lieutenant Calvert! This artefact, whatever it is, represents an amazing technology that must be delivered to High Command as soon as possible.”

  “What does it do?”

  “Spencer,” van Garrett said, shaking her head, “It’s amazing, I still don’t quite believe it.”

  The professor pointed the sphere at a puddle. The water immediately defied gravity and streamed toward it, seemingly absorbed into the protoplasm. The blue sphere darkened slightly in colour.

  “And that’s just for starters,” beamed the professor. “I can tell it does more than that, but I’m not yet sure what other capabilities it possesses.”

  Calvert grunted. “A neat toy. I’m all for getting back to Australia, but we have a problem. There are at least six assorted Jerries and Japs left on the beach and, even if we get past them, we have that Jap patrol boat to contend with.”

  “I think I can do something about the patrol boat, Lieutenant,” the professor said. “If you and your men can clear the beach, I’ll handle the rest.”

  Without waiting for a reply, Blackburn moved down the beach, keeping well clear of where the German and Japanese soldiers were taking cover.

  Van Garrett moved to catch up to him. “What are you going to do? We don’t have any weapons!”

  “We have this,” he replied, lifting his arm. “And it’s more than just a weapon. It’s the sea itself. The whole bloody thing. Watch.”

  He pointed the sphere at a nearby puddle, and as van Garrett watched, the water rippled, then parted in the middle, a crease appearing that ran all the way down to the ground.

  “It will take more strength to manipulate something that much bigger than this puddle, but I think I can do it,” he grinned. “Just like Moses.”

  “How do you know how to use this?” van Garrett asked.

  “It’s hard to describe. It felt like all the secrets of the deep were poured into my brain when I touched it.”

  The professor climbed atop a boulder, and could see the outlines of the patrol craft as the morning fog began to burn off in the sun The boat sat further out from the M/V Copperhead in deeper water. He stretched his arms out in front of him, and pantomimed a pushing motion. A small wave appeared where the sand met the water, and rippled out to the patrol boat. The craft bobbed in the water, and almost immediately its main heavy cannon began to turn ponderously towards their position.

  “Hmph,” he said as he bent his knees, squatted and pushed harder, as if he was trying to move an invisible truck in front of him. This time, the wave was considerably bigger. Taller than a man, it rolled out towards the patrol boat, gathering height and mass.

  The cannon fired. Van Garrett flinched, and a huge explosion of mist burst up as the shell impacted with the wave, but did not penetrate through.

  Then the wave struck the boat like a broadside, pushing it far over to its starboard side. It was almost completely swamped, but then the sturdy craft began rolling upright again. Its momentum carried it through the roll, and it slid down the back side of the wave into the trough left behind. The professor pushed another wave into it. The impact was accompanied by the splintering of wood, the screeching of rent steel, and the hiss of cold seawater hitting hot engines. The boat sank quickly.

  Blackburn was gazing in wonderment at the blue sphere when a rifle shot caromed off the boulder he was on. Jerking away from the spray of rock splinters, he lost his footing and fell onto the stony surface of the beach. He heard answering cracks from the Allied commandos’ weapons. A moment later, four German soldiers appeared from around a boulder. Two grabbed the doctor, who swore and clawed at her attackers. Another pinned Blackburn to the ground whilst the last reached for the sphere with both hands. With a cry, Blackburn began to pull the orb away, but the soldier caught hold of it and tried to wrench it from the professor’s hands.

  The soldier suddenly hissed in pain, and the professor watched in horror as his cheeks caved and his skin withered on dry, desiccated muscles. The soldier’s uniform collapsed on his shrunken corpse. The German pinning the professor tried to immobilize his arm, but Blackburn pressed the sphere into him and in seconds he also shrunk and collapsed into what looked like a bundle of petrified wood in a military uniform.

  Doctor van Garrett watched, her mouth forming a horrified ‘O’, before she resumed wrestling with her captors. Appearing as if from nowhere, the sailor from the Copperhead stepped in, swinging fists at the Germans who held her. He connected twice before two sharp cracks from a pistol tore holes in his chest, knocking him over backwards.

  A chill voice rang out, thick with vile humour. “A magnificent toy, is it not?”

  Before the doctor could react, strong hands gripped her, and against her back she felt the muzzle of a pistol, still hot from killing the sailor now dead at her feet. She stumbled as she was dragged away from the professor, and away from the lieutenant and his men now emerging from cover. Their weapons were raised.

  “Lieutenant Calvert, a pleasure to see you again.”

  Calvert’s eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. The German officer stood, holding his hostage with one hand, his pistol pressed painfully into her back. He was flanked by two stormtroopers with Mauser rifles raised.

  Across several yards of sand stood Lieutenant Calvert and Private Austen, their weapons trained on the Germans. Rapata loomed nearby with his spear poised, and Professor Blackburn still held the shimmering blue sphere. The seconds ticked by and neither side moved.

  The professor broke the silence. “Lieutenant Calvert, an old friend of yours?”

  “Johann Klampt,” Calvert said through gritted teeth.

  “Lieutenant, where are your military courtesies?” the German officer asked. “That would be Hauptsturmführer Johann Klampt, would it not?”

  Calvert said nothing, and several more seconds stretched on in silence.

  The professor broke the silence again. “Hauptsturmführer, it seems we are at a bit of an impasse. I’m guessing you came here for the artefact?”

  Klampt shrugged. “That, or something like it.”

  “So it’s not what you were expecting?”

  “I’m a soldier, Professor, I have no expectations. I have orders. They were to recover anything interesting. And that —” he inclined his head toward the sphere, “-is interesting, wouldn’t you agree? I must admit that was a fascinating trick with the wave. Unfortunately, we’ll have to sink your ship when we leave with it, since you sank ours.”

  “If you sink the Copperhead, no one’s getting out of here,” Calvert said. “Unless you’re going to brave the open sea in that rowboat.”

  “The Copperhead, you call it? Naming your ship after a poisonous snake?” he shook his head. “You Australians are almost as brash as Americans.”

  Calvert ignored the remark. “And why would we let you leave?”

  “To protect your charming Do
ctor. And to protect yourself. A Japanese cruiser is coming here, bigger, more heavily armed, and with more men. Let me go, and I’ll sail out, intercept them, and order them back to port. Otherwise, if they find you here, you’ll certainly be killed.”

  “You’re bluffing,” Calvert scoffed.

  Klampt gestured towards the east. “Look for yourself.”

  Careful to keep one eye on the German captain, the lieutenant turned to see a hulking silhouette beginning to take shape on the horizon.

  “That can’t be Japanese,” Austen said. “We sank all the ships in the harbour. Including the cruiser.”

  “That was you?” said Klampt with a smile. “Impressive work. You’ve been busy, between the harbour and here. But that ship was not in the harbour.”

  “So the Japanese and the Nazis are working together?” Calvert asked.

  “I’m no Nazi,” Hauptsturmführer Klampt hissed.

  “I thought you had to be a good little Nationalist Socialist to join the SS, captain,” Calvert said drily.

  “Goading me will not work, Lieutenant. I do not have the fiery temper you do,” said the German, though the redness creeping into his cheeks face gave away the lie.

  Calvert pressed on. “Who are you working for, Hauptsturmführer? Freelancing for the Japanese, or still running errands for the Schwarze Sonne?”

  The German officer turned even redder. “If someone here could be accused of being a mercenary, Lieutenant, it’s you. Working for the British, the Americans, even the Canadians. No, Lieutenant, I love my country and I work for it. And the rumours of Schwarze Sonne’s power are greatly exaggerated. Now, enough talk. Hand over the sphere, and you can have the Doctor.”

  “You’d have us believe you’ll just leave us here, take the sphere, and go?”

  “Why not? I’ll have what I came for.”

  Calvert was not convinced. “We’d be stuck on a deserted, uncharted island. How would we get off?”

  “That is not my concern. And I know how resourceful you can be, Lieutenant.”

  “This device is dangerous, Hauptsturmführer,” the professor said, gesturing with the orb. “Didn’t you see what it did? It sucked all the water from the bodies of these men.” He toed one of the mummified corpses at his feet to emphasize the point.