[Unknown], 1945
[Unknown] Local time
[Unknown Location]
The black slowly gave way to a dull, blurry gray. The light was dull, and there was only the sound of his breathing. He tried to move, but ropes tied to the chair restricted his movement, as well as the handcuffs. He rattled them again and again. No use. He sighed, then relaxed. He sat for an undetermined amount of time, alone with his thoughts.
He was awoken when the door opened, and three men came in. Two had very strange weapons, but the third was unarmed. The man was clearly of some rank. The man stood in front of the prisoner, and took off his gloves. He grabbed them by the openings, then slapped the prisoner across the cheek, drawing blood along the cheekbone. The prisoner flinched.
"Sergeant Atwater, Jacob." He coughed. "U.S. Army, Seri-" He was slapped again. The officer reached into his pocket and withdrew Atwater's dog tags. "I know who you are. My question, though, is vut you are doing here."
"Sergeant Atwater, Jaco-" The next slap drew even more blood. Suddenly, a knock came to the door. The man looked up. Another German soldier walked in, wearing the rank of lieutenant. he snapped to attention.
"Herr Gustav! Es ist eine Nachricht für Sie!"
"Ich verstehe. Beobachten Sie ihn."
The officer left the room, and the lieutenant closed the door after him. He looked to the American and nodded politely. Then one of the guards walked over to the other and calmly shoved a knife into his chest. The man looked at him in shock, then slid to the floor. Atwater looked t them in horror.
"Herr Atwater. We need your help."
"Why? What's going on? Why'd you kill him?"
"We're rescuing those creatures."
"What? You mean those horse-things?" He laughed before realizing again the situation he was in. "Why are you going to save those things?"
"Because we want to live." He walked over and cut the rope with his Hitler Youth knife, then pulled out a Luger.
"Lean as far away as you can."
Atwater did so, then heard the gun fire, and then felt intense stings throughout his wrist. He held it up. It had multiple shrapnel entries on it. "Let's not do that again."
They all looked up when the door started pounding. The traitorous guard opened the door and pulled the trigger on the strange looking weapon. Atwater heard screams and the sound of crackling electricity. The guard closed the door again. He turned to the lieutenant. "Beeilen Sie sich, Keppler!"
The Lieutenant sighed, then shot the other chain. Atwater yelled as yet more shrapnel was flung into his other hand. The lieutenant drug him out of the chair.
"You are the one who killed the guards and incapacitated Herr Gustav, no?"
"Uh, I guess."
"Can I trust you?"
"Can I trust you, is the question."
"The feeling's mutual, then." The German handed Atwater the other guard's weapon.
"What is this?"
"The DG-2. We got a crate of them from Der Riese with the last convoy."
"Lost me. But as long as it shoots, I guess I can use it."
"Good."
The lieutenant nodded to the other man, and he opened the door. He stepped out and checked the hallway. It was clear. They began making their way through the hallways. They were empty. Then they started hearing the gunshots. They sounded unlike German or American weapons. An explosion rocked the base. They all looked at each other. As they walked, a door ahead to the right was flung open. A German came rushing in, only to be cut down by whatever was behind the door. They slowly walked over. Suddenly, a man in a white parka and pants appeared holding a Thompson submachine gun. A gas mask hid his face. He saw the man in the uniform of a prisoner and stopped. A voice rasped through the mask.
"Are you Atwater?"
"Yes, who's asking?"
The man pulled his mask up. "I'm Captain Jerrod, British SAS. I'm here to get you the bloody hell out of here."
The Germans just stood there, looking at him. He stared back. Finally Atwater spoke.
"Go. We'll meet you by the entrance. We've got to do something."
Jerrod looked at the Germans one last time, then nods and leaves. The Lieutenant beckons Atwater and the guard along. The base is getting quieter, and the gun shots are bleeding away. They encountered many dead bodies on the way to the holding center, many of the German, but there were also many bodies of SAS soldiers. As they ran, they saw signs pointing them to the holding chambers. As they got closer, they could hear solitary gunshots. The Lieutenant kicked down the door and brought up his Luger. General Gustav was looking at him, a smoking Walther in his hand, and all of the human prisoners dead at his feet. He smiled, then started to say something.
He was cut off by a single nine millimeter bullet.
The body fell, and screaming began from the other side of the partition. Atwater ran through the curtain, then stopped. The creatures were sitting there staring at him. he looked down at himself. Blood was on his hands and some was on his face, most likely from the General. He also left bloody footprints. He winced at his appearance. The creatures just stared at him.
"My name is Atwater, I'm here to help."
One stepped forward. "Really now. Last person who said that was him." The creature pointed at the Lieutenant. he shrank back away from the winged creature.
"Please, no, I didn't, I don't....."
He collapsed under the stare of the creature. He began to cry. Atwater looked at him in shock, then back to the winged creature.
"What did you do to him?!?" He brought up the DG-2.
"Ask him what he did to Thunder."
Atwater looked at him. The man was a wreck. His pistol was in his hand. He started to raise it towards his head. The guard jumped and grabbed it from his grasp, and efficiently unloaded the weapon.
The lieutenant shook his head. He was sputtering. Atwater pulled him to his feet."What is wrong with you?"
"Ich habe nicht zu bedeuten! Es war nicht meine Schuld!" The lieutenant choked this out through his tears.
"What? I can't speak German!"
The lieutenant looked at Atwater. "I killed her. I shot her dead in the field."