> Bis zu meinem letzten Atemzug (Till my dying breath) > by Ernest Wood > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > (Prolog) Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “What we must fight for is to safeguard the existence and reproduction of our race and our people, the sustenance of our children and the purity of our blood, the freedom and independence of the fatherland, so that our people may mature for the fulfillment of the mission allotted it by the creator of the universe.” -Adolf Hitler The tank rumbled as a shot bounced off the hull making me and my comrades rock back in forth. We had been in an siege for four hours against the Americans and they hadn't let up, air raids, artillery fire, and now a damn Sherman assault. The Americans most certainly are devoted but their shells can't even punch through our superior Tiger armor. "Ready to fire!" my loader Klaus yelled and right on cue another Sherman rolled around. I shouted out to my gunner Hanz "Their in our sites! Fire again!" Hanz complied unleashing an armor piercing round into the Sherman's maw blowing right through the upper half of tank. "That had to take out their commander." Laurenz said looking through the scope. "Good. Finish them." I said smirking, the Americans put up a good fight but none shall take this city from us. "Were loaded, fire again." Klaus said as Hanz complied firing another round into the Sherman's back this blowing out the engine and setting the tank alight. The members of said tank began trying to get out of the command hatch to escape the fiery inferno, their screams filling the air. "Laurenz, mow them down." I said resting in my chair. "Are you sure Anton?" He asked hands on the gun. "The smell will get to me. Kill them in the mud like the dogs they are." I said pulling out my canteen and getting a swig of water. The screams had now been replaced by the sound of bullets meeting flesh and bodies hitting the dirt. "It's done commander." Laurenz said pulling out his chalk and writing his 9th tally on the wall of the tank. "Good. Now all we have to do is hold this position, till our reinforcements arrive. Hanz turn on your radio, were gonna be here for a while." "Sir yes sir." He reached over and pulled out an dusty record player. He blew the dust off and put on a record from home. I sighed as the music began playing and whispered "Heil Hitler." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tYKmhUOYjM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As the music filled the tank I began hearing a familiar rumbling noise cautious I told Laurenz to get on the scope. "I don't see anythi-" *Bang* An exploding noise rocked through the tank turning my men fearful. "What was that!" Laurenz asked turning back to the scope. "Hanz turn the turret!" I yelled trying to get a view on what was attacking us, as I did another shot shook the tank this time making the oil leak out onto us. "I can't see what's out there!" Laurenz said slightly panicking "Laurenz get a hold of yourself! I'm going up to look." I said withdrawing my Luger."Careful commander." Hanz said as I gave him a reassuring nod. I slowly opened the hatch to be met with two American soldiers holding grenades. I fired at the first one making him drop his grenade outside the tank while the other threw his in and closed the hatch. There was only one thing I could do now. I grabbed both grenades and tucked them under myself trying to save my crew. "Nein!" I heard Hanz say as a scuffle was heard in the tank. "We cant save him." I heard Klaus say. As the ticking was counting down I said my last words to my crew. "Heil Hitler, mien friends." The last thing I heard was two explosions. > Rebirth (Wiedergeburt) > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “The goal of female education must invariably be the future mother.” -Adolf Hitler Pain. Pain is all I feel, signifying that i'm still living. The grenade should have killed me yet blood still flows through my veins. I take one raspy breath trying to fill my lungs is hard but not impossible, now to open my eyes. Opening them was hard at first but I got the hang of it, I was in a white room hooked up to what looked like an iv and a monitor checking my vitals. At times the line on the screen stayed strait but quickly wen't back to a diagonal arching line. My eyes scan the room further taking in my surroundings, a single painting adorned the wall showcasing a picture of an cat surrounded by kittens that read: "In life you must triumph over the bad and get to the good, and the good are your children! Run to them." Am I in a nursery? Suddenly the a door opened and a pony came through. I must be hallucinating, for the pony had almost been 5 feet tall and was colored blue. "Oh! Looks like your back in the land of the living. Good to see your vitals have stabilized." Did it just talk? It walked over to me and pulled out a clipboard and pencil from its bag adorned on it hind legs. I am not seeing this. This is just a hallucination brought on by the medicine of the good doctor. Who is 'not' a pony. "Alright you look... well good being in your condition, i'll just leave you to your rest now." He said checking something off on his board and walking away. Questions began flooding my mind in as he was walking away. Am I dead? Did we win the battle? Is my team okay? He was gonna answer them. "Nein!" I squeezed out trying to regain air. "Don't overexert yourself, we did allot to get you out of there." He said with a stern look on his face. "There? You mean mein tank?" I asked confused. "Tank? Wha- no the Everfree forest. Rainbow dash and her team got you out of there before you were mauled by wolfs." He said placing the clipboard back into his bag. I sighed. "Did we win the battle?" I asked preparing for the worst. "What battle?" He asked resting on his haunches. "The damn battle of Luxem-" I was cut off as I ran out of air and had begun grasping for it. "I told you not too exert yourself. I shouldn't have even answered your questions, you need rest!" He said beginning to walk out. "I need answers!" *Slam* He shut the door and soon the room was drenched in silence once more. What battle? The damn battle of Luxemburg! How could he not know this, the entire damn world knew we were at war! He must have been living somewhere without news I thought slumping down onto my bed. I must have exerted myself because I was feeling very tired all of a sudden. Sleep beginning to take me I shut my eyes. Maybe I would get answers in my sleep. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Meanwhile in the Everfree forest a certain metal behemoth slowly snuck upon the town of Ponyville peaking its long cylinder out of the bushes. Inside voices could be heard. "So what's the plan Hanz?" Laurenz asked looking down on the town through his scope. "Simple. We get Anton back and then. Blitzkrieg." > When one of us fall > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I don't doubt the superiority of the Tiger tank. I doubt how well the crew can perform under pressure." -Hauptman Anton Stabsgefreiter Hanz 1 minute after Anton's 'death' "Their all around us. What do we do!" Laurenz said firing at the few American troops in the front of the tank. "We fight! Klaus are we loaded?" I asked formulating a plan. "Ja!" Klaus said nodding to me. I lept down back into my gunners chair and turned the Tiger around. Once the Americans were in my sight I fired the main cannon taking many out many of them. "Confirmed hit I got them." I said taking a breath. "Are you sure?" Karl asked moving away from his drivers chair. "One way to find out I said withdrawing my Luger." "Nein! That's how- how Anton died." Laurenz said pulling out a Nazi flag and covering Anton. "He died protecting us Laurenz, now I may do the same." I said moving towards the commanders hatch. Opening it I looked out at my surroundings, destroyed building's lay adjacent to our tanks positioning, bodies dot the area around our tank, and many Sherman's lay destroyed in the rubble. Suddenly I hear something move, it was an American survivor trying to do something with a cylinder shaped tube. I fire one round into his head killing him quickly. Red smoke begins coming out of the cylinder in his hand and then it hits me. Its a damn artillery marker. "Karl! Get us out of here now!" I yell ducking down into the tank. A rough metal sound is heard throughout the tank. "I can't were stuck, they must have blown off our tracks!" Karl says getting out of the driver seat, While Laurenz began trying to transport Antons body. "Everyone disembark!" I yell opening the hatch of the tank and climbing out. In the air I hear a faint whistling noise. Then silence and a bright purple light.