On the night of May fifth, rain poured onto the hard roof of the Wolfien manor. 100 years ago is when it started. The “Curse.” It was the day before World War II ended. German scientists were searching for more power, an alternate way to win the war. And when they did, Super Soldier was designed.
Chemistry and physics were combined, which was their first mistake. Their second mistake, taking my grandfather for research. My grandfather was a spy for the United States spying on the exact same experiment. The scientists however, knew they were being followed, so they laid a trap. They used a mine that they were researching on him. It would paralyze anything in a 10 foot radius, like an EMP, except it would attack anything that would move.
When he tripped the mine and became vulnerable, they strapped him into a machine. First, they drained his blood, then took out his brain and replaced it with circuits. He would be the new era of war, Super Soldier. He was found invincible by bullets and tank shells. With the new soldier, the Germans would’ve won the war but the Japanese got too prissy and Super Soldier was kept a secret.
However, if the Super Soldier was released into the open, it would have advanced many countries’ technologies. By 1970, the jetpack would have been introduced. And by 1990, machines would be doing our dirty work. It would have been what the people during this time have expected in the future. A technological future, but they got too lazy
And now, this same Super Soldier “thing” stands in front of me. The would’ve-been tyranny of Germany, and probably the world. I am an American soldier by the name of Ex-O. I am cursed, not by luck, but by an injection when I was young. My grandfather injected it into me. I could not age after the age of 22. Now, it is year 2041, where we are now just transforming into a technological era that should’ve happened 70-some years ago. Jetpacks were just being released, and sold for billions on the market. And only small amount of robots were produced in a decade.
I call my life a curse because when the moon becomes full…well, you’ve heard the stories many years ago. Werewolf.
I arrived in Poland on June 23rd, journalists would write about hearing sounds around the hamlet of Giertoz. 100 years ago, on this same day, Hitler would arrive at the bunkers named Wolfsschanze, or Wolf’s Lair. Surrounded by ancient forests, twenty bunkers occupied the area, some that were destroyed. Looking at the briefing info, the bunkers were now ruins, mutilated by the wildlife surrounding it, and the TNT blasts that was used when Hitler left.
I stepped towards the first bunker while looking at a map of the neighboring area. Seven bunkers were still standing, one in which Hitler resided in. Bunker 13.
As I took another step inside of the first bunker, I could see what it was like 100 years ago, in black and white. It seemed like an old movie. Soldiers with MP40’s in their hands, guarding the entrance. Moments later, Major Alfred Jodl would come in. The soldiers residing inside and the one’s keeping guard saluted to him in the way that Nazi’s did. Accompanied him was Adolf Hitler. Hitler wore a grayish uniform with many commemorating medals attached to it. He and Jodl walked toward a table that appeared in the middle of the room. They spoke in German, but I could understand what they were saying.
“Comrades of mine, tonight I first arrive in Wolfsschanze. I will inhabit this area for headquarters.” A bark came from the door, and one guarding soldier almost shot it; it was Hitler’s dog, Blondi, running towards him. He would run through Hitler’s legs and sit obediently next to him. “Many more bunkers will be built, and many more defensive tactics will be deployed. I will be in Bunker 13. And now, I leave Major Jodl to brief you on your stations.” Hitler, now finished, left with a respectful look on his face.
The soldiers dropped their salutes and Jodl would begin to talk.
“Now, the Polish prime minister has given into the Axis’s whim, and with Hitler watching us, may we begin our operations. I want the third tier privates on guard duty and second tier lieutenants on bay for deploy. More mission briefing later, as I need to take a coffee break.” Jodl finished and walked out followed by the soldiers’ salutes.
I blinked for a second and everything returned to color. I could hear it raining now. I observed the walls and floors carefully, looking for anything suspicious. Mostly I find cracks with wild plants growing out of them. No one would dare come to such a forsaken place after the British and Polish war of 2023. Eighteen years of silence in these woods. A cold breeze swept towards me as the rain came down faster. I left the bunker in a hastily attempt to find a more covered area.
A metal sign bolted onto the wall read: Bunker 17. Briefing told me that this was Jodl’s bunker. It was cleaner than the rest, and was barely destroyed. I looked toward the window and saw the gray mist that the rain provided. It was getting late and all I had was a knife; for cutting the thick weeds that buried the entrance. The wind pressed hard against the steel door that kept me safe from the surrounding beasts. A few crumbling rocks fell, signing that the infrastructure wouldn’t stand too much longer. I then found stairs that led into an area that the other bunker didn’t have. I blinked my eyes, and slowly did they re-open. I was back in the past. I could see Jodl and Hitler walking down the stairs.
“Our research has been successful so far. However a problem still persists, we still need a human.” Voiced Jodl.
“I will not let you use my soldiers for this” replied Hitler hastily and then continued. “One man could be the difference of this war, you do understand that right, Major?”
Jodl had a stunned look on his face.
“Yes, sir!” Jodl replied and went forward into a room that locked behind him.
Suddenly, an alarm sounded and over the loudspeaker spoke: “A spy has infiltrated our defenses!”
Hitler hurried outside and saw a mass of soldiers scurry and prepare their arms. He walked in front of the largest platoon of soldiers he could find.
“Drop your arms. Radio the scientists. Tell them I need ten B-33’s up on surface.” Hitler told. The soldiers listened and went back to their duties.
“Perfect timing for experiments.” Hitler spoke aloud to himself. He walked towards a bunker and outside stood a blond scientist wearing circular glasses holding a box.
“Set to 30 and you should be good.” The scientist told. Hitler grabbed the box and walked to another bunker.
“Radio all soldiers to take cover inside, and call three of the technicians.” Hitler told the guard outside. Minutes later, three men in black jumpsuits walked towards Hitler and saluted. “I need B-33’s around the area. Spread them 15 meters apart from each other.”
The technicians walked away carrying the box that the scientist gave to Hitler.
I zoned back to reality. The same door from the flashback underneath the bunker stood in front of me. Before investigating the other side of it, I prepared my knife in the right hand and my flashlight in the other. I then slowly grabbed the handle that kept the door shut. I twisted it and opened the door quietly.
Tables and barrels sat around the center of the room. To the left, was a corner that led further into the new room. I walked forward from the door and toward the tables, on one of them stood a folder with the words: “Top secret” stamped onto it in red ink. I went over to it and picked it up. Searching through the mysterious documents, I found a weird page that had a picture of what looked like a cryogenic cell, and stated: We have been successful of the Super Soldier so far. We have captured the spy, and re-circuited his brain. It is set to be tested in a year. Hitler is looking forward to further expansion.
I put the document down onto the dusty table and proceeded further to another door. Still ready for anything, I opened the door. I was shocked of what I found inside. The same cryogenic cell from the document stood in front of me, busted in the middle as if something had broken out. I stepped forward into the room and examined the walls and everything. I noticed that the ceiling was cracked and looked like it could cave in any minute.
I remembered that it was a full moon outside and if the ceiling had busted through, then I would transform. I did not want this, as I could not control myself. Every time there was a full moon outside, I either took refuge in my basement or took shots of the serum that first started it. My grandfather had kept boxes of the stuff underground in the basement of his manor. I was cryogenizied too, but I was buried alive outside of the manor and didn’t wake up until 1984. I lived in the manor until I was ready to face the outside world, in 2018. I enrolled in the military, and now here I am.
I wanted to leave the room, but I felt a shock come from my feet. I looked behind me and saw electronic pulses coming from the floor. I recognized that it was a mine that was in my briefing folder. The same used on my grandfather over 80 years ago. I felt paralyzed. I could not move. I dropped my flashlight and knife. Then, something came from behind me. It was barking, fierce and loudly. It was Hitler’s dog. I remember it also from the briefing. Accompanied, was a man who was around the age of thirty, who has holding the dog by its leash. It did not speak. It just looked at me. I felt a cold breeze come the ceiling, and then I heard rocks come crashing down. The ceiling was falling apart. I still could not move. I couldn’t do anything. The figure also did not move, but the dog was barking ferociously and looked like it was going to tackle me and eat me alive.
So we were going to be buried alive. I did not get worried by the thought. I had always felt that if I should die, then it was because it was time for me to die. I did not believe in a god, or anything; just myself. It was all I needed.
A big chunk of the ceiling feel, revealing the full moon right onto my face. I felt my face tingle. Hair was growing from every part of my body. My face took a new shape. I grew claws. I wanted to kill. I could finally move. I felt like I was a narrator to a first person story. I just stayed in the back of my mind, while my body did all the work. I got on all fours, and ran full force towards Hitler’s dog. I tackled it, and pushed it onto the ground. My body was laying on his. My right claw slashed at its face. The dog yelled and its body lay onto the cold floor. My next target was the man. He once again, did not move while I was attacking the dog. I felt as if he was just a statue. I stood up on two legs and had my left hand around his neck. I snarled and roared. I wanted to taste the blood of innocence. In the back of my mind, I noticed something. Dog tags. I read them while I was clenching his throat. It was my grandfather’s name. I recognized the name from the pictures around the manor. He wrote a lot of spy and war books. I could not kill the man who turned me into this beast, but without him, I would be buried in the deepest cemetery. I slashed at his face, until I could not stop. I had killed him.
I ran. Ran until I got to a pond. I was still a werewolf. I felt more in control than what I had back at the bunkers. I took a step forward into the water. I fell to the deepest section of water. I did not surface. I didn’t want to. I drowned.