The Sky Bled Red
Note and Disclaimer: I'll be saying this every time. I don't own the characters to Hogan's Heroes. I would like to thank those who have created this series. However, the characters I have created in this series (e.g. Colonel Michalovich, George von Rumey) belong to me, so if you want to use them in any story you wish to write, please email me with permission first. Their views, however disgusting to many, are NOT my own and I do not mean offense to anyone. Any violent actions in this story are to your discretion. Thank you!
They pulled the lever again, an easy action for them to execute because they had nothing to gain, but somehow, everything to lose. And all I would do was sit there in agony, jerking my body to and fro and screaming for it to stop. They did it over and over again, as if enjoying me doing such. I was strapped and had no way to escape. The Gestapo could do as they wished to me. I am nothing but a traitor to them, no matter how I felt towards my Germany…my home. I did what I had to do to save myself and to wait for my country to be strong again. Alas, this was not my way.
"Now, tell me again, Captain von Rumey," Major Hochstetter said as he pulled the lever up, stopping my agony temporarily. "Where…is…Papa…Bear? Who is he?"
I shook my head, as if to say "No" and not betray Hogan and his Stalag 13 operation, but it enraged Hochstetter more. Rubbing his forehead once more (a vein kept making itself known there), as if frustrated and not just angry, Hochstetter seemed to have given up as he screamed with vengeance.
Indeed, it had been hours ago that they had taken me from my cell…taken me from daydreaming about my former life before going on the run to Stalag 13…and put me in this cold, damp room. Attached to a chair and strapped down, Major Hochstetter had only to question me and, with my silence, each pull of the lever brought…dreadful…bolts of lightning to my head, legs and arms. It made me hallucinate and almost talk through my dreams and nightmares. But I am strong. I am a German soldier and always will be, no matter what they all say. I would never betray my mother country. When it has turned its back on me, I keep faith with those who have helped me.
Apparently, Hochstetter had not anticipated this. He thought otherwise.
Another round of questions was given to me, but I do not remember them all. The jolting feeling was not given to me the last time these questions came around, so I considered it a mercy from Major Hochstetter.
Then, Hochstetter stood still, thinking, and then it looked like he thought of something totally obvious and had forgotten until that moment. He then asked something completely different. "Captain von Rumey, have you had any contact with an Underground agent, codename Desertstar?"
My head whipped up with interest, but not recognition. Yes, I had heard of the agent. Nobody knew who he (she?) was. All anybody knew of was of an agent (female they think, as I knew the Gestapo thought the male voice too feminine), posing to get German intelligence, in Paris. Some have ideas on who this agent is, but he (she?) is as slippery as Nimrod. No Gestapo agent or loyal German (or citizens of France, Vichy or otherwise) have been able to catch this agent. Hochstetter has been hot on the trial for almost a year and seems to have come closer, but to ask me about the agent was silly. Why the question, though?
"Ah, so you know her?" Hochstetter asked, pacing the small room, his hands behind his back.
With a head shake, sweat coming down of my face, I denied that I knew Desertstar. It was the truth, anyhow. I didn't know the agent personally, but knew of him (her?). Oh, Lilli, what have I gotten myself into? Why did I trust the Underground? Why did I have to follow prisoners of war? Look where I am now. I should be dead, along with you, who have tried to save my life.
The shock came back suddenly, shorter than the rest of the tortuous sessions, but it stopped within a few seconds. Then, again from Hochstetter: "Tell me again, von Rumey, what do you know of the Allied agent named Desertstar?"
I shut my eyes, only to open them to a strange sight. It was my wife, my Lilli, and not Hochstetter. Lilli flashed before my eyes, white like a ghost, gesturing for me to come with her. But it isn't my time yet. No, I can't stand this agony anymore, I wanted to tell her, thinking. I want to live. I want to see myself live again. I want our son, Jozef, to escape Germany. He has a good sense of what side would win. If only he would listen to me, I can live happily and we will be safe.
"None, I swear it!" Lilli suddenly disappeared and there was Hochstetter again, putting his hand on the lever again. Oh, God, I knew that I had been pressured under this great weight, but I had told the truth, and already, I could see the ghosts of those who loved me. The Gestapo may not have seen how much agony I was in for telling them the truth, but they wanted the answers they needed. Then, it would be the end of those who tried to help me.
Hochstetter saw it – my fear, shown for the first time ever – and smiled. He knew, well enough, that any amount of torture can make any man confess and speak anything. But this was not what he expected. He saw the fear and my strength into one person, but he could not make me break.
"And what of Colonel Hogan?" Hochstetter then asked. "Our agents have assured us that Hogan sent you to your meeting place. The codename had been Papa Bear and Hogan's voice was overheard. Is that not true?"
"It is wishful thinking on your part," I said spitefully, and for that I was punished. I felt another jolt of pain pulse through my body. And then…and then, was it all black again. I felt no more.