Prologue:
The Plane
There are few things in life more intimidating than five well built and temperamental men putting their safety in your hands, especially when one is one of the most decorated veterans of your time. As such, the pilot of this particular plane was having nearly a heart attack as he flew the small platoon to their drop point along with whatever this special cargo of theirs was. His name was Daniel Byre and he didn't realize the danger he was in.
"Never liked planes" Came a sudden statement from the rear of the small plane. Daniels eyes dilated in surprise and fear, he knew that voice. That was the voice of the group's commanding officer. Staff Sergeant Dempsey. Daniels heart skipped a beat.
"Flying death traps" Another soldier was chiming in, this one much less recognizable. Private Miller, if Daniels memory was correct. A thin man with wild eyes, Miller was the joker of the platoon. Every word out of his mouth at the hangar had been nails on a chalk board to Byre. These words were no different.
The rest of the platoon was far less vocal, going only so far as to grunt agreement. They all agreed and if they didn't, they sure as hell weren't going to go against their sergeant. The flight resumed its cold silence… at least for a few minutes.
"So what's in this box anyway?" Miller again, Daniel fought not to groan.
"What does it matter, once we drop it at the rendezvous we're done with it" This was someone else. The clearly identifiable accent made this clear. It was Lance Corporal Fierro, an Italian American who had recently joined the semi-elite team. A tall and bulky man, he had barely fit through the door of the plane with his beloved mg42 machine gun. It sat on his lap now as he sat confidently and looked over at Miller.
"What's in that box is a mystery and that wont change" Ferro added.
"The size of it is something of a curiosity" Nasally. Not a familiar voice to Daniel. A glance back at the source revealed it was Lance Corporal Chase. His was the oddest build; Chase was the portrait of average in both height and weight with the darkest and boldest hair of the group. The horn rimmed glasses he wore weren't exactly up to code but he didn't seem particularly affected as he adjusted them and looked at the large box at the far end of the transport.
"And everyone knows what happened to the curious cat." Staff Sergeant Dempsey stated coldly as he began to clean his personal sidearm, a .357 magnum.
A chill rushed down Daniels spine and his eyes returned to the sky, he couldn't even look at that man let alone look him in the eye. Nobody could since Peleliu. The story was haunting.
"It got shot?" Miller chimed enthusiasm thick in his few words. He felt he'd gotten the answer correct.
Chase laughed, Fierro smirked, and Dempsey gave a cold but conceding semi-smile, the last being Private Field. Daniel knew the least about Field, nobody knew much about the silent wiry mouse of a man. All anyone knew about Field was he had enlisted with his brother, the last piece of which he had was a second set of dog tags he wore around his neck.
Daniel took a deep breath and looked out at the sky. It was getting darker, harder to see clearly. Before long he would need to land so as not to get blown out of the sky or lost in Berlin.
"We there yet?" the words shook Daniel from his thoughts suddenly. It was Miller again; apparently the conversation back there had teetered out.
"No" Daniel responded flatly as he looked back at the nuisance.
"Then we should land for the night." Fierro stated as he pulled a cigarette from his jacket and lit it. Smoke wafted from the glowing stick.
"Not an option" Sergeant now. His medal of honor shined back the dim glow of Fierro's cigarette. "This package is our mission; we aren't landing until its back in the states."
Daniel sighed and looked at the box… then looked again. It had shifted. Been moved. Something was off; but Daniel couldn't quite place it. What was in it, he asked himself as he looked back at the sky. In the light of the stars he remembered.
Confiscated Nazi technology, some sort of earth shattering discovery. At least that's what the higher ups believed, and when they were set on something they weren't usually wrong. But what could be so incredible that the plane wasn't allowed to land and the men weren't allowed to look.
"So no landing? What if fly boy here gets sleepy?" Miller. For once he was stating something worth noting, Daniel was the only pilot on the flight. One wrong blink and suddenly they're gone.
"Then we crash" This turned all heads toward one. Field had spoken for the first time since they had begun their journey into the Reich to retrieve the box to begin with. "And we died for the mission. Big heroes, all of us." Field's bitterness was biting ice, making the Sergeant seem cuddly by comparison.
Daniel looked back worriedly, on the verge of telling Field to go back to his silence. Something stopped him dead in his tracks. Behind all of the soldiers, who's eyes had been glued to Field, was a corpse… It was standing in the box, with the lid now on the ground. Daniels heart skipped a beat.
The world was silent for a moment. Quiet… cold… still. Then it started. The corpse looked up, its ghastly glowing eyes like the ends of cigarettes, and screeched.
"What the fu…" Chase was cut off as the corpse flung itself from its coffin at him. In a single twitch it tore his arm from his body and sent him flying out the door to the plane.
Rapidly the cabin depressurized and Daniel was screaming at the soldiers to strap in. The corpse had been flung from the plane when the door opened and was likely on the ground already. Daniel, fighting the plane every minute, began to pilot it to the ground. He made it half way before he lost control. In what felt like slow motion to Daniel, he was flung through the front windshield as the airship smashed into the ground and the box was sent flying after him. The box seemed to be far more than it seemed as multicolored strange rocks flooded out onto what had once been a battlefield.
As Daniel lay dying the soldiers, wounded but safe, began to run, leaving behind their heavier weaponry and supplies. Scared to death of the walking corpse they had just encountered, safety became their sole priority. Luckily enough a nearby bunker offered just that. As Daniel died, the real story began.
