Chapter Eleven: News

That night, Anne found that she was back in the barn that she used for her new headquarters. She found that this one was stuffier and smaller than the other barn that she had used before the war, though she realized that one was no longer safe. She couldn't take the chance of another infiltrator finding her headquarters, much as Faust had once done, so she had made sure to either destroy or transfer any incriminating evidence that he hadn't stolen about any of her agents. At least things are coming along well in putting The Angels back together, and these remaining months should fly by she thought to herself. She was also glad that unlike Carter and Newkirk, none of her other agents' names had been leaked, so she knew that their secrets were still well-guarded. I only wish that their names being leaked 'adn't led to Colonel Hogan's subsequent death and changing. If I 'ad foreseen this, I certainly would 'ave 'ad time to warn them. I know that the Colonel will serve me will as an agent, but it must be very 'ard for 'im at the moment. 'E is no longer who 'e once was, and 'is transition must be extremely 'ard on 'im—much as it was for all of us in the beginning. I can only 'ope that 'e 'as learned 'ow to control both 'is emotions and 'is desires by now, because losing 'im to 'is darkness would be unspeakable!

As the hours slowly crept into the morning, Anne knew that she would have to stop and rest for the night before picking up the pieces of putting her headquarters together. So far, she had slept peacefully, even though sometimes she still had nightmares about what Faust might be doing to two of her men, even though he was deceased. As she settled into her bed, she found that sleep came easy, though the dreams were troubling.

At first, she could see only darkness around her. Suddenly, somebody turned the light on in a room, and she could see that Hogan, Carter, and Newkirk were there, along with several vampires that she didn't recognize. Hogan and his men were on one side of the room, with the other men standing on the opposite end.

"You know what you have to do, Colonel, if you wish to become a part of us. That is what you want, isn't it? After all, if your men truly cared about you, then they would want you to be happy, without later feeling guilty about it. You were happy when you were killing Hochstetter, weren't you?" Metzger asked, knowing full well that he had Hogan exactly where he wanted him.

"Yes, I was," Hogan replied, and Carter and Newkirk found themselves gasping as Hogan's green eyes took on an expression that they had never seen before. They were wild and dazed, as though he was beyond comprehending anything other than the feelings that Metzger was feeding him.

"You would like to be happy again, wouldn't you? If you destroy your men, I can personally guarantee that you won't have any more conflicted emotions, any more guilt, anguish, or torment over what you are experiencing. I can guarantee you eternal satisfaction and pleasure—and you know how much you want it," Metzger sinisterly replied.

"I do," Hogan replied. Before any of his men could react, Hogan quickly reached out a hand towards them and grabbed both of their throats in his hands, pushing them against the wall. "If you were really my friends you would want me to feel happy! You would let me be who I truly am, which is a bloodthirsty predator. No—you're trying to turn me into a "humane" vampire, who doesn't kill people, innocent or not. The blood from the hospital bags are cold and stale, but those from a human are warm and thick. I know what I want!" Hogan replied, allowing his upper and lower fangs to emerge.

Even though they could feel themselves becoming faint, Newkirk tried pushing his commanding officer's hand off of him, which he was able to succeed in doing. "Colonel, please, you don't want this. They're tricking and brainwashing you. Please—we can 'elp you. Come 'ome with us, and we'll make everything better." Carter quickly nodded his agreement, having also pushed Hogan off of him.

"Liars, the both of you!" Hogan angrily shouted.

Behind him, Metzger, Amsel, Nacht and Allerton were standing with their arms crossed; all four of them wearing sweet, sickly smiles on their faces. They knew that Hogan had finally given into his dark side, and that he was one of them.

"Sir, stop!" Carter shouted, immediately before Hogan's hand once again grabbed him and Newkirk by the throats. Before any of them knew what was happening, Hogan leaned in close to his corporal's neck. Newkirk found himself screaming as Hogan drank from him, drawing the blood from his body. After a couple of minutes, Hogan let his corporal fall to the floor.

Waking up in a cold sweat, Anne found herself trying to understand whether the dream that she had just experienced was a nightmare or a vision. No, it can't be! she worriedly thought to herself. Shaking her head back-and-forth to try to clear the vision from her mind, she knew that she couldn't waste any time in informing her two men what she had just witnessed. What's worse is that I don't even know the final outcome. Did the Colonel kill one of 'is men, or did 'e only injure 'im? Whatever the case is, I 'ave to make sure of one thing—we can't afford to lose the Colonel to 'is true nature!

Her back still positioned against her pillow, she immediately tried sending a mind message to Newkirk. She had never tried contacting him while he was asleep, which she suspected he was judging by the lateness of the hour. However, she felt that she couldn't waste another minute.

Back inside the tunnels, Newkirk found himself nervously pacing back and forth, waiting for the minute that his Colonel would come back after his arranged meeting with Tiger. Kinch and LeBeau had long since gone to bed, or so he suspected. He could see that Carter was sitting down nearby the radio, though he would occasionally get up to pace before forcing himself to relax again. However, Newkirk couldn't help but overhear his friend's thoughts. We can't afford to lose him! It would be the end of our operation, the end of helping London and the Underground, but most importantly, the end of the Colonel's life as he knows it. If he thinks that this is bad enough, he should see how it is to give into his darkness. Plus, if he ever comes back to his old self and learns he spilled his secrets to those bad vampires, he'd never be able to forgive himself. He would definitely want to commit suicide after that, but would we even be around to stop him? Carter paused for a couple of seconds before thinking, in a semi-annoyed fashion. I trust that you share these feelings, Peter? I suppose you can't let a person worry by himself, can you? Carter felt himself sighing, since he knew that Newkirk was probably sharing the exact same sentiments that he was. He didn't wish to admit it, but he felt that he had no other choice. I haven't been this scared since Anne informed us that our names were leaked. What do you suppose we should do about this?

We 'ave to be there for the Gov'nor, for one thing. We 'ave to 'elp shake those suicidal thoughts from 'is mind, and realize everything that's still good about 'imself. 'Opefully 'is meeting with Tiger will be a positive one. But 'e better 'urry—it's almost time for roll call, and while Klink may be on our side, appearances in front of the other prisoners still 'ave to be kept up. 'E would still 'ave to send out the guards and the search dogs, and in the Colonel's condition that's probably the last thing 'e needs Newkirk replied to his friend.

Suddenly, Newkirk could feel a fuzzy sensation in his brain, and he suspected that Hogan's telepathy had finally fully kicked in, and that he was trying to contact him, so he temporarily stopped his pacing. Thus, he was a little surprised when he heard Anne's voice on the other end instead. As she described her horrific dream to him, Newkirk could feel his face becoming flushed and his hands becoming clammy. After she had finished the details, Newkirk turned around to face Carter, and he proceeded to give his friend the details of what she had told him. As he relayed her information to him, he could see that his friend's expression was quickly matching his own.

"But it can't be!" Carter finally shouted, standing up to begin pacing anew. "We can't lose the Colonel- we just can't! Plus, once, or even if, he was to snap out of it, if he really did kill you he would never forgive himself! Peter, this is bad," Carter replied, and he found that he had to keep himself from fainting.

Unbeknownst to any of his men, Hogan was making his way back to his camp, still thinking over what Tiger had just told him while trying to keep control over his emotions. I still don't know what to think about all of this, though I can certainly understand why she would have been hesitant to tell me her secret. After all, neither me nor the rest of my men took Carter's or Newkirk's revelations well at first, so her fear is certainly understandable. As Hogan thought about the rest of the information that Marie had given her, he felt a broad smile cross his face. I can't wait to tell the guys the good news! Marie is pregnant, and with twins, no less! At least that's one thing that damn Faust didn't steal from me. I promise that my children are going to have the best father that I can be, and that I'll always be there for them. I may not understand everything about being a werewolf, but I'm going to help my daughter with both her condition and her shifting. As he continued his thoughts, Hogan couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. I imagine that my son will have the hardest of it all. After all, it's not every boy that has a werewolf as both a mother and a sister, and a vampire for a father. At least I know that he'll be tolerant of other people's differences.

Suddenly, as Hogan was half a mile from camp, he could hear some rustling coming from the distance. As he was thinking to himself whether it might be more downed fliers or a German patrol, he could see two shapes rapidly approaching him. Before he had time to find cover, he could feel his eyes growing wide as he noticed what appeared to be two extremely large dogs, though to him they looked more like wolves. But wolves don't live in Germany any more—they were all hunted to extinction. Just as Hogan was about to make a run for it, the larger one approached him, wagging his tail. The smaller one followed the larger one's example, and before Hogan knew what was happening, the smaller one jumped on top of him with his paws reaching up towards his shoulders, wagging his tail. Hogan found that he had to keep himself from falling over due to the wolf's strength, and at first he found that he was completely petrified. Though, as the seconds dragged on, Hogan felt that, strangely enough, he was beginning to relax and found that he was comfortable in the wolves' presence.

However, just as quickly as the two wolves had approached Hogan, they ran off in the opposite direction from the tree stump. Hogan quickly found his way back to the stump, still completely baffled over what had just happened. I wonder if I should tell Carter and Newkirk what I just saw? he wondered to himself.

Both wolves watched Hogan descend into the tunnels, before they hurried over to the tree stump themselves. After they had shifted back into their human form, Kinch and LeBeau grabbed the clothes that they had hidden nearby the stump. They quickly began getting dressed, ever watchful for both the patrols and making sure that they weren't spotted by the searchlight.

"Don't you think that jumping up on the Colonel was a little uncalled for?" Kinch quietly asked his friend, shooting him a sideways glance.

"Perhaps, but perhaps not. At least I didn't lick his face, though I had to admit that Loup certainly wanted to" LeBeau quietly replied before he headed down into the tunnels, with Kinch following quickly behind him.

The sergeant had to smile to himself, wondering what the Colonel would think if his corporal had performed that action. He knew that as wolves, sometimes they followed whatever their instinct told them to, but that they also had to sometimes restrain themselves.

With all five men present inside the tunnels, Hogan began explaining the good news to his men. "Marie is pregnant with my twins!" he breathlessly exclaimed, and his men could see that he had a wide smile and that his usual twinkle was shining brightly in his eyes.

Hogan's men could only look amongst themselves, as they felt their own smiles breaking out.

"Congratulations sir!" Kinch wished his Colonel, proudly shaking his hand. As Hogan looked among his men, he could see that they also added their own "Congratulations!" to the chorus.

"Do you know what genders they are?" LeBeau asked.

"Yes. She has told me one is a boy, and that the other is a girl. Pretty soon, there will be a little Marie and a little Robert running around," Hogan replied, the smile still showing on his face.

Suddenly, Carter found that a question had come to his mind. "But how is this possible? Since you're now a vampire, you can't have any children, unless…" the sergeant found himself smiling as the truth was beginning to sink in.

"Unless she got pregnant before you were changed," Newkirk said with a smile, finishing Carter's thoughts for him. "I know you said 'ow much you wanted children, so I'm glad to see that you 'ave your wish."

"Yes—at least that's one thing that damn Faust wasn't able to steal from me!" Hogan replied, though his answer was more happy than angry.

Suddenly, Hogan found that he wanted to tell Carter and Newkirk the full truth that Tiger had told him. However, since he didn't know if Kinch and LeBeau knew that their Kommandant was a werewolf, or if werewolves even existed, he waited until they left the tunnels before turning back to his two men, who could sense that he had something that he wanted to add.

"Yes, sir?" they asked at the same time.

"Well, apparently Klink isn't the only shape shifter in this area. I don't know that much about werewolves, but apparently…Tiger's one of them. My daughter will be one also," Hogan replied. He could see that both of his men appeared completely surprised, and he could sense that their expressions were genuine. Apparently, neither of my men knew what Tiger was he thought to himself.

"Well, you're certainly going to be the 'ead of one interesting family," Newkirk finally replied after a minute of silence, before another smile broke out on his face.

"I know. The sooner this war is over, the better. I haven't worked out the details yet, such as where we're going to live once this bloody war ends, but I know one thing for a fact. I'm going to be the best father that I can be!" Hogan replied, almost triumphantly.

Suddenly, Hogan felt himself frowning as he knew that he had to tell his men the second strange encounter with wolves that he had experienced that night.

"I know that wolves are extinct in Germany, but I came across two of them before I got back into camp. One of them was large, and the other one was smaller." As Hogan pondered over his thoughts, a new idea came to mind. "Are there any other werewolves in this camp that I should know about?"

"The only one that we know of is Klink," both of his men replied, almost a little too quickly.

"Are you sure about that?" Hogan asked, noticing how rapidly they had answered his question.

"We're positive," both men lied to the best of their ability.

Hogan couldn't tell if his men were telling the truth, though he knew that he should let the matter drop for now. I suppose if there are other werewolves in this camp, then they must have a very good reason for not revealing themselves. I suppose that rules out Kinch and LeBeau then, since I should hope that they would be able to trust me with their secret.

"We better get ready for roll call then," Hogan replied, though he found that he had to stop himself from yelling at his men that he wanted the truth from them, and that he was making it an order.

As Carter and Newkirk followed being their commanding officer, both of them could feel themselves inwardly sighing. I don't like lying to the Colonel Carter thought to his friend. He deserves to know the truth, though in his condition he might not be able to handle it right now.

I agree Newkirk replied. I suspect that those two wolves that 'e saw must 'ave been Kinch and LeBeau. I wonder if they were trying to reveal themselves indirectly? I just 'ope that they realize that the Gov'nor's in no mood right now to accept the truth about themselves. In a way, I wish that they 'ad never 'eard those bloody stories in the first place about "our kind" not getting along. Maybe then they would 'ave revealed themselves before we all got kidnapped by Faust.

Morning roll call came and went as usual, though Hogan found that he was still preoccupied with his thoughts about the wolves that he had met, both known and unknown. He quickly scanned the prisoners that were lined up with him, wondering if one of them might be the werewolves that he had seen. However, he didn't notice anything different about them, so he could only sigh to himself.

However, he did think that he saw Klink acting slightly more nervous than usual, especially as he was eyeing Carter and Newkirk, though he tried to present a calm exterior. I wonder if Klink knows who the two werewolves are? he asked himself. If that's the case, then maybe they're two of the guards? However, his thoughts were interrupted by Schultz dismissing the prisoners. I wonder if Schultz is one of them? Nah, that couldn't be possible. That would have to be a really big werewolf then! he thought as he chuckled to himself. So far, he only knew that one of the men had to be short, and that the other man had to be taller. He also knew that there was no way they could be Kinch or LeBeau, due to the whole trust issue.

Finishing his thoughts, Hogan was the last of the prisoners to head back inside the barracks. He could see that LeBeau had already made a fresh pot of coffee, and that he was busy preparing the daily breakfast. Hogan helped himself to both a cup while adding his own sugar, and he sat down at the common table with the rest of his men. However, he could see that even though Carter and Newkirk tried to concentrate on their flavorless breakfast, they sometimes glanced at him when they thought that he didn't notice. At first, it didn't really bother him, but as the breakfast wore on, he could see that they seemed to be looking at him under a new light, as though they were studying his appearance for the first time.

Finishing his breakfast, Hogan waited until his two men had finished theirs as well before he motioned with his hand for them to follow him inside his quarters. Sitting down at his chair, he invited both of them to sit down on his lower bunk.

"I know you two can be good actors, but I noticed that you were looking at me all during breakfast. Now, would you two care to explain what that was all about!" he asked, unable to hide the suspicious anger in his voice.

Trying to stay calm, Carter nonetheless knew that he was about to deliver his Colonel some terrible news. However, he couldn't help looking quickly down at his feet before looking back up as he began, "Well, sir, Anne contacted us last night. She had a vision, and it wasn't a good one."

Heavily sighing, Newkirk could see that Carter was unable to finish the bad news. "She saw you giving into your darkness, sir, and that you 'ad joined those bad vampires. She actually saw you drinking from me, and that you either killed or seriously wounded me as well."

Both of Hogan's men could see that he was looking down at the floor, and that he had begun to wrap his arms around himself. Looking up, they could see that his eyes had become misty, and that he was fighting to hold back his tears. "But I would never do that!" he shouted. "I know I may be having trouble controlling my desires right now, but that is simply beyond me! Newkirk, you know that I would never hurt you!"

"Well, 'er visions are wrong 10% of the time, and for all she knows it may 'ave just been a really bad nightmare," Newkirk calmly replied, being brave for all three of the men.

"We're not going to let that happen to you. We're going to teach you how to deal with your changing, and we're going to be here to protect you," Carter added.

"But how can you possibly protect me from myself? If Anne saw you two joining my operation, then maybe this really will come to pass!" Hogan responded, completely fearful of the news that his men had given him.

Both men sighed simultaneously before responding, "We're not sure. We're really not sure how to, but we know that we are, one way or another. It's going to be over our dust that we lose you!"

Getting up, Hogan found himself pacing back and forth in his quarters, trying to think of anything that would get the bad news out of his head.

Standing up, Newkirk reached out to place a hand on his Colonel's shoulder. "Based on Anne's vision, what you 'ave to learn next may 'ave negative consequences. 'Owever, it's important that you learn 'ow to fight as a vampire."

Turning to face his corporal, Hogan slyly responded, "I am a trained soldier, Newkirk. I think I know how to take care of myself."

Before Hogan could respond, however, Newkirk quickly wrapped both arms around his Colonel's waist before lifting him into the air as easily as if he was picking up one of his cigarettes. Newkirk could see that Hogan appeared slightly surprised at his show of strength by his expression. Just as quickly, Newkirk set him back on his feet again.

"I think it would be best if you followed me and Carter into the tunnels, sir. If these vampires do come after you, you need to know 'ow to protect yourself against them. You need to learn 'ow to fight."

Hogan could only nod his agreement, before following both of his men out of his quarters and down into the tunnels. "Just try not to rough me up too much. I'm not really in the mood to have to explain my bruises to Klink today," Hogan responded once they were in the tunnels, not sure how much strength and speed his men truly possessed.

"We'll try our best," both men could only respond. "We'll certainly try our best."