Chapter Twelve: Revelatory Training
Down below in the tunnels, Newkirk, Carter and Hogan were in the same private room where they usually drank their blood. Newkirk had made sure to move the furniture such as the cups and the safe, outside of the room so that they would have the entire space to practice in. Even though Hogan had once seen Newkirk and Carter push Colonel Magerlein's car with him inside it for half a mile, he was still amazed by his corporal's show of strength. He had managed to pick up the safe as though it weighed nothing more than a couple of feathers.
"So, how exactly does this go?" Hogan asked quizzically, still trying to keep control over his emotions. After all, I don't want to injure my men too much he thought to himself.
As though they were reading their commanding officer's mind, Newkirk and Carter both shook their heads in a negative manner. "For once, it might be better to lose control over your emotions. That should give you a fighting edge, which is important since this is your first training session" they replied at the same time. They could see that Hogan could only nod, still not sure if his men's advice was actually a good one or not.
Newkirk and Carter quickly moved off to opposite ends of the room, with Hogan in the middle. He could see they were quickly circling around him, much as he had once seen Faust do to Klink. Suddenly, Newkirk lunged at Hogan before the Colonel had time to even blink an eye, and he tackled him to the floor, where Hogan landed with an "Oomph!"
"You're going to 'ave to be quicker than that, sir," Newkirk replied, still pinning Hogan's arms down as though they were boxing with all of his strength. Hogan tried kicking his corporal off of him, but it was to no avail. After Newkirk had held him down for fifteen seconds, he began getting off of him. Having let go of Hogan's right arm, he was about to let go of his left arm as well before the next thing he knew Hogan had grabbed Newkirk's free left arm, and pushed him onto his back, effectively pinning him this time.
"You mean, like that?" Hogan sarcastically asked, his eyes finally turning their green shade to match Newkirk's.
Before Hogan knew what was happening, however, he could feel a set of arms around his chest, pulling him off of Newkirk. He knew that Carter was trying to stop him, so without even thinking about it he freed one of his arms that had been holding onto Newkirk to push Carter off of him, much as he had recently done to Klink. He could see that, for better or for worse, it had the same effect as before and the sergeant went flying across the room, hitting his back on the wall.
Fearful that he had actually hurt one of his men, Hogan turned his head around to begin to issue an apology. However, Newkirk took the opportunity to push Hogan off of him, before quickly jumping to his feet.
Standing over his Colonel who had fallen down on his back, Newkirk quickly circled around him, and he was quickly joined by Carter who had regained his balance. "Sir, unless you have a stake or a bullet with you, you can't kill us. Our wounds will heal, but you have to treat this as though it was an actual battle. If you lose your concentration for even one second, it will give the enemy the opportunity they need to finish you off," both men replied at the same time.
Suddenly, a new thought occurred to Newkirk, one that he had been trying to avoid up until that point in time. If this were an actual battle, some of those vampires might be as old as I am. The Colonel needs to learn 'ow to protect 'imself against a vampire with wings. But is the Gov'nor ready for that truth?
Carter could only look at his friend, since while he wasn't reading his mind he could sense what Newkirk was thinking. Peter's right—the Colonel should learn how to protect himself against all kinds of vampires, especially the older ones.
However, while both men were busy thinking their thoughts, Hogan had jumped up from his position, and wrapping his arms around Newkirk's left and Carter's right, had quickly pushed them down to the floor.
"Now, what is it you were saying about always concentrating!" he shouted, this time unable to hide the conflicted anger in his voice.
Quickly sitting up, Newkirk knew what he had to do, though he wasn't sure how Hogan would take it. "Time out," he quickly called, and he could see that his Colonel quickly stopped the move that he was about to perform.
Standing up, Newkirk began to pace for a couple of seconds, and Hogan could see that his corporal appeared to be deep in thought. Turning around to face Hogan, Newkirk began, "Sir, there's something that you should know about being a vampire. You see, there are certain…changes that one experiences after they turn 150. You need to know 'ow to protect yourself against these kinds of vampires, since I 'ave no idea 'ow old those other vampires are."
Hogan could only look at his corporal quizzically, not sure at what he was getting at. However, Hogan found that he was gasping to himself as he saw Newkirk's eyes change color from green to purple. Before he could ask what was going on, Hogan watched as Newkirk took off both his RAF-issued overcoat and his regular shirt, before handing them both to Carter.
Suddenly, Hogan found that his eyes had grown extremely wide as he witnessed Newkirk's transformation. He could see that his corporal's body was quickly changing colors from flesh to white, and that his veins were becoming visible along his entire chest. Then, Hogan heard what sounded like a very faint rustling sound, and before he knew it he could see that his corporal actually possessed a set of wings. Then, as if that wasn't enough, Hogan witnessed as Newkirk began flapping them behind him, and that a couple of seconds later he was a foot off the ground.
Hogan's mind raced back to how he had felt and behaved when he heard his men tell him that they were vampires, and he had seen their eyes become green and their upper and lower fangs emerge. Once again, Hogan found that he had to keep himself from fainting, and as though Carter was reading his mind, even though he still couldn't, he quickly left the room and reappeared with a glass of water.
"What…what are you?" Hogan asked, staring dumbfounded at his corporal. He wasn't sure if he should be fearful, disgusted, or amazed at the sight that lay before him. "For bloody sakes, you have wings!" he shouted after a full minute of silence.
Newkirk could sense that Hogan wasn't taking his revelation very well, which made him quickly look down to the floor. Looking up again, he could only ask, "Do you like them?"
"I don't know!" Hogan shouted. "Wait—does this mean that in 150 years I'm going to get wings too?" he asked. He could see that Newkirk quickly nodded yes, which made him return his gaze to the floor.
Suddenly, Hogan's mind began racing with countless questions. "Do they hurt when you bring them out? Do they disappear when you're not using them? Or do you just keep them tucked somewhere where we can't see them?"
Setting his feet back on the floor, Newkirk knew that it was his responsibility to answer any and all questions that his commanding officer might think of. "They do 'urt a little bit when I bring them out, since I keep them tucked inside me back, between me skin and me spine. After all, I couldn't exactly let the Krauts see them when they searched me, or me doctor during me physical when I first got "drafted," now could I? The pain disappears very quickly, 'owever."
Hogan could only nod to himself, listening to and thinking over the information that Newkirk had just told him. Suddenly, he blurted out, "They're beautiful! They really are."
This time, it was Newkirk's turn to be surprised. "Do you really think so, Gov'nor? You don't mind that this is really 'ow I look?"
At first, Newkirk's last sentence didn't make a whole lot of sense to Hogan. Suddenly, the truth began to sink in. "I thought that this was just something that you underwent, whenever you needed to use your wings. But, you're telling me that your human appearance is actually your disguise, and not the other way around?" Hogan asked, watching his corporal slowly nod his head.
Turning to face Carter, who had moved to stand nearby his friend, Hogan could see that he wasn't the least bit surprised. "You knew about this too, didn't you? How long have you known?"
"Ever since the beginning, almost immediately after I knew that Newkirk was a vampire," came the sergeant's steady reply.
"I suppose I understand why you didn't want to tell me this in the beginning, when you first informed me that you were vampires. After all, I certainly didn't take that very well, so I can't imagine how I would have reacted to this. I understand why you're letting me know about this now, and I have to admit that I agree. If I'm going to beat those other vampires, it's important that I know how to fight them," Hogan replied. However, if he thought that he was completely confused about his emotions and his desires, he still wasn't sure how to treat Newkirk's news. Sure, they do look good on him, but how are they going to look on me? When I'm old enough, will I hate them or like them? What's the point in even having them, other than to…?
However, Hogan found that a small smile was beginning to cross his face, as he knew what he would be able to perform in 150 years. "I'll be able to fly again, won't I? It may not be in an airplane, and it certainly won't be as general, but I do have to admit that I'm looking forward to being able to be above the clouds again," Hogan replied with genuine sincerity.
However, Hogan could sense that this wasn't the only piece of news that Newkirk had to tell him. "Sir, you better keep your ears covered for this. As far as I know, that's the only effective weapon against me Scream of Death."
Hogan watched as Carter quickly covered his ears, holding onto them as though they were bleeding. Following his sergeant's example, he could still hear Newkirk emit a ghastly moan, and he noticed that it felt like his entire body was shaking on the inside, and that his arms and legs felt like Jello. After ten seconds, all was completely quiet, and Hogan watched Carter remove his hands from over his ears before he allowed himself to remove his own.
After a couple of seconds had passed, Hogan felt that his body was beginning to return to normal, and that his arms and his legs had regained their strength and that he was no longer inwardly shaking. This time, however, he was able to immediately put the pieces together.
"So, you're telling me that this "Scream" of yours has the power to kill? Why didn't you use it on Faust? If you had, then maybe I would still be human!" Hogan shouted, not understanding why his corporal wouldn't have used every means at his disposal.
Newkirk could only sigh before telling his Colonel the truth. "It does 'ave the power to kill other vampires, so if Carter 'ad covered 'is ears 'e would 'ave been protected. 'Owever, you would 'ave ended up in a mental 'ospital…for life. Even if you 'ad covered your ears, you would 'ave been driven permanently insane, since you were still 'uman at the moment. That's what this ability of mine does to all 'umans." Newkirk allowed himself to sigh again, not sure at all as to how Hogan would take this piece of news.
Hogan could only think over this additional piece of information that Newkirk had told him, as he began to digest it. "Well, I certainly wouldn't have wanted that!" he finally responded, unable to hide the anger in his voice. "But how am I supposed to protect myself against an older vampire? I don't exactly have wings of my own, you know," he replied sarcastically.
"Well, as long as you can cover your ears, the Scream won't 'urt or kill you, and as long as you can dodge any bullets or stakes aimed at your 'eart, you should be safe," Newkirk replied. "Of course, if there's more than one vampire present, they may try to 'old you in place or keep you from covering your ears. You need to be strong and fast enough to be able to keep that from 'appening to you."
"That's why we're training," all three men replied at the same time. Hogan allowed a small smile to cross his face, realizing that the psychic link was becoming stronger between him and his two men all the time.
"But sir, I don't think Kinch and LeBeau should know about this. I don't want them to think that I'm sort of monster or demon. After all, if they saw 'ow I really look, they wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else," Newkirk said, hoping that Hogan would understand the implications if his secret was revealed beyond the three of them.
"I'm going to be honest with you—it's going to be hard for me to not think of you this way when we're out on missions, or even when we're in the barracks. But if this is how you really look, I'm going to have to accept it. I lost too much ground with you when I told you that I was fearful of you, especially after we went to Colonel Magerlein's house. I don't want that to happen between us again," Hogan truthfully replied, allowing a very small smile to cross his face.
With that, Hogan watched as Newkirk pulled his wings into his back again, and his body returned to its normal color. As soon as he had completed that, the corporal tried rushing his Colonel again. However, this time Hogan was ready for him. Putting both of his arms in front of him, Hogan was able to push Newkirk away from him, but this time he was able to control his strength so Newkirk only took a couple of steps backwards instead of flying across the room. Also, Carter tried sneaking up on Hogan again, but the Colonel quickly spun around and was able to kick Carter's left foot from under him, causing him to lose his footing and land on the floor.
The session continued for thirty more minutes, with each man trying to rush at Hogan and take him down. A couple of times, Newkirk and Carter were able to get in a couple of well-aimed tackles, which caused Hogan to lose his footing and tumble downwards. Other times, Hogan was able to use his arms to block their tackles, though he did end up apologizing to Carter for the punch that almost broke his jaw, and the kick that caused Newkirk to double over, clutching his lower left foot. After that amount of time had passed, all three men were beginning to realize how sore they were, and they knew they were probably covered in several, if not numerous bruises.
Hogan and his men walked out of the private room while forcing their eyes to return to their normal color. They came across Kinch and LeBeau, who had gathered around the radio while listening to some important news that was coming in from London. However, both men's eyes grew wide as they scanned their commanding officer and his two men, and they immediately noticed the strong bruising that was present on Carter's jaw.
Putting down the earphones after Kinch had finished copying down the message, he could only ask, "What happened to you?" while looking directly at the sergeant.
"We were training," all three men replied at the same time, while Carter began messaging his jaw, noticing for the first time how much it hurt.
"They were teaching me how to fight as a vampire," Hogan added, speaking up before taking full responsibility for Carter's bruise.
"Remind me to never get in the middle of that," LeBeau added, his face growing slightly pale at understanding his Colonel's show of strength.
"Agreed," Kinch added. "How do you plan on explaining this to Klink, or to Schultz? They're going to get suspicious as soon as they see this."
"For starters, we can't tell them that Carter was in a fight. They'll want to know who the offending party is, and I can't exactly tell them that it was me. We'll just have to tell them that Carter got clumsy, and that he hit his head on the table trying to reach something that had fallen underneath it."
"Schultzie might buy it, but do you really think that Klink will?" LeBeau asked incredulously.
"'E will if 'e knows what's good for 'im," Newkirk responded.
"Now, what was that message about?" Hogan asked, trying to keep control over his anger that he had used during his fighting.
"There's a new ammo dump in Hammelburg that they want us to blow up tonight. Fortunately, it sounds like a routine mission, so Carter and Newkirk should be able to take care of it easily. Unless, you want somebody else to go with Carter?" Kinch asked, not knowing if Hogan could bear being without the company of his men for several hours, as he suspected that his Colonel still had conflicted emotions. Even if the Colonel wants us to think that everything's fine with him, he must still feel terrible after he killed Hochstetter.
Hogan sighed, since he knew that what he had to say might make him look weak in the eyes of his men. "If it's ok with everybody, I would prefer that Newkirk remain in the barracks. LeBeau, do you think you could handle this job instead?"
"Oui, I shall try," LeBeau responded, understanding how much Hogan was hesitant in letting the corporal out of his sight. At the same time, LeBeau was secretly thrilled. Since this is the first mission for me that Carter knows that I am a shape shifter, I'm looking forward to seeing how useful Loup's abilities will be.
With that, Hogan began climbing up into the barracks, since he knew that his men would easily be able to handle the mission that lay ahead for them. At the same time, Hogan found that a new worry had begun to cross his mind. He wasn't sure how much of it was related to Anne's visions, since for all he knew the bad news that his men had informed him of might be weighing heavily on his mind. However, Hogan found himself horrified at the thought that that was a part of him, however small, that had actually wanted to break his sergeant's jaw when he punched him. This isn't good he thought to himself, fearful that his darkness was beginning to consume him. I need to tell Newkirk and Carter about this. Please, tell me that Anne's vision was only a nightmare! he silently prayed to himself.
Back in the barracks, Hogan quickly walked over to his quarters, trying to get that worrisome thought out of his mind. However, he found that the more he tried to shake it, the heavier it was preying on his mind. Lying down on his lower bunk, he found that he was thinking about the news that his men had informed him of before their training session. He only bothered looking up when he heard a knock on his closer door, which he responded to with a distracted "Come in."
Appearing inside his doorway which he quickly shut, Hogan lifted himself up on his arms into a sitting position when he noticed that Newkirk was present. Without being invited to, Newkirk sat down on his lower bunk, and Hogan could see that his eyes had returned to their shade of green. Hogan found that this was the second time that they took on a piercing appearance, as though they were staring directly into his soul.
"Something's troubling you, isn't it?" Newkirk asked, as though this was a matter-of-fact thing to say. Even though Newkirk suspected what it might be, he realized that he had to be strong for his Colonel's sake, as well as helping him with any conflicted emotions that he might be experiencing.
Hogan could only drop his gaze before looking up again, and Newkirk could see that once again, his eyes were misty. "I don't know if this has to do with the fact that I'm still thinking about Anne's vision, but when I was training with both of you right now, there was a small part of me that actually wanted to break Carter's jaw…and to hurt you as well."
Suddenly, Hogan found himself standing up, and he began to nervously pace back-and-forth. "But it can't be that way! I won't let myself!" he shouted with a fierce resolve.
"You could be feeling this way because you were in the 'eat of the battle," Newkirk replied, trying to sound calm.
"That could be it, but what if it wasn't? For the first time in a long time, I won't deny the fact that I'm feeling truly scared at the moment. Newkirk, what should I do?" he asked, knowing that he probably sounded as fearful as he felt.
"Well, if Anne's vision does come true, I could always try flying away," Newkirk responded, hoping that some humor would help lighten the mood that was currently present in Hogan's quarters. "You 'ave to believe me when I tell you that I won't allow you to 'urt me, Carter, or anybody else for that matter. We're both going to be right here, and we're going to watch over you," Newkirk responded, hoping that if he sounded like a broken record enough times Hogan would begin to get a grip over his emotions and would try to relax himself.
"Newkirk's right, you know," Carter added, suddenly appearing inside Hogan's quarters while joining Newkirk and his Colonel on the lower bunk. "We're going to make sure that no harm comes to you, and that you don't cause any yourself. Besides, nobody can be dark when they have love in their heart. You do still love Tiger and want to be there for your family, right?"
"Of course I do! You know that I love Marie with all of my heart and being, and that I'm going to try to be the best father that I can be," Hogan replied with dogged determination.
"Then that should help you from giving into your true nature," both men replied.
Getting up from the bunk, Carter began making his way towards the door. "I need to get ready for tonight's mission now. I'm sure that Newkirk will stay with you and help you in any way that he can." Quietly, almost inaudibly, he added, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Hogan added, knowing that if anybody should carry guilty emotions it should be him, and not his sergeant.
"For leaving you when you need me the most," Carter added, looking down at his feet.
"No, you have a mission to perform tonight, so what I need is for you to go out there and be the best demolitions man that you can be. I won't have my changing or my emotions jeopardize this operation, and all of the good that it's causing for the war effort." He didn't want to add out loud, "Besides, if the worse should happen, I know that Kinch is fully capable of being your commanding officer." With that, Hogan watched as Carter left his quarters, knowing that the mission that night would be a success. Of course, neither he nor his men could have foreseen the unexpected snag that Carter and LeBeau would come across.