January 5th
End of the World
Ten minutes had passed since they had passed the checkpoint, the clearing had now changed back to the intimidating black pines that seemed to choke all colour out of them, leaving the monochromatic scenery being all that remained. Rudolf had chosen to leave the warm confines of the hull to breathe the frozen fresh air, the smell of pine needles was far more welcome than the sweaty, greasy innards of the tank. The snowstorm that had blown through only hours earlier should have covered the road, yet the road was cleared of snow. Cleared wasn't the right word, more it had been trampled by horses, halftracks, trucks, and tanks. The piqued Rudolfs interest, why would what seem to be a division march through here, an empty corner of Poland. The Red army shouldn't have been close yet and they hadn't seen vehicles heading in the opposite direction. Rudolf pondered on this question for a while before thinking back to the words spoken by that twitchy Lieutenant, apparently there would be a build up further up the road, the evidence being prevalent, though he could reason why though. Didn't matter though they would weasel their way past and then continue further south before eventually disappearing into Czechoslovakia. He smiled at the thought of finally being done with the war.
Though whilst the idea of finishing fighting gave him a sense of happiness it was an empty happiness. Yes, he had survived but what then. Rudolf didn't have much to come back to except the carcass of Cologne, his parents had already perished, all that was left was his brother who he had not heard from since October, perhaps the allies had finally brought his brothers fighter down, a smoldering wreck outside of Stuttgart. He wasn't sure what the others had going on back home, he knew that Claus had a daughter back home, he knew that Gunther and his parents were close, sending him letters near constantly, Lukas had wanted to be a priest when he it finished the war and study with the Jesuits. Deinhart's life back home had turned from bad to worse, from what he had overheard his wife had written to him and had eloped with another man. So even if they did manage to return home, they would be left with rebuilding what was left of Germany. Maybe they could move elsewhere, it was anyone's guess at this point, at least in the tank he had his friends.
Whilst Rudolf continued reminiscing the tank had made it to what looked like a staging area, two sentries were playing checkers whilst another one sat at the ready, machine gun in hand. By this point the snow had turned the road into a muddy mess, causing the Jadgpanther to work harder to push through the mire. Behind them was a manmade clearing of considerable size, the dense black pines giving way to a muddy field, littered with misplaced tents and Flak guns. What Rudolf had thought would be here turned out to be a fraction of what he had thought, with it looking like a few hundred men rather than a thousand he was expecting. Most of them looked disheveled with tattered uniforms and short scraggly beards, to top it off a few vehicles in the mix, with a few Panzer IVs and Panthers lined up in a haphazardly constructed motor pool alongside halftracks and a range of miscellaneous vehicles. In the center of the camp was a large concrete structure that looked completely out of place. Its smooth concrete sides contrasted with the torn and boggy slush and mud, alongside it was a large radio tower that stood quietly to the side. Out of all the things in the camp it seemed to be the only thing that didn't belong there, like there was something wrong with it. The muddy ground also seemed wrong, rather than just muddy paths for vehicles to follow it was spread everywhere with craters littering the landscape. By this point the road had all but vanished, turning into just more black brown and dirty white. Feeling the hairs on his neck stand up he returned to the comfort of the hull, finding Gunther and Lukas crowded over a map.
"N-no, no, we should be here." Lutz said as his finger hovered over the map.
Yeah, but we took a turn here didn't we" Gunther responded.
The two began bicker even louder before Claus snatched the map away from the two
"Rudolf, did we make a turn in any villages recently?" Claus asked.
"I.. don't think so, no"
"That's what I thought."
Claus continued looking at the map for a while before he looked up again from it.
"We're not on the map."
"What?" Gunther asked, confusion painted on his face.
"We are not on the map." Claus said again making sure to emphasize every word.
"What do you mean 'we're not on the map'?"
"Well, when we had to get off the highway running south, we ended up getting blocked by that blown out bridge, so we picked another route around it, I assume that either me or Lukas read the map wrong" Claus began to trace their tracks with his calloused hand "and so we made it onto a backwater track and got ourselves lost".
"You're shitting me," Gunther said, as flickers of anger burned behind his eyes.
"Yeah… I'm pulling your leg, we're right here," Claus said whilst pointing to a section on the map "But…" He began to study the map harder as he made a clicking noise, "Rudolf what does it look like out there?"
"Muddy and there's no clear path, Deinhart will be dodging tents and AA guns."
"Deinhart, what do you see."
"Ahh, fuck all, I mean if those tanks got through, we possibly could." Pausing for a moment before finishing "But Rudolf is right, I'll be dodging tents, whoever set this camp doesn't seem to care.
From his position Rudolf could hardly see the map that the men hovered over feeling his time would be better spent scouting for a way through he opened his hatch and left the tanks fighting compartment. He watched the motor pool to see if any of the Tanks were running hopefully one of could show him the way through. Though after a little watching he began to grow impatient. Ducking back inside the tank he glanced to Claus who was still discussing options.
"Captain, permission to dismount" Rudolf asked.
"Why?"
"To scout ahead, also to stretch this cramp."
"Yup, just don't track mud into the tank when you get back."
Nodding to each other, both returned to their respective tasks.
Clambering out of the Jagdpanther he kicked his legs over side and began to rub them for a bit, hopefully returning some blood to the less active areas. To get on the panther was a bit of an arduous task but to get off was much easier, positioning himself between the main gun and the ball mount he slid down the cold steel of the tank. After landing on the ground however, Rudolf began to regret his decision, feeling the chill of wet pants spread over his backside and thighs. Looking down he saw his once clean leather boots and slightly stained white pants now covered in thick gray mud.
"Should've stayed in the fucking tank" he grumbled.
Trudging through the thick mud he found the conditions to be much worse than he anticipated, many of the tents were filled with wounded, or what appeared to be wounded soldiers trying to sleep off their illness, bloodied bandages. Glass bottles littered much of the free space that was around, those who could walk were crowded over barrels and stumps, soaking up as much heat as they could. The place itself reeked of oil and wood smoke, much of the ground was a dull ashen gray with potholes and small craters filled with water. So far, the way he had come would be wide for the Tank to roll through, though the risk of slipping into some of these tents seemed worrisome, even if the tank didn't slip the mud, becoming bogged would be of some concern. Though he had noticed it some time beforehand the amount of Flak guns was astounding, with guns ranging from 2cm all the way up to 12.8cm guns, turned skywards awaiting targets. The center of the camp appeared to be the monolith, smooth concrete sides that emanated an uncomfortable feeling that he couldn't quite explain. The actual structure wasn't particularly big, maybe only 4-5 meters in height and 5 meters across. Though unlike many bunkers Rudolf had seen this one had no slits, no visible machine guns attached, and no defensive equipment at all, it just seemed to be a large cube with no reason for being, on the opposite side from it was an attempt at a motor pool. Panthers sat in all kinds of states of repairs, some had their turrets removed whilst others just had the engine bay open. A few Hanomags sat alongside the Panthers, draped in oil slick rags. Maybe he could ask for some directions through here or maybe he could just watch them and see where they went, though he'd still have to walk over the sludge that was between him and the motor pool. Though to his luck one was about to start, the crew of that panther were clambering around it like ants on a sugar cube, fiddling with parts, tying things down and general once-overs. Before too long they had all disappeared inside the tank, slowly it began creeping forward. Rudolf watched it intently, hoping to find a way through the man-made quagmire. Watching it rock back and forward as the driver shifted gears. But the vehicle never turned instead it kept crawling towards… the monolith, before to long the whole vehicle had disappeared behind it. Leaving no trace behind it he waited for a while, but the tank had all but vanished, Rudolf waited and watched for something to happen, and for a while nothing happened, the ambient engine noise being all he could hear. But after a moment a ear-splitting bang occurred, followed a by violent earthquake that threw him to the ground. Dropping snow on many unfortunates. Though the soldiers crewing the AA brushed the snow off their shoulders before simply standing back up, acting like nothing had happened. Rudolf's mind was drawing blanks, what the hell was that, where did it come from, why do my ears hurt. Ears ringing and dizzy getting to his feet was a challenge, but he managed it stumbling and half-covered in mud.
Finally making it back to the Jagdpanther another crack shook the earth, sending Rudolf to the ground again. Vaguely over the ringing he could hear Claus call out to him,
"What are you an old age pensioner, on your feet get in here!"
If walking over was difficult clambering on the vehicle was another level, finding it difficult to find good footing on the slick steel. After a few failed attempts and some 'inspiring' words from Claus he finally made it back to his seat.
"Rudolf, what in god's name was that?" Claus asked, "And why are you tracking mud through my tank?"
"That pillar thing over there" Rudolf responded, gesturing to the direction of the monolith. "Its like a bunker kind of thing and those tanks at the motor pool just drove into it and 'poof' they disappeared." Rudolf said as his hands mimicked a small explosion.
"Disappeared?"
"It just drove into that thing and then… bang".
Incredulously, Claus began looking through his leather-bound binoculars, studying the monolith before he looked back to Rudolf.
"And you're sure about that."
After that another panther just like the last pushed through the mud and started to slowly enter the bunker. After a while the same whip crack sounded sending vibrations throughout the forest, though this time the air around the monolith seemed distorted creating an almost haze effect before it dissipated.
"Well… shit" Claus said, baffled at what had just happened "You're not wrong."
"So, did we figure out where we are?" Rudolf asked.
"Sort of" Gunther said "Somewhere southwest of Krakow, but the exacts we haven't found yet"
Rudolf nodded as he went to his canteen, filled with the morning's fresh snowmelt.
It was quiet at first, a barely audible low droning noise. But then it grew louder and louder encompassing everything and everyone. The people outside the tank began to rush for cover trampling over each other in an attempt to escape what was coming.
Curious, Lutz pushed his head out of his hatch, to see what was causing the commotion.
"Oh fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck" Lutz said pulling his head back in the tank "We've got Sturmoviks approaching fast."
"Wha- you're shitting me" Claus responded in an exacerbated "Button hatches, we'll wait it out."
From the limited sight that Rudolf had available the encampment seemed to come alive many rushed for the tree lines whilst those closer to the bunker made a dash for it. Then multiple small explosions erupted in front of the tank sending mud and bodies flying. The ground then erupted as cannon fire strafed the ground peppering tents and people alike. The AA emplacements opened up in kind, spewing 20mm upwards as bright green tracers began to fill the sky.
One would think that being behind 80mm of steel would be comforting in a situation like this, however the subsequent rocking of the tank as large explosions erupts outside coupled with the claustrophobia created a terrifying environment.
"More from the left!" Deinhart screamed over the cacophony of cannon fire "Claus their going to get lucky eventually."
As if predicting future, a tank from the motor pool erupted in flames as a rocket slammed into the side of the vehicle, smoke began billowing from the hatches and one of its occupants emerged covered in flames before being obscured from view as the tank exploded in a fireball, sending shrapnel and parts of the turret skyward.
"Get us moving driver, get us into that bunker" Claus yelled.
Finally, the tank lumbered forward slowly picking up speed, crushing mud, snow, and tents alike, ploughing through the camp it soon became extremely boggy as the tank waded through the slush. The tank was filled with clanking noise as shells strafed the armour, explosions threw up dirt around them as rockets and bombs impacted the ground sending vibrations throughout the tank. That's when the tank hit a deep pit of mud, the tank began to list left as the tracks began to dig in.
"Oh shit, stay with me." Deinhart said as if he was talking to a pet.
Deinhart Seamlessly meshing the gears, the tank began to dig itself out groaning under its weight it found firmer ground pulling itself from a muddy grave. Speeding past the rear of the monolith the tank swung around to find the entrance, a large pitch-black maw opened in front of them. The tank lent forward as it descended deeper into the bunker, small lights illuminated a few meters ahead before being consumed by the darkness.
A collective sigh came from the crew as the Jagdpanther crept down.
"Good driving there Deinhart" Lukas said wiping the perspiration of his brow.
"My pleasure" Deinhart responded dryly.
For a few minutes the tank drove in silence before Gunther spoke.
"Uh, how long is this tunnel" Gunther said peering through his sights.
That wasn't something Rudolf had thought about, why did something like this even exist, sure air raids suck but bunkers usually were for people, not large vehicles. He had heard some factories being underground but why here, in the middle of nowhere.
Cracking his hatch open Rudolf peeked out, the walls of the bunker sat only a foot away from the rumbling behemoth, Rudolf was afraid that if he pushed his head all the way out that it would be taken clean off by one of the yellow lamps that illuminated the tunnel.
The strangest thing about the bunker however was the smell, expecting it to smell of oil and exhaust, but on the contrary it smelt of burnt steak or frying electrical wires, this only furthered his curiosity. Staring down into the tunnel it seemed to stretch on forever with the same lights placed every ten metres or so.
The hatch behind him swung open revealing Claus poking his head out, looking like a displeased meerkat he had a glance around before looking to Rudolf.
"Can you see the bottom."
"No, it just seems to keep going" Rudolf paused before continuing "You smell that don't you."
Claus nodded his head before he descended back into the Jagdpanther seemingly trying to figure out a solution to their issue.
Looking down the tunnel, however, there seemed to be an almost shimmer like reflection, like a curtain that had been pulled taught. Looking more intently he couldn't see anything really, just the same yellow lights.
But there it was again, a slight shimmer, the tunnel in front of him simply looked… wrong. It was like looking at something through a still pond. The smell at this point had grown unbearable, it stopped being just burnt stake but a mix of burning chemicals, flesh and oil all somehow calumniating into an abhorrent stench.
"Holy, close that hatch Rudolf" Lutz asked covering his nose with a stained handkerchief.
Obliging Rudolf shut the hatch leaving most of the foul smell outside the vehicle. The vehicle kept descending and still no observable end was in sight.
It happened without much warning, first the barrel disappeared, like dipping a stick into a liquid mirror. Followed by the fighting compartment, then the rest of the tank. As they passed by this veil they were plunged into an eerie darkness, followed by the sense of falling as the vehicle tipped over an unseen cliff.
Falling in darkness, they were too shocked to scream, shout or act, it was as if someone had plucked them from reality and dropped them in nothing, no light, no sound, no touch. Random pieces of dirt, food, ammunition began to float inside as it entered freefall, followed by the rest of the crew. The turbulent situation was lit up by a various warning lights from Deinhart's dash adding into the confusion and general sense of chaos.
Though just as suddenly as the light vanished it reappeared. Vaguely through the tiny vision port that was available to Rudolf, he swore he could see the ground rapidly approaching him. 'Oh' was his last thought before the tank slammed into the ground, throwing Rudolf into the side of the hull as it all went black once again.