326
We’d been tracking Grendel as he and the Burning Bride drove Damzog to Krakow. Avoided any direct confrontation; didn’t want to get more of us killed without reason. When they reached Krakow, I took two of the partisans and followed them in, while the rest of the group waited on the edge of the city.
Grendel’s car was parked by a building with German flags prominently on display. Told the partisans to wait while I investigated, and climbed up the wall, positioning myself on a ledge by a window. Peeked inside, and saw Damzog speaking with another man. I cracked open the window a little to listen.
“…decrease in productivity?” I heard the other man say.
“No, Generalgouverneur Frank. The camp is still working at the same rate as before, but the methods that Sturmbannführer Grendel is using, they… lack subtlety. Such excessive violence is making the men uncomfortable. The suicide rate amongst the guards has risen to what it was before we started using gas.”
“That is unfortunate, but it sounds like a problem for the Totenkopfverbände to deal with on its own. I have enough to handle with the Russian invasion and Lwow rebelling. Why come to me with this?”
“I’ve tried speaking with Obergruppenführer Koppe, but was told to deal with the issue myself. I was hoping that I could rely on your support to….”
Their conversation continued on without me paying attention. I felt some kind liquid drip onto my face. Touched it with two fingers, and when I looked at those fingers they were covered in blood. Another drop hit my face, and when I looked up I saw more blood dripping off the roof, raining down onto me. The blood was somehow messing with time, throwing off my senses and nearly making me fall off the ledge.
The blood started to flow off me, not downwards into the ground, but into the air, floating in front of me. As more blood collected, the red mass started to form into a recognizable shape, growing arms, legs, a head, until I was looking at a mass of blood in the shape of a human. The colors of the blood started to change, until it no longer resembled blood, but instead a girl. A girl in a black dress with a red hooded cloak, with brown-red hair and red eyes, floating in front of me.
The first thought in my mind was, of course, “What the fuck,” but I didn’t have the chance to think anything beyond that. The girl grabbed me by the tie, said “Hey beautiful,” and kissed me on the mouth.
That kiss was… absolute bliss. I’ve never felt anything like that before. I stopped caring about anything around me except for that kiss. I wanted, needed more; even if it had lasted forever, it would have never filled the hunger I was feeling.
The girl changed back into blood, and flowed between my lips into me. I didn’t care. I still wanted more of it, eagerly accepting it, feeling the hot blood flow down my throat, spreading warmth and pleasure through my entire body.
The warmth was suddenly cut off, and I was surrounded by cold blackness. There was nothing around me, nothing but the noise of mad pipe players shrieking through the blackness….
Then the darkness was gone, and I was lying on the ground, puking up blood. The blood returned to the form of the girl, who looked rather surprised by what had happened.
“You can’t control her.” I heard Grendel’s voice say. “No more than you could control me.”
Grendel was walking toward us, followed by the Burning Bride. He flashed a smile at me. “I see you’ve met the Red Cap.” The girl… the Red Cap put its arm around Grendel’s and rested its head on his shoulder.
Gunshots rang out, striking Grendel and the Red Cap. The two partisans I’d brought along ran to my side, guns firing. Bullets passed through the Red Cap as though it was liquid, with the wounds quickly closing.
Grendel looked passively at the holes being punched in him and said, “You really should have taken my advice not to get involved.” He waved a hand at the Burning Bride. It pointed a finger at the partisans, and their eyes burst into flames. They screamed and flailed until both stopped moving entirely.
Grendel smirked at the bodies, then began to walk back inside. “Make sure she can’t run away.” He said to the Bride and the Red Cap before leaving.
I really didn’t like the sound of that last order. As soon as Grendel finished speaking, fire streamed from the Bride’s hand toward me. Barely jumped out of the way in time. Started to run down the street, but the Red Cap stepped in my way. It didn’t attack. No, it did far worse. It wrapped its arm around my waist and pressed it’s body against mine. “Won’t you stay here with us?” The sensation of its breath on my face sent wonderful tingles through my body.
Quickly pulled away from it before I could make any decisions I’d later regret. Only managed to run a few more feet before blood rose out of the ground, this time taking the form of a stunningly beautiful man in a black and red suit. It fell upon a knee and took hold of one of my hands, saying “Perhaps this form would please you more, Mistress?”
Well if it was going to ask so nicely NO NO not the time for that! Pulled my hand away, only for it to be grabbed by someone behind me. Looked back and saw the female Red Cap with a sly smile on its face. “Or perhaps you’d like both?”
Oh god I have far too vivid an imagination for my own good. I could feel that heavenly heat radiating from them as they pressed closer, that beautiful, sensual heat….
In a panic I warped out of the city entirely, barely escaping imminent Peril. Found the rest of the partisans and told them we had to get out of there. We moved quickly, and for a while I started to think I was going to get away. And then a wall of fire appeared in front of us.
The Burning Bride stepped through the curtain of flame, coldly regarding us with icy eyes. I aimed my assault rifle at it, pulled the trigger, and… well… my gun basically exploded. The ammunition was cooking off while still in the cartridge, ripping the gun apart and causing bullets to fly off randomly.
I heard more cracks of bullets and suddenly felt pain pierce through my chest. The bullet clips I had inside my coat were cooking off as well, essentially shooting me at point blank. I started throwing the clips out of my coat as fast as I could, trying to get them away from me before more damage could be done. I could hear more cracks as the others’ ammunition also went off, and an explosion when someone’s grenade exploded. Another bullet went through my leg, and a third through my arm. Fell to the ground, unable to stand due to the pain. I think the chest wound had missed my lungs, since I could still breathe, but that didn’t make it any less horrible.
The wall of fire advanced toward us. It split around me, instead consuming the partisans who had been with me. I had to listen to them as they burned to death, unable to move to help them…. The Burning Bride approached me, flames covering its hands. Things were not looking good there. But then, all the fires went out. And standing where the wall of flame had been was the Archangel.
The Bride seemed to quickly determine this has become a lost cause, and vanished. Which left me lying on the ground bleeding, surrounded by a bunch of burnt corpses, with the malevolent physical embodiment of the afterlife watching. Really didn’t feel like much of an improvement there.
The Archangel walked next to me, and stared at me with that gas mask for a long time. That got old pretty soon, so I flipped it off. “Are you just going to stand there, or are you actually going to do something, ya’ bastard?”
It placed a freezing hand on my face, and for a split moment my whole body was wracked with pain. Then it pulled away, and I felt… fine. My leg, arm, chest… I couldn’t feel the bullet wounds. Checked, and saw that the holes were gone. Scars had replaced them.
Once I stood up, the Archangel began to walk away. “Hey!” I shouted at it. “What was that? Have you decided whether or not you’re actually going to help me?”
It paused, glanced back at me, and then resumed walking. Grumbling, I followed it. Why’d I have to get stuck teaming up with the asshole Fear?
I-330
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