Behavior Report 40

Dearest Love,

Disgust. Dread. Rage. Dismay. Hostility.

None of those words acutely describe what I feel. I am not even sure there is a word for how I feel seeing Earl kneel before Madam Teuflisch and her two guards. The scene brings up an unfamiliar feeling from some unknown place deep inside of me.

Madam Teuflisch stands, clasps her hands together in front of her waist, and presses her shoulders back. “Hello, Mr. Kaplan. I assumed it was you when I began hearing gunshots and people screaming.”

I don’t respond. Instead, I study where the guards stand and attempt to calculate a way to send the boys to them without hurting Earl. My hand squeezes the sword handle as if it were Madam Teuflisch’s neck.

“How did you know to come here?” She pauses to watch me. “You must have run into one of my disciples. Who was it? The baker? I figured the baker because you’re likely hungry … and those smells.” She mimics taking a deep breath. “No? Judging by your reaction, it wasn’t the baker. If not the baker, then the librarian?” She pauses again. “No? Maybe you ran into Virginia?”

I feel my shoulders drop.

“Oh,” Madam Teuflisch says with delight. “She is amazing. You know, of all the people I placed about the castle to lead you here, I would never have thought it’d be Virginia to send you. Did you recognize her voice? That’s how most connect with her. They hear her on the radio and immediately trust her.” Madam Teuflisch looks down at Earl. “Tell me, Mr. Kaplan, did Virginia seem concerned about your friend?”

I squeeze the sword handle tighter.

“I wish that I could take the credit for our little … trick … but cannot.” She sighed. “The signs were all in your letters. Most captives would figure out a way to leave, but not you. All those letters to your Love. She is a lucky lady. And the promises. Those are interesting.”

My Love, awful thoughts fill my mind on what I could do to Madam Teuflisch.

I am a good man.

I promise.

But the thoughts that cross my mind would likely lose your faith in me.

I don’t want you to remember me that way.

And the thoughts have another ancillary effect, namely, they take away my focus. I look back to seek help from the boys, to have them flank the two Kraut guards, but I find that their presence is fading. They appear like apparitions without legs. Every passing moment removes more of their color, their definition.

My rage requires so much energy that I lose the only support I have.

With little left of himself, Lieutenant Talbott gives a casual salute and says, “Give ‘em hell, Frank.”

The boys fade away.

“No, no, no!” I cry out.

I turn back to Madam Teuflisch, who seems confused.

My Love, I feel as if I’ve fallen down the center of the keep, but continue to fall without end, into a darkened hole of hopelessness.

I am no soldier.

I am not cunning.

I lack courage.

I fill myself with useless rage and fear.

I am barely a man.

My friend waits for me to do something but all I can do is turn inward. Thoughts of weakness and fear and indolence repeat themselves and become louder and louder until they are unbearable to my soul. My Love, I long to forget everything from the horrific screams and bullet blasts to the growling beasts and torture of the Teuflisch Castle. I stumbled through everything and failed as a soldier, man, husband, and father.

“Give up, Mr. Kaplan. Drop that sword,” Madam Teuflisch orders. “You have no other option.”

Numbness begins to crawl from my toes and fingertips and into my muscles until it reaches my chest where it seizes my heart and lungs. The Kraut on my left aims his rifle at my head.

I beg for help from the boys, but they do not appear. The numbness prevents me from even rousing a memory of them.

“This can be very short if you don’t do what I ask,” Madam Teuflisch says.

I drop the sword.

“Now your rifle and pack.”

I follow her order. Everything crashes on the floor.

“That is a good soldier. Now, come here.”

I don’t move.

“Come now. There’s nothing you can do,” Madam Teuflisch adds. “Unless you don’t ca—”

Heavy footsteps interrupt us and pull our attention to the stairs in the center of the keep. The American doctor, who was in my prison room, reaches the top, sets down a large black valise, and pauses to collect his breath.

“Ah, doctor. Perfect timing,” Madam Teuflisch says.

The doctor takes a deep breath and says, “I came … as soon as I got the word … I had to gather everything … Sure would be nice to install an elevator.” He picks up the valise and takes a wide path around me to get to Madam Teuflisch.

The Kraut guard on my left directs me to kneel next to Earl. Both guards stand behind us with their rifles trained on our backs.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Earl says.

“Likewise,” I respond.

The doctor opens his valise and removes a large syringe and a vial filled with a glowing azure iridescent substance.

“Is this the latest version?” Madam Teuflisch says.

“Yes.”

Madam Teuflisch smiles and says to Earl and me, “You two are going to become the most celebrated Americans in Germany. We’ve spent an entire year developing what you see in that vial. Dozens of subjects sacrificed their lives for the greater good.”

The doctor inserts the syringe into the vial and pulls the plunger. The iridescent substance glides in like thick gelatin.

“Soon, with your successful tests, we can mass produce the substance and spread it across all the fronts, including the American coastal front.”

Her words send a spark through me that connects several thoughts together. The seamstresses furiously sewing American uniforms. Seeing countless Krauts dressed in American uniforms. Watching hundreds of Krauts drive away in Jeeps and trucks. Everything fits together. I originally thought that they would use the uniforms to ambush our men in the European front, but now, it makes sense that they’d go to our own ports and attack from within.

Madam Teuflisch must see my reaction and her smile broadens into the most sinister grin imaginable. “Yes. American front. All that you witnessed was my first division making their way to the shore to load up on the ship we’ve taken. They will make the trip across the Atlantic and enter the New York port.”

“Are you serious?” Earl says. “You realize that there are thousands of troops there. One wind of what you’re doing and—”

“You see that is where this comes in,” She interrupts and points to the syringe. “I’m certain you’ve both experienced the wildlife of the Cauchemar Forest. This solution brings them to wherever we go. Just a few drops entering the bloodstream creates a chain reaction that modifies your cells into one of the monsters you encountered in the forest.

“How do you think your people will react if we inject the substance into just a few of your troops? How did you react when you saw a beast of the Cauchemar Forest?” She pauses to let us think. “Imagine dozens of those beasts terrorizing your beloved city. Then, we blitz across your country, city after city, creating monsters that will feast on your families.”

My Love, I’m certain you can imagine the horrors from everything that Madam Teuflisch described. Images of burning cities and people screaming cross my mind. I picture the great Empire State Building dented and scratched. I see our home flattened, our neighborhood in flames.

That feeling I cannot describe returns to me. Disgust. Dread. Rage. Dismay. Hostility. Whatever it is, it directs me to look at my pack lying on the floor. I think of my letters to you and the other letters with promises for loved ones left behind. My promise cannot be one where I lose a battle that brings war to them.

I catch Earl’s eye where fear and pain and exhaustion reflect within them. He wants everything to end. I can sense it in him. But to what end he desires, I don’t know. I’m certain that he’s thinking of his family. I’m certain that he’s imagining a world free of this war and of people like Madam Teuflisch.

Earl has always been the one to guide me through the tough times. Even when he wasn’t with me, I still remembered our pledge to one another.

His eyes.

His exhaustion.

His fear.

Everything about his presence creates a spark within my heart that lights a flame. Searing heat builds upon every heartbeat as if it is a bellow building up the flame. My muscles contract. My teeth grit together. My belt and boot laces and helmet feel as if they are perfectly set. I want nothing more than to jump and explode into a flurry of actions.

But I wait.

I think about Lieutenant Talbott and how he always gathered intel before committing to a decision. I think about George and how he used his men like chess pieces to strategically place them into positions that guaranteed success. I think about Bob and his B.A.R. and how he laid down covering fire to protect our squad as we moved into position. I think about the rest of the boys, bravely running to their appointed spots to take out the enemy.

Their thoughts and actions help me judge my own position between the guards, the doctor, and Madam Teuflisch. I think about the steps I need to take to disable the guards first and then the others. My fists clench in readiness to lay down a fury of blows. My feet plan out appointed spots to give me the best footing and movement to take everyone down before they can realize what’s happening.

“And now, you two can be the final test and the first to truly experience the wonder of German science,” Madam Teuflisch says.

And then … I spring into action.

My shoulders turn and I grab the end of the rifle pointed at my back. The quick action catches the Kraut off guard. I push the barrel up and away. He pulls the trigger and the rifle blasts next to my ear. The doctor screams and falls over with a gunshot wound to the chest. Everyone’s shock gives me enough time to yank the rifle from the guard.

Kraut rifles are bolt action, meaning that to fire a second round, one must pull back on a metal bolt or handle to release the spent cartridge and push forward to load the next. The action makes a “Click-Clack” sound that is unmistakable for a soldier.

It says, “Beware.”

I roll onto my back and reload at the same time. I fire directly into the Kraut behind me and reload again. The Kraut behind Earl has no idea what’s happening before I send him reeling backward with a wound to his chest.

Earl cowers with his hands over his ears.

Madam Teuflisch screams, “No!”

I roll back up onto my knees while reloading the rifle. However, in that same moment, Madam Teuflisch picks up the syringe, stabs the needle into her thigh, and plunges in the entire amount of fluid.

“You will not stop me or … my … army,” she says. Madam Teuflisch drops the syringe and falls over.

I wait to see if she moves before I help Earl to his feet. He hugs me as soon as he’s up.

“Thank you,” Earl says.

We let go of one another and watch Madam Teuflisch for any sign of life. She doesn’t move.

“She said only few drops of that stuff can change a person. What does a whole vial of that stuff do?” Earl says.

“Kills you. Let’s get out of here.”  

Earl snaps his fingers and says, “You know what? You’ve just destroyed the leadership of this castle.”

Confused, I say, hesitantly, “Okay.”

“Don’t you understand, Frank?”

I try to comprehend Earl’s inference, but whether I’m exhausted or confused, I still don’t grasp his point.

Earl smiles and says, “You’ve retaken this castle, this soil. You’re a liberator.”

Like a tree rooting or a fog clearing, I understand his point and laugh. “That’s taking things a little too far. There’s still several thousand Krauts running around below.”

“Doesn’t matter. You beat their leadership. Conquerors raise their flag in victory, and I know which one you should use,” Earl picks up my pack and pulls out Lieutenant Talbott’s flag. “Seems to me like the top of the keep is the best place to fly this. Maybe the troops below see it and lose hope.” He hands me my pack and walks to a ladder on the opposite site of the room while carrying the flag. “Looks like this ladder leads to the roof.”

I pick up my sword and before I can take a single step toward Earl, I begin to feel a pulse in the sword’s handle. The steel begins to make a sound like a violinist tuning his instrument. “That’s stran—”

A gasping, gurgling sound interrupts me. Madam Teuflisch’s leg begins to bend and bubble and stretch. Her shoe rips into pieces and claws appear from the ends of her toes. Her other leg does the same. Her torso expands and shreds her gray skirt and blouse. The bubbling expands to her chest and arms and head.

She lets out a horrific shriek like a rabbit being attacked by a coyote.

Her body doubles, then triples in size. Her arms burst through her jacket sleeves to display bulging muscles covered in thick brown fur. A snout with sharp teeth pushes her nose and jaw outward. By the time she stops growing, she’s turned into a half-wolf, half-woman monster with six-inch long claws.

She stands up and stretches.

Before I can react, the monster lets out a ravenous scream and leaps at me.