Chapter Sixteen: Home at Last

"I can't believe it. I just can't believe it," Kinch said as he stood next to LeBeau standing behind the trees. The corporal turned to face his friend, and he could see that the sergeant's eyes were completely wide. In fact, LeBeau couldn't remember the last time he had seen his friend so surprised.

"Neither can I, mon ami….It's one thing that Faust was a vampire, but it's another that Klink had to reveal himself." Both LeBeau and Kinch, using their extremely strong powers of hearing, had heard everything that had gone on inside Faust's house. Suddenly, a thought occurred to the corporal—one that he knew he had to share with his friend. "Do you think that mon Colonel will find out our secret as well now? I do not want him to!"

LeBeau felt Kinch place his hand reassuringly on the corporal's shoulder. "I'm not sure, but I do know one thing. Now that Faust is dead, it looks like our job here is done. We have to get back to camp before Klink sees us and wonders what we're doing out here….I never thought I'd say this, but it looks like our Kommandant did a good job here today. I trust, and know, that he'll be able to take care of the rest."

With that, both Kinch and LeBeau took off their clothing and folded them inside their field packs. Then, they transformed back into Golden and Loup, and burrowed under the packs making sure that it was securely wrapped. They didn't know how much time they had before Klink, along with their three teammates, would take in getting out of the house, but they also knew that they couldn't afford to take any chances. Setting off in a dead run, they could only hope that they would be able to make it back to their Stalag in time.

…

Earlier, before Klink had found the dustpan, he had made his way to Faust's bedroom, hoping to find some clothing that would fit him. Thankfully, the sergeant had been the same height and weight as the Kommandant, so the Gestapo uniform that he had found fit him perfectly. Klink's plan was to arrange for transportation between Ottendorf and the nearby town of Schweinfurt (1), which was large enough that it had a train station. From there, they would travel back to Hammelburg, where Klink would arrange for transportation back to Stalag 13. Klink knew that it would be relatively easy to add a fake mustache or beard, so nobody, especially Schultz, would recognize him. At the same time, he knew that he would be able to pass off as a Gestapo agent, who was transporting three prisoners for questioning.

Once he had stopped his pacing, Klink noticed somebody about Hogan, who was still passed out, that he had seemed to miss earlier. Turning to face Carter and Newkirk, he informed them of his worry. "Colonel Hogan seems rather pale. Is everything alright with him?"

Carter and Newkirk looked down at their feet. They knew that Eagle had done everything in his power to find the three missing men, so they were grateful for that. Thus, they were hesitant to explain the awful truth to their Kommandant.

Raising his head, Carter spoke up first. "The Colonel knew that we were dying, so, by sticking his hand out of his cell, around the wall, and into ours, he was able to feed us. Unfortunately, Faust learned what he had done for us, so…" Carter could barely bring himself to finish, but he quietly added "he attacked Colonel Hogan. He fed on him."

"Faust did what?" Klink shouted, not bothering to hide his anger towards the dead Gestapo agent.

"Sir, please try to calm yourself," Newkirk told his Kommandant, reaching out to gently grip Klink's shoulder. "We know that tonight is the full moon, and we don't need you losing control of yourself."

Klink allowed Newkirk's hand to rest momentarily, before he started pacing again. "I just can't believe what has happened." Quickly, Klink told Newkirk and Carter his plan for bringing them safely home to Stalag 13. "As soon as we get there, I'll have to arrange for…what is the camp medic's name again?" Klink asked of the two men.

"Sergeant Joseph Wilson," both men said at the same time.

"Right, I'll have to arrange for Sergeant Wilson to give him a blood transfusion as soon as we get there." Sighing, Klink continued. "I know how the Colonel feels about our German hospitals, how suspicious he is of them. Even if I did know of a trustworthy hospital in the area, I know that the Colonel would probably feel safer if he was treated in his own camp."

"You got that right," Hogan informed his Kommandant.

All three men turned to face the Colonel, who by this time had regained consciousness.

Klink gave Hogan his customary smile, even though he was trembling on the inside. I need to convince Hogan that he didn't see what he thought he saw Klink thought to himself. It's bad enough that he thinks I'm the enemy, so I can't imagine how he'll feel when he knows that I'm a shape shifter.

Quickly, Klink unlocked Hogan's cell and entered it, sitting down next to the Colonel. Hogan immediately backed away, and Klink could see that Hogan appeared slightly terrified of him, in addition to his weak, pale state.

"I know what you're going to tell me, so don't," Hogan calmly informed his Kommandant. "You're going to try to tell me that I didn't see what I thought I saw, that I'm only weak from being locked up for so long." Quietly, he added, "I know what I saw."

"But Carter and Newkirk have just informed me of what Faust did to you. You're probably suffering from too much blood loss, and so you only thought you saw something. In fact, I don't even know what you're talking about."

Looking Klink straight in the eye, Hogan slowly shook his head. "I know that I'm weak, but that doesn't change anything. I know what I saw, and you know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

It's no use Klink thought to himself. I know how stubborn the Colonel can be, so nothing I say is going to convince him otherwise.

Slowly, Hogan allowed himself to say out loud what he already knew in his head. "You're a, a…"

Jumping up from Hogan's bench, Klink began pacing around in nervous circles inside Hogan's cell. After about thirty seconds he stopped himself, and looked straight at the Colonel. "Well, go ahead—say it! It's not the first time I've been called a… monster."

Slowly, Hogan began to shake his head back and forth. "No. I don't know what's going on, and to be honest I don't think I want to know what's going on." Hogan raised his hand and pointed at the remains of Faust's clothes. "I know that you've never been as much of an enemy as Major Hochstetter or General Burkhalter, but at the same time you're not exactly an Allied soldier either." Hogan paused before continuing, "But thanks to you, the real monster in my life has been eliminated."

Klink looked at Hogan with an incredulous expression. "You mean, you're not angry or scared?"

Hogan sighed before replying. "Angry? A little. Scared? Yes ….But you did save my life, as well as those of Carter and Newkirk, and where I come from that counts for something."

Suddenly, Hogan's mind seemed to focus, as he was curious as to how Klink had become a werewolf. "Sir, if you don't mind me asking—how and when?"

Sitting back down, Klink began to tell Hogan his life story, about how he had been attacked by an unknown creature after the Great War. However, Klink left out one very important detail, one that he knew he would never be able to tell his American counterpart. Finishing his story, Klink lied, "But don't worry—I've always been able to control my condition." The Kommandant knew that Hogan would never understand that this wasn't the case without becoming completely terrified, and that Hogan didn't need to know what had happened in his office after Hochstetter had left recently. "I would never hurt you or your men," Klink truthfully told him.

Hogan allowed himself to digest his Kommandant's story, and found that he had to fight to keep himself from fainting again. Pointing a finger at Klink, Hogan informed him, "That's good. Because if you ever, and I mean ever, hurt me or one of my men, you're going to wish that I had allowed you to be shipped off to the Russian Front."

Klink nodded. "I understand that your duty comes to your men. You don't need to remind me of that."

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Hogan. "Carter, Newkirk, come in here. I think we need to have a little talk." Hogan was pleased that his men shuffled inside the cell.

In a calm manner, Hogan asked them, "How long have you two known about this? Why didn't you ever tell me?"

Newkirk spoke up first, "Pretty much as soon as I arrived at Stalag 13, Gov'nor. But I'm surprised that you would ask that second question."

Not quite understanding, Hogan could only ask, "Why?"

Carter replied, "First of all, would you believe us? Second, you would want to know how we knew. I mean, we couldn't exactly tell you that we were vampires right off, could we?"

Hogan shook his head, "No, I suppose not."

Newkirk and Carter sighed at the same time. It's important that we keep our two lives separate they thought at the same time. The Colonel doesn't know that Klink is Nimrod, and we can't exactly tell Klink in front of the Colonel that we were able to sneak out of his Stalag and kill Colonel Magerlein either. Both men could see that Hogan had more questions, but they inwardly sighed that he decided to let the matter drop for now.

"We better get going, sir," Carter informed his commanding officer. "You're going to need some blood replacement as soon as possible." Quietly, both men added at the same time, "We don't need you to have survived Faust's attack only to lose you now."

Suddenly, Hogan let out a slight moan and his hand shot up to his neck. He could see that all three men were genuinely concerned about him. "What is it?" Carter and Newkirk asked at the same time.

"The wound hurts, and I believe you're both correct. I'd like to get home to Stalag 13 as soon as possible."

Lowering his hand, he could see that Newkirk and Carter were leaning in for a closer inspection. They gasped as they saw the two puncture marks left over from Faust's fangs during the attack.

Upon hearing his men gasp, Hogan asked them, "It's not bad, is it?" Hogan then turned over his arm to look at his left wrist. Already he could see that the puncture marks were beginning to heal although they were leaving a nasty purple bruise behind.

"It's as bad as can be expected, but thankfully no worse," both men told him. It was then Hogan realized the slip-up that he had made. Turning to face Klink, he said, "I suppose that even if Carter and/or Newkirk didn't tell you that Faust attacked me, you know now. That's another reason that I'm thankful that you came in the nick of time." Hogan smiled as he turned his head slightly to face Carter and Newkirk, "Besides, I think I'm beginning to learn, or know, too much to be incapable of handling the truth."

Klink allowed a small smile to form, before he replied, "But your men are right, Hogan. We need to get you home now."

Slowly, Hogan got up from his bench. "I think that's the best idea yet. Come on." Though Hogan didn't like his men knowing how weak he was, he allowed himself to be led out of the cell, and then through and out of the house with Carter supporting him. "There's still one thing that I don't understand," Hogan said, raising his hand to shield his eyes to the sunlight that he was unaccustomed to due to being locked up for so long. "How do we explain Faust's death, without revealing any of your secrets?"

Klink, who had been walking next to Carter on one side while Newkirk was on the Colonel's other side, turned to face the sergeant. Carter returned his gaze, since that was one thing that they hadn't thought about yet. Carter then turned to face Newkirk Yeah, we can't exactly set up another car accident, like we did with Colonel Magerlein's body. After all, we don't have a body, the sergeant silently thought to his friend.

Newkirk responded by rubbing the back of his neck. For once, he didn't mind if the Colonel could come up with a suitable answer, yet he knew that the Colonel was in no condition to think of a plan at the moment.

"Well, we are in a bloody war, and men go missing in action all of the time," Newkirk carefully replied. "I don't see why the same thing couldn't 'appen to Faust, if anybody bothers to check up on a lowly sergeant." Quickly, he added, "No offense Carter."

Carter feigned being hurt before he answered Newkirk, "Gee, thanks…But no offense taken."

Hogan then turned back to Klink, "And just how do you expect to get us home? If anybody finds out that we've been away from Stalag 13 all this time, how do you explain that? I don't exactly want to see snowflakes in your future."

It was then that Klink told Hogan of his plan that, since he was dressed up as a Gestapo officer, he would make it look like he had taken Hogan and his men away from Kommandant Brown's Stalag for questioning. "Besides, you have to remember that Faust was acting alone, and that Kommandant Brown never authorized the painting job, let alone the fact that he asked for you five. I left explicit instructions with my replacement officer not to telephone the Kommandant to ask about your progress, and this man has always seemed like the type to follow his instructions to the letter. Of course, I'll arrange for Schultz to meet us at the train station in Hammelburg, and," Klink allowed himself to smile before he finished, "as you know, he never knows anything."

Hogan allowed himself to smile, as his Kommandant seemed to have thought of everything necessary for them to enter their camp without arousing suspicion. He also knew that Kinch and LeBeau were alright, since his men had informed them that they were coming to rescue him. Looking around, he saw that his other two men were nowhere in sight. They must have left as soon as they saw Klink, me, Carter and Newkirk he thought to himself. Even though they were kidnapped, they would know that they couldn't allow anybody to know that they could slip away from everybody without revealing our Traveler's Aid Society.

…

Fortunately, the drive to the train station, and the train ride itself, was mostly uneventful. Once they had found the main road between Ottendorf and Schweinfurt, Klink had flagged down a passing motorist and explained that he needed transportation to the latter town due to "official Gestapo business." Once at the train station, Klink was relieved that the ticket officer didn't question him when he asked for four tickets to Hammelburg. Once they were safely inside their compartment, the four men sat in silence for several hours, though the others all took turns watching over Hogan as he gently dozed off-and-on. Just as they were about to enter Hammelburg, however, they could all hear what sounded like a familiar voice.

"Bah! They are not in here either. We'll have to check the next compartment for those Underground agents."

Suddenly, all four men froze and pretended to be busy concentrating on the passing scenery, since they were in a compartment that had a window. Leave it to Hochstetter to interrupt a perfect plan they all thought at the same time. Nobody needed to tell them that the next compartment was their own, and that the Major would recognize all four men immediately.

Suddenly, they could hear a set of footsteps running down the hallway just as Hochstetter was about to open the compartment, his hand on the doorknob. Since the compartment was shielded from the outside, they knew that Hochstetter hadn't seen the men's backs, which he might have recognized.

A second voice, which was unfamiliar to any of the men in the compartment, caught the Gestapo Major's attention. "Herr Major, I have found the underground agents that we are looking for, the ones that you said blew up the bridge in Dusseldorf."

"Excellent work, sergeant." Sighing, Hochstetter continued, "I'm just glad that Hogan and his men weren't responsible for this bombing…for once." With that, the Major let go of the doorknob and hurried off, following the sergeant's lead.

"Boy, that was a close one!" Carter quietly exclaimed, as he allowed himself to take a breath after all four men had been holding them in.

"I know. Still, I hope that whoever the Major found will be safe," Hogan responded, having stopped dozing for the moment. Silently, Hogan wished that he could help whoever Hochstetter was looking for, yet he knew that he couldn't for two very important reasons: One- He was in no condition to get up from his seat before he arrived in Hammelburg, yet alone be of much use to anybody or to confront Hochstetter and Two- he knew that he couldn't risk revealing himself in front of Klink as an espionage agent. Hogan then turned to face his Kommandant, and he was relieved that Klink seemed to be oblivious to his last sentence.

…

Once they had arrived in Hammelburg, Hogan allowed himself to be led from the compartment by both Newkirk and Carter, since he found that he was extremely weak at the moment. Quickly, they approached Schultz, who appeared genuinely concerned at Hogan's poor condition. Hogan found that once again, he passed out in the backseat of their car, with Schultz driving as fast as he could back to Stalag 13 after Carter informed him that the Colonel was suffering from major blood loss.

The next time Hogan awoke he found himself in the infirmary with Wilson acting his typical mother-hen self. Looking to his right, Hogan found that he was attached to an IV, and looking to his left, he found that Wilson had begun a blood transfusion. As the blood was quickly being pumped into Hogan's arm, he found that his health was remarkably improving. Looking in front of him, he saw that all four of his men were gathering around him.

"You had us worried for a minute there, sir. Carter and Newkirk told us what Faust did to you, and we were afraid that we were going to lose you," Kinch informed his commanding officer.

Hogan could see that all three men nodded their agreement. Turning his head, he looked directly at Wilson. "How long do I have to stay here this time, sergeant?"

Wilson allowed himself to smile, since he knew that if Hogan wanted to leave the infirmary that he was already feeling better. "If everything goes according to plan, you should be able to leave in a couple of days."

Looking directly at Kinch and LeBeau, Hogan allowed himself to smile. "I'm glad that Faust didn't hurt you two." Suddenly, as he felt the blood going into his veins, he had to close his eyes.

The next couple of days passed quickly and uneventfully, and true to his word, Wilson allowed Hogan to be released. The first thing that Hogan did as soon as he got out of the infirmary was to go back to his quarters. Sighing, he found himself grabbing a mirror. He hated what Faust did to him, more than his men could possibly know at the moment. He hated how much he had loved the blood entering his veins, since he knew that he wasn't supposed to feel that way. But most of all, he hated how he had felt it necessary to close his eyes. I don't want my men to feel guilty, especially Carter and Newkirk. I don't need them knowing how much damage Faust really did to me, especially since they were right there and they couldn't stop the Gestapo agent. Hogan threw the mirror down on his bed, and he was relieved that it didn't make any noise.

Opening his previously closed door that separated the barracks from his quarters, he saw that Carter and Newkirk were sitting around the table in the barracks, along with Hogan's other men, drinking their extra-sugar coffee. I'm going to need their help eventually, but not now. Not like this he silently thought to himself. Closing the door, he picked up the mirror again. Sighing, Hogan saw that even thinking about the blood transfusion in the infirmary made his eyes glow green and his upper canine fangs come out.

(1) Town, and knowledge of train station, courtesy of Google Maps

AN: If you've enjoyed this story, look for the continuing adventures of our favorite vampires and werewolves in the sequel, "A Changing of the Future." How will Hogan deal with his new life? The first chapter should be published sometime tomorrow.