You Damn well will. * L J puts his face to within an inch of the Chief, with an angry stare * " You can shove your rank!! " * Leaves the bunkhouse, enters compound, the darkness of night.* " Justify, justify indeed. Tomorrow night I am making a break for it regardless" * squints his eyes, and listens to the night intently. * " **** this, I am going back to bed " * Returns to bunk and closes eyes. *

:::The sound of raised voices raises him for what little sleep he has had. What sounded like British accents is now suddenly quiet. He rises and goes outside, the night still hands but the air is crisp, but death still hangs in it like the smell on the battlefield. He hunches his jacket tighter up over his shoulders and plunges his hands into his pockets as he moves around the bunkhouse. His eyes start to focus on the job at hand - survival.:::

"There are no guards still," he mutters to himself. None visable on the castle wall, none visible around the compound. With no guards about there is work to be done in the quiet of the last vestibules of night.

He hurries to the far side of the bunkhouse where the hole int he fence was. Within minutes he has unravel the shoddy workmanship of the wire and salvaged a three foot piece of wire, the perfect length to strangle a guard. Behind him off the old bunkhouse, he spots a plank. The old wooden structure has been here a while - whether by design as the original residency when the castle was being built or perhaps other more sinister reasons, but it is old, and cracked. One plank and two board are warped. Using the wire he is able to lever the plank out far enough to get his fingers behind it. He looks around.

"This is going to make some noise," he thinks to himself.

Crack.

The plank comes off in a four foot section leaving four nails in the end piece. Before anyone knows, he is back in the bunkhouse and has secreted the section of wood under the mattress of a vacant bunk.

* startles again with more noise from bunkhouse, heads of to bunkhouse B * " Hello Scrounger in a soft tone, what were you doing out? anything of interest?? "

Mookie rolls over in his bunk, visibly annoyed by the tit for tat of his subordinates. Both of you pipe down! Bickering amongst ourselves isn't going to make this situation better. We need to work together, not be at each other's throats.

* sports Sub- Lieutenant * " I think Pioneer is on to something, I need to know what he has discovered and fast daylight is soon approaching " * not getting any answers L J creeps out into darkness * " Hmm what was Sailor scrounger up to? perhaps I shall check on that repair on the fence. Hello what's this ??? * fence reopened, PO climbs under and makes a dash to the privy. * " Okay, I must be fast its getting a bit light" * Searches both Privies, dashes back under fence and returns to bunk *

:::leans out the bunkhouse window:::

Pssst, sir.

::::waves the officer over.:::

Two weapons liberated sir.

:::pulls his head back in the window:::

Inside the armoury Hauptmann Rear wakes with a start.

"Not too long til daybreak now. I'm almost safe!"

He smirks as he holds the box of matches tighter. Suddenly he hears scratches at the door like nails on a chalkboard. Surely nothing could get through those huge metal doors?

"Ja?! Wer ist da?? Mein Oberst is that you? Schutze Enigma??"

Rear takes a match from the box and prepares to strike it, his hands shaking from the tension.

August peers out from the dockside tower. Stiff and sore from his all night vigil, he rubbed his tired eyes and remembered with renewed irritation the Hauptmans accusation of the previous day.

August shuddered to think what would happen to him if the good Hauptman were to take command. Especially seeing how close Rear and that SS pig seemed to be....

Another night on this dreaded wall. Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Oberst HunterIXC ? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You smile for those mauled, and you curse the tommies. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Bakkel's and Vendor's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn about you or the garden. I'm thinking tonight is my last night I'm watching a wall. Something stange is not right here.

I hope the sun is up soon....it's a chilly night. Much movement and noise at the POW compound.

PO Jimbuna moved along the tall castle wall, clutching his holy grail of schnapps, heading for the North turret breach, when something brushed his shoulder. He froze. The hair on his neck--literally-- began to stand up and he felt the involuntary sensation of his skin creeping. He fought to turn his head. A shadow appeared from the darkness--it was true!--a creature, a true monstrosity towered over the petty officer, fangs glistening in the moonlight.

Jimbuna felt his body go limp. Must not pass out, Jim old boy, face it like a man, he thought. He reached for the cleaver, desperate to make an honest stand. The bottle of schnapps slipped to burst on the pavement. The creature raised a hairy claw, then paused. Jim struggled to catch his breath--for a moment he felt a glow, a power sweep over him. The creature recoiled and bolted past him through the breach in the North turret and was gone.

Jimbuna felt life return to his legs and began running in the opposite direction, unconcerned that he was moving away from his only route back to the camp. Then he heard a scream of pain from inside the Great Hall and checked his flight. There was some kind of uproar in the Great Hall. He pressed himself against the kitchen wall as Schütze The Enigma raced past. Steadying his nerve, he turned toward the North turret and made his escape in the growing light, back to the camp.

Schütze The Enigma found Hauptmann Rear at the Oberst's bedside. Their CO was a lifeless corpse, the carefully manicured features torn and shredded. "Mein Gott!" said Enigma, unable to tear his eyes from the scene. "Hauptmann...I guess this means you are in charge now. What are your orders, sir?"

Rear replied, "Check the other men, have someone check Gefreiter August, he was alone in the Dock Guard Post, make sure we are all safe and accounted for." The private snapped to attention and saluted, and ran from the room.





.

Word of Oberst HunterIXC now dead? Shredded to bits? Was I the last to be seen with him last night? I hope this is not pinned on me because I was possibly seen with Oberst last night. This is turning into a bad situation then it already is. I must keep my wits about me. I'm not returning my weapon to the armory. It stays with me in case I'm fingered in some fashion. In fact, I think my luck is running out as it is.

*walks off to the dormatories to collect some gear*

"What are you waiting for schutze Enigma? Los!"

Rear is secretly glad that noone found him hiding in the Armoury last night, whether beast or otherwise.

*wakes up from the noises coming from the castle and goes outside*

Oh, what now?

*on my way to the dormatories. see Rear leaving the armory*

*salutes*

" Hauptmann Rear, word of Hunter has passed down. What do you make of this?"

Takeda is slowly wakes in his bunk; the sounds of alarm coming from the castle.

"What the hell now? Another murder? How long before we are all dead? I just wanna go home. Just wanna go home....."

The reporter slumped against the bunkouse wall, his knees curled to his chest.