The Struggle

The first snow of the year was surprisingly heavy.

Schultz watched the flakes fall like sakura petals outside one of the room’s arched windows. The courtyard below took on the appearance of a cotton field, and the white blanket only continued to spread across the prison camp, burying the brick buildings under several feet of fresh powder.

The room the young officer found himself in was spacious, but warm. A great fire crackled in the hearth and Schultz was grateful he was here as a free man and not as one of the prisoners. He had been waiting in the room for nearly ten minutes now, but he didn’t take offense to that.

Commander Gebhardt is a busy man. I’m sure he’ll be here soon.

He took the time alone as a chance to readjust his uniform, comb over his hair, and practice how he’d address his new boss—though perhaps if he botched the interview they would rescind their “promotion” and return him to his former position.

That’s where I belong, Schultz thought bitterly. Hunting the enemy down out there, not guarding them here like the damned cattle they are.

The door swung open and in walked Commander Gebhardt with a pep in his step. He was a tall man with a wide chest, and Schultz was surprised to see him adorn a warm, carefree smile. The sharp glint in his blue eyes, however, indicated a fiercely intelligent mind that observed the world analytically and not emotionally.

“Mr. Schultz, you’ll forgive me. I do hate being late.”

The officer promptly stood to his feet and saluted the commander, who returned the gesture before he circled the desk to sit down. Only when Gebhardt settled himself into his massive leather chair did Schultz ease back into his own seat.

“I’ll be honest with you,” the commander admitted, opening the file on his desk, “I’m a bit surprised a man of your caliber was sent here from the capital.”

Schultz had difficulty fighting back a frown. “I am in no position to question orders.”

Gebhardt grinned and eyed the youth knowingly. “You should be warned—I don’t care much for liars.”

Leaping at the chance to speak his mind, Schultz cleared his throat, his eyelids fluttering. “I believe they were mistaken, sir.”

“Oh?”

“I’m no prison guard.”

“No, perhaps not.” Gebhardt chewed the inside of his cheek thoughtfully before addressing the disgruntled officer. “Your record shows that much. What was it again?” He found the page in the file and whistled, reading the number written at the top. “17 confirmed kills? An impressive feat, truly. But how can you be so certain that you won’t be just as needed here?”

It took Schultz everything in his willpower to not snort. “With all due respect, the idea of letting the enemy live is abhorrent to me. If I had my way—” He glanced down, embarrassed. “Forgive me, sir. It was a long train ride.”

“Nonsense.” Gebhardt waved his hand dismissively. “I ask all my men to speak their mind. With me, that is,” he added with a humored wink. “With my superiors, however, should you ever have the chance to speak with them, I believe blind obedience is key to winning their approval.”

“Understood.”

“You were saying?”

“If I had my way,” Schultz continued, more levelheadedly this time, “we would kill the brutes the moment we root them out. They deserve no mercy. They certainly wouldn’t show us any.”

“I dare say they wouldn’t,” concurred Gebhardt, sighing deeply. “It’s a nasty business, ensuring the survival of our race. There can be no middle ground.”

“Then why keep a prison?” Schultz asked bluntly. “I heard there are dozens just like this one. For what purpose?”

“We need to understand the enemy in order to defeat them,” he explained politely. “You’ll agree, their species is…how do I put it…hard to kill. Humanity has tried for centuries and yet they creep back into civilization like a pestilence that refuses to putter out. This is our chance to save not just our country, but all countries! Should we fail in our task here, the enemy will continue to repopulate, grow in strength, and before we have a chance to retaliate, they will win the day. Credit where credit is due, they are a resilient bunch. It makes studying them all the more intriguing.”

Schultz leaned forward in his seat. “Then, am I right to believe that is the purpose of this prison? To find a way to kill them all in one blow?”

“It is not a pleasant job, I promise you that,” Gebhardt warned. “They scream and beg just like we humans do, which can unsettle a weak mind. But you, Mr. Schultz—there’s nothing weak about you.”

“It’s why I was sent here,” he realized.

“So it would seem. From what I’ve read, you haven’t failed a single mission.”

I can’t afford to. My family…father, mother, sweet Kiera. They’re in danger enough as it is being so close to the front. But the enemy within—the ones who look and act just like ordinary folk…that’s what concerns me.

He couldn’t explain why he did it, but Schultz felt vulnerable enough to ask this man he had just met the question that had been on his mind from day one of the war.

“Why us, commander?” His voice was quiet, burdened. “Why must we be the ones to deliver humanity from this darkness?”

“It could have only been us,” Gebhardt answered stoically. His smile was gone, replaced by grim determination. “Our leader, no, our beloved Father, believes our nation will be the one to lead all others into a new golden age. It is why we are so persecuted. The ones we fight to the west, they have fallen victim to the very lies that would have corrupted us had our Father not revealed our true enemies, the ones responsible for all of humanity’s suffering.”

“You trust him.” Schultz couldn’t decide if it was a statement or a question.

“I do. He saved us and launched this war of liberation. And he in turn entrusted us, here at this godforsaken patch of land, to find a solution to this plague. You’ve managed to hunt down the beasts one by one, and for that I commend you. But wouldn’t it be simpler, more humane even, to wipe them all out at once?”

Schultz still hesitated. “Is that possible?”

“I am no scientist, admittedly, but my superiors believe a virus tied to the creatures’ genetics to be the best course of action. We’re close now, I know it.” Gebhardt looked at the officer and laid all of his heart on the table. “Will you join us, Mr. Schultz? Will you partake in humanity’s salvation?”

He looked past the commander and stared at the falling snow once more. It would be a long winter. His father wrote to him and told him so. The country’s resources were already stretched thin and cities along the front were suffering. His cousin’s family of seven had been killed in a firebombing, and all four of his grandparents had died of malnourishment in the past several weeks alone. The end of the war was near, that much was clear. But who would triumph in the end? The potential answer is what Schultz feared most.

If the enemy and its allies were to triumph…there would be no future for us. None. All of civilization would fall. It would be as it were twenty years ago, when all was desolate and in ruin. I should—no, I need—to help in any way I can. Even if it’s being a guard to these animals, I should leap at the opportunity to do my part.

Schultz clinched his jaw and nodded solemnly.

Commander Gebhardt smiled as he stood. The officer followed suit and accepted the man’s outstretched hand.

“I am yours to command,” he stated humbly.

“Let us save humanity together, you and I.” Gebhardt’s voice gushed with warmth as he greeted the newest member to the battalion guard. “Welcome to Auschwitz, Mr. Schultz.”