Len Gilbert - The Furred Reich

“We’re keeping them out,” Rokura said, sprinting over to Sepp.

Sepp pulled the binoculars back to his eyes and observed the trench fighting going on. The Grimeskins seemed uninterested in retreat, and all of them who came to the trenches met their end there. Outside his own trench he saw the wolves hunting Greenskins in packs of three in the nearby woods.

“Have we won, sir?” Rokura asked.

“No,” Sepp replied, setting down his field glass. “This was just their first attempt.”

“I assume they smoke over in the Grossdeutschland?” Peiper asked Hans and reached in his pocket to produce a pack of cigarettes.

“Of course, Herr Standartenfuehrer.”

Peiper gave Hans a cigarette and lit it for him. After the escape, and Sarah, and then having to explain himself to two officers, that cigarette did a lot of good.

“So you know some things about this land, I take it?”

“Well. Some. There are two port towns to the south of here, a long way south of here.”

“Is that how you came here?”

“Jawohl. I first arrived on another continent, but wound up here after a long journey.”

“What kind of creatures are in this world?”

“Well, I call them ‘Furries,’ sir. They’re like animals, but really they think and talk just like we do.”

Peiper blew a stream of smoke into the icy air, “Are they dangerous?”

“…Some yes, some no. Some I’ve seen are friendly to humans, some hostile.”

“Alright. Well, the men you see here were part of my Kampfgruppe some time ago. They’ve been through a lot before getting here.”

Hans wondered what Peiper really meant. After all, everyone had been through a lot.

“Where were you last, Herr Standartenfuehrer?”

“Prison. We were put on some show trial by the Americans. And you don’t want to know how Americans get ‘confessions.’”

“…I see.”

The commander quickly changed topics. “Are there any other comrades you’ve seen on your journey here, Herr Hepner?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see any, but—”

“But what?”

“There is a fighter plane somewhere on this world. I’ve been searching for it all this time. That’s how I got here.”

“Where did you first see it?”

“Far away, sir. On the other continent. Some of the furries are terrified of it. Originally I came to this continent in search of this plane. To try and put a stop to it.”

“Is it bombing or strafing?”

“I believe so. From what I’ve heard, yes. I’m not sure why. Or who it is.”

Peiper took another drag on the cigarette.

“And what about the American? You seem to know him well.”

“Not really, sir. I just met him yesterday. Tex was the only one in the camp who believed me when I told him about this world, and he didn’t leave me when he had the chance. So if it’s all the same I’d rather keep him around.”

“Interesting,” Peiper said, butting out his cigarette and leaning back, and then sighed.

“You know, I have a wife and three kids. Three kids who no longer have a father back home. For me, that’s the hardest part of this whole thing.”

Hans looked down at the ground and nodded. “I had never fallen in love until I came to this world, sir…”

Peiper nodded. “That’s why you’ve adapted so well to this place. And it’s probably why I never will.”

“Yeah, um, I mean, ‘Jawohl.’”

Peiper laughed softly at Hans’ faux pas.

“See, Herr Hepner, these men here, we are each others’ family. Especially now. You are free to continue your journey when your Sarah Flame is healed, although we’d be grateful if you stayed.”

It was a serious question Hans hadn’t considered. He always just assumed he’d stay here with his own, especially since his own resources had run dry.

“Sir, I’d like to stay if at all possible. I think Sarah would like to stay, also.”

Peiper nodded.

“That’s a relief. I’m glad you want to stay.”

“I will certainly try my best, sir.”

“One other thing. This location here. Do you know if there are more wolves around here?”

“I don’t know. There might be.”

Now was probably a good time to show Jochen the map. Hans reached in his bag and unfurled the parchment and pointed at their approximate location.

“Hmm. To the south are some mountains And you say the foxen live past the mountains?”

“Yes. The foxen I’ve seen are hostile. There are also felines on the other side and they are, uh, a bit friendlier.”

Peiper shot Hans a glance, but Hans was eager to change the subject.

“The person who gave me this said there shouldn’t be any wolves around here, but it turns out there are. She warned me to avoid this one area especially,” Hans hovered his finger over a wide swath of forest due east of them. The ‘wolven’ area accounted for nearly a quarter of the map.

“I see. It looks like wolves will be our greatest threat.”

“They could be. But I’ve heard there is another threat coming, only once, but still.”

“And what is that?”

“A green-skinned warrior race is invading much of this land from somewhere. I walked for weeks to get away from the threat, although I’ve seen no sign of them at all.”

“Thank you Herr Hepner. I will keep that in mind. It’s a bit much to take in right now…” Peiper turned away and looked toward the bunker and line of trenches.

“New arrivals are showing up every day, and we’re already crowded. If we really are in a new world, then these men deserve to finally lead normal lives.”

After talking to Peiper, Hans realized this place wouldn’t be as harsh as he thought it would be. He made up his mind: He and Sarah would stay here.

TWEEEEET!

The scream of Petch-Key’s whistle rang in Vahn’s ears and echoed through his mind. He felt dryness in his throat, but his comrades only saw him standing there primed to crown their assault.

TWEEEEEET!

Yes, Petch-Key’s whistle screamed indignantly at Vahn again, but already he had taken off into the snow. The sprint felt like slow motion, the jump even slower, but then he landed perfectly on the bounded Wolftaur and made a swing at the mounted raider. Then everything went visceral.

For one slow breath he felt his spirit leave his body, as if watching himself from above as his body acted, and gouged the Raider through the throat in one fluid motion. Just as he’d been taught. Vahn felt himself snapped back into his body, mounted atop the bounded wolftaur. With no thought the young wolf took out his hand-knife and shoved it in through the writhing wolftaur’s ear.

Vahn’s mind returned to him after those two seconds, and he could quickly feel the green army bearing down on him. He somersaulted down and rolled back into the trench just before a line of ballista arrows launched out to claim easy targets in the attacking green wall.

“Stay down Vahn! Boomsticks coming!”

An unknown wolven voice called out when Vahn tried to get a look over the trench. In a second explosions tore into the snowy ground and blew away any Raider unfortunate enough to be near one. Despite the carnage the Raiders kept charging forward. Soon a few dozen spear-holding wolves leapt over the trench and onto the remaining invaders. Vahn heard a chorus of snarls and screams ensuing, and it looked like even Petch-Key had joined the fight. The human commander ran into the fray with a knife tied to his long hand cannon.

“W-we’re doing it!”

One of the lasso-men grabbed Vahn by the arm and shouted gleefully at the sight.

“Finally! I told you! I told you we could beat them!”