Blackened Eyes of the Beast- Chapter Three

Third Chapter.

Chapter 3: Last Legs

“So what you are telling me Dr. Shiffler is that the testing is going as planned?”
“Yes Sir, General Renier. The tests show that the young Jew is taking to the treatment very well. No significant changes as of yet. But!” The doctor exclaimed as he saw the look on the older general’s face go from placid to stern. “She is showing all the signs that the embryo growing inside her womb has accepted the DNA.”
“You are lucky that Hitler has patience for this… science of yours doctor, for mine is growing ever so thin! The first two women gave birth to girls with no sign of any difference than a normal baby.” The general then made a noise that sounded more like a grunt than anything audible. He put his hat back on and looked through the large window that was the mirror in the women’s holding cell. He then sneered and said something under his breath that sounded more like just a racially motivated curse than anything.
Dr. Shiffler was clutching his clip board so hard that his knuckles had turned white. The third baby was to be born any day now and there was still no concrete proof that the DNA testing and experimentation that he was doing was actually taking effect. The General’s visits were coming more and more frequently and made him more uneasy every time. He knew that his superiors wanted results, and so did he! The doctor looked at the two remaining girls and frowned. He had but two chances left before he knew that the Furor would have him dismissed or worse yet, killed. His only hope of success lies in the hands of two women and their unborn children.
He looked down at the clip board and then released his grip on it, as if just realizing how tightly he was gripping it, the papers would tell him all he needed to know. He was going to have to step up the process that he was using. The down side as he read was that all four women were having girls. That was strike one in the Nazi army. Strike two was that the first two baby girls were born with no noticeable change in physiology. They wanted immediate answers. He shuddered at the thought of strike three. With the thought of death looming over his head he pressed a small red button on the wall next to the window.
Inside the holding cell, the lights flickered on and the two remaining women were woken rather rudely from their slumber. Barbara and Granidine slowly sat up. Neither of them looked happy to be awake, or even to still be in their prison.
“Another day in paradise…” Barbara said sarcastically as she stretched.
After Ann-Margaret hadn’t returned from her delivery, the three women had started to talk a little more, discussing what had happened, where they had taken their friend and what had happened to the baby.
Mary was the second to go into labor, an occasion that would normally be a happy one. She kicked and screamed as they came to get her into delivery. After a few hours, it was obvious to Barbara and Granidine that she wasn’t coming back either. This was cause for alarm between the two remaining women, yet they took it in stride. They even started to talk more in the open about the disdain that they had for their situation. It was something that made them feel better, and a bond had been formed between the two. Close enough that Granidine felt comfortable enough to tell Barbara about her dream.
“I don’t know what the dream means," Granidine said a little panicked.
“I wish I could tell you dear, but I don’t know what it means at all. Sometimes a dream is just a dream," Barbara said to her as they walked toward the showers.
“Haven’t you had dreams like that since they started their tests?” Granidine asked almost pleadingly. She didn’t want to be the only one having these nightmares.
“I can’t say that I have," Barbara said as she pushed her head under water. “Is it always the same? I mean the same man with the red hair and black bangs.”
“Yes, always the same. It ends the exact same way each time. Then I wake up screaming.”
“Well he sounds like no one I have ever met. I am sure I would remember someone like that!”
They both laughed a little bit.
“That isn’t the strangest part of the dream though Barb," Granidine said as she poured soap into her hand and started to wash her hair. “I feel as if I know the one with the red hair. Looking into his eyes just before he dies, I see those black eyes and I feel safe, like he’s someone that I know personally.”
“Weird, definitely weird.”
The two women dried themselves off after their showers and sat back down on the bed. There was no more guessing as to who would be tested on the exam days. Both were being taken into different rooms every day now, monitoring their babies progress and their health. The two waited patiently as they could for the men that would escort them to the exam rooms.
“What does Dr. Svindenhardt say about your dreams?” Barbara asked.
Granidine had told her about the psychiatrist after Mary had vanished. She needed to tell someone about the horrible smelling doctor. Granidine had told her all the details of her sessions with the man, how he had always asked her about what was happening with her, how she was being treated, if she understood what was happening to her, and finally he would broach the subject of the dream again. She never gave him much, only that she knew that they were injecting her with weird looking chemicals, and that she had a physical almost every week. As for the dream, she never expressed that she felt like she knew the man in her dream.
“He says that it is just a… remaining… No a reoccurring nightmare. That it is nothing for me to worry about, but I am supposed to let him know if it ever changes.”
Barbara just nodded and then slipped on the gown that was given to her to wear for the tests that day. After putting it on she looked down at her engorged abdomen and rubbed her belly softly in slow circles. She started to hum a soft song, almost as if she knew that any day soon she would meet her own end after the birth of her baby. Both of the women had accepted the fact that they were going to disappear after the child was born, whether they were going to be killed, or shipped back to the camps they had no clue. Granidine looked at Barbara and smiled warmly. “How much longer do you think?”
“I’m not sure, but I know that it will be soon," Barbara looked up at the young woman and then frowned. “Do you think I will at least get to see my baby before they take me away from it?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know what they are going to do with us.”
Granidine put on her gown as well and then noticed a small letter under the fabric as she put it on. She looked at it oddly and then turned it over. It was a plain white envelope with her name scribbled on it. Barbara hadn’t seen it and she hoped that the ones watching her behind the mirror hadn’t seen it either. She stood up and shifted from one foot to the other. She pressed the letter close to her stomach and waddled her way toward the bathroom “Damn baby is kicking me in the bladder something awful. They’ll have to pull me off the toilet if they come in.”
She pulled up her gown and sat on one of the toilets as she pulled the letter from its hiding spot and opened it. The letter inside was written on paper that had small brown stains on it; she brought the paper to her nose and sniffed it. She knew the smell of dried blood when she smelled it. The hand writing was almost illegible and looked as if it was written in a hurry.

Granidine,
I don’t know if this will make it back to you before it is too late, I had to bribe one of the guards to get this to you. Please don’t think less of me because of it.
Inside the delivery room is where I am now; my labor was swift and almost painless. The doctor was very pleased when he saw the healthy baby girl I delivered, but there was a problem. There was a Nazi General in the room with him. An older man, he has a scar across his cheek. I have never seen this man before. He scares me.
The General saw my baby and called her a useless female and pulled out his gun and aimed it at my babies head. The doctor started to speak fast, something about tests he needed to do before it was determined a failure. I feel like crying, I know I am never going to see this child again. And the feeling that I won’t see you again either is sinking in more.
Be brave for me Granidine. I don’t think I can hold on much longer. You will survive, I just know it. If you ever happen to see my daughter after this is all over, tell her that I loved her from the moment I knew I had her. Tell her for me okay.
I am not good at saying goodbye, but thank you for being a friend in this dark situation. I will never forget it, or you.
Your friend,
Ann-Margaret

A tear fell onto the letter as Granidine read it. She felt an emptiness inside her that she didn’t know she could have. She sniffed and wiped her eyes and stood up. “I will never forget you either. I will tell her I promise.”
She walked out of the bathroom and looked up. To her surprise there were no guards waiting for her, no one to escort her to the exam room, there was no one in the holding cell at all. The door was open wide and she was alone.
Granidine timidly looked out through the doorway down the halls. She couldn’t see anything but she could hear a great deal. Loud voices echoed down the hall explaining to her what had happened.
“She is in labor!” A nurse’s voice yelled. “Get the doctor immediately!”
“She is two weeks early!” Another nurse’s voice echoed.
Granidine crept slowly down the hall toward the panicked voices and strained to listen more. The closer she got the more clear the echoes got. She pressed herself against the wall, keeping herself in shadow as the conversation went on.
“How far is she dilated?”
“Nine centimeters, her water broke as we came in to get her.”
“Get her on the table, get the monitors ready and I want a blood sample taken from her immediately!” The last one was the doctor; she recognized his harsh and demanding tone. “I also want a sample from the child as soon as it is born!”
Granidine had slinked her way closer to the open door. Harsh lights caused the shadowed halls to be illuminated so brightly she had to squint to see clearly. She poked her head past the doorstop and looked inside. What she saw made her gasp.

* * *
The room was in a blur of motion. Nurses scrambling from one side to the other, they were carrying trays with bloodied rags as well as syringes. There on the table, was Barbara, her face scrunched up in pain and her mouth pulled back revealing all her teeth. She didn’t seem to care what the doctor was saying or what the nurses were doing. Her eyes were clenched and she was sweating, her hair looked frizzed and matted, her whole body seemed frozen in a state of pain.
“She’s contracting!” The nurse drawing the blood yelled.
Barbara screamed aloud and grabbed the nearest nurse by the collar of her blouse and pushed her away. The doctor moved back slightly and looked at the nurse shaking his head.
“Tremendous strength when in pain my dear, haven’t you learned that yet?”
It was more than just pain; Barbara felt as if she was on fire. The burning in her back felt like it was crawling through her abdomen and down her legs. Her muscles seized as she let out a howl of pain. Her fingers tightened around the exam table and the plastic could be heard snapping.
The sight was too much for Granidine to bear. She turned away from the door and softly sobbed to herself. The pain must be unbearable, she thought as she could hear another scream. Barbara could be heard cursing and yelling, speaking in gibberish as she was told to push. There was a sudden gasp and Barbara let out a strangled cry.
“It’s crowning, hurry, get the forceps!” The doctor yelled.
Granidine calmed her nerves and forced herself to watch. She wanted to know what it was like, she wanted to watch and see a baby being born. She poked her head back through the door and had to stifle a gasp. Her eyes locked onto the small head pushing its way out of Barbara’s body. It was so tiny and there was a thick covering of hair. It didn’t matter that blood covered the newborn, or that it was smeared over Barbara’s inner thighs.
“One more push Barbara. Just give us one more," The doctor said.
Barbara let out an animalistic grunt as the doctor pulled on the baby. She screamed as the baby was pulled free and she let out a relieved sigh and collapsed back on the table. The doctor turned the infant upside down and smacked it on the bottom, and with a wail that only babies can give, announced itself to the world!
“It’s a girl doctor," The nurse exclaimed.
Granidine let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and smiled. She reflexively placed her hand over her own engorged stomach and secretly wished it was her time. As she moved back to look into the room, a hand slid over her mouth and she felt herself being pulled roughly backward! She blinked as she struggled, but strong hands held her still. She looked up and a look of shock crept into her eyes.
Dr. Svindenhardt placed a finger to his lips and then nodded to the side. Granidine nodded as well and he took his hand off her mouth.
“What are you—“ Granidine started to say.
“Shhh” Dr. Svindenhardt said sternly. “Follow me," He then took her hand and pulled her down the corridors that lead too his office.
As he opened the door and ushered her in, he looked back suspiciously to see if they had been followed. He didn’t think that they were, but he also knew one could never be too sure.
“Dr. Svindenhardt!” Granidine exclaimed rather exasperated. “What is going on? Why did you grab me? What were all those monitors? Why were they going to take blood from the baby?” Each question got more forceful.
“Calm down Ms. Vander Hoek. Everything will be explained as soon as I’m sure that they think you are missing.”
Almost as if on cue, a loud alarm sounded and Granidine had to cover her ears. “What is going on!?” she shouted.
“My name isn’t Svindenhardt," He said calmly, as if the alarms meant nothing. “My name is Johnson, Special Agent Phillip Johnson. Of the United States Secret Service.”
He reached up and grabbed his neck, pulling off the double chin he had been fitted with and then started to remove the bushy eyebrows and disgusting teeth. Under all the make-up, Granidine had to admit he was quite handsome.
“I’m here to get you out of this facility and into the American embassy in London," He said with a finality in his voice that left no room for arguments. “We don’t know what they have been doing here, but we plan to find out," He opened the door to the office and looked around as he did he pulled out a gun, Granidine gasped and moved back.
“Wh-what is that for?” She asked.
The agent closed the door and looked at her carefully. “You didn’t think I would be talking my way out did you?” He put the gun away and straightened himself out. “I have already managed to get two of you four out of here. I didn’t expect Barbara to go into labor so soon, so I have to step up my plans. I need you to wait here, don’t make a sound, and what ever you do don’t let anyone but me in," Agent Johnson moved to the door again and opened it. “I will knock twice slowly when I return, don’t open it for anyone else," And with that he was out of the office with the door locked securely behind him.

* * *

Johnson moved slowly down the flashing red hallways, he knew where he needed to go by now. He had spent months in this place undercover and had memorized every guard tactic as well as each of the hallways many paths. He had to curse at himself for that one because the only reason he had memorized them was because he got lost so many times. The Nazi’s had made the depths of the basement they were in a catacomb of dead ends and stairs that went nowhere. He figured it was to make sure that, even if the girls escaped, they wouldn’t get very far. Barbara’s delivery room was close as he moved through the hall, keeping to the shadows in the flashing red warning lights. Moving in closer, he had his gun at the ready and turned into the delivery room.
He stood there with his mouth open as he saw the sight before him. There was a knot in his throat that he tried to push down but it seemed to keep right in the middle of his neck. He stepped closer to the table that the young woman he knew as Barbara had just given birth and his gun lowered. Barbara was still there, her mouth hung open grotesquely with drying blood caked against her neck. Her eyes were looking right into his, they were empty, lifeless, they were dead eyes. He shivered as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he realized then that the people he was dealing with had no sense of human life or compassion. The mother of the newly born child had been shot through the mouth just minutes after delivery! His gut was telling him that he needed to move quickly. He closed Barbara’s eyelids for the last time and turned back to the door.
He started down the corridor that he knew would lead him to the nursery. If he couldn’t save the mother, he would damn well save the child. Agent Johnson broke into a run as he neared the door the lead to the nursery. As he neared he pressed himself against the wall and tentatively tapped the handle. The knob jiggled enough to tell him that it wasn’t locked. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and then pushed the door open. He looked inside and was pleased to see that there was only a doctor and two guards. As he pushed his way in he fired twice, the guards didn’t have time to react as the bullets pushed their way through the soldiers skulls and out the back. Both fell to the floor, never to get up again. In the same movement he aimed the barrel of his gun right at the doctor and stepped forward.
“Only gonna ask you once. Where is the newborn?”
The doctor’s face blanched white as he leaned down into a small crib and produced the infant.
“Thanks," Johnson said as he took the baby, and then firing two shots into the doctor’s chest. Ending any chance that he had to practice his so-called science on other unsuspecting women ever again. He looked down at the baby and was surprised at the fact that the little girl didn’t even flinch from the loud noise from the gun fire. The infant was sleeping happily wrapped in a blanket sucking its thumb, oblivious to the world.
Johnson moved slowly down the halls back toward the office he had left Granidine in, his gun at the ready as he carried the child in his arm. The alarm was sounding still but the lights had stopped flashing red. He could see a little better, but that wasn’t a good thing either. It meant that the Nazi’s could see him better too. He pressed up against the wall again as he moved toward the door. He tried to stay in the shadows but because of the renewed light, it was very hard. He stopped as he came near a turn in the endless corridors of the basement and listened. He could hear breathing, it was shallow and rapid. He could hear talking but couldn’t quiet make out what was being said.

* * *

Granidine watched as the agent left. Her mouth was agape as her mind tried to comprehend what was going on. She had been taken from her home by the Nazi’s and thrown into an internment camp. Basically imprisoned for being Jewish, then she had her innocence ripped from her and as soon as she found out she was pregnant, she was then imprisoned in this horrid basement. Made to give blood, have samples taken, and be examined and prodded by all sorts of weird instruments. Now after all this time she meets a man, who she thought was another disgusting Nazi doctor, pulls off his face to reveal a younger looking “American” agent. He handed her a gun and told her to stay put.
“What is going on here?” she whispered to herself as she looked at the small pistol in her hands.
She could feel that this wasn’t right. The cold steel felt wrong in her hands. But seconds later she would know how wrong it would be. There was a loud bang on the door. A mans harsh voice could be heard from the hall.
“Dr. Svindenhardt! There is an intruder. Are you okay?”
Granidine held her breath.
“Dr. Svindenhardt!” There was another bang on the door. “Are you in there!?”
The door handle started to turn and Granidine whimpered softly. The guard would come in whether she wanted him to or not. She looked down at the gun in a panic and closed her eyes. This was all a dream, she told herself. It had to be another nightmare! If this was real, she wouldn’t know what to do. She had never fired a gun, and Agent Johnson never showed her what to do. She opened her eyes and looked down to see the gun still in her hands. Damn it! She screamed to herself.
“doctor!” The loud bang shook her back to the situation. “doctor!! Have you been hurt?”
The door shook as the wood splintered under the force of a kick. Another loud crash and the door was history. Granidine screamed and the Nazi stormed in. Granidine screamed again as the Nazi got near, there was a loud bang and the soldier’s eyes widened! His hand moved to his chest and looked down to see it covered in blood. She didn’t even know his name, but she was now the cause of his death. She dropped the gun and whimpered again.
She squeaked out a small “I’m sorry” And moved toward the door. She knew enough that the gunshot would draw attention. She ran for the door leaving the gun behind. She took two steps outside the door and turned back. She was unprotected and being out in the halls was dangerous. Granidine quickly picked the gun back up and headed out the door. She didn‘t know where she was going all she knew was; Agent Johnson was trying to get Barbara and her baby out.
Granidine ran down the halls blindly as she held the gun tightly in her hands. It seemed like every turn lead to another endless hall. She was lost and her emotions were running wild within her. Hormones were not kind to women when they were pregnant, and Granidine was no different. She leaned against the wall and started to sob. She was lost in a maze of hallways with a gun she didn’t know how to use, and an American trying to get her out. She had left the office, left the place the agent had told her to wait. She was alone now, and had no where to turn, and no one to turn to. She was breathing heavily as she held the gun in shaky hands.
“I’m never going to get out of here… I am going to die here," She kept repeating to herself over and over.
She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and she screamed, there was another gunshot and a loud “Hey, watch it!” It was a voice she recognized. Agent Johnson was standing there, his gun drawn on her, his eyes looking right into hers.
“Good thing you are a bad shot," He nodded towards a small hole in the cement wall. “Or else that could have been my head with a new hole in it.”
Granidine laughed softly, wiped her tears and promptly fainted.

Author's Note

Opinions please