1965 BERLIN

ROXANNE'S POINT OF VIEW 1965 BERLIN

I was woken up by a barrage of gunfire originating from East Germany. Gunfire was an everyday occurrence because many from East Germany attempted to flee to the West but were killed in the process. I worked in a clinic that solely serviced Vampires, and we ran missions to help those in the East defect. I lived in a building that was adjacent to the clinic. Both governments knew about our existence but chose to ignore us because if either claimed they discovered vampires, the other would use it to discredit the other. I put on my uniform and headed down to the clinic. I walked in to find it mostly empty. I went to the back and saw the leader, Elias, looking over the situation table. Elias was a vampire who was in a German work camp that was designed to do tests on captured vampires. Elias was unique because he was a half-breed between a female human and a male vampire. He only had one eye because the Germans took the other, and his entire body was covered in scars. He asked, "Have you been practicing your sniper rifle skills?" I responded. "Three times a week with Alvin." Alvin was not a vampire but was a sympathizer. Alvin was a trained sniper who fought against the Germans alongside the Americans. Elias continued, "Good. Our mission tonight will require it because Bruno got captured last night."

I asked, "We will try to get him back, right?" Elias responded, "Yes, and 21 others are imprisoned in a facility for Vampires." I declared, "22 is the most we've tried to save." Elias stated, "Yes, but I have a plan. Getting in and out will be the easy part by using the tunnels, but the difficult part will be getting everyone out of prison and to the warehouse that has the tunnel. We will start by going through the tunnels and getting into a vehicle that an American stashed for us. Once we reach the prison, you will be perched in a neighboring building. I will drive that car near the walls and have it rigged with the explosives we stole last time we made a rescue. It will detonate; hopefully, most guards will shift to that side. I will circle to the other side to meet the American and some of his friends. We will enter using a blow torch to get through the first gate. I will need you to take out any guards that may see us. After we get in and out, we will go to the warehouse. If anything changes, I will shoot up a flare, and you will meet us at the bottom of your building. You will have a flare as well in case you see anything suspicious. Any questions?" I asked, "Where would Alvin be?" Elias continued, "Alvin will be perched on a building on the west side in case anything goes wrong. I finished, "It seems well thought out."

Later that night, we made our way into East Berlin and to our positions without problems. I got on top of the building and waited. Elias left the vehicle next to a wall and ran into the night. I watched as a police officer approached the car, and when he was close to it, it exploded, leaving a hole in the wall. As predicted, most guards ran towards the explosion, leaving a few still in the towers. I lined up a shot and killed a guard in the first tower. The second guard heard the shot, and I quickly put a bullet between his eyes. Elias and his team made it through the fence and ran toward one of the buildings. An alarm sounded, and many guards began running to the building the team was in. I began to shoot gas barrels, causing the guards to scatter. I killed three back-to-back who were attempting to get into a tank. I saw a Soviet aircraft fly towards the building that housed the tunnel. It dropped a massive bomb, and the building exploded. I focused my rifle back on the structure and saw the team exiting with the prisoners. I shot up my flare, and Elias shot his up. I continued to shoot at the guards, and Elias commandeered two personnel carriers. The group climbed into the vehicles, and the trucks burst out of the gate. I ran down the stairs and climbed into one of the trucks when it came speeding up. The trucks took off towards the West, and a pair of Vampires were inside my carrier, Miles and Missy. Miles was in bad shape. Missy cried, "He was shot by a silver bullet and cut by a silver knife!" There was a massive knife wound across his chest and a bullet hole in his shoulder. I had a backpack of medical supplies but one bag of blood, which was insufficient. I looked around the vehicle and smelled something different. A human was inside with us, a young German teenage boy. I looked at Miles and said to the teen, "Er braucht Ihre Hilfe. Ich muss ihm etwas von deinem Blut geben." The teen nervously shook his head no. I bared my fangs and I asserted, "Ich werde dich aus dem Wagen werfen, wenn du mir nicht deinen Arm gibst." 

He nervously handed his arm to me, and I did a person-to-vampire blood transfusion. Miles instantly looked better. The bullet was doing more damage than the cut, so I went digging into the open wound. Miles was yelling, and Missy held his head in her lap. I found the bullet and removed it. Before I could stitch up the injury, the vehicle was taking fire from a machine gun. I heard one single shot, and then the machine gun stopped. We were closing in on the border because that single shot was from Alvin. I stitched up the wound and then stitched up the knife wound. Miles said, "Thanks, honey," to me and then looked at the German. "Danke." I removed the IV line, and Missy cried, "Thanks for saving him. Miles attacked a guard that had beaten me, and another one shot and stabbed him." The truck crashed through a gate, and we were safely on the other side. The trucks pulled into a second warehouse and we all scattered because the Americans would want to know what happened. Missy told me, "I hope we see you again someday." I wrote the address of the diner in New York on a piece of paper. I asked, "Meet you there in a year from today?" Missy hugged me and said, "Of Course." I found Elias and said "I am going to skip town and spend some time in Britain." Elias stated "I agree. We all need to lie low for a while." I hugged him and started my journey to Britain.