"Herr Major?"

Kurt was brought out of his thoughts by the voice of a young boy"Ja?" he replied turning to look down at the young soldier. He sighed inwardly. The lad was barely into his teens, probably drafted into the youth like so many other, Kurt himself had been such a boy when his life as a soldier began. He'd been different back then, new and clean and pure, just like this boy who stood before him in a uniform that represented concepts and ideas no one so young and innocent could fathom.

"Speak up lad, I'm listening" Kurt barked harshly. Whether he liked his job anymore or not, he was an officer and he had to remember his duties and his rank.

The boy bit his lip "We're going to die to day aren't we?" he asked quietly, dark eyes full of fear.

For a moment Kurt almost entertained the thought of giving the boy some false hope but he knew that innocence couldn't live forever and that even a child should know that mercy was nothing but a foreign dream for them "Ja we've lost the war. There's nothing left for us to do but die like the men we are" he put a hand on the boy's shoulder "We won't be remembered for our actions either,not in a good way at least, we aren't the hero's of this story. When we die today that's the end, we can only hope to maintain a shred of our dignity by dying like real soldiers, no begging, no weeping, we must always remember our courage,".

The boy face twisted in dismay and Kurt felt suddenly very old. At Thirty-Two he felt ancient perhaps it was a good thing that the end was in sight. He'd spend twenty years serving this country, a country who's morals he now questioned and who's honor was long tainted. But he was still proud, he would always be proud, wrong or right....a German soldier does not turn his back on his nation.

"Don't lose heart yet,"

Kurt turned to see his longtime friend Wilhelm, "You know as well as I do, even if we survive this last battle the Allied forces won't go easy on us, it will be the firing squad for certain,".

"you don't know that! We could escape, there's still time to run," Wilhelm replied, his pale brow furrowing and his light brown hair falling into his eyes, "Kurt, you don't have to die today," he insisted with an eagerness that unsettled Kurt.

Kurt was transfixed by the eerie gleam in his comrade's eye. Wilhelm had changed quite a bit over the past year. He had become pale and increasingly withdrawn, and there was the strangest aura around him. For the first time in his life Kurt felt that he didn't know his friend.

"What the devil are you talking about?!" Kurt growled. "Do you know something I don't?"

Wilhelm shrugged "Perhaps...Maybe you'll find out today. Oh don't glare at me like that I'm your friend, just trust me." Wilhelm fixed his strangely luminous violet eyes on Kurt. "We are still friends aren't we?" he asked.

Kurt narrowed his eyes and gave a hesitant nod. Then he turned and left, Battle was raging on the ground and his unit would be dispatched soon...he had to prepare.

One hour left before deployment. Kurt was in the washroom shaving. Being well groomed wouldn't help him in the slightest but, it gave him comfort to do something with his time, he felt like he was preforming a last ritual to prepare for his execution. He ran the razor over his cheek one last time then peered into the mirror. He needed a hair cut, his curling, messy, white-blond hair was starting to look ragged and strands were hanging in his silvery grey eyes. He was not a very handsome man. He had rough hawkish features and ruddy tanned skin. Dark circles under his eyes and the lines etched around his thin mouth gave testimony to the hardships he had endured. He picked up a pair of shears and prepared to trim his hair when the call to move out was sounded. Putting the shears down he gave his reflection a final long look.

"Well time to die." He said grimly.

He put on his coat and smoothed out any wrinkles, his uniform spotless, he did not run out of the barracks, rather he walked, marching with all the courage and dignity he could summon to meet his end.

In his office Grimmer let out an infuriated yell; he tried to call his men on the intercom but everything was silence. The power was down, he knew this had to be Kurt's doing, the man was just too damn clever for this to be an unfortunate coincidence.

Fumbling around his desk for a flashlight the former Colonel muttered obscenities under his breath. Damn Kurt Kraus! Damn him to hell! He'd stolen his glory during the war, he'd killed off his men, he'd killed his granddaughter. Grimmer had been a fool to keep him alive this long. He'd underestimated the man, underestimated him in a way that had cost him dearly. He'd thought of Kurt as the boy, the hapless youth of decades past. That little boy would never have accomplished all this, for the first time Colonel Grimmer was forced to acknowledge that his adversary was a man, a cunning and experienced man.

This revelation instilled fear in him. His image of Kurt as a weak, inferior, boy scout of a soldier was shattered, he'd seen the guards, and Sarah, the young man in his teens would never have been capable of that. He'd only heard stories of Kurt's ruthlessness as a full grown officer, he'd never believed them. He saw now that he should have. Now it was too late though, wasn't it? Now he was alone in his office in a dark building with a dangerous predator who was likely on his way to come and get him....

Bile rose in his throat, he was going to be sick, every thing was crashing down around him. Even now more units were being dispatched but what good would it do? In this darkness they'd never find a vampire, Kurt has successfully tipped the scale in his favor, and there was no way to stop him now. The Doctor had warned him that Kurt was dangerous, even for a vampire, but he'd been to full of himself to see...wait, that was it! The Doctor!

He finally found a flashlight and he clicked it on, if he could just get to the Doc before Kurt did then maybe he could come up with a plan! Yes! The doctor's laboratory would even have power. The Doc had insisted that the power for the lab run on its own circuit, he must have anticipated something like this would eventually happen. Kurt hadn't won yet!

...

In his laboratory on the first sub level the Doctor was busy taking the blood sample he'd gotten from Kurt and putting it into a syringe, he had no options left, it was either become a vampire or die of the infection, his arm had rotted away to nearly nothing, his fingers had decayed and fallen off and his skin, blackened and swollen, was splitting and oozing pus in places. He steeled himself and then plunged the needle into his chest and waited.

There was pain, terrible pain as he began changing. Dizzy and sick he clutched at the lab table, it was as if his entire body was rebelling against itself. His heartbeat increased to a staggering pulse before stopping and for one horrifying moment he thought he was dead, then...all was quiet. He opened his eyes and cringed, his brightly lit laboratory was to much for his eyes to bear. He groped blindly against the nearby wall until he found the switch and turned it down. With the lights dimmed he was able to see again, he felt weak and sickly but his arm no longer burned with infection. He examined it, already the swelling was going down and his skin was returning to a pinkish color as the blackness faded.

It was just as the Doctor was getting to his feet that Grimmer burst through the doors.

...

Erik Gerhardt hadn't been working as a hunter for very long, he'd only been hired a few months ago, when he'd heard that the organization he worked for captured and researched vampires he'd figured he'd struck gold with a crazy and rich employer. He thought the most he'd ever be asked to do was take a camera and try to get some sightings of vampires. Like he'd seem people on television do with the yeti...walk around and act like he was looking for things. Easy money.

Not quite, first he was shown those hideous zombie creatures in the lab, then he was actually trained to take down and fight monsters like that. He'd encountered a total of six vampires and now this Kurt Kraus he was supposed to be looking for was loose and there was no electricity. The dark halls seemed to stretch forever in all directions and the further he walked the more like a monster each shadow looked. He had nothing but a flashlight and a gun...some how he didn't think that would be enough.

It was to quiet, shouldn't he have run into the guards or the other hunters? His foot touched something soft and when he lifted it something dripped from it, he turned the beam of his light to the ground and choked back a cry. He'd just stepped into the spilled bowels of a dead guard!

Erik turned and vomited, he couldn't look at it for another second. It was as if someone or something had reached a hand into the man's body and ripped out what was inside. When he'd finished heaving he heard a scraping sound echo around him. He turned a full 360 degrees, he saw nothing, nothing but blood stains. There was another scrape and a soft clang, like a hand striking something hollow. It sounded so close, but he didn't see anyone. He strained his ears, the sound of movement again.

Then he realized where the noise was coming from. Above him...

He didn't look up, he knew that this creature was waiting for him to do so, or it would have killed him before now. He took a step, the thing above him moved. Another step and again movement, it was creeping right over head. He could hear it breathing now, heavy and anticipating. Don't look at it, it will kill you if you look at it...he said to himself. He quickened his pace a little, above him the vampire followed, it's lanky limbs propelling it forward after him. He broke into a run and the monster was right behind him. Clang, clang, clatter clang, the sound of hands and feet striking the pipes beat a terrible tattoo in his ears as it pursued him to the end of the hall. Just make it to a room and close the door! his brain screamed. He saw a room just ahead, the clanging above him was almost deafening. With a final burst of speed Erik rushed into the room and slammed the door.

He sank to his knees and heaved great choking sobs of relief. He wept loudly for several minutes before he heard a loud thump as something dropped down in front of him. He froze, after a few terrified minutes he looked up, there was a tall man staring down at him with luminous eyes and gore coating his chin and hands.

Erik didn't even have time to scream.