Flash

Prologue

The story Flash is © 2025 by D.E.Wood
All characters are either original and copyrights belongs to author,
or subject to fair use as parody. 

Contact information: https://www.furaffinity.net/user/daft

The Potomi river in the  African grasslands. It was the year 1944, April 12. A world war was raging, but here in the grasslands there was calm, aside from a skirmish with the natives two years ago, when the Nazis claimed a shore side area for their compound, just upriver from the jungle where gorillas lived. 

This was Research Base Zed, where Professor Gruber was experimenting with mutagens on gorillas to create the perfect soldier for the Nazi regime. In two years he had created powerful, intelligent gorillas, but so far they had proven resistant to taking orders. Due to an accident, his research took a new turn. He was currently awaiting orders. 

The camp bustled with activity as a pair of steam launches came down river. Both vessels, the Wolfshead and the Webster, sported Nazi flags, and were crewed with Nazi soldiers. Approaching the dock, they were challenged by the two sentries on duty. The proper countersign given, the boats were allowed to dock.

[Note: Sentences bracketed by {} indicate where translation to English has occurred.]

Once the boats were docked, the SS Commandant onboard addressed a guard, “{Where is Gruber? I must see him immediately.}”

“{The Professor is in his lab.}”, answered the guard, saluting.

“{Thank you}”, replied the Commandant, returning the salute.

Turning to the soldiers on the other launch, the SS Commandant barked, “{Your men have their orders Sargent, get to it.}”

To the soldiers on his launch, “{Come with me.}”

“{You and your aids are to be evacuated immediately.}”, the Commandant announced without preliminary as he strode into Gruber’s lab.

“{Evacuation? But why? I have made amazing progress...}”

“{And so have the Allies.}, interrupted the Commandant.  “{They are expected to be here from down river in less than two days. This research facility is to be destroyed and all personnel evacuated to prevent the enemy from learning about your research. Is this understood?}”

Professor Gruber answered, “{Understood. Once I’m back in Berlin, will my research continue?}”

The SS Commandant assured him, “{Yes. When the Fuehrer was informed that your mutagen worked on humans as well as apes, he was nearly delirious with joy. ‘Imagine!’, he shouted, ‘A true race of Aryans created overnight instead of decades! Indestructible youth to drive back the allies! The inferior ground to dirt beneath the new Aryan heel!’.}” 

The Commandant smiled, “{You have your notes and experience. Once back in Berlin, a lab awaits you. You’ll be able to complete the new Operation Zed. Your discovery will be an important part of maintaining the thousand year reign among the lands of the inferior races.}”

Professor Gruber asked. “{What of my six surviving test subjects? What of them?}”

“{They are a liability.}”, snapped the Commandant. “{I’ve read the reports, professor. Your gorillas are powerful, yes, but very willful and impossible to control, yes? Hardly the makings of a soldier, and a danger to us if they get out of their cages, yes?}”

Professor Gruber sighed. “{Yes yes, I suppose so. A pity, with a little more time I could have tamed them. Potion nine showed great promise. Just be sure to aim for their heads, they are very resilient, nearly invulnerable. You’ll need several shots to kill them. What will you have me do?}”

“{Pack your personal belongings and all notes on your research and place them in the launch Webster. We will be moving out as soon as the camp is destroyed, understood? Now move! Quick!}”

Professor Gruber nodded in acknowledgment and barked orders to his aids. Within minutes, he and his aids hurried to the barracks to pack. His chest of notes and formulas were turned over to the Commandant, who turned them over to a Sargent with strict orders to secure and guard them onboard the Webster. 

Turning to the six armed soldiers he’d summoned, the commandant ordered, “{In the next chamber are six of the professor’s super gorillas confined in cells. Approach no closer than you have to, they are exceedingly dangerous. You are to shoot them in the head. Shoot as many times as necessary, but make sure they are dead. Now come with me, you have your orders.}”

The Commandant opened the reinforced door and led the soldiers into the next room. They nearly collided with him when he suddenly stopped and backed up a step. “{God in heaven!}, he exclaimed.

The soldiers gasped, one nearly shrieked at what they saw. Twelve steel cells, each three by four meters in size, lined the walls surrounding them, four to a wall. In the six cells furthest from them were gorillas, but not normal gorillas. They either sat on their cots, or stood leaning on the walls with the posture of men, not apes. Each was nearly two and a half meters tall, the heads of the ones standing nearly brushing the tops of their cell. Their heads were nearly human in shape, but their faces were the faces of gorillas. Their bodies were powerful looking masses of black furred muscles. 

Most listlessly ignored the soldiers, but one looked at them with hate filled eyes and barked, “{So, more of you white worms come to gawp at your betters, eh?}”

Ignoring the ape, the Commandant ordered his men, “{Each of you pick an ape, and on my command, fire. And keep firing until you’re sure it’s dead.}”

“{What!?}”, roared the gorilla that has spoken. “You think you worms can kill us? Brothers, at them!}” As he spoke, he gripped the bars to his cell door and heaves. The bars started bending as the Commandant shouted, “{Fire! Quickly!}”

And the soldiers began firing, Each gorilla’s head jerked under the impact of the bullets, they all sprang up and and began bending the bars of their confinement, bellowing curses as they strained.  One soldier screamed at the sight, but kept firing at his target’s head.

The professor was in his room packing when he heard it. Several shots were fired, almost drowned out in a roar of rage, pain and deep, bellowing curses. Then for several seconds that seemed like hours, the roared curses of the apes mixed with shots that rapidly rang out thunderously from the next building, punctuated by a soldier’s scream. 

The silence that followed was broken by the voices of severely shaken men calling for a medic. Gruber and his assistants were stowing their belongings on the Webster when the commandant appeared, pale and shaking, accompanied by four shocked and trembling soldiers.

“{A pity, Herr Gruber, that your apes had to be destroyed. If they could instill such fear into soldiers of the Reich, imagine what they would have done to the inferior soldiers of the enemy.}”, The Commandant said as he nervously wiped his brow with a handkerchief.

“{Were... were any men injured?}”, asked Gruber.

“{No, no, just terribly shaken, two had to be tranquilized. One of them is nearly catatonic. The instant they started shooting, those devils of yours tried to break out and counter-attack. Such strength! Those steel bars were bending like putty! It took several shots to their heads before they’d drop. The bullets had no more effect than if they were being hit with clubs. Then several more shots to crush their damned heads to pieces to make sure.}”
 
Taking a deep breath to regain his composure the SS officer asked, “{You and your men have your belongings  secured on the launch, yes?}” 

In response Professor Gruber nodded and said, “{All except the mutagen itself. It must be kept refrigerated or it becomes unstable after a few hours and very toxic. If it’s heated it breaks down to a deadly poisonous gas.}” 

Turning to the soldiers with him, the commandant ordered, “{You two, suit up in the protective gear, then take the professor’s mutagen and dump it...}”. he looked around, spying the compound’s  pond. “Dump it in that pond. Safer than throwing it in the river. The thermite will take care of the rest.}”

Gruber asked, “{Thermite?}”

“{Yes. Explosives would leave fragments that could carry tales to the enemy. Thermite will leave nothing but ashes and slag. We brought enough to fill the buildings two inches deep. Not even those steel cells or the bodies of those apes will be left when the conflagration is over.}”

Gruber warned, “{For god’s sake tell your men to be careful disposing of the serum. It transforms infants, that’s why we harvest them from the gorillas during birthing season, but if an adult’s exposed to it, horrible things happen. I’m sure you read the report about poor Hans?}”

The Commandant grimaced, “{I read the report, the poor fellow. Kept screaming as his body warped until his head finally exploded. Don’t worry professor, the men are warned and will be wearing protective gear.}”

Half an hour later, a Sargent reported that all was ready for the ignition. On the commandant’s orders the thermite was lit. A sudden glow was seen racing from window to window in each building as the soldiers scurried to board the Wolfshead and the Webster. The buildings started smoking. 

With a deafening [WHUMP] the buildings burst into flames, then the roar of the massive fire drowned out all other sounds. The intense heat was insufferable and the commandant ordered the launches to move to the far shore for safety.

“{In another hour, the fires should be out. Once we’ve determined everything is destroyed, we start upriver to the airbase.}”, the commandant explained.

An hour and a half later, There was nothing left of the of the compound except low piles of smoldering white ash where the buildings had been. Nothing remained of the steel cages except glowing pools of molten iron. Of the gorilla’s bodies, nothing was left but ashes that were broken up and stirred with poles to disguise what they were.

 After the commandant was assured that everything was completely destroyed, the launches started up river. No one noticed the native that had been crouching by the fence bordering the compound. He sprang up from the tall grass and started running toward his village. Loud, agonized screaming followed him.