White coats flapped wildly around the bleak chamber. The grey walls were adorned by metal pipes, wires, and a single picture of their great and cunning leader. The grey concrete that encased them would protect them from almost any attack, but it also kept them locked up underground, like a windowless prison more than the lab it was supposed to be. The Doctor shot up from his table. His back ached with the pains of labor, the pains of being subjected to his works day and night. “Get this table cleaned up! Organize the papers and get the beakers labeled!” The Doctor pointed at one of his electrical engineers, a smart man who had come through on every task the Doctor had set him on. “Grab a broom and sweep the floors now.”
The engineer furrowed his brows, “Sweep? I have a doctorate, Herr Doctor, I would not…”
“Hans Kammler will be here tomorrow to check up on our recent progress.” The Doctor interrupted his subordinate, “If this place isn’t in immaculate condition, I fear what he will do.”
The engineer nodded curtly and took off with the speed of a man possessed by a devil. The Doctor needed no other words to sway his subordinates, just the name would do.
The Doctor sighed with stress. The project had just made great leaps of progress, only after many incidents, most of which had ended with the deaths of many. The Doctor was a scientist, not a murderer, but with his commander pushing him and his team into completion as quickly as possible. Accidents were prone to happen.
A lab assistant tripped over a chair and crashed into a table. A large test tube fell, toppling to the ground. The lab assistant’s eyes opened wide. The crash of glass pulled the Doctor out of his thoughts. He ran over to his assistant and pulled the young man up from the floor.
“Quickly, grab a broom and clean this. If Kammler sees this, he will put a bullet between your eyes.”
The assistant nodded, fear apparent in his eyes, only to be exacerbated by the loud metal clang that rang out from the thick metal door of the laboratory.
The Doctor looked at the door and then back at his assistant. If the young man’s eyes could open any larger, his eyeballs would be spilling out onto the floor. “Herr Kammler shouldn’t be here till tomorrow. No need to worry.” The Doctor’s words calmed the assistant slightly. The metal door rang out again.
“Go, Go!” The Doctor shoved his assistant aside. He straightened his coat and strode over to the door. Sweat had started to drench his shirt collar. He knew not who would be at this door. The lab was nowhere near complete. Hans Kammler would be here tomorrow, the Doctor just hoped the recent progress would be enough to dull the anger in his commander.
Another series of metal clangs range out into the morose chamber.
The Doctor walked over the guards on either side of the door. He wasn’t expecting any visits tonight. Maybe it was some last minute supplies for his staff. The Doctor waved the guards on either side of the door, “Don’t just stand there.” The soldiers looked at each other, and then back at the Doctor. “Open the door, or you find yourselves in Die Glocke for the next test.”
The soldier on the left snapped a salute and slid the eye hole slot open. He let out a short gasp and promptly opened the thick metal door. The lock slid backwards, sending another clang into the lab. The soldier snapped a salute again standing aside.
A confused look spread across the Doctor’s face. It was late in the night and he had not received word of a visitor, not until tomorrow when Kammler would be inspecting his work, but for the soldier to act the way he did, it would need to be someone of high command, but that would mean…”Oh no.” The doctor barely got the words out when the visitor came into view.
The guest held his head high, observing the laboratory as he always did. He pulled cap hat off and tucked it under his arm. He nodded at the Doctor, “Herr Doctor.”
The Doctor gulped hard, “Herr Kammler. I was not expecting you at this time. I thought you would be here tomorrow.” He looked out onto his laboratory. His staff was exhausted and his tables were filthy with the byproduct of their work.
“Do I need an invitation when I want to check up on my favorite project? I decided to visit the lab as soon as I could.” Kammler took a few steps into the lab and picked up a wad of papers that covered a nearby table, “Maybe your laboratory would be neater had I sent word?”
The Doctor walked up to Kammler’s backside. He hesitated to speak, “We have just made progress towards the completion of Die Glocke. The mess is warranted with the amount of work we have made.”
Herr Kammler turned to face the Doctor. He squinted slightly, “Is it warranted? I doubt the Fuhrer would approve of such sloppiness. A straight mind necessitates a clean workspace, Doctor.” Kammler walked further into the lab, scientists saluted to him as he passed. He waved them away back to their work. “No, I haven’t come to debate cleanliness, Doctor, what I come for is the progress that you have made.” He stopped and looked back at the Doctor, “It is functional, yes?”
The Doctor shook his head, “All our data agrees that he have achieved forward time travel, but we have yet to test it further until we have achieved the formula for reverse travel as well. We believe Die Glocke can only return to the present time but never the past.”
Confusion spread across Kammler’s face, “Explain Doctor.”
The Doctor nodded, “If you spend a year in the future, you will only be able to return to a year from today’s date, which is why we have delayed further testing. We know not when we will be able to return, and as I understand, time is limited.”
Kammler nodded, “This is why I have given you control here, you are invaluable Doctor, your decisions please the Fuhrer, but we have no need for travel to the future.” Kammler walked into the large circular room holding Die Glocke. The bell shaped device sat in the middle of the room. Scientists moved around jotting notes down on clipboards. “The Allies close in as we speak. Many see the war lost, and this is our last hope. The Fuhrer needs to go back in time to meet the Allies at every turn and beat them back. Our mistakes will be corrected, and our new future will be one of dominance over all mankind. Then Doctor, you will have the freedom, not to mention the monetary backing of our new order, to pursue whatever scientific venture you deem fit.”
The Doctor nodded slightly. That would be his dream. To no longer search for what others paid him too, but to seek out his own path. “Hail Fuhrer!” He raised his hand into the air.
Kammler copied the scientist and smiled deviously.
A loud bang came from the thick metal door once again. Both men looked each other in the eye.
“I have not told anyone of my plans, Herr Doctor. Are you expecting company?” Kammler’s eyes were hard driven, burning into the Doctor’s mind.
“No, Herr Kammler, I wasn’t expecting anyone until your next scheduled visit.”
Kammler nodded and pointed to his men. He waved his hand in a circle around his head and then pointed at the door. His soldiers took up position around the door, tipping over tables, spreading piles of papers across the ground.
The Doctor stepped forward gasping, “My Research…”
Kammler pulled the pistol from his belt and aimed it at the door. He met the eyes of the guard at the door and nodded.
The soldier pulled his arm up to open the door, but he froze in place.
The heavy metal bar that held the door shut started to slide open on its own.
The Doctor’s eyes opened wide.
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