The general wanted to put a good distance between themselves and Tokay. It was decided they would stop and give the engines a rest at the next town. It would be good to restock water for the steam engines.
Captain Hayward spent an hour walking around the train talking to the men. The soldiers liked his personal touch. They found the major a bit more regal, whereas the captain had a softer military approach. The Engineers asked how they planned to get back to England. They did not want to forsake the Austrians with whom they had formed a strong kinship, but they also wanted to know the route home.
The captain said they would have a fair old journey ahead. It would involve more travelling by rail and possibly road. The men liked the fact there was a plan in place.
A town was coming into sight. The crews with the cannons and Gatling guns looked for any sign it could have already fallen. There were two major risks: an ambush in the town itself when they stopped, or railway track already pulled up, causing a high-speed derailment. Both had their nightmare scenarios attached, but really there was not much they could do but carry on and see.
The general did have one trick up his sleeve and that was to bring the trains to a halt a mile or so outside the town. He then requested a small detachment of mounted cavalry to investigate ahead.
The men mounted their horses and set off in earnest. They did not want to stop the trains for too long as it would take a while to get the steam up and running.
General Haas hopped off the train and went to speak to the major. He liked to be involved with strategy and planning. He strongly believed battles were lost through bad communications.
The other soldiers and nurses came out onto the armoured carriages for some fresh air. They all looked to the horizon for movement. The atmosphere was relaxed, but nonetheless, people were on guard. The Gatling crew slowly rolled the gun from side to side. This was a new weapon of warfare. It had not been tested by the Austrian army before.
The horses could be seen riding back at speed. It was hard to see from a distance if they were spooked or generally making good speed back. The general was alerted to their return as he spoke with the major. They both immediately left the train they were in and walked towards the front of the steam engines.
The scouts arrived, looking relaxed and calm. The horses’ nostrils flared from the galloping and it took a moment for their riders to steady them.
The scout spoke to the general in German. His accent was quite thick so the major did not pick up everything that was being said. What he did get was an instruction to fire up the engines and move the trains into the town.
The scouts would stay mounted and almost escort them in. They could take a wider berth, giving them views further afield.
The general turned to the major.
“We can let everyone take one hour to stretch their legs and get some fresh air. The train crews will replenish what we have used.”
The engines were primed and stoked; the steam pressure built up and they were off. The town was empty, but there was no sign of fighting. This raised hopes of a civilised retreat.
Once the engines pulled into the station the different groups set about their tasks. Some were allowed to just stretch their legs; most wanted to muck in and help out where possible. The town was very pretty as it was coming into bloom. Captain Hayward looked at the empty houses and empty streets. There were no children playing, no hustle of carts or voices talking the day away. He paused to reflect on how a war had disrupted a community and country.
His mind promptly turned back to duties in hand. He sent Sergeant Butcher to gather some cushions and anything that could make sleeping more bearable. The Sergeant gathered around ten men. He wanted to get this done in one fell swoop.
The hour passed and it was time to set off again. The trains were fully loaded and the sleeping quarters improved.
The bugle was sounded, which gave the order for people to return.
John managed to have a quick conversation with Heidi. Every time she was close, his heart jumped. Her soft lips, long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes made his legs feel wobbly. When she touched his skin, his heart would miss a beat. They both walked back to the trains.
“John. Please take care.”
She smiled at him. Her English had a German twang to it, which he found endearing.
“We will get through this, Heidi.”
A tear rolled down her cheek. He put his rifle over his shoulder and moved in closer. With the side of his hand he brushed it away. She then leaned forward and kissed him. By then they did not realise they had become the backdrop to hundreds of soldiers and nurses. The whistles went up and they banged on the windows and sides of the train. It was all good natured and even the commanders took relief in a moment of natural human behaviour.
They looked at each other for a second and smiled before turning around and getting on their corresponding trains.
Once everyone was boarded, the trains started to roll out. The town slowly became a dot on the horizon as the railway line rose and fell through hills and valleys.
Lightning flashed in the distance and thunder broke the silent backdrop. There was an old wives’ tale about how far away the storm was by counting the time between a lighting flash and thunder. The younger soldiers tried this, beginning to count after the flash and before the thunder followed. Each number represented one mile from where the storm was. No one was sure how accurate it was, but it helped pass the time.
Captain Hayward sat in his quarters looking out of the window. He had blown out the candles and moved the sandbags blocking the glass. He knew this was not really meant to be done due to the risk of attack, but he felt the need to look at the storm and think about other things.
A heavy rain shower swept in, pounding the carriages. It was hard on the soldiers outside manning the guns.
The general passed an order to get the men in whilst the storm raged, reasoning that if visibility was poor for them, it would be for the enemy. This order was carried out by all the commanders on each train as common sense prevailed.
The rain had a soothing effect for most. As it began to fall more gently the sound was less intruding and more calming, sending many to sleep.
The sergeant took a moment to observe the sleeping soldiers. He then took out a cigar and went out to an armoured carriage. He lit it and looked out at the darkness. There was an area which was covered from the rain, so he stood there to smoke. One Austrian soldier joined him and lit up a cigarette. He spoke German to the sergeant. The sergeant had learnt a little German, but not enough to understand everything. He spoke back with some broke sentences. There was an awkward silence for a while and then the Austrian reached into his trouser pocket. He pulled out a cigarette case and slowly opened it.
Inside was a picture of a woman and three children. The Austrian looked up and smiled. In broken English he managed the word “family”. The sergeant then reached into his tunic pocket and pulled out a thin metal container. Inside was a photograph. He showed it to the soldier and said it was his wife and four children. The Austrian looked at the picture and counted the children in it.
He then laughed and raised his fingers to show four. He then spoke German and pointed to his three. He finished his cigarette and threw the stub down on the ground. He then shook the sergeant’s hand and returned inside.
The sergeant did not want to finish the cigar, so he puffed on it one last time, letting the smoke sit in his mouth for a while, before slowly releasing it. He then returned and found a suitable place to bed down for the evening.
The night journey would take them to the city of Presburg. They hoped this would be a well defended city as it was close to Vienna. The general planned to gather an army there and then report to Vienna before going to help defend the Austro–Hungarian Empire from her attackers.
Morning broke with the train flying along at a good pace. The train crew had swapped several times in the night, due to the hard work involved with shovelling the coal into
the furnace to keep the steam engines going.
They estimated they would arrive in Presberg at lunchtime. Both sets of soldiers were very relaxed. Some were still sleeping; others played cards. Many of them had gone outside to wash amongst the cannons and Gatling guns. The officers had warned they must be quick due to the nature of the situation and the fact it would soon become full daylight. The captains had been asked to keep all the men and women on full alert.
There was porridge for breakfast. It was received very well amongst the group. The cooks on the train were working very hard to please so many with very little space to work in.
Presburg started to creep into sight.
The thought of getting out the carriages was appealing to most. The journey was going fine – better than walking –, but the lack of space was hard. The soldiers cleaned their rifles and got themselves ready. Some of them expected to join land units that might be waiting in Presburg.
The general pored over the maps. He was already working out a counter-strike option. His mindset was now on war.
The Austrian captains left his temporary HQ. He wanted to debrief as many of them as possible. He stood posturing over a desk with a large cup of warm coffee in one hand and a magnifying glass in the other.
The silhouettes of the buildings were now in sight, with a tall church steeple proudly sticking out and industrial factories scattered across the outskirts of the town. The surrounding fields were starting to come to life with crops and livestock was grazing freely. There were no visible signs of humans, but the farms still looked as though, until recently, they had been well kept.
The passengers studied the buildings they passed for movement of any type. They were happy to see the animals feeding, birds flying around and general normality. The only thing missing were the people.
The general did not concern himself with this. The civilians would have been evacuated long ago. This would become a military zone. He wanted to strike back as fast as he could.
The train carried on towards Presburg. They did not even send out scouts due to the confidence about was awaiting them. There was a busy, excited vibe spreading through all four trains. Soldiers started to gather outside the armoured cars. The nurses came out of the second train. They waved at them, which raised the excitement level. Some of the British Engineers were eyeing up the Austrian girls. Private John Brown made sure he pointed out his girl and warned everyone off. This of course brought a lot of teasing and bragging about how some of them would win her off him. It was all good natured.
The train line passed into the central part of the city. The expression on faces changed as they inched further and further in. Piles of clothes were stacked along the train track.
Shoes and boots followed. Then their eyes fell upon another pile. Teddy bears were gathered in a large mound by a tree.
There was not a single soul around. The general had come out after noticing that the noise around the four trains had died down. He figured that something was wrong and wanted to find out what. He stood alongside his countrymen. His eyes fell upon the sight that stopped the train.
There were small mountains everywhere they looked. The whiteness glistened in the sunlight. The trains slowly came to a halt even though they were still a good mile away from the central station. The general got down from the train, followed by many of the soldiers. It was a moment without much thought; most of them were unarmed and vulnerable to an attack, but they were drawn to the sight in front of them.
Some of the nurses joined the soldiers as they walked over to the piles. There were flies hovering around in their thousands. The closer they got, the air almost turned black as they shot up and buzzed around everyone.
One nurse realised what she was witnessing and started to cry. These mounds of white were bones. The flesh had been stripped off them completely and all that was left were parts of the skeletons. Skulls, spines, legs and arms filled the piles. No one knew how many had perished to make them, but some guessed it to be in the thousands.
The cold hard facts were coming home to roost. There were no people in the city: they had already been eaten.
The soldiers were starting to arrive and more tears were flowing. The atmosphere was one of anger and shock. Many had not seen too much of the enemy that was invading their country.
They had only heard from the others that these things were sent from the Devil himself and only wanted to feed on human flesh. Others pointed out that they had also seen soldiers dressed in black, looking almost human, but much more grey and lifeless.
The general was joined by the major. They both agreed it was not the time or place to bury the bones as it could take weeks to do so. He instructed the captains and sergeants to get the men and women back on the trains. They wondered why the track had not been destroyed. The one theory that sprung to mind was that the enemy had been using it themselves to speed up the invasion. It was the most logical one, otherwise they would have been stopped by now.
The trains took a short while to get going. It did not take long for them to arrive in Presburg station. Scouts were sent from the bones to scour the city on horseback. There could be no room for error. An ambush was the last thing the general wanted.
He returned to his quarters looking broken. His idea of raising an army in Presburg and setting off after the enemy was now fading fast. He did not know what to think and wanted to press on to Vienna. They had to stop and refuel with coal and water. There would also hopefully be time to eat and stretch their legs. No one wanted to hang around but there was little choice.
The scouts returned and reported that they had seen nothing untoward in the city.
Captain Hayward spoke to the major. He wanted to know what his thoughts were and whether they should travel to Vienna.
“The situation has taken a turn for the worse, my old friend.”
Both of them stood there looking at the empty streets.
“Should we disembark here and make our way on foot into Prussia?”
The major turned and looked at him.
“I’ve let that thought cross my mind. The problem I have is that we are around one hundred men strong. With the Austrians we are a regiment of nearly a thousand men. We need to know more about what is out there. Vienna could hold the key.”
Captain Hayward nodded. He agreed with his Commander, but his thoughts lay with escaping Austria.
Whilst the trains were attended to, the passengers took the time to stretch their legs. Guards were stationed in a five hundred metre perimeter around them. If there was any sign of movement the Bugler would sound the call to arms. Several units of mounted soldiers patrolled further out into the city.
The general took a while to come out from his quarters. He looked visibly shaken by what he had seen and what it entailed for them. He got down from the train and was lost in his own thoughts
His officers were busy gathering information from each other and discussing ideas. Their confidence was still high. Colonel Kiesl came over to the general and looked more in-tune with the situation they were in. He had faced this enemy and was fully aware of what they could do en masse. The towel was not thrown in yet, though, and he would fight to the death for his beloved country.
Colonel Kiesl took a moment to discuss their route with the young officers around him. Some of them were in their early twenties and were wet behind the ears, but most wanted to meet the enemy as soon as possible. Images of glory flashed through their minds – it would be their chance to boast to about heroics on the battlefield and even tell tales to their families. The older officers calmed them down and explained that warfare was never straightforward. The new breed of foe was something else. They only knew what they had experienced. The British Engineers had advised about head shots on the flesh-eaters and other unworldly things.
The drone soldiers were new to everyone. An army of human-looking people, but with a slight edge, they all looked sick. Not in the same way as the flesh-eaters, but nonetheless, still different to a nor
mal healthy human.
The priests had been seen, but little more than that was known about them.
Captain Hayward and Major Richmond joined them at the table.
The British Engineers did not know the topography as well as their hosts. They studied the maps with keen eyes. They were closing in on Vienna. General Haas composed himself and began to point out the route the train would take. They would shortly be entering a large farming area mixed in with grassland plains.
He felt confident the Austro–Hungarian army was waiting there to gather as many forces as they could before counter striking. His bravado was returning. His voice grew stronger and more confident. His eyes rolled at the thought of fighting the enemy with a decent army. He spoke in German to the gathered officers and then in English to the British officers.
“Gentlemen, we shall travel for several more hours before reaching Vienna. Then our British counterparts can start on their long trek home. This war is in its early stages; we will turn it on its head and destroy those who challenge us.”
The officers clapped at his rousing words.
The discussions went on for a good half an hour. The young and old officers were at loggerheads as to which would be the best way to go about tackling the enemy.
They knew that they were great in number; some even suggested they were Russians. One young officer said they were probably just sick mental patients from the Gulags who they painted red and sent into battle. Colonel Kiesl was there smoking a cigar and leaned in on the conversation.
“There is worse than mentally ill patients from the Gulags. Have you not seen the bones, gentlemen? They are not here to conquer; this is total domination. There are other things, half-people, half-creatures with long, stretched limbs. They have a common desire and that is to feed on flesh.”
This brought a look of horror from some of the young men, whilst others rolled their eyes as if to confirm it was mere stories to bring their young exuberance into line. Kiesl was not in the mood for a discussion on what was out there. He had seen it with a small group of soldiers. He knew the British had been experiencing it for well over a month. Colonel Kiesl strongly believed the young officers would also get their chance to meet it very soon.
Europe Has Fallen Page 14
