Dawn of a New Day (10 page)
Authors: Nick Mariano
During their next meeting Mengele told Himmler that they had introduced some non-infected subjects into a control area to see how infected individuals would react toward them. He said that almost immediately, the infectees began to size up the uninfected subjects and shortly thereafter attacked them. He said that the attacks were of a very violent nature and that within fifteen minutes all the uninfected subjects were dead. By the end of the seventh to eighth days all the subjects in each containment area were dead or on the verge of death. Autopsies performed on all the infected subjects revealed the same results. Individuals suffered severe lung infection and destruction of lung tissue. Tumors had erupted on numerous parts of the body, to include the face, chest and arms and legs, and tumors and other malignant growths had also formed on the subjects’ frontal and parietal or side lobes of the brain. The new super virus had exhibited characteristics of all the viruses used to produce it and had intensified the effects of each virus used. Both men agreed that the virus that had been produced would meet Hitler’s objective of inflecting devastating results on the Americans on their own soil. Himmler told the doctor that during his last meeting with the Fuhrer, Hitler had given final approval to proceed with the deployment of the virus once Himmler and Mengele were confident that they were ready to carry out the mission.
Mengele assured his colleague that based on the results of his testing he would be ready to package the virus so that it was ready to be moved to the American shores in about two week’s time.
Mengele wrote that Himmler disclosed that three U-boat Captains that had been selected for this mission and that their boats were being final checked prior to sailing from Germany and France. He told Mengele that although he told the commanders about the urgency of their mission and that they would be carrying a highly classified cargo, he had not told them the exact particulars about what the actual cargo was. He had instructed the commanders that the precious cargo had to be kept under lock and key and that at least one sentry had to be posted around the clock with the cargo to insure its safety and so that no one tampered with it. He concluded by saying that all U-boats would be ready to set off for their targets in America as soon as the virus was ready for transport. He added that it had to be completed before July 4
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. Mengele wrote that Himmler told him that the sub pens at Bergen, Germany and Lorient, France, would be used for launching this attack on the Americans. Himmler had intentionally picked the departure date of July 4th, the date of America’s Independence, as a kind of humorous starting point of what was about to happen to the unsuspecting Americans. Groups of Hitler’s famous Waffen-SS were providing added security on the subs to ensure that nothing went wrong during the final preparations. Besides deploying his SS units to the sub pens, Himmler decided that he would have two SS members sail with each U-boat to ensure that the cargoes remain protected throughout their long journey and to serve as a landing party for the cargo. Only the Captain of each ship was aware of the true identities of these men. Himmler had picked three of his best U-boat Commanders to carry out the mission.
Commander Hans Falke, of the U-756, would head due north from Germany toward the East Coast of Canada and North America with a heading to Newfoundland and St. Johns, where he would then sail southward towards the shores of North Carolina for a rendezvous with German operatives already in place in America.
Commander Hans Walkerling, of the U-532 and Commander Heinz Salman, of the U-751, would depart from the sub pens at Lorient and begin their journeys to the American shores. Walkerling would sail directly across the North Atlantic on a zigzag course to the Carolinas and Salman southward toward Florida, before turning north to his final destination. The U-boats would navigate to the American shores in about two week’s time and the commanders would deliver their cargoes to German operatives before resuming their regular patrols off the eastern shores of America.
Mengele went on to write that three containers with the super virus were delivered to the sub pens in Germany and France and that the U-boats departed as scheduled on July 4
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. He said that once the subs departed Himmler never informed him about the results of the mission and so he believed it was a failure since no reports were even broadcast about the Americans being attacked with a biological weapon.
One of the last diary entries said that Mengele had one day encountered Himmler several weeks later and decided to inquire about the subs and the virus. Himmler told Mengele that Berlin was finally notified by German intelligence agents in the U.S., who advised that two of the U- boats had failed to rendezvous with them as originally planned. They had no idea about the fate of the subs and the local news media carried no stories about sunken German U-boats, although the Americans usually censored the wartime news to exclude such information, especially when it was something close to its shores. No word about the third U-boat was ever received by Berlin and Himmler believed that this too had been a failure. Himmler said that he considered deploying the virus again but decided that he would concentrate Germany’s war efforts in other areas, particularly on improving the V-2 rocket. Himmler said that he was disappointed with the results but confided in Mengele that he believed the end was near for Germany. He said that the Fuhrer was furious about the failed mission and had gone into seclusion.
The CDC Team was elated by the information contained in the diary and hoped that the CDC and scientists at Fort Detrick could find a cure for the virus since they now had concrete information about how Mengele had engineered the virus. The diary and additional information on the experiments at Auschwitz were sent to the U.S. for further study and evaluation.
Although the spread of the virus was much slower in the U.S., there were still enough major incidents catching the public’s eye to instill an increased sense of fear among the population. Nine infectees, or “Walking Dead” as the newspapers were now calling them, made their way to Annapolis, Maryland, and wondered onto the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy. They managed to make their way to one of the dormitories and gain entry even though sentries were posted around the Academy. After that, it was a blood bath. In the early morning hours many of the midshipmen were preparing for class and several were showering. The infectees gained entry into two bathroom areas, and after the attacks were over, almost 100 midshipmen lie dead or gravely wounded on the floor. An armed response finally arrived and initially it was difficult for them to differentiate the infectees from the wounded. After the shooting was over the dead toll was almost 150, as several innocent bystanders were shot and killed by soldiers who were already on edge and had responded to the incident. The wounded were evacuated to military hospitals and some were taken to Fort Detrick for study, as their doctors knew that with no cure on hand, the midshipmen would either die or turn in the next few days.
In another incident in Virginia, ten infectees gained entry onto the heavily guarded grounds of the Central Intelligence Agency and although they never gained entry to any of its buildings, they did manage to attack over a dozen employees before heavily armed guards responded and neutralized the threat.
In Arlington, Virginia, five infectees gained access to a U.S. Department of State Annex Building during the nighttime hours and when employees reported to work the next day, they were greeted by the walking dead, and attacked one by one. Over two-dozen employees were killed before armed response from the Diplomatic Security Service and Arlington Police could arrive.
The list went on and on in the Washington area of large and sometimes very small incidents involving the infectees. Even though the doctors and scientists knew the super virus had damaged most of the frontal brain lobes, the infectees still displayed a remarkable degree of reasoning and were able to evade detection by security forces that were patrolling the streets of most cities. In another instance, one Walking Dead was able to actually start an automobile and drive it a short distance. He then exited the car and entered an apartment building on foot and went on a killing spree of tenants who were unfortunate enough to come into the hall areas, for whatever reason. During the same incident, the infectee knocked on an apartment door and the person inside opened the door without first checking to see who was there. The result was disastrous for the tenant.
Transportation was at a standstill and most businesses remained closed. Schools were closed and parents kept their children indoors and close to them. Only police and military could be seen on the streets during the day. Checkpoints encircled the Capital and most military sentries were given orders to shoot and ask questions later, if they encountered anyone at night. Washington and most American cities had curfews that started just before dusk and went into the late morning hours.
Elsewhere in the neighboring states reports of skirmishes with the infectees were constant. Even though the situation in America wasn’t as bad as Asia, it was still very bad. People were beginning to run out of food and basic essentials and the government continued to work on ways to get supplies to everyone without exposing them to danger. Delivery to each and every home was an impossibility and the government tried again to set up distribution stations at major sections of the city, with the hope that people were now getting desperate enough to venture out and collect some supplies. Streets were heavily patrolled to give everyone a sense of security, however, the occasional run in with infectees kept many people indoors. The government also tried to set up shelters for people and several large sports complexes were set up for evacuees. Buses transported them from pickup locations around the cities. Many people took advantage of the shelters, however, most thought back to what had happened after hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and shied away. They had seen the news coverage of people without adequate food and water and with poor and unsanitary facilities to live in. They knew that a lot had gone wrong after Katrina and that this would probably be another example of government inefficiency.
In neighboring Maryland some infectees actually showed up at Fort Detrick, and rather than killing them, the military managed to capture them and put them in special observation rooms so the doctors and scientists could study their mannerisms and behavior. They were amazed that some of those captured also seemed to be studying the enclosure and the observers, as if trying to figure a way out of their predicament. The scientists decided to inoculate some of them with a new modified X554 vaccine that had been developed after studying some of the Asian specimens recently received by the lab. After three days no changes were noted in the infectees who were inoculated, however, on the fourth day several seemed to have calmed down and displayed no signs of rage. Their physical appearance remained the same and scientists doubted that the massive skin damage could ever be corrected, except perhaps by surgery.
In another exchange between infectees and a military patrol, one of the infectees appeared to try to pickup a weapon from a killed soldier and then shoot it. Even though he wasn’t successful in his endeavor, the soldiers were stunned that he even was able to try to do it. Were some of the infectees gaining more reasoning power the longer they stayed alive? Scientists and doctors started to wonder.
The President and his immediate staff remained in an underground facility and additional national broadcasts were planned, however, no one seemed to have any positive news to pass on to the citizens of America. The news stations had slowed down their coverage of some of the more disturbing incidents that were taking place at the request of the White House, as people were starting to lose faith in both the government and that the pandemic would ever be stopped. On the outskirts of major cities the U.S. Air Force began intensified drone flights and sorties to kill and destroy the infectees who were roaming the countryside. Military patrols were then dispatched into these areas for a final clean up. Fall was rapidly approaching and as the foliage changed or fell, the drones were better able to detect hordes that had used the wooded areas for cover.
So far there were only isolated outbreaks in the mid-country and some of the western states and officials were hopeful that they could maintain this containment.
It was almost three weeks since the files from Germany had been sent back to Fort Detrick for analysis. Scientists and doctors poured over the translated files concerning Mengele’s experiments at Auschwitz and, in particular, all the files on his development of the super virus. Some were starting to become optimistic about finding a cure, especially after the successful use of the X554 vaccine on some of the infectees being studied. It was hoped that Mengele’s research papers might reveal some additional information about how he had engineered the virus and why it continued to mutate on its own.
Meanwhile at a secret underground facility, actually a recently converted cold war missile silo, General William Sutherland, Chairman off the Joints Chiefs, was meeting with the heads of the Army and Navy to discuss a Top Secret project he had devised and gotten approval from the President for. Many of the files returned from Germany dealt with the actual deployment of the Nazi super virus and told how Himmler had decided to deploy the virus using three of his U-boats, which regularly plagued the U.S. coast during the war with great success. The war records indicated that three U-boats, the U-756, U-532 and U-751, left France and Germany on July 4, 1943, and sailed to the eastern coast of America, where the virus was to be offloaded and passed to German operatives on shore. The operatives were then to target cities and deploy the virus in order to start a pandemic in America. Records reflected that after their departure, the subs maintained strict radio silence, except for an occasional radio burst to show where they were located. Unbeknownst to the Germans, the Americans and British had already been successful in deciphering the Enigma Code used by the Germans throughout much of the war. The Americans were able to intercept all communications between the subs and Berlin throughout the subs’ voyages. As the ships approached the American coast two subs were intercepted by naval vessels. One ship, the U-756, appeared to sink for no known reason and neither the Americans nor the Germans could confirm that the sub was involved in any type of military action. This was the sub that divers had recently retrieved the container housing the virus, which was then accidentally released and resulted in the current worldwide pandemic. A second sub, the U-751, had reached its rendezvous point off North Carolina and landed its cargo. The operatives on shore were then either killed or detained by military authorities but the cargo was never located although it is now believed that it made ashore. Over forty years later, members of ISIS would somehow learn where the cargo had been buried for half a century and launch an attack on the homeland using the super virus developed by the Nazis. That epidemic was finally brought under control when a vaccine was developed to stop its spread and the ISIS members were killed. The last surviving container of the virus was destroyed by a hellfire missile when it took out the terrorist’s vehicle as they tried to flee from New York City. That left one U-boat, the U-532, which was sunk by a military convoy off the shores of North Carolina. Sutherland had studied the records from German Intelligence along with the reports filed by the U.S. Naval vessels after they had encountered the U-532 and sunk it.
The U-532 was approaching Cape Hatteras and began a southerly turn, followed by a northerly turn that took the sub on a course to Wrightsville Beach and Wilmington. Three U.S. vessels headed on a course to intercept the sub after search planes had spotted its periscope poking above the water. The ocean’s depth dropped dramatically as the sub neared the shoreline.
The US convoy steered on a course given them by the overhead patrol planes and the Captains ordered their crews to battle stations. The gunnery crews assumed their positions on the deck cannons and guns while other crewmembers prepared the depth charge racks for immediate deployment when needed. The crew of the Patrol Boat Icarus prepared its Mousetrap ASW Marks 20 and 22 antisubmarine rockets. All battle teams were at ready and awaited the final order from their Captains to begin their attacks as soon as a final heading of the sub could be determined.
Slowly the convoy converged on the path of the approaching sub based on recent patrol plane radio reports and in a matter of minutes they began to engage the enemy U-boat. The sonar operator on board the USS Roper confirmed a contact off the port side of the ship and the Captain ordered his men to begin dropping depth charges. The Icarus maneuvered into position and began an attack off its stern side using the Mousetrap rockets. Explosions began to rock the ocean as charge after charge blew up.
Captain Walkerling on board the U-352 must have realized that the surface ships were on his trail and it appears that he let his boat slowly sink until it hit bottom. The sub must have cut its engines and the surface ships temporarily lost contact with the sub and steamed away. The surface ships then returned to their original area of engagement and continued their attack. Explosion after explosion rocked the ocean. The sonar operators on the surface vessels listened intently but temporarily lost their contacts again. The surface convoy broke from its current heading and began steaming in large circles away from the immediate area, trying to relocate their target.
The U-532 Captain ordered his sub to periscope depth and began to scan the surface and appraise the situation. The patrol planes again spotted the U-boat and radioed the new headings to the surface vessels. The U-boat Captain decided to engage one of the surface ships in hopes that if he could sink it. That might distract the other two ships long enough for him to make his escape. Maneuvering into position he fired the first two torpedoes toward the Unicol, an armed merchant ship that was part of the convoy. Ten-seconds passed, then fifteen and finally after twenty-seconds the sound of his torpedo making contact rocked the merchant ship. The Unicol burst into flames and began to take on water and sink. Fire quickly consumed the vessel and the Unicol’s Captain ordered his men to abandon ship. He sent out an SOS although he was sure the two accompanying naval ships could see what was happening. The USS Roper and Patrol Boat Icarus turned course and headed for the crippled ship. Roper began rescue operations while the Patrol Boat Icarus began another round of attacks on the would-be target using its depth charges and deck rockets.
The U-boat Captain must have realized that the waters were too shallow to make an undetected run from the area and so after attempting to fire four more torpedoes on the crippled ship and the fast approaching Roper, the sub surfaced and its crew took up battle stations on deck. The U-boat Captain thought that if his crew could hit one or both naval ships, it would give him enough time to escape on the surface, as dusk was quickly approaching. The Captain was unaware that Naval patrol planes were still in the area providing overhead support.
The afternoon had turned overcast and the seas were now swelling to over six feet making it difficult to maneuver and keeping his men from quickly manning the deck canons. Captain Walkerling climbed the conning towel bridge and directed his attack from there. He saw that the one naval ship was assisting the stricken merchant ship and so he turned his attention to the smaller patrol boat rapidly approaching him. Two more torpedoes were launched at the boat but both missed by the narrowest of distances. The men finally managed to man the deck cannons and fired at the approaching ship but the rolling seas kept them from hitting their target. Suddenly the radar operator advised the Captain there were three aircraft above him and approaching rapidly. Icarus began to fire its deck cannons on the struggling sub and almost simultaneously one of the patrol planes dive-bombed the submarine and before the Captain could take evasive action, the U-532 was going down with all hands on board. Multiple explosions ripped the sub in two and as it rapidly descended into about 120’ of water. The ship’s hull erupted from munitions blowing up as the sub sank. No one managed to escape or make it to the surface. The bombs from the dive-bomber instantly killed even the sailors on deck. It is assumed that the sub’s special cargo was sucked from the sinking ship and sunk to the ocean’s floor. The seas of North Carolina became a grave for the 48 officers and men aboard the ill-fated U-532. Most never knew what happened before they died.
After the Roper and Icarus rescued any surviving members from the merchant ship Unicol, they began a search for survivors of the sunken U-boat. Scattered debris, oil slicks and a few bodies marked the spot where the U-boat had gone down but they failed to find anyone left alive after the attack. The Roper steamed for Norfolk to discharge the wounded from the Unicol while the Icarus resumed its shoreline patrol.
General Sutherland began his briefing to the assembled men. Based on information received from the Germans it would appear that another container with the Nazi super virus was on the U-532 when it sank. The General had decided after reading both the U.S. and German reports on the U-532 that a U.S.Navy Seal Team along with members of the U.S.Naval Diving and Salvage Unit out of the Naval Support Activity in Panama City, Florida, would attempt to find and recover the missing virus container, if it was still intact. Two naval savage vessels would begin operations off North Carolina within the coming week. Once the sub was located the Seal Team and Salvage Unit would try to locate the missing cargo and bring it to the surface. The disposition of the cargo was classified and would be released only to those who had a need to know.
July 2015-Operations began off North Carolina.
