8: Preparations
Bruneck Castle, Night
The partisan resistance had taken the central German base in Brunico, Bruneck Castle. The ancient castle opened its doors to its rightful owners. Franco's men had finished clearing the nearby corpses, and the prisoners of war had been locked in one of the rooms, awaiting interrogation.
John surveyed the area and nodded with satisfaction. While most of the partisan resistance members were not soldiers, they had learned well from the few who were. They fortified the place, raised their defenses, and took possession of the Nazi weapons and vehicles that were still available.
Thus, the castle had become a rather decent place not only to spend the night, but John believed that if he had to stay here, he could undoubtedly withstand an assault from Nazi troops.
It was a pity this wasn't a tower defense game; he couldn't stay here long. His nerdy side tingled since one of his childhood dreams was to have his own fortified base. Maybe in the future, he could buy an island or something similar.
"Have you found anything else?" he asked a man named Carlo, who seemed to be Franco's second-in-command.
The man shook his head. "We searched, but it seems there's no one left. We're already interrogating some of the Nazi soldiers, but they're tough." What John was looking for were the civilians. Bruneck had been a picturesque city before the siege. While many managed to escape, many others did not. The Nazis wouldn't kill them all, so there should be prisoners, but there were none, and that was a problem.
"I understand. I'll wait," John dismissed Carlo and began to wander around the castle until he reached a secluded area. With a leap, he landed on the roof of the castle and stood casually at its peak, admiring the views. He raised his hand, and the caw of a crow followed. Soon, the bird flew to him and perched on his arm.
"How is it?" he asked, and the crow looked at him with more intelligence than a bird should possess. Then, it opened its beak.
"You were right; they didn't go too far. At least 200 of them stayed behind and are fortifying the center of a nearby village to the southwest. There could be more; I couldn't count them all. They're very alert."
John considered this and quickly located the place in his mind. He knew the German army wouldn't completely give up on Brunico; they would surely wait for reinforcements but wouldn't retreat entirely.
"That must be San Giorgio. They were expelled in a straight line, after all." There weren't many paths to take. From Bruneck to Sand in Taufers was only a straight path covered by mountains with dense vegetation. Not many would dare to cross such terrain without knowing it.
"Did you see anything else? Civilians, maybe?" he asked Raven, looking into her dark crow eyes. She shook her head in an oddly human gesture. For John, it was both strange and fascinating. He didn't expect her to be able to transform into animals, but it was certainly a welcome help. She was eager to assist, so he had given her a simple task: follow the remaining German troops and locate where they had stationed themselves.
"Only soldiers, no civilians."
John frowned. That was strange. There should be something. He didn't know the exact population, but even if this was a rural and mountainous region, the small villages scattered around weren't few. With the displacement due to the war, many civilians should have fled to larger population centers like Brunico and, to a lesser extent, San Giorgio.
Unless they took another path he hadn't considered... After all, he wasn't a resident of Italy. He was guided by known maps and information given by the partisan resistance, so he could be overthinking this...
But somehow, something inside him told him it wasn't that simple, and John had begun to learn to trust his instincts more and more.
"Do you need me to take another look?" Raven asked, flapping her wings.
He looked at her and shook his head.
"No, it's time to rest. You've done enough." He patted her on the head, and she made a strange sound. Then her body began to return to "normal"—or rather, the disguise she had created. She held her head with a pout and a blush on her cheeks, but he didn't mind.
He had never had a pet before. They were too expensive to keep. Of course, thinking of Raven as a pet wasn't right either; she was more valuable than that. Still, he couldn't help wanting to pet her when she was in her crow form. Maybe he should get a cat and let her take its form?
With idle thoughts like these, he held her by the waist and stepped down to the ground with her.
.
.
.
"Damn it!" A resistance soldier gritted his teeth as they extracted the bullet from his torso. Blood gushed out, making him groan even more, and the men around him panicked, trying unsuccessfully to stop the bleeding.
"What are you doing!?" Captain America's voice cut through, making Franco, who was holding the man to keep him from thrashing, look up.
The Captain rushed to the man's side and quickly took control of the situation.
"Quick, I need a needle!" he ordered and began to treat the wound. No one dared disobey him due to the immense respect he had earned among them.
Soon, he managed to stop the bleeding and, with unexpected skill, began stitching the wound.
"How many more wounded are there?" he asked, looking at Franco.
Franco snapped out of his stupor and responded. "At least a dozen. Our medics are treating them, but it's not enough." The injuries were severe, and the medical equipment they had was far from ideal. The resistance had few people with medical knowledge, and they were overwhelmed.
"I'll help," said the Captain, making franco's curiosity to come to the surface.
"Are you a medic, Captain?" John looked at him and smiled slightly.
"Just a nurse, though I served as a field medic during some missions only because I was the only one available."
Franco blinked, surprised. Not just him, but everyone nearby who heard was surprised as well. If John had told them he had served as an infantry soldier, they would have believed it easily. But the 1.95-meter-tall man with an athletic and imposing build didn't seem like the type who would serve as a nurse.
One had to understand that in this era, it was usually women who served as nurses, so men who did so were often ridiculed by their peers. It would have been more respectable to say he was a medic, but John openly chose to say he was a nurse, which surprised many.
For his part, John couldn't help but silently complain. When he arrived in this world, he hadn't thought much about the background of the body he now possessed. It wasn't until later that he learned of his "supposed" nursing skills, which could have landed him in a lot of trouble because he knew absolutely nothing about medicine.
He found out while still in training camp, and it stressed him out quite a bit. If someone asked for his help in the middle of combat and he didn't know how to provide it, wouldn't that tarnish his reputation? Wouldn't it make people doubt him?
So, since he hadn't gone directly to the battlefield, he used the time to delve into the study of medicine. Thanks to the super soldier serum and Compound V, while he wouldn't say he was a genius, his learning speed was significantly accelerated. He could study multiple things simultaneously without forgetting or confusing anything.
He used this to relearn nursing. No one questioned him when he started, as his record stated he was a nurse. He only had to say he was reaffirming his knowledge to avoid forgetting his skills.
John didn't exaggerate either; he didn't need to become a doctor. He just needed to establish a solid foundation in nursing skills to demonstrate that he indeed knew how to do it.
Not far from them, a man with a large camera in hand looked at the image he had captured of John treating the wounded soldier. He smiled—without a doubt, the media would love this.
.
.
.
It was late at night when John finished treating the last man. The partisan resistance medics had been a great help, and together they managed to stabilize most of the wounded. However, many others died as their injuries were beyond what any doctor or field nurse could treat.
The people observed a minute of silence for them, and their bodies were placed aside to be buried later.
John wiped the blood from his hands and looked up at the dark sky. He thought he understood death, but today he couldn't help but feel that he didn't understand it at all.
He looked at his palms. He had killed before, and it had made him uncomfortable, but it was just that—a discomfort he could ignore by focusing on the path ahead. But feeling the life slip away from someone while trying to save them was entirely different.
He didn't dare look away as the last breath of life left their bodies. Instead, he forced himself to look directly into their eyes as they took their final breath, holding their hands and staying by their side until the end.
It was torture.
Logically, he knew he couldn't assume the blame for their deaths. This was war, and everyone fighting in it was aware of their potential fate. Even so, he couldn't help but feel a certain amount of guilt pressing against his chest.
He couldn't save them all, but he was Captain fucking America! At the very least... at the very least, he should be able to save those fighting alongside him, shouldn't he?
"Here you are," Raven's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see her arriving with two plates of food.
He smiled and patted the spot next to him. She walked over, sat down beside him, and handed him one of the plates.
"Come on, the guys found some canned meat. looks pretty good," she said. The partisan army had looted the supplies the Nazis had brought with them, as well as those stolen from the town. With over 100 men in the castle, feeding them would have been difficult if it weren't for Franco, who was smart and knew which supplies were most important to take and where to look for them
At the same time, they expected more men to arrive by morning, likely doubling their numbers. The partisan resistance had decided to fight alongside John without hesitation and had started heading towards their location. The Allied forces were probably starting to receive the news, or they would soon. A movement this large couldn't be hidden, after all.
They ate in comfortable silence. John didn't feel very hungry but forced himself to eat. He needed to replenish his energy, even if he had only expended a small amount. In truth, he no longer felt sleepy. He wasn't sure if he didn't need to sleep anymore or just needed very little sleep. He hadn't tested it much, as he liked sleeping and resting.
But now that he was on the battlefield, he knew he wouldn't have many nights of comfortable sleep. He looked at raven sideways. She finished her meal quickly, her appetite seemingly undiminished since the first time they met.
"Here," he said, offering what was left on his plate. She looked at him doubtfully.
"You're not hungry?"
"I've eaten enough," he replied. She looked at him for a moment but didn't argue further and took the plate with a smile.
"How do you feel?" he asked when he saw her finish her meal. She had killed for the first time today, and even though she was smiling now, John knew that wasn't something easily overcome.
Raven set the plates aside and played with her thumbs, looking down at the ground. Her smile had vanished. She thought about John's question and answered honestly.
"It's strange. I was scared, but when I fired that gun, my hands didn't shake, even though I thought they would. I know it's because of my powers. Copying that woman helped a little... But still, I thought it would be harder, that I would hesitate more... Is it normal not to feel regret for what I did? I mean... he wanted to kill us..."
Raven had been scared. Her heart had pounded, and she felt her blood run cold in her veins. Yet, when all was said and done, killing that man hadn't had the impact she thought it would. She didn't know what to expect, but she expected something... But nothing happened. The world didn't stop; everything continued as if the death of that soldier were just a footnote on a page that no one would remember.
Except for her and John, of course. Still, somehow, even if she felt somewhat shaken, she couldn't find any regret within herself. In fact, she was glad, as strange as it sounded, because now she could be by John's side and be part of something truly important.
She didn't know if that was good or bad, and that confused her.
John thought about his next words before responding.
"You did the right thing. I told you before, in this war, no matter which side you're on, you have to make tough decisions, get your hands dirty, and do what you believe is necessary. Your choice was made, and you chose to move forward. If you don't regret it, that's okay. Don't feel bad for not doing so. Remember, they're your enemies, and none of them will show you any mercy."
He needed Raven by his side; she was too useful. But John knew he would have to do some questionable things in the future, things he could hide from the general population. But Even if he was a good actor, he knew he couldn't hide everything. Sooner or later, something would come to light. Not for the masses—he'd make sure of that—but those closest to him might notice some things. Of course, it was preferable that they didn't, but John couldn't control everything.
That's why he needed to make sure she understood, that she stayed by his side, even when he made the toughest decisions.
Raven looked at him, and he smiled warmly. The doubts within her began to fade, and she couldn't help but return the smile. He was right; she did what was necessary, made her decision, and had no reason to regret it.
His support meant more to her than she expected, making her heart feel lighter because she somehow felt he would be by her side no matter what.
"Thank you," she said, unable to help herself.
John smiled and reached out, giving her a pat on the head, making her blush a bit. His hand was warm.
"That's what I'm here for, right? Whenever you need help, just tell me, and I'll do everything in my power to support you," he said earnestly.
Raven stopped focusing on the sensation of his hand stroking her head and, with an equally serious expression, nodded and responded firmly, looking him directly in the eyes.
"I will too! No matter what, I'll help you as well!"
.
.
.
Note:
SuperSoldier week is over! I met my small goal of 5 chapters, with a chapter of almost seven thousand words that was the one that ended this small event, I really would have liked to be able to do more but I still have a formal job and responsibilities to attend to, even so with more than 200 subscribers payments on Patreon I'm starting to consider stopping working too many overtime hours at my normal job and devoting more time to writing, who knows, let's see how things progress little by little.
Remember that the next update of SuperSoldier is now available on Patreon (patreon.com/EmmaCruzader) If you don't want to wait for a public update, you can take a look at it n.n