English Channel, 13 June 1944

Chapter 1: Sky of Grey

A mild storm has come to rock the ship Blue Marlin, a small transport ship to carry one of tank from UK to join the other at French soil. But the mild storm has slowly turn into a terrible one, the sky turn grey and next thing they knew, the storm has carry them far. The engine is damaged and the ship captain decided to make a landfall to a nearby island.

The only island in their radar at the moment was a small fishing village known as Canary Island. So they land there, a place of no interest that floating just between 2 huge power on war with each other.

The ship stop on the small port, it barely fit, but at least they can stop by and done repair and maybe talk to local, they are still the King’s subject after all. Weather already calm down, and its early in the morning, 6:30.

Ulysses, Father George, and 2 other soldier is send first toward the village, they bring firearm for safety and to talk with the villager. Ulysses lead the way, and immediately start to realize weird circumstance on this place. the wood on the port creek, and the port lead to long stone passage to go up, at the end of passage there is a small buddha statue on the side. It smile and covered in moss.

Beyond the passage is lot of wood but there is a way there, covered in brick. They can’t see far, the fog is thick and morning sun barely came through the wood. Its also extremely moist and cold.

They follow the brick road and finally see the light, a clearing on the end of the road.

The landscape opened up, there are some house here, house build from brick with damped color, most of them has moist on the wall, almost as if there is nobody here. They see through inside the house and see nothing. Father George start to yell

“Hello, is anyone here?”

Ulysses immediately stop him, but the shout has already disturbed something, all of soldier point their weapon to the village road, it lead toward a bigger building, a city hall perhaps. Ulysses afraid that there are Axis soldier here, hiding.

They start to sweep the village house from house, but all they found is nothing. All is covered in moss and almost like nature start to reclaim everything. There might be a mistake here, the captain said this village is not abandoned, in fact the captain even told them to find the village head. So Ulysses assume that captain has been here multiple time.

Yet the village is still eerily covered in nothing, at the city hall, the passage split in 2, Ulysses and Father George take one side, while 2 other take other side. They still investigate all the house.

Yet there is nothing.

They discuss and agree to push again, they immediately try to report to the radio but somehow all of their radio doesn’t work, there is only static. The 2 other will go back to the ship to report and get more guy, while Ulysses and Father George will continue to investigate the passage to mount, where a simple windmill is located, the windmill can be seen from the city hall. Everyone else will pursue them later on.

Chapter 2: Monsters

There is nothing and yet there is something, Father George can feel it. He start to repeat a prayer. But all of his prayer that usually calm his soul doesn’t work now, it almost like this place is forgotten by God, a literal God Forsaken place.

Both of them is already on the way, and there they found another demonic statue build in similar style like a buddha statue they found earlier. It also covered in moss and it look to the sky, like it try to fight something.

“You knew who is he Father?”

“No, I never see those kind of deity? or maybe its a demon? It still seems to be derived on similar buddhist culture”

They press on, and brick road start to end, they found a clearing near the wind mill. There they found the cursed thing. No human should have look at it, they knew at this moment they should have immediately left and let the world take this island back to the sea.

A skeleton, charred in black is laying on the clearing, it lying on the ground, it seems to have wallow to the sky, the waist area seem to have completely incinerated. Ulysses realize that this is not a complete skeleton, there is also remain of skin on the skeleton and some hair still hanging on it.

The ground around the skeleton is black and albeit the plain is filled with green grass, there is nothing that grow on a circular area surrounding the skeleton.

Ulysses can hear Father George start to pray even louder.  He even cry when witnessing this. Beyond the skeleton, near the wind mill Ulysses realize something even horrifying. There is footstep on the grass, burning step on the grass, lot of pair of footstep all walk and converge on a spot just in front of wind mill. There a cross stand, a black cross crudely crafted using 2 log and tied with a simple rope.

This is the first time Ulysses can smell the death. It reeks.

Not long after, both of them has already retreated back to the demon statue, they can see a group of soldier, about 15 of them came toward them led by Commander. The commander ask them to debrief the situation, but seeing their face, he immediately make haste toward the wind mill.

Fire crack in the night, the soldier has spread and try to gather everything they can to get clue on what happen on this island, the ship is still not working, as if something is not letting them to leave. The commander has just finish taking photo of everything that happen on the windmill. He is now still writing report, trying to understand what happen here. He doesn’t seem to get bothered by any unnatural phenomenon that just happen, all he think is how German may manage to find this place and massacre the whole village, an act that will be listed as one of crime when the war end.

The only source of information they manage to procure is the journal of the one of villager, a fisher. He keep short record on what happen up to a week ago. They just prepare to celebrated a birth of a boy on the village, in this small village of about 50 people, such bird is of course an amazing event. All of woman is preparing to welcome the boy. The man is gathering the resource to have a feast, some even go to the mainland Britain to buy some more ingredient.

And then there was nothing.

The next day come, and captain inform us that the engine finally work and they can leave.

Nobody want to stay and they immediately pack the ship and gone. Even battlefield seem much better than this village.
Father George has done some sacrament in order to cleanse the place of evil spirit, but even he want to leave immediately after all the trouble of spreading holy water across the village.

Chapter 3: Terror

Before they knew it, they land and has to join with Alliance main force, all the gritty and mystery they fill back in Canary Island is immediately washed away by the sheer terror in the front of them. Butchered bodies left and right, blood seeping everywhere, smell of blood on every inch of their push.

The Alliance air force does make their push unstoppable, but German still fight like a mad dog.

Ulysses still take time to write, and read his journal. What happen on the way here.

He saw many bodies hanged upside down, it all tied on the lamp post.
He saw a sack filled with body part almost as if someone has take time to butcher the corpse that was left on the battlefield.
Soldier start to not stray afar from light, the chaplain start to spread some incense in the night. the smell keep something on the bay of the darkness. Even though everyone have an oil lamp, soldier still gather firewood and burn it.

He saw a penniless man with a dog gathering the dog tag of all soldier that has died and wear it on his neck, he want to stop him but as soon as he blink the man has disappear. The rule soon enacted that it is forbidden to take the dog tag.

On the night, you may hear woman’s scream or baby cry in the distance, when you hear it, everybody must ignore it. No matter how long it repeated or how loud it is.

Do not see the face of medic that tend to your wound in its face, unless its a woman. Other than that, just close your eyes.

If you see a crow, then turn away, shot yourself in the leg, do not participate in the battle for that day.

Most importantly, burn all photo of your family member that you carry, never carry anything that will remind you of your home.

They said that soldier is superstitious, but yet all of this unspoken rule is shared by all that on the mud, on both side.

Chapter 4: Berlin

It all end on Berlin, when they arrive, a huge hole has shallow all of Berlin. On its place, is fading light that extend from the hole to the sky. Ulysses saw the sky and amazed by the green-blue hue of light that cover the sky from the hole to the sky. He sit down on the ground and try to remember what happen in the past 6 month. Of course, it all start on that island isn’t it?

When they discover the cursed charred skeleton, a thread of green light also connect it to the sky, and at the end he saw it again on Berlin.

Berlin is no more, and all of it residence has been swallowed.

A gag order was established, the dead of millions of civilian on Berlin is still something to look into. But the hole and its light was witnessed by millions of soldier participating in the fight. The rumor spread fast, and the next thing everyone knew, further continent of soldier is told to stand by. Air of hostility start to be felt between the Soviet and Alliance.

Maybe German was the one who annihilate their own home, maybe it was Alliance, maybe it was Soviet, everyone is pointing their finger on the other.