Chapter One: Missing

AN: In Literature, this story takes place after the ending, but before the epilogue of "A Changing of the Future." In Canon, this story takes place after "Sticky Wicket Newkirk."

A bright day was dawning over Stalag 13. Newkirk had fully recuperated from his battle against the Engels that had occurred one month earlier. Hogan was still getting used to becoming a new father, and he welcomed every chance he got to see Wilhelmina. As for Carter, he was sleeping along with the rest of the men in the barracks.

However, all did not seem right in their little corner of the world. For the past several hours, Newkirk had been twisting and turning in his sleep, troubled by dreams of the battle. He had made himself forget completely about it, and for good reason. He couldn't stand the thought that he had lost himself unto his powers, and from that day to this he vowed that he would never let such a thing happen again. No matter what, he would never again put his friends in harm's way.

Thus, the memories haunted him, and he found that sleep was impossible. As a vampire, rest was never a necessity, since he knew that only the living needed to rest up. However, he preferred to sleep for two very important reasons: (1) Even though the men often performed their missions at night, he couldn't stay up ALL the time without arousing suspicion from the other prisoners in his barracks, and (2) Sleeping was just as comfortable and relaxing to him as it would be to any human.

When Schultz barged into the barracks, announcing that it was time for morning roll call, Newkirk didn't mind in the least that his sleep was interrupted. He was glad to be away from his horrible dreams, and knew that whatever the day brought, it would be like paradise compared to his troubled sleep. However, almost as soon as he woke up, he could tell that something was different about the way he felt, and for a moment he experienced a sensation of pure panic. He wanted to make sure that he wouldn't lose himself again, and took a couple of seconds to breathe deeply, while trying to make sure that the other prisoners and Schultz wouldn't notice how worked up he seemed.

Standing outside in the morning sun, Newkirk felt that it was warmer than usual. A lot warmer. It reminded him of how much the sun had hurt when he had first been changed into a vampire. Naturally, this didn't make the slightest amount of sense to him. The pain was so intense that he had to shield his eyes from the sun, which was fortunate not only for him, but for everybody around him. He found that his eyes were becoming their greenish shade involuntarily.

Am I sick? What's appening to me? he thought to himself. Almost immediately, he remembered a detail of his dream that had vanished from his mind the moment upon waking. Not only were the usual four leaders of the Engels present, but a woman from his past as well. She was a woman who had caused him to betray his friends inadvertently, and had threatened to expose their entire operation. If it hadn't been for Hogan's quick thinking, and Carter's well-played imitation, he knew that all five of them could have ended up in a Gestapo prison, sent before a firing squad; there was no limit to the possibility of things that Hochstetter could have inflicted upon them as a form of punishment.

After roll call, Newkirk and the others went back inside the barracks, and LeBeau quickly began preparing their breakfast and making their coffee. As he poured it for his friends, Newkirk could only smile in reply. However, the strange look upon LeBeau's face caused him to quickly close his mouth.

"What is it, Louie? What's wrong?" he asked with genuine concern.

"Your teeth are missing," LeBeau replied quietly, not wanting the other men in the barracks to hear him. He was still surprised at seeing his friend in such a condition. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that his friend had been in a fight with some of the other prisoners, which was against the rules of the camp.

"My teeth are what?" he asked again, in case he had heard wrong the first time.

"Your teeth are missing, mon ami. Your upper and lower canines are gone."

Immediately, Newkirk's mind filled with dread, though he tried to hide it from his friends, especially Carter and Newkirk. However, he couldn't fool their telepathic minds. Upon sensing his corporal's anxiety, Hogan could only ask quietly, "How did you lose your teeth Newkirk? Did you get into a fight that we don't know about?"

But me fangs were 'ere last night. You saw them, when we were all taking our dinner in our private room Newkirk thought in reply.

"He's right, you know," Carter added, speaking up. However, his sentence was only returned by the stares of his friends, which were very similar to the stares that they had given Newkirk.

"Your canines are missing too," Kinch said, just after taking a sip from his cup.

Boy, this is bad! They can't be missing, and more importantly, who would want them? Carter thought to himself, successfully hiding his thoughts from his friends.

Suddenly, before either Carter or Newkirk could finish their cups of coffee or their flavorless breakfast, both found the sudden urge to excuse themselves and head to the tunnels.

"I wonder what that's about?" LeBeau asked. "I mean, it's only teeth. Surely, with our friends' regenerative powers, they should grow back in time."

However, before either Kinch or Hogan could answer him, the two werewolves picked up the unmistakable sound of the men quietly cursing in the tunnels. They were obviously pacing back and forth, and in between curses they could hear each one trying to comfort the other. They were obviously agitated, but why should they be bothered over the loss of some teeth?