Paul POV
A couple of days had passed since Paul first woke in a foreign bed, wrapped in a foreign uniform, trapped in a foreign body. Now he lay there once more, staring at the ceiling, his mind circling endlessly around everything that had happened.
A part of him, the old Paul, still refused to accept it, and yet he could feel it: Heinrich memories, values even his instincts slowly corrupting him every day, changing what he once was.
Fear clawed at him. Would I become Heinrich completely? What would be left of Paul? It was an identity crisis he never faced before in his life.
He let out a dry, humorless chuckle. "And how could I even know? It's not like I've ever been transported a hundred years into the past before."
Paul sat up. He couldn't just lay in his bed the whole morning, it made him feel even more powerless. Perhaps it was another characteristic of Heinrich that he now bore.
He made his way towards the dark oak table, also placed within his rather nice room, at least nice for military standards, he thought. Paul sat on a rather crude wooden chair. His hands wandering through drawer after drawer, his eyes soon landing on a notebook and pen.
"This is usable," he said to himself.
Paul flipped open the notebook, the old pages rough beneath his fingertips. For a moment he simply stared at the emptiness, the silence in the room pressing down on him. Then he uncapped the pen, and slowly scrawled a single word across the top of the page:
Future.
Paul was always rather interested in history, especially military history. Back in the 21st century, he had a small collection of old journals and military books on the Second World War. Fortunately, he knew a fair amount about the events that would soon set the entire world ablaze.
The first important event in which he would probably unwillingly participate..
-The Remilitarization of the Rhineland - 7th March 1936
Paul realized: "Fuck, that's tomorrow...," his fist landing loudly on the table.
He shook his head agrily,"This is madness."
Nonetheless he continued to write.
.....
-Spanish Civil War - 1936-1939
-Anschluss of Austria - March 1938
-Munich Agreement - September 1938
-occupation of Czechoslovakia - March 1939
-Attack on Poland - September 1939
....
A part of him, still Paul from the future, trembled at the thought of what was coming. Yet another part, Heinrich's voice whispering through him, stirred a quiet sense of pride. Germany… his country… it had already lost so much, and now, in a small way, he held a piece of its fate in his hands.
"If I want to see that goddamn eagle again… I need rank, trust, access," he thought. "The higher I climb, the more secrets I can uncover. The more I know… the closer I get to returning home."
Every choice, every demonstration of authority, could move him up the ladder, although he knew he would face moral compromises or perhaps even more than that, he would proceed.
*Knock*Knock*
Paul flinched. He quickly closed his notebook and slid it back inside one of the drawers.
He composed himself before calling the person in: "Come in".
The door creaked open, and a figure stepped inside. Paul let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Erich, what brings you here?" he asked, sounding genuinely friendly, thinking back to his second day after coming here. Heinrich and Erich were already good friends, who graduated together from military school, but Paul too, felt some connection to his "new friend". The day before was the first time Paul had a normal talk with someone after waking up in the past.
*Flashback*
It was lunch and he felt completely out of place, unsure how to move or act. His eyes lingering on the smashed potatoes, a bit too long.
"Need a hand, Jaeger?" a familiar voice called gently.
Paul looked up and saw Erich, Heinrich's old friend from military school, standing there. Both had graduated together, both now Leutnants.
"What are you just standing there for?"Erich asked Paul with an raised eyebrow.
Paul hesitated for a moment, then straightened his back. "Just… taking it all in," he replied, forcing a confident tone.
Erich smirked, but there was no malice in it, just the familiarity of two soldiers who had faced drills, marches, and endless hours of study together. "Well, pay attention. Smashed potatoes aren't going to salute themselves," he said, grabbing a spoon and scooping some onto his plate.
Paul couldn't help but chuckle at the comment.
"Well thank you Erich, I think you've made my day", he said, a small grin breaking through his nerves.
Erich gestured toward a dark wooden table in the corner of the mess hall. "Come on, Jaeger. Let's grab a seat. Karl's over there too."
Karl was one of the squad leaders under Heinrich's command, a seasoned Feldwebel who knew his men inside and out.
He had to become more familiar with his men, if he wanted to lead them, Paul thought to himself.
At the corner table, the man sat with a stern but approachable face. He looked slightly older than Heinrich, who skipped a few ranks by attending military school.
Karl stood up and saluted them:"Sirs!"
"At ease," Paul said, already familiar with the proper etiquette, stretching out his hand.
Karl took it, and they shook hands. Afterwards both of them sat down, next to the soldiers of Heinrich's Platoon, who cast curious glances at their new platoon commander. He caught snippets of whispers, soldiers exchanging glances and quiet words. "He is pretty young is't he?"He seems to be quite fierce tho."Will he be strict like the last commander?"
Paul or maybe it was Heinrich, but it didn't matter at that moment, he knew it was time to say something. He cleared his throat, letting the murmurs fade. His eyes swept across the platoon, and he took a deep breath.
"Men," he began, his voice firm and commanding, every word measured. "We serve together, and together we succeed. Discipline, focus, and courage, these are what I expect from each of you. Look to the soldiers on your left and right. These are your comrades, your brothers in arms. Watch each other's backs, follow my orders, and I promise you I will give you everything I have."
*FLASHBACK END*
"So, Erich, what brings you here?" Paul asked, still processing the thoughts from earlier.
Erich's expression turned serious, a hint of tension in his voice. "Heinrich, the division has been placed on alert. Orders just came down just now. We're to mobilize immediately."
Paul felt a knot tighten in his stomach.
He took a quick glance outside his window, where the courtyard below was alive with activity. Soldiers rushed past and officers shouted orders he couldn't hear over the rumble of military trucks.
"It has begun," he wispered under his breath, the first major event in his notebook.
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