LOST AND FORGOTTEN: Book 2 The Secret Path

by Maurice Barkley

  “My thoughts now are to remain here for a few weeks after you leave. If I hear nothing from you, I will leave, but return every few days for a quick check. Anna is staying at a nearby boarding house. I’m sure I can find a room there. I also will acquire some exercise equipment.”

  M1 looked at Alice. “I don’t think we can improve on that— do you?”

  “No,” Alice said. She picked up her phone. “Hoo, boy. I think it’s time to call the Director. How the hell can I put this into one phone call? This could be tricky. He might want to see me in person. I’ll put my phone on speaker so we can all hear.” Alice punched a number and placed her phone on the table. We heard it ring just once before we heard his voice. “Hello, Alice,” he said. “I’m eager to hear from you.”

  “Hello, sir,” she said. “Some very interesting things have occurred, but I’m a bit reluctant to tell you, even on a secure line. You should pay us a visit.”

  “Not the other way around?” said the Director.

  “Seeing is believing, sir,” Alice said. “It’s imperative that I show you some things.”

  “Give me twelve hours.”

  Alice thanked him; told him we would contact Fritz, hung up and turned to Carl. “I’ll call Fritz to have him pick you up down by the road. Go to the airport and when the Director arrives, bring him here. Call me when you leave the Airport.”

  Carl nodded as he rose and left the room.

  “I think we’re good for now. No use speculating until we know more.”

  “How about the President?” I asked. “We’ll need his signature to conclude any deal.”

  “The President can’t come here,” she said, “without a whole bunch of people knowing. You can be sure that the two have worked out a system.”

  Harry got up and said, “My private stash is low so I’ll pedal down to the choo choo train and raid the liquor cabinet.”

  When Harry left, I stood up, stretched and said that I was going to get something from the map room. I left the rest of the gang to their conversations and went to a small locker I had examined on our first trip.

  I looked in and saw that the stack of blank student notebooks was still there, grabbed several then collected a wad of pencils from various desks. Raised eyebrows greeted me when I returned to the cafeteria and dumped the stuff on a table.

  “These past three weeks or so,” I said, “have been, by far, the most interesting and exciting of my long, long life. Since we’ll be here waiting for several days, I intend to make copious notes so that I forget nothing in the telling. I especially need to make a record of those strange and mysterious things we found in the side tunnels. That is, when I do get time to write our story.”

  “Do we get to read your notes as you write them?” Amy asked, from her station at the stove.

  I considered her request for a time. “Sure, but you can’t edit.”

  Harry had returned and was placing a collection of interesting bottles on the counter. He paused in his examination of labels to ask, “Will you write about our last trip to the Canal Zone?”

  Suddenly, I had the attention of every ear in the room.

  “If I can do it without being overly graphic I might, but at the same time you must tell us the story of Nora.”

  “If this keeps up,” Alice said, “we’ll leave here stripped of all our secrets.”

  “You show me yours and I’ll show you mine,” M2 tossed in.

  I took over the task of creating a decent meal. Six years as a bachelor forced me to learn the basics and we had a down on the farm supper.

  “James, old buddy,” Alice said, over a cup of fruit, “Thanks for your excellent meal. I never did learn this cooking business.”

  When she finished, I took her aside for a private word. “M1 and Amy,” I said, knowing she would understand.

  “Yeah,” she said. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that they’ve made a point of not even looking at each other.”

  “Man,” I said, “I’d criticize that Marine, but my past romantic performances have, for the most part, not been spectacular. He has my sympathy.”

  “M2 isn’t sure,” she said, “but he’s enjoying the drama. And for heaven’s sake, James, don’t you butt in—comprende?”

  “Yes ma’am,” I wisely said.

  Later Harry mixed a few exotic cocktails and we passed the glasses around for a booze-tasting affair.

  “Say what you will about those Nazi types,” Harry said, “but they sure knew their liquor.”

  Amy had a glass of yellow liquid. She took a sip and sneezed. “Guys, has this really hit you yet. This is super max history on steroids. I have trouble sitting still. I wanna do back flips and freak out. We-are-not-alone-in-the-universe! Think of what will happen when the word gets out—and I hope it doesn’t until we’re off planet.

  “You may not believe this, but I was dumped once. It was by a guy in New Jersey. I’d give at least a quarter to see his stupid face when he hears the news.”

  After the drinks and the entertainment, I began to make a few notes to outline my story, but I didn’t get far. Without realizing it, I fell into a sound, liquor-induced sleep until Carl called Alice to tell her that he had left the Airport with the Director in tow.

  Alice and M1 left for the surface to escort the Director while the rest of us straightened the cafeteria. Amy brewed a fresh pot of her splendid coffee and we waited for about a half hour.

  When we heard footsteps, we met them at the entrance to the map room. Our guest looked exactly like the country boy on his arrival at Times Square, nor did he try to hide it.

  “So,” he said, “Alice tells me you’re about to hit me with the scoop of a lifetime hidden away down here. She wouldn’t tell me more, but there’s the bar of soap that leads my thinking in a certain wild direction.”

  “More than wild, sir,” Amy said—her yellow drink still in her hand.

  The Director looked hard at her. “You’re not kidding, are you? Should I call the President?”

  “I don’t know his ancestry,” Alice said. “He may not fit the pattern.” The Director shifted from a hard to a puzzled look. “No more teasing, sir. All will be revealed shortly.”

  “This is just the front door, sir,” M1 said. “We won’t ask you to make a guess at what’s inside.”

  After greeting the rest of us, he said to Alice, “Getting out of town was difficult, but this is delightful and fantastic.”

  “I made fresh coffee,” Amy chirped.

  “That’s a wonderful idea, Amy,” the Director said. “I need to catch my breath and come back down to earth. No, bad expression, I’m already under the earth.”

  “Come into the cafeteria and grab a cup,” Alice said. “then we can show you around the map room.”

  While Amy was pouring, I saw the Director glance at Harry’s collection of bottles. “Is there anything in that assortment that would fortify my coffee?”

  Harry, ever the gracious host, reached over, plucked a small squat bottle from the group and handed it to the Director. “If you’ve a drop of Irish blood, sir, this will curl your toes.”

  “Well put,” said the Director, as he pulled the stopper, sniffed, smiled and poured. “Anyone else?”

  M2 and Amy were eager to test for Irish ancestry.

  With our cups in hand, Alice and M1 took the Director on a tour of the map room while the rest of us tagged along behind. We walked down to the map table for a closer look. We hadn’t touched anything on the big map. The colored flags and strings going to places in Europe, Africa and South America were as we had found them.

  “We haven’t made anything out of these flags and strings,” the Director said, between sips, “and how about that big ball over our heads. That’s still a mystery. I have a feeling that those sneaky Nazis threw in many red herrings. By the way, Alice, just over an hour after you called me, I had a call from a communication technician. He said a very faint signal, at some extreme distance, tickled my phone. The signal was too weak to t
rigger the ringtone.”

  We smiled, but said nothing. Amy collected our empties and took them off to the cafeteria. The rest of us headed to the top level and turned right toward the Bank vault.

  “Sir,” Alice said, as we walked along, “I think we should just show you what we’ve found. We’ll explain as best we can as we go. We’re quite certain there’s no danger. We won’t be doing anything we haven’t already done and Amy has done it three times.”

  As we approached the Bank vault, I saw that the boys had pushed it almost closed so the Director could get a look. While M1 explained the workings, Alice brought Amy front and center and when M2 pulled the door open, she told her to lead the way.

  “Sir,” Amy said, when we gathered around the console, “this was too important to explain to you, even over a secure line. This podium is a control console for the big green thing.” She pointed. “Now get ready for this. It’s like a Star Trek transporter only faster. It will take us to a place quite far away. When your phone tickled once, it was Alice calling you from there. It took the signal that long to reach your phone.”

  “So I goofed,” Alice said. “I’m allowed, am I not?”

  “Good Lord—the implications,” the Director looked pale. “Well, where were you exactly?

  Alice looked at us. “Let’s show him.”

  “What do I do?” he asked.

  “Sir,” she said, “your German ancestry has done it for you. Just watch Amy and do as she does.” To Amy, she said, “You go first to notify YDRII, then come back and take us away.”

  “Wait—wait just a minute,” the Director said. “I’ve just been struck by lightning and the thunder is rolling around in my head. I need a moment. I need hours. We are talking Stargate and aliens, are we not?” We nodded. “I don’t know what to think or to say. I will just become a silent observer to this fantastic event. Carry on, troops.”

  Everyone watched intently as Amy manipulated the console and the green curtains parted.

  “Bye,” Amy said as she stepped through and vanished.

  The Director stopped breathing and looked open mouthed at the portal. “What do we do now?” he gasped.

  “Wait for her return, sir,” Alice said.

  Amy was back in just over a minute. “Okay, let’s go.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Neither Moses nor YDRII were present when we stepped into the pink Quonset hut.

  “Just where are we now?” the Director asked.

  Amy did her little presentation, the pink clouds rolled away and Jupiter did its magic. The Director again forgot to close his mouth. The pink elevator ride was as before, but this time YDRII was waiting for us in the lounge along with the Egyptian banquet. After Amy introduced the Director to YDRII, the extension excused himself and requested that, before Moses joined us, Alice inform the Director of all that had occurred here. He reasoned that it would be more efficient and faster. Most of us took some food and wine and relaxed on the couch while Alice told the story. When she finished, Moses joined the group and the real meeting began.

  As the meeting progressed, I could see each taking the measure of the other. The range of topics was wide and in depth. Moses acknowledged that he was asking the Director to take this information with an enormous amount of faith. The Director was persistent in his questions regarding Moses’ interactions with the Nazi’s. The alien did not seem to hold back or hesitate in his responses. He downloaded into the Director’s laptop, what he said was the complete record of that time. It took about two hours to reach an agreement that satisfied the Director. Moses further agreed that if we did not return in six weeks, Carl would go to, but not beyond the Nexus for a quick look. To send anyone further, who knew even less than we knew, would be folly. The Hollow Mountain and the immigrant planet would be off limits for one year. At that time, if we were still missing, the assumption would be that we would never return. The Director then could begin to bring in other scientific personnel to unravel some of the many secrets of the Hollow Mountain.

  A reasonable compromise. I thought.

  Moses went with us to the Quonset hut and took us all for another look at the immigrant planet. This time it was twilight with two small moons high in the sky. He was kind enough to allow us stay until full dark, which made it another night to remember.

  CHAPTER 16

  With our business finished, the two leaders shook hands.

  “Farewell for now,” Moses said. “By the time we are complete to begin our travels, I will have a much better grasp on your language.”

  Back in the Hollow Mountain, we had our last meeting with the Director. “I’ll still maintain contact with Moses,” he said. “It will be long distance and a bit awkward because of the time delay. The President still has to sign off on everything. Note that the Nazi questions are still unanswered. I hope their involvement ended here, but don’t let your guard down. It will be a busy time. At this point Earth will maintain a defensive position and Moses will transfer some useful technology. I say Earth, but it’s America. More accurately, a few very select Americans. I agree with Moses that the rest of the world will eventually have to become involved, but those details are not my department, thank God.”

  He asked for any final messages that we’d like him to forward to friends or family. Everyone had at least one letter for him to take except me. I realized that as close as I was to the Band members, I knew nothing about their other friends and families. This would be one good topic of conversation around our future campfires. I asked Harry if his letter was going to Nora. He told me to mind my own beeswax.

  Since he would be subject to extreme pressure regarding the one year wait, I made what I think was a good suggestion to the Director. I recommended he tell his superiors that Moses had set an explosive device in the Hollow Mountain. It would allow access only to Carl, his sister and Fritz. If anyone else should try to enter, the whole place and half of Germany would explode, but at the end of one year, the device would deactivate.

  The Director, guided by Carl, took his leave, reminding Alice to call him daily as long as possible. Later Alice asked me why I had sent no message to Jean. I told her that I couldn’t think of anything meaningful and I didn’t want to send a goodbye letter. I just asked the Director to tell her that I was thinking of her and that we would be out of touch for a time. I said nothing about Bebe.

  “Look, Alice,” I said, “if ever Jean comes back, it can’t be because I ask or even because I wish for it to happen. I have to let go and set her completely free. Her return will only happen when she wants to. My feelings are very ambivalent right now. We both have new directions to explore.”

  She said nothing in response. She just looked at me with those big, dark eyes. With the Director gone, we settled into a routine. Mine involved a heavy schedule of writing, but I took my meals and my breaks with the others. At times the conversations were frivolous and at others serious. Over coffee one day we were discussing the equipment we would take.

  “What about sanitation?” Amy asked. “After a few days in the field, I imagine I will really stink. Never as bad as you guys, however my dirty socks should be avoided at all costs.”

  “I have the answer,” M1 said. “You must keep in mind that throughout recorded history, except for the recent past, the entire human race had no soap or deodorant. More important, they had no hot showers or warm baths with few exceptions. They all did what today’s primitive tribes do. That is to look for a nearby stream to splash around in and between bodies of water, wear loose clothing and that’s what we’ll do. Bacteria love a dark, warm wet place. We can’t avoid the dark and warm, but we can keep dryer than normal simply wearing loose clothing and ditching our underwear.”

  “That’s why,” Amy said, “Alice gave me a mesh bra. She said it would help keep me dry.”

  “Right,” M1 said—failing to hide a blush. “Eventually we’ll all smell musty like toadstools, but with care we won’t reek. We’ll carry a full assortment of outer wear and incide
ntals like little wind up clippers to keep our head hair short. You can trim close, but not too close.”

  “Bummer,” Amy said. “I have hairy legs.”

  M2 reached in one of his packs and pulled out another object about the size of a deck of cards. “This is something new,” he said. “Someone named it Hound Dog. It’s an ultra-sensitive sniffing and listening device. It has a telescoping handle that allows the operator to hold it near the ground while tracking. This earplug gives off a varying and distinctive tone when you’re on the trail. When you need them, just pull open these flaps on either side and you have the ears of a hound. It also has a memory for scents. I’ll let it sniff all of us so if we’re lost or whatever, old Hound Dog can find us.”

  “Moses comes from a much older and more advanced society.” I said. “I’ll bet he has a disintegrator ray gun and a mind control helmet.”

  “Remember,” Alice said, “we’ve come a long way on gut feelings and mine still tell me that he is a straight shooter. That said, we will maintain a vigilant posture. The stakes are too high.”

  “Look at it this way James,” M1 said, “your commando Ralex watch would look like magic to a primitive who had never seen one. Now, if I were to place before you all of the raw materials plus all of the necessary equipment to make that timepiece, I’ll bet you couldn’t even begin. You own the watch and can use its functions, but you can’t make one. I imagine it’s the same with Moses. He has marvelous devices that he uses, but I’ll wager a dime that he made none of them and really doesn’t know the principles behind much of what he has.”

  “I feel better already,” I said to the crew.

  On another day after lunch in the map room cafeteria, we gathered around a table in casual conversation. Carl, usually hesitant to join in, decided that this was a good time to say what was on his mind. “I still haven’t been able think of words that adequately express my thanks to you all for everything you’ve done for Anna and me. You should know that I feel privileged to be here and will do everything in my power to repay the debt.”