LOST AND FORGOTTEN: Book 2 The Secret Path

by Maurice Barkley

  “One mystery overshadows everything. Think of the enormity of it—the implications. Here we are, about to expand into the galaxy only to learn that the Nazi has been there ahead of us. How could this be? How on Earth—or elsewhere in the galaxy could this be? Their contact with the Primes and the gray men was minimal and destructive, but they had a map and they knew where they were going. Where did they get that map and where were they headed? Who out there was allied with them? Where are they now? Is there another and possibly more dangerous alien race? Remember what Mary said about their invisible masters. We need to know more, but we have made the decision to proceed, hoping for a peaceful expansion into the galaxy. Some have reservations about our intrusion, but we are filling a vacuum. We simply cannot wait—the Nazis have a seventy year head start and there involvement in this leaves us no choice but to follow. We must know what we face. I see no other course.

  “What troubles me is that I can give you no guidance. I feel as though we are casting you to the four winds with only our hopes and prayers to take with you. Nevertheless, you must do this. Your instincts and abilities have so far given us the Galaxy so I am telling you to go and follow this trail wherever it may lead.

  “As for the Nazi mystery, let me quote George Patton. He said, ‘May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won’t.’ Remember his words.”

  The Director stood up. “Alice and the boys have been given the details regarding the tentative time Moses will join you to revive some in the dormant chambers and other operational details. That’s about it then.”

  He must have had a pager in his pocket. As he finished a young man entered, pushing a cart that tinkled softly with its load of Champagne and slender glasses. The Director gave each of us a glass then raised his own for a toast. “This is for the Dance Band,” he said. “To your new home—the Galaxy.”

  We lingered for a while, reluctant to say our final goodbye. I noticed Bebe in close conversation with Mary. Moses approached me to inquire privately about my compatibility with the house computer. “I have given YDRII’s replicator to Harry,” he said. “I am sure it will be of value to you.”

  The conversation diminished and it was time to leave. We shook hands with those who would remain then picked up our backpacks and went to our helicopter.

  “I was talking to Mary,” Bebe said, during the short flight, “and she noticed that my eyes have changed color from green to the dark blue of my uniform.” Harry overheard our conversation and looked intently at Bebe, but said nothing. “Some people notice this oddity,” she said, “but Mary was unusually curious.”

  “Perhaps it was just envy,” I said, “but one does not see eyes like yours every day.”

  The larger jet was waiting for us when we arrived back at the hangar. Right away, we noticed that Nora was missing.

  “She’s down the way in her own private hangar,” Harry explained. “That way the other aircraft won’t be bumping into her. I have a lease on the building until the end of time.”

  Amy expressed regret that we couldn’t have one more dinner at the Cathedral, but it would take too much time and we had no reservation.

  “How about we go and have a quick steak at Bruce’s place?” Alice asked us.

  The meal was quick and satisfying. The highpoint was at the end when we again met the watch salesman. Alice purchased her own Ralex. M1 bought one for Amy and M2 did the same for Shan. At my insistence, they paid one hundred bucks for each one. I felt a private sense of triumph.

  As soon as we arrived back at the hangar, we said goodbye to Colonel Frank, boarded our next carrier and took off for Germany. Sleep was big on our agenda so that’s what we did and woke up fresh for our arrival at Leipzig/Halle, fairly early in the day.

  CHAPTER 55

  The place looked the same, but I did notice a decided lack of civilian and foreign aircraft. They were keeping a low profile, but they were here.

  A small school bus pulled up next to our plane and we quickly made the transfer. Our driver was a younger-looking Fritz, accompanied by Anna who was shedding the years along with her companion. Listening to the chatter on the ride, one would have thought that this was a bus full of campers on their way to a day on the lake.

  “These are exciting times for me and especially Carl,” Anna said. “He is eagerly awaiting our arrival.”

  Fritz told us that the German government had offered to give him a commission as a field grade officer, but he declined. “These days,” he said, “things are going well. My pay is generous and Fritz answers only to Fritz and perhaps to Anna now and then. I think some people in my government believe I have a great deal of influence with you Americans, so I remain silent and let them think as they will.”

  He parked the bus in his usual spot and everyone, including Fritz and Anna, got off. Out of nowhere a young, man appeared, climbed aboard the bus and drove off, leaving us alone.

  “There are eyes watching us,” Fritz said, “but the idea here is to maintain the look of empty countryside. It would surprise you to know the number of people I have brought here recently, but you will see them shortly.”

  We walked up the old railroad bed. It did show some signs of foot traffic, but still we seemed to be alone on the mountain. At the factory ruin, someone had erected a medium-sized camper’s tent. They placed it up tight to the chimney stump and that served to conceal the large iron door. We crowded inside and reported to two men in civilian clothing. One was American and the other was German. They opened the big iron door and waved us in.

  CHAPTER 56

  Bebe looked at me. “I think I am about to become a believer.”

  The stairs and the entrance tunnel were empty, but reasonably well-lit with a series of new lights.

  “Smells different in here,” Amy said. “Almost like my High School locker room.”

  On entering the main tunnel, we experienced something radically different from what we had known before. Subdued lighting filled the whole of the vast space, along with the murmur of hundreds of voices in conversation. All of this I took in instantly as I observed the solid mass of reclining humanity lining each wall. They were three and four deep for as far as my eyes could penetrate. Hundreds of Special Forces were waiting here for our arrival. Apparently, the boys up in the tent had not given them a heads up because for the moment, no one noticed us.

  The giant steam engines loomed even larger, like beasts frozen in time, frantic to burst free of this prison. In contrast to our previous visits, the windows of the coach cars were bright from the interior lights. Someone had set up shop there.

  “No more schnapps for us, “Harry muttered.

  Four armed guards blocked our path and demanded identification.

  “Hold on,” M1 said, as he displayed his ID, “I see four different uniforms. Only one is American. What’s the story, guys?”

  They each smiled and turned sideways so that we could see four flag shoulder patches. I saw one American, one German, one British and one French.

  “We have quite a mix here,” the American said. “I’ve seen some Aussies and some Canadians. Maybe there’s more. The place is crammed with troops.”

  Some of the close by soldiers noticed us and hissed their buddies into silence, a silence that moved down the tunnel, diminishing as it went. As we started to move, the nearby men got to their feet and this caused a wave of rising heads that rolled into the distance. Once the entire tunnel was on its collective feet, a respectful silence filled the cavern

  “This is the sort of thing that happens,” Alice whispered, “when one becomes a legend. It will take some getting used to.”

  “Cool,” M2 said.

  We were walking past the Führer’s own rail car when someone in the distance started hip, hip, hooraying. The cheer spread throughout the main tunnel, creating enough vibrating air to make me nervous about any loose rocks in the ceiling. The cheering slacked off to a babble of voices, but the men at the far end had started to move toward us. Shortly, our end of the
tunnel was a solid mass of humanity. We couldn’t move.

  “Any of you guys have a bulldozer?” Harry asked.

  None too soon, two men stepped down from the rail car and worked their way toward us. One kept telling people to stand aside interspersed with an occasional admonition to make way while the other said the equivalent in German. When they reached us, I saw that the American had two stars on his shoulder and the German was of similar rank. Oddly, both men’s nametags spelled out, SPACHER. Apparently, there were many Germans involved here.

  “Glad to see you folks,” the General said.

  “We can see that, sir,” M1 said. “This is one hell of a staging area.”

  “Yes,” the General replied, “a good portion of the cheering is because your arrival gives them the green light to move out of this mausoleum.”

  “We’re as anxious as they are,” M1 said. “Any chance you can clear a path for us?”

  “Sure thing,” the General said, “but first, please join me in the Führer’s home away from home for just a couple of minutes.”

  While we made our way to the rail car, I noticed that Harry was busy talking to the German General. On the steps, he told me that he had discovered that the man was his third cousin.

  “Man-oh-man, did I ever get my ticket punched,” Harry said to me. “If ever you need anything from the German Army, just ask old Harry.”

  Inside the car were about a dozen high-ranking officers several armies, standing on one side of an oval conference table. The tabletop was bare except for a large bottle of schnapps and a tray full of small glasses that were half-full of the clear liquid. We shook hands all around then gathered near the table where everyone lifted a glass for a toast.

  “Hitler’s liquor cabinet was all but empty,” the General said, as he picked up his glass, “but there was one full bottle and here it is.” All the while Harry and M2 stood there like innocent cherubs, smiling ever so slightly. A British General raised his glass. His toast was a quote from Sir Winston Churchill. “Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”

  After his toast, he asked if one of us would like to make a toast of our own. We all looked at Amy and she rewarded us with her imp grin. “May our future, whatever it may be, always be a surprise”

  We were busy for a few minutes autographing pictures and the officer’s helmets. One of them got a ‘Kilroy Was Here’ cartoon on the interior. We stood still for some photographs then the Generals walked us through the cars to the back of the train and onto a small platform at the end.

  “Just give the troops a wave,” the American General said. “They all carry your photographs and this will give them a little extra boost.”

  Gentlemen that we are, we guys moved the girls to the front. We dutifully waved and received a ragged series of hoots and huzzahs. At one point, there was a burst of unexplained laughter. Amy later confessed that it was her giving them the finger.

  “But I was smiling when I did it,” she said.

  After an appropriate time the Generals led us down the steps and preceded us into the crowd, performing the duty of Harry’s wished for bulldozer. Even so, it was a tight squeeze for the entire trip. Jesus lay quietly on my shoulder, oblivious of the large audience, while Bebe followed close behind, her hand tight on my belt. When we reached the entrance to the map room, we gave the troops a final wave and got one last cheer in return.

  A younger Carl was waiting to welcome us just inside the big room. It was empty of troops, but I did see several men and women in white lab coats hard at work examining everything. The general explained that they were part of the team of scientists, historians and other experts engaged throughout the complex.

  Alice slapped Carl on his back and complimented him on his youthful look. Moses had given him the pill on our return and the change was remarkable. On hearing Alice compliment Carl, the general told us that everyone here had swallowed the pill. The exceptions were the scientific teams that would not be going to Nexus.

  In the portal chamber, Carl told us that the advance contingent of Special Forces was waiting for us on Ganymede and would follow us to Nexus. Within hours, the troops in the main tunnel would start to ferry in a massive amount of supplies and ordnance. There would be a lot of back and forth for many days to come.

  The generals gave us a salute and wished us well. Our trip through the portal was as usual except for Bebe. She handed me her pack and had Harry take Amy’s bundle. Then with a complete lack of dignity, she closed her eyes tight and rode Amy piggyback all the way to Jupiter’s moon. Alice carried Jesus who went through as though he were going through a regular doorway—no reaction at all. My computer pal told me later that the cat simply knew there was nothing there. About ten minutes later, the advance contingent and the Band crawled out of an enlarged hole onto the surface of Nexus.

  CHAPTER 57

  “Oooohhh….” Bebe said. She’d known what to expect, but the impact of the reality dwarfed the telling. “Interesting in the extreme, but I am glad that we will not be here very long.”

  I didn’t need to ask Carl how he was doing. His glowing face said it all. We waited there until the first six soldiers joined us, trying their best to appear all business and minimally impressed with their new surroundings. Alice told them that it was okay to gawk and that seemed to relax them and gave them a degree of comfort. Their varied shoulder patches told us that they all came from different countries.

  “I saw the pictures,” one of them said, “but WOW!”

  More people, loaded with supplies began to emerge from the hole in the rubble. It was their job to set up an initial camp, but we couldn’t hang around to soothe their nerves. We left in the company of the six soldiers. Their job was to stay with us to observe the operation of the trolley and see the lay of the land. They had good maps that marked the location of every place we had been on this small planet. As soon as they delivered us to our destination, they would be off for a firsthand look. Just before we started, one of the new contingent launched a small model aircraft. He said it would fly toward one of the poles to see if the orange shield was absent in that area.

  “The brass wants to set up a telescope to see if they can figure out where in the galaxy we are,” he said. “Another assignment is to find the switch to turn off the orange sky.”

  When we reached the iron ball that M2 had so violently deactivated, everything, including the note held down by the shotgun shell was exactly as we had left it. Blue gave it a sniff then trotted on.

  “Good shot,” one of the soldiers said. “We heard all about it, but I see that you neglected to pick up the empty shell. That’s against regulations.”

  “That’s not all that you guys will have to pick up,” M2 said, with a big grin. “If you should step on a turd here and there, you’ll know who to blame.”

  That got a much-needed laugh.

  “Don’t forget the empty Spam cans,” Alice told them. “They’ll make wonderful souvenirs.”

  We walked on in a lighter mood, but I noticed that Bebe was a bit withdrawn.

  “You okay?” I asked her.

  “Just give me a little time, a little time to absorb all of this.”

  At the trolley station, M1 called up our transport. It was a tight fit and three of the soldiers had to make do on the floor, but they didn’t complain. They were busy being tourists, watching the tunnels and stations zip past. When we reached our stop, we unloaded and made the hike to our portal. Once there, we shook hands and said goodbye to the troopers who left for the return trip.

  At my request, none of the Band had said anything about our destination to Bebe. I wanted it to be a surprise and after her Nexus experience the contrast would be spectacular. The two M’s went first and seconds later an arm appeared to wave us forw
ard. By my sneaky pre-arrangement, the Band went through, leaving Bebe, Jesus and me alone before the portal.

  She looked up at me. “Do we go now?”

  “In a minute,” I said. “I just want to tell you that as disturbing as Nexus may be, something very special and wonderful is waiting for us and it’s only a few steps away.”

  Her brow furrowed with curiosity and I saw a glint of orange in those blue eyes. “Where are you taking me, James?”

  I took her hand and, in the company of Jesus and Lonesome Joe, led her to the portal.

  At the last moment, before we vanished from Nexus, I said, to her, “Paradise.”

  COMING IN 2017

  LOST AND FORGOTTEN

  Book 3 (Enigma)

  LONG AGO

  In a far place, where units of time differ moderately, a woman with dark flowing hair walks alone down a wide avenue toward the center of the city. Her white robe trails behind on the stone pavement, erasing her footprints in the dust. Graceful balconies hosting delicate minaret-like towers drift past on either side. Intricate stone arches call to her—speak to her of what they conceal. The air is still. The city is silent. She will be the last to leave.

  At the city’s center the woman turns to look back down the avenue, knowing this was the end. A deep sorrow is the only emotion that flows from her pale bronze face. Her eyes echo the robin’s egg blue of a sky that has never held a robin.