This is the second story in which the Hogan's Heroes characters meet Rod Serling. As you all know, many strange events occur to those who enter the Twilight Zone, and our boys at Stalag 13 are not immune to them.

In this episode, Colonel Robert Hogan and Sergeant Andrew Carter find themselves in quite a predicament. How will they handle themselves as they struggle to determine what is real and what is not? I guess you'll just have to join us and find out … in the Twilight Zone.

The standard disclaimer applies – I make no claims to the characters or events of either Hogan's Heroes or The Twilight Zone. This story is simply intended for reader enjoyment.

Big thanks to Linda for beta reading this story. So if you see any mistakes, they are probably becaise I didn't listen to my beta reader!

Enjoy!

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Chapter 1

Colonel Robert Hogan waited below the entrance to the tunnel. He was standing on the ladder that led to the tree stump just outside of the perimeter of Stalag 13. He pushed up the stump cover slightly to glance around at the woods surrounding the exit. Seeing nothing, he quickly opened the cover and climbed out, replacing the cover and ducking behind the stump just as the searchlight swept the area.

When the light had passed, he rapped on the stump to signal to Carter that it was safe for him to emerge and moved away to some nearby bushes. In a moment, Sergeant Andrew Carter joined him behind the bush.

While they waited a moment to make sure that there were no guards patrolling the woods nearby, Hogan glanced over at Carter. His demolitions expert was beside him wearing his regular uniform instead of their black sabotage clothing. Hogan had determined that since this was a simple meeting with one of the local Underground contacts, they did not need to dress as if they were up to something.

"Erika will be waiting for us at the barn?" Carter asked, somewhat nervously.

Hogan nodded at his man. It seemed to him that Carter was more comfortable when they were out to destroy something than he was on the simpler missions. He knew that Carter would have rather stayed behind and let Newkirk or LeBeau go instead, but since it was his turn to leave camp, the sergeant had kept quiet and done his duty.

"Yes, Erika has some information on a new group that wants to join the Underground," Hogan replied. "So the meeting should go pretty quick."

Seeing that there were no patrols that evening, Hogan motioned to Carter and began to move through the woods. He didn't have to look back to know that Carter was following close behind.

They had gone about a half-mile when the woods began to become foggy. The thin haze enveloped them as they moved and quickly began to get thick.

"I've never known it to get foggy in this area, Colonel," Carter commented.

"Me either," Hogan replied. He was about to add another comment when he felt a sudden chill crawl down the back of his spine. He stopped abruptly and looked around. The fog was so thick that he could see only several feet in any direction.

"What is it, Colonel?" Carter asked.

"I don't know," Hogan replied. "I just got a chill for a second."

"Me too," Carter responded. "I just thought that it was my nerves or something."

"That's probably all it was," replied Hogan skeptically. He wanted to believe that, but for some reason, alarm bells were ringing in his mind. First a fog that is never here, and now I have this feeling that something is about to go very wrong. Maybe we should scrap the mission and head back to camp.

At that moment, the fog began to lighten up. Gradually they were able to see further and further into the woods. After another minute, Hogan decided that whatever the feeling he had was, it was most likely brought on by the eeriness that the fog had brought to the landscape. He shrugged and decided that it was time they got moving again. He motioned to Carter and began a slow, stealthy walk towards their objective.

It took them only a few minutes to reach the barn. They stopped at the edge of the clearing and waited – looking for anything that was out of the ordinary. Seeing nothing, they slowly emerged from the woods and walked towards the barn.

"Stay outside and keep watch," Hogan said to Carter. Carter nodded and took a crouching position next to a haystack by the door.

When Hogan entered the barn, he saw Erika sitting on a crate in the middle of the open area in front of the stalls. After being outside in the darkness, he had to stop and let his eyes adjust to the light from the lantern that Erika had brought. Blinking, he looked around. The bad feeling he had earlier came back. Nothing seemed amiss in the barn, but it somehow did not feel right.

Erika rose and walked towards him. "I was wondering when you would get here, Colonel," she said, smiling at Hogan. "You are a little late."

"I know," Hogan replied. "There was a little fog out there that made it hard to see and it slowed us down."

"Fog?" Erika asked. "This is not the time of year for fog."

Hogan shrugged. "I know, but it was there," he replied. "But we should get started so we can get back to camp. If the fog is still there, I want to have enough time to get back."

"We should wait, Colonel," Erika replied.

"Wait?" Hogan asked. "What are we waiting for?"

Erika looked a little annoyed. "Colonel Hogan, you know we have to wait for Major Hochstetter."

Hogan was too stunned to speak. Did I just hear what I thought I heard? Hochstetter? Here? Finally, he blurted out, "Hochstetter? You want Hochstetter to be here?"

Erika's stared at Hogan. She couldn't understand why he was reluctant to meet with Major Hochstetter. "Of course!" she said. "As the leader of the Underground in this area, he has to be here for this plan to work. You know that!"

Hogan felt his jaw drop. "Did you say that Hochstetter was the leader of the Underground?" he asked. "What about Papa Bear?"

Erika was starting to get a little impatient. "Colonel Hogan, if this is your idea of a joke, it's not very funny," she said testily. "You know that Major Hochstetter is Papa Bear!"

"Hochstetter is Papa Bear," he repeated calmly. Erika nodded. "What about me?"

Erika laughed when she heard the question. "Colonel, this is why you are here," she replied. "We are here to plan your escape from Stalag 13 so that Major Hochstetter can capture you and finally discredit Colonel Klink." Hogan couldn't believe his ears. Erika continued, "That way Major Hochstetter can take over Stalag 13 and allow you and your men to operate from the camp."

Hogan began to rub his temples. This is crazy! Hochstetter, the leader of the Underground? Taking over Stalag 13?

While Hogan was contemplating the turn of events, Carter burst into the barn. "Someone is coming, Colonel," he said breathlessly.

Erika was started. "Who are you?" she asked nervously.

"That's Carter," Hogan replied. "One of my men. You know him!"

Erika shook her head. "No, I have never seen him before," she replied. "But you were supposed to come alone. Why did you bring someone else?"

Carter was watching the interplay between Erika and Hogan. He noticed that Hogan seemed to be very stressed about the situation. "Colonel, someone is coming," he repeated.

"That should be Major Hochstetter," Erika replied. "Maybe when he gets here, you will stop joking around."

At the mention of Hochstetter's name, Carter's eyes went wide. "Hochstetter is on his way here?" he asked, looking at Hogan. "Colonel, what is going on here?"

They heard a vehicle approaching the barn. Hogan looked back at Carter and replied, "I don't know, but we're not going to stay around and find out. Come on!"

He started towards the read door of the barn with Carter following. A surprised Erika stared at the men heading towards the exit. When they got to the door, Hogan stopped and looked back at her.

"Colonel, where are you going?" she asked.

"Erika, come on," Hogan insisted. "You don't want Hochstetter to catch you here."

"Colonel Hogan, I am here to meet Major Hochstetter!" she exclaimed.

The vehicle drew nearer and Hogan decided that he and Carter could not wait any longer. He opened the door and left the barn, followed quickly by Carter.

Erika was stunned. She couldn't believe how Colonel Hogan had acted. She was still staring at the back door when Major Hochstetter entered the barn through the front door.

"Is he here yet?" Hochstetter asked, glancing around.

"He was," she replied. "And then he ran away when he heard your car coming."

"He what?" Hochstetter replied. "Damn! We've been planning this escape for a long time. He knows that we won't get too many opportunities!"

"I tried to tell him, Major," Erika responded. "But he didn't seem to want to listen."

Hochstetter shook his head. "Maybe the stress of this is too much for him," Hochstetter commented. "Maybe Colonel Hogan just isn't cut out to be a member of the Underground."

Erika didn't have any reply. She simply stood and waited for Hochstetter to decide what to do next.

"I will have to find out what his problem is the next time I talk to him," Hochstetter said, more to himself than to Erika. "That is, if I get a chance to talk to him. If he tries to get back into camp, I might not get a chance."

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Hogan and Carter were in the bushes when Major Hochstetter's car pulled up in front of the barn. They watched the Major get out of the car and look around before slowly entering the barn.

"He didn't look like he was trying to catch anyone," Carter commented. "What do you make of it, Colonel?"

Hogan shook his head. "I don't know," he replied. "But I say we get back to camp before something else happens."

As they headed back to camp, Hogan's head was spinning. What is going on here? Erika expects Hochstetter to be at the meeting and says that he is Papa Bear. Hochstetter arrives and looks as if he is trying to avoid being seen rather than catching someone. It didn't make any sense to him. Hochstetter as Papa Bear? Taking over Stalag 13 so I can operate from the camp? Erika sounded as if I am not even a member of the Underground!

When they reached the edge of camp, they went right to the tree stump that served as the entrance to their emergency tunnel. They crawled up to it and Carter tried to lift it up. It didn't budge.

"Come on, Carter," Hogan said testily. "Open it up and let's get inside before someone sees us!"

"I'm trying, Colonel," Carter replied. "It just won't budge!"

"Let me try," Hogan said. As Carter moved aside, Hogan tried to lift up the top of the tree stump. He had the same trouble Carter had had with it.

"See, it just won't budge." Carter said.

Hogan began to feel around the edges of the tree stump, and squinted hard in the darkness to see if he could see what was preventing it from opening. Suddenly, he found the reason why the stump would not open.

"I wonder why it's stuck?" Carter wondered.

"It's not stuck, Carter," Hogan said slowly.

"Huh?" Carter replied.

"It's not stuck," Hogan repeated. "This stump has never been able to lift up. We either have the wrong stump, or …"

Before Hogan could finish, they heard a low growl from behind them. They turned around and saw one of the camp dogs standing there with bared fangs.

"Hey, that's Bismark," Carter said. He held his gloved hand out towards the dog. "Hey Bismark, old boy. It's just us," he said as he moved towards the dog to pet it.

As his hand neared the dog, it snarled and snapped at Carter's hand.

"Ow!" Carter exclaimed. "He bit me!"

Bismark began barking at Hogan and Carter, and the searchlights from camp began to wheel around towards the barking. The two men were bathed in light as the alarms from inside the camp began to sound. Before they knew it, shots rang out from one of the guard towers, and they heard the bullets tearing through the nearby brush. Immediately, they threw their hands in the air.

Soon, several guards arrived where they were standing, and Hogan and Carter noticed that Corporal Langenscheidt was one of them.

"The Kommandant will be very angry with you. Colonel Hogan," Langenscheidt said. "And it seems that you brought us another prisoner for our happy group," he said, noticing Carter. "What is your name?"

"Langenscheidt, it's me, Carter," Carter responded.

The Corporal's eyes widened when he heard his name. "How do you know my name?" he asked. Then he shook his head. "Never mind. We must get back to the Kommandant's office. He will not be happy if we are delayed."

Langenscheidt began walking back towards camp, and the other two guards prodded the prisoners with their rifles to start them moving.

Carter leaned over to Colonel Hogan as they began walking. "Colonel, What is going on?" he asked.

"I don't know, Carter," Hogan replied. "But I don't think were in Kansas anymore!"

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A well-dressed man stepped out of the darkness into the beam from the searchlight.

Colonel Robert E. Hogan and Sergeant Andrew J. Carter – two Allied flyers interred in a Luft Stalag in Nazi Germany. Like thousands of other prisoners, they did not lead a comfortable existence. But conditions in Luft Stalag 13 were not like any other camp, and Colonel Hogan was able to lead a successful operation under the nose of the camp Kommandant. But tonight they are about to find that their world has been turned inside out. Colonel Hogan does not know it yet, but he is about to find his words to be prophetic. He is indeed not in Kansas anymore because he has just stepped into … The Twilight Zone.

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