Chapter 16

Carter was confused. He didn't understand why Colonel Hogan wanted to go back to camp now – they wouldn't be able to get back in. He didn't understand why Hochstetter had shown up with a whole truck full of men instead of being alone. And he didn't understand Erika's reaction to the mention of Hochstetter – wasn't she a member of his Underground team?

Carter pondered all of this while following Hogan and Erika through the woods, heading back towards Stalag 13. He was so lost in thought that he failed to notice that the fog had lifted from the ravine that had passed through earlier.

Meanwhile, Hogan was silent as he led the group through the woods. He wanted to get back to camp as soon as possible – knowing what would be waiting there for them.

As they neared the camp, Hogan slowed down. When they reached the edge of the woods, Hogan waited for Carter to inch up beside him.

"What now, sir?" Carter asked.

"We go back into camp," Hogan responded.

"But how?" Carter asked.

"We go in through the Emergency Tunnel," Hogan replied confidently. "Carter, you go first."

"But, sir!" Carter exclaimed.

Hogan silenced him as they heard rustling in the woods behind them. They turned around and saw one of the camp dogs emerging from the underbrush.

"Uh, oh," Carter whispered.

"Hi there, Biskmark, old boy," Hogan said cheerfully, extending his hand towards the dog.

"Colonel, don't!" Carter gasped. "Remember, he bit me before."

Hogan chuckled as the dog trotted towards him. "He won't bite," Hogan said as Biskmark came up and rubbed his head against Hogan's hand. "See?"

"Colonel, does this mean?" Carter asked tentatively.

Hogan laughed. "Yes, Carter. It does," he replied.

"Will someone tell me what it means?" Erika asked.

"Let's get in the tunnel first," Hogan instructed. "Good boy, Bismark. Now run along and find yourself a rabbit." The dog wagged his tail and bounded away through the woods. "Now, Carter, into the tunnel."

Carter crept forward towards the stump that served as the tunnel entrance. He crouched behind it as the searchlight passed over the area. When the light passed, he grabbed the top of the stump and lifted … and the stump opened up. A wave of joy passed over Carter as he scrambled into the stump and down the ladder.

Hogan waited until Erika was safely in the tunnel before entering himself. He climbed down the ladder and jumped onto the tunnel floor. He smiled as he looked around – he had never been so glad to see the earthen walls of the dark tunnel.

He motioned the others to follow him as he headed down the tunnel. The light got brighter as they got closer to the large radio room.

When they entered the radio room, Carter let out a gasp. "Baker, you're here!" he exclaimed.

Baker looked surprised. "Of course I am, Andrew," he replied. "I'd hardly be at the Hofbrau having a beer!"

"It's good to see you!" Carter continued excitedly.

"Relax, Andrew," Baker responded. "You act as if you haven't seen me in a week."

Carter was about to reply when Hogan interrupted him. "What's the situation here?" he asked.

"Hochstetter has been on the phone to Klink," Baker replied. "He'll be here at 0200 hours and he's ordered Klink to have a roll call at that time."

Hogan glanced at his watch. "Okay, we have a little bit of time," he replied. He turned to Erika and asked, "Erika, who knows you were going to meet me at that barn tonight?"

Erika shrugged. "Only Fritz," she replied. "I told him that I was meeting you to discuss his men joining the Underground. Why?"

"You're not safe," Hogan replied. "Fritz is a Gestapo plant."

Erika gasped. "Are you sure?" she asked. When Hogan nodded, she cried, "But he can identify me!"

Hogan placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "I'll take care of it," he assured. "Baker, get on the radio to Max. Tell him that Fritz is Gestapo and Erika isn't safe. We'll keep her here until tomorrow. He can send someone to pick her up."

Baker nodded. "What about Fritz?" he asked.

Hogan smiled grimly. "Max will know what to do," he replied, and turned back towards Erika.

Baker nodded and reached for the radio headset.

Hogan turned back around. "Oh, one more thing," he said. "What's the date?"

Baker looked confused as he told Hogan the date.

Carter gasped. "Colonel, that's the day we left camp!" he exclaimed.

Baker began laughing. "Of course it is, silly," he said. "You left here three hours ago!"

"But, but …" Carter stammered.

Hogan smiled. "Carter, just get upstairs and get ready for the roll call that we're not supposed to know about," he said.

Carter stared dumbfounded at Hogan for a moment before turning and heading up the ladder.

Hogan turned back to Erika. "You'll be all right here tonight," he assured her. "Max will send someone tomorrow and you'll be fine."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Colonel Hogan," she said, leaning forward to plant a small kiss on his cheek.

Clearing his throat, Hogan turned back towards Baker. "Ahem, right. Baker, when you finish sending the message, you should come up as well," he said, heading towards the ladder.

Baker smiled broadly. "Yes, sir!" he replied.

-

After the excitement of the surprise roll call died down, Hogan went back into his office to try to get some sleep.

Carter thought about heading to his bunk to get some sleep, but instead he walked over to Colonel Hogan's office and knocked on the door.

"What is it?" Hogan asked from inside the room.

"Colonel, can I talk to you for a minute?" Carter asked.

"Sure, Carter" Hogan replied. "Come on in."

Carter entered the room and closed the door behind him.

Before he could say anything, Hogan smiled and said, "I know what you are going to ask," he said. "And the answer is I don't know. I don't know how or why we ended up in that different Stalag 13 nor do I know how or why we ended up back here. And I definitely don't know why we came back on the same day that we left."

"But when we were back at the barn, how did you know?" Carter asked.

Hogan shrugged. "I didn't," he replied. "Seeing Erika's reaction to Hochstetter and the way Hochstetter was acting, I just guessed. When I remembered that we went through that fog again, I was almost certain that we had come back."

"But I didn't feel a chill this time," Carter said. "So I didn't even think of it."

"I didn't until afterwards either," Hogan admitted. "I guess with the patrol shooting at us, we were too preoccupied this time."

"I wonder what happened to the other …" Carter said, stopping to try to find the best word. "The other Stalag 13," he finished. "Was the plan to get rid of Klink successful?"

"I have a feeling we'll never know, Carter," Hogan replied. "I'd like to think that it was."

"Well, if it means anything," Carter said, "I had faith in you to come up with a plan that would work." He paused and then added, "And faith in God to make sure things worked out for the best."

Hogan chuckled. "Thank you for the promotion, Carter," he quipped. "But I think God still outranks a Colonel in the Air Corps."

Carter grinned one of his saucy grins. "You know what I mean, sir," he replied.

Hogan nodded. "I do," he responded. "But you left out one person."

"Huh?" Carter asked.

"There's one more person you should have had faith in," Hogan answered. "Sergeant Andrew Carter." Hogan paused to let that sink in, and then added, "I did."

Carter's eyes widened. "You did?" he asked.

"Of course," Hogan replied. "I knew that I could count on you if and when I needed you."

Carter looked away, embarrassed. "Shucks, Colonel," he replied softly. "That's not as important as what you do."

"Never sell yourself short, Carter," Hogan said soberly. "You should always have confidence in yourself and your abilities. I do, and I know the rest of the men do."

Carter was silent, still looking at the floor.

"Now, let's get some shuteye," Hogan said. "We've got another roll call in a few hours."

Carter nodded and turned towards the door.

"Oh, Carter?" Hogan said.

Carter stopped and turned back to Hogan. "Yes, sir?" he said.

"Thanks," Hogan said. "I don't think we would have had a chance to be successful in that other existence without the things you did."

Carter smiled. "Thank you, sir," he said and left the office.

-

Carter lay in his bunk, staring up at his miniature Dream Catcher hanging above him. He couldn't sleep and kept thinking about the things that Colonel Hogan had said to him. It made him feel proud to know that the Colonel had faith in him and the things that he could do. He had always been a bit insecure growing up – never feeling that he was good at anything. He was clumsy and always seemed to ramble on about things that other people didn't want to hear about. Things haven't changed too much, have they, he thought. I still do that. But the Colonel is right. When I think about it, the other men in the barracks – my friends here – really do accept me. They do tease me about being clumsy, but I can tell that they are just joking around.

He sighed and thought about it some more. Then he clasped his hands together. Hi God, it's Andrew again. I just wanted to say thank you for getting us back to where we belong. I could say that I was never worried and knew that we would come back, but you would know that's a lie because, well, because you know everything. I feel very lucky to be back in this camp with my friends. I know it sounds strange for someone to say they feel very lucky to be stuck in a prisoner of war camp, but it's how I feel right now. I still don't know why you had me go through this, but I know you are not in the habit of telling us why you do the things you do. But I will always remember what the Colonel and me went through, and will always appreciate and make the best of what I have. Carter thought for a moment before continuing his prayer. God, I don't know how things turned out for the group of men at the other Stalag 13, but please, take care of them – I want things to work out for them. Carter unclasped his hands and took a deep breath. He had been through a lot with this ordeal, but rather than feeling worn out, he felt very refreshed. Thanks again, God, he thought.

-

After roll call the next morning, Hogan decided that it was time to have a little talk with Klink. After recent events, he was looking forward to dealing with a Colonel Klink that wouldn't get the best of him.

Helga was sitting at her desk, busily pounding away at the typewriter. She glanced up when she heard the door open, but did not stop her typing. Hogan walked over and stood beside her desk.

"Good morning, Helga," he said. "Is Klink in his office?"

Helga looked up at Hogan as she typed. "The Colonel is busy at the moment, Colonel Hogan," she replied with a smile.

"I see the Kommandant is keeping you busy," he prompted.

Helga stopped typing. "Oh, these reports are terrible!" she complained. "There are so many of them." She reached back and moved her blond hair with one hand and began rubbing her exposed neck with the other. "All this typing makes me so tense," she cooed.

Seeing the obvious invitation, Hogan took over and began massaging her neck. It's good to be home, he thought. "Oh, you are tense," he commented. "This should make you feel better."

"Oh, Colonel Hogan," she purred. "You have such strong hands."

"All the better to hold you with, my dear," he replied.

Helga giggled. "You'll have to wait until tonight for that, you devil," she responded demurely.

"Tonight?" Hogan asked.

"You haven't forgotten tonight, have you?" she asked, standing up to look at Hogan.

"Oh no, I haven't forgotten," Hogan lied.

Helga feigned indignation. "You have," she exclaimed. "You've forgotten our date!" She crossed her arms and tried her best to put on an angry face.

"Helga, darling, how could I ever forget a date with you?" he asked, trying to talk his way out of this predicament. "So, what's Klink busy with?"

Helga kept trying to maintain her angry appearance, but couldn't. She burst out laughing and said, "That's right, change the subject," she joked. "The great Colonel didn't say. He just said that he didn't want to be disturbed."

Before Hogan could reply, a strange screech erupted from the Kommandant's private office. Helga put her hands to her ears and cringed.

"Oh, I hate it when he practices his violin," she complained. "I think I'd much rather listen to one of the Führer's five hour speeches than to hear him destroy Bach."

Hogan just smiled.

"What are you smiling at?" she asked.

"Helga, my dear," he said. "You're not going to believe this, but right now, that's music to my ears!"

Helga stared at Hogan in disbelief. He bent forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll talk to Klink later, and I'll see you tonight," he said. "I'll make sure Schultz will let us use the back of Klink's car."

Hogan grinned broadly as he was serenaded out of the office by Klink's violin. Ah yes, it is so good to be back!

-

A well-dressed man stepped out of Klink's office and stood in the doorway.

Two men, transported to a universe totally unlike the one the normally inhabit. They must find a way to survive by depending only on their wits, their faith and each other - each man handling the situation in his own way, yet striving for the same outcome. You may find this situation very unlikely to occur. That may be true of most places, but not here in … The Twilight Zone.

-

Author's Notes

Well, there you have it. I know you are saying "What about the gang in the 'other' Stalag 13? Was the plan successful? Was Hogan able to set up shop in camp once Colonel Weingarten arrived? Did Colonel Klink recover and try to take his camp back? How did things go when the 'other' Colonel Hogan came back? Did the 'other' Hogan and Carter travel to the Stalag 13 that we all know and love during this story? Why did Hogan and Carter spend almost two weeks in the other Stalag 13 and yet come back on the same day that they left?"

Valid questions. Remember, in The Twilight Zone, strange things happen, and not everything is wrapped up nicely. I don't know the answers, but it seems to me that maybe another story or two is in order to explain it – so if you are really curious, get writing! (Take Lauren's 'Flattery Challenge' and write something up. I'd be curious to see how it all turned out between Hochstetter and Klink myself!)

The Final Countdown

The method of transporting Hogan and Carter to this alternate version of their universe was inspired by the movie The Final Countdown. In that movie, the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz of 1980 passed through a strange storm and found itself back on December 6, 1941. When the captain of the ship realized where and when they were, he had a tough decision to make – sit by and watch the thousands of people die in the Pearl Harbor attack or changing history and preventing the attack using the superior firepower of the carrier. He chose to try to prevent the attack. Before they could prevent the attack, the ship passed through the same strange storm and was back in 1980. An excellent movie – filmed on the real aircraft carrier.