I'm borrowing the characters of Hogan's Heroes and do own them.
Thank you for the reviews of my first installment and I do hope the second part is as interesting as the first.
Newkirk jolted awake at the feel of cold metal touching his cracked lips. He knocked the thing away and tried to scramble backwards. Memories of the tortures he'd endured at the hands of the Kommandant flooded back to him with amazing clarity and he cried out in fear.
Calming hands eased him back onto a soft surface on the ground as he squinted into the dim light of the tunnel and saw Colonel Hogan trying to offer him a spoonful of broth from a tin cup.
"Colonel Hogan! Is that you? Am I dreaming?" he bleated as he took the tin cup with trembling hands and brought the warm liquid to his lips. In his haste to fill his empty stomach, he nearly choked on the broth and had to be patted on the back by Carter who came to sit next to him.
"I'm so sorry it's taken us so long to return. Had I known what was happening here, we would have returned immediately. I'm so sorry I let you down, Newkirk" said Colonel Hogan as he watched his friend feverishly gulp down the broth and hand it back for more.
Carter felt sick to his stomach at how badly his friend and the other prisoners had suffered while they'd been away. Thinking about the fate of his small French friend made a permanent lump rise in his throat.
Kinch, Colonel Hogan and Carter drifted from prisoner to prisoner tending their needs and making certain they all had full stomachs by the end of the evening. They sent word via radio to London to have a sub waiting to pick up the prisoners the following day.
Newkirk adamantly refused to be sent home without finding Lebeau and Colonel Hogan didn't have the heart to order him home as he was just as worried about the Frenchman as his men were.
It was in the cold hour before dawn that Newkirk woke again to find a sleeping stillness in the tunnels. He looked around and saw Carter and Kinch dozing in chairs and Colonel Hogan awake and watching as everyone slept. Newkirk lay back down as if to sleep, but felt a strange sense of unease. The air felt breathless, as if a waiting terror lay on the edge of a shadow. He found himself listening intently for the slightest sound and as he began to relax again, he heard a clinking sound from high above.
It was faint but distinct and had the hair standing up on his arms. Somebody overhead knew where they hid and was trying to get in. Colonel Hogan was on his feet instantly and closely followed by Carter and Kinch. As Newkirk watched, the three men crept to the place where they'd sealed the entrance to the barracks and listened. Colonel Hogan motioned for them to return to Newkirk's bedside and then he spoke barely above a whisper.
"They're using shovels and it won't be long before we're discovered" He beckoned to Tom Eddis and looked around at the waiting; watching men. "We have to move towards the emergency tunnel. Pass along the word. There can be no sounds, no talking! Kinch will lead the way and Carter and I will bring up the rear to help the weaker ones. Let's go!"
They moved out in single file down the passageways trying not to make a sound. There was no time to set charges but Kinch had taken time to disable the radio and hide any other evidence of their underground operation. Tom Eddis helped Newkirk as he walked with Carter. Newkirk felt stronger having eaten but still needed help physically. They reached the ladder to the emergency tunnel and stood waiting as Colonel Hogan made his way to the front of the line. He looked up the ladder and started to climb up and then stopped to listen suddenly as he thought he'd heard a sound. The men waited below in fearful silence, hardly daring to breathe as they watched the Colonel.
After waiting another moment, Colonel Hogan cautiously lifted the tunnel entrance and surveyed the area quickly. The woodland was dense and dark in the early gray light of dawn. He held his breath and strained to look into the deep shadows. As he watched, a shadow moved between the trees and froze the blood in his veins. The rising sun broke through a cloud barrier and cast a glowing sheet of gold light into the trees and Hogan recognized the shadow as a man who worked in the Underground transporting prisoners to the subs. He waited for a moment watching Gustav as the man slid back into the shadows and seemed to be watching his camouflaged entrance with keen interest.
Slowly, Colonel Hogan pulled himself out of the tunnel and slid into shadow near a large tree. He whistled and Gustav answered and quietly appeared beside Hogan with amazing stealth.
"I have eighty men waiting beneath. We must move fast as they've discovered the tunnel from the barracks. We have just moments" whispered Colonel Hogan as Gustav nodded his understanding.
"I have men waiting to assist your men" replied Gustav and he whistled once more as he looked into the filtering woodland shadows. Colonel Hogan gasped as he heard several answering calls and saw brief glimpses of many men hidden in the surrounding trees waiting to help his men.
It seemed a lifetime that Newkirk and the others waited for Colonel Hogan to reappear again and the fear emanating from all of them made the air stifling. Suddenly the entrance lifted and Hogan swiftly signaled to Kinch who immediately began ushering each prisoner up the ladder and into the outside world. Newkirk waited at the back with Carter and felt his heart thumping so hard he felt like he might scream if he didn't get out soon. An unknown fear seemed to linger behind them in the darkness of the passageways and Newkirk struggled to keep his breathing under control as he waited his turn.
Carter glanced behind them but saw nothing. The lingering fear hung over them and he put a protective arm around the Englishman's shoulders as they drew nearer to the ladder.
At last they were out of the tunnel and hidden in the dense trees surrounding the camp. Newkirk crouched in shadow beside Colonel Hogan, Carter and Kinch as they watched the last line of prisoners and underground agents disappear deep into the woodland and head towards the coast and freedom. Newkirk took one last look back at the camp that had nearly killed him and then followed his friends deeper into the woods and deeper into Nazi Germany as they began their search for Lebeau.
To be continued…..
