"Are you still positive you want to do this?" Hogan asked as Lechner got out of his cot. "This is your last chance to change your mind."
"I am positive, Colonel," Lechner replied, putting his heavy jacket on. "One thing I will say, however, is that I do not know how to thank you for giving me shelter."
"Don't bother. We're just doing our jobs."
Carter tucked a handgun into a holster under his jacket as he listened to their conversation. "Are you ready, Lechner?"
"I am," Lechner replied. "Are you?"
"Yeah."
"Carter," Hogan said. "Come out in the tunnel for a minute."
Nodding, Carter followed him out of the room. "Yes, sir?"
"If anything goes wrong in Augsburg, stay at Stalag VII C. Have Westheimer contact Klink and send you back."
"What if something goes wrong on the way there?"
"If you're still close to Hammelburg, you know all the safehouses. If you're closer to Augsburg, keep heading to Stalag VII C. No matter what, we'll get you home."
"I will do my best to protect him if Veidt turns out to still be aligned with the SS," Lechner spoke up from behind Carter.
"I don't think we'll need to worry about that," Carter said.
"I do not think so, either, especially since that definitely was a healing potion Veidt gave me last night. I feel much better than I have in over a week," Lechner said. "I am of the opinion that Veidt is on our side."
"Well, we'll find out tonight," Hogan replied. He gave Carter a look, then said, "Let's move."
Earlier that day, while on a work detail, Newkirk and Kinchloe had flattened a truck tire, and Hogan convinced Schultz to have the truck left there until the next day. Not too long afterward, Newkirk and Kinchloe swiftly repaired the tire, and the truck was ready to go for the long trip to Augsburg. As long as everything went well, the truck would indeed still be at the farmhouse in the morning, waiting to be repaired.
The two things they were worried about now were Veidt's loyalty, and the weather.
"I sense a terrible blizzard," Lechner said as they hiked through the dunes of snow to the farmhouse.
"Yeah. One's supposed to hit sometime in the morning," Hogan replied. He looked over his shoulder at Lechner. "Can you tell just how bad it'll be?"
"Not particularly, but I can feel the deep cold it will bring."
"Must be like a day at the beach for you."
Lechner smiled a little. "In some ways. Our powers can be both aided and hindered by the weather. I can hide more easily in a blizzard. If something happened tonight, I would be alright in the wilderness until morning."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Hogan replied.
They arrived at the farmhouse to see the truck still waiting outside, and a solitary figure pacing around it. Hogan turned out his flashlight, startling and nearly blinding Veidt as he walked around to the front of the truck.
"It's only me!" Veidt hissed, covering his eyes.
"Sorry about that," Hogan said. "All set to go?"
"Yes." Veidt looked at Lechner. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel much better, thank you," Lechner replied.
"Good." Veidt turned his attention back to Hogan. "Colonel, I promise I will return Carter and the truck."
"For your sake, I hope so," Hogan replied.
Carter got in the passenger seat of the truck. Before closing the door, he looked at Hogan. "I'll be alright, sir."
He knew how much Hogan didn't like putting any of his men in danger, and couldn't imagine what was going through Hogan's head at the moment. This is his worst nightmare. Carter looked at Veidt getting in the driver's seat. Maybe Colonel Hogan should have come along. Can I really get myself out of this if something goes wrong?
"We will be back before you know it," Veidt said. He gave Carter a concerned look and opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it. "There is nothing I can say that will convince any of you to trust me."
Lechner climbed in the back of the truck, and Hogan gave them a thumbs-up, letting them know they could head out. Veidt started the truck, and began heading down the dirt road away from the farmhouse. Carter looked out the window at Hogan, who stood perfectly still, watching them leave, and Carter watched as well until they could no longer see each other.
"Like I mentioned last night, this will take between three and four hours," Veidt said. "I guess that is plenty of time for us to chat and get to know each other."
"I guess," Carter replied. He glanced around, his mind drifting to the conversation he had earlier that day with Colonel Hogan.
After putting a loaded magazine into a Walther P38, Hogan pulled back on the slide to chamber a round, and made sure the gun's safety was on before handing it to Carter grip-first. "I'm not taking any chances with Veidt tonight," Hogan said. "As much as I don't want to do this, I don't want to give him any opportunity to take Lechner back to the SS."
"You're not asking me to shoot Veidt, are you?" Carter asked.
"No. When you're in the truck, I want you to hold him at gunpoint and order that he takes you right to Stalag VII C. Nowhere else."
"Alright, sir. What do we do after we get to the camp? He could go back to Kaschel and tell him where Lechner is."
"Bring Veidt to Westheimer's office. If he recognizes Veidt, then this'll all be a big misunderstanding, but if not, he and his group can handle it from there."
Carter nodded. "How are those leads coming?"
"Several have already been set up. Hopefully, Kaschel continues to buy them. You and Newkirk wrecked his car?"
"We put sand in the gas tank and punctured all the tires."
"Nice work. Go get ready."
His thoughts returned to the present. Carter unzipped his jacket and slowly pulled the P38 out of its holster. Veidt's eyes suddenly flicked to him. "Carter, what are you doing?!"
They were thrown forward as Veidt slammed on the brakes. In the back, Lechner called, "What's going on?"
"Everything's fine!" Carter called back. He trained the gun on Veidt. "We're going right to Stalag VII C. Nowhere else."
Veidt had his hands up, and he was breathing heavily. "I was already going to take you to Stalag VII C and nowhere else! This is not necessary!"
"We're just making sure. Keep driving."
"Carter, please—"
"Keep driving," Carter repeated.
Shivering nervously, Veidt looked back at the road, and Carter suddenly felt horrible for scaring him so badly. He lowered the gun a little, but still kept it aimed in Veidt's direction.
There was silence between them for the next hour. Snow had begun to fall, and it came down in large, wet clumps. As they came to a road running between two steep hills, Veidt brought the truck to a halt.
"Why are we stopping?" Carter raised the gun.
Veidt swallowed hard. "With all the snow over the last week, this road carries a high risk of avalanches. I recommend you let me find a way around."
"Keep going."
"But—"
"Just keep going. No detours."
Veidt sighed. "Alright."
As they began driving through the narrow valley, Carter found himself locked in an internal battle. On one hand, Veidt was probably right about the avalanche risk. It had been snowing heavily all week. On the other, it could be a convenient excuse to take them somewhere that wasn't Stalag VII C.
Something deep inside Carter was saying—no, screaming to trust Veidt, and the voice only grew louder as they kept driving. There was movement in the corner of his eye, and Carter quickly put the P38 back in his holster before looking to his right and seeing a mass of snow cascading down the hill toward them, ripping up trees and taking them with it.
Veidt pressed down hard on the gas pedal, frantically glancing between the oncoming snow and the road. The truck suddenly caught a patch of ice, sending it spinning. Carter heard Lechner being thrown against the side of the truck. Veidt was cursing to himself as he struggled to regain control of the vehicle, to no avail. A shadow loomed over them, and snow with an unimaginable amount of force collided with the truck, pushing it off the road and turning it on its side.
Carter's life flashed before his eyes, and before his head was struck against the truck door, his last conscious thought was a brief glimpse of a warm summer twilight in North Dakota.
The first sensation Veidt felt was something cold dripping onto his neck. There was something warm as well, and smelled metallic. A dull ache started in the left side of his chest, gradually swelling into a feeling that resembled claws digging into his ribs. His consciousness faded again, and a part of him was grateful the pain would go away for a time.
He awoke again, and tried to stay that way. Immediately, he was gripped by pain in his chest, and became aware of the fact that he was lying somewhat twisted on the driver's side window of the truck. He looked around, seeing Carter was gone, but there was a frozen stream of blood running from the top of the passenger side door, to Carter's seat, and had dripped onto Veidt while he had been unconscious. Touching his neck, Veidt found the dried blood. Where is Carter? He's hurt. Did he get rescued?
Veidt tried to move into a more comfortable position upon seeing the passenger side window wasn't buried with snow. A jab of pain surged in his chest. He grimaced, and groaned as he continued shifting. I have to get out of here! How long have I even been here anyway?
Eventually, Veidt had himself positioned to climb up and out through the window. As much as he wanted to leave at that moment, he couldn't with the throbbing pain in his chest. I must have broken ribs, he thought. I have broken ribs, Carter has disappeared, I don't know if Lechner is alive— Veidt drew in a breath, fighting past the pain, and looked at the back of the truck. "Lechner! Are you alright?! Lechner!"
Nothing. Veidt's heart beat faster in panic. "Lechner!" Damn it, damn it, damn it! Please don't tell me he's dead! He grunted and wrapped one arm around his chest as he pulled himself up to the window. The windshield was covered with snow, but as Veidt crawled out of the window, he saw that the avalanche had mercifully left the passenger side mostly clear.
The back of the truck was completely buried, though.
Veidt winced as he sat on the door, legs dangling through the window. still hugging his chest. I can't dig Lechner out even if I wanted to. I need to get help. The question is… where am I?
He recalled they had been on the road for an hour and a half when the avalanche hit. He had to be at least halfway between Hammelburg and Augsburg. It would take me a day to reach Augsburg, and I can't in my condition. Carefully, he went back into the truck, and grabbed his map before getting back out again. He had his corvid ribbons, but wouldn't be able to get a bird to come to him until morning. He waded through the snow, searching for road signs or really anything that would give him a rough idea of where he was. His heart sank when he considered the possibility that the avalanche wiped out any road signs in its path. I could be very, very lost right now.
Eventually, Veidt spotted where the collapsed snow ended. Every breath hurt, as though needles were being shoved into his ribs and lungs. It only got worse the more he walked.
He tried to quicken his pace when he saw a sign several meters ahead. The sign pointed east, and read "Rothenburg ob der Tauber." A town. Yes! Veidt opened his map, whispering to himself as he located the town. Just as I thought—about halfway between Hammelburg and Augsburg, though closer to Hammelburg. Without hesitating, he followed the sign, hoping and praying he would be able to find help.
Veidt was more concerned about Lechner than his own injuries, though he kept telling himself that Lechner had a greater chance of survival given his resistance to the cold. If he is uninjured. I hope he is uninjured. I will never forgive myself if he dies!
He arrived in Rothenburg ob der Tauber twenty minutes later. Looking at his watch, it was almost one in the morning. I was unconscious for a while, then, Veidt thought. Colonel Hogan will not be happy if Carter does not return by morning. He paused. What if that is what happened? Carter got out and went back to Stalag Thirteen? It seems likely. Perhaps he managed to get Lechner out as well. Why leave me behind, though?
In the sleeping town, Veidt didn't wonder that for much longer. What have I done to deserve being rescued? Hogan does not trust me, and I don't know what I will have to do to gain his trust. There is probably nothing I can do that would gain his trust. He and the others know my past, especially those who were at the camp when Wahler and I visited two years ago. Tears welled up and stung Veidt's eyes, and he hunched over while holding his ribs. I deserve this.
Veidt was unsure as to what to do first—surely, there was no one awake who could help dig the truck and Lechner out of the snow, but he also didn't want to leave Lechner out there if he was injured. He wandered around the streets, anxiety building and pain gnawing at his left side. He was beginning to think he would have no other choice than to admit himself to the nearest hospital when he rounded a corner and saw a Heer lieutenant colonel closing his car's trunk. "You there!" Veidt called. "Please, Colonel! I need help!"
The officer nearly jumped out of his skin. He pulled his sidearm and turned to see Veidt walking awkwardly toward him. He lowered his gun upon seeing Veidt's uniform. "My apologies. I was not expecting to see anyone else out this late. What is the trouble, Hauptsturmführer?"
"I was caught in an avalanche just outside of town. There was another man in the truck with me. I think he is still trapped inside. Please, he could be hurt, I cannot wait until morning."
"You seem to be hurt yourself. I will take you to my garrison. My medics can help you."
"What about my truck?"
"I will have some men dig out, and rescue your companion. Do not worry." The colonel gestured for Veidt to get in the car. "Come."
"I cannot thank you enough." Relief flooded Veidt, though there was still the question of what happened to Carter. Lechner was his mission, but he didn't want Carter, or anyone else for that matter, getting hurt.
A heavy throbbing sensation in his head dominated the intense cold as Carter came to. There was something dry and uncomfortable on the right side of his head. He touched it, finding it was dried blood clotting a wound. What happened? Where am I? Turning his head to observe his claustrophobic surroundings was a challenge. He saw he was in a truck that had been flipped on its side. Snow covered the windshield. In the driver's seat was an unconscious SS Sorcery Division officer, slumped against the window. The slight rise and fall of his chest told Carter he was still alive.
His memories came rushing back. Veidt. Lechner! Despite the pain, Carter pounded the back of the truck. "Lechner! Hey, buddy, you back there? You okay?"
He stopped, holding his head. He was no stranger to head injuries, and he knew Wilson was keeping a tally of how many times he or Newkirk injured themselves while on a mission—so far Newkirk was leading, and Carter would rather not add more to that tally. He waited for the pain to dull down before saying, "Lechner?"
Nothing. Worry gripped Carter tightly in its talons, and he climbed out of the truck window, seeing that the entirety of the vehicle had been buried, aside from that window. Great for him, but not for Lechner.
I gotta get help, but where am I? Carter vaguely remembered that they had been driving for over an hour when the avalanche occurred. That meant they had to be closer to Hammelburg than Augsburg. I can't go to a village. If I get help, they're gonna dig out Lechner and Veidt and assume I'm a prisoner of some kind. Pain began pulsing through his head. Carter stayed put, winching as he waited for it to subside once more. When it did, an idea struck him. I can use a radio. I've got to be close enough to reach the camp.
Slowly, Carter stood up on the side of the truck, orienting himself northward. Ahead of him was a lake of snow, and he reckoned not all of it was traversable by foot. "Nuts," he hissed to himself. He turned south, seeing the snow was shallower. Well, looks like I have to find another way. He looked back at the truck. I need to get help for Veidt and Lechner. That's more important. He stepped down into the snow, sinking deep into it. Grunting, he trudged through it until it became shallower and shallower. Behind him, snow disturbed by his movement shifted to cover the trail he had been leaving.
The call of an owl disrupted the eerie silence. Carter looked up, seeing the large bird perched on a branch in a leafless tree, staring back down at him with huge yellow eyes. Pain would occasionally course through his head as he walked. It felt as though someone was whacking a hammer against the right side of his skull. Sometimes, he wondered if he was going to collapse at any point. You can get through this. Just keep going. Veidt and Lechner need help.
His stomach sank rapidly when he realized this was all because of him in the first place. I should have trusted Veidt. He was right about the avalanche risk. Why didn't I listen to him? I didn't know if I could actually trust him. I felt like I could trust him, but I followed Hogan's instructions… I guess I should have gone against them this time.
Never over the course of the last few months would Carter have even dreamed of disobeying Hogan, but how far could that go? His instincts had told him one thing, and Colonel Hogan told him another. Trust Veidt. Don't trust Veidt. Who was right? Me or Colonel Hogan? Carter paused when the hammer struck his head again. He took a few deep breaths, waiting patiently for the pain to fade, then kept walking. It doesn't matter now. We got hit by an avalanche. Now we have to get out of it.
He looked around for any road signs or evidence that civilization was close by. Instead, he was suddenly overcome with the sensation that something was watching him. Carter turned around, expecting and hoping to see either Veidt or Lechner getting out of the wrecked truck, but saw nothing. He went back to walking, and spotted something moving between the trees on the side of the road. A deer.
The young buck paused when Carter made eye contact with him. They both remained still. Carter was reminded of the dream he had a couple of nights before, of a deer running through a forest. He shook his head. It was just a dream. Right?
The deer walked closer to Carter, and gently nudged his hand before turning back toward the forest. Stopping, the buck looked over his shoulder at Carter, almost as if to say, "Are you coming?"
"This has gotta be some kind of hallucination," Carter said. "D-Do you want me to… to follow?"
Of course, the deer didn't answer, and instead began trotting into the forest, slowly, though, giving Carter a chance to catch up when he finally did follow. Carter was in awe at how calm the deer was. He had never seen one that wasn't flighty.
The last one he saw that didn't run at the first chance it had was the buck he encountered back home, on his way home from work. He hadn't thought much of it until recently, when he compared approaching Lechner to approaching a deer. Here, it seemed, the deer wanted to approach him rather than the other way around.
They walked through the seemingly endless forest, until Carter could see the snow-covered roofs of a town. A sizable town, that was. He grinned, though it hurt. Hope fluttered in his chest and he turned to thank the buck for leading him there. "Hey, thanks for the—"
The buck had disappeared. Carter frowned, having not heard the deer trotting away in the snow. Looking down, he didn't see any tracks at all. He saw his, but the buck had left none.
Strange. Carter began walking down the hill, stopping at random times for his head, but continuing on nonetheless. He came across a sign saying that he was in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. He had seen the name on maps before, and he suddenly felt very alone. I really am far away from Stalag Thirteen. Too far away. He had been hoping this mission was an in-and-out one—go to Augsburg, drop off Lechner, go home. There were no Underground contacts here that he knew of, and he didn't think it was a good idea to spend time searching for any while Veidt and Lechner were trapped in the truck and potentially wounded.
The pain in his head had been getting worse the more he pushed himself. Close to a farm, Carter was overcome with a desire to lie down. Come on, don't stop now… don't stop now. His vision blurred, then doubled, then faded. He felt himself falling, and the world went black before he hit the ground.
Veidt had nearly fallen asleep when the colonel announced that they had arrived. He shifted and winced in pain as he tried to sit back up.
"You will be alright," the colonel said, getting out of the car and walking around to help. "Easy does it. Lean on me if you have to." Once Veidt was out of the car, the colonel said, "I don't believe I have introduced myself. Colonel Franz Preiss."
"Kurt Veidt." Adjusting his grip on Preiss, Veidt tried not to move any of the muscles in his chest any more than he had to. He found himself glad to not have tried to just go to Augsburg, but his pain was laced with worry for Carter and Lechner.
Preiss entered a long, rectangular building, which was dimly lit on the inside. A few white-smocked medics walked around, but aside from them, the building felt completely empty. They then went to a large room lined with beds and curtains, and Preiss slowly and carefully laid Veidt on one of them. "Don't move. Just rest. I will go get Lieutenant Rehne."
Veidt didn't bother nodded in acknowledgment. His chest was encompassed in jabbing, tearing pain with every breath.
"…His truck was in an avalanche," Preiss was saying to a thin-faced brown-haired man in a uniform with a white armband bearing a red cross. "I brought him as quick as I could."
"I will take a look at him, Colonel. You go on to bed," Rehne said.
"I cannot go to bed just yet. I am sending a squadron out to dig out that truck."
Rehne sighed. "Alright. This is not doing your sleep schedule any favors, though, Colonel."
"I am aware of that, but a man's life could be in danger. I will go to bed as soon as I return."
"Very well, Colonel." Rehne saluted, then watched Preiss leave before turning to Veidt. "I suspect from the way you are breathing and holding your chest that you have broken ribs. I will take some radiographs for assessment. Hopefully I will not have to operate."
Veidt nodded. "I would rather not have that, either."
"Is there anything else that hurts?"
"No, Lieutenant."
Rehne gave Veidt a mild painkiller before taking him to get radiographs of his chest. Veidt was extremely grateful, though with the pain reduced, he worried more and more about Carter and Lechner. I have to find Carter. I have to make sure Lechner is alright. What if they are both dead? Veidt silently cursed himself as Rehne prepared to take the radiographs. I would not able to forgive myself. I will never forgive myself. I already can't forgive myself for everything else.
After they were developed, the images revealed Veidt had three ribs broken in succession on his side, near the base of his left lung. Naturally, he was cautioned about being careful when he returned to his duty, and Veidt realized he had no clue how to explain to Kaschel what happened. Then again, Kaschel trusted him enough to where he could probably lie that he fell in Hammelburg and Kaschel would buy it without so much as a second thought.
Preiss and two young soldiers entered a little over an hour after Veidt had his first set of bandages put on. They were all soaked from sweat and snow, and Preiss's face was red. He accepted a towel from Rehne, and dried his face before saying, "We dug out your truck, Hauptsturmführer. That avalanche will have that road blocked until spring, I think. The truck is in quite a rough shape. Luckily, though, no one was inside when we looked it over."
"What?" Veidt resisted the urge to sit up. "No one was inside?"
Preiss shook his head. "I am afraid not."
Veidt's worry grew more nauseating. "Did you see any signs of him having gone anywhere?"
"No. He probably went to get help. What is his name? Maybe we can ask around if anyone has seen him."
Veidt hesitated. This town hadn't been marked for searching on Kaschel's map, but that didn't mean word of Lechner's escape had not gotten around. I am still a member of the Sorcery Division. I can still take charge of the situation and get Lechner back. Kaschel doesn't have to know. "He is Private Johann Lechner."
Preiss didn't ask any questions. "We will get him back to you, Hauptsturmführer. For now, please rest." He turned and left the room.
Veidt wasn't sure what Preiss's lack of a response meant. Either he had no idea Lechner was wanted by the Sorcery Division, or he was well-aware of it and figured it was best to cooperate with the SS if he wanted to keep himself and his family safe. Both were likely, but Veidt was hoping that Preiss was just learning Lechner's name now.
That still left Carter. Veidt knew Hogan had trained his men to be incredibly resourceful, and he had faith in Carter's ability to survive, but that didn't stop him from worrying that everything had spiraled out of control.