The Infamous Adventures of the Basterds Chapter 9: Under the bridge, an inglourious basterds fanfic

Chapter 8: Under the bridge.

The mist lay over the land like a smoky blanket. It wrapped itself around the trees and the bushes, covering them in dew, and spun itself up, obscuring the roof of the forest, and the sky above. The only sound was that of falling drops of water, and it echoed dully in the fog. It was the hour before sunrise, when the world is at its quietest, and the sky, if visible, turns from deep black to a grayish blue. Waiting for the sun to brighten it to the most amazing tints of orange, purple and pink.

The thick mist made it impossible to see more than ten feet ahead, though. Lt. Raine noticed it was getting lighter, but that didn't help him. He and Stiglitz had spent the entire night walking around in the forest, and absolutely nothing had happened. Normally, he would consider that a good thing, but since the events of the previous day, he was far from pleased with the way things were going. They hadn't found any of the missing Basterds, and now he had managed to get them lost, too. The only positive thing was, that Stiglitz hadn't let out a word of complaint.

Raine and his companion marched on in silence. They weren't worried about encountering any Nazis anymore. It was almost as if they were the only people left on the entire planet. They hadn't seen Donny and Wicki since they had separated at the monolith, and that had gotten Raine worried. He regretted his decision, especially because Donny was wounded. It had been stupid to split as soon as they had found each other. He had hoped it would've increased their chances of finding the others. Now, he just hoped the other two had already found the bridge he was looking for more and more desperately.

Somewhere halfway their nighttime search, he had given up hope that the others were still here in the forest. Most likely, they had been taken captive by the Nazis. His plan now was simply to stay out of Nazi hands, find out where they had taken his men, and bust them out. And finding Donny and Wicki while he was at it. He and Stiglitz would have much less of a chance to free the others with just the two of them. Surely, he trusted Stiglitz, and knew the man would be a great help, but four is better than two.

As he was trying to think of a plan that was slightly less suicidal, he saw a shape form in the distance. A large, tall shape. They had found the monolith again.

Well, at least it's a start, Raine thought, and was then struck by an immense feeling of desperation. He kicked some unlucky stone and flopped down on one of the smaller rocks at the foot of the monolith, and bowed his head. Stiglitz watched him with a frown on his face, surprised at Raine's uncharacteristic display of loss of calm. But he thought he understood why. He hadn't spend that much time with the Basterds yet, but he had noticed Lt. Raine was greatly respected by his men, because his always stayed composed, and was always reliable. Now that the team had gotten split up, more than half of them taken captive most likely, Raine took the blame entirely upon him. Stiglitz felt he should say something, but he never had a way with words, so he remained silent.

Time passed. The light increased, and here and there, a bird started to whistle. The two men at the foot of the rock hadn't moved. Raine was still inside his silent cocoon of thought, and Stiglitz was waiting for him. Then, finally, the lieutenant lifted his head back up, and looked around.

"That bridge was that way, right?" he pointed, talking more to himself then to Stiglitz in particular. He got up, readjusted the strap of the gun hanging over his shoulder, and walked in the direction he had pointed towards. Stiglitz followed him.

They were both completely unaware of several pairs of eyes watching their every move.

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Wicki was leaning against a tree, watching the stone bridge, that was built over a small, frozen river. He and Donny had decided to remain out of sight until it was fully light. They expected Lt. Raine and Stiglitz any minute now.

Wicki looked over his shoulder, to where Donny sat, with his back resting against another tree, his eyes closed. He wasn't looking good at all. He hadn't said a word about his shoulder all night, but Wicki had seen that Donny had struggled more and more, and had lead them back to the bridge about two hours ago. Donny had protested, but Wicki hadn't listened, and had told his sergeant he needed rest and that their chances of finding anyone were growing smaller as more time passed by. Too tired to put up a proper discussion, Donny had agreed.

He had somehow managed to catch some sleep, despite the throbbing pain. He was awake, had been for some time, but didn't have the energy to open his eyes. His wound was getting infected, he could feel it. That bullet needed to get out, but he had no idea how. He needed a doctor, but where the hell was he going to find one? He and Wicki were alone, in the middle of nowhere, with just one decent weapon with them and there was still a chance the Nazis were still after them. And where in the world were Raine and Stiglitz?

"Donny?"

"What?" he muttered, sounding a bit irritated.

"I'm going to the bridge, to look if the lieutenant and Hugo aren't anywhere in sight yet. I won't be gone long. Will you be okay?"

Donny opened one eye.

"Yeah, go ahead. Watch out for Nazis."

"I don't think there's any around. We would've noticed, don't you think?"

Donny closed his eye again. He just didn't give a damn anymore at the moment.

"Whatever."

Wicki eyed him with concern. Donny wasn't that badly injured, but without proper care… He hoped he would make it. He had heard stories about people dying of much less than a bullet wound. Infections weren't to be taken lightly.

He then left Donny where he was, and walked to the bridge. A small road, just wide enough for a truck, ran over it. Wicki went to the middle, and scanned the environment. There wasn't much to see. Mist, trees, more mist… He sighed and decided to head back. Raine and Stiglitz would show up, of that he was sure, but they probably would keep out of sight as well. He wasn't doing a very good job at that now. He hoped he hadn't screwed up his cover by standing on the bridge. But they hadn't seen or heard from their enemies all night. They had to be gone. Right?

Then, he heard the awfully familiar sound of the safety being pulled of a gun, and he knew he had screwed up.

Donny heard footsteps, but didn't react to them. Wicki probably hadn't seen anything, so there wasn't much point in wasting the scraps of energy he had left in asking. But then, he heard another pair of footsteps, and another one, and another…

His brain jolted awake, and his eyes flew open. He stared straight into the barrel of a gun.

"Shit."

He heard them laugh.

Lt. Raine and Stiglitz reached the edge of the forest at last. The sun was already up, and the mist was starting to dissolve. Now they just had to find Donny and Wicki, and try to come up with a plan to find the others. If they were pissed off because they'd taken so long to find the bridge, it was their problem.

They followed the edge of the forest, until the bridge came in sight. No Donny and Wicki.

"They're not here yet." Stiglitz said. Raine shrugged.

"Maybe they got lost as well. We'll just have to wait." Raine should've known that could happen. Of course they got lost. They didn't know the forest at all. What the fuck is wrong with me? He had gotten his men ambushed, wounded, captured, lost and maybe even killed. What a terrific job he was doing.

Truly America's finest, he thought bitterly.

His glare darkening, he stomped forward again. They reached the bridge, and stopped by it. Still no sign of Donny and Wicki. Then, it happened.

Stiglitz let out a cry in alarm. Raine twirled around, gun ready, to see that loads of Nazis stormed from under the bridge and from behind the trees. They surrounded the two surprised men, and aimed their guns, but didn't fire. Raine and Stiglitz kept deadly still. It was obvious their enemies wanted them alive. If they played it clever, they might have a small chance of escaping. A very small chance.

"Well, would you look what I have caught in my nets today." A voice said in English with a heavy German accent. Raine saw a man approach with quick, confident steps. His uniform indicated he ranked high in the Third Reich's army. Colonel or something. He was averagely built, a bit on the short side maybe. His face was thin and pale, and he wore a broad smile, as if he had just single handedly won the war. His eyes were cold and distant, and yet strangely vivid with a kind of morbid pleasure.

"Aldo Raine and Hugo Stiglitz, is it not?" he said as soon as he reached the circle surrounding them.

"Who the fuck are you?" Raine asked.

"I believe you might have heard of me," the man said, in the same fashion Raine would introduce himself to any Nazi they'd caught. He wasn't sure if it was a coincidence.

"I am Standartenführer Maximilian Steinberg. You and your men have attacked my base a few months ago."

"It rings a bell." Raine answered. Son of a bitch, he thought.

"Ever since, I've been trying to catch you and your men." Steinberg said, still smiling. "It seems I have succeeded at last."

"Oh yeah?" Raine answered, sounding much more confident then he felt. "You got us two. Real good job."

Steinberg chuckled.

"Typical American arrogance. I have already found the rest of your men yesterday, and two more of them a few minutes ago, lieutenant." He barked a command over his shoulder, and from the trees emerged another group of German soldiers, and they had Donny and Wicki with them. It took Raine all of his self control to not jump up and kick the ever loving crap out of Steinberg.

"Are you familiar with the phrase 'divide and conquer', lieutenant?"

"Pretty fuckin' familiar." Raine muttered. Why hadn't he seen it coming? Steinberg's plan was simple, but effective. Split them up, hunt them down. After all, a lone wolf was much less of a threat then a whole pack of them.

Donny and Wicki were pushed inside the circle, and Raine and Stiglitz had their weapons taken from them.

"Where's the rest of my men?" Raine asked. Maybe if he kept Steinberg busy… He knew he didn't have a chance of escaping now.

"Do not worry, lieutenant. They're still alive, and you will join them shortly." Steinberg said, and it seemed as if his smile was super glued to his face.

And he calls me arrogant, Raine thought, as he was handcuffed and pushed forward, back to the forest, where he could soon distinguish three German army trucks. He and Donny were forced inside the last one, while Wicki and Stiglitz were lead to another. The soldiers all kept their guns aimed at them, their faces grim. Raine ignored them completely. He saw Donny was looking worse than ever. He was shaky, with an unhealthy blush on his cheeks that indicated a fever. But nonetheless, his eyes were alert, and blazed with contained rage.

"Looks like we're in for it now, huh lieutenant?" he said, forcing a grin on his face, his voice just above a whisper. Raine grinned back.

"They're the ones that are in for it." he said, motioning with his head to the soldiers around them. One of them, a strongly built man with a scar under his left eye, barked something in German at them.

"What, we're not allowed to talk?" Raine said. The soldier held up his gun, not saying a word. Raine raised an eyebrow. He kept his mouth shut. You never knew how trigger happy these guys were.

The truck drove for about an hour. Raine had no idea where they were heading, but he figured it wasn't going to be nice. Despite the promise of a slow and painful death (he had heard the stories, and Steinberg wasn't the sweetest with his captives), he wasn't afraid. He didn't even feel sorry. Well, he did feel sorry for his men, but not for himself. The Nazis had them, but he wasn't planning on cooperating. Steinberg talked about American arrogance, but he still would have to get to know about American stubbornness.

Could get fun, Raine thought grimly, as he felt the truck round a corner, and stop at last. They were pushed out, and Raine saw they were inside the courtyard of a prison. The building was relatively new, and almost smelled of German efficiency. They were quickly lead inside, down many stairs, and into a dimly lit basement.

"Well, ain't this just dandy." Donny said. He, Raine, Stiglitz and Wicki were forced inside a cell. The prison door was shut with a bang, and the lock clicked into place. The soldiers left, and silence filled the basement. They all felt there wasn't anything to say. Then, a voice called.

"Sergeant? Donny? Are you there?"

The four men immediately raised their heads, scanning the dimness. They saw the cell at the front left was also occupied.

"Utivich?" Raine called back.

"Lieutenant? Oh man, am I glad to hear you, sir."

"Who else is there with you?"

"Me!" they heard Sakowitz call. "And Zimmerman."

Raine couldn't help but grin. But he felt a pang of guilt. This whole situation was his fault.

"Me, Donny, Wicki and Stiglitz here." he said. "Wait a sec…"

Everyone realized the same thing at the exact same moment.

"Where's the other three?" Raine asked.

"Not here." Utivich answered. "Do you think…"

He fell silent, as the door of the basement swung open. It was Steinberg, flanked by two soldiers. He wore his usual confident smile, and Raine begun to wonder…

"Good morning, all." Steinberg said. "I trust you are all thrilled to see each other again?"

Raine rolled his eyes. Typical Gestapo sweet talk. If that was everything Steinberg could come up with to frighten him and his men, they'd still be in prison next year. No one said anything.

"Very well." Steinberg continued. "Now that I have all of you at my mercy, let me make one thing clear…"

Raine only half listened, his mind racing at top speed. Steinberg had said all of you. He could practically hear the others think the same.

Omar, Kagan and Hirschberg were still out there, and Steinberg didn't know about them. He didn't look like he was lying as he was delivering his welcome speech, the arrogance clearly audible in his voice.

So the Third Reich is really run by a bunch of fuckwits, Raine thought.

Author's not: There, two updates in two days. I really DO have too much time on my hands.