Warning: The villains in here have rape fantasies so just letting you know ahead of time.
Cassie Drake: Amateur archaeologist who took a thrill for adventure.
Derek Lowell: Beloved sidekick and best friend of Cassie.
Rudolf Schneider: Leader of a group of fanatical Neo-Nazis with stereotypical motives.
Extended summary
Cassie and Derek are back in action and taking a step away from their usual tropical environment in Hawaii, they head to the snowy wastelands of Iceland to search for both a lost city and mythical substance that grant one god-like ability.
Vril, the vital element of this underground world. Matter itself yields to it. With it, one becomes godlike. All but immortal. Pass through solid rocks, heal wounds, build cities in a single day-or destroy them. To possess Vril is to be invincible.
The Arctic Explorer, Evelyn Briggs Baldwin, 1934
Winter 2033
Maui, Hawaii
Cassie put on a jacket because it was cold outside, even though she was in Hawaii during December. She couldn't wait for Christmas in twelve days. She was going to celebrate Christmas with her best friend and crush, Derek Lowell. She has already started on the right foot by spending the night at Derek's house and she took a liking to his parents but Derek was absent around the house so she bonded with his parents.
She walked into her guest room and picked up a book. She was going to read a book in Latin outside. She looked at the beach, the sand looking warm and the water looking so peaceful. She checked her watch twice, it was barely seven o'clock and Derek was still not home.
When she looked at the beach, she wanted nothing more than to be with Derek. She loves him. First, they were friends, but when they turned seventeen, she started to develop feelings for him, but she was too scared to tell him, she was waiting for the opportune moment to tell him.
Unknown to her, Derek loved her too and he was too scared to tell her too.
Cassie looked to her right and saw Derek's father, Mister Richard Lowell, standing at the doorway. She smiled and waved at him and he returned the gesture. "Hey, Cassie."
"Hello, Mr. Lowell. Your son has been a very good friend that he forgot to tell me that he was leaving early for school. It's still winter break."
"Aren't you supposed to be at school?"
"I argued with the teacher. The teacher told me that she hates me."
Mr. Lowell was confused at that statement. "Why would she say that?"
"I told her that her version of Christmas was 3⁄4 inaccurate. It involves all kinds of cultures instead of one." Cassie then went on to elaborate on her point: "Her version of Christmas was like George Washington Carver asking Cherokee to try huevos rancheros while Albert Schweitzer marries Joseph Stalin and adopts a boy named Fidel Castro while celebrating with kimchi, Chrysanthemum tea, and having flan de ciruela."
Mr. Lowell laughed at that statement. "You said all that?" She nodded. "What did she give you detention, suspension?"
"She threatened to expel me from school, but instead she suspended me for one week." The family puppy came running out of the house and jumped onto Cassie's lap. "Hi, Little John," she awed and petted the tiny Dachshund.
"So, since you are officially suspended, what are you going to do?"
"I think I'll do something crazy." Cassie leaned back in her chair as she thought of endless possibilities while she continued to pet Little John.
Mr. Lowell shrugged, "Like what?"
"I don't know but something thrilling and risk-taking, I'm nineteen-years-old, I should do something that involves adrenaline."
"As long as you come back alive," Mr. Lowell reminded, "I'm sure your parents would appreciate it if you came back alive."
"I promise to come back alive. I think I'll go on vacation to somewhere I've never been to before. Like Italy or France." Cassie put Little John down. "You know, my Uncle Sam is in Iceland, digging for some kind of ruins for a lost city."
"Iceland sounds somewhat promising," Mr. Lowell hesitated.
Cassie slept soundly in her room. She missed Derek so much and was disappointed to hear that Derek's girlfriend, Angie, was back in town and he decided to visit her. Also, she had a daughter who was born in October of last year and Derek so desperately wanted to figure out if her daughter was his.
Cassie began snoring until she heard something downstairs. It sounded like a loud thud, but woke up immediately and looked a little scared and she was hoping that Derek came home early. She got out of bed and walked downstairs very slowly and carefully; who knows who it was? It wasn't Derek's mother or father because she heard them snoring. Who could be in their house at three o'clock in the morning?
Cassie grabbed a baseball bat from underneath the couch and walked into the library, the source of the disturbance. She saw a man in black looking through all kinds of books. He was pulling them down and looking through each one with a flashlight.
Cassie raised the bat and struck the man in the back of his head. He collapsed and landed hard on his front. Cassie was going to strike him again until she heard a noise behind her. She heard a gun being chambered and she raised her hands.
"Keep your hands up, you bitch!" the voice said in a thick German accent. The man took the bat from her and struck her hard in the back. "Schneider, hast du das Buch gefunden?" the man asked the first man in German.
The first man - Schneider - spoke in German. "Fast. Ich brauche noch zwei Minuten. Cover me, Schmidt."
"Ja," the second man - Schmidt - nodded. Schneider began looking through more and more of the books. He stopped at one and opened it. "Mein Gott, I found it," Schneider said before he took pictures of certain books before turning to Cassie.
"You are now going to pay for striking me with that baseball bat." Schneider grabbed the bat and began hurting Cassie, showing no mercy.
Schmidt began kicking Cassie in the back and stomach. He places a silencer on his pistol and places the barrel to Cassie's temple. "No land beyond the Volga," Schmidt said.
Cassie squeezed her eyes shut, she was about to get shot.
She heard a gunshot, but she was still alive. Schneider and Schmidt looked and saw Mr. Lowell's wife, Mrs. Erica Lowell, aiming a Beretta 92FS at them. Schmidt clutched his stomach, he was shot. "Jaekel, Ebert!" Schmidt shouted. Two men jumped Mrs. Lowell, but even though Mrs. Lowell was forty-four, she still overpowered the two due to her experience in the military.
Schneider and Schmidt used this opportunity to escape through the back door.
Mrs. Lowell punched Jaekel and he went collapsing. Ebert dove for the gun, but she redirecting his line of fire and Ebert shot himself in the chest. He collapsed headfirst to the ground, dying almost instantly.
Jaekel gasped for air before he fell asleep.
Mrs. Lowell attended Cassie, who was covered with cuts and bruises and bloody wounds. "Cassie, don't worry, I am going to take you to the hospital." She called an ambulance.
"Mrs. Lowell, they took pictures of a book, it was one that concerned the Arctic," Cassie managed to say.
"They did?"
"They were German, and they were up to something," Cassie passed out.
Cassie regained consciousness and found herself in the hospital and a hospital gown while lying in a bed. She was hooked up to an I.V. bag and had an icepack on her busted lip. She looked to her left and saw that it was still nighttime (or very early in the morning). She looked to her right and saw Derek's parents sitting in chairs.
Cassie called them and they woke up.
"Cassie, sweetie are you alright?" Mrs. Lowell asked with concern.
"How are you feeling?" Mr. Lowell asked with a worried voice that matched Mrs. Lowell's.
"I'm doing fine, thank you," she answered somewhat sarcastically. "They beat me up, but I got a good night's sleep." She removed the ice pack from her busted lip. The wound was already starting to close up. "How long have I been out?"
"Two hours," Mr. Lowell put in for Cassie, "The doctors hooked you to an IV."
"I can see. What happened to the Germans?"
"Well, two escaped," Mrs. Lowell answered with a smirk. "And I beat up the other two called Jaekel and Ebert. I killed Ebert and Jaekel is currently in police custody."
"Who are these people?"
"We don't know. The captured German says he refuses to speak to anyone beside you."
"What?" Cassie looked confused. "Why would a German want to talk only to me?"
"We don't know, but if we want answers, we the choice is up to you."
"We don't know what this man called Jaekel is capable of," Mr. Lowell put in to remind them, "Why not we just beat it out of him?"
"I got a closer look at this man named Jaekel," Mrs. Lowell said with a somewhat sad voice, "He's...just a...kid. No older than seventeen."
"Why would he do this?"
"Who knows, but when Cassie recovers, he wants to talk to her immediately."
Cassie hesitated to talk. Was she going to talk to a killer? She might. She then remembered something. "Mr. and Mrs. Lowell, I remember something from these Germans."
"What do you remember?" Mr. Lowell asked first.
"The name was the first man was Schneider and the second man was Schmidt."
He held up four fingers. "Schneider, Schmidt, Ebert, and Jaekel. Four Germans. Ebert is dead, Jaekel is in custody and the other two are on the loose."
"I vaguely remember Schmidt says, in German, that Schneider found the book. He took pictures of some pages."
"Yeah, I looked at the book, it was a book about the Arctic explorer named Evelyn Baldwin. The pages that the Germans took pictures of was about a lost city in Iceland called Ultima Thule, and some kind of vital element called Vril."
"What is Vril and this Icelandic lost city called Ultima Thule?" Cassie asked, hoping that Derek's parents were well educated in archaeology.
"Well…" he began explaining something, "...Our son told us that Ultima Thule is a legendary city said to be located at the top of the world, also known as Iceland or the North Pole. Other names for Ultima Thule include Agartha and Shambhala, although your father already found both. Ultima Thule is just another lost city that is connected to the hollow earth theory."
"And this vital element called Vril?"
"Evelyn Baldwin wrote about it. To possess Vril, one becomes godlike, all but immortal. One hundred years ago exactly, a Nazi group of archaeologists called the Thule Society went looking for the vital element in the lost city to achieve world domination."
"So, they are Neo-Nazis?"
"They may be the Neo-Thule Society."
"Now we know who these Germans are." Cassie nodded. "I hate the Nazis."
Moments later, Derek Lowell came bursting into the room looking out of breath. He noticed Cassie on the bed and he went over there to check on her. "Are you all right?"
Cassie nodded, "I'm fine."
Derek was about to ramble on about how sorry he was until his mother slapped him upside the head and it startled him to the point where he was crouching down. "Where have you been, Derek Lowell?!" she roared at him, not attempt to mask her anger. Derek was scared on his knees and holding his hands up in front of him. "Do you not realize that because you were off with your girlfriend, that your best friend was almost beaten to death? Where is your shame?"
"I am ashamed, Mom. I was with Angie trying to figure out some important stuff, that's all. I didn't mean any harm to come Cassie's way."
"I'm not the one you need to apologize to. I want to let you know, boy, that if something like this happens again because of your absence, I will beat your head against the bumper of my car until the airbags deploy so apologize to your friend for not being there, right now!"
Derek trembled in his voice as he tried to utter out his apology, "I'm sorry." She pointed to Cassie to indicate to say it to her, which she did. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I'm sorry."
"Now, son, your father and I will be leaving because the two of you have some catching up to do. Understand?"
Derek nodded again. "Yes, ma'am." His heart dropped in his chest when he realized what he had just said. "I mean, yes sir." He knew that his mother hated being called ma'am, even during her time in the Navy she was called sir. After that, his parents left the room so the two young adventurers could catch up.
"Hey, Cass," he said awkwardly.
"You have quite the mom," she joked but he misinterprets and took offense.
"Easy, that's my mother."
"Hey, I'm just messing around," she apologized. "By the way, how is Angie? Her daughter yours?"
Derek was hesitant to answer but he still did. "Well, it turns out that I'm not the father. She didn't cheat on me, she just went to a sperm bank." Judging by his forced smile stretched across his face from ear to ear, he was awkwardly uncomfortable. "Yeah, so...that baby is anyone's except mine but I'm okay. She told me that she knows how much I love my treasure hunting life and she didn't want to interfere in any way. I didn't even know that sperm banks donate sperm to teens. I mean, she is eighteen but still a teen…" he was now rambling on and Cassie put a hand on his hand to shut him up. "I'm sorry for not being here tonight when you needed me."
"I'm alright," she reassured. "I chased them away."
A few days later, Cassie had recovered and was taken to the police station. Cassie was given water and a Popsicle. She was taken to the interrogation room where she got a clear view of the German named Jaekel. Jaekel was a five-foot-eleven, seventeen-year-old with stereotypical blonde hair, blue eyes, and light skin, but he also had a sad face. It was almost like he was forced to do what he did a few nights ago. When Jaekel noticed Cassie, he smiled with happiness.
He felt his heartbeat increase, he was attracted to her. Cassie sat down on the other side and offered him a cup of water. He accepted it and drank it whole. Cassie then took a drink of her water and stared at Jaekel with intensity.
"So why do you want to talk only to me?" Cassie asked.
"I wanted to apologize," He seemed sincere. "I never wanted to hurt you or your father, but the Neo-Nazis forced me to."
"So they are Neo-Nazis. Tell me about them."
He briefly choked on his words over the fear of his comrades getting mad at him. "Well, the Neo-Nazi leader is named Rudolf Schneider and his right-hand man is Hans Schmidt. There are actually seven of us total, but now there are only five left, with me captured and Ebert dead."
"Tell me their names?" Cassie asked politely.
"Well, I already told you about Rudolf and Hans, then there is Franz Kruger, Garrick Herrmann, and then there is Zelig Brandt." Jaekel donned a neutral expression over his face as he sold his allies.
"Thank you. Now, tell me the Neo-Nazis motives."
"Well," he huffed, "The Neo-Nazis are mercenaries, but continue with the work of their ancestors, but with different motives. While the original Thule Society wanted to use Vril for world conquest, the modern-day Thule Society wants to sell Vril to the highest bidder, concerned more about money than global domination."
"Tell me, where is this modern-day Thule Society?"
"I will tell you, on one condition." Jaekel had a smile.
Cassie gave a face of anger. "Jaekel, I am not going to get naked in front of you."
Jaekel's eyes were wide with anticipation. "That is not what I wanted, although…"
"Jaekel," she warned with venom in her voice.
"I would like you to kiss me."
Cassie stared at him with a serious look. "Are you for reals?" He nodded. "Fine." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
"On the lips." She did what he wanted and kissed him on the lips. His lips tasted like blood; to him, her lips tasted like cherry.
"Okay, I kissed you, now tell me where the Thule Society is," she demanded sternly.
"Okay, that is all I can tell you." He leaned in. "The seven of us Thule Society guys, we stayed at a warehouse that used to be a bottling factory for soda. It is on the other side of town. If you hurry, you might be able to catch them in time before they fly to Iceland. The book they took pictures of may contain clues to a possible location of Thule and Vril."
Cassie stood up and exited the room. She waved goodbye to Jaekel and regrouped with her parents. She told them everything that Jaekel told them.
"I may have to travel to Iceland and stop them if I can't stop them ahead of time, y' know?" Cassie told Derek's parents. "Your son might want to join me."
In the warehouse that Jaekel mentioned, the five members of the Thule Society sat a table at nighttime and played poker. While Hans, Franz, Garrick, and Zelig were focusing on poker, Rudolf was working on figuring out the clues to the map.
"Alright guys, I am in, I am all in," Garrick said, placing all his poker chips in. Zelig said nothing but threw his cards on the table, folding.
"I fold," Franz yielded.
"Me too," Hans then said.
"I am also in. All in." Looked up from the journal and looked at Garrick. Garrick revealed what his cards were.
"Flush to the ten."
Rudolf flipped his cards over. "Royal flush."
"What the hell!" Garrick spat angrily.
"Garrick, calm the hell down, we are playing for fun, and I am winning every one," Rudolf said with a sly smile.
"You are a sore cheater," Garrick snapped.
"And you're a sore loser." Rudolf countered.
"And a sore winner."
"At least I win," Rudolf said before extending his hand, offering Garrick a friendly handshake.
"Mama said never shake hands with a sore winner."
"Alright then, now can I get back to deciphering this journal please?" He resumed on deciphering.
Hans stood up and picked up a knife. He began playing five finger fillet. "Garrick, how about this, I challenge you to a game of five finger fillet. Three times in five seconds and you win a prize," Hans offered.
"No thanks, I hate knives," Garrick answered. Garrick turns to Zelig and Franz. "What about you Franz, Zelig?"
Zelig shook his head.
"Nein, I need my fingers," Franz said in a heavy German accent.
"Pussies," Hans called them.
"Alright Hans, you want a challenge, I'll give you a challenge." Franz stood up. "What is the prize?"
Hans pulled something from his neck. "The Iron Cross from 1944. It's yours if you win."
Franz grabbed a dagger and looked at Zelig. "Time me." Zelig nodded. "Now!" Franz completed the five finger fillet challenge, completing it in four seconds."Ja!"
"Assshole!" Hans scolded.
"I shoulda bet money on you, Franz. I wonder what our dead friend, Ebert Engel would have said," Garrick said excitedly.
"Yes you should've bet money, then you would gamble again and lose," Rudolf snarkily replied.
"Yeah well screw you too, Rudolf."
"Enough!" Rudolf snapped, "I have finally deciphered a possible map." Everyone curiously closed in. "Right now, the map does not provide a definite location, but the start of the trail to Ultima Thule may start in Reykjavik." He showed them a drawn map. "We take this ride to this isolated volcano somewhere out in the snowy wasteland, where we would crawl down into the active volcano and boom, we find Ultima Thule."
"Ultima Thule is inside a volcano, just like that?" Hans asked.
"Well, due to the intense heat, it prevents people from entering and going inside with helicopters will mysteriously and supernaturally cause the helicopters to malfunction, like a volcanic Bermuda Triangle in Iceland. We can't afford to waste any time. We must get to Iceland ASAP. Tomorrow, at dawn, we leave."
"What about Jaekel, he might have snitched on us," Garrick thought aloud.
"Which is why we need to leave at dawn. Once we get Vril, then we can kill Jaekel," Rudolf said with no sympathy in his voice nor regret in his voice.
It was now midnight and Cassie and Derek were already tracking down the warehouse the Jaekel told them about. It was nighttime and that helped with their stealth. They found the abandoned factory and slowly snuck in through a window. This place looked incredibly ancient but there were still empty soda bottles.
"So let me get this straight," Derek began whispering into Cassie's ear, "These Neo-Nazis are descendants of Nazis from the Thule Society?"
"Yep, Jaekel told me all about them," Cassie answered. "Even ninety years later, we still have to deal with the Nazis."
"Doesn't that Jaekel character seems suspicious, why would any Neo-Nazi willing give up information?"
"Willingly, only if I did something for him," Cassie smirked slightly.
"You had to do something for him?" He sounded annoyed. "Did he ask you to get naked in front of him?"
Cassie looked somewhat shocked. "No, but a kiss on the lips."
Derek felt something stabbed him in the chest. She kissed someone else and not him and he wanted to punch the lights out of Jaekel. He was overcome with jealousy.
"Just to let you know, Derek, I was picturing you when I kissed Jaekel," she appeased. Derek gave the biggest smile he could and sighed in relief. "Keep your voice down, Derek, I think I hear those Thule Fools."
Cassie and Derek were crawling underneath the ventilation shaft. They heard footsteps and voices above them. They carefully listened to the conversation.
"Okay, I called the airport and told them that Michael - us - are showing up at the airport at five o'clock and if we told the airport that if Michael fails to show up, then to call the police. We told them that we are government agents assigned to escort the president to Iceland for a peace conference." The voice that belonged to Rudolf.
"Sir, what do we do about the authorities?" an unidentified voice asked.
"Calm down, Garrick, chances are, the cops will chase after us and when we cross them, we will kill them," Rudolf answered.
"You are cold-blooded," Hans' voice said.
"That is why I am a Neo-Nazi, I love killing people, but having fun with girls." Rudolf laughed. "I'm more sadistic than Garrick."
"Before we leave," another unidentified voice said, "We should check on the whereabouts on our American friends."
"Good idea, Franz," Rudolf praised, "Zelig, call the police force, oh and hide your German accent. Gentlemen, get ready for a good night's sleep, we take off in five hours."
And with that, Cassie and Derek continued to crawl through the vents when the lights went out. They came out of the vents and found themselves hidden behind the poker table. They had spent a night playing poker.
Cassie searched the table and found nothing but a journal with Rudolf's name on it. She looked through it and saw that Rudolf had drawn a map. "Looks like our rube Neo-Nazis friends dared to draw us a map leading to Ultima Thule. How kind of them."
Cassie and Derek stayed up the rest of the night and went to the airport a quarter to five. If they got there on time, they could tell the airport that they are 'Michael' while the Neo-Nazis are people posing as 'Michael.' It was an ingenious plan.
Cassie was now dressed in a brown Henney shirt and jeans and wore custom made sneakers. Derek wore the same thing but a red white Henney.
Now running through the airport, they carried very little luggage, having already called Sam Drake and told them about the Neo-Nazis and to have equipment ready.
Just behind them, the five Neo-Nazis were hot on their trails. They left early because they discovered that their map was gone and figured that the Americans were already in possession of it.
Cassie made it to a checkpoint officer and told her that her name was Michael and Derek was his assistant, Michael. The checkpoint officer checks with airport security and they told that they called in earlier as special agents and their code name was Michael and they were assigned to escort the HVI to Iceland for a peace conference.
The checkpoint officer gave them their tickets and let them board the plane.
Just behind them, the Neo-Nazis, all who dyed their hair brown except for Rudolf, asked airport security if Michael was on the plane. Impatient and fueled by rage that he may lose his only chance to go to Iceland, Rudolf orders Zelig to seduce the checkpoint officer and steal five tickets to Iceland.
Zelig led the checkpoint officer to a storage room and knocked her out cold. He came out of the storage closet with five free tickets to Iceland.
They ran through the terminal and ran into Cassie and Derek. Cassie and Derek recognized Rudolf and a fight broke out. Cassie knocked Zelig into Franz while Derek headbutted both Garrick and Hans.
Rudolf punched Cassie in the jaw and kicked her to the ground. Derek elbowed Rudolf in the gut and pushed him into the group of downed Neo-Nazis. Derek helped Cassie to her feet and continued running down the terminal. They walked through the airplane door just as it closed.
Rudolf and his gang tried so hard to try and open the door but it wouldn't budge. The plane began to take off. Rudolf let go of the handle just at the plane took off but Garrick held a strong grip and was taken with the plane.
Cassie and Derek looked out a nearby window and saw Garrick desperately hanging onto the door's handle.
Cassie looked at Derek and joked, "There someone on the wing, some...thing."
Derek laughed. "What is it, ma'am?" Derek imitated. Then they were told by the flight attendant to sit down as they were getting ready to take off. They buckled up and Derek continued to look out the window.
The plane took off, but Garrick still held a strong grip on the handle. When they were about several thousand feet in the air, Garrick was beginning to lose his grip.
Derek motioned for Cassie to look out and they both saw Garrick hanging by one hand. It was getting suspenseful.
Garrick couldn't hold on anymore. He lost his grip. He gave a blood-curdling scream and fell thousands of feet to the earth. Cassie and Derek watched as Garrick disappeared into the clouds as he continued to fall to the earth.
"Four to go."
Iceland
In Iceland, two bandits were smoking a cigarette near a pier. The first bandit was named John Emerson and he was a brutal bandit. Not pity the weak or those he views as weak, he is a worthy ally of the Neo-Nazis.
The second bandit was his best friend named Albert Amundsen who was born in Turkey. Amundsen was a more compassionate man that Emerson was and that is usually what leads to conflict between the two.
Emerson's phone rang. He answers it quickly. "This is John Emerson of Iceland," he spoke and waited.
"Hell,o Emerson, nice to hear from you again," a voice belonging to Rudolf spoke.
"Hey Rudolph the rednosed dickhead," Emerson suddenly snapped.
"Don't call me that or I promise to kill you," the Neo-Nazi threatened.
"My mistake Herr Commandant," the bandit apologize sarcastically.
"Sarcastic, but thank you for calling me commander, makes me feel appreciated. Mr. Emerson, I have a job for you."
Emerson became curious. "What is your job for me?"
"I need you to capture two American individuals for me."
"Describe them."
"A male and female. The female is about five-foot-nine, nineteen years old, dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, and speaks with an American accent. The male is almost twenty, maybe six-foot-one has curly brown hair, and brownish-green eyes and also talks with an American accent."
"Sounds general, but I will keep a lookout for people who fit your description."
"If you capture these two individuals alive, then the awards will be great. We promise you a lot of money, but after you capture them and bring them two us alive."
Emerson expelled a sharp sign. "This is why nobody likes you, Rudolf, not only are you a Neo-Nazi, but you are also a treacherous ally. Me and Amundsen demand payment before services."
"If I did that, then how would I know you wouldn't betray me?"
"What choice do you have?"
"You have no leverage, I have the money. What if I pay you half and give you half when the job is done and I will pay you three times after we Neo-Nazis get what we want?"
Damn this guy was good. "Fine then. Five hundred dollars today, five hundred after we bring you and fifteen thousand after you get what you want."
"It is a deal."
Emerson hung up the phone and turned to his friend Amundsen. "Albert buddy, we have a new assignment. Capture a girl and man alive and bring them to the Neo-Nazis. We get paid?" Emerson's phone beeped. Five hundred dollars was wired to his and Amundsen's account. "We got five hundred dollars now and we will get five hundred dollars afterward. I get five hundred and you get five hundred."
"Sounds fair," Amundsen shrugged.
"Now where to start. I say we wait for them at the international airport. Call our buddies."
At the airport, Cassie's uncle, Samuel Drake was already waiting for Cassie to arrive. He was already sixty-two years old and using a cane to walk. Ever since his Libertalia adventure in Madagascar almost twenty years ago, Sam had settled down with a girl and got married and had at least three children, two girls, and a boy.
Cassie and Derek stepped off the plane and out of the terminal. They looked everywhere for Sam, they found him sitting near the janitor's storage room. Cassie smiled upon noticing her uncle.
"Uncle Sam!" she cheered. Sam got up and walked towards her, opening his arms so Cassie could hug him.
"Cassie, sweetie." They hugged each other tightly. He notices Derek. "And Derek, you look like you haven't changed in years. You still look like that kid I played basketball with."
Derek chuckled lightly over the memories, "I know, being as handsome as I make me look young."
Sam hugged Derek after letting go of Cassie. "I have the equipment for you, it's at my place. My cabin is in your cabin."
Derek and Cassie looked at each other and smirked. "This land is your land, this my land, from California to the New York Islands."
Sam joined in and all three sang. "This land was made for you and me." He laughed with the energy in his stomach. "You guys are crazy."
"Then why'd you sing with us, crazy?" Cassie shot back at him.
"You got me there." Sam began walking. "Follow me."
Cassie noticed the cane Sam was using. "Do you need a cane all the time?"
"No, I just pulled my hip, It'll heal in a few weeks."
Just outside of their reach, the Neo-Nazis had arrived on the next immediate flight to Iceland and they were unnoticed by Cassie, Derek or Sam, and they were unnoticed by the Neo-Nazis.
Rudolf spoke in English to his friends. "We already have our allies ready to help us. I have a photographic memory, and If I could, I could lead us to the 'Palace.' "
"Garrick would be proud," Franz said in Italian that barely masked his German accent.
"We will avenge our friend," Hans said in French. They began speaking in multiple languages to distract any nearby enemies. Rudolf spoke in Serbian, Hans spoke in French, Franz in Italian, and Zelig in Polish. If Garrick was alive, he would have spoken in Spanish, and Ebert in Belgium and Jaekel would have spoken in Russian.
Most of the Neo-Nazis, if not all four of them had imagined them capturing Cassie and forcing her out of her clothes and forcing her to dance for them and then they would each take turns having fun with her and then sell her.
"So, what does this American look like?" Franz asked in Italian.
"I guess I can show you guys a picture. Let's go somewhere private," Rudolf told in Serbian. He took the three Neo-Nazis into the nearest corner and showed them a picture of Cassie, the one he took of Cassie the night she was sleeping before he and Hans broke into her house and took pictures of the book.
He smiled. When he took that picture, he may have been caressing her cheek and tried to sneak a kiss on her. But, he backed away from the opportunity, deciding to save her for the time when they had her.
Rudolf and the three Neo-Nazis followed Cassie, Derek, and Sam to his suite. They snuck onto the balcony and stalked them. At the airport, they bumped into Cassie and Derek by accident but the three failed to recognize them. They followed them and decided to stalk them, waiting for the right moment.
While Cassie was in the bathroom, Zelig was watching her draw a bath. He smiled when he saw her in nothing but a towel wrapped tightly around her chest. Rudolf, Hans, nor Franz noticed so Zelig caught to see Cassie naked all by himself. Then he remembered, she was nineteen and he was twenty-six. It was gross, he was a pedophile. Who cares though? His eyes and smile widened when he saw Cassie completely naked and chuckled. Oh hell yeah!
Inside, Derek and Sam were talking about the Neo-Nazis. Derek was describing the seven Neo-Nazis and how Jaekel was in jail while Ebert and Garrick were killed. When Derek mentioned Jaekel's name, Sam grew more curious than cautious.
"Jaekel was the name of one of my workers," Sam told us the name came to his mind. Cassie came out of the bathroom fully dressed with her hair wet. Smoke was emitting from her body, she just took a long bath.
"Derek, the bath's all yours," Cassie bowed dramatically. Derek then got his clothes and went in. Zelig and Franz were now watching through the window. When Zelig wasn't looking Franz saw Derek naked. He looked away instantly and looked at Zelig with a mixture of anger and disgust.
When Derek was out, Sam decided to tell them both about Jaekel. Jaekel was one of the excavators working for Sam, specifically, he was his right-hand man in the project. Jaekel hacked into Sam's phone and found out the location of Derek's house. How they knew about the Arctic explorer Evelyn Baldwin remains a mystery.
"I have a theory, what if somehow, they were looking for maps to lost treasures rather than Ultima Thule specifically?" Cassie told. "Them stumbling upon the book about Vril and Ultima Thule was a blessing in disguise to them."
"I think that is a good theory," Derek supported, fury building up within him for not being home that night when Cassie was attacked.
Sam then told, "That German named Jaekel is about to sentenced to death for Nazism, breaking, assault and battery, and terrorism."
"But we thought Jaekel was forced to join the Neo-Nazis."
"No, turns out we looked at Jaekel profile. He is a real monster. He voluntarily joined for money." Derek explained the evidence to Cassie.
Suddenly, all the remorse and empathy she felt for Jaekel had shattered. She was forced to kiss a Neo-Nazi, she would have to wash her mouth and lips for a whole week. "That son of a bitch."
"I know, but we have four more Neo-Nazis to deal with and we have to find Vril before them," Sam told.
"Once we find Ultima Thule…" Derek paused. "...if we find Ultima Thule and Vril, what do we do next?"
"Well, I vote that we destroy Vril and prevent anybody from getting it," Cassie answered. "I'm sure Uncle Sam agrees."
"I do. I used to be in it for money, but not anymore."
"We know that, Uncle Sam. Mom and Dad told me all their adventures that happened. Since Derek and I want to be archeologists, we do things for research, but this is a race against evil. In one of Baldwin's quotes, all matter yields to Vril. To possess it is to become godlike, all but immortal. Build or destroy cities in a single day."
"It's very terrifying," Derek emphasized in a nonchalant tone.
"I heard a rumor that there is this one terrorist group called something; I am pretty sure it starts with an O," Cassie tried remembering. "This terrorist group wants to conquer the world. If the Neo-Nazis sell the Vril, then there will be nothing stopping them."
"Okay, we will set out to look for Ultima Thule tomorrow. Get some shut-eye," Sam ordered before he took action for himself.
Cassie and Derek went into one room and saw that there was only one bed. Cassie got the bed while Derek sat on the floor. There was nothing inappropriate between them.
Outside, the Neo-Nazis were freezing their asses off. Franz and Zelig had ice forming on their heads while Rudolf and Hans were freezing like ice cycles.
Rudolf turns to Hans. "Tell me, Hans, that we have received the payment from that terrorist group."
Hans shook his head. "They refuse to pay us unless we bring them the substance."
"Then let's not disappoint them." Rudolf devised a plan. "Alright new plan." The three Neo-Nazis gazed at Rudolf. "Me, Hans and Emerson are going to kidnap Sam and force Cassie to lead us to Ultima Thule. Franz and Zelig, you two and Emerson's partner, Amundsen, will kidnap Derek as a contingency plan. If she refuses to cooperate, kill Derek. If she refuses to look for Thule, kill Sam. Two birds with one stone."
Hans, Franz, and Zelig all smiled. They did the Nazi salute and said 'Heil Hitler.' "
"Shut up you pricks, not out here!" They put their hands down immediately.
At around three o'clock in the morning, the four Neo-Nazis met Emerson, Amundsen, and eight other bandits.
"Where's our money?" Emerson demanded fiercely. He held out his hand to emphasize his point. Rudolf paid him a couple of American dollars. "Why American?"
"It was all we could obtain," Rudolf answered in a mock sympathetic voice. "Plus, I kinda like America."
"When I am in America, I will use these." Emerson looked around. "Where are the Americans?"
"Change of plans, we decided to kidnap Derek and Cassie's Uncle Sam and coerce her into helping us find Ultima Thule. We know that she is the Daughter of Nathan Drake so she could be very useful."
Emerson had heard of Ultima Thule but had no interest in it, only money. "What's the plan?"
"Emerson, you, me, and Hans will take Sam into custody while Franz, Zelig and your friend will kidnap Derek." Rudolf looked at the bandit reinforcements. "I see you have eight bandits, we each get four."
"You are in no position to negotiate," Emerson challenged again.
"I'm not negotiating, I'm being serious," Rudolf said in a very serious voice. He pulls something out from his back pocket, his phone. "You see, on my phone, it said I already paid you. I have the money and just to point out, you are a liar."
"Screw you," Emerson said.
"Please excuse my goddamn Serbian and Icelandic, but did you just curse me?" Rudolf's voice almost pierced Emerson.
Hans, Franz, and Zelig aimed guns at Emerson. Amundsen and the eight bandits aimed guns at the four Neo-Nazis.
"You are outnumbered, Rudolf," Emerson pointed out.
"Well, you are outwitted," Rudolf spat back. "If you kill me, then how will you get the rest of the money? And if I don't find where that lost city, then how will you get the grand prize? You can kill me, but you may never get a chance with this much money again. This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Emerson did not hesitate. He ordered his bandits to lower their weapons. "Rudolf, you have a deal."
Rudolf smiled. He looked over his shoulder and saw Franz and Zelig looking through the window, trying to see if either Cassie, Derek, or Sam were awake. Franz and Zelig smiled mischievously.
"Franz, Zelig, fall back in formation," Rudolf ordered to the two young Neo-Nazis. Franz and Zelig did as they were told. "Franz, Zelig, Amundsen, you guys kidnap Derek first." He then turned back to Emerson. "We kidnap Sam in ten minutes. So you and Hans get ready."
Then, two minutes later, Franz, Zelig, and Amundsen snuck into the place through an unlocked window and went into the bedroom. They found Derek fast asleep in one of the bedrooms and they slowly pulled him out. While Franz and Amundsen were pulling Derek out of bed, Zelig was watching Cassie make sure she wasn't going to wake up.
Franz turned and hit Zelig hard in the shoulder. "Zelig, wait until the time has come. Understand?" Franz whispered angrily. Zelig rubbed his shoulder and begrudgingly nodded. Zelig then mouthed the words To hell with you' to Franz.
Cassie woke up and found both Derek and Sam gone. She looked at her watch and saw it was barely five o'clock in the morning. She called out to them and searched everywhere. The only clue to where Derek and Sam were was a note on the coffee table. The handwriting was unrecognizable. It was one of the German's handwritings.
She read the note. It was written on both sides. She gulped water and read it.
To Cassie Drake. Hello Cassie Drake. My name is Zelig Brandt but I am writing on behalf of Rudolf Schneider, Hans Schmidt, and Franz Kruger. And our icelandic friends emerson and amundsen. We have kidnapped your friends derek lowell and your uncle sam drake. If you want to see them alive, then you must do something for us. You must find Ultima Tool and bring us back Vril. don't try to follow us. If you refuse to cooperate, we kill derek. If you don't bring us vril, we kill uncle sam. God do I hate Uncle Sam. that bitch is named after the country I despise. Well kill your uncle sam and Uncle Sam. anyway, if you don't do anything we tell you too, then we kill both derek and sam instantly. On the back of the paper is a map of evelyn baldwin's map to Ultima Tool. you have two days to find it. Remember, bring us back vril or we kill sam and then derek. Have fun. By the way, Rudolf took a picture of you in your sleep and wanted me to tell you. Also, I saw you draw a bath and I saw you in nothing but a towel. You are very sexy (picture of a smiley face). I'd love to chat but Rudolph the red nosed reindeer is calling me. Auf wiedersehen und viel glück in finding Tool. Love Zelig Brandt.
Cassie put the paper down. She couldn't believe this was happening...a Neo-Nazi saw her naked, how humiliating. And her friend and uncle were missing. Cassie buried her face into her hands. What was she going to do? She had to find where this 'Ultima Tool' was if she wanted both Derek and Sam to survive. Their lives depended on it.
She took a look at the map. The route to Ultima Thule started in Reykjavik and ended at some kind of volcano. If she had to go on this quest alone, then she will go on the quest alone. One way or another, she was going to defeat the Neo-Nazis and these Icelandic friends of the Neo-Nazis.
"Rudolf, Hans, Zelig, Franz, Emerson, Amundsen. I will kill all of you if you lay a single finger on either of them." She vowed to herself. "If you so much as even touch a hair on Derek and I will murder all of you." Ebert and Jaekel were already defeated, just six left to beat. By the way, she saw it, there were three options.
One, she killed them all slowly and painfully after finding Vril and Ultima Thule for taking away her Derek.
Two, she gives up her soul and body to the Neo-Nazis to free them after finding Vril and Thule but she could never share a (possible) one-night stand with Derek later.
Three, she plays along with them, seduces all the Neo-Nazis while looking for Vril and Thule.
She has made her conclusion. She was going to go with the third option. She was going to seduce them and kill them. She had to find Vril and Ultima Thule not because she was forced to, but because she was lustful for another adventure and she wants to spend this adventure with Derek. She began packing up all her stuff and grabbed her map and journal. Since the beginning of the trail began in Reykjavik, she was going to get a taxi ride to Reykjavik and then begin her quest. She walks downstairs and checked out. She flagged down a taxi and told the driver to take them to Reykjavik. Inside, there was another passenger but had his back turned to her. She looked up in the rearview mirror and saw the driver. There was something familiar about the driver. The driver looked at the mirror and smiled. It was the Neo-Nazi named Franz. The other passenger was Zelig.
Franz parked taxis in an alleyway that was surrounded by Amundsen and four bandits from both sides. Zelig forced Cassie out and Franz confronted her.
"Hey there, Cassie, I see you got Zelig note. He has a learning disability y' know." Franz told. That would explain all the grammar errors. "So, you decided to look for Ultima Thule?"
"I sure did uhh…" Cassie began. "Franz?"
Franz nodded. "Correct. So, since you are going to find Ultima Thule, Rudolf told us that we are to follow you and make sure you don't pull any fast ones." Franz signaled for one of the bandits. He brought Derek all tied up and gagged. Another bandit put a pistol to Derek's temple.
"Remember, you pull any tricks, we kill Derek as a lesson for refusal to cooperate." Franz reminded.
"Why didn't you just kidnap all three of us and get it over with?"
"That would've been boring and Rudolf has a love for drama so we decided to spare you from being captured when we snuck into your suite."
"Franz, I want you to know one thing: Screw you."
Cassie and Derek were loaded in the back of a pickup truck. Derek was loaded in the front pickup truck while Cassie was in the other pickup truck. They began driving from Reykjavik and into the snowy wastelands of the snowy desert. The volcano to Ultima Thule was at least seventeen miles away in the middle of nowhere. Good thing they brought food, water, and blankets. All the guns and equipment that Cassie brought were confiscated, but for some odd reason, they let Cassie keep her pistol, albeit unloaded.
Franz and Zelig were in the front truck with Amundsen while the four bandits were guarding Cassie.
Cassie had to escape. She was quickly devising a plan. When the bandits were distracted, she was going to fight. One of the bandits was already touching her, but not raping her. When the bandit began caressing her inner thigh, she got so pissed. She jumped up and butted him in the gut and knocked him off the moving truck. Cassie pulled out her gun and hit another bandit in the head with the butt of the gun. The bandit went falling backward and off the truck. The last bandit reacted more quickly and attacked Cassie, almost shoving her off the truck. she knees him in the groin and shoves him off and to his doom.
It was time to commandeer the truck. Cassie climbs to the front of the pickup truck and crawls in through the passenger door. She gives a kick and the bandit driving and was kicked out. She jumps in the driver's seat and began driving.
Derek had noticed and waited for the right moment to attack Franz and Zelig.
All of a sudden, storm clouds began to form above them, indicating a flash thunderstorm. Thunderstorms in Iceland were very rare but this was like a blessing from the skies. Franz and Zelig looked up in amazement were attacked.
Cassie caught up, hit the cruise control and jumped into the truck with Derek, Franz, Zelig, and Amundsen. She helped Derek beat up Franz and Zelig. Amundsen was driving, but he was zigzagging to try and shake the Americans off.
Cassie and Derek fought the two Germans and were overpowered. When Zelig punched Cassie flat on her back, he laughed. He turns to Franz. Franz had beaten up Derek.
"Franz, these women. I knew they were the weakest of them all. Especially a woman like Cassie," Zelig said finally.
Cassie took extreme offense to what he said and kicked Zelig as hard as she could in the kneecap, breaking his leg before she kicked him in the groin. The blow was so powerful, it knocked him to his knees and he screamed in intense agony as his knee broke even more. Cassie proceeded with a kick to the face. Zelig went crashing into Franz and they both fell, almost falling out the truck.
Derek jumped backed into the driverless pickup truck and commandeered it. He waited for Cassie to jump in. She jumped but it resulted in her almost falling. She barely grabbed onto the back as Derek sped past the truck with Franz, Zelig, and Amundsen.
A lightning bolt struck the mountain beside them. A fifty-foot avalanche began to rain down. Cassie noticed and told Derek to drive faster. He drove as fast as he could with the avalanche closing in and the remaining pickup truck only a few yards away, yet Cassie struggled to climb back in.
Franz and Zelig looked up at the mountain and saw the fifty-foot avalanche finally after several late moments They gave a face of terror. Even Amundsen saw the avalanche from the windowless roof. All three of them screamed with terror (their last scream of terror). The avalanche consumed the truck and barely missed the pickup truck with Cassie and Derek. The avalanche finally died down, ending, barely missing Cassie and Derek by inches. Cassie let go of the truck as Derek put it into park.
Cassie and Derek jumped out of the car, ran up to each other like lovers that haven't seen each other in years and they hugged each other. Once the hug broke apart, they looked down the mountain to see the aftermath of the destruction. The pickup truck was nowhere in sight, it was buried deep in the snow. They gave a deep sigh of relief. There was no doubt that Franz, Zelig, and Amundsen were dead and buried deep in the snow for no one to discover.
"First Ebert, then Jaekel, then Garrick, and now Franz and Zelig," Derek counted.
"Three to go."
All Cassie could think of was the extreme coldness combined with the thunderstorm going on. The pickup truck they were in just died and now they were forced to walk the remaining ten miles to the volcano. At least it will be hot once we get there, she thought.
The snow made it cold, the rain made it even colder. Chances are, she would get hypothermia and die. Derek managed to retrieve their confiscated equipment and was now walking in the direction that led to nowhere. She thought of walking back to civilization but she remembered that Rudolf threatened to kill her uncle if she didn't find Ultima Thule.
Derek stopped Cassie. "C-C-Cassie, I have to t-t-tell you s-s-something."
"W-w-what?" Cassie asked in between shivers.
"R-R-Rudolf knows where we a-a-are. He put a G-P-S in your water. Tell me y-y-you didn't drink any w-w-water." Derek could see his breath; neither of them was used to this kind of temperature because they were so used to the tropical Hawaiian environment. Cassie had suddenly remembered before she read the note, she gulped water. It must have contained some kind of GPS liquid tracker that contaminated the water.
"I drank water at the suite," she said. She rubbed her stomach as if she was pregnant. "I drank the water before reading the note. That must be how Franz and Zelig found me."
Derek slowed his breathing a bit, "It's alright. It's a good thing," he said optimistically. "Because Rudolf and Hans will have to be here with Sam to see Ultima Thule for themselves and for us to give them Vril. They will come here with a truck, meaning we could drive back to civilization."
"That is a very good idea, Derek," Cassie said, slowing her shivering.
Derek hugged Cassie to keep her warm. The rain began pouring down their heads. Cassie hugged him back, not to keep him warm, but to show him affection. She felt the beat of his heart, and to her, it made her feel loved.
Derek put one of his hands behind Cassie's head. He felt his lips on her hair, but could not feel anything. His lips were frozen solid.
Cassie squeezed tighter on her hug. Being this close to her reminded her that she dreamt of making love to him. At that moment, that was all she wanted to do. Plus, it would warm us up.
Derek gave a sharp inhale. At that moment, he wanted to make love to her too. They could if they built a fire but making love in this wasteland was the last place any couple would want to do. Plus, they had to save Sam and they were not going to risk his life over a good ten or twelve minutes of mind-blowing sex. Either way, they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend and neither one knew they had feelings for the other.
"Cassie, have I ever told you…" He was about to tell her how much he loves her but was muted by the lightning flash.
"What?" Cassie shouted over the aftershock.
"Never mind." Then there was a clap of thunder. Nighttime was beginning to fall. "We have to find shelter!" he shouted.
They broke the hug and began running; they tired out easily. They had to escape the storm immediately. All luck had seemed to run out until they found a cave. They ran straight for it, ignoring all obstacles in their path.
"Yes, we did it!" Cassie cheered.
"Hell yeah!" Derek cheered as well, patting her on the back. "We got to strip out of these wet clothes."
"Yeah, you wish " Cassie laughed at him.
"I won't look. And it's either that or we freeze to death." He stripped out of his clothes first. He turned his back just as Cassie stripped out of her clothes. He tried his hardest to look away but curiosity had completely overwhelmed him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Cassie's naked back and she was sexy from her head to toe.
Derek felt his breathing increase and his heartbeat so fast he thought it would explode. He looks back and he gives an amused smile. Cassie, you are very, very sexy.
Cassie watched Derek sleep. She was fully aware of the fact that he was looking at her when she was naked, yet she took it as a compliment. She also watched as he stripped out his clothes.
Cassie looked down and saw she was still naked, and no doubt that Derek was waiting. She decided to give him what he wants. Besides, he was still naked. When he sensed Cassie was in front of her, he opened his eyes. He saw Cassie naked. His eyes widened. He passed out from excitement.
Cassie put on a blanket and sat down next to Derek. The fire was the second thing warming up, the first thing was her love for Derek. She passed out.
Cassie woke up, still undressed and watching Derek trying to create an even bigger fire. When Derek saw Cassie, still naked, he looked away. He did not want to pass out once again. He snuck another look at her. She didn't seem to mind, so he kept looking at her. He felt his mouth dry up. He was going to pass out once again. He fell on his back, but the pain snapped him awake.
"Derek you have got to stop passing out on me," she worried.
"I can't help it," he stares at her chest but not something he was doing voluntarily. "You look…" He begins to lose consciousness once again and his eyes rolled to the back of his skull. Cassie slaps him awake. "...look very attractive, especially…" He points her chest. "...there." He lost consciousness again.
Cassie looked down at the once again unconscious Derek, how vulnerable he looked, so vulnerable. So kissable. She leans down and attempts to kiss Derek, then remembered, he might not love her and if she was going to kiss him, it was going to be mutual. She retracts her head back.
She put on fresh clothes and continued to sit by the fire. Once Derek woke, he put on clothes. They had to keep moving. Both of them; Sam's life depended on it. They were about to move out until they heard a ringing sound. It was coming from one of the bags. Cassie goes to investigate and finds a satellite phone.
"Hello," she spoke into the phone.
"Cassie, what are you doing on the phone?"
She smiled at that voice, "Rudolf, wazzup?! Franz and Zelig are dead, along with Amundsen. Derek and I are chilling out here in a cave and I was informed by him that you put a GPS tracker in a drink, am I correct?"
"Ja. Is it that you want Cassie? We still have your uncle in custody. Have you found us Ultima Thule?"
"No... But, since you lost your cooperation tool, Derek, and all you have is your 'Fine Me Ultima Thule' tool, then we are going to negotiate."
"Name your price. Must be reasonable."
"I want you, along with all of your buddies to drive up here with Sam and the other Icelandic bandits that you have left with you. You drive us to the volcano and you must physically come with us to Thule."
"Hmm, sounds fair, but you are in no position to reason with. But I'll humor you."
"You got us on GPS, you know where to go. Meet us here ASAP."
"Fine then. Like we said, no stunts aloud. We will be there in exactly two hours." Rudolf then hung up.
"Derek, in just two hours, the remaining Neo-Nazis and Icelandic bandits will be coming our way. If they want Vril, let's give them Vril." Cassie said in a thrilling voice, excited that she was going to find another lost city.
Two hours later, Rudolf and the other bandits and the last Neo-Nazi came in a big truck and drove Cassie and Derek to the volcano.
"You better not be screwing with us, Drake," Hans warned Cassie.
"Shut up, Hands," Cassie mocked, "Do you want to think I would chance it, especially since my uncle is in the back?"
Hans hesitated to answer. He knew she was right. Nobody would chance their family member's life. "Hey, how long till we get to the volcano?" he asked Rudolf, who was driving.
"We should be here right now." Rudolf pulled the truck to a stop. In front of them was a volcano. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the entrance to Ultima Thule."
Cassie and Derek were forced to climb up the mountain first while Emerson had Sam held at gunpoint at the back of the group.
When they climbed up to the top, they looked down into the volcano. It was filled with lava. The only walkway was at the bottom near the lava. Cassie rappelled down with the rope the bandits and Neo-Nazis brought and everyone followed.
Once they were on the narrow walkway, they began walking into this cave. This triangular cave that looked to be the entrance to Ultima Thule.
Once they were out of the cave, they found themselves in a big room. A big room with a metallic door.
"So, this is the real entrance to Ultima Thule. A door." Rudolf slaps Cassie on the back of the head with the butt of his pistol. "Open the door."
"Fine then. To hell with you, by the way, considering that we are already in Hell." She started rubbing the dirt off the door. She found something written in perfect English. 'The Fire in Ultima Thule is inextinguishable' it read. It must have been left by Baldwin himself. Was he speaking literally, or figuratively? They will find out soon.
Cassie finds three holes in the door. All of them hollow and deep enough to reach into. Cassie reaches into the middle one. Derek reaches into the left one. Rudolf ordered Sam to reach into the right one.
"So, how does this work?" Derek asked. He felt a lever. So did Sam and Cassie.
"I think we have to pull them at the same time," Sam suggested.
"Shut up and open the door. Time's a-wasting," Rudolf threatened and to show he was serious, he orders Hans, Emerson and the four bandits to aim their guns at them.
"Okay enough stalling. Ready to pull in three, two, one," Cassie counted down and all three pulled the levers at the same time.
The three pulled their arms out just at the door opened. It opened and Cassie and Derek were looking at none other than Ultima Thule itself.
"Wow," Cassie muttered.
"Amazing," Derek gasped.
"Just like the old days," Sam smiled.
"Vril, here we come," Rudolf cheers.
"It is much more beautiful than I thought!" Hans yelled.
"You got that right," Emerson licked his lips.
"Cassie, being a lady and lead the way for us," Rudolf order misogynistic all. Hans then once again held Sam at gunpoint.
The city was majestic and seemed to resemble some kind of palace. The path had a long and red bridge that all ten of them could past. Hopefully, they didn't encounter any supernatural creatures.
"So, Cassie. Are you ready to find Vril?" Rudolf asked rhetorically, "Once we find Vril, we sell it to the highest bidder and then we go find another mythical substance of power and sell it and so on."
"I hate people like you, Rudolf. You're a monster," Cassie insulted while walking forward. Once they crossed the long bridge, they had to walk through a series of mazes. It was like a long lost labyrinth.
"You better not be leading me into a dead end. Especially since we have our cooperation tool back," Rudolf reminded.
"Yeah yeah." Cassie rolled her eyes.
"We will then kill Derek and Sam when we're done," the Neo-Nazi said in a deep voice with a dark tone behind it. "Then, we would have you, temporarily, and then we would also sell you to the highest bidder."
Cassie felt rage fuming inside her. If she could turn into the She-Hulk, she would sure as hell want to. She turned around in an instant and punches Rudolf without even premediating it. The Neo-Nazi goes colliding with Hans and Emerson. Derek and Sam used this opportunity to attack the four bandits.
The four bandits were shoved to the floor and the three made a run for it. The four bandits tried to shoot at them, but as soon as they fired, all four of them caught on fire.
Rudolf, Hans, and Emerson gave chase. Somehow, they tired out quickly and watched as Cassie, Derek and Sam ran as fast and painful as they could.
"Stop, catch your breath," Cassie huffed and puffed, breathing in deeply.
"What the hell is going on? How did those four bandits catch fire?" Derek asked in an outraged tone.
"As long as we are still alive, who cares?" Sam asked.
"Shit!" she suddenly remembered. "We can't use our guns or else we'll catch fire. Something on the door, written in English, most likely, Baldwin, said that fire in this place is supernaturally inextinguishable."
"So, that means if we were to catch fire, then we can't put it out. We would burn to death." Derek pieced together.
"That means we got to watch our step," Sam warned, "We could use the inextinguishable fire to our advantage. We could force Rudolf, Hans, and Emerson to fire at us and they would catch fire."
"Good idea," Cassie nods, "We have to find Vril though. We have to find it and destroy it and makes sure it stays a myth."
"Yeah. If someone else finds Ultima Thule after today, they might take Vril and sell it. We can't allow that," Derek added.
"If my theory is correct, then Vril will be at the center of the city. We better get a move on." Cassie and Derek followed Sam.
After walking for several minutes, wanting to save their energy, they found a giant chamber that had some kind of furnace. Inside the furnace was some kind of green substance. Cassie went into to investigate but remembered that it was in a furnace that was on fire.
Cassie could throw a grenade in and blow up Vril but her thinking process was interrupted with: "Danke Schon, Cassie Drake. Danke schön."
"Rudolf, you son of a bitch," she cursed at him.
"What did you just call me, Drake?" Rudolf spat angrily, "You curse me one more time, Drake, I promise to break both your legs and make your life a living hell."
"It seems that we are both equally matched. Since its three on three," Hans pointed out.
Derek felt extreme rage at what Rudolf said when he said he would kill him and Sam and sell Cassie. He wanted to charge at Rudolph and toss him into the fire. But revenge is a dish best served cold.
Rudolf notices the Vril substance. "Cassie, once again, be a lady and grab the Vril substance."
"Nein," Cassie laughed at him mockingly.
"I won't ask you again. Get the Vril substance, or we will kill both Derek and Sam." Rudolf's voice had a more threatening tone. Cassie shook her head. "Hans, shoot Sam. Emerson shoot Derek in the throat."
"Go on, no hesitation," she chanced.
He hesitated. Nothing seemed to break this girl. He was going to have to grab Vril himself. Rudolf puts his gun in his belt and heads for the furnace. He reaches in, avoiding the flames, and grabs cover his hand in the greenish Vril substance.
His sleeve caught fire, however. "Shit." He rubbed the flames off in time and his hand was completely covered in the greenish substance called Vril.
The fire on his sleeve was not out; it was spreading up his arm. "Oh crap!" He was scared now. He attempts to put it out but it wouldn't. After that, he tried to wriggle out of his shirt, but the flames had already reached his jeans. Cassie charges forward and shoves him into the furnace. His entire body caught fire. Hans and Emerson went to go put him out. They yanked him out the furnace and tried to put out the flames. They only succeeded in getting each other sleeves caught on fire.
"Help!" Emerson screamed.
"Oh, Mein Gott!" Hans yelled.
Both of them screamed as their entire bodies caught fire and they tried to drop and roll. They screamed in intense agony and they felt their organs starting to burn. They gave one more shout as their lives were finally extinguished.
Rudolf was completely engulfed in flames. He was standing up with his skin black and still on fire. He growls at Cassie and lunges. She moved out of the way in time and Rudolf went crashing into the wall. He inhales deeply. He wasn't dying for some reason. It must have been the Vril on his hand from what she deduced.
But time was giving and the Vril substance was beginning to burn. Rudolf stood up once more and walked clumsily towards Cassie, like a zombie.
"You did this to me!" Rudolf managed to say in a groggy voice. "You did this to me, Cassie Drake." And with that, Rudolf fell backward. He fell flat on his back. This time, permanently.
"We did it!" Derek cheered, "We defeated all the bandits and Neo-Nazis."
"We sure did Derek," Sam panted. "We gotta get out of here. We gotta destroy Vril."
"It's a good thing that Hans had a grenade on him and I managed to grab it in time," Cassie smiled.
Christmas
Maui
Dawn me now our gay apparel. Fa la la, la la la, la la la. Tis the season to be jolly. Fa la la la la, la la, la la.
Cassie began singing with her family. Christmas had arrived and right now, they were eating dinner at the table. A nice big turkey dinner. Sitting beside Cassie at the big dinner table was Derek, Sam, Elena, Nate, her grandfather Sully, Derek's mother and father, and Sam's wife and children. Even Angie and her daughter named Tiffany joined them and Tiffany sat on Derek's lap like she was his daughter.
The big family began their prayer. Nate was narrating something from the Book of Ezekiel.
When the prayer was done, Nate began cutting the turkey. Slowly, but surely. Once he cut the turkey, everyone began discussing what they got for Christmas. Cassie listened to all of them while eating the turkey. This was just the kind of Christmas she liked. When she spent it with her family, eating turkey and drinking hot chocolate.
So, after the ordeal adventure was over with and after Cassie set Ultima Thule on fire with the grenade, she began telling her entire family about the little adventure she and Derek shared, and Sam was their witness.
She and Derek told everything but left out the part where they were naked inside the cave. Not worth it (especially with Angie's daughter sitting on Derek's lap).
"First, that underground world at Easter Island, and now Ultima Thule." Cassie's Father began, "And Derek, the Peaches of Immortality in the Gobi Desert. What is next for Cassie Drake and Derek Lowell?"
Cassie looked at Derek and smiled. "All I can say is a lot more adventures in the future. I can already see us looking for the Noah's Ark, Xibalba, and the City of the Caesars."
"Or proving that mythical things like the Staff of Moses, the Dragon, and the Spear of Destiny is real," Derek added in his imagination.
"Y'know, kids. When me and Nate here first met," Sully began, "I saw great things in our future. We found El Dorado, Iram of the Pillars, and Libertalia. No doubt you guys can do the same."
"Thanks for the encouraging words Sully," Cassie said with a smile.
"No problem. Remember, if you guys ever need help, or contact, don't hesitate to call me."
"We won't, Sully," Derek said with a nod.
Derek looked and saw Cassie's hand. He felt a sensation in his hand to hold Cassie's hand. Not yet, Derek. Not yet.
"You guys got any plans?" Cassie's mother asked.
Cassie and Derek looked at each other. "Atlantis." They said at the same time.
"If anyone is going to find Atlantis, I rather it is us," Cassie said. "Where will you start?"
"The Mediterranean," Derek answered off the bat.
Yeah, Cassie thought to herself. She gave a warm smile to herself. Life is sweet. I am glad I was born into this life.
The End of Chapter 3