Shadow Warrior: Destiny of a Mutant (10 page)

Will continued climbing for another three hours. By then it was dark and cold; the wind was blowing the snow around briskly. The climb up the mountain had become considerably more difficult. Will estimated that at his current rate of ascent he was close to the 21,000 foot elevation mark, with his target elevation being 27,500 feet. Will estimated that he should arrive at his target location in a few more hours, as long as the weather held and there were no other unexpected delays.

Will decided that he should get some rest and continue at first light. Fifteen minutes later, Will found a small cave in which he could bed down for the night. Will bundled up in his warm fur and drifted off to sleep within a couple of minutes of laying down on his straw filled bedroll.

***

The next morning Will awoke to a beautiful, but cold, morning sunrise. After eating a quick breakfast of dried beef and dried fruit, he began the final leg of his ascent. Although the morning sun was gorgeous, it was almost blinding in its intensity. The wind was only a light breeze, but he knew this could change at any time. Will climbed quickly. There were only a few occasions in which he had to leap a wide chasm, leap up to a ridge above his head or use the snowshoes or metal hook with the rope attached to it.

The sun lasted until the third hour of his climb, when the clouds rolled in like the wave of a tsunami. Within fifteen minutes, the weather had depreciated severely. The winds were steady at a blustery thirty knots, with gusts reaching forty or fifty knots, and increasing by the minute. The snow had reached the point of being whiteout conditions. Visibility was less than ten feet. Will’s pace had slowed somewhat. At times it was difficult to keep his bearings, but somehow Will felt that he was being led to where he needed to go. Higher and higher he climbed.

Another three hours passed. Will felt he was getting close to his destination, but the wind had increased to a steady fifty knots, with gusts nearing sixty-five or seventy knots. Visibility in the snowy, barren landscape had diminished to less than six feet. It seemed as if the mountain was alive and angry that a mere human had dared to reach its heights. A few times Will was almost knocked off
Sagarmatha
by an unexpected gust of wind and snow, but his quick reflexes and preternatural abilities kept him safe and moving upward.

Finally, Will came to a small plateau that was about twenty feet wide and fifteen feet deep. Will sensed he had reached his destination, but he could see nothing except the snow that was dropping from above like a heavy white rain. The wind and snow had chilled him to the point where his toes and fingers were starting to feel numb. Will looked around and saw a small ledge to his right that was covered with snow. He moved forward but saw nothing except the snow and ice on the rocks. He moved to his left and saw more of the same: rocks, snow and ice.

After several minutes, Will was about to give up and continue climbing. However, before doing so, Will stopped and closed his eyes to concentrate. He shut out everything from his mind - the wind, the snow, the cold. He allowed nothing to interrupt his concentration. A full minute passed. Then two. Then five. Will was about to open his eyes and continue climbing when a strong, inexplicable
feeling
came over him. In his mind’s eye he could see the opening. He could see the symbols on the rock in the same unknown language as before and a place to put his hand.

Guided by this feeling, Will moved back to the right where he had originally moved upon reaching the plateau. As he moved his hand just over the snow and ice that covered the rocks in front of him, a sensation came over him in one particular area, just above his shoulder area. He passed his hand near it again and then away from it. Each time he came close to the same area, he had a tingling sensation.

Will scraped away about six inches of snow from the rock with the grappling hook, and at first didn’t see anything. Then his eye caught what he had been seeking. The symbols in the rock! Will smiled: he had found the entrance marker!

Chapter
19

Clandestine Anti-Aircraft Battery Placement

August 1942 A.D.

Captain Goerner was still in shock at having not only captured an alien spacecraft, but at having captured thirteen living beings from another planet. He had contacted Berlin, and when he had initially explained the situation, they at first had threatened to have him arrested and placed in a home for the mentally insane. He had to go through several levels at German Army Headquarters in Berlin, because no one wanted to take the responsibility of believing such a ridiculous story and sending headquarters personnel on a wild goose chase.

Finally, Goerner reached an old friend, Wilhelm Koenig, who was now an
Oberst
of some standing in the
Luftwaffe
. Koenig, too, at first, thought his old friend had gone crazy or had drank too much beer or schnapps, but the details he gave him regarding the ship and the aliens made him take a chance and authorize a team to be sent to contain the area and interrogate the aliens.

“Don’t worry, Fritzie, a team will be on its way soon. They should arrive at your location first thing in the morning. I hope you appreciate how much I’m sticking my neck out for you.”

“I do, Willie. I do and…”

“But,” said the colonel
in a less than jovial tone,
“
if you’re bullshitting me, I’ll have your ass court-martialed and your balls removed with a pair of dull scissors. Do we understand each other?”

“If I’m lying, I’ll cut my own balls off, Willie.”

“If what you’re saying is true, it is incomprehensible as to what we can learn from them. Just think, if they are sufficiently advanced enough to travel so many miles through space, they probably have weapons that we cannot imagine. I can see another Iron Cross in your future, Fritzie, and a
nice promotion
as well, my friend. Or should I say,
General
Goerner?” said the colonel
with a chuckle
.

“Yes, perhaps you will be working for me soon, Willie,” said Goerner
laughing as well.

“
One never knows my friend. As you know the
Führer
is an ardent believer in the occult and in the existence of alien civilizations. If this is what you say it is, he will be most pleased.”

“It is, and he will be, my friend.”

“Listen, Fritzie. It is paramount that you maintain security on this and make sure there are no leaks.”

“Do not worry, Willie, my men and I have this contained.”

“Very well,
Herr
General.
Keep me posted. Congratulations on a job well done, and a well deserved promotion. Heil Hitler!”

“
Jawohl, Herr Oberst.
I will not let you down. Heil Hitler!”

The two men then disconnected the line. Koenig then leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

This is unbelievable
, thought Koenig.
My old friend has actually captured thirteen live aliens from another planet, and their ship, which could mean the difference in not only winning the war, but helping the
Führer achieve his goal of dominating not only Europe but the entire world! Yes, my old friend is much deserving of a nice promotion and to be hailed as a hero by all Germans for generations to come. Pity.

Koenig then picked up the his secure telephone and dialed a number known only to very few people, of which even less had the authority to call the person at the other end of the line. After a few rings, a male voice answered only by saying “
Hallo
.”

“This is Koenig. Let me speak with the
Obergruppenführer
immediately! It is urgent!” After about a one minute pause, the general
came on the line, and although the line was secure, he spoke in code
.
“Sir, we have a Code Alpha 7 Alert. Repeat. We have a Code Alpha 7 Alert. This is not a drill. Preparations need to be made for securing thirteen survivors and the bus they were driving.” Koenig then gave the
Obergruppenführer
the location
of the aliens and Goerner‘s men
.
“Also, the good Samaritans who helped them need to be rewarded.” Another pause while the
Obergruppenführer
spoke on the other end. “Yes, sir. All of them.”

Koenig then stood up from behind his, walked to his coat rack and put on his tunic, which was not the gray coat of a Luftwaffe
Oberst
, but the black coat of a
Standartenführer,
replete with a red
Hakenkreuz
armband
and the double "S"
Sigrunen
on the collars, worn by Hitler’s feared
Schutzstaffel,
and walked out of his door to meet with the
Reichsführer
in person regarding this matter.

Chapter
20

Sagarmatha: The Entrance

1480 A.D.

Will’s heart skipped a beat as he grinned broadly at his find. Will removed the glove from his right hand, placed it on the symbols on the rock, and….nothing happened. Will tried again twice more, but he was met with the same results. It was then that he noticed that although the symbols were similar they were not exactly the same. Will translated the symbols, which read:
To Enter, Place Both Hands on the Body of Sagroth.
Will re-read the inscription.
Body of Sagroth,
Will thought.
What the bloody hell is that?

Will looked around, but all he saw was more snow, ice, and howling winds. Once again Will concentrated, and this time he was lead to the left side of the plateau. His hands passed over several areas, but he did not get any sensation as he had before. At the edge of the plateau, he was drawn to a rock formation made up of five rocks that appeared to be stacked on top of each other but were actually one rock. It was about ten feet high and looked like an oversized snowman, with each layer being slightly smaller than the one below it.

Will walked around the rocks and felt no sensation.
I have to concentrate and focus more,
Will thought to himself.

Will concentrated and focused, and on his third pass he picked up the same sensation as before. His eyes moved upwards on the rock formation, until he saw what he was looking for: the symbols. This time the inscriptions were located on opposing sides of the fourth rock in the stack: eight feet in the cold air.

If the rock formation was anywhere but on top of a mountain covered in snow and ice, with a sixty-five knot wind, the climb would have been relatively easy. However, with the prevailing conditions, it was extremely difficult and treacherous, especially since the rock formation was so close to the edge of the plateau. Will thought for a moment and considered his options as to the best way to climb the rock formation. After pondering this for several seconds, he came up with an idea. He took the rope and looped it around the rock formation and then around himself. He tied the rope behind him, and by leaning back he started to climb. As he climbed higher, he moved the rope up by letting it go slack and then snapping it up from behind the rock formation to a higher level.

After a few seconds, Will reached the symbols and brushed the snow and ice off of them. Will read the inscriptions, which told him to place both hands on the symbols at the same time. As Will began taking his gloves off to accomplish this task, he heard the ominous sounds of another avalanche. Will looked up and saw another mountain of snow heading in his direction. He had to work quickly; he knew there was nowhere to hide this time, and he would be swept off the mountain to his death.

The rumbling almost knocked Will off of his perch. As he started placing both hands on the opposing sides of the rock formation, the rumbling increased and he slipped about two feet. Will held fast and did not let go. The mountain of snow’s speed increased. Will knew it would be on him in seconds! He quickly climbed back up the rock formation and placed both hands on the symbols. Almost immediately the symbols glowed as before. Will looked to his right and saw the side of the mountain open before him like a door!

Will quickly shrugged out of the rope, dropped to the ground, and ran towards the entrance. Will reached the doorway just as the mountain of snow hit the plateau. With a last ditch effort, Will dove into the entrance from a distance of about ten feet, tucked himself into a ball, and shoulder rolled into the entrance - which shut just as he entered and the snow buried the entrance. As the entrance was closing, Will saw the avalanche take the rock formation with it.

I guess I won’t be leaving the same way I entered
, Will thought sarcastically.

Once the entrance shut, Will was thrown into pitch darkness.

At this realization, Will’s next thought was,
Shit!
.

Clandestine Anti-Aircraft Battery Placement

Near Stuttgart, Germany

August 1942 A.D.

Less than three hours had passed since Goerner had contacted Colonel Koenig. In the distance, Goerner heard what sounded like an airplane. He grabbed his binoculars and looked towards the east to see what he had heard. After a few seconds he spotted a black Luftwaffe transport plane heading in his direction.

Now why did he send a plane when he knows it can’t land within forty or fifty miles of this location?
Goerner pondered to himself.

Just then his question was answered when he saw the side door of the plane open, which was quickly followed by a group of twenty paratroopers bailing out of it. One group was obviously going to land at his location, while the other was landing directly at the crash site. Goerner figured that the paratroopers were being sent ahead of whatever equipment they would be transporting into the area to secure and recover the spacecraft.

Within a few minutes of landing near his encampment, the leader of the group, a captain, wearing a black jumpsuit but with no insignia or patch to indicate which unit or division he was with, approached him with a stiff armed Nazi salute, and a loud, “Heil Hitler!”

Goerner returned the salute and before he could say anything, the new arrival curtly said, “Good afternoon, Herr Goerner. I am
Hauptsturmführer
Klein.
I need to see the prisoners immediately.”

“Of course, Herr Klein. Follow me.”

Goerner noticed that all ten of the men who had landed at their encampment had fully automatic, American-made Thompson machine guns. Although he thought it was an unusual weapon for German paratroopers to be carrying, he also thought it odd that an SS detachment would be sent here to oversee this when it should have been a
Heer
matter, but he had learned to keep such comments to himself.

Goerner took Klein and showed him the alien prisoners. Klein did not make any comments, and he kept a neutral expression that would have made any professional poker player jealous with envy.

“It appears that you were correct in initiating the Code Alpha 7 Alert, Herr Goerner,” was all he said.

Goerner was unfamiliar with what a Code Alpha 7 Alert was, but said nothing about it. He then said, “As I was telling
Oberst
Koenig
,
it is…”

“I am officially relieving you of your responsibility of the prisoners. However, before we begin the prisoner transfer, I need to speak with you and your men altogether. We need to discuss the need to maintain secrecy regarding these… prisoners. Have them come to the area in front of your cannon placement in three minutes.”

“But Herr Klein, my men know the importance of maintaining…”

Without waiting for Goerner to finish, he turned 180 degrees on his heels and walked out.

Asshole,
Goerner thought. Goerner then stepped in the hallway and ordered one of his sergeants to have all of the men to assemble in front of the cannon placements within three minutes.

***

Approximately three minutes later, Goerner and the rest of his men, who were not at the crash site, had assembled as ordered to listen to the admonishments of the leader of the paratroopers. They stood at parade rest shoulder-to-shoulder as Klein paced in front of them slowly with his hands behind his back.

“Gentlemen, as I’m sure you’re aware, what has transpired here today can never be discussed with anyone. The penalty for discussing
anything
that happened here today will be considered high treason and will be dealt with swiftly and severely. Do I make myself clear?”

As one they snapped to attention and shouted, “
Jawohl, Herr Hauptsturmführer!”

“Good. You have all done commendable work here today.”

Just then, the retort of automatic machine gun fire could be heard in the direction of the crash site. Goerner’s eyes grew as large as platters.

“What the fuck was that?” he said as he stepped towards Klein, which caused one of Klein’s men to point his Thompson at Goerner’s chest.

Klein then said with
a smirk. “I believe that was a platoon of American soldiers wiping out the rest of your men who were on patrol near the site of an unconfirmed airplane crash. How unfortunate. But don’t worry; the
Führer
himself will award them their Iron Crosses for bravery under enemy fire…posthumously, of course.”

“You son of a bitch!” Goerner screamed. “You can‘t get away with this.
Oberst
Koenig will know that it wasn’t the Americans who did this. He won’t let you get away with it!”

With a smile Klein said, “Oh, you mean
Standartenführer
Koenig?
Who do you think ordered all of this?”

That was the last thing Goerner heard on this earth as Klein gave the order to open fire on Goerner and his men.

As the last man fell, Klein called one of his sergeants to his side.

“Spread the bodies around to make it look like an ambush. Drop a few of the Thompsons to make it look like the Americans were responsible. Then load the prisoners on the trucks and drive them to the landing zone so they can be flown to their next destination. I will make arrangements to remove the ship.”

“Jawohl, Herr
Hauptsturmführer!”
replied
the sergeant as he turned sharply on his heel to carry out his orders.

Klein admired his handiwork and smiled as he knew the next destination for his prisoners from another world would be the
Eyrie
.

Chapter
22

Sagarmatha: Inside of the Tunnel

1480 A.D.

The inside of the tunnel was pitch black. Will stood and allowed his eyes to adjust to the dark. The tunnel became brighter and brighter to Will’s eyes, and soon he was seeing things in shades of white and gray like a cat.

Will had walked about forty yards into the tunnel, when he saw more symbols on the wall. Will read the symbols and did as they instructed. He pressed his hand against the symbols, and the entire tunnel was illuminated - it appeared as though the walls themselves were glowing; the source indeterminable.

Will looked down the tunnel and saw that it extended for quite a distance, and then curved downward at an angle. He had walked about a hundred yards when the cave ended suddenly at a wall that contained an opening that branched in five different directions. As he was deciding which way he should go, he picked up a small stone to etch the rocky ground or wall with an arrow so he could at least know he had come this way before.

After picking up the rock, Will started to go through the center branch when he saw more of the same small symbols, each about two inches high, carved just above the entrance of the center fork.

Will looked at the entrances of the other forks and each one of them had similar symbols carved above them as well. Will brushed away the dust from each one, and then realized that although the symbols were similar, they were slightly different. Will translated them.

Four of the symbols were warnings not to enter the passage they were carved above. Only one of them, the second from the right, bore the simple inscription, ‘Enter’ above it. Will entered the passage and began walking down a dark, narrow passageway that extended for about a hundred yards.

At the end of this passageway were ten additional passageways, each marked with the same type of symbols. However, after translating each one, Will realized that these were not simply ‘enter’ or ‘do not enter’ inscriptions, but were complex mathematic or scientific equations.

After looking at each for several seconds, Will realized that to determine the correct passageway, he would have to solve the complex equations above each entrance. As Will looked at each one, he began solving each equation.

After about a minute, Will realized that the only equation that
could
be solved belonged to the passageway the third from the left. Will entered and had traveled about ten or fifteen feet, went back to the opening, and stepped out. He stopped and went to the opening of the passageway immediately to his right.

I wonder what would have happened if I had gone down the wrong passageway?
Will looked around and found a large rock which weighed about as much as he did, took it to the entrance, and threw it in about ten feet. Immediately, the rock was vaporized by a reddish-orange light that seemed to come from every part of the passageway! The glow was so bright that Will had to cover his eyes.

I guess that answers that question.

Will went back to the proper entrance and proceeded further down into the narrow passageway.

Approximately 250 yards into his trek, the passageway opened up into a large cavern. Will walked another twenty yards and noticed that the passageway ended abruptly. Will was looking down a chasm that was dark and very deep. There was a fifty foot expanse from where the passage ended and picked up again on the other side. Will dropped a rock to see how deep the chasm reached. Several seconds elapsed before Will finally heard the rock hit the bottom of the chasm. Based on the length of time it took for the rock to strike the bottom of the chasm and the rock’s weight, Will estimated that it was at least 1,000 feet deep.

There was no other way around to get to the other side. As Will was about to look in another area for a way across, he saw another symbol on a rock at the edge of the ledge which simply said, ‘Jump.’ Will was pretty sure that this was not a notice to jump into the chasm but to jump
across
it to the other side. Without hesitation, Will backed up a few steps, and then took off running towards the yawing abyss.

Will easily cleared the fifty foot expanse. As he landed as gracefully as a cat on the other side, he let out a quick yelp of satisfaction at having made the jump. He continued walking towards a stone archway that lead into a dark, curvy tunnel. The tunnel, illuminated only by Will’s catlike vision, was about a hundred yards long. At the end of the tunnel, it emptied into an enormous cavern which contained a veritable forest of stalactites and stalagmites. It was obvious that his journey was continuing downward at a subtle angle. As he continued forward, his intuition pushed him in the right direction at each fork and turn in the path so that he never lost his way. After walking through the mass of conical pillars, some of which were thirty feet tall or more, the pathway abruptly ended at a blank stone wall.

Will studied the wall for a minute, and again found the unknown symbols carved into the stone wall. Instead of being at a level above his head, these symbols were only slightly higher than the height of his elbow.

The symbols before him read: Only The Chosen May Enter.

Will hesitated for a moment and then placed his right hand on the symbols, as he had done at the entrance of the cave. The symbols immediately glowed at his touch. A rectangular form about four inches wide and six inches tall framed the glowing symbols. Will placed his hand in the center of the rectangle and symbols and a portion of the rock wall became recessed and took the shape of a doorway. Once the wall’s transformation was complete, Will removed his hand from the symbols. Almost immediately the doorway that had formed slid open. Without hesitation, Will stepped through the opening and into a world of danger and amazement.

Planet Altrusia

“How is the Terran progressing, Commander?” inquired Portak.

“Sir, prior to ascending the mountain, he became engaged in combat with a band of local warriors, whom he defeated easily. He then climbed the mountain with some difficulty, mainly due to the weather and a couple of avalanches, and found the entrance by sensing and then deciphering the multi-language entrance inscription markers!” Commander Nik’sah stated. He could barely contain the astonishment in his voice as he continued with his report. “He also solved the multi-spatial, linear and celestial mechanics equations, which allowed him to determine the appropriate path to enter! But more importantly, which ones not to enter.”

Raising an eyebrow in astonishment, Portak turned to leave the room. “Keep me posted, Commander.”

“Yes, sir.”

Portak left the command center and headed back to his chambers, deep in thought.
Great Nim‘lah! Can it be possible that the Terran is truly a nephak-tan? There has never been one that was truly fully functional!

Portak reached his chambers and waved his hand over the shielding device that opened and closed the entrance to his chambers. It slid open instantaneously and closed as soon as Portak had entered.

Chapter
23

Nazi Occupied Germany

Near Düsseldorf

February 1943

A squadron of eight American and eight British bombers were about ten miles west of Düsseldorf, their next target. This was their third bombing mission of the week. The Americans were flying a mix of their venerable B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators. The Brits were flying their heavy Lancaster and Halifax bombers in the early morning hours.