Brygida heard an engine and crunch of rocks beneath tires and went on guard immediately. She was relieved when she realized it was the rest of her men in an “acquired” German vehicle.
The Red Patriots climbed out of the truck and stared at the carnage around them. Then all eyes fell on the Valkyrie. How could one woman have done all that?
Chapter 1
Kecksburg, Pennsylvania
1965
The diner was busy with patrons eating an evening “breakfast” as the night shift was about to begin at the factory. Stan Sheetz scooped the last morsel of homefries into his mouth and washed it down with hot, black coffee. He set the cup down upon the table and smiled at his waitress as she approached the table.
“Getcha anything else, Stan?” she asked. Stan, like most of the men currently occupying the diner, was a regular. He had lived in the small town his entire life and everyone there knew him.
“Just the check please,” Stan replied. “I’ve got to hurry along. I’m on duty at the station tonight.”
“Alright,” the waitress smiled. “You can meet me at the register.”
Stan nodded and wiped his mouth with a napkin before returning it to the table and reaching into his pocket. He laid a couple of coins on the table and then stood up and walked over to the register smiling at the waitress as he removed his wallet from his back pocket. She tapped the keys of the register and the drawer popped open. Stan paid his check and then turned to go, crossing the diner and removing his coat and hat from a coat rack near the door.
Stan stepped out of the door and into the frigid December air as he pulled on his coat and placed the hat upon his head. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and matches. Withdrawing a cigarette from the pack he placed it between his lips and struck a match. He brought the flame up to the cigarette and puffed. He extinguished the match with a shake of his hand before allowing it to drop onto the sidewalk.
Stan drew in a puff of smoke as he began walking toward the Volunteer Fire Station a block away from the diner. Stan strolled into the station to find four men playing poker around a small card table that was set up near the fire engine.
“Evening fellas,” Stan said as he strolled over to their table.
“Hey Stan,” each of the men replied, barely looking up from the game to acknowledge him.
Stan stepped up behind one of the men and looked down at the cards in his hand. “Well that’s a crummy hand, Marv,” he smiled.
Marv turned to glare at Stan as he slammed the cards on the table. “Thanks a lot, Stan,” he said with thick sarcasm as everyone else at the table laughed boisterously.
“Sorry Marv, but after you took all my matchsticks last week, I owed you that,” Stan chuckled as he patted his friend on the shoulder.
Marv stood up. “It’s alright, we’ve gotta get to work anyway.” The other three stood slowly, preferring to finish the game than report to the factory, but it was good work for good pay so they had no reason to complain.
Stan smiled at them. He often took evening duty at the station as he did not have a factory shift. Stan was a partially retired farmer, whose three grown sons ran most of the operation these days. In fact he knew he could retire from farm life completely if he wanted to, but he had farmed since he was a small boy and he still enjoyed getting out there in the fields. Though he had to admit, he did appreciate his sons relieving him from most of the responsibilities these days. “I hope you boys left some coffee for me,” Stan said with narrowed eyebrows. “Last time it was cold.”
The men laughed.
“Just brewed you a fresh pot,” Marv smiled.
“Thank you kindly,” Stan replied with a pat on Marv’s shoulder. “I’ll see you fellas later.”
“Good-night, Stan,” they said as they began walking toward the door. Just as they reached it they heard a low rumble, then the building began to shake. All five volunteer firemen rushed out of the station into the street. The sound grew louder and louder, like a large jet or rocket flying toward them.
Stan scanned the black sky and then his eyes went wide as he watched a fireball the size of a small car streak by overhead. The entire town shook with the sonic booms that followed in its wake. The four firemen were joined by scores of townspeople on the street watching the fireball hurtle past, illuminating the night sky.
They heard a loud crash and felt the ground beneath their feet shake as the fireball impacted in the distance behind some trees. Stan, Marv, and the others glanced at one another. Stan licked his dry lips. “Come on fellas, that thing likely started a fire.”
The others nodded and rushed into the firehouse snatching their jackets and helmets from hooks by the door. Soon they were suited up and aboard the fire engine. Marv took the wheel as Stan slipped into the passenger seat beside him. The other volunteer firemen climbed onto the back of the truck as it pulled out of the station. Stan flipped on the siren and the truck’s single red light as the fire engine rushed down the street. The police officer on duty and several townspeople pulled out after them in search of whatever just crash landed outside of their small town.
The caravan drove out of town with the fire engine in the lead. They drove out into the countryside where farms and woods dominated the landscape. When they were a couple of miles from town Stan and Marv noticed headlights coming toward them from up ahead. The approaching vehicle stopped and as the fire engine came closer, Stan and Marv noticed a man standing in the road waving a flashlight to get their attention. The fire engine slowed to a stop beside him.
Stan recognized Walter Snipes immediately. He owned a farm just up the road a bit, not far from Stan’s.
“I was just coming to town to get you fellas,” Walter told them excitedly. “Something crashed landed in the woods near my farm. Shook the whole house. I think it might be Russian.”
“Well let’s not get too excited yet, Walter,” Stan said. “It’s probably just a meteor or something, but let’s get there and make sure there are no fires.”
Walter nodded. “Alright, you boys follow me,” he said. With that, Walter rushed back to his pick-up truck, opened the door, and climbed inside. Walter turned his truck around and began driving back toward his farm. He turned off the road about a minute later and led the caravan down his long driveway, but instead of turning to the house, he drove off of the driveway and through the empty fields toward the woods. The fire engine followed with the police car and townspeople trailing it.
It did not take long before the lights of the truck illuminated the tree line, and it was clear that something big had crashed through the woods leaving a path of downed and broken trees in its wake. Walter stopped his truck at the base of a small hill and climbed out. He motioned for the others to do the same.
Marv stopped the fire truck, shut off the engine and he and Stan climbed down to the ground. They and the other three firemen followed Walter up the small hill and peered down the other side. What they saw shocked them.
“What in God’s name is it?” Walter asked clearly nervous.
“I don’t know,” Stan replied.
“It’s an alien spaceship,” another voice said and Stan turned to see several other townspeople, including Officer Brody, had joined them on the hill and were gawking at the object in the tree line.
“There’s no such thing as aliens,” Marv said dismissively.
“It’s probably Russian,” Officer Brody remarked. “I called the chief, he should be out here soon.”
“Good,” Stan said.
“What if it’s a bomb?” a woman asked nervously.
“If it’s a bomb it would have exploded on impact,” another voice replied.
“Looks like a descent module to me,” a young voice said and Stan glanced down to see Walter’s boy Tommy staring at it.
“What’s a descent module?” Stan asked the boy.
“It’s what the astronauts return to earth in. See how it has a wide base?”
“Yeah,” Sta
n replied.
“Descent module’s bases are wide to prevent burning up in the atmosphere.”
“How do you know so much, Tommy?” Stan asked.
“T.V.,” Tommy replied matter-of-factly.
Walter chuckled. “He loves space rockets and things,” Walter said.
“So maybe there are American astronauts inside that need our help,” Marv said with genuine concern in his voice.
“No,” Tommy replied. “It’s not American.”
“It’s got to be Russian,” Officer Brody said.
“Get back, get back!” a voice called and Stan and the others turned to see Police Chief Erikson climbing up the hill. He stepped up beside Officer Brody and Stan, peering at the object that crashed in the woods. His eyes went wide. “What the hell is that?” he asked.
“Nobody knows chief,” Officer Brody replied.
“Well, whatever it is it could be dangerous,” the chief responded. “Everyone backup, back down the hill,” he said as he turned and waved at the people. Few obeyed. Erikson then turned to Stan, Marv, and the other firemen. “Any chance those small fires could spark and burn down the whole forest?”
Stan turned to Marv. “We should try and put ‘em out, don’t you think?” he asked.
Marv nodded. The firemen went to work, unrolling the long fire hose and pulling it up the hill from the truck. They got as close to the object as they dared before spraying a stream of water into the trees and shrubs, dousing the small fires that had been caused by the crash landing. When the volunteer firemen felt confident that the ground around the trees had been sufficiently soaked to prevent new fires from springing up, Stan and the the others shut off the water and rolled the fire hose back up on the truck.
The firemen and police officers remained at the crash site for most of the night. Many of the townspeople left but as the sun began to rise in the morning sky, more were arriving to see this mysterious object. The number of cars coming in and out resembled a county fair and Walter Snipes grumbled that he should have sold tickets.
As the crowd of townspeople stood on the hill staring at the mysterious object that fell from the sky, they heard the sound of large rumbling trucks. Turning toward the road, the gawkers saw a convoy of United States Army vehicles driving across the Snipes’ fields toward them.
“Maybe now we’ll get some answers,” Stan said to Marv. The trucks came to a stop at the bottom of the hill and soldiers armed with rifles began filing out of the backs and running up the hill.
“I want all of these people moved back,” a gruff voice shouted and Stan turned to see a gray haired soldier with a colonel’s insignias striding up the hill. The soldiers began ordering people back and formed a human cordon to keep the townsfolk from returning to the hill. Stan, Marv, and the other firemen were pushed back as well.
Stan shook his head as he saw plain clothed feds walk up the hill to inspect. “What is going on?” he mumbled to himself. They stood back with the other townspeople watching the soldiers and federal agents, curious to see what would happen next. While they waited, Stan and Marv heard a voice behind them.
“Excuse me, gentlemen,” the voice said and they turned to see a small man with tweed jacket, brown hat, and wire-rimmed glasses smiling at them. He was round, balding and stood at least a head shorter than Stan and Marv. “I’m a reporter with the Pittsburgh Patriot,” he said with a smile. “Did you fellas get a look at whatever crashed here?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Marv replied.
“The army says it’s a meteor,” the reported informed them.
Stan and Marv glanced at each other then back at the reporter. “It isn’t a meteor,” Stan said.
“What is it?” the reporter asked.
“I don’t know,” Stan replied. “But it’s not a meteor.”
“Well, what did it look like?” the reporter asked, wanting a description for his readers.
Stan and Marve paused for just a moment before answering. “Like a giant acorn,” Marv said.
“An acorn?” the reporter asked in disbelief.
“Yes,” Stan agreed. “An acorn. Or maybe a bell.”
Chapter 2
Washington, D.C.
The soda fountain was hopping as the sweet sounds of The Four Tops blasted from the jukebox. Axel smiled at Dawn who sat in the booth beside him, swaying and bobbing to the rhythm of the music.
“What?” Dawn asked as he stared at her.
Axel chuckled. “Nothing. You’re just cute, dancing here in the booth.”
“Sorry sugar pie honey bunch, but I can’t help myself,” she said with a wink, causing Axel to laugh out loud.
“Why don’t you dance with her Axel?” Rolf asked and Axel turned to look at his brother who had somehow squeezed his gigantic frame into the opposite side of the booth. Rolf was a mess with ketchup and mustard covering his face as he stuffed his third double cheeseburger into his mouth. He still had two more burgers waiting on the table.
“Why don’t you dance with her, Rolf?” Axel asked.
“Yeah, Rolf you want to dance?” Dawn asked. Rolf turned to stare down at the table as his face became a bright crimson.
“You made him blush, Dawn,” Axel scolded her playfully. Rolf was big and strong, likely one of the strongest men in the world. Mentally, however, he was behind his twin brother. Therefore, even though Rolf was in his twenties, he was very childlike. That included a child’s shyness.
“Aw, Rolf, it’s okay, honey, we don’t have to dance,” Dawn replied, suddenly feeling bad for embarrassing him.
Rolf swallowed the burger and then reached down and lifted his cup of soda and drained it through the straw, before lifting his eyes to look at Dawn. “Okay,” he said softly.
Dawn smiled sweetly at him. “You just enjoy your burgers.” Rolf brightened and scooped up cheeseburger number four before biting an enormous chunk out of it.
Axel smiled at his brother. “I sure am glad Uncle Sam picks up the tab for most of your meals, buddy, ‘cause if I had to pay for them every day we’d be in the poor house in a week.” Rolf flashed a big toothy grin before chomping down into the burger.
“So what do we want to do next?” Dawn asked. “Go see a picture?” Rolf nodded vigorously as he chewed up the burger in his mouth.
Axel nodded. “Thunderball is playing downtown,” he said referencing the 007 film.
“I want to see The Sound of Music,” Rolf said with a grin.
Axel sighed. “Haven’t we already seen that, twice?” he asked. Rolf nodded.
“It’s okay Axel,” Dawn said. “It’s Rolf’s night out, so let him choose. Besides, I’ve only seen it once.” Axel shook his head in defeat as the two ganged up on him. “Oh, don’t be so sad,” Dawn smiled as she snuggled up close to him. “You can take me to see Thunderball later.”
“Alright,” Axel relented. “We’ll go see the Von Trapps again. But no singing along this time.” Axel cut his eyes to Dawn. “That goes for both of you.” Dawn threw back her head and laughed.
“Sorry kids, not tonight,” a voice said and the three looked up to see Tom Fleming, the leader of their team at the Clandestine Scientific Operations Service (CSOS) standing beside the table dressed in a gray suit, hat in hand. He reached down and took two of Axel’s fries, dipped them in ketchup and shoved them into his mouth.
“Sure, Tom, have some fries,” Axel said with a smirk.
“Thanks, old boy,” Tom replied as he slapped Axel on the back.
“What’s going on Tom?” Dawn asked.
Tom shook his head. “To be honest, love, I don’t know. But it is something big.”
“Is it a mission?” Rolf asked excitedly through a mouth full of burger number five.
“No, not this time, big guy. Boring science stuff, I’m afraid. It’s going to probably be dry and tedious. A lot of paperwork I imagine,” Tom said in an attempt to make their upcoming job sound as terrible as possible.
“Ugh,” Rolf moaned.
“Hey, if
you don’t want to go, we won’t make you, Rolf,” Tom said. Suddenly, Martha, the CSOS Director’s secretary, was at Tom’s side.
“Hey Rolf, would you rather stay here with me and go see a movie?”
“The Sound of Music?” Rolf asked hopefully.
“Sure, dear,” Martha replied. “I haven’t seen it yet.”
Rolf looked across the table at Axel. “Can I stay with Martha, Axel?”
Axel nodded. “Fine with me, Rolf, if that’s what you want to do.” Rolf nodded vigorously.
“Well then, Axel, why don’t you give Martha your keys and she can take Rolf back to the Home when the movie is over,” Tom said.
Axel stood and stuck his hand deep into his pocket and pulled out his car keys, handing them to Martha along with a couple of bills to pay for their meal. “Thanks,” he whispered. She gave him a little wink.
Dawn climbed out of the booth and joined Tom and Axel.
“We’ll see you later, Rolf,” Axel said.
“Bye guys,” Rolf replied with a giant smile. Tom, Dawn, and Axel returned the smile as they walked away, leaving Martha with Rolf. Martha slipped into the booth across from him. “Would you like a chocolate milkshake honey?” she asked.
“Yes, please,” Rolf replied with a broad smile.
Tom led the way out of the soda fountain and into the parking lot where he opened the passenger side door for Dawn. “Thank you,” Dawn said as she sat down and slid over into the middle of the seat. Axel climbed in beside her.
Tom walked around the car and climbed in on the driver’s side and slammed the door closed before turning the key and starting the ignition.
“So where are we going?” Axel asked.
“Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton,” Tom replied.
Flight of the Valkyrie Page 3
