Origins of the Prime

by Christopher Vale

  Rolf nodded. “You need me to protect you, Axel. I love you and I won’t let anyone hurt you or Tom.”

  Axel reached up and wiped a tear away from his eyes. “I know you won’t, buddy. I love you, too.”

  Rolf smiled. “It’s your turn.”

  Axel nodded and then drew a card and moved his game piece.

  “You’re stuck!” Rolf laughed. “My turn.”

  Axel smiled as his brother happily drew another card from the stack and moved his game piece. He would be alright. He had his moments just like everyone else, but sometimes they forgot Rolf had already been through quite a lot. He could handle it. He was strong. Axel would assure Tom that Rolf would be fine.

  Chapter 11

  Siberia, U.S.S.R

  The puddle jumper flew low, barely clearing the tops of the trees in an effort to avoid detection by radar or otherwise. Dawn sat in the cockpit beside Tom who piloted the plane. Axel sat in the back with Rolf, who was crammed inside the small aircraft.

  The plane had taken off from Alaska flying across the Bering Strait and into the frozen no-man’s land of northeastern Siberia. Using photographs provided by spy satellites, the CSOS had been able to pinpoint the location of the secret prison Sava had informed them housed Arnulf. They had also been able to locate a small stretch of open land that could serve as a runway for the small plane about two miles away from the prison.

  The moon was large and bright in the night sky. That was great for flying as it made it easier to see, but was bad for avoiding detection. They just had to hope that no one was out there looking. The plane suddenly jerked upward and then fell back down, nearly clipping the treetops.

  “Jesus, Tom!” Axel shouted from behind the pilot.

  “It’s the wind,” Tom called back. “It’s gusting out here tonight.” As if to punctuate his point, the small craft jerked once again.

  “What happens if we’re pushed down into those trees?” Dawn asked.

  “We’ll die,” Tom said flatly without turning to look at her.

  Dawn closed her eyes and said a silent prayer as the plane jerked again.

  “I think I see where we’re supposed to land,” Tom said. Suddenly the trees opened up confirming it. Tom flew over the “runway”—a long opening of a flat field. He then circled back and began his descent. The plane vibrated as it flew through the turbulence before touching down. It landed hard and began to slide on the snow.

  “Hold on!” Tom shouted and everyone braced for an impact that never came. Somehow Tom managed to stop the craft before it slammed into the trees. Tom turned the plane around so that it would have plenty of room for a take off as he realized they’d probably need to leave in a hurry. Finally, the plane rolled to a stop and Tom cut the engine. The others hurried out, relieved to be on the ground. Safe for the moment, at least.

  Tom joined them and pulled a map and compass from the pocket of his thick, white coat. He found his bearings and then examined the map. “Based on the photographs, we need to go this way,” he said, pointing to the east. The others nodded. “Let’s move quickly and keep it quiet.” With that, he unslung the rifle from his shoulder and took point. Axel and Dawn followed with Rolf bringing up the rear.

  They sludged through the snow for half an hour before they finally came to the edge of the trees. From their vantage point, they had a clear view of the prison. It looked more imposing than it did in the satellite photos with high, gray concrete walls ringed with a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.

  They knelt down in the snow. “Alright Dawn, it’s time to show us what you can do,” Tom said.

  Dawn smiled and then pulled a folded piece of paper from the pocket in her white coat and unfolded it to reveal a photograph of Colonel Arnulf. Dawn stared at the paper.

  After a couple of minutes Axel spoke. “What are you doing?”

  “Shush,” Dawn said. Axel gave her a dirty look but complied. After a couple more minutes, Dawn looked up at the prison. “I’ve found him,” she said.

  “Found him?” Axel asked.

  “Are you sure?” Tom asked.

  “Yes,” Dawn replied. “He is in a cell in the basement. Alone. There is a single guard in the hallway outside of his cell.”

  “What about other guards?” Tom asked.

  “A few disbursed here and there. There are two on the roof carrying rifles. There is a door up there. Probably the best entry point, like Sava suggested.”

  “Alright, boys,” Tom smiled. “Go get him. I’ll be here to pick off anybody following you out.”

  Axel turned to Dawn. “You had better be on the level about this. My brother and I are putting our lives on the line.”

  “So am I, Axel,” she replied. “Arnulf is where I said he is.”

  Axel turned to Rolf. “Alright Krieg, you ready?” he asked as he pulled a white ski mask over his face. Rolf nodded pulling on his own white ski mask. “Let’s go.”

  Axel led the way across the snow to the chain-link fence. He removed his glove and gently placed his palm on the metal. “Hold on,” he told Rolf. “It’s electrified.” Axel sent a rush of electricity from his hand into the fence, shorting out the electrical box. “Alright, it’s safe to touch,” he told his brother. “Make a hole.”

  Rolf grinned at Axel and then reached forward and slipped his large fingers through the metal links. He jerked his hands apart, tearing a large hole in fence. He stepped to the side and Axel crawled through the hole. Rolf followed him, ducking low.

  Axel and Rolf dashed to the walls of the prison and flattened themselves against them. Rolf unslung the pack from his back and opened it up. Reaching inside, he pulled out a grappling hook and long black rope.

  “Do your thing, buddy,” Axel said.

  Rolf smiled and stepped back from the wall. He tossed the grappling hook up and over the wall to land on the roof. Rolf gave it a yank. Satisfied that it was secure, Axel climbed onto Rolf’s back. Rolf began to quickly pull himself and Axel up the side of the wall. They reached the roof and Axel climbed off of Rolf’s back and over the edge. He glanced around and saw the two guards Dawn had warned them about, each patrolling an opposite side of the roof and looking over the side at the trees and ground below.

  Axel motioned for Rolf to wait a moment and then dashed across the roof to the first guard. When he was just a few feet away, he zapped him and the guard fell to the ground unconscious. The second guard heard something and turned to see Axel. He raised his rifle and was about to shout when Axel fired a bolt of blue energy at him as well, knocking him unconscious in a clump on the roof. Axel rushed back to the spot where Rolf still hung from the rope and helped his brother onto the roof.

  “C’mon,” he whispered and sprinted toward the door with Rolf close on his heels. Once they reached the door, Axel snatched the door handle and pulled it toward him. As it opened, he saw two guards on the stairwell walking toward them. Before they had a chance to react, Axel blasted a current of electricity through both and they collapsed onto the steps. He and Rolf stepped around and over the guards as they made their way down the stairs.

  Axel led the way down the stairwell until he reached the basement. He turned to Rolf. “Here’s where we see if Dawn is for real or not,” he said. He slowly opened the door.

  ***

  Tom and Dawn lay in the snow waiting for word from Axel and Rolf. Dawn continued to use her astral projection to see inside the prison. There was something that was bothering her.

  “Something is wrong,” she said to Tom.

  “What do you mean? Have they been captured?”

  “No,” Dawn said. “I found Arnulf. I see the guards. But…” she stared at the prison.

  “But what?”

  “There are no other prisoners. Why aren’t there any other prisoners?”

  Tom turned to look at her as she turned to look at him. “It’s a trap,” they said in unison as the realization struck. Tom’s hand went for the radio on his belt, but just then he felt the cold steel of a
rifle barrel press against his cheek. He released the radio and raised his hands into the air.

  ***

  Axel slowly opened the door and peeked inside the long corridor with cell doors on each side. He saw a single guard at the end of the corridor smoking a cigarette and reading a newspaper. He opened the door all of the way and stepped through. The guard glanced up, saw Axel and realized that he was an intruder. Dropping the cigarette and paper, the guard leapt to his feet, but before he could reach his weapon, Axel stunned him unconscious with a bolt of blue energy.

  Axel waved for Rolf to follow him into the corridor. “You check that side,” he whispered to his brother before turning and walking down the opposite side of the corridor glancing into each cell. Axel was surprised to find all of the cells empty until he finally came to one that wasn’t. When he peered in, he saw his target. His stomach turned as he stared at a face which had haunted his nightmares for the last twenty years.

  “Krieg,” Axel whispered loudly over his shoulder. “Over here.” Rolf ran over to him. “Open the door.”

  Rolf nodded and then slammed his shoulder into the door, smashing it open. Arnulf leapt to his feet in alarm. It had been twenty years since Axel had seen him, but suddenly he felt like it was just the day before. Arnulf had a few more wrinkles and his hair was certainly grayer, but other than that he looked very much the same.

  Axel swallowed hard as he stepped forward. “We’re Americans and we’re here to get you out.”

  Arnulf smiled. “Well, it’s about time,” the German said in a thick accent as a wry smile spread across his lips.

  Axel spun and walked away, suppressing the urge to fry the Nazi until there was nothing remaining but a black charred corpse they’d have to identify by dental records. Rolf and Arnulf hurried behind him. Once they reached the end of the corridor, Axel swung the door open and began to ascend the steps. He had made it up one floor when he heard voices above him. Lots of voices. The language was Russian, and Axel could not tell what they were saying, but they were clearly excited. Axel quickly realized that they had been discovered.

  “This way,” Axel said as he hurried through the door onto the first floor. Rolf and Arnulf followed after him. The door opened into a large open room like a warehouse. There were prison cells ringing the floors above. Axel realized that this was the main prison area. He noticed a large door across the room and hoped it would lead to an exit. “C’mon!” he said with a wave for Rolf and Arnulf to follow and began to jog toward it.

  He had only taken a few steps when the door suddenly swung open and a man as large as Rolf stepped inside, closing the door behind him. In his giant hands the man carried a massive war hammer like something out of a medieval fantasy movie. He wore a red suit with a large, yellow hammer and sickle emblazoned on his chest. He looked like a walking version of the Soviet flag. A knight’s helmet covered his head and most of his face, leaving only his mouth visible. Axel watched as the mouth curved into a smile. The big guy was intimidating and Axel prepared to light him up when he suddenly felt enormous pain in his arm. He glanced down and saw blood dripping from a gash there. He looked up and saw a woman wearing a similar red outfit to the giant except she wore a simple red mask over her eyes instead of a helmet. She held a sickle in each hand and had apparently sliced Axel with one.

  “And where are you going Herr Colonel?” the woman asked Arnulf, in perfect German.

  “Not you,” Arnulf replied and began to back away.

  Axel glanced back at Arnulf and then turned his attention back to the woman. “Enough of this,” he said and then released a bolt of blue energy at her. She moved too fast, however. All he saw was a blur of red and he was unable to hit her. Again he attempted to electrocute her but again she was much too quick. She began to run around the room in a blur, slicing Axel each time she passed.

  The giant charged at Rolf and swung his large war hammer hitting Rolf in the center of the chest and sending him sliding on his back across the floor. Axel turned to assist his brother when he felt his ski mask yanked from his head. He turned to see the woman smiling at him.

  “It is you,” she said in German.

  “What?” he asked, also in German.

  “It is you, isn’t it Axel?” she asked. “And Rolf?”

  Arnulf glanced from Alena to Axel and then to Rolf. “Dear God,” he mumbled in German and then turned to run, but in a flash Alena ran past Axel, slicing Arnulf’s calf muscle and causing the old Colonel to fall onto the floor with a scream.

  “Don’t run off, Herr Colonel. Stay awhile,” she laughed.

  Axel swallowed hard. It was then that he realized who she was. “Kristel?” he asked as if it could have been anyone else.

  “I don’t use that name anymore Axel. Unlike you, I had no desire to keep some German name given to me by a bunch of Nazis.”

  “You’re alive!” he shouted excitedly, his heart racing. He began rushing toward her, wanting to take her into his arms, to hug her tight, to kiss her, to never let her go again. Then he remembered where they were and what was happening. He suddenly stopped. “What are you doing?” Axel asked her in German.

  “What am I doing?” she replied with a chuckle. “I’m catching Nazis, throwing them into prison where they belong. You’re trying to save them.”

  “No, I am not trying to save him. I’m fighting the Soviets.”

  “Yes,” Alena said with a wry smile, “you have joined the fascists on the other side of the Atlantic, eh?”

  “Fascists?” Axel asked. “What are you talking about?” He was confused. He had never heard of America referred to as fascist before. “The Americans rescued us from the fascists.”

  “And the Soviets rescued us,” she said. “They let me fight the fascists to seek vengeance for what they did to all of us, for what they did to my mother and your mother, Axel.” She took a step toward him and smiled. “You can join us,” she said. “The Centre will welcome you with open arms.”

  Axel stared at her for a long moment. He glanced over at Rolf, who had pushed himself back up to his feet. He shook his head. “No, I will not help the Soviets. They were no better to Poland than the Germans were. We are leaving and we’re taking Arnulf with us.”

  Alena noticed a blue light had begun to emanate from Axel’s skin. She knew what that meant. “I’m sorry Axel, but I cannot allow you to do that.” She turned and shouted something in Russian over her shoulder.

  The door opened and Axel saw Soviet soldiers pushing Tom and Dawn into the room. Twenty or more soldiers entered with them and surrounded Axel, Rolf, and Arnulf. They forced Dawn and Tom to their knees and held rifles to their heads.

  “I don’t want to kill you and Rolf, Axel. I don’t want to kill your friends either.”

  “What do you want?” Axel asked.

  “I told you. I want you to join us,” she said.

  “And I told you that’s not going to happen.”

  “I know you think that you are fighting for the right side, Axel, but Fascism didn’t die. It is alive and well in your United States.”

  Axel shook his head. “That’s ridiculous,” he said.

  “Oh, Axel you are so naive.”

  “Maybe,” Axel said with a slight chuckle. “But I’m also a Pole and as I recall the Soviets slaughtered Poles just like the Nazis. And I’d rather die than help them.”

  “Well, perhaps we can convince you otherwise.”

  “No Kristel, you cannot.”

  With that Axel dropped to one knee and placed the palm of his hand against the ground sending an electric current through the damp concrete floor and shocking everyone in the room. The electrical current was powerful enough to knock the soldiers, Tom, Dawn and Alena to the ground, but not the two big men. Axel stood and looked at Alexi. “Sorry Gerd,” he said and then shot a shock of electricity surging into the big man, momentarily stunning him. Rolf leapt forward landing a punch on Alexi’s jaw, sending him falling to the ground with a thud.

  “Rolf, g
et Tom and Dawn!” Axel shouted and his brother nodded. Rolf ran to them lifting one in each arm as Axel turned and picked up Arnulf, throwing him over his shoulder.

  They sprinted for the exit with Rolf leading the way. He slammed his shoulder into the door bursting it open and then ran outside into the cold night air.

  After running about fifty yards Tom and Dawn both protested to be allowed to walk, having mostly recovered from the shock. Rolf lowered them to the ground and then took Arnulf from Axel, slinging him over his shoulder. Axel glanced behind him and saw Soviet soldiers pouring out of the prison.

  “Get to the plane!” Axel shouted. “I’ll hold them off!”

  Suddenly he was knocked to the ground and saw Alena standing over him. “Don’t make me kill you, Axel!” Alena shouted.

  Dawn heard what Alena said and spun back around to see Alena raising her sickle. “No!” Dawn shouted, fear and excitement evident in her voice. As Dawn shouted, she raised her hands and suddenly Alena flew backward as if she had been slammed into by a truck. Dawn dashed over to Axel and offered her hand, helping him to his feet. “Let’s hurry,” she said as they ran to catch up to the others.

  They ran as fast as they could and finally reached the plane and climbed inside. Tom cranked it up and soon the propeller was spinning.

  “Let’s go home,” he said as he throttled it. Soviet soldiers were arriving just as the plane began to get lift. They fired at the plane, but it was out of range too quickly and on its way back to Alaska.

  Dawn examined Axel’s wounds. “She got you good,” she said.

  “Yeah. That was something she learned from our new guest,” Axel said as his eyes shot to Arnulf.

  Arnulf chuckled. “I was tasked with making super soldiers, not little girls who had tea parties,” he replied in his thick German accent.

  “I don’t want to hear anything out of you,” Axel said. “So just keep your mouth shut. Crap! That hurt!” Axel said as Dawn doctored his wounds.

  “Not as bad as an infection will,” Dawn replied.

  Axel looked her in the eyes. “How did you do that thing?” he asked.