Riverdale 1942 - Part 1 by Archie Fan - betty_cooper72@yahoo.ca The cast of Riverdale in a WW2 Setting warning contains ideologically sensitive content ******************************************************************** Chapter 1 September 3rd 1942... The B-17E Flying Fortress rumbled loudly as it flew through the air on its way to strike at factories producing weapons for the Nazi war effort deep inside the heart of Germany. From his place in the port side waist gunner's position Private Archie Andrews could see seven of the twelve other bombers that made up their attack group as well as their RAF escort fighters. They had been in the air for quite some time now and were nearing the Belgian-German border as they headed for their targets in the Rhine Valley. Archie was a little surprised that they had not met much resistance so far. A group of four Messerschmitt BF109 fighters had appeared to attack but the escorts had driven them off. "Hang on boys we've got enemies in bound!" came the pilot. "Oh boy that's a lot of planes," came the nervous voice of the co-pilot, Flight Officer Reggie Mantle. "Stay ready Arch," called the tail gunner, Private Forsythe "Jughead" Jones. Archie, Reggie and Jughead had all enlisted at the same time all looking to become pilots. However only Reggie had passed flight school but all three had been accepted into the USAAF and by a minor miracle the three of them had been assigned to the 97th Bomb Group. Their commander had decided to assign them to the same plane believing it to be better for group cohesion and morale. Archie checked that his gun was ready and seconds later there was the clatter of gun fire as the dorsal turret and ball turret opened fire at the approaching fighters. Archie then saw a Bf-110 lumbering by and opened fire at it. His shot mostly missed but he got a few shots in that clipped on of the aircraft's twin tails damaging the rudder and the air craft began to yaw wildly. Archie watched the plane dive away from the fight clearly too damaged to continue. "Alright I got..." Archie began to celebrate. He was cut off as their plane was raked with gunfire the sound of bullets penetrating the thin aluminum skin of the plane echoing through out. Suddenly the plane rolled to the left and Archie found himself pressed face first against the side of the aircraft. "Shit! The pilot's dead!" Reggie yelled from the cockpit. "Port side engines are both out! We're going down!" Up in the cockpit Reggie fought for control of the airplane. Straining with effort he was able to get the wings level but the plane was still losing altitude. Suddenly the other two engines just cut out. "What happened?" Jughead exclaimed worriedly. "They must have hit our fuel tanks," Reggie called back. "We're gliding, hang on!" Reggie fought with the crippled aircraft which was not designed to be a good glider. It was quickly losing altitude as Reggie tried to find a place to land. The faint sounds of the battle above could still be heard. Just then Reggie spotted a small farm field that looked big enough to attempt a landing. He tried to lower the landing gear but because then engines were out they wouldn't lower. "Damn it," he cursed. "Hang on we're going to be landing hard!" Two seconds later the B-17 slammed into the ground. The tail of the plane broke off taking the unfortunate tail gunner with it as it tumbled wildly to one side. Archie suddenly found himself just feet away from an opening where he could see the ground sliding by. Suddenly one wing dipped and dug into the ground and the whole plane cartwheeled up onto the nose which collapsed. Archie found himself looking out the hole up into the sky where he could see the tiny silhouettes of airplanes against the clouds. However the plane then toppled over landing upside down with a crunch and everything went black. ******************************************************************** Archie awoke not sure how much time had passed. He was hanging upside down strapped into his seat. He undid himself and crawled from the wreckage of the airplane. He could still hear the sounds of the air battle above so he realized it couldn't have been long. He looked back at the plane to see that the wings were on fire and it was quickly spreading to the rest of the plane. "Jughead, Jughead!" Archie exclaimed going back for his friend. Jughead was still unconscious and strapped to his seat but Archie was able to get him out and drag him to safety. He then went back to search for the other crew. The bombardier and dorsal gunner were both dead from the crash and the ball gunner looked to have died from being shot before they had crashed. Archie was able to pull Reggie from the ruined remains of the cockpit but before he could go back for the navigator or flight engineer the plane was engulfed in flames. After checking that Jughead and Reggie were okay Archie went looking for the tail gunner. However when he found him he saw that he had died from the impact of his rough landing. Archie went back to Reggie and Jughead who were just regaining consciousness. "Ugh... Archie?" Reggie muttered as he opened his eyes. "Are you alright?" Archie asked. "My head hurts, but I think I'll be okay," Reggie groaned. "I... I'm alive?" Jughead exclaimed in surprise beside him. "Reggie saved us," Archie said. "That was some great flying, Reg!" Reggie looked over at the burning wreckage of their aircraft. "We should get away from here," Reggie said. "Why?" Archie asked. "Bombs!" Jughead answered in a panic. The three of them all got up and ran as fast as they could and moments later the bombs that the plane had been carrying went off the concussive force throwing them to the ground. They got back up and looked back at the smouldering crater where the plane had once been. "So what do we do now?" Jughead asked. "We're trapped behind enemy lines with... well nothing." "We need to find somewhere to hide for now," Reggie said taking charge. "Let's check that farm house over there." "What if it's occupied?" Archie inquired. "If it was I think that we would have seen the occupants by now," Reggie replied. Not seeing any better idea the three of them made their way towards the little farm house. The small dwelling was just one floor. They approached it and peered through the windows but it seemed empty. Feeling emboldened they tried the door and as luck would have it the door was unlocked. They went inside and closed and locked the door behind them. "So now what?" Jughead asked. "I say we wait here until dark," Reggie said. "Then we head west till we get to France, we're bound to find more sympathetic people to help us there." "What if they come to investigate the crashed plane?" Archie questioned. "We hide and hope they don't find us," Reggie replied. "We can't fight them but if we try and run now they'll just shoot us." The three young men sat around in the little farm house waiting. After about and two hours they heard the sound of vehicles approaching. The three of them quickly found hiding spots and waited. They heard the vehicles come to a stop outside the farmhouse. "Suchen sie die farm nach �berlebenden," they heard a woman's voice bark. From his hiding spot under the kitchen counter, Archie was rather confused. He didn't think that the Nazi's allowed women to lead military units. But perhaps this wasn't a military unit, he wasn't sure since he couldn't speak German. "Untersturmf�hrer, die �berlebenden sind wahrscheinlich versteckt im bauernhaus," said another woman's voice. "Es gibt frische fu�spuren an der t�r." "Brechen sie die t�r nach unten." The first woman ordered. "Erfassen sie am leben, wenn m�glich. Die Baronin wollen, um sie zu verh�ren." Moments later there was a thump on the door and then another and on the third one the door burst open and there was the sound of many footsteps as the house filled with people. Suddenly the cupboard door where Archie was hiding was pulled open and Archie found himself staring at a woman's black leather boot above which was bare up to her knee. "Komm da raus!" the woman yelled as she pointed an MP-40 at him. Archie slowly crawled out and put his hands in the air. He looked around to see that there were about eight German girls all pointing weapons at him, all of them looked like they were between the ages of 16 to 19. They were dressed in grey military uniforms with matching caps and knee length skirts. They all carried either MP-40s or Gewehr 41 semi-automatic rifles. However it was the woman standing in the door that caught Archie's attention. She was only 20 or 21 but she was quite tall for a woman standing at least 5'10" probably 5'11". She wore the black uniform of the Waffen-SS, although Archie thought that there the SS was a service for only men. Her blonde hair was tied back into a tight braid underneath her officer's cap and had a red arm band with the Nazi party's swastika logo on it on her left arm. The woman made her way through the crowd of girls to stand in front of Archie. He could see that even covered up by the uniform she was a very shapely woman with large breasts and wide hips. She glared at him with ice blue eyes. "Du bist ein Amerikaner, ja?" the woman asked as she looked at his uniform. "Sorry I don't speak kraut," Archie responded. "It's German," the woman corrected him sternly in surprisingly good English. "You are a survivor from that crashed plane?" Archie nodded not seeing any reason to lie about that. "Are there any other survivors?" she asked. Archie didn't reply but just continued to stare into her face. "Suche weiter," the woman barked over her shoulder. The young women resumed searching the farmhouse. "Tell me if there are other survivors or my girls will kill them when they find them," the Nazi woman threatened. Archie wasn't sure if she was bluffing or not, but his gut instinct told him that she wasn't. "There are two others," Archie said. "Es gibt zwei andere," the woman barked. "Finden sie beide, und bringt sie zu mir." It wasn't long until the found Reggie and Jughead and brought both of them to the woman at gun point. The woman looked the other two over and then focused on Reggie. "You are the one in charge?" she asked. As a flight officer Reggie outranked Archie and Jughead. "You could say that," Reggie said. The woman slapped Reggie across the face with the back of her hand stunning him. "I do say that," she retorted. "I want your name and rank, all of you!" "Flight Officer Reggie Mantle," Reggie answered as he held his cheek which was turning red. "Private Forsythe Jones," Jughead said. "Private Archie Andrews," Archie replied. "I am Untersturmf�hrer Elisabeth K�fer," the woman said. "And you three are now my prisoners." The woman then turned to face the others. "Wir gehen zur�ck zur Festung Bl�hen," Elisabeth said. The women then led Archie, Reggie and Jughead outside. They saw that there were two vehicles, one a Sd.Kfz. 7 half-track and the other a K�belwagen. Archie, Reggie and Jughead were forced into the back of the half-while six woman kept guard while Elisabeth climbed into the K�belwagen with her driver. The K�belwagen then lead the way back out to the road the half-track following behind. They drove for at least half an hour travel further south and east deeper into Germany. "This is not good for trying to escape," Jughead whispered. "Nicht sprechen!" one of the guards shouted before striking Jughead in the gut with the butt end of her rifle. The three of them sat in silence for the remainder of the ride until they reached a small village at the foot of a mountain. As they drove through the village they saw women of all ages line the streets and give the Nazi salute as the two vehicle caravan drove through. All three of them thought it was a little strange how they didn't see any men. They turned at the main intersection of the village and began driving up a winding road up the mountain. As they looked up they saw that the spires of a castle rising up above the trees. "That looks like Hohenzollern Castle," Jughead remarked. He was treated to another rifle butt to the gut. "Das ist nicht Hohenzollern. Das ist Festung Bl�hen," the woman said. "I don't understand," Jughead groaned. "She said that it is not Hohenzollern it is Fortress Bl�hen," said another one in heavily accented English as she chuckled at Jughead's misfortune. "Fortress Bl�hen?" Archie asked. "Named after the new owner, Baroness Bl�hen," the woman replied. They didn't ask any more question not that there was really any time as they were now at the gates to the castle; although Fortress was perhaps a more apt name. The brick walls that surround the castle had clearly been heavily reinforced with concrete and they could see anti-aircraft guns mounted on the walls. The main gate showed signs of recent renovation having been widened and the reinforced. A short metal bridge crossed the twelve foot gap between the road and the gate. The convoy made its way into the castle and came to a stop in the court yard. The women got Archie, Reggie and Jughead out of the half-track and lined them up facing the main building. The women then lined up behind them at attention. Untersturmf�hrer Elisabeth K�fer got out of her vehicle and marched down the line inspecting them then stood off to the left. "Achtung!" she barked. "Baronin Bl�hen n�hert!" Archie, Reggie and Jughead saw a very tall red headed woman with deep green eyes who looked to be in her forties approaching dressed in a long figure fitting black dress. She wore a red swastika arm band on her left arm as all members of the Nazi party did. As she neared they saw that she had be close to 6'3" and they saw no sign that she was wearing high heels of any kind. She was accompanied by two women who looked to be closer in age to Elisabeth. One had on an identical uniform to Elisabeth but had long straight black hair and dark brown eyes. The other had on a similar uniform but the rank insignia on the hat and jacket suggested that she was of a higher rank. She had red hair which was tied back into two looping braids and looked as though she could be the first woman's daughter. Suddenly all at once Elisabeth and all of the other women stuck their right arm out and shouted. "Seig Heil!" The three newly arrived women mirrored the salute and chant before relaxing. "Was ist das Untersturmf�hrer K�fer?" the woman asked. "Meine kader fanden diese m�nner versteckt sich in einem nahe gelegenen bauernhof, Baronin," Elisabeth replied. "Sie sind amerikanisch?" the woman, who the boys guessed was Baroness Bl�hen, inquired. "Ja. Deren flugzeug st�rzte in feld der farm." Elisabeth replied. "Haben sie Deutsch sprechen?" Baroness Bl�hen asked. "Nein," Elisabeth replied. "Das ist bedauerlich," Baroness Bl�hen commented. The Baroness stepped towards the three young men and calmly and quietly looked them over. "You three are fortunate to have been found by my women," Baroness Bl�hen said in almost perfect English sounding almost British her accent was near perfect. "The Gestapo would have shot you on sight." The three of them stood there not sure how to respond. "Cat has your tongues, I believe is the phrase?" Baroness Bl�hen remarked. "I... uh, you speak English very well," Archie stammered. "I attended Cambridge," she replied. "So... what are you going to do with us?" Reggie asked nervously. "Well first we are going to interrogate you," Baroness Bl�hen replied. "You three are all low-ranking soldiers so I doubt you know much but we must follow protocol." "And after that?" Jughead asked utterly terrified. "Well after that it's up to my daughter Cheryl," Baroness Bl�hen answered. "Es wird mir eine freude, mit ihnen jungs umzugehen," the red haired girl behind her said. All of the other men chuckled at whatever it was she said, but Archie, Reggie and Jughead just felt even more nervous. "But before that I will be leaving you three in the more than capable of hands of Untersturmf�hrer Veronika H�tte." Baroness Bl�hen said. The black haired woman smirked as she rubbed her hands together. "Sie drei wird mir sagen, alles, was Sie wissen, ob Sie wollen oder nicht," Veronika said with a sinister grin. Baroness Bl�hen turned to her daughter. "Ich werde sie verantwortlich zu verlassen," she said. "Seig Heil!" Cheryl replied as she saluted. All the other women chanted and saluted as Baroness Bl�hen went back into the castle. Cheryl then turned back towards everyone else. "Nehmen sie die gefangenen auf den kerker," she ordered three of the women. "Ja Hauptmann Bl�hen," the women responded. The three women along with Untersturmf�hrer Veronika H�tte began leading Archie, Jughead and Reggie away. "Was soll ich machen?" Elisabeth asked. "Nehmen sie ihren kader zur�ck auf patrouille Untersturmf�hrer K�fer," Cheryl replied. "Ja Hauptmann," Elisabeth responded. "Actung kader! Wir werden wieder aus." Archie glanced over his shoulder to watch as Elisabeth and the remaining women went back to their vehicles to head back out. Meanwhile the three of them were being led to a rather ominous metal door. Veronika reached it first and opened it revealing a stone stair case that headed down. He had a bad feeling about what was going to happen next. To be continued...