Steve awoke. He opened his eyes, but then immediately forced them tight shut again.

"Aw, geez! Who turned on the lights in here?" he said. He slowly blinked until he became used to the brightness of the room, then looked up.

"WOW!" he shouted, shocked to find the faces of Dr. Pretorius, Dieter, and Friedrich all within inches of his own. Realizing who they were he calmed and said, "Oh man, it's just you guys. You know, you have got to learn about personal space."

"So nice to have you back with us, my dear!" Pretorius greeted Steve. "I'm glad you're awake. We have work to do."

Steve watched the doctor with increasing uneasiness, especially when Pretorius wheeled his gurney to the operating theatre, locking the wheels in place as it came to rest beside the table of scalpels and other assorted medical operating equipment. The doctor picked up a pair of rubber gloves, and worked his hands into them.

"So, what's on the schedule today?" Steve asked, his voice shaking slightly to betray his growing apprehension.

"Oh, have you forgotten?" Pretorius said as he arranged his instruments. "That's right, you just woke up. Perhaps you're still a bit sleepy. Why don't I recap our current situation?

"I need to understand exactly what it is that keeps you alive. To do that, I need to examine your brain. And by examine, I mean remove it. Take samples. Run chemical tests on it. Observe its reaction to various stimuli such as electric shock."

Steve attempted to remain calm, although his attempts were not completely successful. "Right. Yes, I remember some of that conversation now. Look doc, I know we've had our differences, and I'm sorry about your desk and everything, but you can't just kill me!"

"Oh, don't worry about that," said Pretorius with a dismissive gesture. "You will not die. You will be quite alive throughout the entire process."

"So, you'll put my brain back when you're done?" Steve asked. "I mean, like you did before?"

Pretorius looked up, thinking about what she had said. "Do you know, I hadn't thought about it. I suppose I could, yes. Assuming I learn the secret of life from examining your brain, it would be possible to put whatever remains back into this body."

Steve started to look hopeful.

"But then," Pretorius continued. "I don't see why I should bother. I can continue to keep your brain alive far more easily in a jar. It will be much more convenient that way, always accessible should I need it for further experiments in the future. Just think, you will continue to live forever, safe and sound on a shelf."

"Okay, thanks for all your hospitality and everything, but I think it's time I was leaving," Steve told them. He attempted to sit up, straining against his leather restraints, but couldn't move.

Pretorius continued to work, facing away from Steve. "You have been given a rather potent muscle relaxant while you slept. Enough to stop a charging rhinoceros in its tracks. Enough to leave you with no more strength than the little girl you appear to be. I'm afraid your immense undead strength will not be able to help you."

He turned around and held up a rather large hypodermic syringe, tapping the glass to remove any bubbles clinging to the side. He pressed the plunger slightly to eject a small stream of clear fluid from the needle. "Any final words?" he suggested.

"uh, help?" Steve said in barely more than a whisper. This was followed by a slightly louder "Help." Then he found his voice and continued with, "Help! HELP! Somebody HELP!" His screams were accompanied by a great deal of strenuous, albeit ineffective thrashing and straining against his restraints.

"No one remains in the building above who could possibly hear you, my dear. Now please calm yourself. This is liable to hurt." Pretorius leaned in close to Steve. "A lot."

_____
+–+–+
(@ @)
  VVV

Zolfina turned to Roddy, both their faces hidden in the darkness of the tunnel. "Roddy, what are we going to do?" she asked urgently.

Roddy looked out into the cavern, assessing the threat of the new arrivals. "We can't get around them, so we'll need to wait here until they leave. But don't worry. If we're forced back into the tunnels, I'll find us a way out."

Zolfina looked at Roddy as if she didn't know him. "You cannot mean this," she said. "That girl is in trouble! We have to help her!"

Roddy couldn't face Zolfina and so looked away. "That girl is Valeria Engel. Better known to you as Major Valeria Engel, of the SS. The woman who imprisoned you for a year. Performed experiments on you. And now she's tried to give herself eternal life, and apparently has gotten caught in her own web of deceit. I've already watched her die once this week. Once more is fine by me."

Zolfina looked at Roddy, her eyes searching his for pity. "Not like this," she said. "No one deserves this."

Roddy avoided Zolfina's gaze, but eventually was forced to look at her. He knew she was right.

"Fine," he said petulantly. He knew she was right, but he didn't have to like it! Roddy handed Zolfina the remote detonator.

"If I'm in trouble out there just bring the house down," he told her, pressing the remote into her hands.

Zolfina smiled, and kissed him on the cheek. "I will!"

Roddy took a step toward the lab, but turned back. "Only if I'm in trouble," he reminded her.

"Yes!" Zolfina exclaimed happily.

Roddy took one more step, but turned back again. "And you don't have to look so darned happy about it!"

Roddy stepped into the lab and pulled out his Webley service revolver as he approached the strange group in the middle of the room.

"Stop right there!"

Pretorius, Dieter and Friedrich looked up from the table in surprise. Even Steve, strapped to the table, twisted his neck to see who could possibly be approaching.

"Who the devil are you?" Pretorius exclaimed.

"Just step away from the girl. And keep your hands where I can see them!"

"That's the old guy!" Dieter told him as they all raised their hands and took a step back.

"Yeah, the really old guy!" added Friedrich. "From the restaurant!"

Pretorius looked at Roddy in disbelief, then became enraged as he looked back and forth between the two stooges. His raised hands clenched into fists which shook above his head as he screamed at them, "Forty-Two?"

Roddy approached the table. Without taking his eyes or gun off the three men, he fumbled with one hand for the strap holding Steve's wrist to the gurney.

"Thanks for the rescue," Steve said from his prone position. "I thought I was a goner for sure!"

"Don't thank me so soon," Roddy suggested. "I'm not particularly happy about finding you alive. You're my prisoner now until I figure out what to do with you!"

"Oh come on, seriously?" Steve said in exasperation. "I can't just be rescued by some normal person who doesn't want to kill me?"

Roddy was getting nowhere, working on Steve's wrist strap one-handed. He risked a glance down to see what he was working with. When he looked back, none of his three prisoners had moved. Except they were no longer looking at him. They were looking up, over his shoulder.

Roddy spun around to see what they were looking at, when a massive hand clamped down on his wrist. A second hand grabbed him by the collar and tossed him like a bowling ball across the room.

Roddy sat up from where he had rolled to a stop. Seeing The Monster approaching he attempted to get to his feet, but unfortunately only made it as far as his knees.

"For a big guy you really can sneak up on a person," Roddy said to The Monster. Realizing he still had his revolver, he raised it with both hands and trained it on the behemoth.

"Stop right there!" Roddy called out as he struggled to his feet. Except The Monster did not stop; it continued to walk toward him, toward the gun.

It continued forward, even as Roddy threatened repeatedly, until the gun was pressed into its chest. It then twisted the revolver out of Roddy's hands and tossed it over the edge, down into the deep, underground chasm.

The two of them were standing directly in front of the pillar. 'Now, Zolfina!' he thought to himself. 'Blast it, why doesn't she detonate?'

The Monster took one last look at Roddy, assessing him as no longer a threat, then turned and walked toward the others. The explosives were Roddy's only chance against this creature. Roddy had to get him to come back!

"Hey you!" Roddy called after him. The Monster stopped, and turned an ear toward Roddy. "Yeah, you! Big ugly! I'm talking to you!"

The Monster turned fully around, facing Roddy once again. "Is that all you got?" Roddy asked, trying to hide the pain and exhaustion in his voice. "I fought you here before, remember? And I beat you! You up for more of the same?"

The Monster snarled, and walked back to Roddy. Eventually it towered over him, then reached down and lifted him off the floor by his jacket.

'Any time now!' Roddy thought to himself, as the pillar beside him continued to not explode.

The Monster pulled back his arm, and the next thing Roddy knew he was flying backward through the air. He eventually landed, bounced and rolled into the tunnel not far from where Zolfina waited.

Zolfina looked down at him. "Now?" she asked, displaying the remote detonator.

Roddy looked back at her, dazed but still able to work up a slight level of annoyance. "Yes, now!" he managed to tell her. He looked out the entrance in time to see that The Monster was still beside the pillar.

Zolfina pushed the button, and the entire cavern shook. The Monster was thrown across the laboratory, smashing into a stone wall where he collapsed. It was unclear what else might have happened, as a thick cloud of dust filled the room. What was clear however was that the roof did not collapse.

Roddy looked up at Zolfina, who helped him to his feet once again. "Why didn't you detonate?" he asked.

Zolfina shrugged. "You said to wait until you were in trouble. You were never really in trouble."

Roddy and Zolfina left the safety of the tunnel, and entered the enormous cavern. The dust was beginning to clear, and the pillar was visible. Damaged but still standing, with some of the concrete removed and some of the reinforcing steel bars visible.

"Boy, those German engineers really knew their stuff!" Roddy said as he inspected the pillar.

"And what of him?" asked Zolfina, indicating The Monster, who lay unmoving on the floor.

"Him?" said Roddy as he walked over to the lifeless body. He bent down to get a better look, when a massive hand shot out and grabbed him by the jacket once again.

The Monster opened his eyes and stood, lifting Roddy off the ground.

"That all you got?" Asked The Monster in a voice thick and gravelly from disuse. He then proceeded to carry Roddy over to the cliff, dangling him over the edge.

"Before you die," The Monster said as he held Roddy by one hand, his arm stretched straight out over the edge. "All those years, you waited. Why?"

Roddy looked The Monster in the eyes. "To see if you returned," he told him. "To be here if you did. And, if I could, to destroy you!"

The Monster grinned, possibly one of its most terrifying expressions. Then it pulled Roddy back, and set his feet safely on the floor.

"Right answer," said The Monster.

"I don't understand," said Roddy. "You want me to kill you?"

"I want you to want to kill me," said The Monster. "Better that you should want to kill me, than you should want to make more of me!"

The Monster then turned, and looked directly at Steve. Steve had been watching the action as if disconnected from it, and was at first surprised, then dismayed and quickly moved on to terrified as he found himself the focus of The Monster's attention once again. He struggled with his bonds, too weak to escape from the gurney as The Monster came ever closer, until he was looking upside-down at it while it stared down at him. Steve stopped struggling, and just looked at the horrifying creature above him.

"You do not deserve to live," The Monster told him. He then stepped on the mechanism to unlock the gurney wheels, swung it around to face the abyss, and pushed.

 Steve and the gurney headed straight toward the chasm. No one could stop it; Fräulein Stein would plunge to her death.

A/N: No! Not another cliffhanger ending! (literally this time.) Will poor Steve never catch a break?