The Son of Light

Chapter 8 The Sins Of Ghüddschland

Matthias, now completely naked as he usually was when alone in his room, reclined in his high back chair in front of the fire smoking a cigar and sipping whiskey. He looked again at the newspaper headline, and the guilt over Munrow's death came flooding back into his mind and gut. She Deserved it, she was a devil, a filthy murderous devil. He thought to himself. Matthias soon became drowsy and slipped off into an uneasy sleep

Crowds all around him were screaming and yelling their teeth barred, and stones came hurling at him pelting him in the head. "Kill them!" they roared. "Kill the Ghüddsche Pigs!" Matthias looked and saw that he stood in a long line of bloodied people in tattered clothes and chains like himself were hurriedly being marched by Soldiers in old uniforms. What? Where am I? Matthias thought terrified. The Soldiers lead them all through a throng of civilians who bore cudgle's and clubs who fell upon the crowd of thousands, clubbing and beating them with a hateful fury. Matthias saw a little girl and her mother be dashed to bits on the cobblestone road. An old man was being beaten by two younger men, all around him was blood and carnage. Hate and contempt. The soldiers did their best to keep the furfer of the crowd to a minimum, but did so in vain. All around Angry civilians Men, Women even Children fell upon the throng and savagely beat, cursed and killed those in chains. "Pigs!" they roared. "Wicked Pigs!" "Dogs!" "Bastards" "Fascist pigs!" and other such names and curses.

Matthias found himself being hit and beaten. He tried to fight back but the chains and the fear restrained him. He did not know how long the parade of carnage lasted, but suddenly they were outside a city, and all lined up along a crude ditch. The soldier began lining up the people and started to shoot them into the ditch. The whole crowd began to scream in terror as they realized their fate. Some tried pleading with the soldiers but were shot instantly, others tried to run but they were brought back by those with clubs. Forced to strip they all were whipped and into line before being shot dead and a new line was beaten into formation.

Matthias heard a child's voice cry. "No momma please I don't want to die!" Matthias turned to see a mother embracing her child tightly weeping for she had nothing left. Matthias watched in horror as the madness unfolded before him. The stench of blood, the screams and burnt smell of gunpowder overwhelmed him. I have to get away! I'm going to die! I won't die!

Matthias turned and ran, He heard the soldiers and their dogs behind him as he reached the treeline. Suddenly a sharp pain tore through his leg and he fell over. The dogs fell upon and began tearing into him with their teeth. Matthias screamed. The pain was worse than anything he ever felt. A soldier ran up to him and pointed his barrel at point blank. "NOO! PLEASE NOO!" screamed Matthias but they weren't his words. The bullet tore through him. And he died.

Matthias woke up screaming. He had fallen off his chair and was staring around the room expecting the soldiers and their dogs to still be there. But there was no one there. He felt something wet on his face and found there were tears on his cheeks. He looked up and nearly screamed as he saw the apparition of the corpse of a young boy a little older than he, with his dead eyes spilling tears from them. As he stared at the face the name of the deceased entered his mind. Lukas Meyer. He thought Poor Lukas Meyer. He choked on a gasping sob and fell over clutching his shivering body and crying once more. That wasn't a dream. That was a memory. Those feelings, those tears weren't mine. Those were his. "Lukas," he wept.

Unable to fall asleap, Matthias pulled on some trousers and began to pace the hallways of the house. Thunder roared and lightning flashed. It always seemed to rain here.  He tried to clear his mind but to no avail. He kept returning to the horrible nightmare, its visuals, and the audio. And unlike most dreams, this one didn't fade away the more he pondered it. This had not been the first vision of hate and terror Matthias had experienced. This happened to be another in at least a dozen past visions he had seen. Why do I suffer these memories? Is it not enough that I have to deal with my own painful experiences?  As Matthias sauntered through the halls, a piercing note of a string instrument split the air around him. Matthias stopped, startled. The haunting notes continued, seemingly piercing his very soul with it beautifully haunting rhythm.