The legacy of the dark blood

Chapter 10

A sleepless night

The night was so far quiet; out of the tents, only the steady footsteps of the officers on guard could be heard. Each of the American agents had been invited to share a tent with other agents; in Liz's case, she was accompanied by Steffi and another agent she had never previously spent time with. Despite feeling to some degree secure in the area, the girl could not get to sleep as her tent mates did. It was the horrid images of the town and the uncertainty regarding her future in that place that devoured her insides. Usually, she always found support in such circumstances from Bernard, although the protocols the agents had forbid the men to share dormitories with women. Steffi, for her part, had shown herself to be a kind and sympathetic woman, however, Liz did not want to bother her.

At one point they heard the wind blowing fiercely towards them creating a sort of ghostly sound as was usual in the autumn season. Despite the low temperatures outside, Liz, lying on the tent, felt a sultry heat that made her sweat even without wearing her black leather jacket at bedtime, although in the depths of her subconscious she felt that this unusual thermal sensation was not linked to the room temperature but to a condition of her own. With the strong blowing of the wind, she came to perceive some disturbing roars up to the time when the agent, witnessing how the image projected in her eyes was distorted to the point of not being able to distinguish anything at all in front of her, could see how the Machiavellian images of the blood rituals illustrated in the paintings with an imposing realistic style separated her from the reality of her surroundings. Her nervousness then reached an overwhelming level that caused her to get up from the bed emitting a slight scream, feeling her sudden return to reality that was coupled with a strong burning in her abdomen as a cause of her wound, which produced a slight bleeding that she could notice after slightly lifting her black strapless shirt.

Liz sighed at a quickened rate as she felt beads of sweat slide down her forehead and simultaneously continued to listen to the strong blowing of the wind that dragged leaves and even branches. After her groaning and loud fast breathing, Steffi woke up and gently got up to find an overwhelmed Liz. Despite a gesture of exhaustion, she willingly set about helping her with a good attitude.

"Ist alles ok mit dir?" Steffi asked partially lying on her stretcher; forgetting that Liz couldn't understand her, "Excuse me, is everything okay with you?

Liz raised her hand trying to indicate that everything was fine, even though her face expressed the opposite. Facing the situation, Steffi walked towards her with an attempt to reassure her.

"I'm fine, it was just a kind of nightmare, I think," Liz's explanation didn't quite convince Steffi, who wanted to give her point of view with more professionalism.

"Look, I know we hardly know each other, but I want you to know that I'm here to help in any way I can. I can tell that you are not well, I notice symptoms of dizziness" The German officer's words were somewhat comforting for Liz, because what she expected was that she was upset for having interrupted her sleep "Besides, I could see that there is something in your waist that is irritating you, would you like me to make an assessment?"

The officer's attitude towards Liz was quite supportive, so much so that she accepted her proposal hoping that, being in charge of the investigation of the events of Reich der Finsternis and taking care of the wounded, would give her a possible explanation for what she was suffering from.

Liz lay on her gurney watching as the German officer began to check her over, from taking her temperature and blood pressure, to measuring her pulse.

"Your vital signs are all fine, although the heart rate feels a little accelerated," Steffi told her, making Liz understand that her state of health had little to do with what she had just experienced, "Could you tell me a little about what you saw in your dream? And also, what is bothering you in the abdominal area?" After Steffi's brief questionnaire, Liz decided to tell her about the situation she had experienced.

"Wait, you woke up in a chapel?" Steffi asked her with a startled expression. Liz nodded in astonishment as well, worried about what a similar story might mean. She could see that the medical officer was looking at her right hand, holding her abdominal area where the burning was coming from "Come on, let's see what you have there!"

Liz was forced to follow Steffi's instructions, so she had no choice but to get on the stretcher and lift up her shirt, revealing that slightly healed wound in the shape of a five-pointed star with a minor bleeding. Although at first glance it didn't seem to be anything to be alarmed about, Steffi showed a gesture of astonishment that upset Liz, making her think that her situation was much more compromising than she had imagined.

"It's just a few scratches, isn't it?" she asked in anguish at the torturous need to know what was wrong.

"At first glance it looks like it, but...." The doctor's sudden pause made it clear that she had a statement to make that would probably not please her. Liz made a gesture of desperation that revealed her desire to know the truth, so Steffi was forced to continue, "Look, we still don't know for sure what they have done to you. What is certain is that the five-pointed star that you have marked is the shield that is found in all the meeting points of this "sect". But it doesn't end there; I am in charge of checking all the bodies of the villagers who have fallen in our confrontations, and we have found that many of them also have that wound."

Liz had previously noted that the five-pointed star had an important meaning for those creatures, but Steffi's last comment made her think that her wound in the abdominal area might be compromising her more than she expected, probably to the point that it was related to those disturbing images that were involuntarily flashed in her eyes.

"This doesn't look good then" Liz complained emitting a heavy sigh, although Steffi indiscreetly asked her to keep calm and continued explaining the situation to her.

"It's probably just a mark, although I'm struck by how quickly it has healed," Steffi took some instruments from her medical kit and asked Liz to show her her arm, "I'm going to take a blood sample and inject you with something, which will be enough to avoid infection for the moment.

Heeding the officer's recommendations, Liz let her do her job quietly, ignoring all the procedures being performed and casting a calm glance towards the ceiling of the tent. After culminating with the examinations, it was estimated that it was a little after two in the morning; by then the wind was already blowing with less force, but a small amount of precipitation broke with the short silence, not turning into rain. Despite the situation, the voices of the German agents outside the tent could be heard with increasing intensity and frequency; it was clear that something was not quite right. At one point, someone approached the tent, opening it with a single jerk and reflecting a notoriously worried face; it was Bernard, who with a single glance made it clear that he had something important to communicate, surely something terrible.

"Bernard, for God's sake, what's wrong with you?" Liz asked her friend, because since she knew him, it was not very common for him to enter a place like that without announcing himself, and even less with such a worried face.

"It's Max, I've been looking for him along with other agents, he's NOT SHOWING UP!"