The legacy of the dark blood

Chapter 32

The letter

They did not expect to find an alternate exit in the queen's cave, certainly not that Chris could immediately pinpoint it as an escape point from the rippers' threat. Their imposing, demonic roars carried deep into the gates of hell, as did the sounds of tearing muscle.

"I can't believe we made it," sighed Liz, struggling to catch her breath.

"Not all of us," said Bernard, but before he explained himself, Liz understood what he was getting at.

"We couldn't do anything" gasped Chris, showing the crown and placing it in a small briefcase he carried with him to gather all the evidence "Okay, now...." he said, looking around and sighing as he found the horses a few meters away from their current location. Now without Florian's guidance they had no resources to locate their next destinations: the upper part of Reich der Finsternis and the famous library.

"I'm so sorry for the young man," Bernard grieved, holding his hands to his heart.

Liz had already had to experience firsthand what it was like to see others die and not be able to do anything to help them, even as a child she had been present on her grandfather's death day, probably the first time she had experienced losing someone close to her. Those memories of her family were among her few consolations as she brought to mind the fateful destiny that awaited for her; even more so than the fact that she had survived the cave. There was, however, another question that troubled the agents.

"How did you realize there was another way out of the cave?" Liz asked Chris, who was looking at her a bit puzzled by the question "or better yet, how did you know it was an exit?"

"Intuition" explained Chris carrying the crown without wanting to elaborate too much on his answers "it was the only escape route available, our whole way out was infested with those bugs".

"We might as well have ended up in a much worse situation" groaned Bernard, although Chris' look communicated to him that this was not the time to complain.

Liz and Bernard knew that it wasn't the time to think about what could have happened, now the future of the mission was uncertain, the last thing they wanted was to surrender to their fate waiting for the dark secrets of the forest of doom to catch them by surprise. Chris attempted to communicate with his companions; he pressed the button hard until he got exasperated, waiting for Ulrich's answer. Minutes later, Chris' radio transmitter beeped and a voice that neither Liz nor Bernard recognized came from it.

„Hier spricht Eberhard. Leutnant Schneider, ich fordere einen Bericht über ihren Status an, ist alles in Ordnung bei Ihnen? (This is Agent Eberhard speaking. Lieutenant Schreiber, I request a report on your status, is everything all right with you?)"

„Jakob," Chris started „Bei uns ist alles in Ordnung, na sag mir, was ist mit Hauptmann Bunde passiert? (Everything is in order with us, now tell me, what happened to Captain Bunde?)"

For a minute, Chris forgot that Liz and Bernard were present and paused to listen to a long report in German that the agent identified as Jakob Eberhard was about to give. The message was long, and although the American agents failed to understand the report at all, they did manage to hear several mentions of Ulrich. However, it was Chris' uneasy expression that disturbed them the most; apparently, he had received tragic news.

Chris cut off the conversation abruptly and observed the American agents with a face of such notorious seriousness that showed how difficult it was for him to make a statement to them; he was frowning, looking for a fixed point to look at in desperation. He fumbled to address them, but first, he put his hand to his forehead and pressed his lips together in a titanic effort to restrain his emotions.