The legacy of the dark blood

Chapter 39

The dungeons

With the scene they had witnessed, it was clear that Nick was up to something and had somehow gotten wind of the activities of Rowland and everyone else involved in the looting. In spite of this, Liz was not giving up hope that she could rescue the man alive, realizing that his information could be crucial in turning the investigation in a new direction.

Liz walked slowly through the gloomy dungeons which did not offer considerable space for the condemned, several of them identified Liz as a possible savior, so they did not hesitate to run towards the bars imploring a ransom; all of them spoke in languages unknown to her. Watching the terrified faces of all the unfortunates who had fallen into the hands of the Holzmanns as well as the terrible conditions they were in was shocking. Bernard went along with her, beckoning the prisoners to remain calm, until he came to David's cell.

"Mr. Rowland," sighed Liz as she observed the man sitting on the floor in a fetal position, who slowly raised his face to meet the agent, "This is David."

"Americans!" David celebrated by standing up and walking over to the fence "but, how? What are you doing here, how did you get here? ...."

"Investigating" replied Liz. She did not know if it was worth keeping her identity hidden; after all, both the German agents and Holzmann and all his army of otherworldly beings were already aware of it; with this idea in mind, Liz and Bernard showed the man their credentials as agents of the American government "A group of German agents is on its way to the palace, we hope to neutralize the whole area to be able to carry out their rescues".

Liz's answer did not entirely reassure Bernard and the reason she could easily understand. They had not really received a confirmation from Chris about the platoon approaching the courthouse; also, the duchess affirmed that there was no one on the way.

"I'm glad, but I think the madman was right," said David, referring to Nick and grabbing the wooden bars, "If I go missing, my family will pay the consequences.

"And the same will happen to us," interjected a woman from the cell opposite David's cell. Her accent was typical of one of the Nordic countries, although they were unable to identify which one it was -All our families are in custody, because of that madman.

Liz observed her carefully, she was a blonde woman covered by a torn white dress with dirt stains on most of it, as well as her face and arms, on which some scratches and sores stood out. She was the woman Ulrike Holzmann had stabbed in her breasts, still badly wounded; she was lying on the floor, and although her wound was no longer bleeding, her precarious state of health suggested that she had not received any medical care since then.

"What happened to her?" Bernard asked with concern as he watched the woman perish from the symptoms of a terrible infection. Liz, for her part, pretended to be unaware of what had happened, but the image was further proof of how accurate her visions had been.

"We don't know," replied the lady, "Only that she has been brought here to die as they have done with many of us. I have been here for months and I have seen many people die, from malnutrition, dehydration, infections and more; they treat us worse than animals" the woman sobbed after pronouncing the last words, while David Rowland listened to her story in horror as well. After that, she raised her voice tone "Now tell me, what the hell have you come here to do, shouldn't you be locked up like everyone else... wait!" she interrupted her speech and continued "You are Americans, just like the idiot in front of you" she affirmed referring to David "You and your bloody greed are the cause of all this apocalypse!"

"Hey, calm down!" Liz defended herself in disgust -we are not here to loot, we want to help.

"Do you really expect us to trust you?" asked the hysterical lady seeing how her cellmate was struggling with breathing difficulties and sweating "The Holzmanns have gone mad and it's all because of...."

"All because of us," David interrupted her, "They are government agents and have nothing to do with this, at least that's what their leader Max confirmed. None of them work for Mark".

Hearing their leader's name diverted the attention of the agents, who were waiting for more information to be revealed about their leader's whereabouts, but before he could respond, David continued.

"I have been separated from him since the trial and I don't know anything," the man began, telling his story "The statue of Anneliese Holzmann was here, in Germany, but Warren requested its transfer to the United States to be sold in that process for a juicy sum of money, I was with him in that process, I'm like his right hand in this business" the man spoke looking at the ground puzzled "The statue was found in the areas of Bavaria, after this area was assigned to the United States after the defeat of Germany in the Second World War; Charles Warren took advantage of the situation, the depression and the crisis in Germany to loot the area and although a group of German agents tried to prevent it after they entered the country illegally, they succeeded" David took a breath and looked Liz in the eyes who could not find the words to react to such a story "His grandson Mark and I found a merchant in the United States who would be willing to pay a larger sum, then we organized everything and the news went out all over the continent" That part of the story was known by the agents.

"So that's why this statue thing is causing havoc now," inferred Liz, waiting for David to finish telling his story.

"We have no doubt about that," said David again defeated by a feeling of sadness, almost on the verge of collapse. "From then on, people started disappearing here in Europe and one day I received a letter signed by a Klaus Günther, stating that he had my family and that if I didn't cooperate with them, they would kill them. I thought I would talk to Mark Warren about it, but he disappeared along with my wife and daughter, and said I would not see them alive unless I delivered the statue of Anneliese Holzmann with the crown. "

Again, that name Liz had initially preferred to ignore, but because of the stories that swirled around it, the agents found it necessary to inquire about it.

"Who is this Klaus Günther?" asked Bernard in anticipation of Liz, although after David began to sob, it was the lady in the tattered dress who answered.

"A former Nazi war criminal" she replied "At first glance he looks like a normal man, but he's a damned devil," she said, reaching the edge of despair, "Reich der Finsternis is isolated from the rest of the country, as you know, no electricity, no telephones, no nothing. Except for Günther; he's the only one of those demons who has access to news and stuff, everything that is known in Reich der Finsternis about the outside world, comes through him, but he communicates it directly to Herr Holzmann. The dark blood keeps him and the Holzmanns alive".

-Why are you here?" asked Liz.

"My father was a renowned forensic doctor in a hospital in Sweden," she answered, almost wanting to burst into tears, "He and I were brought here by Günther, along with my mother. Several of his henchmen live in Europe, they were the ones who kidnapped us and brought us to this horrible place. Günther asked for my father's services to perform experiments with the corpses, he refused at first and that's how he killed mom, right in front of us- at that moment, the woman could not contain herself anymore and started to cry" He told my father that he would do the same to me if I didn't obey him, then he agreed. I ended up here to keep us apart, but my father now works for Günther, in the concentration camp, doing horrible experiments on those who die at the hands of the Holzmanns.

As Mr. Holzmann had related, dark blood granted them the gift of longevity or even eternal life, but according to their initial experiences in the area, it also brought out all that was most detestable in the essence of human beings, characteristic of a superhuman evil force. Not only would they have to deal with the Holzmann family, but also with another of their most faithful servants.