The legacy of the dark blood

Chapter 60

The future of the mission

Exhausted was Liz, not only had she escaped the relentless attacks of Holzmann's executioner, but she had also managed to end its existence; she felt an indescribable peace in her soul, the dark aura that surrounded the monstrous being had vanished after the river creatures had used it as food. Uncertain of what might now await them, she dropped to the ground to catch her breath and gaze up at a sky that was tending to darken.

"Sharrow," Nick called her attention from the substation, running toward her. Liz was able to stand to greet the officer, safe and sound. This time, a look of astonishment came over his face "you did it" he muttered "I can't believe it, you really did it" Liz smiled subtly at him.

"We did it," she sighed, "your contribution was essential in the end," Liz looked back at the river waters, as calm as when they had entered the power station. It was the end of the storm. "And all it took was a 10,000 volt shock, two explosive grenades, five 50 caliber rifle shots and hundreds of hungry aquatic bugs" she smiled with irony checking the perfume bottle, Nick, however, was watching her with rigor- and yet to think that two doses of perfume were more effective than all that- she affirmed throwing the bottle a few centimeters into the air and catching it again. "What happened to the punishers," Nick looked to the side of the substation where the mangled bodies of several of the monsters lay.

"My partners and I took care of them" answered Nick, this time with more energy.

"All of them?"

"All of them," Nick reaffirmed after wiping some drops of sweat from his eyes and looking towards the bridges leading to the substation, "Here they come".

Liz made a quick turn after Nick's words, she was not prepared for another confrontation, peace returned to her soul as she found Fritz and Berger behind her.

"That was awesome," Berger applauded with a look of astonishment, "we finally got rid of that monster. We made him pay for what he did to Captain Bunde".

"And my partner and the other German officers," added Liz, frowning at the water and changing to a smile mixed with anguish, "Good, now all we have left is Dr. Günther and the whole Holzmann family," despite her sarcastic tone, the officers thought about it for a few seconds, until Liz turned to Nick again, "I guess you were able to lower the opening levers".

Nick didn't answer her, instead he pointed to the area of the substation where minutes earlier he had confronted Holzmann's executioner, finding the transformers destroyed, as well as several of the transmission lines emanating an unbearable smell of incinerated polymers.

"Sharrow, you destroyed the entire power grid, it is no longer necessary," Liz did not know if the officer was congratulating her or reprimanding her for the action, "The best thing to do now is to get out of here and take our positions".

"What about the team that must infiltrate the concentration camp?" Liz asked, remembering that they now had to rescue Anika and the other hostages.

"We have already done our part," commented officer Fritz, "now we must let them do their job and give us access to the concentration camp," he turned his gaze towards the substation that was mostly destroyed, "someone must have heard the explosion and the monsters, we must get out of here immediately.

The agents took the same entrance route to start their return to the forest of damnation that soon would be covered by the night darkness, each day that passed the days lost duration, thus increasing the infernal powers that plagued Reich der Finsternis. None of the German officers were aware of the unique paranormal appearance of the dark waters, and Liz came to believe that the force was only manifesting itself in her subconscious.

They were back in the forest surroundings covered with trees mostly straight in shape. They were on their way to the concentration camp a little over two miles from the hydroelectric power station; there was, however, one concern that assailed Liz and she felt it was time to discuss it with her new companions.

"eh... Andreas, Tobias" Liz called the officers by their names as a sign of trust and respect. They stopped their march to listen to what she had to say, as did Nick "You see, I could notice your facial expressions when I told you how much I thanked you for your cooperation, is there anything I should know about?"

Andreas Berger pursed his lips; in Liz's judgment, what they had to say would definitely not be to her liking.

Liz couldn't help but despair at the men's silence, which was interrupted by Nick.

"Sharrow," Liz turned to Nick, "I'm afraid our collaboration is not going to be so easy from now on".

"What are you getting at?" Liz asked, a bit annoyed, thinking that this was some attempt by Nick to separate their paths.

"Deisler has a point," Tobias Fritz addressed her, "Listen, Captain Bunde was very kind and understanding with you, even though you were operating clandestinely in this sector, without informing us of anything. Not only did he give you help at the beginning, but he also offered to collaborate with you to end this damn nightmare, we all want the same thing and any help is worth gold" she sighed sadly, remembering her deceased captain "It was very typical of Captain Bunde, but you know that normally this kind of collaboration is not that easy".

Liz already understood where things were going, she couldn't help but look worried.

"As you know, Captain Bunde is no longer with us," mentioned Andreas also sadly, "Now, it is Commander Eberhard who is leading the mission, and unfortunately he is not so understanding and kind, he is very strict. He doesn't know that we are working with you on this nor that the American government is involved".

"Wait, no," Liz exclaimed with concern, "Bernard is dead, Max is under the control of the Holzmanns! And to complete my good luck, I haven't been able to communicate with the rest of my group" the girl raised her voice with every word "I didn't face a murderous mastodon almost by myself to be left here stranded!" she returned her gaze to her companions.

"We do understand and we won't leave you alone" answered Andreas "You have proven to be a very skilled agent, maybe Commander Eberhard can consider that, but I can't guarantee anything".

"Nick," Liz looked to the officer who had become her partner since Bernard's death for support.

"I'm sorry Sharrow," he apologized without remorse, "but I can't do anything for you, I don't have the best reputation and you know it. Commander Eberhard was the first to oppose my participation in this operation".

"What about Steffi?" asked Liz upset, "She has references of mine, maybe she can support me".

"Officer Lenz is fine, thank God," commented Tobias, "her medical knowledge has been crucial in this hell, but other than that, she is a simple cadet. What she says won't influence much in the decisions taken by the higher commands" The officers also looked dismayed by the situation- Berger and I might be able to help you, we'll mention your crucial collaboration to get rid of Holzmann's executioner and interrupt the energy. In any case, in what we are going to do in the concentration camp we will continue to collaborate and, in any case, we can help you to contact your people. Maybe they are looking for you right now.

Liz had not thought about the latter, since the beginning of the mission it had not been possible to communicate with her group; the idea that they might be looking for her gave her some hope, although she did not rule out that perhaps Max had given them false information so that they would not intervene in his illegal actions. She knew then that their main objective now was to find Anika and all of her country's citizens, that being the initial goal of their mission. Before continuing, they heard once again the screams of one of the punishers spreading from the bowels of the forest; Liz had already put herself and the German officers on guard, but to their surprise, the screams were accompanied by an explosion and terrifying screams. The officers came to think that someone was in trouble and rushed to the spot to provide help, finding the body of a punisher on the ground with its thoracic area destroyed and several crossbow arrows buried under its bark.

Nick turned on his flashlight to check the perimeter, finding once again a figure that Liz recognized instantly. That brave red-haired woman in a green medieval warrior's dress was pointing a crossbow at them and lost herself in the middle of the forest once she realized that they were watching her. They decided to ignore her and run towards Günther's concentration camp.