Plura Ater Nox

Chapter 22

He had operated in peace; the monk that had frequently given him sceptical glances seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth. That didn't bother Wherther much, for he didn't care much for the intrusive monk anyway.

It allowed for him to work uninterrupted. It was quite to his liking. However, out of paranoid reflex, he found himself frequently glancing over his shoulder, as he relayed information he had gathered.

Like now, he had to glance over his shoulder before he took out notes from his latest espionage sortie. He didn't need the risk of having anyone discover quite yet what he was up to. He had highly sensitive information he was lucky as hell to have got his hands on.

He was looking over his notes, refreshing his memory before he tried to make another call over the makeshift radio to Lieutenant Van Eyke, who he was gathering information for. He had expected the Lieutenant to not cut him off, yet it frequently seemed to be happening and after being dismissed for interrupting the man, as he spoke to an obviously French girl.

He gritted his teeth in frustration to that. Here, he had the finest information around and his superior was dismissing him for some bitch.

'Fine, we'll see how you react when the special task force does attack.' He growled to himself, unaware that he was being watched at this moment.

In the shadows of the archway stood the monk, Marcus Faulkner.

Bushing bangs back from his face, he entered the room, solemnly watching the man, whom he had confirmed his suspicions of. He moved in stealthily silence, only making his presence known with the clearing of his throat.

Wherther jumped in shock, turning to face the intruder, a feral snarl escaping him at the sight of the monk.

~~~~

It was the height of night that blanketed the bleak ghetto holding prisoner thousands of members of the Austrian Jewish community. In this night, not a sound of life could be heard, only the faint rustle of leaves of trees that were far off and the musical chirp of crickets.

The on duty deployment of SS Officers patrolled the streets in a mechanical manner, their boots clicking over the cobblestone roads. There was a dull rhythmic beat to it, indicting deathly conformity. No one foot hit the pathway through the ghetto when another didn't. The movement of the officers seemed almost choreographed to the point of having them all walk at the same pace, though not travelling in a tightly knit wolf pack.

The hypnotic rhythmic beat of their feet kept sleep from reaching Achan. He lay awake on the scantly excuse for a beat. Normally he would have quickly left this world for the more comforting solace of never-never land. Instead, he lay away on the concrete block, hay serving as his mattress, for the Nazis had stripped the ghetto of all comforts and luxuries.

He sighed, turning to look out the dirtied window, seeing only a hazy version of the velvet night sky above. He saw the faint and far away lights of the moon, and no stars. On nights where he didn't fall asleep, he would search the sky for his constellation, as well as his sister's.

Turning over, he poked his sister. "Arielle. Arielle." He repeated her name, only to get a grunt and no other particularly significant reply. Growling, he then smirked, letting little icicles grow off the end of her nose.

"HEY!!" She woke up with a start, batting the offending freezing items from her nose, turning a death glare on her younger brother. "What's your problem?!"

"Nothing. I just can't sleep and I feel like something's going to happen." Achan whispered, grabbing his sister's arm.

Rushing his hair soothingly, Arielle sighed. "We know something will, but when and what we don't know. We'll never know. We can only pray to Yahweh1 that this will only end soon and that that awful Führer will be struck down by his hand."

"I hope you're right. But we can always wait for Mr Kepler to come through for us and get us those passports that he promised."

"I as well, though I don't place much confidence in him. For we don't know if he's going along with the Germans because of the Axis alliance, or because of the Anschluss2 that they formed with our country."

Achan nodded solemnly, turning to look out the window again.

~~~~

Confidently, Captain Andreas held the recruitment papers, glancing over the list of the men that recently joined. He sighed, no one of real value. He needed men that had assets that could contribute to the special task force that was being created. So far, he found nothing.

He hadn't noticed the stray page sitting alone. The open window blew the page his way, so it was sitting on a pile of scattered papers. Taking it, he gave it a cursory glance over. The young man had slanted writing, showing that he was evidently left-handed. The captain didn't think much of that. He did however take note of the young man's skills that had been noted.

'So, he's one of the boys that Chelsea talked of that were with the IRA. How lovely that we get a man with talent.' He thought, a cold smile caressing his features. 'It would be nice to meet the lad in person instead of judging by what is written here.'

Placing the page down, he noticed that there was a second page stapled to the application. Turning over the page, his eyes imperturbably scanned the page. A thin inimical smile crept over his lips. So, there was more to the lad than what he had expected. Perhaps there was going to be something of value contributed to this task force.

True enough he had lost a kid with skill, but now, he had a boy with even more skill, one that could be nourished both negatively and positively. He had more to work with here than he had with the other boy. This kid probably had inert powers that had yet to flourish. It would be of great value if he could mould the youth.

'Yes, so instead of Amiboshi, I get Suboshi to work with. It's just as well. He didn't fail me before, and the other did.' Captain Andreas reasoned glacially. He sat back, once more taking a thorough look over the forms.

Standing in the doorway, facing him was Captain Stonewall. "So, thinking about how you can exploit these young men in order to meet your goals?!"

"No, I'm thinking of how I can turn the inert powers of one of the new recruits into something that is usable on the special task force."

"You still sound like you're withholding details. Do tell, as I'm also running this special task force." He replied, walking in, curtly plucking the paper from his colleague's grasp, his eyes scanning the page.

"So, you've recruited reincarnations." It was more a statement of facts than a question on the part of the captain. "Sure you're not going to exploit the young man like you did in your other life?!"

"Perish the thought, Stonewall. I merely plan on nourishing what powers the boy has and the inert ones that he harbours."

"So, mould him into something for your own ends?!"

"You make it sound like such a vile thing."

~~~~

The lips of the Gestapo officer twisted into a sadistic smirk. It was time to take those three youths. He didn't have to have reason, just a suspicion of dissent because they weren't part of the master race. They would be thoroughly eliminated and their activities publicised so no other would consider such illicit things in protest to the Führer's unquestionable and destined leadership.

Aaron himself once had had the pleasure of meeting the man. He had been wooed and felt an undying faith, for the man highlighted what was important in life. He felt that this man could do no wrong; that those that opposed him were wrong.

He was ready to take the youths.

With his men at his beck and call, he knocked down the door, facing three stunned youths.

They didn't have time to reply, before six Gestapo officers hurried in, curtly placing all three young persons under arrest. The three youths were addressed by the head of the officers, Aaron: "I'm Officer Aaron Schnip, and I hereby place you three, Elisabet Schuldich, Theodor Dietrich and Nickolaus Wendell under arrest for suspicious activity. You have the right to remain silent and anything you say or do will be held against you in your trial to determine if you are indeed worthy of staying in the Führer's country. Consider yourselves lucky that you're even being given such a chance.

"Take them away." He barked his order at his men.

Watching in lascivious satisfaction, he smirked, watching the three being escorted out before they had a chance to even retort what was happening to them. But it was just as well, they didn't deserve to live. After all, they were inferior.

His hand landed on some papers. His eyes calmly caressed the pages, reading the evidence. He couldn't help but to smile. He had complete proof of his suspicions. They were indeed planning dissent. It hadn't been his imagination.

He picked up and pocketed it. Such deliciously, incriminating evidence it was. How proud of him his superior would be. It would be nice to receive praise for his work. It had been so long since he had.

The silence was shattered.

The loud voice of Theodor protesting the arrest, claiming it was hardly justified and that there wasn't any justification for this, had made his case known and had broken the quietude. Aaron watched as the boy fought. His eyes widened, for the boy wasn't as slight as he seemed, in fact, he had even got out of the shackles.

Growling, he ran out, forgetting the papers he had just pocketed and the sense of self-inflation, he found himself relishing in. Drawing his Gestapo issued pistol and ran after the boy, that had taunted some of the officers.

He stopped in his tracks, watching in horror as the boy teleported and two of his men dropped dead. The weapon had been nothing more than the shackles.

Following the line of pursuit of his friend, the second boy, Nickolaus, had summoned up vines, effective trapping two more officers. He then used the thorns of his vines to pick the locks free. He now too was free, the only one who wasn't, but seconds later was, was Elisabet.

This was no good. Lunging forward, Aaron gasped, as something struck him. He didn't know what it was, nor did he have time to realise exactly what had happened to him in that one minute of uncertainty. All he knew was that something impaled him.

What he didn't know was that he lay static on the ground, a gaping hole in his chest, his flesh torn by the thorns of Nickolaus' vines. He bled profusely from the open wound. His eyes were open side, all life drained from his pallor. He lay, his blood forming a puddle of fluids.

There was a tense moment before his hand twitched.

Elisabet gasped and cried out. Holding Theodor she turned her face away. "Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god…" She shook. "He's dead, but…his hand moved!"

Even Nickolaus was shocked. He could have sworn he had just killed the Gestapo officer. But he didn't want to believe what he was seeing. True enough, he was seeing the man lying in a putrid smelling cesspool of festering scarlet blood. That he believed. He couldn't believe that the hand of the officer had moved.

Lest expected to be shocked were the other Gestapo officers. They had turned to seize the youths, but had their attention turned when Aaron Schnip was knocked to the ground, dead as night. He bled, there was no doubt about that, but they stared incredulously as his fingers and hands twitched.

~~~~


"You know, you're not exactly concealing yourself by acting like this. You're much entirely too paranoid. I should have stopped your actions far sooner, yet, I found myself not catching you at the appropriate time." Father Faulkner remarked, standing in the archway, watching Wherther with narrowed eyes.

"Damn you…" The German spy growled scathingly. He turned, reaching for something, anything. He didn't want his work to be stopped at any time. He was getting slow to being successful and didn't feel like succumbing to failure at this time.

"Curse me all you want, but you're going to pay for your demonic aura that has brought a curse unto my Cathedral!" Father Faulkner exclaimed coldly, moving in for the intruder.

Hardly phased by the threats of the priest. Whether carefully put his papers away. He would give them to Lieutenant Van Eyke on another day. Right now, he had more concerns, he had to get rid of the annoying monk.

He kept his back to the monk for a moment, but that was the worst mistake he could have ever made. He made the error of underestimating the monk and what he could do. He knew next to nothing of what this monk was…

He turned, to see the monk clasping his hands in prayer, holding rosary beads. He didn't have time to tune into the words of the chant, before the windows barred over and the door bolted shut. Through the area, hymns of heaven chimed, angelic voices cried down, as spirits of the blessed and sanctified danced.

"You're eternally damned…" The father declared, a white light coming to surround him. However, he hadn't counted on the white light becoming something of a brilliant red light. On his knee converged a warmth...

He opened his eyes, strong conviction filling them. "You have always been, Miboshi."

The monk had no reason why he had uttered that name, it just seemed fitting for the type of person that this German was. Certainly nothing less, but certainly something more. He didn't associate it with possible memories. After all, reincarnation was reserved only for the Lord's saints and angels who were to overlook the safety of the earth.

~~~~

The twitching hand of the dead Gestapo officer was a sign that should have been heeded, but it wasn't. In minutes, from the fallen body emerged a wolf like creature. It stared around, a growl leaving him. His eyes were identical to Aaron's.

The creature seemed to have a sense of human intelligence to it as it didn't go after the other frantically scattering Gestapo officers, instead, it launched itself at the three youths. Its claws and teeth were bared for the world to see, as a feral growl escape him, salvia seeping from his jaw, making it appear almost rabid.

The three hadn't time to react, for fear consumed them all. Quickly, each fell victim to the animal. They were each treated the same, as a snack. Their limbs were violently torn from their bodies, strings of muscles and guts spewing out of the openings. Out of those openings also trickled out blood, forming puddles around each of the fallen bodies.

There was no respect for the three, for their bodies were castrated. Even decapitated in cold bloodlust. The wolf had no mercy and had torn the three apart, leaving nothing salvageable for burial, that was, if there was to be one. The extremities, the limbs were scattered over the rain-covered ground.

The blood of the fallen stained the small puddles of water that lay, drying on the ground. The fallen themselves were no longer whole, their bodies each torn apart. Arms lay listlessly around, legs were mangled, maimed and twisted, as though gnawed on as a chew toy. The heads of each of the three young persons hadn't been spared either.

Each had raw bone showing through the savagely ripped and shredded flesh of their faces, and temples… The hair that was once on their heads; their skulls and flesh, lay in lifeless clumps with bloodied lumps of flesh still attached to them. The oozing flesh of their brains, because of the ripped and torn skulls was being littered over the street.

Unable to handle it any more, one of the officers, wielding a pistol in a shaking hand, aimed and fired. He shot four unsuccessful bullets before the fifth and sixth ones penetrated the skull of the wolf.

Breathing heavily, they gazed at the damage, unable to comprehend had just happened. The sight was vile; revolting. At least two of the officers had to turn, retching, as one hurl up, puking on the ground. Up came his lunch, the half-digested particles were spewed on the street, followed with stomach acid.

The putrid stench rancidity invaded the senses of the other officers, who had to back away in order to hold down their lunch. They were having enough trouble already with the smell of rotting corpses littering the ground, festering with bacteria and soon to be crawling with maggots.

No one wanted to touch these bodies to bring sanitation to the streets, but they knew that someone was going to have to clean this up and explain what happened…

~~~~

Notes:

1. Yahweh - this is the Jewish God. It's the same as the Christian God, Our Lord.

2. Anschluss - This is 'union' and it refers to when Germany declared a 'union' with Austria.

3. Führer - we all know which asshole this refers to. It was just a common term to use at the time.

Author's Notes: I'm aware of how revolting some of the descriptions are at times, for I know some of my friends, whom I have tested sections on have responded by saying it's gross. I'm only using vivid and graphic descriptions because it's the way I write. I think for the most part, this is pretty accurate in parts in terms of how I refer to historical events and figures. I hope that you people have enjoyed it so far. It's far from done, but we're getting close. I won't predict any number of chapters, because there is a lot of plot that has gone unfilled as of yet. Don't forget to R&R!!