Written by Britta Ventura, Sat 25/04/98 13:58
All seems to be all right. Friedrich is dead, Gracie is back in the States and Gabriel enjoys his peaceful life in the castle.
But then Gabriel receives a call from the University of Munich. They need his experience as a Schattenjäger in a case of werewolfry. Is the nightmare to begin again?
As for the rating of the story, we are at a loss. We Germans have a quite different point of view concerning swearwords and, as you call it, offending scenes.
Due to our experience with American/English computer games and movies we would recommend a PG Rating of 15. Do you agree?
Chapter 1
The candle was nearly burnt down to its holder. Dim shadows flickered across the walls. Gabriel stretched in his bed. Sleep just wouldn’t come. He listened to the wind outside Schloss Ritter. The night grew colder and longer.
After several minutes of restless thinking, he decided to go into his private library to work on his new script. The stone floor felt cold. With his feet he searched for his slippers. "Damn" he murmured. What the hell, he would go without them. Grabbing for the candle he walked to the heavy wooden door, that would lead him to the secret bookshelves of the Schattenjäger.
As he entered the room he felt his hairs stand on end. Somehow his skin tingled as if a cold breeze was touching it. But the candle was absolutely still. No draft or slight move of air was in the room.
Gabriel settled down in the big chair behind the desk. Leaning back he tried to concentrate on his new novel. The air smelled of old books, leather and dusty tapestries. Without noticing he slipped into a light slumber. His rhythmic breathing quickened.
In the darkness something was watching him. He tried to focus on the darkness around him. Suddenly he saw them. Glistening in the blackness. Burning to his very core , they seemed to taunt him. A pair of restless eyes.
Gabriel new these eyes. He wanted them to go away. But they called out to him. Telling him not to resist, not to give up. What, he didn’t know. Longing welled up in Gabriel, a need for freedom, companionship and friendship. He tried to remember the name, the cause and danger....the eyes disappeared.
With a gasp he woke up. The candle was burned out and the first rim of the coming day was creeping over the forest around Rittersberg.
Shaken and exhausted he went to his bedroom. His clothes lay scattered across the floor. He shook his head at the sight, grabbed his jeans and shirt and began to dress.
Gerda was up as usual at this early hour clattering in the kitchen. It had been a short night. She never had been a sound sleeper and last night the wind was devastating. With a small sigh she noticed that he coffee was ready and poured herself a cup.
She sat down at the small kitchen table and watched the sun come up over the rim of her cup. Many things had to be done today. She had to go shopping, Gabriel would visit Herr Übergrau in Munich and in the afternoon an old friend of Gerda had himself invited in for tea.
Suddenly the door opened and much to Gerda’s surprise Gabriel, looking nackered, walked in.
"....m’ning...." he grumbled and walked over to the coffee machine like someone under hypnosis.
"What are you doing up at this hour of the morning?" Gerda just couldn’t believe it. Usually she would to have push him out of bed by noon. It had been all a lot easier when Grace was here she thought.
Gabriel sat down, his eyes looking dazed. As if he wasn’t really there.
Better leave him alone, Gerda thought. Moments of silence passed.
"I saw him again" Gabriel suddenly broke the silence.
"Whom?"
"Him..." he looked into his cup.
"Gabe, who are you talking about?"
"Him, I said!"
Gerda was getting annoyed, this was becoming silly "Okay, HIM. What did HE want?"
"Me"
"Oh don’t use to many words, Gabriel. You might run out of them."
He looked at her, his eyes burning. Suddenly he flung his half emptied cup at the kitchen wall "You don’t know anything!" he growled at her and walked out.
Gerda watched stunned as the coffee dripped down the wall.
Later that day Joachim arrived. He and Gerda had been in school together. Now living in Munich and working in the laboratories at the university, he enjoyed the quiet surroundings of Rittersberg.
They sat in front of the fireside gossiping about fellow pupils, enjoying tea and cookies.
After a while Joachim looked at Gerda anxiously "Gerda, can you keep a secret?"
"Why, are you dating someone else besides your wife?" Gerda laughed.
"No. I saw something really weird were I work. They keep it hush, hush but I saw a glimpse of it. I just need to talk about it with someone I can trust because otherwise I think I grow nuts."
"Now, what could that be? A talking dog? A spaceship?"
"Oh come on Gerda! I thought you of all, working for these so called Schattenjägers, would be more serious."
"Okay, I’m sorry. What did you see?"
"Well, one day they brought a pretty incinerated body into the morgue. That wasn’t really unusual, but suddenly they posted guards at the entrance. At night, I was working overtime, four men came into my office and told me they would have to move my whole office including me. They started packing my things together and shoved me out. Now the whole block is sealed off. I really don’t know what to think off it."
"Joachim, come off it. Maybe they found out that it was someone important. Someone famous."
"No, I don’t think so. The place looks like a high security prison by now."
"I think you are imagining things."
Joachim looked uncertain. For now the subject was closed, but he swore himself to find out more about it.
Gabriel had lost all track of time. He had been walking through the "English Garden" for quite a while. The sun was already setting and it was getting colder. Autumn leafs were swirling in the wind and he could almost smell the first snow.
Startled he looked at his watch. It was already past 6 p.m., Übergrau’s office would be closed for sure. Anger rose in Gabriel, what had he been doing all the time. He was missing appointments, felt stressed, had too little sleep and he hated the winter.
He still wasn’t over the past few weeks. The raging of his blood, the hunger and the hatred. It had been very difficult.
But now it was all over. He just had to find to himself again. Maybe he should visit Grace and his Granny. A short stay at home wouldn’t hurt him. He would have to talk to Gerda about it. And he had to apologise for the cup of coffee this morning.
When Gabriel arrived back home, Gerda had already gone to bed. He took a hot bath and decided to get himself a glass of hot milk. His Granny said that was the best thing for a good nights rest. Later as he lay in bed, he let the day pass his mind again but he couldn’t remember what he had been thinking of the whole day.
He was just about to close his eyes, when he quickly opened them again. No. No more dreams. Slowly a rush of adrenaline welled up in his body. He tried to fight it down with controlled breathing. His body was shivering.
Turning over he tried to sleep. Soon in his dreams he could feel the cold wind brush along his body. He started running faster and faster, the feeling of freedom and power swept over him. And above all this a pair of dark and burning eyes were watching him.
If you have any comments, you can email Britta Ventura at BuAVentura@compuserve.com.
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