Excerpt: Angel of Death

'The German army is falling apart and your life is forfeit,' rang a dark voice in front of Dieter tearing him out of his reverie. 'What remains to be decided is how death will find you.'

Dieter Eisenhart looked up from the frozen concrete floor in the bombed out basement and saw a huge shadow holding a gun in front of him. He must have dozed off.

'Who are you?' asked Dieter warily, wondering what kind of madness this was.

'I am the Angel of Death,' replied the stranger sardonically.

Being too tired to care Dieter simply noted that he apparently had been cornered by a Russian soldier. He had run out of luck.

Dieter looked at the gun in front of him. He knew that he would never hear the bullet. He would see the puff of smoke and that would be the end. But the smoke never came. Instead the voice continued, 'I have long foreseen meeting you here. Destiny has brought us together for a purpose. If you will serve me, I will save your life.'

Dieter eyed the stranger skeptically. Being too weary to think clearly he simply responded, 'What do you want from me?'

'You must carry a message to someone, who is not yet born. And you must swear on your life that you will never talk of this to anyone.'

Delirious from the cold and hunger, Dieter wearily nodded his acceptance and barely whispered, 'Okay.'

The shadow bent down, said 'Listen closely', and Dieter noted with numb curiosity that life apparently still held a few surprises. The man was a Russian general.

He said slowly and distinctly in perfect German:

The general handed him an object. It was a necklace with a medallion, depicting two riders on a horse. Nothing remarkable thought Dieter as he studied the medallion with the strange message echoing in his mind.

'How will I know when that time comes?' Dieter asked.

'Trust me,' replied the general with a smug grin, 'you will know.'

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