Revenge, Fear, and Betrayal

I think it may have been the noises that woke me up at 3 A.M. It began with a slight rumble. “Probably just a truck” I thought and rolled over in bed.

There it was again, louder this time. “That was no truck”, I thought. I began to have an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Then came some pops and clicks that sounded almost like distant gunfire.

Just like on opening day of deer season. You’ve been sitting in the tree for 30 minutes, you’re a little groggy and you begin to fade. When you hear the first crack of gunfire in the distance, it sounds low, not quite muffled. Then you realize that the game is on.

Suddenly all of my senses are sharp, and I can hear everything. Maybe I’m hallucinating, but I swear that I can hear people in the adjoining rooms. I can’t make out what they are saying, it’s more like loud mumbling than actual conversations.

“It’s 3 AM!” I think to myself, “who the hell is awake and talking this loud at 3 AM?”

When the rumbling starts again, I get up to investigate. I open the bathroom window to listen. I hear nothing outside. There’s no traffic, “Of course there is no traffic, it’s 3 AM for Christ’s sake!”

I drink some water and go back to bed.

I’ve still got that feeling in the pit of my stomach though. It feels a little like butterflies before the big game. I’m lying in bed, trying to get comfortable when the rumbling starts again. This can’t be someone fighting in a nearby room, it sounds too close. The volume increases just as I throw the covers off the bed. It’s becoming obvious that I need to do something.

I open my eyes and everything is hazy. There is some type of gas in the room. I roll out of the bed and stay as close as possible to the floor, while crawling to the other room. Once there, I sit up.

Now I’m sweating. My shirt is soaked through around the collar and the arm pits.

I begin to feel cold, but the sweating continues. I’m sitting in the dark and the rumbling is becoming louder … and closer … and louder … and closer. The sweat begins to drip from my forehead and onto my legs, where it feels incredibly cold. I can't fathom how a 98+ degree body emit a liquid so cold?

I can see colored lights outside the window. They are fleeting, but in this instant, I believe with all my heart that they are real. The rumbling is still there, and I begin to tremble slightly. Then a loud blast almost lifts me off of my seat!

I’m straining to listen, trying to hear whether anyone else is awake, or alive, in the hotel. I look at my watch. 3:05. How could this be? It’s seems like I’ve been hearing these things for at least an hour.

Another blast seems to rock the entire room.

It's too dark to see anything, but I know that last blast was strong. I’m beginning to wonder about the structural integrity of the building.

My thoughts are now scattered everywhere. One thought is of my mother, the next is friends in high school, then it's the pretty waitress with the unfortunate mole at a cafe in Wiesbaden. My life seems to be flashing before my eyes.

Then a series of short sputtering pops, followed by a huge whoosh. "That must be the backdraft", I think.

Suddenly I come to understand.

“Oh God, I know what this is…” the whole place will be gone soon.

Still afraid, and sweating, I reach out desperately into the darkness with my left hand. “Oh good, it’s there. I’m probably going to need that in a few minutes”.

Flashes of light in all kinds of colors enter my field of vision.

“Is the rescue team here already?”

Finally I can keep my composure no longer, and I let out a bloodcurdling scream….





“BLUTWURST?”


“Why have you forsaken me?”




Now I am not so proud that I can’t admit to being bested. About 0310 this fine morning it became apparent to me that the Blutwurst had won this battle.

The Blutwurst also won the battles at 0630, 0700, 0915, and 1330.

However, do not think that it is over between us, not by a longshot. You can rest assured that I will rise again to do battle with you on another day!

At a time of my choosing.