Index
Chapter 1: The 2 does and the wolf
Chapter 2: The baby
Chapter 3: Introducing Ambroise
Chapter 4: A visit to the clinic
Chapter 5: Motherhood
Chapter 6: Waiting
Chapter 8: A walk through Amable
Chapter 9: The picnic
Chapter 10: A grave discovery
Chapter 11: Fear grows
Chapter 12: Questions
Chapter 13: Interrogating
Chapter 14: Madeleines
Chapter 16: Raoul
Chapter 17: Ambroise, Louise and Eulalie
Chapter 18: The hunt begins
Chapter 20: Treulich geführt
Chapter 1: The 2 does
and the wolf
14 For God
speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
15 In a dream, in
a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon
the bed;
Job
33:14-15
If there were 2 words that would best describe Timotheos
Blumenthal, it would be "kind" and "flexible". He was known
for performing good deeds towards the people of Amable such as helping the
elderly, working extra shifts at his part-time job (which was at the local
music store called "Gringore"), donating to any charity he could
find, and even watching over the kindergarteners at his school. When he wasn't
going around and assisting people, he would often be seen playing with his
Belgian Malinois, Aldo or his best friend Audrey Larue. Although Timotheos and
Audrey would often bicker over the smallest of things, they usually got over it
within a few minutes and laugh over the ridiculousness of it. Some would say
that they were as thick as thieves and were almost never seen apart because of
it. It got to the point where some wondered if their friendship would blossom
into something more intimate, to which they both vehemently denied would ever
happen. Overall, Timotheos was always seen with a smile on his face and it
seemed like nothing would ever erase it.
That is until his father died.
Tragically, his father along with 5 other people lost their lives
in a tram accident in Brussels, including the driver of said tram. He was on
his way home from work when the tram he rode on collided with another tram,
with the driver from the other tram being unable to stop in time. The news
spread like wildfire across the town, as some of the townsfolk of Amable had
loved ones that were also on the tram when it happened. It was one of the
biggest tragedies to ever happen in 1986 and it affected the Blumenthals
deeply. Because the Blumenthals were the only ones that lost someone to the
tram accident, they were offered many forms of commiserations and condolences
from the townsfolk. Audrey and her family were especially sympathetic as they
couldn't bear to see both Timotheos and his mother wallowing in such misery.
She and her parents would come over from time to time in order to check on the
Blumenthals, with Audrey being especially concerned for Timotheos. Timotheos'
mother, Miranda Blumenthal tried her best to console Timotheos but there was
nothing she could do as he continued to feel miserable and bereaved over the
loss of his father. It got to the point where he refused to leave his room and
stayed there for days. As a result, Audrey had to come over and give him his
homework, as he was absent from school for an entire week. The only time
Timotheos would ever come out of his room was during the night to get some food
and drinks, as Miranda would hear him walking down the stairs to grab something
from the fridge before going back. He wouldn't let anyone inside his room,
making his mother worry more about his emotional and mental state. While he did
allow Aldo and Audrey to come in, it was only so he could study with Audrey and
spend some time with Aldo. But even then, it wasn't enough to get him out of
his funk. He wouldn't even join the dinner table for meals anymore, even when
his mother made schnitzel with chips (which happened to be his favorite meal).
Seeing how her son wouldn't eat his favorite meal made Miranda grow extremely
concerned for his wellbeing and decide to contact the one person who could help
him.
She called her father, Barnim Dirk, and ask that he stay with them
for a while, to which Barnim was more than happy to do. He wanted to help them
in anyway that he could, especially when Miranda told him about Timotheos'
current status. It helped that Timotheos was close with his grandfather and
liked spending time with him whenever he came over to visit. He also liked it
whenever his grandfather brought his own dogs with him as they served as both
his companions and hunting partners. The dogs were made up of a male
bloodhound, a female whippet, a male beagle and a male dachshund. Their names
were Bruno, Valeria, Angus and Schnell in that order and they served Barnim
loyally on the hunt and at home. Once his grandfather and the dogs came over,
Timotheos started to cheer up a bit and began leaving his bedroom more often.
Miranda was happy to see that Timotheos was making progress when it came to
dealing with his grief and prayed that it would not dampen his spirits anymore.
Once Miranda started working at the local clinic again, as she was given some
time off to mourn for her husband, Timotheos would continue his studies along
with spending time with Aldo, Audrey, his grandfather and his other dogs.
Although there were some concerns over whether the Blumenthal home would have
enough room, they were able to accommodate it as the dogs had stayed with them
before and even got along with Aldo. It also helped that Barnim and his dogs
had visited Amable before and were good friends with the people there, ensuring
that he and his pack would not have any trouble fitting in.
Overall, it seemed as though Timotheos' life was slowly getting
better as he was able to attend school again along with maintaining the good
relationship he had with both his family and friends. Even though there were
times that he would be feeling down due to the wistful memories he had of his
father, he tried not to dwell on it for too long as he remembered that he had
loved ones that cared for him and that he wasn't alone, as his grandfather
would tell him. As a result, Timotheos vowed to live for the sake of his family
and friends while also treasuring the memories that he had of his father.
However, that didn't stop him from having the strange dream that
appeared a year after his father's death. It occurred during the first week of
July around summer break. This particular dream involved a mysterious dark
forest with only the moon and stars illuminating the area. Even weirder was
that the forest had crooked or swirled trees that gave off a very surreal
atmosphere. This place looks like something out of Vincent Van Gogh's
paintings or even Edvard Munch's works. Timotheos thought to himself
as he continued observing the area around him. The dark and eerie atmosphere
made Timotheos a bit scared but at the same time curious over where he
was. Where am I? he wondered, Why am I here?
Suddenly, the sounds of movement was heard in the distance as 2
deer were shown running through the forest. Roebucks? Timotheos
thought to himself, No, judging from the lack of antlers, they look
more like does. They were shown to have the usual reddish-brown fur
like real roe deer but when they ran, they emitted a golden aura that trailed
behind them. Behind them was a large black and silver wolf that seemed to be
chasing them with ferocity. Although a part of him wanted to save them, he
recalled how humans shouldn't interfere with the natural food chain and could
only watch as the wolf got closer to them. It got worse when he saw that there
were more wolves chasing after the does only they looked more deadly and
ravenous to the point of looking more like monsters rather than animals.
Tension filled the air as the pack of wolves got closer to the larger wolf and
it got worse when the 2 does got cornered by the pack. It seemed as though all
hope was lost and they were all going to devour them both. Timotheos wanted to
close his eyes and turn away so he wouldn't be forced to watch the carnage that
would ensue but at the same time he could not tear his eyes away from the
scene. When one of the wolves lunged towards the does, the larger wolf suddenly
attacked the other wolf by biting its neck and throwing it against the rest of
the pack. It then turned and barked at the 2 does before going back and
attacking the rest of the wolves, prompting the does to run away. Timotheos was
left shocked by this strange and unexpected turn of events as he heard that
wolves were almost always loyal to one another. That's weird, wolves
don't usually fight each other for food. Unless… that wolf was protecting the
does. But why? As Timotheos wondered to himself over what had
happened, he continued to watch as the 2 does ran further away from the wolves
while the larger wolf stayed behind to prevent the others from following them.
Unfortunately, the larger wolf was quickly overwhelmed by the rest of the pack
who proceeded to tear and claw at the larger wolf. Blood began to pool from its
wounds and it was seemingly killed by the others while the remaining wolves
continued to chase after the does. The larger wolf panted heavily as it
struggled to get back up but was forced to lay down on the ground as its wounds
were too painful for it to even move. Timotheos could only look upon it in pity
as he saw that the wolf was willing to give its life to save the 2 does. As he
turned his attention to see where the 2 does went, he saw that 1 of the does
stayed behind to face the other wolves while the other one stopped running. She
beckoned her head to get the other one to keep going but the 2nd doe shook her
head and stamped one of its front hooves, signaling to the other doe that she
wished to stay behind. The 1st doe looked upon her before running away, making
Timotheos gradually realize what just happened. No, Timotheos
thought to himself in fear, don't tell me that doe is going to… His
train of thought was interrupted by the sound of howling in the distance and
could only watch in dawning horror as the wolves were getting closer to the
remaining doe.
"NO! What are you doing?! Get out of there!" he shouted
in an attempt to get the doe to keep moving. But it was too late as the wolves
caught up to the doe and began circling around her, licking their lips and
growling in predatory hunger. After a couple of seconds, they all pounced at
the same time while Timotheos watched in horror.
"NO!" he cried before suddenly waking up. He opened his
eyes and found that he was still in his bed while immediately sitting up where
he was. Even though the sight of his bedroom should have calmed him down, his
heart still pounded in his chest while cold sweat started seeping through his
skin.
"Woah. That was some dream," he said as he checked his
bedroom window. Since it was right next to his bed, he could see the right side
of his house and saw that it was still pretty dark outside.
"Huh, must have woken up in the middle of the night. Or
dawn."
He started to feel a bit thirsty from sleeping so long and decided
to go downstairs to get a cup of water. Usually, a drink of water allowed him
to feel hydrated before going back to bed, especially when he found himself
crying in his sleep. As he quietly walked down the stairs, so he wouldn't
accidentally wake his mother or grandfather, he noticed that Angus and Schnell
were sleeping in the living room near the empty fireplace. He couldn't help but
smile at the sight, as he knew how close they were to each other due to having
been raised by the same master. He walked towards the kitchen and grabbed one
of the cups that was hanging above the sink to dry before pouring in some water
from the nearby jug. As he stood beside the sink and drank his water, he watched
as the trees outside were being slowly blown by the wind. Since it was pretty
warm at night, the kitchen window was opened in order to let some of the breeze
in and cool the house.
However, once he finished drinking his water and placed the cup
back in the sink, he began to hear a strange noise coming from outside. It
sounded like a faint cry or something but couldn't figure out what it
was. What is that? A bird? A squirrel? He thought to himself
as the dogs immediately woke up and started barking at the noise. Angus was the
first to start sniffing around while Schnell followed after him. They both
approached the door and started clawing at it, as if someone or something was
right behind it. Timotheos cautiously approached the door only to notice that
the crying sound was getting louder. Not wanting the dogs to attack
indiscriminately, he used his legs to block them from getting through the door.
Curious as to what it was but scared of what it might be, he slowly turned the
knob of the door and immediately swung it open. The moment he opened it, he
looked around only to find that there was seemingly no one there. However, the
crying sound was louder than ever and was coming from an unexpected source down
at his feet. The moment he looked down, his eyes widened with shock at what he
was seeing.
There, laying on the porch of the house entrance was a baby. The
baby was swaddled in a cloth of some kind along with being placed in a basket.
The cloth itself had floral patterns that vaguely resembled carnations with
some golden vines in the background. The fabric itself was a deep purple color
and seemed to shimmer even in the darkness. The baby had fair skin along with
short blond hair that was a bit wavy upon closer inspection. The basket itself
was a round wicker basket of some kind with 2 handles on the side for carrying.
The baby continued to cry in Timotheos' presence while Timotheos stood there
with widened eyes as he tried to process what was happening in front of him.
Once he finally snapped out of his daze, he cried out to the first person he
could think of:
"MOM!"
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