Chapter 10 - Night and Rain [3/5]

Vex couldn't say that twice. It wasn't until he stepped over the threshold into the candlelit hallway that he realized his shoes were full of mud.

"Forgive me," he excused himself. Then he came in the middle of the night to ask for sleeping pills, and now he was also dirtying her house.

Doctor Lutz waved. "It doesn't matter. But tell me, what brings you to me at this time? Especially in this storm. Are you sick?"With reproach, she put her fists in her hips. "At least you will if you don't hurry back to your warm bed. Is there something wrong with Leysha?"

Vex forced himself to smile. How could she be so lively at this time? "No, we're not sick, but I have a terrible headache. Can you give me something against it? And maybe also a means to sleep more peacefully? I've been plagued by nightmares lately."

Doctor Lutz stroked his chin thoughtfully. "That's how you look, too," she noted soberly. "For tonight I can give you a sleeping pill, but you should definitely come back tomorrow and get a thorough examination from me.«

Vex nodded relieved. Fortunately, she did not insist on examining him immediately. He wanted nothing more than to quickly get back to the warm bed with a good sleeping pill. On a closet that occupied almost the entire wall of the hallway, Doctor Lutz was looking for a drawer. Finally she opened one of them and fished out a small bottle.

"Wait a minute." She disappeared through an open door, behind which flickered a warm glow of fire. Vex stopped shivering until she returned a short time later with a glass of water. She placed it on a chest of drawers and put a few drops from the bottle inside. Then she handed it to him.

"It takes a while for it to work, so it's best to take it now." Vex tilted down the contents of the glass. A bitter taste spread on his tongue and made him shudder.

Doctor Lutz nodded contentedly. "Once you're home, you should be able to sleep like a rock. Don't forget to come back tomorrow! We need to make sure you haven't caught anything serious."

I will." Vex gave her a grateful smile. To his relief, the pain had already subsided. She must have given him a strong remedy.

"Come home well!" Doctor Lutz opened the door and the cold swept into her comfortably warm house. Vex hurried to get outside. It may have been medicine, but the storm seemed to him to be far less intense. He only took the cold through a veil of gloom. Relief flowed through him when he found himself outside his front door a short time later. The fatigue had come earlier than expected.

He entered his house and peeled himself out of his dripping wet clothes.

"There you are again," Leysha greeted him with relief. She stepped out of the room and into the hallway to help him undress. "You're freezing! But apparently Doctor Lutz had a suitable remedy. You almost fall asleep standing up."

"Hm," Vex growled indistinctly. He was infinitely happy when Leysha brought him to her bed, which she had already preheated with a bedpan. As soon as he had hid under the cuddly warm blanket, sleep overtook him. A scream made Vex startle. Schrill echoed in his head. Deep inside, his mind was pushing to see what had happened. But he felt too dizzy, too heavy, and in bed it was so cuddly warm … Vex rolled around and continued to doze. The voice in him grew louder and louder until it finally penetrated through the fog of drowsiness.

Wasn't that a scream? But who should scream? Besides him, there was only Leysha in the house. Drunk asleep, he groped around in bed. Instead of a warm body next to him, he found only a yawning emptiness. He ran up abruptly. Still raindrops drummed against the windows, the wind howled around the house and shook the shops. In the half-darkness of the room there was nothing to see of Leysha. Moaning, Vex grabbed his head. He was no longer in pain, but he felt as if he had drunk a few pitchers over his thirst the day before. Was it all just another dream? He could only vaguely remember the visit to Doctor Lutz. It all seemed so unreal to him.

He stood up and realized that he was naked. Did Leysha take it off? Vex couldn't remember doing it himself. But there was no time for that now. If only he knew if he had really heard the scream… But why would she scream? With an uncomfortable feeling in the stomach area, he stumbled to the bedroom door, opened it.

"Leysha?" he crept into the hallway. Wax dripped from the flickering candles in the wall mounts. They were almost burned down. Vex pulled his eyebrows together and groped his way into the room along the dresser. He almost slipped on the sticky wet floor, could just cling on.

He scanned for the door to the kitchen, but it was already open. Rather, their remains hung shattered in the hinges. Stunned, Vex stared at the wood splinters, could not process what he saw. As if in a trance, he went on, looking into the room. Here too, the remains of almost burnt-out candles illuminated the room with their flickering light, illuminating a huge mess.

The facility was smashed in front of him. The table lay overturned, the contents of the shelves distributed over it. Vex's gaze stuck to the ground. An ice-cold grip closed around his intestines and took his breath away. He staggered and clung to the wall so as not to fall over.

Everything was full of blood. In the candlelight, the red drops sparkled like rubies. Thick streaks led directly to him, under his bare feet and further into the hallway. Vex was gasping for air.