My Specs

Mission “Licht des Verderbens“ will haunt me forever. We had infiltrated a high ranking party near the border of  Estonia. We were to be cooks and servants for the night. The high ranking Germans liked to use the captured townspeople as help. A way to display their dominance over them. Not so much as prisoners, yet. We made our way through the castle, intel had us looking for a high value target, description wasn’t much use. Just looking for a golden lantern that works without a wick. Many of us were looking for a golden torch. 

We found the locked room hiding behind a large tapestry draped to the floor. Inside the room was just an alter, with a golden lantern sitting atop. I went for it, opening my satchel. When I picked it up I saw hell. I felt the horror and the fire. I turned to the 2 men that were with me and one of them, William, looked on fire, burning, and the other, Martin, glowed bright white, almost angelic like.

I dropped the Lantern into my satchel and my sight returned. I didn’t mention what I saw to anyone. I took the satchel and left with my men. We were spotted by two guards but we silenced them quickly but not before they killed one of us, Billy. He was the one on fire. We dragged him and the two guards into the lantern room. And we escaped. Through the countryside we ran into the moonless night. Unable to see we both fell into a creek. Martin hit his head on a boulder, he died there. Alone. I twisted my ankle, but I continued. 

The Lantern had broken during the fall. When returning to headquarters, I showed them the lantern. Although disappointed, they were happy that is was no longer in the German’s hands. After my debriefing, I returned to my quarters. After a hot meal and shower, I had noticed there was broken glass in my satchel. I kept them in a cigar box for the longest time. Eventually they found their way as the lenses to my spectacles. 

A peculiar thing, those lenses. I can see who is lying and who is truthful. Or perhaps it’s just that I can see who the virtuous and the sinners are.