The sun set over a small ville located somewhere west of the Rhine. The village had long been evacuated by its former inhabitants. Instead it now serves as the temporary base of operations of a small force of German Soldiers. The night rose over the young men, and many of them turned in. The few who awoke to look out into the night could not see a thing. The moon did not come out that night. It was a stormy night of the new moon. 

Adler couldn’t sleep that night. He stared into the darkness that was the roof overhead. He hadn’t been able to sleep properly for weeks, even though he needed to. Soon they would join up with the main forces to invade France. Thoughts bounced in his head of the injured men that they had passed. They were torn to ribbons, they looked like they had been beaten with concrete clubs. His superiors told them it was just damage from mines. But there was a man you had survived. He had claimed it was a “Demon” from hell that the British had summoned. Adler’s superiors claimed that the survivor had “Battle Fatigue.” Adler could not shake how the man babbled, how he flinched, how he looked. He didn’t think it was any kind of demon, but it was apparent that the men were attacked by something that very much wasn’t a mine. It scared him. He wondered how many others weren’t truly sleeping that night. 

A scream shook him from his thoughts. He and several others scrambled up from their beds. None of them could see. A few others grabbed around for lanterns but had no luck. More screams sounded. An attack. Adler helped the others wake the rest of the force. The Superiors ordered the men to the offensive. It was too late for that. Screams sounded inside the house. Suddenly the soldiers were all in panic. Men ran, men shot, men screamed. Alder broke for a sprint through the darkness, his legs moving on their own. He had never felt such fear before. This was something… wrong. He stumbled over a mattress, and fell. He felt the wire frame of a bed and crawled under. Chaos continued to ensue for a few seconds. A shot flew through the mattress above Adler and barely missed his shoulder. Then silence. Mind shattering, heart numbing silence. Then a big heavy footstep, like stone striking the floor. Then another, walking in his direction. Adler took his rosary from his pocket and began to pray. The thing, the “Demon” had found him. 

Lillian heard the scared whimpers of the German Soldier. She saw his feet poke from under the bed. The darkness did not hamper her sight. She violently whipped the mattress and wire frame away. It crashed to the wall. The man was praying. “Apostles...Father...Hail Mary...” He said. Something like that, Lillian’s German was not the best. She growled and raised a fist to smash him with. 

“Mother… I want my Mother!” Tears were streaming down Adler’s face.

Lillian’s own eyes widened. She hesitated, and gently lowered her fist. “What kind of baby murderer calls for his mother?” She asked him. 

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“What?... I’ve murdered no babies!” Adler cried.

“Liar.” Lillian spat. She outstretched her wings, and cupped them around herself and Adler, trapping them. “You have to be.” Adler stared into her red eyes. Red, like the blood that coated her. She looked like a demon. A monster. 

“I am telling the truth. I shoot other men, I don’t kill kids…”

The monster’s face glared. “Your age.” She growled. “I want your age.”

“I am… I’m 14.” 

The monster’s face softened only slightly. “You are a child.” It stated.

“No… i’m not.”

“You are as much a child as I am now a hypocrite.” She said, this time in english. Alder watched as the monster stood up, folded its wings, and began to walk away. 

There was a “bang” and Adler fell to the ground as a heap. Lillian froze. She whipped around looking, until she found him. The British officer, Oliver. He set the pistol down and crossed his arms. “Leaving the job unfinished Lillian?”

Lillian glared at him. “You lied to me.” she growled.

Oliver shrugged. “I said what I had to. It’s your fault for believing me.”

Oliver gasped as he was suddenly pushed against the wall by Lillian. His face contorted in fear and outrage Trapped by her giant stone claws. “YOU! YOU LIED TO ME!” She roared. “You said they were child killers…” She snarled and shoved her face into Oliver’s. “But you lied. Now I’m the child killer.” 

Lillian sniffed, and smelled something rank. Her face shriveled in disgust. The Officer had soiled himself. “You disgust me as much as myself right now.” Lillian flung him to the floor and stepped on him. “You’re going to know the fear that you had me cause these children.” Lillian began to put weight on Oliver. A crack sounded throughout the building. All he could do was gulp like a fish. “This may be your fault. But it’s also mine. I was supposed to protect the human race, especially from itself. But this time I chose wrong. But I suppose there are no good choices.” There were more cracks, and sobbing. “You war, that’s your disease, isn’t it?” Lillian let out a wry laugh. “It’s worse than demons, or psychopaths, or… even me!” Oliver was now dead, and Lillian was just grinding a corpse into the ground. “Is that the big joke? You destroy yourselves and it hurts you? What a funny joke. You persevere against everything but yourselves!” Lillian fell to the ground, laughing. “Oh! Oh! Oh! It’s priceless! You make children fight your wars. You take advantage of the kind! And people call you ‘Heroes’ and ‘Leaders’ for it!” Lillian let out a cry, but no tears came. “Why do I bother. Why did I bother… You humans have so much potential, so much more than me… and you fail. You die. You lie.” Lillian touched her head to the ground. “I hate you for it. You’re so confusing. You lie.” No tears came. “Why… Why do you lie? Why do you lie when it makes me do this…” She raised her head, and looked upon the corpse of Alder. She stumbled over towards him. “I’m sorry little one…” She said as she picked the rosary from his hands. “I will not make the wrong choices again.” 

The sun rose over a small ville located west of the Rhine. A Gargoyle covered in blood and flesh leaped over the metal barricades and flew away. The ville had once been the temporary outpost for German forces. It was now nothing more than a grave.