PREVIOUS

Doug didn't feel the slightest bit of pain, but he was in agony. He thought about struggling to be free, but moving was no help. There was no escaping misery. What was tearing him apart was existence itself.

His ears were ringing, and he realized it was because he was screaming at the tops of his lungs. His throat started to hurt, and at least that was a distraction.

_Get a hold of yourself, Doug. People are counting on you._ He forced his eyes open. There was machinery around him, humming. They were causing these feelings in him. _If I could shut it off and find the cube..._ He tried to look around, but couldn't see anything.

_No. I'm going about this wrong. It isn't in this world I'm being hurt in._ Doug concentrated best he could and tried to feel the agony more clearly. He needed to find where the pain was.

There were hooks digging into him, tearing him apart from all directions. The assault was so vicious, he couldn't understand how he could last even a moment of it. All around were jagged things brutally hacking away. He wanted to turn from it, but he forced himself look down at the damage to him.

There wasn't any. His body was solid and impenetrable, like a rock, and the attacks didn't even scratch him. It was like fishhooks trying to cut into a piece of steel. There was nothing here he needed to fear.

He now looked beyond it all and saw a massive barrier to which there appeared no end. It was a void and yet it was solid. Nothing could go beyond it. It was the contents of the cube. He knew it. But he didn't know what he could do with it.

He wasn't alone. There was another presence there looking at the barrier. The being seemed so powerful, larger than planets, its footsteps like earthquakes. But then Doug looked at himself again. He was massive, solid, and invincible. He took another look at the being and saw he was looking down on it. As big as it was, next to himself it was small, pitiful. It was scared.

Doug was back in the lab. The machinery was off, and he noticed the foul smell of Ronove. "I think that's enough for today," Doug heard him say. "Take him back to his cell."

"Are you sure?" Doug called out. "It seems like you were so close to destroying my soul. Wouldn't want to quit now."

The machinery moved away, and Doug could see Ronove standing next to him, staring at him with those black goggles. "The goal today was merely to gather some data so as to understand how to destroy you more fully, human."

Doug smiled at him. "I saw you. I saw what you really are."

"Your delusions won't offer you hope for much longer." Ronove motioned to the guards. They unstrapped Doug and lifted him up.

"I saw you," Doug said. "I'm not scared of you. Can you say the same about me?"

Ronove was expressionless as usual, but Doug could feel him laughing. It was a nervous laugh.

* * * *

"So you're the Devil?" Lulu sat in the passenger seat next to Stan.

"It's a simple way of explaining myself, and thus how I described myself to your friend."

Bryce sat down in the rear with Charlene. He was ready to relax, but he could see in the alertness in Charlene's eyes that she wasn't of the same opinion. Bryce looked to their driver. "You're not really the Devil like in Biblical mythology, though? Right?"

"Let's just say it is my habit to rebel against the prevailing power over this world." He put the vehicle on autopilot and turned to face Bryce. "Once it was a single force, now it is the ones you call the Transcendents."

"Well, thanks for the rescue, buddy." Lulu slapped him on the back. "I think the Bible had you all wrong. You seem nice."

He smiled. "It's my pleasure. As the character you met demonstrated quite well, some of the scarier things in this world still are humans."

"So why did you do this when you only appeared to Doug in his dreams?" Charlene asked, an accusation seemingly lying underneath her words. "Why not rescue him since you seem to be the cause of his situation?"

His smile faded somewhat, but didn't disappear. "I don't think you people hold any position to demand me to explain myself. To make this simple, I'll help you rescue your friend. I ask nothing of you. I do admit I have my own ulterior motives, but they're mine and they don't concern you. Sounds like a fair enough deal, wouldn't you say?"

"So you're powerful, like the Trans?" Bryce asked.

"Quite. I know you feel quite powerless next to the likes of Dammon and Loch, but I can keep the playing field more even."

"Can you get us our three million back?" Bryce doubted it, but he felt he should at least ask.

Stan laughed. "I can make sure you don't starve. If money is all you desire, though, I can find you path towards that once you free Doug. If I may give a friendly suggestion, though, I think you three should spend some time figuring out what it is in this world you really do want."

Lulu giggled and threw her arm around Stan. "He's like an omnipotent guidance counselor. I like him. Let's make him an honorary member of Hellbender."

"So are you really powerful?" Charlene demanded. "Can you read our thoughts and such?"

He smiled broadly. "Don't worry, dear; I'm not going to reveal your deep, dark secrets to everyone."

Charlene's face turned white. "I don't..."

Lulu yanked on Stan's jacket. "Come on! Tell us the deep dark secrets! But not Bryce's; those are probably icky."

"Enough fooling around," Bryce said. "You might as well tell us what the plan is as once again it doesn't look like we have much choice in the matter."

Stan's face turned quite serious. "I'm not going to let you pretend that. Dammon's efforts to bankrupt you may have been perfect, but banks are imperfect. Bryce, if you check your finances, you'll find ten thousand still in one of your accounts."

Bryce was quick to check that. He scanned the accounts he set up, and there was the money waiting in one of them. "It's true."

"It's not much," Stan continued, "but enough to keep you three going until you can establish yourselves somewhere else. I can take you three wherever you want, and I guarantee no more 'huge forces beyond imagination' will be after you. You will be able to live relatively peaceful lives... as much as they were before all this."

Charlene still looked at Stan with visible suspicion. "Do you think that's going to happen?"

He smiled. "No. I think you three have already made up your minds."

Lulu punched him playfully in the shoulder. "So what's next, prince of darkness?"

"Ironically, we will be going where 'Death' was going to take you -- to Loch."

NEXT

• Currently 4.13/5
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10

Rating: 4.1/5 (8 votes cast)

Hellbender Take Two
Email This | Add to del.icio.us | Digg this | Stumble It!