Dark King of Horror: The Dark Tower of Life
Author: Nicholas Duran
Date: 2019-04-18 21:45:56+00:00
Description: The body of an attractive young woman is found in the woods near Shaitan Manor, her skin engraved with obscure symbols. A necrophiliac embalmer falls in love with her corpse. A Satanic cult among the elite called The Brotherhood seeks occult power. They will all come together to open a portal to an infernal realm of darkness and unleash Hell on earth. Amy is a gorgeous 18-year-old woman from a broken, wealthy family. Her boyfriend, a 30-year-old business analyst invites her to a secret group that meets every night on full moons in a place called Shaitan Manor, a secluded and ancient castle on
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC - Kdp Print Us

BLOOD GODS

PROLOGUE

Amy busied herself with the drawing of her own self, crowned as a queen. She had always fantasized to be the prom queen as her years in College was gradually winding up. She got so carried away with what she was drawing and dreaming about, forgetting that she was still in the classroom.

On the other hand, Mr. Philips, the Geography teacher, had been calling on Amy’s name for her to answer a question. Not knowing that Amy had been translated from the physical to her dream land, where nobody can get intimidated on how to live better.

Amy didn’t come back to life until Mr. Philips hit her desk with the cane in his hands and in a sarcastic tone told her, “Thank you for returning to earth Miss Hemingway! Can you identify this mountain range in North America?” asked the Geography teacher. Since her mind wasn’t in the class, her response, which was supposed to be quick wasn’t forthcoming. And she was still thinking on what the answer could, with confusion written on her face, the break time bell went off and she darted away from the class.

Minutes later, while she sat discussing with her friends in the cafeteria, one of her arch-enemies who never wanted her to be the next homecoming queen walked in and that awoke a monster of jealousy in her.

“That’s so lame!” said Amy, after she saw Jessica distributing cookies so as to win people’s hearts to her side.

“Jessica Alba is running against you for homecoming queen?” Gwendolyn asked surprisingly with her mouth still wide open.

“I socially expected this! Ever since second grade, everything I do; she has to do. But this one is mine, and nobody is gonna give my vote for stale cookies,” she whispered this softly to her friends annoyingly.

“Even your boyfriend?” Gwen chipped this in pointing towards the direction where Josh sat with his legs crossed.

“Josh, spit that out!” yelled Amy at her boyfriend, who only laughed at such a joke from the love of his life. He did as was instructed by Amy, though the latter had already stormed out of the café.

Getting back home, he appealed to his father to lend him a helping hand as she tried to also make her own kind of special cookies.

“Daddy, you mixture is too high,” she squeezed her eyebrow to show an indignation against what her father had just done.

“Well, honey, I’m actually an Executive, and not a baker. How about I come up with a nice catchy slogan for you?” Mr. Hemingway asked her.

Though her father had always wanted the best for her, she had always put a character that revealed an opposite trait to what she really wanted herself to be. After her dad had gone to bed, leaving her alone, she seemed fagged out and thought of disposing the trash before giving her cookies the finishing touches.

Immediately she turned the door knob to go dispose the trash outside, an envelope dropped on the floor. On the envelope was Amy’s name. Petrified at the sight of the strange envelope that displayed whatever it planned to communicate to her, she thought of throwing the paper away, without even reading its content at all. As the paper flew away from his hand, she felt satisfied, until when she got back inside only to see the envelope on the dining table facing Joshua’s direction.

Eventually, she mustered the courage to open it, and end the suspense once and for all. As she did, she found a blank paper folded inside the envelope. When she opened the blank paper, writings began to appear on it. Seeing this marks the beginning of calamities and blood flow.

YOU ARE HEREBY INVITED

AS OUR GUEST

AT THE LUNCHEON GATHERING

14:00 HOURS

DRESS CODE: DRESS COMFORTABLY!

***

It looked exactly like Larry imagined: clothing, including underwear neatly folded on the beds. The sheets were freshly washed and the blanket had been tucked neatly under his bed.

“You should start getting use to it,” Carl said to Larry. “You’re going to have to do that with your stuff.”

Larry shook his head and wondered what on earth he had gotten himself into. The loo was just around corner, and he didn’t smell piss so he guessed that’s good. However, he didn’t find it too thrilling that the cafeteria was located a mile away, making him lose strength before and after each meal. He hadn’t even been there that long and the memory of his dead mom kept haunting his soul that he was driven to tears. How ungrateful he’d grown to become; treating her like a whore.

As he stepped outside to see the obstacle course, his eyes became watery. He may have just peed in his pants.

“Is….is,” his words seemed to stick together. “Yup,” Carl said. “That’s your worst nightmare.”

There were loops and turns in places where it shouldn’t be. Mud galore, swings, caves, strings the size of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa that we’d have to climb on the daily, walls, balancing beams. You name it, the course had it. Larry would fall on his face every-single-time, making the camp commandant referred to him as the most graceless lump of a man the world has ever encountered.

That afternoon wasn’t as palatable for him as he encountered his worst nightmare just like Carl said he would.

“Listen up,” the sergeant shouted. “Whoever cannot finish this course in a timely manner will have to do everyone’s laundry, scrub the floors with a toothbrush and clean the loos. Understood?”

“FUC..dgeeee,” Larry’s mouth spilled clearly trying to change his words.

The sergeant marched over to him and in the corner of his eye he beheld Carl scoot over a little as if he didn’t want to be near me

“You say something, soldier?” the sergeant yelled, his spit gluing to Larry’s face.

Larry tried very hard to prevent himself from wiping it away. “No sir, sorry, sir.”

Apologizing did nothing. The sergeant insulted him left and right, told him how pathetic he was before making him and Carl do 100 pushups.

By the time the sergeant walked away steam was oozing out of Josh’s head and it became so obvious that Larry could see it and knew what it meant.

“Dude, not cool!” he said.

“You owe me.” Larry nodded, realizing he needed to bite his tongue around here or otherwise he’d be a lonely loser with no friends and buff arms from all the pushups he may have to do.

When the whistle blew all soldiers ran toward the obstacle course. Carl second behind the leader and Larry was way in the back. It didn’t come as a surprise to him. He struggled to make his way to the first obstacle: the wall.

How in the hel– I mean world was I suppose to climb this thing? Larry thought.

“Move it,” a guy about 6’3 said as he shoved Larry to the ground.

Mud splashed up in places he’d rather not discuss, making him feel kind of crappy.

“Seriously?” said Larry.

The man turned back and said in a mocking tone, “Yeah, seriously. And I hope you like the smell of old beans because you’re going to be smelling them for the next few weeks.”

“What are you talking about?” Larry tried to pick himself up from the mud.

“We share a bunk bed. You sleep under me, pal. And I sure do fart a lot at night.” Then he pushed him back on the ground and laughed before disappearing behind the enormous wall.

By a stroke of faith Larry managed to get through the obstacle course. Not too proud of coming in last though. While walking over to the group who were heading to the cafeteria, he noticed Carl speaking to one of the women in charge. Hold up, he wasn’t simply talking to her he had been flirting. I’ve known him since grad school.

“Huh, how funny,” Larry soliloquized.

At the appointed time after their conversation finished, Larry pulled him to a corner and told him to spit it out. “You like her, don’t you?”

“Keep your mouth shut.” Carl folded his arms. “I know how you are.”

“How long has it been going on? Are you two official? Where can I get me one?”

Carl hit his fist on top of my head. “Fuc…ouch,” Larry said.

“It’s been awhile. Now, I don’t want to hear this repeated. I mean it, Larry.” Carl became dead serious; I knew not to bother him when he got in that mood.

“Alright.” Larry walked away like a scared puppy who had no tail.

“I overhead,” the 6’3 guy that got Larry injured earlier, said. “By gee whiz, I wonder what would happen if Sergeant Lee found out your friend is having a love affair.”

“Really?” Larry questioned him cynically. “Oh, come on!” he bit his tongue.

“What do you want to keep your pipe shut?” The man chuckled. “You are now my personal servant. Anything I say goes.” I’m sure one curse word wouldn’t hurt right about now.

It had only been three hours later before I found Jim, the 6’3 bully or might I say beast, mounted on top of me in a spar. Everyone stood around cheering and watching the fight as my guts seemingly spilled out to the floor.

“Yea!” he said in a joyous tone.

Usually, a soldier would fight back you know because that’s what we’re supposed to do. But now I was a personal servant and had to endure this embarrassing brawl. Larry wondered what Carl would be doing while he got thrashed?

“What is going on in here?” the Sergeant burst through the door. “Atten-tion!” Everyone man ran to their bed stood straight and saluted the Sergeant, except for Larry tried to get up but his legs and arms were butter.

Sergeant Mike walked over and looked down at him. Not once did he offer a hand for him to stand. Not mad, though.

“So, it’s the same scrawny boy that could barely finish the obstacle course. What are you doing on the ground?”

Larry moaned. “I can’t get up, sir.”

“Do you want to do everyone’s chores for the next five days?”

He needn’t hear anything else. Somehow the strength to get up came in an intense burst. He stood though his knees wobbled.

“What were you doing on the ground? Answer me.”

“Sir, yes, sir. Jim and I were having a brawl, sir.”

Larry’s gawk remained to the floor but he stood in a somewhat straight posture.

“A brawl, eh?” He thought out loud.

He felt stupid for coming out and saying it. Probably it was the fear that spoke.

“Then finish it. This time outside.” Sergeant Mike pointed to the door.

Dang. It had been raining intensely and no one wanted to be out there. Jim and Larry walked side by side outside in silence as the other men followed us.

Soon a ground of soldiers from all their cabins stood outside as if it was a paid show.

“Fight till you can’t fight anymore,” Sergeant Mike said as he blew the whistle.

At first, Jim had the upper hand, putting Larry in a headlock, making a pretzel out of his arms and legs. Not cool. His extra meat around his stomach made it even more difficult to breathe and the rain made Larry nearly lose his mind.

Why me? Larry thought.

Somehow the both of them had made their way to a puddle of mud. He had the upper hand and Larry felt hopeless until Jim said, “When I kill you, I’m going to tell everyone about your friend’s romance.” Then he farted in Larry’s face.

“NEVER!” He shouted, pushing Jim to the mud and getting him in a tight choke-hold. Jim tapped out in a matter of seconds. The whistle blew and a rush of applause from fellow soldiers delighted the soul of Larry for the first time in his lifetime.

Jim remained in the mud, rain pouring down him as if he were a thirsty plant. Larry realized in the moment, he may not have the most muscles or the greatest height but he did have some skillful hands, and that alone pushed away his past memories of being kept away from the crowd out of his head. It may one day save me in war. He thought to himself.

Two soldiers gave their shoulders for Larry to rest on as they helped guide him to the cabin. No one helped Jim.

Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks. He’d grown an inch or two and from all the push-ups and his arms was huge.

Since the day Larry wrestled Jim and him threatening to tell on his friend Carl, he had learned to keep his mouth shut and the pushups were not done because of his language.

While others read letters from their families and Larry had nothing to read, it would greatly affect his mood that day.

Though he joined the military to get the paycheck, honestly but he’d learned that he must man up to what he signed up for. Graduation was in two weeks. Right after they will be shipping soldiers off.

“Are you ready, pal?” Carl said offering a hand.

Larry grabbed it and stood. “Of course.” He felt afraid but wouldn’t have asked for any other obnoxious, tall dude to be by his side during battle.

His name was called by Sergeant Lee promptly after Carl had walked across the stage. Larry looked to the crowd and waved to the crowd, seeing nobody to call his family but strangers. He was 5th in rank out of fifty men.

“Well done,” Sergeant said when giving him an honor badge.

The soldiers then chanted their war promise when all was said and done.

“It is our time to shine, old friend,” Carl said. Mrs. Emilia, his ex-girlfriend and now fiancée, stood behind them, cheering with the rest of the crowd.

Larry nodded, leaned over to him and said, “Agreed, and it is my duty to return you safe and sound bro. I won’t let my unborn goddaughter grow up without her father.” He kindly squeezed Larry’s hand as a gesture of ‘thank you’ before letting it go.

And with one last salute to the Sergeant, they were on their way to pack for battle. No celebration parties, no time to mingle.

All that was left of that was nothing but tale as where he started wasn’t where he ended.

ONE

DEATH

COLD sweat trickled down her sides mixed with the blood that gushed out from her right calf as she scurried away into the dark woods illuminated by the moon. She’d tripped and rolled with painful glee after she must have hit her leg on a coppice lying on the floor in the forest. After about an hour that she had shuffled through the forest, the leaves hummed eerily and feathered. Her pulse thundered in her ears as the deep rumble of the drums, coming from the mansion deafened her eardrums. Amy intensified her pace though her flesh couldn’t withstand what her spirit for it. Unknown to her, she was being hunted like a game, scraped by the huntsman’s bullet.

Far away, behind her, and almost closing in on her, flashes of torch began to travel around the poles for her. The husky voices of men rose up like bonfire and echo with terror in the forest. They began to chant the same tune she had heard while she was held hostage in the mansion. The villains’ boots rustled on the leaves that slept undisturbed on the floor in the forest. And when the telegraphing from the drums grew bolder, with the intensity getting nearer, she moaned and mumbled softly.

“What mess—have I—I gotten myself into?”

Out of the blue, he wobbly legs collapsed under her waist. She struggled to stand up, but it was quite unfortunate that her legs felt reluctant to help her stand and walk again. By now, her legs had turned blood red, and she felt sapped of energy that she could only pant. Her foggy vision saw, minutes later, some dark figures.

While some of the dark figures held torches, which they flashed at will, others hung loosely around their necks the drums, with cowries around them. Her eyes scouted around the more to see some other with spiky boots. In their hands lies the outsized hunting knives, crested with the image of a dragon. They were all cloaked in black apparel and had their visages masked. Their chants thundered louder than ever before and those mantras stabbed Amy’s heart more than ever before that she felt her transient breath was leaving her.

Before she knew what was going on, the hooded statures had begun stabbing her simultaneously although in different spots. A mantra sent knives penetrating Amy’s flesh, which would generate an unfathomable agony from her mouth. The cloaked figures encircled her that there was no escape route for her. The drummers were poised with their drums. Her skin got punctured so hard that her blood flowed out with its tide and filled up the forest.

Due to the chanting of the hooded figures and the reverberating smashing of the drums, her scream of agony galloped round the forest with nobody’s attention being drawn towards her. Seeing that she had become emaciated, she was left there lifeless, even though with a faint breath. She shut her eyes as her heart sealed up its chamber not to open again.

**************************************************

As Amy tried to rehearse her dance step the moment she stepped to the dancing floor, she raised her tender arms and the conglomerate of bangles tied around her wrist clanked to the rhythm of the beat escaping from the drum. Her slinky eyes were obvious above the blood red swathed with a loose knot around her head. A red flamboyant dress stayed glued to one shoulder to spark off the imaginations of the audience. Pitch-black ponytails curled about her gaily molded hips, which attracted a man’s cuddle. She stepped out of her oblivion and all eyes were fixated on her, especially as she wriggled her waist along.

Her ex-boyfriend, while she was in the college was in attendance too. Alex could not easily get his eyes off Amy as they shared myriad of sexual pleasure together. He, handsomely dressed in his Italian three-piece suit, walked towards her direction. Being familiar with how best to ensnare him, Amy turned her face to another direction and was engaging some dude in a discussion that wasn’t of great use to her. Eventually, she got caught up with Alex.

“It’s been quite an age!” Alex said with a soft smile.

“An age that could cost a whole generation a fortune?” Amy turned back and beamed a smile that got Alex infected.

“Can we have a tete-a-tete aside for old times sake?” Alex inquired.

“Tonight’s not for such. I’ve got some people to meet with tonight. I’d be glad should you even oblige to meet them as well,” she replied as she walked away.

“I hope you get satisfied with what you have someday?”

“That may never come as I can never be!” Her delirious laughter angered Alex but what could he do?

At the party, a lot of faces Amy had not met before were also in attendance. The beautiful countenances they carry could cause the sun to let go its scourge for the calmness of the dusk. Being the kind of person she was: one who would always want to create the awareness of her presence wherever she goes, she had begun to extend her hands of friendship.

Some group of men in their forties sat behind a large table of casino enjoying the evening as usual. They gulped down champagne down their throats as they chat and laughed out loudly. Their level of intimacy got Amy endeared to them.

“Gents, can I be part of this gathering of men of valor?” She inquired from them as she already took her seat beside one of them before being permitted to do.

“Young lady, only the blind will disallow beauty from keeping him the desired company he needs at that moment.”

“Her beauty transcends man’s wit,” one of the men chipped in swiftly.

“And should we have her presence in Café Concerto every full moon, it would add more glamour and flavor to our fellowship,” another man suggested, and others looked at him surprisingly.

Without giving it a second thought, Amy accepted the offer despite that he had no knowledge of what the gathering of these men, who would mask their selves, would be about. A password: FIDELIO was scribbled with blood on a handkerchief, folded and handed over to her. She was to come to their gathering when the moon is full.

On the said date, when Amy was supposed to go enjoy herself again, she’d dressed elegantly waiting earnestly for the chauffeur that was to come pick her up for the outing. An elegant black Rolls Royce parked right in front of her apartment. The driver honked severally, but when no response was forthcoming, he stepped out of the car grudgingly, walked toward Amy’s entrance door. He’d almost punched the door so hard when Amy opened the door. He almost fell.

Getting back to the car, she rested her head on the back seat and her mind wandered off.

“Can you believe I just met some dudes with money, fame and power?” Amy told her friends.

“And where did you meet with them? As usual?” Blair asked in the softness of her voice.

“What do you think?” Amy laughed passionately.

“I trust you ladies. When do we get to paint the town red with the dudes?” Brittany anxiously quizzed Amy.

“You’ve got to calm down your nerves!”

“And were they at the wrong place, doing the wrong thing?”

The friends threw tantrums up and their noises rent the air. That was still ongoing when Amy felt a tap on his shoulder. When she came back to life, it dawned on her they’ve arrived at the mansion.

“So soon?” She cast an inquisitive look on the driver.

“Ma’am, it was a five-hour trip from your apartment to this place,” the driver said with his face turned sideways.

“Really?”

“Of course, Yes!”

Shocked by the location of the mansion in the middle of nowhere, where there was only a forest nearby and dirt roads. As she got to the entrance of the gate, two hefty men in dark suit accosted her, requesting for her secret code of entry. Having had it checked, she was asked to enter, which she does though with hesitation.

The interior design was aesthetically engineered. Old paintings graced the wall from the entrance to the hall, while statues made with candle wax were placed at the bottom of the wall opposite each other, and elegant crimson red carpet kissed the floor from the entrance to the end of the hall.

Everyone was fully clad neatly. While the men wore tuxedos, the women just put on loose gown. However, what scared Amy’s heart out of her were the different masks each of them wore. The host of the party, garbed in black robe, with a horned goat mask over his face walked towards her and gifted her mask of the Greek goddess, Venus.

“Please, put it on,” the host whispered silently into her ears, kissed her hands and walked away.

Immediately she put on the mask, the ball party began. Several ceremonies, of artistic nature, were performed by actors, who began to show their talents. Out of the crowd came two masked men, whose steps are done the same time, holding two long woods that had been set ablaze in their hands. They’d plunge the woods into their mouths with the fire burning and when they drew them out, howling would rent the air.

After a wonderful performance from that sect, a sonorous voice rang through the midst of all in attendance. The voice was so deafening that Amy almost ran out were she not prevented from doing so. With anticipatory look towards the entrance, awaiting the arrival of the singer, what they saw caught them by surprise. Water strolled inside like one who desired the cool breeze of the evening. While the song was still going, their attention was drifted away from the voice to the water until it began to gather together and became a nude woman, masked with the dragon’s head. That drew out emotions from the audience.

Before that electrified scene died down, everywhere shook to its foundation as a breeze visited them like an annoying windstorm. One of the masked men stood at one end controlling the direction of the air. Where he directed it, it went. Some women’s lingerie was exposed as he directed the air to the body. That spilled out laughter from their mouths. Most women, who got scared, were pacified by the men they ran to for succor.

Shockingly, as the last breath of air excused them at the gathering, trees began to sprout out from the ground. They grew into becoming big tree scaring many off. Not only did the trunks grow bolder, the branches began to travel around the room encircling around the audience.

At a time, a branch would encompassed a man about and lift him off the floor, and another branch would lift a woman off the ground, bringing the two of them so close that they’d kiss. The whole place was thrown into a huge frenzy. It got to a time that a branch travels round and round until it went under one of the onlookers, stroked his dick until he stood erect. They continued their merriment till they were filled.

In about some minutes later, Amy was approached by the same guy who’d been watching her closely since she entered. Getting close to her, he stopped and circled her, while his tongue left his place of abode to prey on Amy’s neck lovingly. Drake could sense one with a pure blood. Licking her neck delighted that when he looked at others, they scream in a loud ululation.

Drake extended his hand of love to Amy as the former had made the latter fall in love with him. Oblivion about the content in the chalice, he collected it and rushed it down her thirsty gluttonous throat. A couple of moments later, she began to feel dizzy. Her speech became incoherent.

“Wh—at is—this—have—?” She couldn’t complete the statement as she slumped and went cold.

“Hurray!” The multitude of heads at the gathering neighed so loud. For long have they been in search for a sacrificial lamb. Since Amy got herself ensnared in their web, they won’t give room for any slip ups.

While they were busy planning this, Drake was strategizing how to let her go. He blamed himself to have handed her over, since he’d have to check to confirm the donor’s blood. Thus, he could have twisted the voice of the gods. What can I do to save her? Will she retain her love for me if she found out I sold her out? He thought as he walked out of the ballroom stealthily.

Coming back to life, she yawned and had wanted to draw her hands to cover up her mouth, but she noticed that her hands weren’t moving at all. And when her eyes finally opened up, she found herself naked. Not only that, she was also chained to a very large rectangular white slab of stone. She looked round to see if there were people she met there upon her arrival. None appeared.

All her attempts to break free from the shackles proved abortive as the chain refused to grant her request. Every attempt of hers also let out blood from her body. I might lose my life if I keep struggling this way. She thought to herself and gave up the struggle. Though she thought she had been abducted by some men of the underworld who might’ve raided the party when she fell asleep.

“Anybody there? What the hell am I doing—in this—God forsaken area?” She screamed out bitterly.

Right from the darkness, voices began to hum eerily, with no face accompanying them. With the voices, there was also the thudding of feet on the floor. These two actions almost drove Amy crazy that her attempt to break frees from the chains brought upon her more pain.

“I know people are here. I beg you in God’s name to please come to my rescue—I am dying,” she said while she sobbed stiffly.

The hidden voices uncaged laughter from their mouths and the whole milieu was filled to the brim with the reverberation of their sad laughter. And the echo from that travelled through the dark forest and came back hurriedly to stab Amy in her heart.

Before she knew, the thudding and humming grew closer to her that she felt death so close to her. She shut her eyes thinking that she should just wake up into the reality that’s different from what she was experiencing. The crowd of men and women marched forward with masks still covering their countenances.

Sighting them as they became visible from the darkness, she began to fidget as sweat trickled down her face. It was until now that it dawned on her that she was also wearing the mask the host of the event had given to her when she stepped into the ballroom.

All of a sudden, the host made his way forward, clothed in his black garb coupled with the horned goat mask with blood dripping from its sides. When he got close to her, he began to pour on her myriad of liquids. Drake, while pouring the red liquid on her, started chanting some mantras she didn’t understand. By now, incense and fire cauldrons had been lit around her. Amy felt scarier at every of her breath which to her might be snatched away from her.

While the fire was burning with its fury, the other members began to chant in unison. The eldest in rank to Drake stepped forward, with his mask on and his penis already standing erect. The bulky prick almost scared Amy to death as she had never seen anything like that in her entire life.

“Wait a minute, don’t tell me you’re about to do what I’m thinking? I ain’t gonna find that funny you know?” She spoke confidently. The elder stopped halfway, showing that he was stunned to have heard that coming from her.

“It’s not what you’re thinking that’s about to happen. Far worse than that darling,” said the elder as he stroked his manhood, which was about to go to sleep, again.

Standing erect once again now, he walked toward Amy, while the latter was moving back where she was tied naked. She moved but still couldn’t leave the spot. Four women who were also naked stepped forward and grabbed her hands and the women who held unto her legs flung it wide apart that the hole between her legs now could absorb a huge rod.

He grabbed her thighs, to relieve the women who had held unto them and plunged his penis into her vagina so hard that a loud yell was released from Amy’s throat, while other screamed in jubilation. Having had his turn, he left the spot for another cult member. All of them had their turn on her until blood began to drool from her pussy uncontrollably.

Swiftly, the man masked with goat head revealed the knife he brought out from his pocket and began to roll it in his hands as it glittered and flashed across Amy’s eyes. Having stooped to average her height, he began to carve symbols right under her two-full firm bosoms.

“Ho—ly shit!” Amy screamed in agony and horror, while her blood ceaselessly flowed to purify everybody in attendance of their sins.

“That’s it!” One of the members exclaimed as the ritual continued.

On her right calf, another deep incision was made, leaving a huge lacuna that could hold drinking water for ten thirsty people. Her blood rapidly escaped from the calf to avoid being arrested. By the time Drake, having sanctified his hands with Amy’s blood, finished doing this, he unshackled her chains.

“You’re free to go,” he whispered to her ears and when he raised his head up with laughter, other members knew exactly what he might have told her. They all burst into a strident laughter.

“Free?” She struggled with the words as they flew out of her mouth.

“Yes! Now and forever….”

Amid the dilemma that had beclouded her sense of reasoning since she woke up to find herself in such a horrible state, Amy stumbled from the altar and left a trail of the blood that was gurgling down her gown behind her. Straight to the exit door, she went stark naked. Her tender and tenuous butt carried ocean of blood. And the nakedness she used to guard jealously was left to the full glare of the forest’s woods when she stepped out of the maleficent mansion.

Looking around with nothing in sight for her to hide or run to for help, she began to run as fast as her leg could carry her. She kept letting out a loud shrill and screaming for assistance, but none came looking for her. Amy ran that she lost balance at a time and fainted.

***

Back to the mansion, the cult gathered round Drake, who was in the middle, as they tried to summon the Old Ones with the ritual they were about to carry out using Amy’s blood. As he was about to commence the ritual, one of the cult elders raised an objection, saying they’ve not read the proceedings from the sacred book.

Thus, the elder who raised the objection was saddled with the responsibility of reading the sacred cult book, whose reading would require the reader’s loss of blood till he finishes reading. He wouldn’t lose more blood were he fast enough to finish the reading.

Daemon swiftly picked up the book, and as he opened to read, he felt a sharp object was inserted by him: a little above his navel, and his blood began to travel through an unseen pipe from his body to a gigantic reservoir. Having read the book, he collapsed and was rushed to one of the rooms, where two naked women were lying in wait for him already. Another slave’s blood was scooped and transferred to his body while the naked women attended to him in turn.

Most cult member, especially the newly inducted, couldn’t understand some of the contents of the hallowed book. The book said that the woman had to be pure, at least until the end of ritual before each member of the cult had sex with her, and then they would murder her.

It wasn’t clear to them that the state of purity the book talked about which Daemon couldn’t really finish because of his almost drained blood was death, which was nothingness born out of nothingness and begotten nothingness.

Following the successful completion of the ritual, the checked for the signs that she might possessed. Since she’d still be brought back to life as one of the Old Ones, the ritual must be carried out perfectly.

While the humming was still going on, Drake placed four huge black candles north, east, south, west on each quarters of the circle he’d drawn on the floor. An altar stood scarily in the centre of the circle, facing northward and drew a symbol.

۞

He began northward, invoking the energy of earth by beckoning on the elemental daemon of earth. Taking cavernous breaths and relaxing mentally and physically, he took the hunting knife he used in slaughtering the right calf of Amy and pointed it upward and drew again in his front the ZD sigil. As he was looking at the energy lines that created the symbol, he was simultaneously reciting a mantra.

Lirach Taca Vefa Wehlic, Belial

He recited this on three different occasions. Immediately he entered the circle, he created the feeling that filled the whole room.

Rising up, he faced the east, invoking the air energy as he called upon Lucifer, and followed the same process as of the invocation of the earth demon. He recited another chant that rent the air with terror.

Renich Tasa Uberac Biasa Icar, Lucifer

When he faced the south to invocate the demon of fire- Flerous, he did the same thing before the chant.

Ganic Tasa Fubin, Flereous

Facing the west now, just like the necromancer, he invoked the elemental demon of water, with the name: Leviathan.

Jedan Tasa hoet naca, Leviathan

To round off, he stood in the centre and hunted for the spirit of Satan, being the fifth element it was. He recited to combine and balance all elements.

Tasa reme laris Satan

In their own eyes, they’ve done creditably well by invoking these elemental spirits, without being told, they knew that if the ritual didn’t go well, the person will die and your ritual will have to start all over. Owing to the fact that one of the members translated the ancient language to English, the ritual became null and void. Locked away in their chamber, the sacred texts that housed the secrets of the occult were muted for thousand of years. After the ceremony, they left Drake alone with the remaining blood.

BOOK TWO

DREARY

Larry Fox scanned around to see if there would be anyone in sight. Being a funeral embalmer that he was really gave him the privilege to behold the sight of naked women, who satisfied his sexual urge, without any form of resistance from him. And since life had been miserable, his resolution was never to indulge in any long-term relationship.

Here they lie helplessly with their vaginas.

The mere thought that he could not only watch over these lifeless bodies but also do whatsoever he wished with them, without opposition turned him on. And whenever he embarked on his nightly routine walk round the morgue, he’d fantasize a sexual act with many of them in their numbers one after the other.

Approaching a particular corner where a mutilated female corpse lay, Larry fought a growing consternation like tumor as he looked over his shoulder at every tick-tock that the clock speaks of. The corpse’s beauty struck him so hard that his eyes refused to be taken off her bushy vagina.

“Come, take me home,” a chilly voice spoke to his mind and that halted his movement.

Shocked by what he heard, Larry looked back to confirm where those words really came from. By now, his dark hair had already stood on both ends. A gentle breeze began to blow violently at this instance. As he attempted to turn around and go back to his duty yet again, what he heard again stupefied him that he got stuck on a spot looking feebly fearful.

“Are you gonna walk out through that door, leaving me in this cold? I need some massaging in my pussy you know dude,” the guttural voice cut through his heart again. This time around it was searing than the previous encounter. A tiny smoke escaped from the corpse’s nostrils and encircled Larry from head to toe before he could leave. Without delay, images of unimaginable pleasures clouded his mind.

Since he couldn’t resist the urge he felt so strange now as the energy had usurped his sense of reasoning already, he smuggled the corpse out through the back door and stuffed it in his car. While he drove off, different thoughts kept coming to her heart. He took a swig from the bottle of alcohol lying on the seat beside him. Larry’s heart began to pulsate uncontrollably. Trying not to get stopped by the police, he did all he could to maintain his speed level at a hundred and twenty.

In no distance, his telephone began to vibrate in the dark corner of the jeans trouser, shaking his leg to its foundation. He scrambled for it in his pocket with his right hand while his left rested on the wheel and his eyes stayed glued to the road.

Larry answered the call. “Hello?”

“Mister Larry?” A man’s croaky voice said. “I hope you have not left the morgue?”

Surprised, Larry took her eyes off the road, removed the phone from his ears, and checked to see the caller’s name again only for him to see Private. When he checked his wrist-watch, he wondered why someone would call her up strangely like this at 2:00 A.M. Nobody had ever called him at that oddest hour of the night before. He felt someone must have been trailing him. That alone planted trepidation in him the more.

“This is the security, mister. I got in minutes ago, and when I went for routine check, the back door was left ajar. Some voices were heard from within, but since it’s outside my jurisdiction, I can’t question them.”

Larry still felt worried at what the caller said. The door I shut was opened? He eyes went back to the road. When he looked up to the rear mirror, he saw the corpse, stuffed in the car, sit upright. Swiftly, he stepped on the brake pad to bring the vehicle to a standstill in the middle of the road, when the night had gone past midnight. Were it to be noon, accident would have been unavoided. That even almost made him hit his head on the wheel he grabbed firmly.

After the black sedan car had come to a halt, he slowly turned his neck to confirm what his eyes had seen. To his surprise, the corpse had been properly arranged back to its former position, sleeping and looking unperturbed on the car’s seat.

On getting home, Larry went straight to the basement to check the place out, after parking his car in the garage. He quickly went back to his car, looked around should there be anybody trailing him. And after about sixty seconds, with nobody coming down his lane, he lifted up to his shoulder the corpse and went straight to his basement. With the speed in his movement, he almost tripped over, when he unintentionally hit his right foot on a large tin of paint on the floor.

“Larry? Is that you?” Jim, his neighbor, who occupied the floor above his, inquired to know what the sound was in Larry’s basement.

“Jim! It’s I. I came home to grab few things. I should be heading out soon. Sorry for making you wake up so early,” Larry replied as speckles of sweat gathered on his face, while searching for the best place to put the corpse. Eventually, he found a spot hidden away from people’s sight. Without a second thought, one of his abandoned mattresses was spread.

Gently, he placed the dead woman on the mattress; he unbuttoned his shirt in a jiffy, being under the influence of hypnotism, wiped off the sweat from his face, and as his hands pushed down his zip, a knock from his front door scared him off. Looking up, he wondered who that person that had interrupted his about to happen pleasure, could be. He dragged his trouser and went to answer the door.

“I was just taking a walk around the neighborhood before I saw this shimmering light from your apartment, which was unusual at this hour of the day. I told myself, ‘why don’t you check on your old buddy and see if both of you could still grab some wine to drink together?’ So, here I am. What’s ya ass doing up here this hour of the day when those corpses are laying there solitarily?” Saunders said with a sheepish smile while his eyes kept roving around the room behind Larry.

When Larry saw that, he rapidly shut the door behind him. Smiling wistfully, he said, “I’m home to grab few of things I left behind. I’ll soon be away. Very thoughtful of you. See you later in the day.” As Larry turned to go back to his unfinished project, Saunders’ words halted his movement and his pulse inflated.

“You’ve got some corpse in your basement?”

“What?” Larry pretended not to have heard the security officer clearly. He cast an inquisitive look at Saunders.

“Corpse! Basement! Yes, spill the beans,” Saunders seemed serious as he carried a frown on his face.

“No—I—I—well, I think….” As Larry was still stuttering, Saunders burst out laughing so loud that were the look on Larry a gun, the officer’s blood would’ve purify everywhere.

“I was just pulling your legs. I saw nothing dude!” Saunders opened up and walked away. After walking a few meters away from Larry, he shouted without looking back, “Meet you in the alehouse for our renewed war on bottles in the day!”

“You’re so full of crazy thought,” Larry hissed as he shouted back at him. Turning to leave, he placed his hand on his chest and dragged it down, assuring himself that all would be well.

Prior to his return to the basement, the cloth with which the dead woman was wrapped in had been removed, revealing the corpse’s well-shaven vagina, and the firm bosoms that stood erect on its chest. Turned on immediately, he forgot he’d wrapped it before leaving to answer the door, which drew his attention away.

Without delay, his trouser went off, not exempting his shirt. He grabbed his prick and stroked it so fast that it stood erect. Gliding his dick in and out of the corpse, after he had flung her thigh open, he moaned softly with one hand over his mouth. Sweating profusely, he continued moaning while he kept plunging himself inside of the still corpse. The whole place reverberated when he came in the long run. He rolled over to a side with his eyes facing the sky.

Larry groaned. Tonight’s pleasure- an embalmer slept with a corpse- had crossed his mind should that make the front page of the dailies. Most likely, his fame would spread rapidly like bonfire.

“I’m sorry,” Larry whispered. “I never mean to take advantage of you without your consent.”

Sitting up now, Larry looked lost at the dead woman beside him. Despite the symbol, which he didn’t understand scribbled on her chest, he remained undisturbed. However, what worried his heart more was the images from his past. He saw his own figure walking alone in the dark with none beside except for the torch and his shadow that trailed him. Seeing there would be a way out at the end of the tunnel was a great delight to him. Before he could get there, rocks fell in their numbers and prevented him from getting close to the exit, where laughter seemed to be coming from. Dejectedly, he sat down and sobbed silently with his head buried on his knee caps.

Back home, Larry was accosted by his mother, who never remarried despite being left alone by her only son’s father- a stranger he never knew his family. Owing to what she had been through, she banned her son from associating with people in the neighborhood.

“Larry, is that you?” Eve inquired to know after she heard footsteps tip-toeing in the one-room apartment she labored hard to rent.

“Yessum!” Young Larry answered her mum timidly while wiping the stream of tears flowing down his cheek.

Eve came out and beheld what Larry was doing. She got out, and having sighted his stained cloth, asked him annoyingly, “You’ve gone out to play with your mates again?”

Larry remained muted with her face downcast knowing well that another word from him would definitely be unpleasant as it stood. His attempt to also walk out on her mother was greeted with stern reaction.

“How many times will I tell ya never walk out on me in a middle of something?” She continued with a bit of agitation reflecting in her voice.

“Every time mom—I’m sorry mom,” he said this with his eyes glued to the floor while his hands fondled the zip of his track suit.

“Now, get your ass in there. I ain’t see no tears in your eyes. You ain’t those weakling of a kid down the street you know that? And remember, no stepping outta there again!” Eve said with a tone of finality.

It’s always been her habit to scare him off playing with other kids in the hood. Though Larry didn’t like this, he had no option other than to accept his fate the way it was. Eve’s reason was that other kids would make her son prone to germs and bad influences. Never was he for once allowed to mix with the hood.

Larry saw how he was guilt-tripped as an opportunity to gain access to other things his lustful mind longed after. Other teenagers’ sexual exploration became a forbidden kingdom to him, and no friend was also allowed to keep his company. In no time, his mind drifted towards pornographic contents so as to quell his sexual urge.

The more he did this; he became addicted to the extent that his heart grew to become endeared to stronger and more violent pornographies, where most times, the women would be beaten severely, after being chained and forced to have sex with several men at the same time.

On one occasion, being carried away with stroking his penis, his mother caught him red-handed in that state and she was shocked to have seen her son reduced to what he feared most. In that devastated state, she did the unimaginable. Seeing me there, he was shocked that he couldn’t pull up his trouser. His already standing prick kept descending till it shrank to its small size.

“Is this what you want? Come on, be a man and stop looking at those them little boy things,” Eve angrily spoke to her son and yanked off her clothes, revealing to him her breasts and vagina.

Completely humiliated by this, Larry rose up and pushed his mother so hard against the wall. The weirdest thing happened to him after he had seen his mother’s neatly shaved pussy and pointed bosoms like that of the ones he’s used to seeing online. His erection stood at attention immediately.

Plunged in this state of dilemma, knowing not what next to do, instinct misguided him as he hit his mother over the head with the flower vase that rested on the table beside his bed. Eve slumped to the ground and while she lay there in her unconscious state, Larry on the double began to stroke his penis again, which in no time became so hard that he began to glide in and out of his mom. In that precise moment, he had his first sexual encounter. He came so mightily that after filling up to the brim his mother, the floor was still littered.

The next morning after the unfortunate incident, Eve, shamefacedly, acted like nothing happened the night before; its discussion was also never brought up again. Several months later, Larry woke up only to find his mom dead in their bathroom bathtub, after she had sliced both of her wrists, thereby losing so much blood. A letter was neatly placed on the cistern. On the body of the cistern was an inscription READ ME! written with Eve’s blood. Larry picked it, opened and read.

“All you did should be blamed on me. I tied around my waist as an apron unnecessarily. Deem it fit to forgive me for making you commit such an incestuous act. The mere thought of carrying my son’s baby will make me regret for the rest of my life even as I depart from you. Learn more from my diary.” Tears dripped, with nobody to stop it, from his eyes.

A few weeks later, Larry decided he’d have to leave their apartment and go and squat with a friend in another city. While ransacking his mother’s clothes, having made the decision to prevent what he did from haunting his soul down, a diary fell off his hand. The brown leather-bound diary seemed familiar to him with the grin that grew on his brow. After a cursory look at the diary, he thought of where he had seen it before. My Mom!

“What’s that ya hiding from me?” He asked wittingly as he got back home from school with a smile on his face and crept in on his mother stealthily.

“Not a business that concerns you. And what’s school like today, Larry?” Eve responded as she quickly opened the drawer to hide her diary.

“In good light as it’s been always,” he walked in with his head drooped down as he dropped his backpack on the sofa.

While Eve was in the kitchen, trying to make ready their supper, Larry walked quietly across the room to his mother’s reading table. And as he opened the drawer, he saw the diary. He was about to pick it up and began to read when a slight cough startled him.

“At least, you should know that prying into other people’s privacy is a sin.” She said softly.

“I’m sorry mom,” Larry replied his mother and walked away looking disappointed.

Back to the room where he stood, with the diary still in his hand, he felt it was now the right time for him to know the content on the diary without being scolded by anybody. He flung it open as he rested his butt on the bed to digest all that was written therein.

“Dear son,

Reading this would imply I’m long gone despite leaving so many things undone. We never had the kind of relationship a mother can boast of with her son, except for that despicable act. My life had suddenly become a shadow of itself. This didn’t begin now. It started way back.

I’d always had it rough with all the sons of Adam I’ve encountered in the journey of life. And that’s why I never wanted you to mix up with their breed so as not to become an ogre.

The bad luck I had had with men started with my father. Each time I misbehave or reported to have misbehaved, I would receive the beating of my life that should make me turn a new leaf, but unfortunately, that made me become more hardened. Sometimes, I’d even get into trouble so as to be physically punished by the man I called my father. Since then, the world had been s cruel place to domicile in and my thoughts were: ALL MEN WERE EVIL AND SHOULD BE HATED,” Larry paused and having discovered that tears had already welled up in his eyes, he wiped it off quickly to continue reading.

“Several heartbreaks from my tissue, veins and blood did I encounter. The one to whom my virginity was given broke my first trust, after snatching it without my consent. All these experiences taught my heart that real love only existed as fairy tales that can never be true.

An unforgettable incident that gave birth to you happened one day. Having had too many to drink at a bar, owing to my depressed state, I had sex with some man in my state of drunkenness. With no condom used, you were planted in me that night. I’d have terminated you but had to keep you: a decision I took out of pain.

Since I have no college education, I had to go work as a waitress during the pregnancy phase. I get to work so late, always drunk as well. I kept the job because I also became a sexual objectification for the restaurant’s manager. At times, a blow job will he require to satisfy him, while some other time, a rough sex will he demand in the kitchen that would put a smile on his face, even if I had to go for weeks writhing in pain.

By the time you became part of my life fully, my resentment for all men, even little boys, had skyrocketed. I told myself, ‘they need to be controlled, punished and be taught how to behave,’ I raised you in that manner: a twisted and hateful mind toward your sex. I did all I could to isolate you from every other person to avenge myself of all I’ve been made to go through.

Being mine alone, I decided that nobody, not school, not the law, not the government, not the society would corrupt and turn you into a man-monster. I ensured this, though you absorbed it in a different light.

For all the freedom, I denied you, I’m so sorry. It wouldn’t have been my joy watching you grow into the being I loathed with passion. I hope you’ll find a place in your heart to forgive me for erring this much. I know you’d be great. Just follow the lead of your act.

Your lovely mom,

Eve.

Larry pulled the letter close to his chest to the extent that the words almost escaped from the papers and became enshrined in his heart. He kept weeping as he collapsed to the floor with his head buried in his palms. Angered at himself, he threw the ornament near him away.

“Mom, I’m sorry! I never knew all these,” he sobbed and lay flat on the bed and before you know it, he had fallen asleep.

***

Sergeant Brad Cooper, the detective from the Criminal Department, entered the morgue with some league of people trooping in like flowing water behind him. He had his nose covered, preventing the offensive odor oozing out from the place. His look spoke of unhappiness as he walked around observing if there would be a sign left behind to link the missing corpse to the culprit. With gloves on his hands, he crouched on the spot where the dead woman used to lay. He seemed to have seen something that caught his interest as he picked up a tiny twine, which Larry saw afar off, and wondered what it could be. He was quite uncomfortable.

“Can I get the footage of events that happened here 72 hours ago?” He inquired from the person in charge of the CCTV camera.

“None is erected in the morgue, sir,” Tony whispered.

“Why?”

“Because of all these….” Tony pointed at the naked women.

“And now that one out of them is missing, you don’t seem to think it’s necessary to have one up here?” Brad continued checking for what could be evidence that will be used to nab the culprit. Pointing to all of the workers, he said, “All of you here are suspects until proven otherwise.”

“Sir!” Tony said stuttering.

“Yes! And I hope you’ll say something sensible this time around?”

“The only footage that could be made available is that of the back door,” Tony said emphatically.

Upon hearing this, Larry’s mind skipped a beat. If Brad were to have been so close to Larry, he would’ve concluded that the latter carried out the despicable act.

But I put off the generating set light.

“What’re you still waiting for? Go make that available right away!” Brad instructed Tony with a grin on his face. He scurried off hurriedly.

Should I own up to the crime now? Will they temper justice with mercy? What will I say was the intention behind acting in this manner? Should I rather go and meet with Tony to clear my image off the cassette? Larry thought.

“Nobody leaves here until we get to the root of this matter,” the detective’s stern words frightened Larry that he felt the man had heard the intent of his heart.

Sighting Tony coming back with a smile on his face and the video tape in his hand, Larry became more terrified, and coupled with the fact that Tony was just looking at him.

“You saw the tape?” Brad, with zest, asked Tony.

“Certainly, I did but….”

“Hand it over please,” the detective stretched forth his hand, while Tony placed it on his palm.

As he turned to leave, Tony spoke grudgingly, “There was no footage inside.”

That halted Brad’s movement away from him. He turned back slowly, and his face spoke of anger though he needed to control himself.

“I thought you said there was capturing?”

“Yes, that I said!”

“And was coming back smiling?”

“That I did too because it’s a good antidote for good health.”

“Now, where did all these go then?” Brad pointed the video cassette at Tony as the former walked toward the latter.

“I’d wanted to explain the other time but you….” Tony began to stutter.

“Can you please go on and explain yourself before I llose my patience?”

“I forgot to let you know then that we usually switch off the light at night as well as the CCTV cameras,” Tony said in his shaky voice.

“For what, if I may ask?” Brad growing impatience now.

“That’s the modus operandi we met on ground here.”

“Who watches over them at night?” The detective asked after he had jotted down his observation.

“Over who?” Tony showed a surprise look at the question.

“Don’t even make any attempt to try out my patience here!”

“I only need to know the people you’re referring to and to see if I can still be of any help.”

“Another contrary word from your mouth again will make you regret ever working here.” Brad told him and everywhere remained silent. “Okay, I mean who stays with these bodies at night?”

All eyes, present, save for Brad’s, went towards Larry where he stood. That simultaneous stare dragged Brad’s eyes to follow that direction too. He tried all he could to bury the haughty fear that had the plan to humiliate him. Larry thought, perhaps, this is the beginning of the end for me.

“What’s your name?” Brad asked with a smile.

Larry would never fall for that sheepish but devilish smile. He forced himself to reply confidently, “Larry…Larry Fox.”

“Larry,” he flung his arm round Larry’s shoulder, “You’ve been on shift for quite some years now and no incident as this has ever happened?”

“Sure,” Larry seemed to be gathering some effrontery in answering Brad.

“But yesterday, an unfortunate incidence that you wouldn’t have wished to happen took place under your nose. And that got you worried, ain’t it?” Brad inquired from him with his eyes penetrating his eyes.

“Of a truth, I’m worried and that got me thinking that…no….”

“Tell us, what exactly do you think of?” Brad with his look now seemed to have found a loophole where he can tie his knot very well. He was expecting Larry to spill the beans.

In all what Larry said, though there was no iota of truth in it, his track was neatly covered. He was able to hide conveniently behind the cyclorama of the morgue’s policy. That got Brad frustrated that he threw his jotter at a wall.

“My years as a detective had never presented before me a hard case like this to unbutton. One thing I’m sure of is…Larry; my eyes are still on you. You’ve proven to be a smart ass up here. But, when I catch up with you…,” he used his two finger as a symbol of a revolver as he walked out of the room hitting another can that lay on the floor. With others’ reactions too, it seemed they suspected Larry since he was the one that would stay there till late in the night.

A few days later, when sanity had been restored on the sea, Larry set out to investigate about the dead woman that everyone seemed interested in. He stole in at night, with his torch, after everybody had left, to the filing department. Since their names were written on the tag placed on the corpse when they were brought in to the morgue, it was so easy for Larry to locate dead woman’s body: Amy. After a long search, he found it.

Flipping through the pages of the files, he felt like pouring out seeing her different mutilated bodies. He took a cursory look at the symbol carved out on her body under her breasts, and wondered where he had seen it before. When he couldn’t place where, he stopped the endless search in his brain and resumed work knowing well that he had little time left. After seeing Amy’s right calf that was hugely pierced, he felt nauseated. The note attached to the pictures stole his attention.

“Life for life to stay longer;

Soul for soul to see clearer;

Spirit for spirit to breathe better;

Heart for heart to connect brighter;

Such is the fate of Amy,

Whose blood gave us all hope

Of a better tomorrow.

One for all; all for one

To Lucifer, her soul belongs

The key to free her lies in HER.”

Without given it a second thought, he returned the file to its position, rushed to where he parked his car and headed straight to his apartment to see how he could help Amy gain her freedom from the cult she’d delved herself into the demonic worship. On getting home, he saw his lock torn apart, while a scary sound was coming out of his basement. His pulse raced so fast that he almost tripped over.

When he got to his basement, he saw that the dead woman’s belly had swollen up so big that it left his mouth wide open. An unthinkable creature: disgusting worm-like specie, tentacle animal with a mouth in its centre full of bloodied jagged teeth, erupted from the corpse’s belly.

Having awakened in this realm for the first time, the creature was at first at a complete loss. It had been born and reborn many a times in different realms. But in this realm, it perceived much suffering, agony, much blood and hungered for much food. Knowing that he was an acolyte of the Old Ones, he derived pleasure in feeding from these negative energies, but mostly they fed off in astrophysical from the agony and suffering of all the species in the galaxy.

The kind of suffering they enjoyed most was that of human because they, human, seemed to be endeared to suffering since they have the tendency to be self-destructive. Among the species in the cosmos, humans were perceived to be a failed experiment molded by the Creator, the All Powerful, who, after seeing the results of their experiment, left them to their ultimate and imminent demise. The creatures were given the permission, though, to prey upon the negative emotions of this failed lab experiment, since they barely had the opportunity to really taste and eat human blood and meat. Thus, at every given time that a species, being stupid enough, would open a portal for them, as Larry had done, it’s be a feasting time. They just had to wait for the portal to open.

Sighting Larry, the creature made a move towards him, after scanning the whole environment for what he can consume. Realizing he had found himself in a predicament that would undoubtedly endanger his life, he attempted to bolt away. It appeared his fate disagreed with him as his attempt proved abortive. The creature pulled him back holding his right leg. A loud scream came out of his mouth that his neighbor got worried but couldn’t come down to check on him. While the struggle lasted, he picked the metal he’d held unto for some hours and struck the species with it so hard that one of the creature’s hands was chopped off. The creature retreated to regroup. To Larry’s amazement, his chopped off arm grew back to its normal position. He began to run helter-skelter in the already disarrayed basement, looking for a way out. Before he could escape, he was grabbed once again, and this time around, it was fatal. Larry was torn apart limb by limb.

Without much ado, the disgusting looking creature settled down to enjoy his supper by feasting on its prey. It ate Larry up piecemeal while his belch echoed pain and agony throughout the building. It began to grow unstoppably after it had preyed on Larry. Neighbors felt the thudding, pain and agony coming from the creature.

“Jim! You heard that or not?” Bernie called out to her husband while she was having her bath.

Jim didn’t hear her so clearly because of the sound of the stereo that was so loud. He assumed he heard his name and called out to his wife, “Bernie! You called me?” When he heard nothing again, he went back to gulping down his throat the champagne he had in his hand.

“Go get the kids please!” She said again when the bathroom began to shake so hard that she had to quickly hold on to the bathtub. Before she could pick up her towel and wrap it over her nakedness, the floor gave way for her legs and straight did she jump into the creature’s mouth. Her loud shrill that echoed in the building alerted Jim.

“Bernie, what’s that?” Jim rushed to the bathroom to check what really was going on. As he opened the door, he almost fell into the huge gorge. The thought that he needed to save his kids now dawned on him that when he turned to rush back inside, he was caught as the whole floor collapsed.

A state of alert went off in the city as soon as the man-eating monster broke loose from Larry’s apartment into the midst of people, ripping their hearts open. Blood flowed ceaselessly on the street. Sirens rent the air as men in blue uniforms came out, without waiting for order, and began to fire at the disgusting worm-like species. Seeing that their bullets couldn’t pierce through the thick flesh of the creature, they began to throw grenade and also tear-gassed it, but all was to no avail.

“Attention! Attention! Attention! You’re advised to evacuate your building immediately, and do not—I repeat—do not engage the destructive creature in any way you think is right to you. Officers should be at alert and report any strange sound from any quarter. Move it!” Detective Brad announced over the megaphone as the patrol vehicle that conveyed him was moving around the environment. Families were seen leaving behind their properties and running into the waiting long vehicles that would take them to their temporary camp built for them.

Four different television stations had already begun the broadcast about this inopportune incident in broad day light. People began to scamper about with the thought that the whole place had been made to become a frenzied war zone, with the declaration from an unfathomable creature.

It became so difficult for even the reinforced police officers to bring to an end the chaos, and massive massacring the creature awarded on a platter of gold to the people. What kept wowing people, while they were looking for a way out of the mess, was the fact the species kept growing to a larger size each time it swallowed up a human. That made them increase the tenacity of their escape.

“O my gosh!” One of the bystanders, who were supposed to have taken to their heels, stopped and looked to take a final glance at the creature, and perhaps take some video clips of the creature exceeding increase in size. After bringing out his camera to do just that, the creature turned to him and before he could think of escaping now, he was swallowed up.

Cries and gnashing of teeth filled everywhere as the creature kept wreaking havocs, mostly, on humans. The presence of the police officers that was innumerable didn’t in any way reduce the threat and annihilation tourney it embarked on. Thus, they couldn’t avert the disaster as it was already too late to do just that. In its quest to feed fat, more on flesh, the creature found its way to the zoo.

“Report reaching us live from where we stand is that the creature is heading towards the local zoo in the community. Therefore, should the species there be endangered, that will amount to the outright extinction of so many animals, which will definitely result to a huge disaster on our part as humans. As the events continue to unfold, we won’t but bring them to your notice. I’m Vickie Cleveland for The Cable Network,” the reporter made the announcement, while his cameraman videoed all the actions as they occurred.

“Please stay back!” Brad waved at the reporters and some of their other colleagues.

“Sir, you’ve got a call,” an officer lower in cadre walked up to Brad, saluted him and handed an already received phone to him.

Pressing the phone closer to his ear, he stuttered having recognized the voice. “Madam Secretary—yes ma’am—we’re on it! No, no, no—we can’t engage him now. Allowing him get in there will make it easy for us to trap the freaking-disgusting creature,” said Brad as he was pacing up and down. “It’s just some sort of a dark magical creature allowed to enter this city after a so-called portal was….” Brad was cut off by the Secretary of State while he was still trying to explain.

“I’m not so sure if your explanation will be tenable in front of Mr. President. You’ve got to do something quickly within 48 hours. And when I call you again, I want to hear that this worm-like creature whose image I’m seeing in front of me has been laid to rest on American soil,” the Secretary of State spoke sternly and hung the phone on Brad.

As he removed the phone from his hear, he hit with his right foot a tin beside him. His eyes caught hold of a camera on the floor where the tin he hit raced to. The place had been cleared off quickly as everybody shudder home.

Breaking into the zoo and devouring the larger animals, the creature grew so large that it became unstoppable. The officers couldn’t do anything other than to watch and wait as the horror kept unfolding. A lot of people, in agony, stood miles away beholding the gory sight. Many of the officers lost their lives in an attempt to salvage the situation. It was so devastating that only the insignificant animals could manage to escape the wrath of the beast.

However, in the mansion that stood aloof in the forest occupied mainly by woods, the original cult, that wore masks, saw the havocs the creature kept wreaking and the ululation amongst them was unimaginable to show how elated they really were. Owing to the ocean of blood flowing, they were able to appease their One True God. One of them was called upon to step forward and appease him on their behalf.

Having brought out a paper, pencil, salt and lavender, he crouched and drew a spiral on the paper he placed on the floor and an X through it. After that, he sprinkled some salt around the circle, he’d drawn already and burned the lavender and began chanting.

“I summon you The Old Ones to this room!” roared the elder while the others in the room began to hum so loudly that everywhere shook as the smoke from the lavender rose up tenaciously. “I command you stay in this circle of safety. I summon you so I may ask you for our purposes in this sect. So, more be!” He chanted these words and switched over to the ancient language which he did with an orgy dance. That resulted in more drumming, humming, and raucous ululations from every angle to the extent that everybody could feel the heat and the breeze that travelled around the room. The room got electrified that all fell into a trance.

As this continued, the Old Ones, dressed in their black robes and masks, and appeared in a mysterious way looking furious with the eagerness to suck blood. Had they been summoned with no blood to prey on, they’d have been left with no other option than to feast on the cult members’. Smokes travelled with them as they marched across the streets. With their presence in the scene, many souls lost their transient breaths as they rolled out their drums, which they hit so hard while they chanted so horribly that its echo deafened whoever that heard it.

Where Brad was at the zoo, working out a modality for them to douse the tension created by the creature, he was radioed about the presence of another sect in human forms, and whose visages were hidden away from them. Returning from the zoo to the street, the catastrophe he beheld struck him like lightning and it wearied his heart, but couldn’t show because he owed the city his allegiance to live only to protect the city against any form of attack.

Thinking he could just handle the situation on his own, his hand went for his revolver as he crouched beside a police van, with his rifle pointed at the bald-headed Old Ones, whose movements were simultaneously made.

“Drop your swords, and your lives shall be spared,” announced Brad. He knew within him that definitely their lives won’t be spared should they surrender. The men didn’t show any sign that he was talking to them. He repeated the same instruction with no response or reaction coming from the Old Ones. He beckoned to one of his officers to go close behind them and opened the mask off the face of one of the men.

As the veil came off, the officer got burnt into ash. Another shock was they had no ear, eyes, nor nose on their head at all. Other officers retreated at this revelation. Without hesitation, another fidgeting officer fired a shot at them. And the bullet bounced back, having no effect on the Old Ones.

Smiling wryly, they looked at Brad and other men in blue, who carried prickled sweats on their faces. The elders continued to slice the throat of the people, as the pace at which they move is that of lightning. Thus, before any man could escape, they would have appeared ahead, slaughtered and moved on to the next person. Not only were they lynching humans in their numbers; they were also setting ablaze churches, mosques, and synagogues around the city.

In one of mosques down the road, the Imam gathered the brothers and was preparing them to quell any attack from the Old Ones, after they’d taken their women, the aged and young ones to safety.

“Peace be unto you brothers. Since we’re experiencing one of the signs of end time, we shouldn’t be dismayed by this, but rather stand our ground and fight it till we wipe them off our holy land,” charged the Imam. “This is our own Jihad! And if we lose the battle now, we won’t be forgiven by posterity.”

“But we were asked to steer clear of them? They’ve got no face, nose, and ear on their head. Bullets ain’t penetrating their bodies. I think we should just go to safety where our families are,” Bilal stuttered.

“Cowardice! That’s sheer cowardice! What will you have to say on the day of recompense? You ran away when you could have stood against the infidels? I go by what the Imam has said. Let’s battle them!” Quozeem spoke out vehemently.

“Brothers, we need not create a storm out of a teapot here. The infidels shall go and only Allah’s name will be praised. I hope the basement is secured for our families?” asked the Imam.

“Yes, they’ve been safeguarded in the basement,” a minuscule voice responded.

While they were still plotting how to trap the Old Ones that had come to wipe them off the face of the earth and ridicule their religion, they felt a heavy push against the wall of the mosque where they locked themselves away behind it wall. And before they could fathom what was going on, the magnificent structure had already trapped all of them in its rubbles, yielding a tremendous yelling from the Old Ones.

After seeing the end of the mosque and some other places of worship, the Old Ones also ensured that babies and virgin girls are not left untouched. They sacrificed them in a huge inferno, coupled with screaming in agony in an attempt to appease the spirit of the True God.

The enchanter stepped forward and began to chant, “Unto you our hearts and souls belong, Lucifer, Ouyar, Chameron, Aliseon, Mandousin, Premy, Oriet, Naydru, Esmony, Eparinesoni, Estiot, Dumosson, Danochar, Casmiel, Hayras, Fabelleronthou, Sodirno, Reathan, Venite, Venite, Lucifer. Shemhamforash!” Energy travelled round the mansion again, while another smoke rose up and filled the whole place that none could be seen clearly.

Satisfied with these offerings, the creature, that had come back from the zoo, where he was swallowing the animals in their numbers, forcing them to extermination, opened its fanged mouth wider and wider that a sort of terrific portal could be seen from the other end.

In the portal, everything appeared so horrible and infernal that whoever that saw whatever that took place therein; including the cult members, instantly became insane and begged to either eat up themselves or one another alive. As the portal never stopped increasing in size, indescribable species that had never been conceived in man’s mind sprouted and came through the portal. With the way they looked, they seemed like horrible unimaginable and abominable creatures from Hades itself.

Due to this, destruction, chaos, as well as death came in human form into the city. The species that came through the portal began to eat the remnants of the dismembered bodies that littered the floor. Some of the cult followers were also gulped down their throats alive. As they about to be consumed, their countenances showed that of awe and confusions as to why the cult members couldn’t protect them despite being ardent acolytes.

In the end, the rampaged city remained desolate as there was none left but an elderly priest, in his tattered garb and soaked in the blood from the massacre, who held up a cross at the gaping creature. The cross he had been going around with had really helped him and save him to the extent that each creature disappear at the sight of the cross. More creatures kept emerging with terrifying noise.

The last elderly priest screamed prayers to God, “Oh Lord of Heavens! You’re the judge on the day of recompense! To you alone be my praise. None, except you, is worthy of my praise. You’ve been our pillar of support and help in ages past. You saved the Israelites, despite being a recalcitrant generation, from the scourging hands of the tormentors in Egypt. You, who saved David from the claws of the Lion, should look down and come to my rescue from the cold hands of death that’s about to cudgel me with its club. Save humanity from the hands of these destructive creatures.” He pointed the cross in his hand at the creatures that emerged thereafter, thinking it would have effect on them. Unfortunately, it didn’t as these new creatures came with an additional head.

My prayers aren’t answered? God failed me!

The elderly cleric was still thinking what could’ve gone wrong that made his prayers go unanswered, when a reptile-looking creature stood tall in front of the priest. The former began to observe the latter, with utmost curiosity, while its tongue kept dangling. It touched the priest’s shoulder, and with a mental connection, the reptile species clothed in its multicolored skin, transmitted all the pieces of information about the cosmos and reality as well as the meaning of life.

In no time, the priest began to convulse pathetically that his eyes smoldered. Consequent upon this, the wooden cross in his hand dropped off, and the cross began to burn.

“Father, in thy hands I leave my soul. Save it from eternal damnation of hell, and make these creatures pay for all these heinous crimes on humanity,” mumbled the priest softly as his eyelids began to close up till they shut finally that all that beclouded his mind was nothing but darkness.

Elation rose up in the midst of the cult members, having had the understanding that they’ve been able to wipe out from the surface of the earth humans. The more the creatures fed on the mutilated bodies, lying on the streets; the more they grew bigger and that alone increased the blood flow on the altar where the Old Ones gathered to appease the True God.

Streets remained deserted that not even a single bird flew across. Then, once upon a time bubbled city became a desolate habitation. Flies and worms scrambled for food on the carcasses for months. The blood of those who used to occupy the city tarred the road in red. Fear lurked in the air. Since nobody existed there again, the cult members felt their new world should exist.

“This world had we envisioned for long: a place for us of the same kind. On this rock shall this new faith be built, and no light shall prevail over it,” one of the elders said with zest.

Still in their ecstatic feeling, they began to drink the blood on the altar in turn. And when some of them had drunk to stupor, they lost their wits and began to misbehave, which led to sex orgy. The Old Ones still stood, with their masks on and observe as their followers busied themselves with fun.

A loud rumbling like a thunderstorm rose from the forest, and darkness took over the whole forest. In the mansion, only the light from the Old Ones’ eyes illuminated the room. Some of the inhabitants of the village who had been captured before the creatures started to kill them in their numbers were brought out and slaughtered right there while their blood flowed ceaselessly.

The cult members took the blood and marched humming to the sacrificial altar that had already drunk to stupor blood splashed on it. A blonde virgin, stripped of her cloth carried the calabash that housed the blood and began to walk towards the altar staggering, while others began to celebrate with an uninhibited dance step.

“We call on you this day to accept not only the blood of these souls, who are with you already, but that of this fresh and unstained blood, whose spirit will be crowned after her death,” the moment the elder announced this; the whole congregation ululated in a reverberation tone in unison.

Even though Leslie’s mind wasn’t fully committed toward surrendering herself to the cold hands of death, she had no other option than to do so since it had been in her lineage to do so. Her mother’s elder sister was the one who stood in the position where she was standing now.

Cursed be the day I was formed in my mother’s womb. May the womb that carried me for nine moons seize to bring forth goodness. Leslie gnashed her teeth as she advanced in her movement towards the altar of blood. A smile forced itself to appear on her face, because it was customary for her to laugh before being kissed by death.

The closer she got to the altar; the thinner she grew as her body kept emaciating as her blood kept dripping on the floor.

“All hail Lucifer! All hail Lucifer! All hail Lucifer!” Everybody began to chant while stamping thunderously their feet on the ground and the sound of their feet echoed fear throughout the forest that all the leaves went into hiding.

At the very instance she took the last step and should have stood in front of the altar, she collapsed as her last droplet of blood embraced the ground. In a jubilant mood, all of them roared thunderously and paid their obeisance to the lord of darkness who had accepted their humble offering.

Nostra oblatio tibi sit accepta. Sit laus Lucifer! Offerimus sanguis illius!

BOOK THREE

DESTINY

As soon as Larry opened his eyes, he caught the sight of a shimmering light, gushing out of his body, and the generated from that seemed to electrocute him and the feeling he got was like he wasn’t molded of material matter anymore, since he appeared much lighter. He was stupefied to have found himself stark naked, and with no feeling of shame.

The place he found himself gave the impression of a whole rectangular cell, with no doors or windows, not even a space to permit light to eavesdrop on whatever that would take place therein, save for the glittering light emerging from his body. Its floors, ceilings, and walls were all crystal white. Larry wondered, what the hell is going on here? How did I get here in the first place? Where are my clothes?

While he was still in this state of dilemma, he tried to recollect the last images that were in his mind before waking up in this forgotten zone. Though it took him quite some time to piece together the jig-saw puzzle, suddenly, all his last memories came flooding back to him. The image of the dead woman flashed through his mind; the creature that swallowed him also appeared like a mirage to him.

An urge to let out a loud shrill of insanity stung him so hard that its agony travelled round his already electrified veins, which didn’t seem to harbor blood any longer.

Could all these be real? Was I sedated before being brought here or what? Did I resurrect or something? Was I by any chance admitted in a mental institution? If it were to be so, wouldn’t there be, at the very least, a door? So many questions began to beg Larry for answers that he could not provide. And the rate at which these thoughts flooded his heart gave him a stolid migraine that could pummel a mountain into sand. All what these thoughts did for him was to confuse him the more.

“Hello!” Larry screamed so loud that he almost got his Adam’s apple torn apart and even right on his temple, he felt he was being hit with a sledge hammer. “Is there anybody here?”

Answer came from nowhere to him except for the echo his voice gave birth to. Undaunted by that silence, he shrieked again and this time it was louder than the previous one that he was driven to tears. Despite all these, it appeared silence was the only trusted companion he had at that moment. Not even a single breath was heard except for his that was faintly racing.

Hardly had he completed another round of his shrill than two black hooded figures, which appearances were like shadows, surfaced in the whiteness of the room. From behind their dark velvet capes revealed yellowish glittering eyes in a triangle, with smoke emanating from what seemed to be their mouths since they were masked.

On getting to where Larry was, one of the hooded figures said, “Come with us!” Larry backed away, but the figure pulled him by the arm, and in that very instant, he could feel slimy scales scraping his skin. Terrified at this feeling of his, he shook away from the hooded creature’s grip and ran to hide himself in one of the corners so as to keep his head safe. He’d forgotten there was really no hiding place for him.

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what the—“ He was cut off mid-sentence, as he suddenly found himself floating in mid-air, his legs and scrotum dangling above the ground.

“The Master Old One wish to speak to you,” said the other hooded creature that was busy scribbling some ancient sentences on the floor. As he arose, he extended his arm by some strange power, having chanted, Larry began to levitate. His guttural and husky voice as if he’d just drank liquor pierced into the bones and marrows of whimpering Larry.

Probably he had, Larry mused, now that anything seemed to be possible. The creature made a gesture with his right arm and Larry, without hesitation, began to levitate rapidly toward one of the white glass-like walls.

I’m going to die. This is the end for me. He thought. Or I was dead before now? Larry thought this way since he’s been eaten alive by an infernal species much uglier than these demonic fellows. Amused by these thoughts, somehow, made him smile like a mad man.

Surprisingly to him, there was no crash. All that happened later, which shocked him was that he found himself inside a foggy forest, not being able to see clearly in front of him or to either side. He really was beginning to think he had gone insane.

“No, you haven’t yet,” answered a voice from the darkness. “Hi Larry,” said the voice, very serene and calm. “I’ve been watching your work for some time now. Very tasty stuff.”

Larry had the feeling of a man smiling in the darkness.

“How many Larry?” asked the voice in the silence of the night.

“How many what?” replied Larry with a worried look that had flapped its wings on his face.

By the time he asked this, the presence laughed frightfully and its echo travelled across the forest like an angered lightning.

“Amy was the last one, correct?”

The figure’s question caught Larry off-guard. He then understood that all that had been happening to him were staged professionally and executed with absolute wit. “How do you know all of that? I’ve never told anyone those things.”

“I’m quite aware of that, Larry. But please answer the question. That night there were plenty of beautiful dead women, many of which weren’t as physically mistreated as Amy. So, why her?”

Surprised at this revelation, Larry stood still, and became so terrified to his very core. “Who are you?” He forced out those words from his mouth with shaky courage.

Immediately he asked this, the whole atmosphere, bubbling with eerie sound, returned into the cocoon of silence. However, in all this, Larry’s heart kept pulsing so hard that it almost got burst.

“I AM,” said the voice, which broke the silence in the mansion between Larry and him. “Now, answer the question. At least, you’ve known me now. Why her?”

Larry stalled for a moment. The incident that was inquired of him was what took place in the morgue, where he covered his track from the detectives, unknown to him that there was another being that just sat and observed as the event unfolded. His shadow travelled back in time to when he was patrolling that night, checking whether things were normal as they used to be. Then, suddenly, a loud whisper banged the door of his heart. He followed the voice until he saw his shadow moaning while gliding in and out of the dead woman vagina. All these flooded his mind in a split second. And after returning from his short trip, he spoke bluntly to the dark presence.

“She called to me, I don’t know. Inside my head. Images.” His words were incoherently structured.

“Ah, temptation was it? Such delights, such pleasures. Am I right?” The figure cast an inquisitive look that demanded for a swift answer on him.

Silence, without being given the baton, snatched Larry’s gut awhile as he lost credible words with regards to what to say. He didn’t understand anything of what was happening. This might as well be a nightmare and he might wake up at any time. He began to tap himself so as to wake up from his supposed slumber. His eyes did he wipe tears away from, having thought that he’d been sleepwalking all this while.

“I want to offer you a job Larry,” said the voice, which broke the weedy silence that overtook power again from the two of them. “One I think suits your, let’s say, particular set of skills.”

Though shocked at this due to the fact that he hadn’t fathomed what the nature of the job would be like, Larry still had to lean forward and asked, “And if I say no?”

“Don’t you want to hear the offer first though? I assure you, it is right up your alley,” the voice rang through the room before it finally slept peacefully in his ears.

Leaving an uncomfortable silence to lie fallow again, Larry bought his time-out from it, and in the deepest darkness of the shadow, the presence laughed hysterically.

“Have you ever seen the Cosmos Larry? I don’t mean through those primitive instruments your kind uses. I mean, truly seen it?” said the voice with anger and bitterness felt so strongly in his question.

“No, no I haven’t. What does that have to do with anything we’re discussing here?”

“Patience—Larry. In your world, there is some saying about patience being a virtue of the gods, or something along those lines. Very true, by the way. Don’t worry, I will soon explain,” the presence spoke out with an emerging smoke from where he sat. “The reason I ask you this is because I have—seen the Cosmos, all of them. Do you know why?”

Exasperated by the incessant questions the voice kept rolling out like the National Day’s Celebration drums, he looked at the corner where the presence had been speaking from and answered feebly, “In this moment, I feel like I don’t know anything, to be honest, but tell me.”

At that very instance, the presence appeared from the shadows. It had the shape similar to that of a human, but much thinner, and taller. It carried no facial features, except for the gleaming colors like stars and planets and black space on its body. It had not genitalia neither despite the fact that his voice was that of a man. Floating slightly above, on one of its hands, was a miniature crystal cube, which appeared to be a round object on the inside. Bewildered at not being able to make out what it is he had beheld, Larry left his mouth open.

“I know because I helped create it Larry.” The colors and stars as well as black space shifted constantly on the being’s body like the laser protecting a diamond.

Then, Larry was able to get a closer glance at the object the Old One held: it was planet earth, encapsulated inside a square crystal cube. In that short glance, he saw smoke and fire over several continents, as if the earth were under attack.

Larry, without being told, unbuckled a laughter, which wasn’t a normal one though, from his mouth. It was a laughter filled with terror and spiced with sadness of not knowing what his reaction should really be.

“You’re not real,” he spoke confidently. “None of this is real. Is that not true? It can’t be.” Despite the conviction in his mind as against what the Old One had shown him, tears still managed to suddenly stream down his cheeks, with affluence as they marched down gallantly.

“I assure you dear friend this is very real,” the Old One’s hoarse voice ricocheted painfully as it lifted a long-nailed finger and pointed it at Larry.

In a matter of seconds, Larry’s arm began to catch fire, and flames started swallowing up his semi-material form. A scream of agony was birthed from Larry’s bosom, just as the fire continued spreading to the rest of his body, burning, scorching, and blowing smoke into the air.

“Make it stop please!” He sounded apologetically. Larry collapsed to the ground like a living ball of fire, sobbing and screaming. “Please! Please!”

The Old One made a gesture as if he perceived the finest barbecue, and his body began to twitch, like when Larry had his first orgasm, while having the carnal knowledge of his mother. Remembering that it was that same pleasure he felt then that killed his mother, tears welled up in his eyes, but he quickly clear if off.

“Didn’t a group of your species once burn people alive for purification?” The Old One laughed deliriously once again.

Immediately the Old One made a hand movement, the fire gave up the ghost. Larry’s skin lay red, peeled, blistered, scorched, his hair gone, replaced by black patches of blisters.

“Please just kill me….” Larry pleaded calmly as he lay on the floor crouched in a fetal position and at the same time trembling.

With confusion written boldly on the Old One’s face, he replied innocently, “I can’t do that Larry, you’re already dead. I’m just here to make you an offer.”

“And what could that offer be?” said Larry. As he struggle to magnetize air to breathe in, he discovered he’d found himself between the devil and the deep blue sea. “And—pardon me once again for asking, where am I?”

“It’s quite simple. I want you to repeatedly ravage this woman, Amy, for eternity. The offer is that I heal you completely, and you become what they say in your planet, a servant for me, personally. And to answer your other question, you’re in Other. This is a dimension outside of your realm, where lost souls wander aimlessly, with no purpose. The truth of the matter Larry, neither hell nor heaven nor reincarnation or any of those absurd concepts really exist. There is only one life, and then you come here, and keep serving us. The real luck, in your case, is to never have existed. Do you accept this offer?” Its bitter voice coupled with the countenance scared life out of Larry, who was lost in the thought that took him back way time.

***

“Larry, you should know we’re running late for the family’s thanksgiving!” Eve shouted while waiting outside the house for Larry who had rushed inside to pick his bible and offering.

“Mom, I’ll be with you in a moment,” replied Larry, still from within.

Eve had never for any reason missed the Church’s family thanksgiving. Two things: the message and the meal had always endeared Larry to look forward to it every year. The unforgettable year for Larry came with a message he held unto for so many years before he fell.

As both mother and son were entering the church, the pastor was just about preaching.

“We’ll be looking at a very important message together for this year’s Family Thanksgiving Service,” announced the Pastor. The whole congregation echoed in unison, “A—m—e—n!” The Pastor continued, “As a church, we need not be told again that spending our eternity with God in heaven is our primary priority. Every other one is secondary. It’s unfortunate today that many chase after the secondary, losing their major assignment as sons and daughters of God. And it is the assurance of that destination that establishes our destiny to prosper. Let’s flip through the pages of the bible a little bit. Matthew….”

By now, Larry had crept out of the church for the venue where food will be served to wait upon the Lord as he’d always say each time he was caught in a place where he was not supposed to be in the first place. When the time came for the food, he collected his and zoomed off to a secluded place, gulped it down his throat. Before he could finish the food, his mother had also been looking for him. He quickly trashed the remnant and went home with his mother.

Since then, everything pertaining to the kingdom of God did he handle with care. He never wanted an excuse why he couldn’t make heaven. This good of his continued until he was to delight in porn, which snatched him completely from God’s back.

***

Dazed at what he just heard, which was against what he used to hear from his pastor as a child, Larry stooped on the floor, grabbed his head and scratched it violently. He raised his head to look at the creature. Ravage her again? Why will I do that again? So, heaven, hell and reincarnation were all but hoax? What about the life after death Pastor used to talk about? Am I really the unluckiest being to have ever been created? These thoughts kept bubbling in his mind. Another thought spoke to him, What if you decline the offer?

He had barely thought of this than he felt a severe pain all over his body. All of a sudden, he began to convulse so badly that trickles of liquid foam began to form at his lips.

“Okay,” said Larry who struggled to force the word out of his mouth. “I will do that, but please end the pain, please.”

“Ah, I’m so glad you said,” the Old One delightfully told him. He pointed to one of his large clawed fingers and Larry’s wounds started to heal. Soon, his skin had grown back, and then, his hair was beginning to appear again.

“Here she comes.” Larry was surprised to have seen her there with him. Her pretty face that glittered like a new star born reminded him when such face was shut, while he slept with her by forcing his prick into her pussy.

After appearing suddenly among the trees of the forest, that spoke only the language of deep darkness, she wore a bewildered cloak on her face while peering around to see whom she could recognize in the dark forest. Amy became more confused than Larry, having found herself in a place she could fathom how she got there. Pain, agony, and even death loomed around her wherever she went. Her mouth was left wide open after she sighted the creature with facial features.

“Who are you?” She asked, with her question directed at both Larry and the Old One.

“We are friends, my dear, don’t you worry. Larry here will give you a tour of the place.” The look the Old One cast on Larry and the latter’s reaction clearly showed they both understood each other.

Then, he looked at Amy, still in her perplexed state, and then had the clear understanding that the deal he’d just made. The Old One didn’t want him to just rape her, he wanted Larry to kill her, and then rape her once again. He could sense the appetite brewing in the Old One; feel his desire for pain, and for suffering.

Suddenly, it began pouring rain, and the clouds overhead darkened. Larry knew that wasn’t a natural cause. The creature must have altered nature again. From a distance, thunder cloud roared scarily as it drew nearer.

“If you wish, I can take you to a place a bit more…private.” The Old One smiled lovingly and a positive nod, indicating that what he’d planned so well would in no time materialized.

Ignorant of what that meant, Amy looked back at Larry. “Yes, please, that would be better.”

Larry immediately knew what to do.

“There is a cozy cabin you two can go to nearby, just follow the trail up the hill and you’ll find it,” said the Old One.

Amy still lost for words while she walked in the woods, followed Larry’s lead. And while they trod the path in the woodland, laced with darkness, they heard the pleasurable wailing of lost souls in agony. Even the wind seemed to weep bitterly in despair there. There were several people hanging from trees, looking at them as they passed by.

A cold substance travelled down her spine. She felt the whole world was going to crash in on her. The eerie voices in the wooded area kept banging in her head as if she was the only one listening to their sad complaining voices, having done nothing except to wander about. Getting to that place still baffled her, but for the agonies that flew in the air, she had her tongue in her cheeks with regards to what to say or think about.

Having observed that she wasn’t herself anymore, Larry offered a help by admonishing her, “Don’t look at them Amy! The Old One said they’re all but illusions.”

And after what appeared to be hours of walking on foot, and drenched from the rain, both of them arrived at the cabin, talked about by the Old One. While they were there, they dried their clothes and lit a fire in the fireplace. The cabinet had two floors. The first was a living area with a fireplace and a table with some chairs there, and on top of the table laid a large hunting knife by itself. Seeing that, the message was clear to Larry. In the upstairs bedroom, there was only one bed. There were some scary-looking statues in the cabin. Also, some masks, as of the one the cult members wore, were hung on the walls.

When they got inside, Larry was waiting for Amy to set ablaze intimate interaction between them; same runs through Amy’s mind as well. Larry told Amy he could sleep on the floor if she wanted, there was no problem. She declined the request on the ground that she was scared. And every of her attempt to squeeze out information from Larry proved abortive as the latter remained quiet, telling her to only please trust him.

While inside, Larry tried to hold back the tears, as the thought of what he was about to do crossed his mind. Without looking at Amy’s face, he took her hand and whispered in her ears, “It’s gonna be ok, alright?”

“I don’t know,” came her reply which stunned Larry.

“You won’t tell me anything of what’s going on.”

“Amy, listen, there is something that I have to do, but you have to trust me, please.”

Unconvincingly, she said, “Ok!”

Larry began to search for a notepad, which got Amy worried. Minutes later, he found it and a pen in the dresser room table next to the bed.

“Could you wait for me downstairs, please?” he asked her, and she obliged grudgingly. Soon, Larry knew what he needed to do, after she had left the room for him to think straight.

With pen in his hand, he began to write. He must’ve been writing for more than a couple of hours, because Amy knocked on the door of the bedroom to inquire if everything was really okay. Larry swiftly sent packing a couple of tears from his face and folded the letter, while he went to get the door. Amy knew all wasn’t well with Larry when she saw his face reddened already.

“Listen, we don’t have much time,” he said.

“I need you to read this.” He handed Amy the letter as he paced up and down the room.

“What is this?” she asked with nervousness in her speech.

“Stop these questions of yours and just read it please.”

Amy opened the letter and began to read. About halfway through, the expression she wore when she came in had been stripped of her, and she looked at Larry.

“I know, I know,” said Larry. “But please read till the end before your look slaughters me.”

A few moments later, Amy put the letter down and lay down on the bed, covering her face with her hands. She began to whimper and let loose deep agonizing sobs of pain.

“How could you do that to a person?” she yelled.

“How can you be that stick? And what is all about us being stuck here? What the hell is all this?” Amy’s voice thundered as she could no longer curtail her annoyance. Larry reached out to comfort her but she immediately moved away. “Don’t touch me, you fucking psycho pervert,” she spat in his face. “Go sleep in the rain, I don’t want you here.”

“Can you please read the last page of the letter?” suggested Larry. “Please, it’s the most important part.”

Wiping away her tears, Amy looked at Larry with the purest hate he had ever seen. “Ok, but after that you go find some other place to stay, I don’t want you around me here. And to think I trusted you, God. I’m so stupid.” She began to sob again.

“Amy, please stop whining and just read the last page.”

And so she did. Once she was finished, she looked at Larry in perplexity. “Will you be able to do it?” Larry asked her with his eyes beginning to gather erosion of tears as well.

Shocked after looking down at the floor, then back at Larry, she said, “But, I don’t understand.” Then, she sounded like one who had resigned to fate.

“You don’t have to. But it’s the only way we’ll beat him and be in peace. I don’t trust a word he says about all souls spending eternity here. It can’t be.” Larry asserted.

“But how is this going to help? If he’s what you say he is, he’ll just revive us again and keep torturing us.”

“I know,” said Larry. “But each time he will grow weaker. Each gesture of love and sacrifice takes away power from him. And to be honest, for the things I’ve done, I feel I deserve it.”

Tears began to flow down Amy’s cheek, while she laughed simultaneously. “Ok,” said Amy. “Let’s do it.”

“At the moment, we have to only think of positive things, things that bring us joy, people we love…And think of this as an act of love and compassion as well.”

“Does it have to be with that stupid knife?” asked Amy.

“Yeah, I think so. There’s no other silverware.” Amy allowed another painful laughter to escape from her mouth. She couldn’t believe her ears absorbing the solution proffered by Larry.

“I’ll go get it,” uttered Larry. He went downstairs, picked up the knife, and went back up the stairs. What he saw when he entered the room made him drop to his knees. Amy lay on the bed, naked, but not in a natural position. And suddenly, it dawned on him. She was in the exact same position when he had found her at the morgue, when he had taken her back to his house to have sex with her corpse. Her skin tone was bluish, and her posture looked stiff, like a mannequin.

“Well,” said the Old One, suddenly appearing out of a dark corner of the room. “I have to say I’m a little disappointed in you Larry. The funny thing is I actually had a little faith in you.”

“You mothefucker….” Muttered Larry.

The Old One laughed, this time hard. “Oh, I love these new age insults. They always change, but the sentiment remains always the same.” He picked up the letter from the bed and began reading it out loud. After he finishes reading it, he threw it at Larry.

“You’re pathetic,” said the Old One. “Can’t even tell the poor girl to her face that you defiled her corpse?”

A sudden anger, hatred so huge like a monster, began to build up inside Larry. He could feel his aura pulsing, and the electrified feeling was so powerful that the energy it carried could raze down a country. This electric current filled the air.

“Want me to bring in your mother too now Larry so that you can plan more pathetic schemes? This time, you’ll have to cut open your veins in the bathtub instead of her?”

“Don’t you mention my mother…”

“I can mention several things, my friend. Your mother was such a whore that you don’t even know who your father is. Did you like pulling up her skirt when she was unconscious and sticking your little pecker in her? Was that fun?” The Old One smiled wryly.

The anger in Larry continued building. However, this time, it was different. He could sense a power he had never felt before. His hands, curled tightly into fists, began to emit more heat and electricity, though he still remained muted.

“Did you like it when she caught you masturbating, and she showed you her tits and pussy?” the Old One laughed cynically. “Oh Larry, you crack me up so much.”

All around Larry, a radiation of heat began to pulse eerily, making him to start turning to reddish-yellow.

The Old One pointed one of its long fingers at Amy and she suddenly began to regenerate. As she started breathing, she began gasping for air, clutching at her throat.

“What are you doing to her?” screamed Larry in anger.

“Oh, just having a bit of fun, that’s all.” The Old One made a hand movement and suddenly Amy flew off the bed toward one of the walls.

“Stop that!” yelled Larry who felt sorry for Amy that was made to go through an undeserved punishment.

With his eyes focused on Larry, “There’s not much you can do my friend, but watch. Your turn is next by the way.”

Lunging at the Old One, exerting so much vigor, Larry grabbed his arm, and pushed him against the wall. I shouldn’t have done that. He thought. The Old One, realizing Larry was becoming violent, muttered a sentence, a magical spell spiced with the ancient language, and suddenly, Larry was flown across the room and hit the wall hard. He then made a couple of hand gestures, and Larry began to catch on fire again. Larry screamed in agony, having had his skin scorched.

With a loud scream, Amy ran toward the Old One, but her race was too late. He lifted a finger and she began to augment in the air, with her feet dangling above the ground. Then sparks of electricity began to fly toward her from the Old One’s hand, making her convulse, burn, and scream. Amy, while flailing her legs in the air, thought of what she could do to save herself from the mess she found herself, but nothing seemed to working in her favor.

***

“I’ve always wanted to be the most famous being on earth, with my picture and name appearing on the yearly beauty magazine,” Amy told her friends as they made their way to college for lecture.

“But fame comes with its pain and it doesn’t last long, you know?” asked Becky.

“Even, if it’s just for two hours, I don’t care! All I care about is to be on the whole world’s lips forever after the hall of fame.”

Everybody knew what her goals had been all about. Wherever Amy went, the aura of her goal never got dried on her lips, as she kept reminding all her contemporaries what her plans in life were.

To have seen herself in this indescribable mess left her to wonder where she’d got it all wrong. All the karate training she got couldn’t come to her aid here as her instinct had failed her. Breaking free from the shackles of the Old One was what she began to think of.

Though still in agony, with a burning sensation from within him, Larry watched all these happen, while the Old One laughed. Steamy water rolled down his face and that scorched him the more that he became confused as to what to be done. Suddenly, he could take it no longer. While his body burned and scorched so horribly, he began to try to get up slowly so as not to watch his body died under the scourging hands of death, the flames licking his body. The Old One looked back in astonishment, and stopped electrifying Amy. She dropped to the ground like a rag doll with a loud thud.

The Old One now directed his electric power at Larry, who fell to the ground once again with a loud bang. That hurt him so much that he felt his spirit running away from his body. He wasn’t daunted still as he kept calling on his soul, body and spirit, although feeble to come to his aid, even if it’d be for the last time. As he was doing this, the Old One had already read his mind and made him realize.

“You can’t win Larry. Give up and accept your fate. No mere mortal had ever withstood against our power. We have control over fire, water and earth,” said the Old One.

Struggling to get back to his feet again, with the flames still eating at his body, Larry picked up the knife that had been placed on the bedside night table.

The Old One saw this and knowing that letting him carry out his intention may spell doom for us sent fire and rays of lightning and electricity in anger now, which flung back Larry even further, pulling apart the walls behind him. His skin was now charred black. He got back up, and picked up the knife again. He began tumbling toward the Old One slowly, who, after seeing Larry’s determination began to throw more lightning and fire. This time Larry wasn’t flung back and stood firmly on the ground.

Later on, a sensation of fire and smoke began to build around him and developing like a fetus in the womb, and his hand began to turn fire red that everywhere shook to its foundation. Astonishingly, the knife he held in his hand began to grow to the size of a sword, a fire sword, scorching fire and electricity that no power on earth or in heaven could overpower it. And behind his back, two fire angel-like wings appeared.

The Old One stepped back, surprised and scared. Never in his entire life had he seen a human, given a material form transformed into such a supernatural creature before. His steps backward increased but it was too late. He wondered if that was the end for him. The hunter becomes the hunted? He thought.

“Give me the cube, Old One,” said Larry.

Being caught unaware, he found it uneasy to believe what his eyes was seeing. Even in the mansion, away from the cabin, the elders began to tremble with terror. They knew calamity awaited them with the way event was unfolding, but they couldn’t figure out when the misfortune would befall them.

In the cabin, Larry began to approach the Old One, who with his powers now seem to increase Larry’s own powers. It appeared Larry was just amalgamating their powers, including that of the elders in the mansion, with his, thereby making him stronger.

“Brothers!” screamed the Old One. “Brothers, help me!”

Calmness replaced his voice which travelled with echo for sometimes. The Old One knelt; brought out a short dagger and cut himself on many occasions in different perhaps that would trigger those he had summoned. He had lost hope, and awaiting the visitation of his death when three more Old Ones appeared from the dark corners of the room, which delighted the soul of the Old One. Larry, with fire sword in his hand defeated them one by one as they engaged him in a fierce battle. He returned to Master Old One.

“Give me the cube Old One. I won’t ask again.” The Old One, his hands now trembling, handed Larry the cube. Disappointingly, he looked at the other Old Ones on the floor and shook his head in regret.

Once in his hand, Larry inserted the full of the fire sword in the Old One’s face, and tore half of it off. The Old One fell to his knees, as Larry stabbed him one last time through the chest with the fire sword.

He then looked at Amy, lying on the ground. He placed the fire sword on the floor and went to see her.

“Amy?” he said. “Amy, wake up.”

Amy wasn’t moving, and since they were pretty much spirits in the Other realm, it was useless to take her pulse. She didn’t have any pulse again even.

Larry then touched her shoulder gently, and began to transfer some of his fire energy to her. Within minutes, she had opened her eyes. When she saw him she screamed and scrambled away, horrified by his appearance. She thought she must have been awoken to complete the task given to her.

“Amy, it’s me, Larry,” he said.

Amy’s face was a mix of awe perplexing confusion, seeing the disarrayed state she saw the cabin that was neatly built at their arrival earlier. “What happened to you? Wait, what happened to the other creep?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll explain on the way. Right now we need to get to Earth as soon as possible.” He showed her the cube. There were images of destruction, smoke, monsters, and human beings murdered and eaten. “Take the cube Amy, I’ll get the sword.”

“What sword?” she asked. “Larry, what the hell is going on? What have you done again when I wasn’t around? What have I missed really?” Amy kept rolling the questions in.

“No time to explain now, on the way I’ll tell you everything. We need to wrap things up so fast and return to earth so as to quickly save the world, else we will lose more than we’ve lost so far and we may be trapped here till eternity,” Larry pulled her close to his side and they almost kissed, but quickly detached knowing they have more pressing matter at hand.

“Trapped here till eternity? I don’t see that as an option at the moment….”

They both put their hands on the cube, and suddenly everything went black. They began walking through a dark tunnel, filled with strange noises. They barely heard what each of them says. But right there, Larry explained everything that had happened.

“But how did you turn into this…thing?” asked Amy.

“Truth is I really don’t know…I don’t remember much when it happened, only that I felt a surge of pure anger and hatred, but so powerful, that it took over me. Watching that thing torture you made me feel that.”

Amy smiled, “Well, maybe you’re not such a bad guy after all. I am, you’re still a sick pervert, but in a way you’re a good guy.”

Larry laughed. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“However, you gave me a wrong impression of you when we first met, till now; I feel we have shared something between ourselves.”

Should I now tell her that I defiled her while she was stone dead? Will that make her still trust me? Larry thought as he resigned to fate.

***

Both of them woke up together, though in separate pods and gasped for breath. They were naked when they woke up. Looking at each other’s genitalia, they quickly cover up their nakedness with their hands and shudder away to get some clothing they could lay their hands on to make their nudity become concealed.

When they got to the city, where they used to live, they found it in total wreck. Creatures, demons, and entities saturated everywhere as well as corpses tore from limb to limb. They figured out that they should close the portal from where these beings are coming in from, even the large creature that had eaten Larry alive before. They found the creature that was badly wounded in the battle.

Here’s the opportunity I’ve been looking for. Larry thought. He smashed the creature’s head with vengeance that the green fluid that occupied its body splashed on Larry and it smelt so badly and sticky as well. He also managed to shut the portal after so many struggles with the breeze.

After the portal is closed, and the creatures around cease to receive energy from the portal creature: their source, they began to fade away.

Larry regained his normal self and Amy hugged him passionately. They both kissed for the first intimately.

“One thing I don’t understand though,” said Amy. “Are we really alive? Are we ghosts? Something in between?”

Larry laughed so hard that he felt a throbbing pain under his navel, “I don’t really know. But if those things ever come back again, we will be ready to face them.”

Amy took Larry’s hand. “Wanna get some coffee?”

“Actually, coffee sounds amazing. Let’s hope there’s still a store around here that wasn’t destroyed.” Larry winced at her.

“We’ll find something, even if it’s our lost souls,” Amy said with a smile of hope as both of them walked away from the darkness towards the sunlight the saw afar off.